HALLAZGOS DE PRÁCTICAS Y ACTIVIDADES DEL PROCESO

of

it was intact until Wang Mang was in power

P

As the tide of northwestward expansion of the Former Han receded with the death Emperor Xuan, large-scale migration and colonization to the northwest was halted. The establishment of administrative units within Liang province was also finalized, and the province enjoyed a period of prosperity and stability till the end of the dynasty. This was mainly benefited from two achievements made by Emperor Xuan. First, the suppression of the Qiang rebellion in 61BCE temporarily solved the Qiang problem and consolidated the Han control over the province. Secondly, the submission of Xiongnu Chanyu to Emperor Xuan in 51BCE assured the ensuing peace between the two powers and thus greatly reduced the defensive pressure of Liang province, especially along the Hexi Corridor.107 In the period of relative stability, which lasted nearly five decades, the Han military forces even retreated from some outposts along the northwestern borders and left those fortifications deserted.108

Liang province as an administrative un

and launched a series of programs reshaping the administrative geography of the empire.

107 _{For recent studies on the submission of the Xiongnu Chanyu, see Ellis Tinios, “Loose Rein” in Han} Relations with Foreign Peoples (Department of East Asian Studies, University of Leeds, 2000); Sophia-Karin Psarras, “Han and Xiongnu: A Reexamination of Cultural and Political Relations (II),” Monumenta Serica 52 (2004): 37-42. For the alleviation of military conflicts between the Former Han and the Xiongnu along the northwestern borders, see Takamura, Kandai no chihō kanri to chiiki shakai, 344-379.

d in hand with the restructuring of adm

In 4CE, Wang Mang divided the whole empire into twelve provinces and renamed some of them according to the records of officially sanctioned canon. Accordingly, Liang province lost its independent status and was coalesced into the metropolitan area and its vicinity to form a Yong 雍 province. In 12CE, Wang Mang adopted the names in the classics to reformulate and rename the provinces into nine.109 Liang province was still part of Yong province under the new division.110

Wang Mang’s foreign policy also went han

inistrative geography. Shortly before his establishment of the twelve provinces, Wang Mang forced some Qiang tribes to surrender their land which contiguous to Liang province. A new commandery called Xihai 西海, literally West Sea, was thus set up. According to the Hanshu, Wang was eager to acquire the land and give it the name of Xihai since the Former Han empire had already had the commanderies of Donghai 東海

(East Sea), Nanhai 南海 (South Sea), and Beihai 北海 (North Sea), and Wang was

109 _{For Wang Mang’s reforms of regional administrative units, see Xin, “Liang Han zhouzhi xinkao,”} 144-161. For general studies on Wang Mang’s classics-orientated reforms, see Dubs, The History of the Former Han Dynasty, Volume Three, 506-536; Rudi Thomsen, Ambition and Confucianism: A Biography of Wang Mang (Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 1988); Hans Bielenstein, “Wang Mang, the restoration of the Han dynasty, and Later Han,” in CHOC v. 1, 223-290; Michael Puett, “Centering the Realm: Wang Mang, the Zhouli, and Early Chinese Statecraft,” in Benjamin A. Elman and Martin Kern eds., Statecraft and Classical Learning: The Rituals of Zhou in East Asian History (Leiden: Brill, 2010), 129-154; Higashi Shiji, Ō Mō: juka no risō ni tsukareta otoko 王莽：儒家の理想に憑かれた男 (Tokyo: Hakuteisha, 2003). 110 _{In fact, Wang was completely obsessed with the nomenclature of administrative unit as an integral part} of his classics-orientated blueprint of the ideal world. As a result, not only the names of provinces but also those of most commanderies and counties were subjected to frequent changes, which finally threw the administrative system into chaos. For details, see HS, 99B: 4136-4137.

r had alre

strongly inclined towards the completion of the “Four Seas” commanderies as a proof of his majesty and benevolence covering the whole known world.111 The new Xihai commandery was added to Liang province and then became part of Yong province. It also served as a place where Wang exiled tens of thousands of people who committed offenses under his new law code.112 However, the Qiang were in fact reluctant to make the submission and thus tried to retake the land by coercive means.113 Later, Wang broke the stable relationship with the Xiongnu and deployed numerous soldiers and laborers along the northern and northwestern frontiers in the hope of conquering the northern enemy. Zhangye commandery served as one of the important depots for the campaign.114 Needless to say, military operations stirred up instability within Liang province.

Wang Mang’s Xin dynasty only lasted fifteen years, and the imperial orde ady devolved into chaos when its days were numbering. Various regional military powers arose to take advantage of such situation. Among those contenders, Wei Ao 隗囂

(d. 33CE), Dou Rong 竇融 (fl. 5-30sCE), and Lu Fang 盧芳 (fl. 10s-40sCE) were related to Liang province.115

111 _{HS, 99A: 4077.} 112 _{HS, 99A: 4077-4078.}

f the regimes of Wei Ao, Dou Rong, and Lu Fang during the Wang Mang interrgum and period, see Kano Naosada 狩野直禎, Gokan seijishi no kenkyū 後漢政治史の硏究. 113 _{HS, 99A: 4087.}

114 _{HS, 99B: 4121.} 115 _{For the history o} the early Later Han

te family in Tianshui commandery and had been serving var

Ron

Wei Ao was from a magna

ious government offices since his youth. When the Xin dynasty was in turmoil, a paternal uncle of Wei Ao gathered clansmen and other local strongmen to raise a rebel army. Because of his reputation and knowledge, Wei Ao was elected to be the leader.116 Wei quickly became the strongest power in Liang province. When Emperor Guangwu of the Later Han started to extend power to the west, initially, he tried to pacify Wei and seek his support by showering him with lavish honors and acknowledging him as the supreme commander of the west.117 However, the honeymoon period did not last long. Wei was ambitious to be an independent ruler and would not wholeheartedly endorse the imperial unification project; on the other hand, Emperor Guangwu would not allow any Former Han territory break away from his “restored” Han dynasty. Conflicts between them were unavoidable. To defeat Wei, the emperor would need Dou Rong to be an ally.

During the civil war, Liang province was in fact partitioned between Wei Ao and Dou g. While Wei based his power in the southern part, Dou controlled the Hexi Corridor.

(Kyōto: Dōhōsha, 1993), 34-41 and 124-140; Kojima, Kandai kokka tōchi no kōzō to tenkai, 101-104; Ukai Masao 鵜飼昌男, “Jianwu chuqi Hexi diqu de zhengzhi dongxiang: ‘Hou Hanshu Dou Rong zhuan’ buyi”

建武初期河西地區的政治動向──《後漢書．竇融傳》補遺, trans. He Shuangquan 何雙全, in Xibei shifan daxue lishixi西北師範大學歷史系 and Gansusheng wenwu kaogu yanjiusuo甘肅省文物考古硏究 所 eds., Jianduxue yanjiu 簡牘學研究 vol. 2 (Lanzhou: Gansu renmin chubanshe, 2009), 227-232. 116 _{HHS, 13: 513-514.}

was a native of Anding com

Although a native of Fufeng 扶風 commandery, a part of the Former Han metropolitan area, Dou Rong had a very close relationship with Liang province and had inherited a solid power base in the Hexi Corridor since two of his family members had been grand administrators of commanderies in Laing province and one had been military officer supervising the Qiang. Besides, Dou himself was appointed by the Xin dynasty as Commandant of the Zhangye dependent state (Zhangye shuguo duwei 張掖屬國都尉) and was on intimate terms with other prominent officials, local strongmen, and the Qiang tribal leaders along the Hexi Corridor.118 Prestigious family background and social networks enabled Dou easily to assume leadership in the Hexi region during the chaotic period. Dou differed from Wei as he was willing to follow the Later Han emperor. This resulted in different fates for the two men. Dou Rong surrendered to the emperor and contributed greatly in the final conquest of Wei Ao. Dou himself therefore received great honors and held a high position in the imperial court, and his family would become one of the most influential consort families in the Later Han history.

Another Liang province origin contender was Lu Fang, who

mandery.119 According to the official history, which unquestionably took a stand on

118 _{HHS, 23: 795-797.} 119 _{HHS, 12: 505.}

and Lu Fang and the submission of Dou Rong marked the full inco

the Later Han, Lu Fang was an imposter who claimed himself a descendent of Emperor Wu and thus gathered followers around him. Lu established very close relationship with the Xiongnu, the Qiang, and other “barbarian” groups. Later, under the auspices of the Xiongnu, Lu was named Han emperor though in fact acted as a proxy for the Xiongnu by harrying along the Later Han northern and northwestern frontiers.120 When Emperor Gunagwu consolidated its governance over the empire, Lu saw there was no hope to challenge the Later Han. He then sought asylum in the Xiongnu and stayed there over a decade until his death.

The death of Wei Ao

rporation of Liang province into the newly formed Later Han dynasty. In its early years, the Later Han basically followed the regional administrative division of the Former Han. Liang province officially restored its name and status as a top level regional administrative unit.121 It was during the reign of Emperor Xian 獻 (r. 190-220CE), the young emperor installed by Dong Zhuo and also the last Later Han sovereign, that Liang province as an administrative unit faced another time of abolition. In 194CE, as the southern part of Liang province was occupied by rebels and out of the Later Han control,

120 _{HHS, 12: 506.}

121 _{For the development of province system in the Later Han period, see Xin, “Liang Han zhouzhi xinkao,”} 162-176; Kojima, Kandai kokka tōchi no kōzō to tenkai, 244-271.

ince still served the important military fun

the imperial court announced the separation of the Hexi Corridor from Liang province and renamed it as Yong 廱 province, probably for the purpose of separating the Hexi region from the rebellious area. Later, in 213CE, Chancellor Cao Cao 曹 操

(155-220CE), who was now the de facto ruler controlled Emperor Xian, launched a program of reformulating the whole empire into nine provinces. Since only the northern part of the nominally existing Later Han was under his control, the effect of Cao’s reform was limited. Nevertheless, Liang province was abolished and became part of the reinstated Yong province. Several years later, the last Later Han emperor was deposed by Cao’s son, who then proclaimed himself the founding emperor of a new dynasty and the province division would turn over a new leaf.

During the Later Han times, Liang prov

ction as it did in the Former Han dynasty. First, in the early years of the Later Han, inherited the worsening foreign relations from Wang Mang, the whole northern and northwestern frontiers, as well as the Western Regions once again became the frontline of military confrontation between the Chinese regime and the Xiongnu. Liang province was a component of the imperial defensive line in general and a depot for launching expedition against the Xiongnu to the northwest in particular. Secondly, it served as an

uring the

artery connecting the imperial center and the Western Regions. As the struggles between the Later Han and the Xiongnu over the control of the Western Regions grew fierce, Liang province took up the role of supplying manpower and other resources for the Han presence in Inner Asia. For these reasons, as a usual practice of the Former Han, vast numbers of soldiers, convicts, labors, and their families were voluntarily or involuntarily sent to the northwest. Thirdly, conflicts between the empire and the Qiang became intense from the early years of the Later Han and devastating wars with the Qiang lasted from the middle period to the last years of the dynasty. The southern part of Liang province thus became battlefield. When the Qiang gained the upper hand, the Later Han state even evacuated its officials and people from the war-ridden area and left southern Liang province at the mercy of its enemies. Liang province was consequently devolved into chaos in the last decades of the Later Han and was one of the first regions which resisted the authority of the imperial center. Meanwhile, ambitious military strongman like Dong Zhuo took advantage of the complicated situation, accumulated his power, took control of the imperial court, and finally triggered the disintegration of the Later Han empire.

Comparing with the Former Han times, Liang province was often in turmoil d Later Han. Its administrative divisions and population also underwent sea changes.

We are fortunate to have data of population census that conducted in 140CE and information of the administrative units in the “Treatise on Commandery and Fief-state” (Junguo zhi 郡國志) of the Hou Hanshu,122 which provide us a general picture of the administrative geography and demography of Liang province in the middle period of Later Han.123 Number of Counties Number of Households Population Longxi 隴西 11 5,628 29,637 Hanyang 漢陽

(formerly Tianshui, name changed in 74CE) 13 27,423 130,138 Wudu 武都 7 20,102 81,728 Jincheng 金城 10 3,858 8,947 Anding 安定 8 6,094 29,060 Beidi 北地 6 3,122 18,637 Wuwei 武威 14 10,042 34,260 Zhangye 張掖 8 6,552 26,040 Jiuquan 酒泉 9 2,706 ---- Dunhuang 敦煌 6 748 29,170 Zhangye Shuguo 張掖屬國 5 4,656 16,952

Zhangye Juyan Shuguo 張掖居延屬國

1 1,560 4,733

Table 3: Data of Northwestern Commanderies in 140CE

122 _{HHS, 19-23: 3385-3533. For the Later Han population, see Bielenstein, “The Census of China during} the Period 2-742 A.D,” 125-163; Lao, “Population and Geography in the Two Han Dynasties,” 83-102; Ge, Zhongguo renkoushi, v.1, 399-425 and 493-500. For a general survey of the Junguo zhi in a historiographical perspective, see Mansvelt Beck, The Treatises of Later Han, 175-195.

123 _{B. J. Mansvelt Beck has pointed out that there is a problem of anachronism in the treatise as it does not} reflect the actual situation, for instance, in the northwestern provinces in the 140’s but the situation of the empire at its greatest extent. See B. J. Mansvelt Beck, The Treatises of Later Han, 193-194.

According to the Treatise, the Later Han province of Liang consisted of twelve dministrative units: ten commanderies and two dependent states. The population and household numbers only refer to those on the government register, as already mentioned in the analysis on the 2CE data; even the numbers of the two dependent states would not contain all of the surrendered “barbarians” in the jurisdictions, not to mention those not registered by the state. Moreover, the treatise does not fully reflect the actual situation in Liang province in 140CE. For example, under the threats of the Qiang, the commanderies of Anding and Beidi were moved inland in 111CE, moved back in 129CE, and moved inland again in 140CE. The Treatise does not mention these administrative changes and only provides “the situation of the empire at its greatest extent—even if it entails anachronisms.”124

Nevertheless, if we compare the 140CE data with the 2CE data, we will see the changes over the one century and realize some features of the Later Han Liang province.125

a

124 _{Mansvelt Beck, The Treatises of Later Han, 194.} 125 _{HHS, 23: 3516-3521.}