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Escape from Hengyang by Qiong Yao |
TURKS & UYGURS - PART II
Chinese Chronicles After Toba, Chinese chronicles did not mention the Huns any more. The Ruruans and the Turks came into play. Whereas the Huns called their kings "chanyu" (often wrongly spelled and pronounced as 'shanyu'), the Ruruans used the "khan", instead. Historians think that it was the Ruruan people who first used the title "khan". Turks, who chased the Ruruan khan all the way to Western Toba Wei Dynasty, also used the title "khan" for their kings. In this sense, Mulan the heroine, who was recently depicted by Disney in a cartoon, would be more likely either a Ruruan or a Turk in connection with the times when the story was first written, namely, late time period of Toba's Wei Dynasty. Emerging in this time period would be another group of people called the Tiele Tribes. The Turks reared the Tiele people on behalf of Ruruans. It was recorded that Turks absorbed about 50,000 households of the Tiele Tribes which included the later so-called 'Nine Family Names'. Chinese records pointed to several fights between Khan Muchuo's Orchon Turks and the Nine Family Name People. (Do note that the Western Turks possessed another alias, i.e., Ten Family Names.) (AD 386-534) By the time of Sui (AD 581-618) and Tang (AD 618-907), several groups of nomads remained on the borders with China, the Khitans, Xi & Shiwei in the northeast, the Turks & Tiele Tribes in the north and northwest, the Tuyuhun people in the west, and the Nan-Zhao people in the southwest. Xianbei, Wuhuan, Toba and Ruruan nomads had either dissappeared or been absorbed into the melting pots at that time. Khitans were said to be descendants of early Tanshikui Xianbei alliance and Xi the descendants of Wuhuan people. In the west, the Qiangic-Xianbei peoples (who had absorbed Di nomads etc) was still in existence in Gansu-Qinghai-Tibet areas, were to assert themselves in later Xixia Dynasty (AD 1032-1227). The Sha'to Turks would become vassals for Tang Dynasty and later set up 3 successive dynasties of Posterior Tang 923-936, Posterior Jin 936-946, Posterior Han 947-950. The Sha'to dynasties, however, were very much controlled by the Khitans during this time period, and the Khitans received a secession of 16 zhou (a unit larger than prefecture but smaller than province) from Posterior Jin (AD 936-946) led by a Posterior Tang general called Shi Jingtang, also a Shatuo (Sha'to). The Khitans, newly defeated by the Turks, would emerge as first the Liao Dynasty (AD 916-1125) by the end of the Tang Dynasty, and then Western Liao after Jurchens defeated them. Tang Dynasty chronicler, Du You, wrote sixteen books on historical "border nomads" as of Tang's times. He classified western Rong nomads into five books: 1) ??; 2) Tuyuhun, Tibets, Dangqiang (later Tanguts) etc; 3) Loulan (Rongjiang), Cheshi (Gaochang), Chouci (Guqa) etc; 4) Yanqi, Yutian (Hotan), Anxi (Iran), Daxia (Bactria); 5) Persia, Daqin (Rome). As to northern nomads, he classified them into 1) Huns Book One; 2) Huns Book Two, Southern Huns; 3) Wuhuan, Xianbei, Toba Tribe, Murong Tribe, Yuwen Tribe etc; 4) Turks Book One; 5) Turks Book Two; 6) Turks Book Three, Xueyantuo Tribe (which sound very much like 'Sakiz Oghuz' or the Eight Oghuz) etc; 7) Huihe (Uygur) Tribe etc. The names of Toba, Murong and Yuwen are just tribal names among the Xianbei nomads, and Wuhuan and Xianbei nomads obtained their names from the Xianbei/Wuhuan Mountains where their ancestors, the eastern Donghu nomads, had fled after being defeated by the Hsiongnu (Hun) Hu nomads. The origin of the Turks notwithstanding, the Uygur's relationship with the Turks is worthy of an explanation here. The word Uygur was mentioned in Tang Dynasty's chronicles as being only one of the fifteen Tiele tribes, ranking in second place among the eleven tribes who helped Tang in conquering the Eastern Khanate. Reading through Tang records, one important conclusion could be reached about the Huihe [Uygurs], that is, the Huihe [Uygurs] were long time ally of Tang Chinese in their campaigns against both the Eastern Turks and the Western Turks, at least for over 200 years till AD 840 when Tang Chinese incited the Kirghiz in attacking and replacing the Uyghurs in Mongolia. Turks vs Tiele Tribes, & Oguz vs Ogur The most confusing part of Chinese chronicles would be descriptions of the Turks versus Tiele Tribes. Certainly, there are other disputes, such as the place of origin for the Turks and Huns. Chinese records claimed that ancestors of Turks originally dwelled to the rightside [northside] of Xihai, i.e., West Sea. I believe I had very much explained the riddles in regards to Hunnic descendents, i.e., the Gao-che people (including Yuanhe clan), Tiele Tribes (including Huihe clan), the Ruruan (Rouran or Juan-juan) and the Turks. After a matter of few hundreds of years, it is no surprise to see the melting pot where the Turks and Tiele (Tara or Tole) had mixed up with each other. We mentioned earlier that Turks, iron slaves of Ruruans, had become a strong power after absorbing about 50,000 households of the Tiele Tribes (which included the later so-called 'Nine Family Names'). Reconciling all accounts of Turkic origins, Historian Luu Simian cited Mongol Yuan Dynasty's writing to state that the westernmost Turkic tribe, Ke-sa [Gesa] Tribe, dwelled to the right side of the West Sea. Luu Simian did cite Western and Eastern Turks' common practice of paying pilgrimage to the wolf cave in Altai Mountain, to the northwest of today's Urumqi, as evidence that early Turks fled there and then worked as iron miners. While equating Turks to the Ashina surname, Luu Simian pointed out that the "Nine Names" must have more affinity with Ashina Turks than to the Huihe [Urghur] Tribe. Turks inevitably split into two groups in the east and west as had happened with their Hunnic predecessors. Western Turkic Khanate would be dispersed by the Tang's westward expansion in 651 AD. In AD 681, a Western Turkic Khan by the name of Ashina Duozhi, together with Tibetans, attacked Tang's Anxi Protector General (Marshal Presidio) Office. Note that the Western Turks possessed another alias, i.e., Ten Family Names. The Turks, in the west [Central Asia], appeared to be termed "Ten Names" still, as evidenced by Tibetan's attempt to divide the "Ten Name Turks" into two halves with Tang Chinese. In the east, Ashina Turks had appeared to be in antagonism against both "Nine Names" and Huihe [i.e., one cluster of the Tiele Tribe]. "Nine Names", according to Tang Shu, would include Yaoluoge, Huduoge, Jueluowu, Gexiqi, Awujue, Gesa, Yaowuge and Xiyewu etc. Eastern Turkic Khanate was broken by Tang Dynasty in AD 630 as a result of its internal strife as well as Tiele rebellions. Khan Muchuo's Orchon Turks had fought the Nine Family Name People of Tiele Tribes frequently. Khan Muchuo died in the hands of the Bayegu clan of the Tiele Tribes when his rear column was ambushed. On basis of Chinese records, we could tell that Ashina Turks were acting more as a noble or royal line which played the role of a political entity unifying various Turkic speaking tribes. http://sophistikatedkids.com/turkic/13%20Oguz%20and%20Ogur/OguzesEn.htm had a good exploration into the issues of OGUZ & OGUR, and it claimed: 1) that Uch-Oguzes would be "3 Oguz" or Karluks; 2) that the word Turk was a "political name"; 3) that "in the documents of the period of rule Tang (after 618, annual chronicles Tang-Sy and Kiu Tand Shu with four different translations), the Nine Tribes, called in the inscriptions 'Nine Oguzes', sometimes 'Nine Türkic Tribes (Kok-Türks)' are mentioned as 'Türks of Nine Tribes (Kok -Türks)', and sometimes as 'Nine Toles Tribes', Nine Toles Oguzes means the same, as Nine Kok-Türk Oguzes. The roots of Kok-Türks are The Oguz tribes"; 4) that "in 630, in the area of the rivers Tolga and Selenga, Oguzes jointed into a union, creating a Nine-Oguzes Khanate. Oguzes, defeated by Ilterish in 682 (in the war on the Cow lake) were in this status. Later, at tomb of Ilterish-Khagan, was installed the monument (balbal) to Baz - Khagan, the ruler of the Oguz state, who died in this battle ... 682 Concerned with Kutlug progress, Oguzes, living on coast of Selenga, made an attempt of cooperation with Chinese and Kitans ... 682 The attack, initiated on the advice of Tonyukuk, on a coast of the Cow lake, was successful and has removed the Oguz threat ... In 6-9 centuries Oguzes lived in the area of the river Selenga ... 691 In the beginning of the Uigur Khanaate the Uigur leader, Moen-Chur, still being a 'Tegin', was in the head of the Oguzes. A bit later the Oguzes rose against the Uigur Khanaate. This time they were a part of the Eight Oguzes. In Burgu and on the bank of Selenga Moen-Chur subjugated Oguzes, who joined with Otuz-Tatars, 'Thirty Tatars'. Oguzes, crossing Selenga, retreated. After that there is no sufficient information on the destiny of Oguzes in their native land. Certainly they resettled to the west in mass ... 716 Revolt of Nine Oguzes and death of Qapagan Khagan"; 5) that "in 775 the Oguzes came to the vicinity of Maverannahr, according to Ibnul-Esir who dated this event to the times of the Caliph el-Mekhdi (775-785)... The members of the Oguz tribal union relocated in great numbers from the Orkhon area to the vicinity of Talas, and then to Syr Darya. The Oguz dialect separated from the Eastern Türkic dialect ... before the 9-th century, and by the 11-th century the Oguz language of Syr Darya differs from Eastern Türkic language in the lexicon and pronunciation". The relationship between Turks and Tiele Tribes would be essential to untangling the riddles of Turks. The confusion appeared to be to the east, only. The Turks, after absorbing about 50,000 households of the Tiele Tribes, had certainly become a unifying force among Turkic speaking tribes. The Tiele Tribes frequently rebelled against the Turks. Turks had at one time invited major chieftans of the Xueyantuo clan and killed them all. The Bayegu clan of the Tiele Tribes had certainly been responsible for killing Khan Muchuo of Orchon Turks, i.e., Eastern Turks or Blue Turks. (Chinese records did not mention the word 'blue'. Blue meant for the direction of the east; however, one saying would be to claim that 'blue' came from the word 'Gok' which meant for the blue skies as exemplified by Turkic word 'tengri' or Chinese word 'tian'.) On basis of Chinese records, after the demise of Ashina Turks in the east, i.e., the demise of Khan Muchuo of Orchon Turks, Chinese court frequently received the delegations composed of i) Huihe and ii) "Nine Names". Tang Shu claimed that prime minister Dunmuohegan, after failing to persuade Huihe Khan Mouyu into invading Tang China, would killed the Huihe Khan, the khan's family and the families of "Nine Names". Hence, the delegation of Huihe and "Nine Names" stayed on in Tang China's capital. Conclusion is that Turks had mixed up with Tiele Tribes in the east but retained the "Ten Family Names" structure in Central Asia till Tibetan invasion. Ogur was known as Oguz in the east. Oguz and/or Ogur will be another tricky matter. My interpretation would be to treat the Oguz and/or Ogur as the successors of the Turkic Khantes. Should we pursue the restrictive definition of the Turks above, then we could tell that among the Turkic-speaking tribes, the Tiele Tribes had a majority over the royal line of Ashina Turks and their immediate tribesmen. Chinese records stated that around AD 740s, Eastern Khnanate Turks, aka Orkhon Turks under Khan Muchuo (Mo-ch'o), were defeated by the Huihe [Uygurs] and Karlaks. After this defeat, Chinese history said the Eastern Turks were still paying pilgrimage to Tang Dynasty regularly. But the remaining Orkhon Turks were not heard from after China's Five Dynasties time period, and the Turks must have lost their distinct identity by then. A good approach to untangling the riddle here would be to analyze the political structures of Turks versus Tiele Tribes. I will take the title of 'sijin' (tegin?), equivalent to governor, as a good entry. "New History Of Tang Dynasty" said Khitans possessed eight tribes and they were subject to the Turks. The Khitan chieftan was conferred the title of 'Sijin' by the Turks. Similarly, major clans of the Tiele Tribes all enjoyed the title of 'sijin'. In this way, Turks treated the Tiele Tribes the same way as they did to the Khitans. The relationship of a vassalage is clear: Tiele Tribes, like Khitans, were the vassals of the Turks, not the equals. Turks/Uygurs vs Sui & Tang Chinese By the time Sui Dynasty (AD 581-618) destroyed Northern Zhou (AD 557-581), Turks, at the request of the 4-marriage-queen (previously princess of Northern Zhou), sought revenge by attacking Sui. Northern Zhou was a puppet of the Turks and inter-marriage between Turks and Northern Zhou was the way of maintaining peace between the two. Sui Emperor Yang Chien (Yang Jian), grandfather-in-law of Northern Zhou emperor, usurped the power by dethroning the young emperor. Split Of Eastern Khanate and Western Khanate : Yang Chien played the strategy of sowing dissension among the Turks, the son and the nephew of ex-Turkic khan. In AD 582, the Turkic Khaganate split into Eastern Khanate and Western Khanate. The son of ex-Turkic khan would set up the Western Turkic Khanate, while the nephew's Eastern Khanate gave up the plan of revenge on Sui and sought peace with Sui. Nomadic ways of succession, usually younger brother taking over the khanate from the elder brother, and occasional requittal by the younger brother in giving the khanate back to the son of his elder brother, had constantly caused internal strife in their history. This is in addition to the nomadic way of younger brother taking over all wife and concubines of the father or elder brother at the time of succession. After defeating the Turks via the above-mentioned 'dissension strategy', Sui pacified by promising continuous "intermarriage" with the eastern Turks. There was an attack on Sui capital Chang'an in AD 601 by Western Turkic Khan Tardu, according to Turkic accounts, before Emperor Yangdi succeeded Emperor Wendi in AD 604. Records show Tardu was one of at least three or four rivaling Turkic khans of the time and his attack on Sui aborted before any impact was felt, and he would die of internal fights within the next few years. The Turks had internal fights again and their khanate again collapsed in AD 603. The eastern khan, Shabolüe, adopted the same custom by giving his khanate to his younger brother (Muohe). Muohe's son, Ruangan, was forced into refuge inside of Sui by the son of the ex-khan Shabolüe. Ruangan, given the title "Qimin Khan" by Sui's emperor, married with Princess Anyi and, after the death of Princess Anyi, he married with Princess Yicheng (who would also remarry 3 more times with successor Turk khans later). Qimin Khan returned to Eastern Khanate after the death of his cousin. At one time, Sui Emperor Yangdi travelled northward to the tent of Qimin Khan where he encountered the emissary from Koguryo (one of Korea's three kingdoms) and relayed the message of imperial bestowals should Koguryo pay tributes to Sui. (It was said the Korean emissary was in Turk territory seeking an alliance against Sui China, but unexpectedly having an encounter with Sui emperor.) Emperor Yangdi also sent an emissary to the Western Turk Khanate to relay a similar message and obtained the aid of the western khan in attacking the Tuyuhun who were unhappy about Sui's replacing the Tuyuhun wife of the Eastern Turk Khan with a Sui princess. Sui Dynasty set up 4 new prefectures in the territories in and around the eastern khanate, namely, Xihai (west sea or Qinhaihu Lake), Heyuan (origin of Yellow River), Shanshan (Loulan) and Qiemuo. TANG DYNASTY: When Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) founder Li Yuan rebelled against Sui, he, in exchange for two thousand horses and five hundred Turk cavalry, would collude with the Turks by promising the Turks all the gold and women in the Sui capital. (Hundred years later, Tang emperor would request again for aid from the Uygur Turks in quelling internal rebellion, i.e., An-Shi Rebellion). While Sui's founder Yang Chien (Jian) was said to be the descendant of a Han Dynasty official called Yang Zheng, Tang's founder Li Yuan was said to be the 7th granson of the emperor of Western Liang (AD 400-421), one of the few Chinese nations among the nomadic "Sixteen Nations" preceding the North-South Dynasties (AD 386-589). Both were said to be semi-Toba because they married Toba's Dugu women. They were relatives. Li Yuan's wife was the sister of Sui Dynasty's Empress Dugu. Li was conferred the title of Duke Tang, and the name 'Tang' would become his dynastic name. (The double character name Dugu means 'lonely' and 'orphaned', literally, and was a Toba tribal name, just like Murong and Yuwen. This kind of double character name would become a kind of fashion with Japanese surnames.) When Tang Dynasty's founder, Li Yuan, rebelled against Sui Dynasty, he would sent his minister (Liu Wenjing) to the Eastern Turks (ruled by Khan Shibi) for borrowing 2000 horses and 500 cavalry. Li Yuan, not proclaiming himself emperor at the beginning, used Yang You (the grandson of Sui emperor) as a puppet. There were a dozen rebel leaders as a result of the dethronement of Sui Dynasty. At this time, Khan Shibi subjugated Tuyuhun in Gansu-Qinghai, Gaochang near Turpan, Khitans and Shiwei in northwestern Manchuria and eastern Mongolia. Many Sui Chinese fled to the Turks for seeking asylum. Khan Shibi assisted Li Yuan's rivals, such as Liu Wuzhou & Liang Shidu, in fighting for gaining supremacy in China. After the death of Khan Shibi, his brother, Chuluo Khan (same name as Chuluo Khan during Sui Dynasty time period), would be enthroned. Chuluo Khan assisted another Tang rival, Wang Shichong. Later, Dou Jiande was asked to send ex-empress of Sui to the Turks by Princess Yicheng who was already remarried three times to Turkic khans at the time. Chuluo Khan retrieved ex-Sui Empress Xiaohou and ex-Sui royal family from a Tang rival called Dou Jiande. Dou previously seized Sui Empress Xiaohou from Sui general Yuwen Huaji. (Yuwen Huaji, during the coup, killed Sui Emperor Yangdi in Yangzhou on the Yangtse River). Chuluo Khan erected a Sui royal member as the new Sui King. Chuluo Khan was determined to fight Tang Dynasty on behalf of dethroned Sui Dynasty, saying that he wanted to return favor to Sui descendants for Sui Dynasty's helping his ancestors in the restoration of the khan regency. Later, Chuluo Khan died and his brother, Khan Xieli, would be enthroned. A Chinese called called Zhao Deyan was hired as a counsellor by Khan Xieli. Eastern Khnanate, Koreans & Khitans : Tang's emperor Taizong, son of Li Yuan, would quell all rivals including Dou Jiande and Wang Shichong etc. One rival at the border was aided by the eastern Turks; hence, Tang sought wars with the Turks in lieu of the old alliance with them. Khan Xieli was disuaded from an alliance with another Tang rival called Xue Ju. Khan Xieli would erect his cousin, i.e., Shibi Khan's son, as Khan Tuli (same name as Tuli during Sui Dynasty time period). Tuli was sent to the east, and Tuli would take charge of the ancient tribes of Khitans and Mojie (ancestors of Jurchens) people. Khan Xieli would take over Princess Yicheng as his wife. Khan Tuli was married with Princess Huan'nan of Sui Dynasty. Princess Yicheng's brother (Yang Sanjing) and Wang Shichong's emissary would somehow pursuade Khan Xieli into challenging Tang Dynasty on behalf of dethroned Sui Dynasty. In AD 621, Khan Xieli invaded Yanmenguan Pass and Dai Prefecture. For several years, Tang and Turks fought numerous battles across the northern border areas. By the 7th year of Tang Emperor Gaozu, in AD 626, King Qin of Tang Dynasty (i.e., Li Shimin, later Tang Emperor Taizong) would sow a dissension among Xieli Khan and Tuli Khan. Unable to call upon Tuli to fight Tang further, Xieli Khan sent Tuli Khan and Simo to Tang for sake of a peace treaty with Tang. Tuli Khan and King Qin promised to be brothers, while Tang Emperor Gaozu said to Simo that he felt he had seen Khan Xieli by meeting with Simo. In the following two years, Tang was busy building ships around the North Bend of the Yellow River for defence against Turks, while Turks broke the peace and kept attacking Tang. In AD 627, Tang Emperor Taizong got enthroned after killing two brothers and forcing Emperor Gaozu into abdication. This is called 'Xuanwumen Coup' in Tang history. Just twenty days after Taizong got enthroned, Eastern Turkic Khan Xieli attacked Tang, and his soldiers reached the Wei River, just a dozen miles away from the Tang capital. Emperor Taizong (T'ai-tsong) sought peace with eastern Turks. In the same year, AD 627, Tiele Tribes, including Xueyantuo, Huihe and Bayegu, rebelled against the Turks. Khan Xieli accused Khan Tuli of failing to quell the Tiele rebellion. Being attacked by Khan Xieli, Khan Tuli requested for help with Tang Emperor Taizong in AD 628. The next year, Xueyantuo tribe proclaimed themselves as a khan and sought allianace with Tang Dynasty. Other Tiele Tribes, like Bayegu, Tongluo and Pugu, also paid pilgrimage to Tang. Eastern Khanate experienced a famine and internal revolts broke out. Khan Xieli (grandson of Qimin Khan) was dissatisfied with Tuli's performance in quelling rebellion, and had a quarrel with Tuli. Khan Xieli arrested Tuli and did not release Tuli for a long time. Later, Tuli surrendered to Tang. Taizong said that his father (Emperor Gaozu) had sought help and vasslage with the Turks because Tang was weak earlier after emerging from a rebellion against Sui Dynasty. In the fourth year of Taizong' reign, AD 630, Tang ordered General Li Jing on a full campaign against Khan Xieli with six columns of armies, and captured Khan Xieli by taking advantage of Turk strife. General Li Jing led 3000 cavalry into the Turk camp and defeated Khan Xieli's army via a surprise strategy, and then led 10,000 soldiers all the way to Yinshan Mountains (located in today's Inner Mongolia) in pursuit of Khan Xieli. A Turkic chieftan called Kang Sumi surrendered with Sui Empress Xiaohou and Sui descendant (Yang Zhengdao). General Li Jing retrieved ex-empress of Sui and gave her to emperor Taizong who later took in as his mistress, and General Li Jing killed princess Yicheng for her 4-time-marriage without knowing 'shame'. Khan Xieli, after being defeated again, sought peace with Tang. Li Jing, thinking that Turks might not be on alert while Tang emissary was in their camp, attacked Khan Xieli again. Xieli alone fled to another chieftan called Shabolue-she, but he was arrested and surrendered to Tang army by his own cousin. Hence, the Chinese occupied Mongolia (Eastern Turkic Khanate). Remnant eastern Turks either fled to Western Khanate or northward to the Tiele Tribe of Xueyantuo (Mandarin spelling, Turkic name unknown). Emperor Taizong, rebutting the advice of his minister Wei Zheng (who cited the Hunnic ravaging of China during the late Jin Dynasty as a result of their dwelling south of the Yellow River, Hatao area), relocated over 100,000 eastern Turks to the border areas, all the way from Shaanxi-Shanxi to today's Beijing city. Taizong did accept the advice of Yan Shigu, Du Chuke and Li Baiyao in having the Turks settle down north of the Yellow River. Taizong set up four more prefectures, Shunzhou, Youzhou, Huazhou Changzhou along the Great Wall, and made Khan Tuli governor-general in charge of Shunzhou Prefecture. Tuli Khan was conferred the title of King of Beipingjun. Tuli died at the age of 29, and his son, Heluohu, succeeded with the same title. Taizong subdivided the Eastern Khanate into altogether 10 "zhou" (an administartive unit larger than prefectures). He also allowed Khan Xieli and his officials to live in Chang'an the Tang capital, and altogether close to 10,000 Turk families moved in. A Turkic chieftan called Sijie-sijin surrendered to Tang with 40,000 people. (Sijin, a title having origin in Xianbei and Ruruan eras, was a Turkic title equivalent to governorship. Among ten Turkic families, for example, Nushibi khan possesseed five sijin. Turks also conferred sijin post on Tiele Tribes and the Khitans.) One brother of Khan Xieli, who first fled to Tuyuhun, came to submit to Tang, too. The Turkic chieftan at Yiwu surrendered his 7 cities to Tang, and Tang made it into Western Yizhou Prefecture. Shabolue-she, with 50,000 people, was conferred the title of King Huaide and Shabolue-she relocated to north of Ningzhou Prefecture by vacating the land south of the desert. Tang Emperor further exchanged money and silk for 80,000 Sui Chinese who fled to Turkic chieftans for asylum during China's civil war turmoil time period. Tang allowed those Chinese to come back to China as civilians. Khan Xieli, unhappy while living in Chang'an, declined Taizong's offer to have him relocate to another place where he could go for hunting, and Khan Xieli died in AD 634. Taizong gave him the title of King Guiyi posthumously. One of Khan Xieli's ministers committed suicide when Xieli died. One more Turkic minister, Sunishi (Khan Qimin's brother), also committed suicide. Xieli's son was commented to be a filial son by Emperor Taizong for his refusal to eat bestowed meat because his birth mother did not get the allocation. During the attacks on the Xueyantuo, Emperor Taizong won over the support of eleven Tiele tribes including the Uygurs (Huihe), Bayegu, Tongluo and Pugu. The Uygurs ranked second to Xueyantuo tribe among the eleven tribes who had helped Tang in defeating Eastern Turkic Khanate in AD 630-640. Tiele tribes proposed that Tang Emperor Taizong be the khan in Sept of AD 646. Under the sponsorship of the Uygurs, the tribal leaders devised a name called "Tian Ke-han" (Heavenly Khan) for Emperor Taizong. In Jan of AD 647, Tiele territories were made into prefectures and counties. In June, money was paid out to buy back CHiese stranded in Tiele territories. Tang's General Li Jing (a military strategist who once fled with a mistress of Sui prime minister while being invited as a guest at the home of Sui prime minister) was later sent on another expedition to Qinhai-Gansu and Tarim Basin to quell rebellion of the Tuyuhun, a group of Qiangic people mixed with the Xianbei nomads. Tang married princess over to Tuyuhun king to pacify them. With the help of the Uygurs and other Tiele Tribes, Tang Chinese subdued the Tarim Basin in 630-40. During this time, AD 629-645, famous Tang Monk Xuan-zang [i.e., Chen Hui] travelled to India and returned to Chang'an in 16 years, passing dozens of countries and nomadic tribal states in between, which include the so-called Gaochang State (near east of today's Turpan) where he was received by king Qu Wentai. Xuan-zang's travellogue had good descriptions of the White Huns. Xuan-zang mentioned an interesting thing about 300 Chinese households [captives of Turks] dwelling in a small town to the south of Talas city. In year AD 640, Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo, learning of Tuyuhun's intermarriage with Tang, initiated a war against Tang and requested intermarriage with Tang princess. Tibetan Prime Minister Ludongzan was sent to Chang'an and passed imperial inquiries and tests. Princess Wencheng arrived in Tibet one year later. King of Gaochang State, Qu Wentai, colluded with Western Turkic Khanate in subjugating small tribal states in today's Xinjjiang (New Dominion) area and rebelled against Tang. In AD 639, with the help of Xueyantuo or Sheyanto tribe (one component of the Tiele Tribes), Tang army of 100,000 travelled 7,000 li distance to fight Gaochang State, scaring Qu Wentai to death. Qu Wentai's son surrenderred after learning that the relief army of Western Khanate Turks had fled home half way. Emperor Taizong renamed Gaochang to Xizhou, and made it the locality for the governor-general office in charge of Yutian, Suiye, Shule and Chouci. (Later, Xizhou or Anxi Protector_General or Marshal Presidio Office was relocated to Chouci in AD 659.) In AD 702, Tang would set up Beiting 'Protector_General (Marshal Presidio)' office in Tingwai or Tingzhou (present-day Jimsar), a place located to the east of Suiye (Tokmok), to the south of Xizhou (Turpan), and to the west of Yizhou (Hami). By AD 648, Tang subdued the remnants of eastern Turks north of the Gobi. Meantime, Tang defeated the Khitans in Manchuria, and controlled central and eastern Mongolia, thus stretching 9,510 li east to west and 10,918 li south to north in its territories. The Xueyantuo tribe, differentiated in Chinese chronicle as a separate tribe from the Uygur tribe, was in charge of north Mongolia. Non-Chinese historical accounts, including US Library of Congress website, however, stated that the Uygur vassal controlled west and north Mongolia, from Lake Alltaid to Lake Balkash. The Uygurs would gain control of north Mongolia at a later time. Tuli Khan's son, Heluohu, was targeted by his Turkic tribesmen for abduction back to the Turkic land. They fled to north of China and disturbed the border areas. Taizong defeated the rebellion and exiled Heluohu to southern China. Emperor Taizong decided to send Simo (the cousin? of ex-khan Xieli) back to the land of Eastern Khanate as a ruler, thus making Simo into a rival of the Tiele Tribe (Xueyantuo). Xueyantuo tribe, an ex-ally, now rebelled against Tang for Tang's dispatchment of Simo. Simo was commented to have looked like a 'Hu' versus the Turkic Ah'shina family. Hence, he was previously not employed for high posts. He once served as a khan north of the desert when Khan Qimin fled to Sui Dynasty. When Qimin returned, Simo relinquished the khan title. Simo was frequently sent to Tang as a peace emissary. Simo was caught together with Khan Xieli. Simo was conferred the title of King Hedejun and governor-general of Huazhou Prefecture. Hearing that Simo led the Turks (100 thousand people, 40 thousand army and 90 thousand horses) in crossing the Yellow River in AD 641, the Xueyantuo Tribe tried to fight the Turks. Xueyantuo wrote to Tang saying that the Turks did not know to keep promise and peace. Tang said to Xueyantuo that Turks would control south of the desert while Xueyantuo was to control north of the desert. Three years later, Simo, unable to harness his people, returned to Tang court, later followed Taizong in the Korean campaign (on which occasion Taizong sucked the blood from the arrow wound that Simo suffered), and later died in the Tang capital. Simo's Youxianwang (rightside virtuous king), son of the late Sunishi, would have tears everytime Tang emissary arrived at north of the desert, and he would be allowed to return to Tang court. Some of Simo's people relocated south of the Yellow River and settled in Shengzhou and Xiazhou Prefectures. Replacing Simo would be the Turkic Khan called Chebi. Chebi at first fled to Xueyantuo. When being threatened by Xueyantuo, he fled from Xueyantuo. Xueyantuo chased him all the way westward. Chebi would soom amass 30 thousand people and he would assert control over Karlaks in the west and Qigu in the north. Chebi often harassed Xueyantuo tribe thereafter. I haven't verified the unit "li" as used in Tang Dynasty. http://www.os.xaxon.ne.jp/~sinkodai/efuruta/esss.html stated that 'San-kuo-shih or Three Country Record does not use the distance unit of"li" to be 435 meters as used during the Chin or Han dynasty Period. but rather it uses the unit adopted by the Wei and Western Chin dynasties, which is that one "li" is approxinately 77 meters.' In late 630-40s, Tang intervened in the civil wars of Korea. Back in the autumn of AD 633, Silla sent an emissary in request of Chinese help in attacking Koguryo which was allied with Paekche. Tang China, with the lesson of Sui Dynasty's two time failures against Koguryo, had conferred the title of King Liaodong-jun-wang onto Koguryo King Gao Jianwu. Paekche King Fuyu Zhang was conferred King Daifang-jun, and Silla King Zhenping the title of King Lelang. After the death of Zhenping, a daughter by the name of Shande was enthroned. In Koguryo, minister Quan Gaisuwen personally killed King Gao Jianwu inside the palace, slaughtered the ministers who had schemed with the king in subduing him, and then selected Gao Zang [the son of Gao Jianwu's brother] as the new king. After that, Gaisuwen allied with Paekche to attach Silla. Gaisuwen declined Chinese emissary who was sent to Koguryo to disuade the war. At Luoyang, in Feb of AD 645, Tang Emperor Taizong ordered a campaign against Liaodong [east of Liao River] by ordered Zhang Jian of Yingzhou Prefecture to mobilize the army of Youzhou & Yingzhou as well as the nomadic tribes like Khitans, Xi & Mohe. In Hongzhou, Raozhou & Jiangzhou, 400 ships were being built. Hearing of China's war preparations, Koguryo sent over precious platinum; however, Taizong ordered the arrest of the Koguryo emissary. Before Taizong's departing with crown prince, Xueyantuo emissary came to China. Taizong relayed a message, stating that should Xueyantuo Khan Zhenzhu intend to attack China, he was at will to do so by taking advantage of the Chinese campaign against Korean peninsula. Zhang Liang & Li Shiji were ordered on a campaign against Koguryo via sea and land. The first campaign ended when the winter came. A few months later, in the summer of AD 646, Koguryo King Gao Zang & Quan Gaisuwen dispatched emissary for pardon, and surrendered two beauties. Emperor Taizong put aside the Korea matter when Xueyantuo Tribe repeatedly raided Chinese border. The elder son of the khan of Xueyantuo, i.e., Bazhuo, took advantage of emperor Taizong's first Korean expedition in attacking Tang south of the Yellow River. After the death of Khan Zhenzhu, elder son chased to kill younger brother Yemang when Yemang was on the road of fleeing back to the eastern territory after the funeral. Bazhuo, claiming to be Khan Xieli-juli-xiasha-duomi, was defeated by Tang Dynasty's nomadic general Zhishisili in Dec of AD 645. In Jan of AD 646, Qiao Wang of Xiao-zhou defeated Xueyantuo. After the defeat, Bazhuo turned around to attack Xiazhou on the western bend of the Yellow River. In June of AD 646, Taizong dispatched King Jiangxia-wang and Zhishisili against Bazhuo. Bazhuo fled after a defeat. At this moment, tribes of the Huihe (Uygur), who were appointed to the Hanhai prefecture, came to the aid of Tang and attacked Xueyantuo tribe together with Tang army consisting of several columns of various nomads from Liang and Dai prefectures. Allied armies included those under King Jiangxia-wang, Ashina She'er, Zhishisili, Qibi Heli, Xue Wanche, and Zhang Jian. The Uygurs helped Tang army in successfully quelling the rebellion of Xueyantuo. Tribes of the Uygur killed the khan of Xueyantuo tribe and hence controlled north Mongolia where Xueyantuo once held. 70,000 households of Xueyantuo tribe fled to the west, and supported Duomozhi [son of Zhenzhu's brother] as the new khan. Huihe chieftan Tumidu, however, refused to allow Tang China's emissary Cui Dunli to pacify Duomozhi. Li Shiji followed through with an expedition against Duomozhi, arrested Duomozhi for delivery to Tang court, and pacified 30,000 Xueyantuo tribesmen. Taizong personally went to Lingzhou, on the west bend of the Yellow River, and issued pacification order to the remnants of 15 Tiele tribes. To the north of the Desert, Xue Wanche & King Jiangxia-wang Dao Zong chased Xueyantuo remnants for 200 li distance, and then called upon Huihe tribe to seek vassalage with Tang court. At Jingyang, 11 Tiele tribal chieftans came to pay respect. Emperor Taizong re-zoned the northwestern territories into six fu (prefecture or province) and seven zhou (prefecture). After the north was settled, in AD 639 Tang Emperor Taizong attacked the Chouci State in the west, which wavered in its loyalty between Tang Dynasty and the Western Khanate. In AD 641-648, Tang defeated Western Khante and controlled today's New Dominion Province and areas west of the Pamir Mountains. However, in the north, there arose, after the defeat of the Xueyantuo, a remnant eastern Turkic khan. In AD 649, Emperor Taizong, again with help from Uygurs, campaigned against the north. In the same year, Emperor Taizong (T'ai-tsong) died. Altogether images of 14 khans had been inscribed on the stones and stood beside Taizong's tomb after one khan's request to be funerary object buried alive was rejected by succeeding emperor, Gaozong. After Taizong's death, General Gao Kan, under Emperor Gaozong, would soon capture the last remnant eastern khan and the Eastern Khanate was put to rest for the time being. Eastern and Western Turks would rebell against Tang several times thereafter. For almost a hundred years, the Huihe [Uygurs] would assert control over north Mongolia in competition with the remaining Turks who re-established Eastern Khanate in AD 682/683 in Mongolia. Tang's civil minister Fei Xingjian would be responsible for quelling the Eastern Turkic rebellion in AD 680 and in AD 681 via strategies like 'hiding soldiers inside the grain carts' and 'offering 10,000 liang (a unit of weight similar to ounce) gold for the head of the khan'. Fei, earlier, escorted Persian Prince on his way Persia and captured the western Turkic khan who sought suzerainty from the Tibetans. Persian Prince, however, was afraid of going further to Persia. He stayed around Suiye, failed to organize any army, and then returned to Chang'an where he spent the rest of his life. Remnant Western Turks, under Tibetan suzerainty, would set up Turkic Khanate in the Tarim Basin in AD 691, to be defeated in AD 692 by Governor-General Tang Xiujing of Xizhou prefecture who re-took the four cities of Chouci (Kuqa), Yutian (Hotan), Shule (Kashi) and Suiye (today's Tokmok in Kyrgyzstan). The eastern Turks would ally with the Khitans in attacking Tang. Khitans were given royal family name of Li by Emperor Taizong in early times and once followed Taizong in his Korean campaigns. Khitans first rebelled against Tang in AD 656-661 and again in AD 696. The eastern Turks (namely, Orkhon Turks) would ally with the Khitans in attacking Tang. Certainly, the Turks and Khitans were adversaries as well. Orchon Turks, under Khan Muchuo, would attack the Khitans as well. Tang mobilized an army of hundreds of thousands and defeated the Khitans. Hence, the Khitans fled to the Turks for protection. The Eastern Turks obtained in AD 697 from Empress Wu Zetian the old Turkic territories of six Tang prefectures, Pingzhou, Shenzhou, Lingzhou, Xiazhou, Suozhou and Dai (Daizhou), and moreover, sought for his daughter the marriage with Chinese royal family. When Empress Wu Zetian sent her family's prince to the Turks, Khan Muchuo got angry after learning that his duaghter was not to marry the Tang royal family of Li. Khan Muchuo held Prince Wu as a hostage and campaigned against Wu Zetian on behalf of Tang's emperors (two Li emperors, both Wu's sons, who were deprived of rights and placed in palace arrest). Khan Muchuo killed 80-90 thousand people in two prefectures of Dingzhou and Zhaozhou and retreated. In AD 700, two Tang nomadic generals defeated the Khitans again. In AD 712, Khitans submitted to Tang and was conferred King of Songmuo Prefecture. Heads of eight Khitan tribes were conferred general posts as well. A Tang royal family princess, Princess Yongle, was sent to Khitan khan as wife. The Turks and the Tang Chinese had seesaw warfare, till dethroned Emperor Zhongzong got restored in AD 705. Emperor Xuanzong, in AD 714, defeated the Eastern Turkic Khan Muchuo and won over the defection of Muchuo's brother-in-law. However, the glorious days under Emperor Taizong were gone. Orhkon Turks: History said the Tang Chinese conspired to have the Huihe [Uygurs] and Karlaks attack the Orkhon Turks (i.e., Eastern Turks) under Khan Muchuo (Mo-ch'o). To check the Orkhon Turks, Tang Chinese also allied with the Western Turks called Turgesh who were situated in today's Ili, the land between the Arabs and the Chinese, from AD 716 to AD 733. After Khan Mochuo was killed by Turkic tribesmen, the Orkhon Turks came to term with Chinese, and their successors were said to have erected two stone monuments cursing the Chinese for the treachery and their tribesmen for betrayal. The Orkhon Khante would end in the hands of the Huihe [Uygurs] and the Karluks. Though defeated, Chinese history said the Eastern Turks were still paying pilgrimage to Tang Dynasty regularly. The remaining Orkhon Turks were not heard from after China's Five Dynasties. The Uygur tribes had reblled with the Eastern Turks against Tang, but also fighted the Turks. In AD 661-663. Huihe [Uygurs] and other Turkic tribes rebelled against Tang, but was quelled by General Heli (of nomadic background) and General Xue Rengui. Xue did a barbaric thing by burying tens of thousands of Huihe [Uygurs] in a valley though the Huihe had surrendered earlier. (General Xue is another Tang general famous for "Three Arrows Quelling Tianshan Mountains" and "Eastern Expeditions Against Korea".) General Xue would later die in Daizhou prefecture, while on his way to quelling the rebellion of Eastern Turks who were earlier quelled by Tang Dynasty's Fei Xingjian in AD 680 and in AD 681. Turgesh Turks rebelled against Chinese in AD 739 and were defeated. In AD 741, General Kao Hsien-chih (Gao Xianzhi) led the troops into Turkistan. (Gao Xianzhi was spelled Kao-hsien-chih or Ko Son-ji in Korean. Gao was the son of Korguryo General Ko Sagye who was captured by Tang army and then served Tang Dynasty.) In AD 744/45, Huihe [Uygurs] defeated the Turks in Mongolia and established the first Uygur Empire and made the city of Karabalgasun on the banks of the Orkhun River as its capital. In AD 747, General Kao defeated the Tibetans near Gilgit in the Hindu Kush mountains and checked the expansion of the Arabs over the passes of the Pamirs to the upper valley of the Amu-darya. (http://pears2.lib.ohio-state.edu/FULLTEXT/JR-ENG/aurel.htm has a good article about Gao's expedition at Gilgit Pass, entitled "A CHINESE EXPEDITION ACROSS THE PAMIRS AND HINDUKUSH, A.D.747.", BY SIR AUREL STEIN, K.C.I.E. It compared Gao'a accomplishment to Hannibal's expedition across the Alps with North Africa elephants.) In AD 747-749, General Kao also defeated the Karluks who had replaced the Turgesh Turks as a power in the area. In AD 748, the Chinese invaded the Ferghana Valley where Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan converge. (Turkmenistan is to the west of the Ferghana Valley). In AD 750, General Kao's crushing of the Tashkent Kingdom led to a Turkic rebellion. In AD 751, Tang Chinese army of 30 thousand, led by general Kao-hsien-chih (governor-general of the four cities of Chouci-Yutian-Shule-Suiye), were invited by locals to counter Arab invasion. But the Karluks defected to the Arabs. Kao's army were defeated by the alliance of the Arabs and the Karluks. Hence the Karluks controlled today's western China while the Huihe [Uygurs] controlled Mongolia and the Gobi. Among the prisoners of war, quite a few Chinese possessed special skills, like weaving expert Le Yu. They were relocated to the Arab Peninsula where they relayed the paper technology. One young man, by the name of Du Huan, had later visited North Africa, he later returned to Tang China, and he wrote a book called Jing Xing Ji, i.e., Records Of Passing Through. Du Huan's uncle, Historian Du You, included a section of the travelogue in the encyclopedia 'Tong Dian'. http://cy.revues.org/document33.html has a description of the activities by Du Huan in Arab Peninsula and Africa. The Khitans would continue its developments in power, and by middle of AD 750s, they defeated the Tang army led by An Lushan. An Lushan earlier had led an army of hundreds of thousands and tried to quell Khitan rebellion with a Xi nomad guide. Tang nomadic general An Lushan's rebellion (An-Shi rebellion) broke out in Oct, AD 755. This will bring about Tang's decline. Khitans later submitted to Huihe [Uygurs]. It would be in AD 842 that Khitans came to submit to Tang again after the Huihe [Uygurs] were destroyed by the Kirghiz. Governor-general of Youzhou, Zhang Zhongwu, would replace Khitan's Uygur seal with Tang seal. In AD 860s, Khitans came to pay pilgrimages. With the demise of Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), Khitans began to conquer Xi nomads and Shewei statelets. They began to raid into northern China again. Governor-general Liu Rengong counter-attacked them. Later, Liu Shouguang defeated them again, and peace ensued for 10 years. Western Khnanate, Persians, Indians & Tibetans : The khan of Western Khnanate had once followed Sui Emperor Yangdi's call in the Korean campaign. This same khan had come to see Tang's first emperor Gaozu, i.e., Li Yuan, but he was killed by his Turkic rivals for his obedience to Tang emperor when he returned to Western Khanate. After several rounds of internal killings, western Turks invited a royal family member of the Eastern Khanate to be their new khan. Western Khanate was divided into two parts, with northern court controlled by the new khan and sourthern court of Western Khanate controlled by the descendant of ex-khan of Western Khanate. The northern court later subdued the southern court. Western Turkic Khanate would be dispersed by the Tang's westward expansion in 651 AD. Thereafter, the Tibetans would compete with the Tang Chinese for the control of this area. In this area, there would exist large Turkic tribes like the Turgesh and the Karlaks (Qarluk). Previously, we had said that with the help of the Huihe [Uygurs], Tang Emperor Taizong quelled the rebellion of the Xueyantuo Turkic tribe in northern Mongolia and attacked the Qiuci [Chouci, i.e., today's Kuche or Kuqa] State in the west which wavered in its loyalty between Tang and the Western Khanate. During the period of AD 641-648, Tang defeated Western Khante and controlled today's New Dominion Province and areas west of the Pamir Mountains. In Western Khanate, one usurper proclaimed himself Khan Shaboluo and attacked Tang border post of Tingzhou prefecture. Emperor Gaozong sent an army of 30 thousand led by nomadic general He Li (who was cut off an ear previously by an eastern khan for refusing to surrender to Eastern Khanate) and called upon an Uygur army of 50 thousand in campaigning against Western Khanate. This first campaign ended prematurely when the palace struggles between Empress Wu Zetian and two other empressess erupted. Though Tang Emperor Gaozong took the rein from AD 649 to 683, Gaozong's wife, i.e., Empress Wu Zetian, had assumed actual power over Emperor Gaozong much earlier than AD 690 when she proclaimed herself 'emperor' (empress) of Wu Zhou Dynasty which lasted till AD 705. Wu Zetian later killed two of her 4 sons for solidifying control over Tang court and by AD 690, she killed dozens of royal family members of Li and ministers and generals, including Paekche (Korean) General Heichichang-zi. Years later, Yehu the son of ex-khan of Western Khanate invited Tang army to jointly attack the usurper khan Shaboluo. Tang sent governor-general Yuan Lichen of Fengzhou prefecture to the city of Suiye to help make Yehu into a khan. Tang General Su Dingfang, who would later in AD 662-666 cross the sea from Mount Chengshan to campaign in Korea and aid Shilla in defeating both Paekche/Koguryo & Japanese (whose 100 warships were burnt by General Liu Rengui during the campaign), led the Huihe [Uygurs] in attacking the usurper khan of Western Khanate from the north. General Su released two Western Khanate generals in an attempt to encircle the western khan. One of the two Western Khanate general killed Khan Yehu and became the new khan of the Western Khanate, and the other general was made into a khan by Tang Dynasty, too, maybe in an attempt to have the two new khans check on each other. Around AD 657, the Western Turks were thoroughly defeated. Altogether 10 family names of western Turks surrendered to Tang. Tang set up two extra "Protector-General (Marshal Presidio) Offices" in the territories of Western Khanate, including Marshal-Presidio Kunling. By AD 659, Tang Chinese forces subjugated Transoxiana (i.e., Western Turkic Khanate). Marshal-Presidio Kunling office would be in charge of about 9 kingdoms situated in and around Samarkand, Tashkent and Merv and 16 others in Kashmir, Afghanistan and Iran. Tang Chinese would retain the control of Oxus valley till the Arabs came along in AD 751, with interruptions of Turkic rebellion in between. In the old territories of Qiuci State, Emperor Gaozong released the son of ex-khan of Qiuci from the Tang capital. Emperor Gaozong relocated the Anxi Protector-General (Marshal Presidio) Office to Qiuci Statelet from Gaochang Statelet, making the Protector-General (Marshal Presidio) Office in charge of Qiuci (Kuqa), Yutian (Hotan), Shule (Kashi) and Suiye (today's Tokmok in Kyrgyzstan), and 16 other tribal states, altogether 80 fu and zhou [i.e., prefectures and magistrate offices]. The two new khans of Western Khanate would fight each other soon. Khan Buzhen slandered Khan Mishe by telling Marshal-Governor Su Haizhen that Khan Mishe would rebel against Tang Dynasty. Su Haizhen, fearing that his marshal-governor office did not have enough soldiers, decided to take initiative first. Su Haizhen cheated Khan Mishe into a party and killed him. Khan Mishe's people fled southwestward to Tibet. Soon Khan Buzhen died, and the 10 families of Western Khanate all went to Tibet to seek the suzerainty of the Tibetans. Tibetans were invited by the Turks in fighting the Tang Chinese. Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo, who obtained Princess Wencheng from Emperor Taizong, died in AD 650. At the time of Songtsen Gampo, i.e., AD 647, Tibetans had once helped Tang emissary [Wang Xuance] in attacking middle India (one of five Indian kingdoms of the time) when the Tang emissary was assaulted by the new Indian king. Alternative records stated that it was 7000 Nepalese cavalry, not Tibetan cavalry, that Wang Xuance had borrowed from Nepalese King A-mu-xiu-wa-e in the name of Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo. The story goes like this: Wang Xuance, who was first dispatched to India in AD 643 for escorting Indian emissary home, would visit King Xi-la-di-ti-ya of middle India [Zhong-tian-zu, i.e., Ma-ka-da] in AD 647. Upon arrival, Wang Xuance was attacked and arrested by the new usurper Indian king A-e-qiu-na. Wang Xuance, after fleeing from prison, went straight northward, crossed the Ganges River, climbed Mt Himalaya, and paid a visit to Nepalese king. With 7000 Nepalese cavalry, Wang Xuance returned to the Ganges River area and defeated King A-e-qiu-na's elephant column, and brought the captive to Tang Emperor Taizong in AD 648. In AD 658, Wang Xuance made a 3rd visit to India and wrote extensively on Indian geography and buddhism. Tibetan Zanpu's young grandson would be the new Tibetan king. However, Tibetan prime minister Ludongzan and his four sons had the actual power over Tibet. Ludongzan, together with 10 families of Western Khanate, would first attack Tangut, i.e., Tibet's number one rival. Tang Emperor Gaozong was asked to intervene by the Tanguts. Emperor Gaozong rejected two Tibetan requests: 1) the land of Chisui (i.e., red water), and 2) Tibetan intermarriage with the Tanguts. Tibetan prime minister Ludongzan hence obtained the aid of the Yutian (Hotan) people and took over 18 prefectures in western territories, including the Qiuci Statelet. General Xue Rengui, in AD 670, was ordered to quell the Tibetan rebellion, but he was defeated by Ludongzan's 400 thousand troops due to the fact that his logistics general lost all equipment and supplies to the Tibetans. General Xue negotiated a peace treaty in which Tang would promise not to enter the Tangut territory. When Xue Ren'gui returned to the capital, he was demoted into a civilian and would not be recalled till the Eastern Turks rebelled in the north in AD 680-681. Hence, Tibet entered Tangut territory and relocated all Tanguts to the Lingzhou prefecture which was already taken over by the Tibetans. In AD 678, Tang Emperor Kaozong campaigned against Tibet again, but Tang was defeated by the Tibetans. Ad 681, a Western Turkic Khan by the name of Ashina (Ah'shina Duozhi), together with Tibetans, attacked Tang's Anxi Marshal Presidio. Emperor Gaozong ordered the release of Persian Prince in the attempt of having the Persians impede the Western Turks in the west. In early times, the Persian King died in the hands of the Arabs. The new Persian King Beirusi sought the help of Tang Chinese by sending his son Niniesi to Tang capital. Tang had made the city of Jiling as the marshal-governor office and designated Persian King Beirusi as the "Persian Marshal". Tang civil minister Fei Xingjian was ordered to accompany Persian prince back to Persia. When Fei passed the land of Western Turks, he led a column of tribal leaders from Anxi Protector-General (Marshal Presidio) nomads, and captured the Turkic Khan Duozhi via a surprise strategy: Fei earlier broadcasted that he would go west after the season and the Turkic khan took Fei's words for granted and hence did not make preparations for defence. Fei asked Persian Prince to continue the trip back to his country, and he re-constructed the city of Suiye, and delegated the power of Anxi Protector_General (Marshal Presidio) to his general Wang Fangyi. (Persian Prince never reached his homeland. After some futile attempts to rally his people, he returned to Tang capital and spent his rest of the life in China. Later, Fei Xingjian would be responsible for quelling the Eastern Turkic rebellion in AD 680 and in AD 681 via similar strategies, like hiding soldiers inside the grain carts and offering 10,000 liang(ounce?) gold for the head of the khan. In AD 682, Western Turks rebelled again, and Fei was ordered to go west, but he died on the road at the age of 64. His general Wang Fangyi would succeed in quelling the Western Turks thereafter. In AD 692, Governor-General Tang Xiujing of Xizhou prefecture defeated Tibetans and re-took the four cities of Chouci (Kuqa), Yutian (Hotan), Shule (Kashi) and Suiye (today's Tokmok in Kyrgyzstan). In AD 696, Tibetans sought peace with Tang, requesting: i) that Tang revoke the administrations in the four cities, and ii) that Tibet & Tang divide the 10 Western Turkic families into two halves. But Tang rejected the request. Shortly therefafter, the Tibetan king killed the sons of his previous prime minister, with only one surviving son of Ludongzan fleeing to Tang with 7000 tents of Tangut people. Tang had quite some good news around that time. The Khitans in the east were also quelled by two Khitan generals who had surrendered to Tang earlier. However, in AD 712, Khitans colluded with Eastern Turks again in attacking Tang. As to Tibet, it had an internal revolt in the south of Tibetan Plateau, and Tibetan king sought peace with Tang again. When Emperor Zhongzong was restored in AD 705, he had promised to have princess Jincheng (daughter of a Tang duke-king) marry with the son of the Tibetan king. After Tibetan king died, his seven year old son got enthroned. In AD 710, Emperor Ruizong sent Prince Jincheng to Tibet to marry the new Tibetan king who just grew up, together with a patch of land called Qiuqu (nine winding) in Hexi (west of the Yellow River) as a gift. In AD 714, Tibetans invaded Lanwei (today's Lanzhou & Wei River) areas, using the Qiuqu land as a bridge. Tang General Wang Jun selected 700 brave soldiers to have them dress in the Tibetan clothes and sneaked into the Tibetan camp. General Wang, using the strategy, had caused Tibetan internal fights at night to the extent of almost 10,000 deaths. Tibetans, however, continued to encroach upon Tang capitals from the territories of Tangut and Qiuqu. SIR Aurel Stein's article (http://pears2.lib.ohio-state.edu/FULLTEXT/JR-ENG/aurel.htm) mentioned the precarious situations Chinese faced at that time, i.e., the allied attacks by the Arabs and Tibetans. Arabs, in AD 670, had conquered Tokharistan, the important territory on the middle Oxus of present Afghan. Between A.D. 705 and 715, Arab general Qotaiba had taken over Sogdiana, the land between Oxus and Yaxartes. In A.D. 741, Tibetans advanced to the Oxus valley and joined hands with the Arabs. The Tibetans utilized the line leading down the Indus from Ladak through Baltistan (the Great P'o-lu of the Chinese Annals) to the Hindukush territories of Gilgit and Yasin (both comprised the Little P'o-lu of the Chinese records). SIR Aurel Stein stated that "Great P'o-lu, i.e., Baltistan, had already become subject to them (Tibetans) before A.D. 722. About that time they attacked ... Little P'o-lu, declaring, as the T'ang Annals tell us, to Mo-chin-mang its king: 'It is not your kingdom which we covet, but we wish to use your route in order to attack the Four Garrisons (i.e., the Chinese in the Tarim basin).' In A.D. 722 timely military aid rendered by the Chinese enabled this king to defeat the Tibetan design. But after three changes of reign the Tibetans won over his successor Su-shih-li-chih, and inducing him to marry a Tibetan princess secured a footing in 'Little P'o-lu'... Thereupon, in the words of the T'ang shu, more than twenty kingdoms to the north-west became all subject to the Tibetans... These events occurred shortly after A.D. 741." Tang Emperor Xuanzong (Hsuan-tsang), in A.D. 747, ordered that the Deputy Protector Kao Hsien-chih command the military forces in the Tarim basin. "With a force of 10,000 cavalry and infantry, Kao Hsien-chih started in the spring of A.D. 747 from Anxi (An-hsi), then the headquarters of the Chinese administration in the Tarim basin and corresponding to the present town and oasis of Kucha. In thirty-five days he reached Su-le, or Kashgar, through Ak-su and by the great caravan road leading along the foot of the T'ien-shan. Twenty days more brought his force to the military post of the Congling (T'sung-ling) Mountains, i.e., the Pamirs, established in the position of the present Tashkurghan in Sarikol. Thence by a march of twenty days the valley of Po-mi or the Pamirs, was gained, and after another twenty days Kao Hsien-chih arrived in the kingdom of the five Shih-ni, i.e., the present Shighnan on the Oxus." In AD 750, General Kao's crushing of the Tashkent Kingdom led to a Turkic rebellion. In AD 751, Tang Chinese army of 30 thousand, led by general Kao-hsien-chih (governor-general of the four cities of Chouci-Yutian-Shule-Suiye), were invited by locals to counter Arab invasion. But the Karluks defected to the Arabs. Kao's army were defeated by the alliance of the Arabs and the Karluks. Hence the Karluks controlled today's western China while the Huihe [Uygurs] controlled Mongolia and the Gobi. Nationalist Uygurs, at http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/1730/buh.html, stated that "In 670, 688, 692 A.D., the Huihe [Uygurs], the Kok Turk and the Shato joined the Tibetan Armies in their military expeditions in capturing the Chinese invasion strongholds in north and northeast Central Asia." This is erroneous statement in saying the Huihe [Uygurs] were the same Turks as those, 10 families of Western Khanate, who sought refuge and suzerainty with the Tibetans. The Huihe [Uygurs] had always been a distinguished tribal name in Tang's records, and they had initially helped Tang in quelling the Xueyantuo Tribe rebellion in the north and hence relocated to north Mongolia where they eventually established their own kingdom in ADD 744 after defeating the Turks. In the west, the Huihe [Uygurs] did send troops in tens of thousands during Tang's campaign against the Western Turkic Khanate and small tribal states like Chouci. The Uygur role was apparently that of a Tang accomplice. Later, Tang General An Lu Shan's rebellion broke out in 755 A.D. and the Huihe [Uygurs] were invited by Su-tsung (Suzong), the Hsuan-tsung's (Xuanzong) successor, to send armies to help the Tang Chinese. "In this event, the Uygur forces played a key(?) role in the recapture of both Chang-An (Chang'an) and Lo-yang (Luoyang) in 757. The Huihe [Uygurs] did not hesitate to exploit the Tang Dynastic debt owed them, by acts of appalling pillage. The Chinese emperor agreed to pay 20,000 rolls of silk as a tribute annually to the Huihe [Uygurs] and granted the Uygur Khagan one of his daughters in marriage. She was the first of three princesses of the Chinese imperial family to become a Uygur khatun (wife) in the period 744-840 A.D." We will touch on this episode in the section An Shi Rebellion shortly. Turks, Huihe [Uygurs], Arabs & Chinese AD 632 saw the death of Muhammad and beginning of the expansion of the Arab Muslim Empire. In 642, the Sassanian Shah Yazdigird was defeated by the Arabs at the Battle of Nahavand and the Sassanian Empire collapsed under the pressure of Arab raids in 642-51. c. 650, the Khazars of Khazar Khanate defeated the Alans and Bulgars, resulting in their domination of the Caucasus and the Volga region. In 652, the Arabs first captured Khurasan. In 659, Tang Chinese forces, under Tang General Su Dingfang, penetrated into Transoxiana (Western Turkic Khanate). For one century, Tang controlled the Oxus Valley, till in 751 when the Arabs defeated the Chinese at the Battle of the Talas River. Tang would continuously fight both the Turks (who sought suzerainty with the Tibetans after Western Khanate was destroyed by Tang) and the Tibetans (who in AD 670 had taken over the Tangut territory after defeating Tang). In 667, the Arabs defeated Peroz, the last Sassanian shah, and first crossed the Oxus River (Amu Darya). In 673/74-704, the Arabs raided across the Oxus in an attempt to capture Bukhara and Soghd. In AD 682/83, the Turks revolted against the Chinese and re-established the Turkic Khanate in Mongolia, but were defeated by Tang's Fei Xingjian. In AD 689, the Arab occupied Termez. AD 691, Turks, under Tibetan suzerainty, re-established the Turkic Khanate in the Tarim Basin, but in AD 692, Governor-General Tang Xiujing of Xizhou prefecture defeated Tibetans and re-took the four cities of Chouci, Yutian, Shule and Suiye. In AD 705, the Arabs, under Qutayba ibn Muslim, launched a war against Transoxiana from Merv. In AD 709, the Arabs captured Bukhara and Samarkand. In AD 711, they captured Khiva and in AD 712 subdued Khwarezm and recaptured Samarkand. In AD 713, they sacked Kashgar. Western Turkic Khanate was dispersed by the Tang's westward expansion in 651 AD. It would be the Tibetans who competed with the Chinese for the control of this area. In this area, there would be Turkic tribes like the Turgesh and the Karlaks (Qarluk) which were subordinate to Khan Muchuo as members of so-called ten clan name tribal groups. In AD 714, the Chinese, under emperor Xuanzong, defeated the Turks at Beiting [i.e., Lake Issuk-kul area]. Back in 713, Governor-general Sun Quan of Youzhou Prefecture attempted to recover Yingzhou from Xi-Khitans by leading 20,000 army together with Li Kailuo & Zhou Yiti. At Lengjing, chieftan Li Dapu of Xi-Khitan ambushed the Chinese. Only Li Kailuo escaped. Li Dapu surrendered Sun Quan & Zhou Yiti to Khan Muchuo for execution as a show of alliance against China. The two parties hence allied to harass the Chinese border. Tang court sent emissary to the Turks for peace. Muchuo dispatched son Yangwozhi to the Tang court for marriage with Chinese princess. Emperor Xuanzong promised to marry over Princess Nanhe-xian the daughter of King Shu-wang. In spring of AD 714, Muchuo dispatched son Tong'e-tele and brother-in-law Huoba-xielifa-shishibi on an attack at Bei-ting Governor-general Office as a retaliation over Emperor Xuanzong's delay of releasing princess. Protector General Guo Qianguan ambushed the Turks outside of the citywall, pierced dead Tong'e, killed over half the Turk force, and chased Huoba. Huofa, being rebuked by Khan Muchuo, fled to seek asylum with Chinese together with wife and sons, and received the conferral of King Yanshan-jun-wang. In AD 714, during the fights with the Tibetans (with whom the Turks sought protection and suzerainty), Tang General Wang Jun selected 700 brave soldiers to have them dress in the Tibetan clothes and sneak into the Tibetan camp. General Wang, using the strategy, had led Tibetans into internal fights at night to the extent of almost 10,000 deaths. For the Turks, they were by that time under a precarious situations as they had to fight on two fronts, the Arabs to the south and the Chinese to the east. In AD 715, the end of the Arab conquest of Transoxiana as a result of the death of Qutaiba. The Eastern Turkic Khanate continued its expansion under Khan Muchuo (Mo-ch'o or Motcho) by subjugating tribes such as the Kirghiz and the Karlak before his death in AD 716. Eastern Turkic Khanate would fall in AD 744 following the rebellion of the Basmil, Karlak and Uygur tribes. In AD 728, Arab attempted to forcibly convert Transoxiana to Islam, resulting in general revolt. In AD 744/45, the Huihe [Uygurs] defeated the Orkhon Turks in Mongolia and established the Uygur Empire. Huihe [Uygurs], considered a vassal of Tang, would now controll north and west Mongolia, from Lake Balkash to Lake Baykal, till AD 840, almost a whole century. History said the Tang Chinese conspired to have the Huihe [Uygurs] and Karlaks attack the Orkhon Turks under Khan Muchuo (Mo-ch'o). To check the Orkhon Turks, Tang Chinese also allied with the Western Turks called Turgesh who were situated in today's Ili, between the Arabs and the Chinese, from AD 716 to AD 733. Chinese history said that the Orkhon Turks still sent emissaries to China in late Tang Dynasty and during the Five Dynasties. They were not heard from again after Five Dynasties. Turgesh Turks rebelled against Chinese in AD 739 and were defeated. In AD 741, General Kao Hsien-chih led the troops into Turkistan, and in AD 747, General Kao defeated the Tibetans near Gilgit in the Hindu Kush mountains and checked the expansion of the Arabs over the passes of the Pamirs to the upper valley of the Amu-darya. In AD 747-749, General Kao also defeated the Karluks who had replaced the Turgesh Turks as a power in the area. In AD 748, the Chinese invaded the Ferghana Valley where Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan converge. (Turkmenistan is to the west of the Ferghana Valley). In AD 749/50, the Abbasids seized the Caliphate from the Umayyads and subsequently transfered the capital to Baghdad. In AD 750, General Kao's crushing of the Tashkent Kingdom led to a Turkic rebellion. In AD 751, Tang Chinese army of 30 thousand, led by general Kao-hsien-chih (a Korean), were defeated by the alliance of the Arabs and the Karluks. The Arabs defeated the Chinese at the Battle of the Talas River in the high Pamirs. It was said Chinese paper technology was relayed to the West via the prisoners of war. From then on, the Larluks controlled Western China while the Huihe [Uygurs] controlled Mongolia. The Arabs halted their push after a defeat in the hands of the Khazars in Azerbaijan. An-Shi Rebellion & Huihe [Uygurs] Tang nomadic general An Lushan's rebellion (An-Shi rebellion) broke out in Oct, AD 755. Emperor Xuanzong sneaked out of capital without notifying his court. On the way of flight from Changan, Xuanzong's garrison troops killed prime minister Yang and Xuanzong was forced by his garrison troops in ordering his empress Yang commit suicide. Masses of people gathered around the royal column and pleaded with emperor for staying put and organizing counter-rebellion forces. Xuanzong, in order to continue on his flight into Sichuan Province, orally decreed that his elder son, Suzong, stay behind to be the new emperor. Emperor Suzong led his people northward to today's Ningxia area where he reorganized his army and requested with the Huihe [Uygurs] for help. The Uygur khan sent his elder son and 5000 cavalry to help Suzong in recapturing both Chang-An (Chang'an) and Lo-yang (Luoyang) in 757. Uygur nationalists claimed that their cavalry played the key role in capturing the two Tang capitals. Chinese history recorded the patriotism of the Uygur (Huihe) prince. There were 3 days of banquet for receiving the Huihe cavalry. But the Huihe prince said that he should not indulge in delicious foods while the country was still in upheavals. By "country", the Huihe prince was referring to the Tang court. Tang emperor Suzong had organized an army of over 100 thousand under the banners of two famous generals, Guo Ziyi & Li Guangbi. (Li was a semi-Khitan because his father was a Khitan; Li's mother was recorded to have grown beard around the mouth.) When western capital Chang'an was taken over, the Huihe [Uygurs] requested with Suzong's son for authorization to pillage the capital in accordance with the agreement between Suzong and Uygur khan that the Huihe [Uygurs] would be conferred women and gold in the capital. This would be a similar offer by Tang's founder Li Yuan when he obtained 2000 horses and 500 Turk cavalry and rebelled against Sui. The Huihe [Uygurs] would be held back for the time being when Suzong's son rejected the request by saying that the people in western capital of Luoyang would help the rebels should they hear about Uygur's pillaging in the eastern capital of Chang'an. After the fall of Luoyang, the Huihe [Uygurs] did their best in pillaging the capital. Luoyang would be pillaged two more times by the Huihe [Uygurs] during the 8 year long rebellion. Later, Emperor Suzong granted the Uygur Khan one of his daughters, Princess Ningguo, in marriage. An Lushan had obtained the governor-general posts of Beijing, Taiyuan and Liaodong by bribing the notorious empress Yang. Thus, An was in control of troops in almost whole northern China. An's son, An Qingxu, would kill An Lushan and took over the title of emperor of Great Yan. An's general, Shi Siming, would kill An Qingxu, in turn, and proclaimed himself Yan emperor. Shi's son, Shi Chaoyi, killed his father Shi Siming later. By AD 763, Shi committed suicide, and the eight year long rebellion was over. Tang China's decline was a result of An-Shi Rebellion. As a result of this rebellion, Tang China recalled all stationed armies and garrisons to the west of the Yellow River Bend. The recall of forces not enough, Uygur mercenaries were also called upon to quell the 8-year-long rebellion. Since then, Tang China lost the western territories, including the pasture where military horses were raised. Tang Emperor Suzong would call upon all the Chinese armies to the west of the Yellow River and to the right side of Gansu Province. Hence, the Tibetans took advantage of the vacuum and moved in. Over one million Tang Chinese came under the rule of the Tibetans, including the prefectures of Ganzhou, Liangzhou, Guazhou and Sazhou. In the land to the west of the Yellow River and to the right side of Gansu Province, Tang China used to have 33 prefectures called 'zhou'. Tang China set up the Anxi Governor-General post here and it used to |
![Though, Anna Wang [Anneliese Martens], in her memoirs, expressed jealousy over Gong Peng by stating that the Anglo-American reporters had flattered the Chinese communists and the communist movement as a result of being entranced with the goldfish-eye'ed personal assistant of Zhou Enlai](GongPeng.jpg)