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Wu Hu - Xianbei confederacy of Tan Shi Huai
The bitter and unstable relationship between the Han court and various nomadic groups lasted from the start of 2nd century to early 160s until the appearance of Tán Shí Huái (檀石槐 b. 120s - d. 181), an illegitimate son of a low ranked military officer of Xianbei mercenaries deployed against the Southern Xiongnu. Despite his low social status among Xianbei herdsmen, he managed to unify all the Xianbei tribes under his rule in a confederacy against the Han court.
Each Xianbei tribe was led by a chieftain and were grouped under the confederacy into three smaller federations, the Western, the Central and the Eastern. Notable chieftains under Tan Shi Huai were Mu Rong (see Sixteen Kingdoms), Haui Tou (see Sixteen Kingdoms) and Tui Yin (see Tuoba).
The confederacy was a rudimentary centralized government. All tribes had to share all trade profits, military duties and a unified stance against the Han court. Slavery was also important as captives were forced to work to provide provisions and weapons.
Supported by this confederacy, Tan Shi Huai brought the Southern Xiongnu into a close alliance. The Wuhuan, Dingling, Qiang and Di were at times aiding the confederacy which now included all the major tribes on the steppes stretching from today Jilin province to central Xinjiang.
Uneasiness at the Han court about this development of a new power on the steppes finally ushered in the only all-out campaign on the northern border to annihilate the confederacy once and for all. In 177 A.D., 30000 Han cavalry commanded by Xià Yù (夏育), Tiān Yàn (田晏) and Zāng Mín (臧旻), each of whom was the commander of units sent against the Wuhuan, the Qiang, and the Southern Xiongnu respectively before the campaign, attacked the confederacy.
Each military officer commanded 10,000 cavalrymen and advanced north on three different routes, aiming at each of the three federations. Cavalry units commanded by chieftains of each of the three federations almost annihilated the invading forces. Eighty percent of the troops were killed and the three officers, who only brought tens of men safely back, were relieved from their posts.
This victory marked the zenith of confederacy as the Han court was completely helpless in the face of any invasion that the confederacy could have launched. However the confederacy had its own problems to solve, the most important of which was the shortage of provisions. The Xianbei tribe now increased into a group of more than one million herdsmen after two decades of prosperity, without counting other adherents such as the Southern Xiongnu, and thus could not rely on simply looting provisions from China's northern border.
Tan Shi Huai found a temporary solution when he sacked the area of modern Jilin province, inhabited by the Wō people (倭). These proficient fishermen provided a source of provisions, though it was never enough. To make the matters worse, the successors of Tan Shi Huai (his sons and nephews) after his death in 181 never earned the respect from chieftains of the three federations. They were also less ambitious and constantly fought among themselves for the increasingly powerless lord of confederacy.
On the other hand, tribes began to emigrate from the steppe, mainly to the southwest and southeast for better pasture. The weakness of the Han court also encouraged tribes to move further into China. For example the Tūfǎ (禿髮) tribe, an offshoot of the Tui Yin (Northern Wei Dynasty), settled in the eastern mountainous area of today Qinghai province. Thus the effective border of dynasty was pushed further south and east. The confederacy was virtually dissolved in early 3rd century therefore the warlords of the Han dynasty could play their own game of fighting for supremacy without much interference from tribes outside China.
Tan Shi Huai territory
Map Explanations:
- Han Xiongnu = Southern Xiongnu
- Dinglins = Dingling
- the Northern Xiongnu north of Xian Bei were not purely Xiongnu; many intermarriaged with Xianbei.
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 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Xianbei confederacy of Tan Shi Huai", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
