Liu Yin (Han Zhao)
Encyclopedia
Liu Yin (died 329), courtesy name Yisun (義孫), was an imperial prince of the Chinese
/Xiongnu
state Han Zhao
, who, following his father Liu Yao
's capture by rival Later Zhao
, tried to maintain the state with his brother, the crown prince
Liu Xi
, but was unsuccessful and killed by Later Zhao.
Liu Yin was Liu Yao's son by his probable first wife, Princess Bu, while he was still the Prince of Qin. He had an older brother, Liu Jian (劉儉). When Liu Jian was nine and Liu Yin was four, the emperor Liu Cong
saw them, and was very impressed by Liu Yin. He told Liu Yao to make Liu Yin his heir. Liu Yao responded that he was just an imperial prince and should not reverse the proper order of heirship. Liu Cong instead told him that due to his contributions to Han Zhao, he was unlike other princes, and that he should make Liu Yin, whom he felt was more talented, the heir. He therefore created Liu Jian the Prince of Linhai and created Liu Yin as the heir to Liu Yao. As Liu Yin grew up, he became strong and skillful at horsemanship and archery
, and was so quick in his reaction that he was compared to a whirlwind.
When Liu Cong's successor Liu Can
was overthrown by Jin Zhun
in 318, Jin massacred members of the Liu clan in the capital Pingyang (平陽, in modern Linfen
, Shanxi
). Liu Yin's grandmother Lady Hu and his uncle lost their lives, but Liu Yin fled. However, he was captured by or sold to the Heiniyuju (黑匿郁鞠) tribe as a slave. After Liu Yao defeated the renegade general Chen An (陳安) in 323, Liu Yin revealed his identity to the chief, who was surprised and respectfully deliver Liu Yin back to Liu Yao. (It is not clear where Heiniyuju was or why Liu Yin waited until Chen's defeat to reveal his identity to the chief; it could have been that Heiniyuju was initially a Chen ally, and while Chen was, prior to his rebellion, nominally a Han Zhao general, Liu Yin might have been concerned about being detained by Chen as a bargaining chip.) By this time, Liu Yao, who had assumed that Liu Yin was dead, had created his younger son Liu Xi crown prince. He considered replacing Liu Xi with Liu Yin, since Liu Yin was the original heir, and he considered Liu Yin general material. However, after opposition by Liu Yin's uncle Bu Tai (卜泰) and another official Han Guang (韓廣), Liu Yin personally declined to replace Liu Xi, instead stating that he could use his abilities to assist Liu Xi. Liu Yao agreed, and he let Liu Xi remain crown prince, while granting Liu Yin special honors, including requiring Liu Xi to yield to Liu Yin as an older brother in ceremonies, rather than for Liu Yin to yield to Liu Xi as the crown prince. The relationship between the brothers appeared to remain cordial until their deaths. He also posthumously Liu Yin's mother, Princess Bu, as Empress Yuandao.
In 325, Liu Yao created Liu Yin the Prince of Nanyang and further bestowed the title of Grand Chanyu, putting Wu Hu
tribal forces under his command.
In 327, believing that Han Zhao had been weakened by its defeat at Later Zhao's hands, Zhang Jun
, the head of Former Liang, which had submitted to Han Zhao's suzerainty
in 323, declared himself again a Jin
vassal and pillaged Han Zhao's Qin Province (秦州, modern eastern Gansu
). Liu Yin led an army and defeated Former Liang's forces, even crossing the Yellow River, but eventually settling for capturing Former Liang's remaining territory east of the Yellow River.
Around the new year of 329, Liu Yao was captured in battle by Later Zhao forces. Liu Xi became effectively acting emperor, and after consulting with Liu Yin, he decided to withdraw from the capital Chang'an
west to Shanggui (上邽, in modern Tianshui
, Gansu
), the capital of the mountainous Qin Province, considered more easily defensible. However, the withdrawal caused a panic, and all Han Zhao generals abandoned their positions and fled to Qin Province as well, easily yielding most of remaining Han Zhao territory to Later Zhao.
In fall 329, Han Zhao forces, under Liu Yin's command, tried to recapture Chang'an. Initially, he had some successes and recaptured much of the territory lost to Later Zhao. However, as he sieged Chang'an, the Later Zhao general Shi Hu
arrived and defeated him. Liu Yin retreated toward Shanggui, and Shi Hu trailed him and defeated him again, capturing Shanggui. He killed Liu Xi, Liu Yin, along with all Han Zhao princes and high level officials and generals. He forcibly relocated all other officials and the large clans of Qin and Yong (雍州, modern central and northern Shaanxi
) Provinces to the Later Zhao capital Xiangguo (襄國, in modern Xintai
, Hebei
), and massacred, in Luoyang
, the members of the Xiongnu nobility. Han Zhao came to an end.
History of China
Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
/Xiongnu
Xiongnu
The Xiongnu were ancient nomadic-based people that formed a state or confederation north of the agriculture-based empire of the Han Dynasty. Most of the information on the Xiongnu comes from Chinese sources...
state Han Zhao
Han Zhao
The Han Zhao , or Former Zhao, or Northern Han , was a Southern Xiongnu state during Sixteen Kingdoms period coeval with the Chinese Jin Dynasty...
, who, following his father Liu Yao
Liu Yao
Liu Yao , courtesy name Yongming , was the final emperor of the Chinese/Xiongnu state Han Zhao. He became emperor in 318 after most other members of the imperial Liu clan were massacred by Jin Zhun in a coup. However, the empire was soon divided in half, as the general Shi Le declared...
's capture by rival Later Zhao
Later Zhao
The Later Zhao was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms during the Jin Dynasty in China. It was founded by the Shi family of the Jie ethnicity...
, tried to maintain the state with his brother, the crown prince
Crown Prince
A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....
Liu Xi
Liu Xi
Liu Xi , courtesy name Yiguang , was the crown prince and a son of Liu Yao, the final emperor of the Chinese/Xiongnu state Han Zhao, who was thrust into the leadership role after his father was captured by rival Later Zhao's forces, but was unable to resist Later Zhao and killed less than a year...
, but was unsuccessful and killed by Later Zhao.
Liu Yin was Liu Yao's son by his probable first wife, Princess Bu, while he was still the Prince of Qin. He had an older brother, Liu Jian (劉儉). When Liu Jian was nine and Liu Yin was four, the emperor Liu Cong
Liu Cong
Liu Cong may refer to:*Liu Cong , emperor of Han Zhao of the Sixteen Kingdoms*Liu Cong , younger son of the Han Dynasty warlord Liu Biao...
saw them, and was very impressed by Liu Yin. He told Liu Yao to make Liu Yin his heir. Liu Yao responded that he was just an imperial prince and should not reverse the proper order of heirship. Liu Cong instead told him that due to his contributions to Han Zhao, he was unlike other princes, and that he should make Liu Yin, whom he felt was more talented, the heir. He therefore created Liu Jian the Prince of Linhai and created Liu Yin as the heir to Liu Yao. As Liu Yin grew up, he became strong and skillful at horsemanship and archery
Archery
Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...
, and was so quick in his reaction that he was compared to a whirlwind.
When Liu Cong's successor Liu Can
Liu Can
Liu Can , courtesy name Shiguang , Posthumous name Emperor Yin of Han , was an emperor of the Chinese/Xiongnu state Han Zhao, who reigned briefly in 318 before being killed by his trusted father-in-law Jin Zhun.-As Prince of He'nei and then Prince of Jin:Liu Can was Liu Cong's son by his first...
was overthrown by Jin Zhun
Jin Zhun
Jin Zhun was an official of the Chinese/Xiongnu state Han Zhao, who in 318 staged a coup against the Han Zhao emperor and his son-in-law Liu Can and then massacred the imperial Liu family. His forces were subsequently squeezed in by the succeeding emperor Liu Yao and the general Shi Le, and,...
in 318, Jin massacred members of the Liu clan in the capital Pingyang (平陽, in modern Linfen
Linfen
-Administrative divisions:The prefecture-level city of Linfen is divided in one district, two cities and fourteen counties. The information here presented uses the metric system and data from 2010 Census.-Pollution:...
, Shanxi
Shanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
). Liu Yin's grandmother Lady Hu and his uncle lost their lives, but Liu Yin fled. However, he was captured by or sold to the Heiniyuju (黑匿郁鞠) tribe as a slave. After Liu Yao defeated the renegade general Chen An (陳安) in 323, Liu Yin revealed his identity to the chief, who was surprised and respectfully deliver Liu Yin back to Liu Yao. (It is not clear where Heiniyuju was or why Liu Yin waited until Chen's defeat to reveal his identity to the chief; it could have been that Heiniyuju was initially a Chen ally, and while Chen was, prior to his rebellion, nominally a Han Zhao general, Liu Yin might have been concerned about being detained by Chen as a bargaining chip.) By this time, Liu Yao, who had assumed that Liu Yin was dead, had created his younger son Liu Xi crown prince. He considered replacing Liu Xi with Liu Yin, since Liu Yin was the original heir, and he considered Liu Yin general material. However, after opposition by Liu Yin's uncle Bu Tai (卜泰) and another official Han Guang (韓廣), Liu Yin personally declined to replace Liu Xi, instead stating that he could use his abilities to assist Liu Xi. Liu Yao agreed, and he let Liu Xi remain crown prince, while granting Liu Yin special honors, including requiring Liu Xi to yield to Liu Yin as an older brother in ceremonies, rather than for Liu Yin to yield to Liu Xi as the crown prince. The relationship between the brothers appeared to remain cordial until their deaths. He also posthumously Liu Yin's mother, Princess Bu, as Empress Yuandao.
In 325, Liu Yao created Liu Yin the Prince of Nanyang and further bestowed the title of Grand Chanyu, putting Wu Hu
Wu Hu
Wu Hu was a Chinese term for the northern non-Chinese nomadic tribes which caused the Wu Hu uprising, and established the Sixteen Kingdoms from 304 to 439 AD.-Definition:...
tribal forces under his command.
In 327, believing that Han Zhao had been weakened by its defeat at Later Zhao's hands, Zhang Jun
Zhang Jun (Former Liang)
Zhang Jun , courtesy name Gongting , formally Duke Zhongcheng of Xiping or Duke Wen of Xiping was a ruler of the Chinese state Former Liang...
, the head of Former Liang, which had submitted to Han Zhao's suzerainty
Suzerainty
Suzerainty occurs where a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which controls its foreign affairs while allowing the tributary vassal state some limited domestic autonomy. The dominant entity in the suzerainty relationship, or the more powerful entity itself, is called a...
in 323, declared himself again a Jin
Jìn Dynasty (265-420)
The Jìn Dynasty , was a dynasty in Chinese history, lasting between the years 265 and 420 AD. There are two main divisions in the history of the Dynasty, the first being Western Jin and the second Eastern Jin...
vassal and pillaged Han Zhao's Qin Province (秦州, modern eastern Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
). Liu Yin led an army and defeated Former Liang's forces, even crossing the Yellow River, but eventually settling for capturing Former Liang's remaining territory east of the Yellow River.
Around the new year of 329, Liu Yao was captured in battle by Later Zhao forces. Liu Xi became effectively acting emperor, and after consulting with Liu Yin, he decided to withdraw from the capital Chang'an
Chang'an
Chang'an is an ancient capital of more than ten dynasties in Chinese history, today known as Xi'an. Chang'an literally means "Perpetual Peace" in Classical Chinese. During the short-lived Xin Dynasty, the city was renamed "Constant Peace" ; yet after its fall in AD 23, the old name was restored...
west to Shanggui (上邽, in modern Tianshui
Tianshui
Tianshui is the second largest city in Gansu province in northwest China. Its population is approximately 3,500,000.Tianshui lies along the route of the ancient Northern Silk Road at the Wei River, through which much of trade occurred between China and the west...
, Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
), the capital of the mountainous Qin Province, considered more easily defensible. However, the withdrawal caused a panic, and all Han Zhao generals abandoned their positions and fled to Qin Province as well, easily yielding most of remaining Han Zhao territory to Later Zhao.
In fall 329, Han Zhao forces, under Liu Yin's command, tried to recapture Chang'an. Initially, he had some successes and recaptured much of the territory lost to Later Zhao. However, as he sieged Chang'an, the Later Zhao general Shi Hu
Shi Hu
Shi Hu , courtesy name Jilong , formally Emperor Wu of Zhao , was an emperor of the Chinese/Jie state Later Zhao...
arrived and defeated him. Liu Yin retreated toward Shanggui, and Shi Hu trailed him and defeated him again, capturing Shanggui. He killed Liu Xi, Liu Yin, along with all Han Zhao princes and high level officials and generals. He forcibly relocated all other officials and the large clans of Qin and Yong (雍州, modern central and northern Shaanxi
Shaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
) Provinces to the Later Zhao capital Xiangguo (襄國, in modern Xintai
Xintai
Xintai is a county-level city administered under Tai'an prefecture-level city, in the Shandong province of eastern China. It is located about 50km to the southeast of the city of Tai'an.-Climate:...
, Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
), and massacred, in Luoyang
Luoyang
Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...
, the members of the Xiongnu nobility. Han Zhao came to an end.