A Study on the Settlement of Türk Surrender Tribes in the Fourth Year of Emperor Taizong’s Zhenguan Reign—Taking the Northern Part of Hedong Dao as an Example ()
1. Introduction
The northern part of Hedong Dao, also known as the area north of Bingzhou, was considered as a whole as early as the Han Dynasty. (Si, 1982) The northern part of Hedong Dao in the Tang Dynasty mainly refers to the areas of Bingzhou, Lanzhou, Daizhou, Xinzhou, Shuozhou, Weizhou, and Yunzhou. Among them, Daizhou, Xinzhou, Shuozhou, Weizhou, and Bingzhou became the main locations for the placement of Fan tribes during the Tang Dynasty. Currently, there have been some studies on the settlement of Fan tribes. Wang Shili’s “A Preliminary Study of the Settlement of the Capitulators of the Dongtujuehan Kingdom in the Early Tang Dynasty” (Wang, 2004) explored the Tang Dynasty’s settlement and management of its 100,000 followers after the Türk Khaganate’s downfall during the Zhenguan period. Li Danjie’s “The Prefectural System and Northern Nomadic Tribes in the Early Tang Dynasty”, combined with newly discovered literature in recent years, re-explored the specific forms, dynamics, and actual operations of the governing system of the northern prefectures in the early Tang Dynasty. She believed that the Tang Dynasty’s rule over the northern nomadic ethnic groups was flexible and diverse. Su Hang’s “Study on the Northern Inner Tibetan Tribes of the Tang Dynasty” (Su, 2006) conducted a relatively in-depth study of the northern surrendered Fan tribes. In the article, he used a large number of epitaphs to explore the ethnic policies and Fan soldiers of the Tang Dynasty, and finally specifically studied the rise of the Fan tribes in the late Tang Dynasty in the area north of Daizhou. This article will sort out the settlement of the Fan tribes in the northern region of Bingzhou during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang, and explore the impact of his settlement strategies on the subsequent relevant policies of the Tang Dynasty.
2. The Establishment of Emperor Taizong of Tang’s Settlement Policy for Türk
The northern part of Hedong Dao was bordered by Türk Khaganate, which has been a mixed habitat of northern nomadic and Han ethnic groups since ancient times. The settlement of Fan tribes in this area has a long history. As early as the Warring States period, “King Wuling of Zhao adopted a policy of wearing Hu clothing for horseback riding and archery, defeating Lin Hu and Lou Fan. He then built a fortress along the Yin Mountain from Dai to the Gao Que and established Yun Zhong county, Yan Men county, and Dai county” (Wang, 2006) After breaking through the Lin and Hu Lou Fan, King Wuling of Zhao established a county based on its location, which is the earliest record of the settlement of the Fan tribes in the area north of Bingzhou. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, “The Xiongnu faced opposition between the north and south, while the south surrendered to the Han Dynasty and was willing to become a barrier for the Han Dynasty in the north. The Han Dynasty praised its intention and used the north of Bingzhou to accommodate them. From then on, these two Xiongnu tribes invaded each other, and the boundaries of the Han Dynasty remained intact.” (Wang, 2006) Emperor Guangwu placed the Xiongnu who were appointed as vassals north of Bingzhou, making it a transitional zone between Han and Northern Xiongnu to ensure the peaceful settlement of Han territory. To the Northern Wei Dynasty, Taizu “divided the Xiongnu into five tribes and migrated to various counties in Taiyuan.” (Wang, 2006) This area was still used as a place to settle the Fan tribes. It can be seen that before the Tang Dynasty, in the area north of Bingzhou, the Fan tribes were mainly settled by setting up counties in their original places and relocating to the border areas.
The Tang Dynasty conquered the Eastern Türk Khaganate in the fourth year of the Zhenguan reign. In the third year of the Zhenguan reign, Emperor Taizong of Tang took advantage of the internal and external troubles of the Eastern Türk and sent Li Jing to launch a northern expedition against the Türk. In the second month of the fourth year of the Zhenguan reign, Li Jing defeated the Türk Illig Qaghan in Yinshan. (Si, 1956) The Tang army achieved a complete victory, and the Türk was conquered. A large number of Türk tribes and their dependent tribes surrendered to the Tang Dynasty. The “History as a Mirror” records: “After the fall of the Türk, their tribes either attached Syr Tardush Tribe to the north or fled to the western regions, and there were still 100,000 people who surrendered to the Tang Dynasty.” (Si, 1956) How to settle these Fan tribes became an important issue faced by the Tang Dynasty.
In the third year of the Zhenguan reign, there was a heated discussion among the court officials regarding the placement of the Fan tribe. There were three main attitudes: one was Li Daliang’s proposal to relocate to the mainland: “Divide them into Yanzhou, Xuzhou, and other areas, disperse them to their respective counties, let them cultivate and weave, so that millions of Fan people can become the people of the Tang Dynasty, increase the country’s household registration, and the northern part of the Great Wall will be empty all year round.” (Du, 1988) The other was Yan Shigu, Li Baiyao, Dou Jing, and Wei Zheng’s proposal to relocate to the area north of the Yellow River. Yan Shigu believed that “Türk and Tiele tribes were previously unable to submit to the Tang Dynasty. Since you have made them submit to the Tang Dynasty, please place them all in the area north of the Yellow River. Set up chiefs to lead their tribes separately, so there will always be no hidden dangers.” (Si, 1956) Li Baiyao believed that “Although Türk are a country, they are distinguished by tribal types and each has its own chieftain. Now it is time to take advantage of their separation and appoint the people of their respective departments as rulers, without being subject to each other.” (Si, 1956) Dou Jing believed: The temperament of the northern Fan tribes is like that of a beast, which cannot be used for punishment or enlightenment through benevolence and righteousness. Moreover, their emotions towards their leaders are not easily forgotten. Settlement in the Central Plains region has its drawbacks but no benefits. It is feared that if there is any change, it will infringe upon our territory. It’s better to take advantage of their downfall. Applying additional favors, giving them the title of Wang Hou, granting them the daughters of the royal family as wives, distributing their land, separating their tribes, weakening their power and making it easier to restrain them, can enable them to serve as vassals for a long time and ensure the peace of the border fortress forever. (Si, 1956) Wei Zheng believed that: Türk generations have been bandits, and the people hate them; Now they are fortunate enough to perish. You cannot bear to kill them all because they have surrendered. You should also let them return to their homeland and not leave them in the Central Plains region. (Si, 1956) One type is proposed by Wen Yanbo to reside in the area south of Yellow River: “Please refer to the old story during the Jianwu period of the Han Dynasty and place the surrendered Xiongnu south of the Yellow River, preserving their tribes, following their local customs, enriching the open land in the north of China, and making them a barrier for the Tang Dynasty. This is the effective strategy.” (Si, 1956)
In the “History as a Mirror”, it is recorded that “the Emperor Taizong of Tang finally used Wen Yanbo’s advice.” (Si, 1956) Emperor Taizong of Tang seemed to have ultimately adopted Wen Yanbo’s suggestion, but in the actual implementation process, Tang Taizong also adopted the everyone’s strengths. After Emperor Taizong of Tang, the settlement policy of the Fan tribes basically followed the settlement ideology of the Taizong Dynasty, with the basic principle of “preserving their tribes, following their local customs”. Either the Fan tribes were established as Jimi Prefecture, or the Fan tribes were moved to Zhengzhou to gradually integrate into the people of the Tang Dynasty.
3. Emperor Taizong of Tang’s Settlement of Surrender Türk
During the reign of Emperor Taizong, the Tang Dynasty mainly settled the Tiele Sijie tribe and the Türk so-ni tribe in the area north of Bingzhou. In the “Xin Tang Shu: Jimi Zhou”, it is recorded that “the Si nong tribe was newly established and placed in Yanran County, using Yangqu as its administrative base; Newly established and placed the Sijie tribe in Huaihua County, using Xiurong as its administrative base.” (Song & Ou, 1975) The Si Nong tribe was another name for the so-ni tribe. (Song & Ou, 1975) The Sunong tribe was a Türk tribe. Unearthed from Dunhuang P.T1283 Tibetan geographical document records the twelve tribes of the Türk vbug-chor, including the so-ni. (Bai, Tu, & Yi, 2018) The Sijie tribe was one of the fifteen tribes of Tiele, sometimes referred to as the “Tiele Jiu Bu” or the “Türk Jiu Xing” in the Tang Dynasty. The Sijie tribe was also sometimes referred to as the “Türk Sijie” because Tiele had long been attached to Türk and its customs and language were similar to those of Türk.
The Tang Dynasty established Jimi counties to settle the Fan tribes relocated north of Bingzhou. These Jimi counties were using Zhengzhou County as its administrative base and were under the jurisdiction of Shunzhou. But the Shunzhou administration was not located in the area north of Bingzhou. Shunzhou was initially established as the Du-du-fu, located in the northern part of Youzhou. It was established by Emperor Taizong of Tang in the former land of Tuli, and its jurisdiction borders Hedong Dao to the west and Xi, Pian, and other departments to the east. “In the fourth year of the Zhenguan reign, Tuli was appointed as the ‘You Wei Da Jiang Jun’ and the ‘Bei Ping Jun Wang’. He was granted seven hundred households, and a new Shunzhou Du-du-fu was established and his troops were placed here. He was also appointed as the Shunzhou Du-du, allowing his tribe to return to the Fan tribe”. (Du, 1988) The former land of Tuli is in the north of Youzhou. According to the “Jiu Tang Shu: Türk Biography”, “Jie Li ascended the throne and was named the Tuli Khan. Jie Li’s tribe was located in the north of Youzhou. Tuli is located in the easterly direction and governs dozens of tribes such as Xi and Pian.” (Liu, 1975) By the sixth year of Zhenguan, the Shunzhou Du-du-fu was downgraded to Shunzhou and under the jurisdiction of the Daizhou Du-du-fu. Jiu Tang Shu states: “Daizhou Du-du-fu is a medium-sized Du-du-fu…Manage Shunzhou in the sixth year of Zhenguan reign.” (Liu, 1975) This demotion may be due to Emperor Taizong of Tang taking advantage of the opportunity of “in the fifth year of the Zhenguan reign, Tuli had an audience with Emperor Taizong and died of illness when he arrived at Bingzhou” (Wang, 2006) to weaken the strength of the Shunzhou Du-du-fu. After Tuli’s death, there was no mention in historical records of who would succeed as the Shunzhou Du-du. Immediately after, there were records of Shunzhou being subordinate to the Daizhou Du-du-fu in the sixth year of the Zhenguan reign. Therefore, it is speculated that at this time, the Shunzhou Du-du, located in the northern part of Youzhou, had been demoted to Shunzhou. In order to better control the Northeast tribes, the Tang Dynasty moved the Shunzhou Du-du-fu to Yingzhou according to the custom of the Tuli tribe managing the Northeast tribes. As recorded in the Xin Tang Shu, “In the sixth year of the Zhenguan reign, Shunzhou took the Wuliushu in the south of Yingzhou as its capital”, (Song & Ou, 1975) This time, the Shunzhou Du-du-fu was relocated to Yingzhou or most of the Tuli tribes were removed. By the time of the “12th year of the Zhenguan reign, Abolishing Shunzhou”, (Liu, 1975) a small portion of the Fan tribes in Shunzhou were completely incorporated into the Zhengzhou County.
The Jimi counties located north of Bingzhou mainly include Yanran County and Huaihua County. The “New Book of Tang: Jimi Prefecture” records: “the Si nong tribe was newly established and placed in Yanran County, using Yangqu as its administrative base; Newly established and placed the Sijie tribe in Huaihua County, using Xiurong as its administrative base, Belonging to Shunzhou.” (Song & Ou, 1975) The reason why the Tang Dynasty chose Yangqu and Xiurong governed Jimi County was because both counties had a history of governance. “In the sixth year of the Wude reign, Weizhou was established, with Lingqiu County and Feihu County (belonging to Weizhou) established. Weizhou used Yangqu as its administrative base, and in the seventh year of the Wude reign, it used Fanyi as its administrative base. In the eighth year of the Wude reign, it used the city of Xiurong Old North Hengzhou as its administrative base.” (Liu, 1975) Huaihua County, which was under the jurisdiction of Xiurong, may be the Sijie tribe, which surrendered in the fourth year of the Zhenguan reign. “In March of the fourth year of the Zhenguan reign, the Türk Sijie led 40,000 troops to surrender.” (Si, 1956) At this time, the Tang Dynasty was not fully prepared for how to arrange for the internal vassal Fan tribes. After the establishment of the Shunzhou Du-du-fu in May of the fourth year of the Zhenguan reign, the Tang Dynasty “In the fifth year of the Zhenguan reign, Huaihua County was newly established within Xiurong County to settle the Sijie tribe, which was under the jurisdiction of Shunzhou. In the twelfth year of the Zhenguan reign, Huaihua County was under the jurisdiction of Daizhou and later abolished.” (Song & Ou, 1975) Yanran County may have been established by the former subordinates brought by Tuli during it had an audience with Emperor Taizong of Tang, and in the fifth year of the Zhenguan reign, Tuli passed away due to illness in Bingzhou, and Emperor Taizong of Tang established a county with it former subordinates, and using Yangqu County under the jurisdiction of Bingzhou as its administrative base. With the weakening and abolishment of Shunzhou, Huaihua and Yanran counties were managed from Jimi Prefecture to Zhengzhou Du-du-fu. “In the eighth year of the Zhenguan reign, the counties of Shouyang, Yu, Leping, and Shi’ai in Shouzhou were abolished, and Shunzhou in Yanran was ceded. A total of five counties belonged to the Bingzhou Da-du-du-fu.” to “In the twelfth year of the Zhenguan reign, Shunzhou County was abolished and Huaihua County was assigned to the Daizhou Du-du-fu” (Liu, 1975) .
In addition to the organized surrender of the Fan tribes mentioned above, Zhang Jian also took in a group of Sijie tribes who were scattered due to war and poverty. According to the “Jiu Tang Shu·Zhang Jian Biography”: “When Zhang Jian was appointed as the Shuozhou Ci-Shi, the Sijie tribe was impoverished and dispersed due to Li Jing’s pacification of the Türk. Zhang Jian appeased and concentrated on resettling them, and the ones who did not want to come lived in Qibei. Although their relatives lived separately, they still socialized privately. Zhang Jian did not detain or punish them, and there were still rules and regulations, and they were only under slight control. When Zhang Jian took up his position elsewhere, the new Shuozhou Zhang-Guan said they were about to rebel, so he submitted a statement. The imperial court discussed the matter of sending troops to suppress and still appointed Zhang Jian as an envoy to observe their movements. Zhang Jian, a single person and a single horse, was very sincere. He went to their tribe and gathered all the leaders to sincerely discuss with them. All of them bowed down and convinced him, and then moved to Daizhou. Immediately ordered the inspection of the Daizhou Du-du.” (Liu, 1975) This group of Sijie tribe members were mostly ordinary people in Sijie, who were displaced due to war and were taken in by Zhang Jian, who happened to be the Shuozhou Ci-Shi in the fourth year of Zhenguan. Later, they moved with Zhang Jian to Wutai County, Daizhou. According to “Cefu Yuangui”: “In the fifteenth year of the Zhenguan reign, various tribes of Sjie in the Türk first arrived in Wutai County, Daizhou. They intended to submit to Yantuo and therefore rebelled against Daizhou.” (Wang, 2006) The rebellion may have been launched by the Sijie tribe, who had moved from Shuozhou to Daizhou with Zhang Jian. Zhang Jian placed them within the territory of Wutai County and placed it under the jurisdiction of the Daizhou Du-du-fu.
It could be seen that the Jimi Prefecture established by the Fan tribe through governance in Zhengzhou County will eventually become normal county. According to the “Tang Liu Dian”, “Any child born after obedience, just like ordinary people, did not need to become a Fan household.” (Li, 1992) “In the 14th year of the Zhenguan reign, Yanran County was abolished.” (Liu, 1975) “Emperor Gaozong abolished Huaihua County.” (Liu, 1975) The Türk Jimi County established by Emperor Taizong to the north of Bingzhou was ultimately abolished. During the Wu Zhou period, vbug-chor asked the imperial court for the surrender tribes of six prefectures. These six prefectures surrender tribes were known as the “At first, the vassals affiliated with the Türk were located in the areas of Feng, Sheng, Ling, Xia, Shuo, and Dai, known as the Hequ Liu Zhou Xiang Ren.” (Song & Ou, 1975) which included the two prefectures of Shuo and Dai. Although Jimi County was abolished, these surrender tribes were still resettled locally.
4. The Impact of Emperor Taizong of Tang’s Türk Settlement Policy
The policy of settling Fan tribes in the northern part of Hedong Dao during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty was a dynamic and changing process. At first, Emperor Taizong of Tang established a Du-du-fu in the land of major tribes, with their leaders serving as Du-du. He also dispersed some tribes and relocated them to Zhengzhou County in the mainland, where they governed the mainland in the form of Jimi County and were under the jurisdiction of Jimi Du-du. This is what Wen Yanbo said: “Preserving their tribes, following their local customs.” However, there may not be much connection between the clan affiliation of Jimi County and its upper level Jimi Du-du-fu. This is what Li Baiyao said: “Now it is time to take advantage of their separation and appoint the people of their respective departments as rulers, without being subject to each other.” Tang Taizong could continue to take advantage of the situation, seize various opportunities to disperse, weaken, and disintegrate the tribes that migrated to the mainland, and eventually the Turkic tribes will gradually integrate into the local people. This is what Li Daliang said: “Millions of Fan people could become the people of the Tang Dynasty”.
Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty basically adopted Li Daliang’s proposal to relocate the Fan tribes to the mainland for the settlement of the Koryo surrender tribes. In the first year of the Zongzhang reign, Emperor Gaozong of Tang destroyed the Koryo kingdom. In order to strengthen control over Koryo and weaken it, a large number of Koryo households were relocated to the mainland. The reason why all the surrender tribes in Koryo during the reign of Emperor Gaozong were able to smoothly adopt Li Daliang’s suggestion is mainly because Koryo’s households were originally based on agriculture, and their living habits were similar to those of the mainland people in the Tang Dynasty, making it easier to integrate. Secondly, the Tang Dynasty’s conquest of Koryo was not due to direct conflict between the two sides, and its people also had a captive nature. Most of them were relocated to places far away from their homeland, unlike Türk and Tiele who actively attached themselves and had strong armed forces. The Koryo people were mostly people who hoped for stability. From the reign of Emperor Taizong to the reign of Emperor Gaozong, the policy of settling surrender tribes changed according to the specific circumstances of the resettled individuals.
The Emperor Xuanzong of Tang still adopted the basic principle of “Preserving their tribes, following their local customs.” in the placement of the Tiele Jiu Xing during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang. However, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang did not establish Jimi prefecture within the Fan tribes like Emperor Taizong of Tang did. Instead, he placed them around various military towns in the form of city borders, placed them near the city borders, and pacified them with military strength, used official rank and finance to win over them, and used Jie Du Shi to control them. The tribes were still under the control of their tribal leaders, who also had to obey the Jie Du Shi. The system of tribal leaders-Jie Du Shi was similar to that of the Jimi Prefecture (Du-du-fu)—Jimi County during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang, but they retained their tribal characteristics to a greater extent compared to the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang.
From Emperor Taizong of Tang to Emperor Gaozong of Tang, and then to Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, although the specific policies for the placement of Fan tribes were different, the Tang Dynasty basically continued the proposition of Emperor Taizong of Tang, which was based on the basic idea of “Preserving their tribes, following their local customs.”, and used various methods to disintegrate, control, and utilize the various Fan tribes. The Tang Dynasty adopted different settlement policies during different periods, placing the subordinate Fan tribes in the northern area of the Tang Dynasty, making them a force in stabilizing the border area of the Tang Dynasty.