Blog Entry 1 - Beginnings of my Journey along the Northern Border

Amid these long and melancholy winter nights, I decided to write about my experiences being stationed here in the northern western region of Dunhuang as a soldier. My name is Fai Cheng and I hate this place. It is cold, food is not plentiful, and we are constantly on the alert in case of an attack by the northern steppe nomads. How I would love to have lived in Chang’an, where my parents resided. They often tell me stories when their families had been relocated there after it had been founded as the capital by Emperor Gaozu upon the overthrow of the Qin emperor as the holder of the Mandate of Heaven.¹ I was told the capital city, unlike the arid scenery of my current location, was rich in palace structures and ritual sites: fitting for the grandeur of our Emperor.²

Why then, did my parents have to leave the comfort of the capital? It started during the second year of Emperor Gaozu’s rule. My father was sent to the northern border city of Mayi, along with a force of 300,000 men, to quell the treacherous actions of King Xin of Han.³ How could Han Xin have sided with the Xiongnu? These barbarians live opposite to the teachings of Confucian. They honor the young, and despise the old. The young eat the richest and best food, while the old eat the leftovers. Sons will marry their mothers and step mothers when their father dies.⁴ Moreover, they continually terrorize the frontier areas, causing great distress to the Empire. Whatever his reason was for allying himself with them, Han Xin’s actions initiated my father's journey to the borderlands.

The Han attack failed, and my father was posted in Mayi for an undetermined amount of years to keep defending the borders. Thus, my mother joined him. Sadly, he did not distinguish myself enough to obtain any forms of promotion or public office as he had hoped, and lived a rather modest lifestyle.⁵ Eventually, I was born and I followed my father’s footsteps and also became a soldier for the Empire. It had expanded a lot since the first emperor Gauzo’s sat on the throne, namely as emperor Wu successfully drove out the nomads from Gansu. In fact, it was after this campaign that I was then stationed in Dunhuang, a garrison town, to keep the border in check. Despite the size and strength of the Great Han, the cowardly fighting of the Xiongnu make it difficult for us to once and for all eliminate them. They come and ravage with their bows and arrows, and then disappear in an instant on their quick-footed horses as they do not see running away as dishonorable.⁶ But it seems clear to me that they need us as their neighbors.⁷ If not us, the great Han empire, who would they raid to sustain their barbaric lifestyles?

Luckily, violence has diminished as a result of a peace treaty. But my previous point stands, as it seems the Xiongnu still rely on our benevolence. Our markets are open to their people. In fact, merchants seem to have the best connection with the Xiongnu, mutually exchanging what the other lacks. Sometimes, I have had to intervene to ensure no illegal weapon deals were being done: afterall, more than once have the Xiongnu violated our peace treaties.⁸ To mitigate this, our Emperor annually sends out lavish gifts of silk, wine, and foods, as well as princesses to the Xiongnu. This exchange also serves the purpose of recognizing our Emperor as Ruler under Heaven.⁹ Yet it frustrates me. Why do we have to give them gifts, if they are supposed to be our tributes? 

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¹ The transfer of the capital to Chang’an was suggested by Liu Ching, and was ultimately responsible for the relocation of 100,000 people to the area “within the pass” (Chang’an).
Suma Qian. Shi Ji 99 – Liu Ching and Shu-Sun Tung, from “Records of the Grand Historian of China.”

² Nylan explains that there is an increasing ritual significance and ritual identity in the capital Chang’an during the Han Dynasty. The ritual structures emerging are considered to the highest expression of ideal governance. 
Nylan, Michael; Vankeerberghen, Griet; and Loewe, Michael. 2015. “Chang’an 26 BCE: an Augustan Age in China.” Seattle: University of Washington Press.

³ Ying-Shih Yu. 2002. Nomads and Han China, in “Expanding empires: Cultural interactions and exchange in world societies from ancient to early modern times” edited by Wendy Kasinec and Michael Polushin, pp.135.

⁴ This passage was taken from the Shi Ji 110, whereby Suma Qian depicts the nomads as polar opposites to the Han.
Suma Qian. Shi Ji 110 – The account of the Xiongnu from “Records of the Grand Historian of China.”

⁵ In Li Guang’s biography by Suma Qian, he explains how Li Guang rose in ranks and public offices (as well as demote in rank) as a result of his military achievements.
Suma Qian. Shi Ji 109 – The biography of General Li Guang from “Records of the Grand Historian of China.”

⁶ Suma Qian. Shi Ji 110 – The account of the Xiongnu from “Records of the Grand Historian of China.”

⁷ Based on Barfield’s idea that the Xiongnu’s strength (as a mirror empire) ultimately relied on China’s strength (as a primary empire).
Barfield, Thomas. 2001. The Shadow Empires: Imperial State Formation along the Chinese-Nomad Frontier. In “Empires,” edited by Susan E. Alcock, Terence N. D’Altroy, Kathleen D. Morrison, Carla M. Sinopolis. Cambridge: Cambridge University press. p.15.

⁸ Barfield claims that during the Han period, trade in iron to the nomads was banned.
Ibid., p.19.

⁹ Ying-Shih Yu. 2002. Nomads and Han China, in “Expanding empires: Cultural interactions and exchange in world societies from ancient to early modern times” edited by Wendy Kasinec and Michael Polushin, pp.136.

Note on Sources

The main written source material I used for this first blog entry was Sima Qian’s “Records of the Grand Historian of China.” He was considered China’s first major historian. I felt it would be appropriate to use his work for this blog entry because his work contains a lot of information about soldiers, Chang’an, and the Xiongnu. Shi Ji 99 for example talks about the relocation of the capital towards Chang’an, suggested by Liu Ching. As the aforementioned suggests, this area “within the pass” was a better geographically located to assert control over the empire and for defense purposes. The Emperor agreed and moved over one hundred thousand people to Chang’an to establish the new capital. Therefore, I used this event to explain how my character;s family once lived in Chang’an.

In Shi ji 109, Sima Qian talks about General Li Guang, a courageous and charismatic military leader during the Han Dynasty. Interestingly, this man did not fit the mold of Sun Tzu’s ideal general described in Art of War. Li Guang was rather reckless, and often let his troops do as they please. Why then did Suma Qian decide to write about him? One reason may be because he was very well revered by his troops, and sometimes by the Emperor himself. However, the main reason Suma Qian writes about Li Guang is because he was the grand father of Li Ling: a general Suma Qian defended for rightly retreating against the will of the Emperor. Consequently, Sima Qian was castrated for this behaviour. Thus, I use this text to show that my soldier may probably not always take the same stance as the emperor, and will often times disagree with him, although not publicly fearing execution. We see a bit of this in his disagreement on giving lavish gifts to the Xiongnu. I also use this text to show the possibility of promotion and demotion based on military achievements.

             Shi ji 110 describes the Xiongnu as almost polar opposites to the Han. They are unfilial, wear weird clothes, and eat weird food. It is based on this text that I apply Han people’s sense of superiority over the Xiongnu, thus explaining my character’s bafflement towards Han Xin’s decision to join their side.

This city plan shows the grid-like nature of Chang'an, as well as all its large palace structures that Fai Cheng wishes he could have visited.

This is a map of the Han Dynasty around 2CE. Our hero's parents start their journey in Chang'an (roughly 202BCE), and then Mayi (close to Taiyuan). This first blog entry ends in the garrison town of Dunhuang (roughly 121BCE).

This is a watchtower from Dunhuang dated around the han Dynasty. This shows the arid landscape our hero is not fond of. It also hints at the military culture surrounding these border towns because of the Xiongnu threat.