A Brief History of the Tujia — The Tujia in the Tang and Song Periods (I)
Section 2: The Tujia in the Tang and Song Periods — I. Tujia Politics in the Tang and Song Periods: In the early Tang, the Pengshui Man "scattered among Jing, Chu, Ba, Qian, and Wu" successively submitted to Tang rule. From then on, the Tang court allowed these submitted Tujia leaders to govern their own lands, and in the hinterland adjacent to the Central Plains, formally established the jimi prefecture and county system. In 618, Emperor Yang of Sui died, and Li...
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Section Two: The Tujia During the Tang and Song Periods
I. Tujia Politics During the Tang and Song Periods
In the early years of the Tang dynasty, the Pengshui Man who "were interspersed among Jing, Chu, Ba, Qian and Wu" successively submitted to the Tang. From then on, for these submitted Tujia chiefs, the Tang ordered them to govern their own lands, and in the hinterland adjacent to the Central Plains formally established the system of loosely-governed prefectures and counties.
In 618, Emperor Yang of Sui died, and Li Yuan deposed Emperor Gong of Sui, made himself emperor, and established the capital at Chang'an. He then sent troops to eliminate the separatist forces that had risen in various places and proclaimed themselves kings since the end of Sui, completing the great cause of unification. In the first year of Wude (618), Xiao Xian proclaimed himself Emperor of Liang at Jiangling, moved the capital to Jiangling, and carved out a domain in Jingzhou, from time to time sending troops to attack and seize Tang's Ba and Shu regions. Xiao Xian dispatched Chen Puhuan to lead a naval force upstream to take Ba and Shu. Tang sent Li Jing with troops to Xia Prefecture (within present-day Yichang), where they were blocked by Xiao Xian's army and found it hard to advance. In the third year of Wude, Ran Zeze, a Man of Kai Prefecture (present-day Kai County, Yunyang), took the opportunity to capture Tong Prefecture (present-day Daxian), and afterwards attacked Xin Prefecture (present-day Fengjie), echoing Xiao Xian. Li Xiaogong and Li Jing led Tang troops to attack, beheaded Ran Zeze, and captured very many. Tang established the prefect of Xia Prefecture, governing Xia, Kui, Fu, Qian, Wu, Shi and other prefectures. In the fourth year of Wude, the Qian Prefecture Commandery was established to supervise Qian, Shi, Ye, Chen, Chong and other prefectures. In the second year of Tianshou (691), Tang merged Daxiang (parts of present-day Yongshun, Longshan and Baojing) and Santing (parts of present-day Baojing and Xiushan), two counties belonging to Chen Prefecture, into Xi Prefecture. In the second year of Xiantian of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (713), part of Daxiang County was again divided off to establish Luopu County (part of present-day Baojing); afterwards Luopu and Zhaoyu (part of present-day Fenghuang) were transferred to Jin Prefecture. In the twenty-first year of Kaiyuan (733), Tang again divided the realm into fifteen circuits: Badong, Liyang and other commanderies were attached to Shannan East Circuit; Qianzhong, Luxi, Qingjiang, Lingxi (Xi Prefecture renamed), Ningyi and other commanderies were attached to Qianzhong Circuit. "Because Qian Prefecture commanded a strategic and dangerous position, heavy troops were often stationed there to oversee the loosely-governed prefectures and commanderies."
The Tang dynasty implemented a loose-rein policy toward the border region of Hunan, Hubei, Chongqing and Guizhou, using Tujia chiefs to govern their lands. After obtaining the Kuixia region in the early Tang, it immediately "appointed sons and younger brothers of Ba chiefs to office according to their ability and placed them at his side." "In the early Tang, Man chiefs of the Xi caves who submitted were hereditarily appointed prefects, and loosely-governed counties were established, attached to the commandery, which was the beginning of granting hereditary office." Ran Anchang was enfeoffed as Zhaowei Shi of Si Prefecture, and Tian Shikang as prefect of Qian Prefecture. In the first year of Kaicheng of Emperor Wenzong of Tang (836), Tian Ying was even appointed prefect of Xi Prefecture. Apart from demanding tribute from these chiefs, the Tang also required the various loosely-governed prefectures and counties to provide soldiers and sometimes labor service. In the fourth year of Zhenguan of Emperor Taizong of Tang (630), Ran Anchang was once ordered to lead the three armies of Si Prefecture to open up Yi Prefecture, Fei Prefecture and other places. In the third year of Kaiyuan of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (715), the court sent Li Xuandao, General of the Right Raowei, to raise troops from Kui, Ba and other five prefectures to attack the southwestern Man. In the first year of Jianzhong of Emperor Dezong of Tang (780), the court again ordered the Jingnan military commissioner to command Jingzhou troops, and the Qianzhong surveillance commissioner to send Qian Prefecture troops to resist the Xiyuan Man.
In the late Tang, the feudal ruling group was extremely corrupt. Waging war against Nanzhao year after year with enormous expenses, it doubled taxes and conscripted labor, making the contradiction between peasants and landlords even sharper. In the first year of Qianfu of Emperor Xizong (874), the nationwide great peasant uprising led by Wang Xianzhi and Huang Chao finally broke out. Under the blows of the peasant rebel army, the Tang dynasty's rule lost control and was unable to rein things in, and military governors rose in separatism. At this time, some ethnic minority chiefs in western Hunan also took the opportunity to raise the standard of revolt, attacking prefectures and seizing commanderies everywhere, setting up separatist regimes one after another, attempting to shake off the control of the Tang dynasty. In the first year of Zhonghe of Emperor Xizong (881), Xiang Huan, a Man chief of Shimen, established the "Langbei Corps," captured Li Prefecture, killed the prefect Lü Zimu, and proclaimed himself prefect. In the same year, Lei Man, a Man chief of Wuling, organized the "Lang Corps Army," attacked Li, Lang and other prefectures, styled himself prefect of Lang Prefecture, and attacked Jingnan. In the third year of Qianning of Emperor Zhaozong of Tang (896), Ma Yin was promoted to military commissioner of Hunan, attacked and seized prefectures and commanderies one after another, occupied most of Hunan, and after the Five Dynasties was enfeoffed by Emperor Taizu of Liang as Prince of Chu. In the second year of Tianfu of Emperor Zhaozong of Tang (902), Wang Jian of Former Shu, after capturing Hanzhong and other places, also captured Jingnan, taking Kui, Zhong, Wan, Shi, Gui and other prefectures, and carved out a domain in Shu, later being enfeoffed as Prince of Shu.
Entering the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the feudal separatism since the late Tang became even more serious, and the struggles and attacks among them grew ever fiercer. Wars in the border region of Hunan, Hubei, Chongqing and Guizhou dragged on for years without end. After Lei Man died, his son Lei Yanwei succeeded him, still carving out a domain in the Lang and Li prefectures area and constantly sending troops to attack Jingnan. Later, Lei Yanwei was driven out by his younger brother Lei Yangong using the power of Zhao Kuangning, military commissioner of Zhongyi, and Lei Yangong and Xiang Huan carved out the Lang and Li area. In the first year of Kaiping of Emperor Taizu of Later Liang (907), Lei Yangong joined forces with the army of Ma Yin, Prince of Chu, to attack Jiangling, the "national capital" of Nanping. Gao Jichang, military commissioner of Jingnan, led troops to camp at Gong'an, cut off the supply route of the Lei-Ma allied army, and the allied army was badly defeated and retreated separately to their original places. Later Lei Yangong again sent troops to attack Yue Prefecture held by Ma Yin, but failed to break through and had to withdraw. In October, Gao Jichang again joined forces with Ma Yin to attack Lang Prefecture held by Lei Yangong, and Lei Yangong turned to Yang Xingmi, military commissioner of Huainan, for relief troops. Yang Xingmi sent troops to Pingjiang, pinning down part of the Chu army and easing the pressure on Lang and Li prefectures. In the second year of Kaiping, Ma Yin again threw in all his strength to seize Lang Prefecture held by Lei Yangong and Li Prefecture held by Xiang Huan. The Chu army cut off communications between Lang and Li prefectures and gradually formed an encirclement, while Lei Yangong diverted the waters of the Yuan River to encircle the city and defend himself. After the Chu army had besieged Lang Prefecture for more than a month, taking advantage of laxness in the Lei army's defenses, it sent elite troops to slip into the city and light fires as a signal; the Chu army then broke into the city and occupied Lang Prefecture. Lei Yangong fled by boat to Huainan and became a deputy military commissioner. Seeing Lang Prefecture broken, Xiang Huan realized Li Prefecture could not survive alone, and submitted to Ma Yin. Chu then occupied Lang and Li prefectures.
In the fourth year of Kaiping (910), Song Ye, a Man chief of Chen Prefecture, sent troops to oppose Ma Yin's expansion of territory. Ma Yin repeatedly sent troops to attack, and after a standoff of nearly two years, Song Ye finally submitted to Chu. In the second year of Qianhua of Later Liang (912), Ma Yin appointed Song Ye as prefect of Chen Prefecture. In the second year of Kaiping of Liang (908), Former Shu once sent troops to attack Gui Prefecture under Jingnan's jurisdiction; although they captured and carried off the prefect of Gui Prefecture, they did not occupy Gui Prefecture. In the third year of Tongguang of Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang (925), Gao Jixing was appointed commander-in-chief of the campaign against Shu, and captured Kui, Zhong and Wan prefectures held by Former Shu. Gao Jixing had long wanted to seize the Three Gorges, so he took the opportunity to send troops to seize Shi Prefecture, advanced along the river, but suffered defeat and fled. By the second year of Changxing of Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang (931), Meng Zhixiang, ruler of Later Shu, again seized Qian, Shi, Zhong and other prefectures.
At the time of the nationwide great peasant uprising at the end of the Tang and the rise of separatist military governors one after another, the Man chiefs of Xi Prefecture also rose in succession, each occupying his own territory and appointing himself prefect. From the "Record of the Restoration of the Xi Prefecture Bronze Pillar," it can be seen that before Peng Shichou, those who had appointed themselves prefect included four men: Peng Yunyao, Peng Shizuo, Tian Hongyou and Tian Xinghui. Among them two surnamed Peng had served as prefect of Xi Prefecture, showing that the Peng clan's power in Xi Prefecture had already gradually grown strong. Thereafter, after many years of management, Peng Shichou's power grew stronger day by day, and he then appointed himself prefect of Xi Prefecture. "In the time of Shirán (should be Shichou), his brothers were strong and amassed much, so he could entice and move all the Man to submit to him, with more than ten thousand victorious troops." After Peng Shichou appointed himself prefect of Xi Prefecture, his power became even stronger and his separatist territory kept expanding. Besides the three prefectures of Upper, Middle and Lower Xi, he also possessed Longci, Tianci, Zhongshun, Baojing, Ganhua, Yongshun, Yi, An, Yuan, Xin, Qia, Fu, Lai, Ning, Nan, Shun, Gao and other prefectures, styled himself the Du Shizhu of Jingbian, and governed twenty prefectures. He imitated the Tang system, establishing Daxiang and Lanting counties under Xi Prefecture, with tuan and bao below the counties, appointing officials and establishing clerks. Although still loosely governed by Shu, he was in fact virtually a small feudal kingdom. The Peng clan's power was strong and it constantly contended for supremacy with Chu, posing a great threat to the rule of the Ma clan of Chu. He repeatedly sent troops into Chu territory, seizing population and taking the goods and wealth of merchants and travelers.
In the autumn of the fourth year of Tianfu of Emperor Gaozu of Later Jin (939), Peng Shichou personally led more than ten thousand Man troops from Xi, Jin, Jiang and other prefectures in a great eastward advance, attacking Chen and Li prefectures under Chu and burning and plundering the garrisons established in the two prefectures. Peng Shichou also sent envoys to Chengdu to ask Meng Chang, ruler of Shu, to send troops to attack Chu, but Meng Chang refused Peng Shichou's request on the grounds that the road was too far. Peng Shichou led his soldiers on fighting Chu, and Ma Xifan, Prince of Chu, sent Liu Bo, Liao Kuangqi and other generals with five thousand troops to counterattack. Peng Shichou retreated step by step and turned back to Xi Prefecture. The Chu army followed in pursuit, attempting to take the opportunity to expand its separatist territory. In November of the same year, when Liu Bo attacked Xi Prefecture, Peng Shichou withdrew from Xi Prefecture city and relied on mountain defiles and cliffs to deal with the Chu army. The stockade to which Peng Shichou retreated was surrounded by overhanging cliffs and precipices on all sides, and he defended it by relying on the natural danger. Liao Kuangqi led troops up ladders to attack the stockade, but as a result arrows and stones rained down from the cliffs, beating back the Chu army, and Liao Kuangqi was killed.
In the spring of the fifth year of Tianfu, Liu Qing again led the Chu army to besiege the camp to which Peng Shichou had retreated, placing poison in the river, so that the Peng troops were poisoned and lost their fighting capacity. One day, taking advantage of a great windstorm, they attacked Peng's camp with fire, and all the defensive trenches he had built were destroyed. Seeing his troops had suffered too many casualties, Peng Shichou seized the defiles and retreated to the deep mountains of Jin and Jiang, and sent his son Peng Shigao (also written Shigao) to lead the various Man chiefs Tian Qianyun, Qin Xingfang, Xiang Cunyou, Luo Junfu and others, carrying the seals of the three prefectures of Jin, Xi and Jiang, to Liu Bo to sue for surrender and offer terms. After negotiations, the year-long separatist war ended, the two sides concluded a covenant, and a bronze pillar was cast and erected at Huixi in Xi Prefecture.
In the Battle of Xizhou, although Peng Shichou suffered a military defeat and was forced to sign a treaty with Chu and submit to it, his political status and territory of jurisdiction were confirmed by Chu. Ma Xifan still appointed Peng Shichou as Prefect of Xizhou, continuing his rule over the prefectures of Xi, Jin, and Jiang, granting him legitimate status and territory, and laying the foundation for the Peng family's hereditary enterprise of over eight hundred years of rule in Xiangxi. The treaty stipulated: although Xizhou was under Chu's loose control, it did not pay taxes to the dynasty, nor provide soldiers; the two sides would not seize each other's land or people, would not obstruct traffic, and would not force trade in goods. In this way, the chaotic fighting between the two sides came to an end, which objectively benefited the development of production and the stability of social order, and conformed to the interests of all ethnic groups at the time. In short, Peng Shichou's unification of the Five Streams region contributed to maintaining relative stability of social order in this area for a relatively long period. In the third year of Xiande of Emperor Taizu of Later Zhou (956), after Peng Shichou's death, his eldest son Peng Shiyu inherited the post of Commander of Jingbian Du and the position of Prefect of Xiaxi Prefecture.
In the early Song Dynasty, the Tujia chiefs on the borders of Hunan, Hubei, Chongqing, and Guizhou successively submitted to the Song Dynasty. In order to strengthen control over the Tujia region, the Song Dynasty established counties such as Shimen and Cili in Liyang Commandery of Lizhou under Jinghu Circuit; established Badong County in Badong Commandery of Guizhou; established Changyang and Bashan counties in Xiazhou; established Yuanling and Luxi counties in Luxi Commandery of Chenzhou; under Kuizhou Circuit, established Qianzhong Commandery of Qianzhou, governing counties such as Pengshui and Qianjiang; and established Qingjiang and Jianshi counties in Qingjiang Commandery of Shizhou. In addition, in the Tujia inhabited areas, Jinghu Circuit set up thirty-eight loose-control prefectures (mainly concentrated north of the Yuan River), and Kuizhou Circuit set up forty-nine loose-control prefectures. It also established the Sanmao Xuanfu Office in present-day Laifeng County, the Badong Anfu Office in Badong Commandery, and the Shizhu Anfu Office in Nanbin County of Zhongzhou.
In the Song Dynasty, the loose-control policy continued to be applied to the Tujia, "establishing their chiefs and letting them pacify themselves, always accommodating the barbarians," using their leaders to rule. In the early Song, Peng Yunlin, the eldest son of Peng Shiyu, was successively appointed Prefect of Xizhou, Tian Hongyun as Prefect of Wanzhou adjacent to the gorge area, and Tian Jingqian as Prefect of Zhenzhou (in present-day Xuan'en). Their appointments, promotions, demotions, and transfers all had to be approved by the Song Dynasty and could be hereditary. "When a prefectural commander succeeded, the Du Shi Zhu led the assembled chiefs in deliberation, submitted the prefecture name to Chenzhou as guarantee, reported to the Qianxia office for transmission, and then was granted an imperial edict and seal tally; the recipient faced north across the river and bowed in thanks." The prefects of loose-control prefectures, besides having the authority to govern their territories, also had the power to establish deputy commissioners and clerical officials within the prefecture—the so-called "permitted to appoint their own." Tujia officials of loose-control prefectures who were loyal to the Song court could also receive promotions. Xiang Tonghan, Prefect of Fuzhou (present-day Laifeng and Xuan'en), was enfeoffed as Jianjiao Taifu by Emperor Zhenzong of Song for his merit in presenting maps. Emperor Renzong of Song, considering Peng Rumeng loyal to the Song court, specially promoted him from Jianjiao Shangshu You Puye to Zuo Puye, and also enfeoffed his son Peng Shiduan as Guozijijiu. For meritorious prefects of loose-control prefectures, the method of "granting territory" was also used to win them over.
Although the Song Dynasty implemented the loose-control policy in the Tujia region, it deeply suspected and was wary of the Tujia officials, fearing that "the powerful chiefs of the streams and caves would rely on mountain strongholds and waver between two sides," resisting the court. Therefore, it adopted the method of luring the tiger away from the mountain to divide their power. During the Qiande era of Emperor Taizu of Song (963-968), Peng Yunzu, Tuanlian Commissioner of Xizhou, was transferred to be Commander of Laocheng in Puzhou; Peng Yunxian, Commander of the Yijun of Xizhou, was transferred to be Commander of Laocheng in Weizhou; and Tian Sixiao, Registrar of Zhenzhou, was transferred to be Commander of Laocheng in Bozhou.
The prefects of loose-control prefectures, within their respective territories, besides possessing the political power to appoint subordinate officials and rule the local people, also had their own armed forces—the Tujia soldiers. Tujia soldiers were an organization that combined military and agricultural functions, farming in peacetime and going to war when needed. The Song Dynasty often used Tujia soldiers to eliminate hostile forces or to resolve disputes within their own ethnic group. During the third to fifth years of Xianping of Emperor Zhenzong of Song (1000-1002), when a "military mutiny" occurred in Yizhou, the Song court feared that the rebellious troops would come down the great river, pass through the gorge area, and spread to Jiangnan, so it conscripted Tujia soldiers from Shizhou, Gaozhou, Qianzhou, and Xizhou to defend the Three Gorges. At that time, the raw barbarians of the Shizhou area plundered over four hundred people from Hankou. The Song sent Tian Chengjin, head of the Yijun of Gaozhou, to lead Tujia soldiers in joint operations with government troops, defeating the raw barbarians and establishing the Jianmu Stockade at the Shizhou border.
By the time of Emperor Renzong of Song, in the scattered Tujia areas of Chen, Li, Jingnan, Gui, and Xia prefectures under Jinghu Circuit, Tujia crossbowmen or knife-and-arrow men were established, selected from the Tujia and other ethnic minorities of the area, and allocated a certain amount of land. They farmed in peacetime, paid no taxes or other corvée, participated in military training locally, and took turns garrisoning border stockades. The crossbowmen of Chen, Li, and Yuan prefectures had a regular quota of 13,000 households. Liu Qi once requested the Song court to establish 6,000 "utility" soldiers in Jinghu North Circuit, including Gui, Xia, and Jingnan. The establishment of Tujia soldiers and crossbowmen in the Song Dynasty played a pioneering role for the garrison thousand-household and hundred-household offices established in the Ming Dynasty.
The prefects of loose-control prefectures often used their armed forces to attack and kill each other, seize territory, plunder population, and expand their jurisdictions and power. In the second year of Qiande of Emperor Taizu of Song (964), the feudal lord groups of Xi, Xu, and Jiang prefectures attacked each other, and armed conflicts occurred. The court sent officials to issue edicts, causing their conflicts to cease. In the first year of Dazhong Xiangfu of Emperor Zhenzong of Song (1008), the Wutuan barbarians within the jurisdiction of Kuizhou Circuit attacked Gaozhou (in present-day Xuan'en). The transport commissioner planned to use troops from the Anli Stockade near Shizhou (in present-day Lichuan) to stop them. Emperor Zhenzong of Song "considering that barbarians attacking each other, did not permit sending troops," and wanted them to resolve it themselves. In the third year of Dazhong Xiangfu, the Cili barbarians killed each other in feuds and armed clashes occurred. Liu Renba, Prefect of Lizhou, planned to send troops to stop them. Emperor Zhenzong of Song wanted him to change to a method of summons and proclamation. This method was accepted by the barbarians, and the feuds ended.
In short, from Tang to Song, loose-control prefectures and counties were established on the borders of Hunan, Hubei, Chongqing, and Guizhou adjacent to the Central Plains, relying on Tujia chiefs to govern their own lands. The Tujia officials of these loose-control prefectures and counties passed down their positions through generations without interruption, making the Tujia region more stable than before the Tang. This stable political situation strengthened the economic and cultural exchanges between the Tujia and Han peoples and promoted close ties among all ethnic groups.