Wu Hu - Xianbei Confederacy of Tanshihuai

Xianbei Confederacy of Tanshihuai

The difficult relationship between the Han court and various nomadic groups lasted from the start of the second century to the early 160s and the appearance of Tanshihuai (檀石槐 b. 120s - d. 181), an illegitimate son of a low ranking 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 Tanshihuai were Murong (see Sixteen Kingdoms), Huitou (see Sixteen Kingdoms) and Tuiyin (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, Tanshihuai 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 a campaign on the northern border to annihilate the confederacy once and for all. In 177 A.D., 30,000 Han cavalry attacked the confederacy, commanded by Xia Yu (夏育), Tian Yan (田晏) and Zang Min (臧旻), each of whom was the commander of units sent respectively against the Wuhuan, the Qiang, and the Southern Xiongnu before the campaign.

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.

Tanshihuai found a temporary solution when he sacked the area of modern Jilin province. To make the matters worse, the successors of Tanshihuai (his sons and nephews) after his death in 181 never earned the respect from the 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 Tufa (禿髮) tribe, an offshoot of the Tuiyin (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 third century therefore the warlords of the Han dynasty could play their own game of fighting for supremacy without much interference from tribes outside China.