Former Liang

The Former Liang (Chinese: 前涼; pinyin: Qián Liáng; 301^[a]–376) was a dynastic state, and one of the Sixteen Kingdoms, in Chinese history. It was founded by Zhang Shi^[3] of the Han Chinese Zhang family. Its territories included present-day Gansu and parts of Ningxia, Shaanxi, Qinghai and Xinjiang.^[4]

Former Liang (前涼) 西平, 涼
301–376
Former Liang in the northwest
Status	Vassal of Eastern Jin, Han Zhao, Later Zhao, Former Qin
Capital	Guzang
Government	Monarchy
Duke/Prince
• 301–314	Zhang Gui
• 314–320	Zhang Shi
• 320–324	Zhang Mao
• 324–346	Zhang Jun
• 346–353	Zhang Chonghua
• 353	Zhang Yaoling
• 353–355	Zhang Zuo
• 355–363	Zhang Xuanjing
• 363–376	Zhang Tianxi
History
• Zhang Gui's appointment as Inspector of Liang Province	301
• Zhang Shi's retention of Emperor Min's reign era	318
• Zhang Mao's acceptance of Prince of Liang title	323
• Zhang Jun's proclamation as Acting Prince of Liang	345
• Zhang Zuo's formal rejection of Eastern Jin suzerainty	354
• Zhang Xuanjing's formal acceptance of Eastern Jin suzerainty	361
• Disestablished	26 September[1][2] 376
• Zhang Tianxi's death	406
Currency	Chinese coin, Chinese cash (Wu Zhu)
Preceded by Succeeded by Eastern Jin Former Qin
Today part of	China Kyrgyzstan Mongolia

All rulers of the Former Liang remained largely titularly under the court of the Eastern Jin dynasty as the Duke of Xiping except Zhang Zuo who proclaimed himself emperor (or king). However, at times the other Former Liang rulers also used the king title when imposed on them when they were forced to submit to their powerful neighbour states—initially the Former Zhao, then the Later Zhao, and finally the Former Qin. As the early rulers did not explicitly declare their independence, the official year of Former Liang's establishment is up to interpretation, but no earlier than 301, the year when Zhang Gui was appointed Inspector of Liang province. Historiographers gave the state the prefix of "Former" to distinguish it from the Di-led Later Liang that came after them, along with the other Liang states of the Sixteen Kingdoms, Southern Liang, Northern Liang and Western Liang.

History

Background

The founding of the Former Liang can be traced back to Zhang Gui. He was a Han Chinese official under the Western Jin dynasty who claimed descent from Zhang Er, the King of Changsha during Emperor Gaozu of Han’s era. Zhang Gui was appointed as provincial inspector by the imperial court in 301.^[5]

Along with his two sons, Zhang Mao and Zhang Shi, he made Guzang (姑臧, in modern Wuwei, Gansu) his main base and worked closely with the local population to ensure the dynastic rule of his family.^[5] Due to the stability in the area, Former Liang became a refuge for those fleeing the chaos of the heartland.^[6][5][7] Zhang Gui also developed the region by promoting agriculture and establishing new schools. Despite his influence in Liang, Zhang Gui never declared independence and remained a Jin official up to his death in 314. Likewise, his successors for the most part nominally retained their status as Jin officials, maintaining their legitimacy by maintaining ties with the Jin court.^[5] As a result of the migration of refugees from the collapsing Western Jin, there was an influx of literati who fled to Former Liang rather than the Jin court-in-exile in the south, which resulted in the Former Liang becoming a cultural center of North China.^[5]

Early years

Zhang Gui aided the Western Jin in its war against the Xiongnu-led Han dynasty (renamed to Former Zhao in 319), as did his son and successor Zhang Shi. After Emperor Min of Jin’s capture and execution, Zhang Shi sent envoys to the prince, Sima Rui at Jiankang in the south, urging him to take the throne. The dynasty was re-established as the Eastern Jin in 318, but despite his endorsement, Zhang Shi refused to adopt Sima Rui’s new reign era. Instead, he continued to use Emperor Min’s reign era, Jianxing (建興) within his territory, a practice that was upheld by most of his successors. Zhang Shi is considered the de facto founder of the Former Liang, establishing Guzang as its capital in 317.^[8]

After Zhang Shi's assassination in 320, his brother, Zhang Mao took power. He came into conflict with the Former Zhao, who were expanding westward to compete with their rival Later Zhao. In 323, Zhang Mao submitted to the Former Zhao, receiving the title of King of Liang and the nine bestowments, while internally retaining his Jin title of Duke of Xiping.

Reign of Zhang Jun

The Former Liang reached its peak under Zhang Jun, who succeeded his uncle Zhang Mao in 324. After the Later Zhao conquered Former Zhao in 329, he rejected Later Zhao's authority at first, but was eventually pressured into submission.^[9] Regardless, in 335 his forces marched across the sands and expanded his territory, forcing several oasis states in the Western Regions like Kucha to submit to him.^[4] In the mid-fourth century, it is believed that Former Liang could have maintained control over much of modern day Gansu and Xinjiang, as well as portions of Qinghai and Ningxia.^[4] Zhang Jun also established ties with the Cheng-Han dynasty in southwestern China.^[10]

Under him, the Former Liang began to use the ranks and titles of the imperial court, as well as imitating the flag, trappings, and carriage of the Emperor roughly twenty-one years into his reign.^[11] His state's immense wealth was exemplified by his extravagant building projects, most notably the five palaces he built south of Guzang.^[9] In 345, he proclaimed himself Acting Prince of Liang, all while still recognizing Jin as his overlord.

Internal turmoil and decline

Zhang Jun died in 346 and was succeeded by his son Zhang Chonghua. Relations between Former Liang and Later Zhao had soured near the end of Zhang Jun's reign, and shortly after Chonghua ascended, Zhao launched an invasion on Liang. The Liang general, Xie Ai initially repelled the invaders, but they still lost their territory south of the Yellow River.^[9] During and after the Later Zhao collapse in the early 350s, Chonghua attempted to reclaim lost land and expand eastward, but his efforts were frustrated by the new and rising Former Qin dynasty. His death in 353 began a lengthy period of internal turmoil within the state as he left behind his 10-year-old son Zhang Yaoling on the throne.

Shortly after ascending, Yaoling was deposed by his uncle and regent, Zhang Zuo. In 354, Zhang Zuo declared himself emperor (or king), being the only Former Liang ruler to fully reject Jin's suzerainty. In 355, a distant relative, Zhang Guan, overthrew him and installed Zhang Chonghua's five-year-old son, Zhang Xuanjing, to take the throne. Zhang Guan acted as regent but later considered usurping the throne before he was killed by Song Hun. Song Hun and his brother, Song Cheng, were members of the prominent Song clan of Dunhuang and served as Xuanjing's regents in succession, during which they discarded Zhang Zuo's imperial title. In 361, Song Cheng was assassinated by the general, Zhang Yong, who soon suffered the same fate at the hands of his co-regent and Xuanjing's uncle, Zhang Tianxi. Tianxi was the last of Xuanjing's regents, as in 363, he deposed his nephew and assumed power for himself.

Fall and aftermath

The Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, Gansu, which first began construction during the Former Liang era.

Infighting within the Former Liang left the state severely weakened. Several pro-Eastern Jin rebellions broke out in 356 and they once more lost all their territory south of the Yellow River. Faced with pressure from the Former Qin, they were also forced to submit to them as vassals. During his regency and reign, Zhang Tianxi finally discarded the Jianxing reign era and adopted the Eastern Jin's reign eras, thus fully recognizing their sovereignty. Later, he attempted to get the Jin commander, Huan Wen, to coordinate a campaign with him against Qin but was ignored. In 376, Former Qin invaded Former Liang, prompting Tianxi to surrender and ending the state.

Zhang Tianxi served as a mid-level official under the Qin, but in the aftermath of the Battle of Fei River in 383, he managed to escape to the Eastern Jin. He became a Jin official and was restored to his family's title of Duke of Xiping before dying in 406. His son, Zhang Dayu attempted to restore his family's state in 386, but was killed in 387 by Lü Guang, the founder of Later Liang.

Despite the chaos that plagued Former Liang in its later years, it also saw the emergence of the Mogao Caves, as these Buddhist grottoes are widely believed to have been first constructed by the monk, Le Zun (樂尊) near Dunhuang in 366.^[12]

Rulers of the Former Liang

Posthumous names	Family names and given name	Durations of reigns	Era names and their according durations
Wu	Zhang Gui	301–314
Ming	Zhang Shi	314–320[3]	Jianxing 建興 318–320[b]
Cheng	Zhang Mao	320–324[3]	Jianxing 建興 or Yongyuan 永元 320–324
Zhongcheng	Zhang Jun	324–346[3]	Jianxing 建興 or Taiyuan 太元 324–346
Huan	Zhang Chonghua	346–353[3]	Jianxing 建興 or Yongle 永樂 346–353
–	Zhang Yaoling	353	Jianxing 建興 353
King Wei	Zhang Zuo	353–355[3]	Heping 和平 354–355
Jingdao	Zhang Xuanjing	355–363[3]	Jianxing 建興 355–361 Shengping 升平 361–363[c]
Dao	Zhang Tianxi	364–376[3]	Shengping 升平 363–372 Xian'an 咸安 372–376[d]

Rulers family tree

Former Liang rulers family tree

Zhang Gui 张轨 (255–314) Wǔwáng 武王 (r. 301–314) Zhang Shi 张寔 (d. 320) Míngwáng 明王 / Zhāowáng 昭王 (r. 314–320) Zhang Mao 張茂 (276–324) Chenglie 成烈 / Cheng 成 r. (320–)323–324 Zhang Jun 張駿 (307–346) Wen 文 / Zhongcheng 忠成 r. 324–346 Zhang Zuo 张祚 (d. 355) Wei 威 (r. 353–355) Zhang Chonghua 張重華 (327–353) Jinglie 敬烈 / Huan 桓 r. 346–353 Zhang Tianxi 張天錫 (346–406) Dao 悼 (r. 363–376) Zhang Yaoling 張曜靈 (344–355) Ai 哀 (r. 353–355) Zhang Xuanjing 張玄靖 (350–363) Jingdao 敬悼 / Chong 沖 r. 355–363 Zhang Dayu 张大豫 d. 387; r. 386–387

See also

• Sixteen Kingdoms
• Gansu
• Dunhuang
• Western Regions

Note

1. Earliest possible interpretation of Former Liang's year of establishment. Other interpretations include 318, 323, 345 and 354.
2. Emperor Min of Jin's reign era.
3. Emperor Mu of Jin's reign era.
4. Emperor Jianwen of Jin's reign era.

References

1. "中央研究院網站".
2. Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 104.
3. Xiong, Victor Cunrui (2009). Historical dictionary of medieval China. Historical dictionaries of ancient civilizations and historical eras. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press (published 2008). pp. 661–667. ISBN 978-0-8108-6053-7. OCLC 164803666.
4. Dien, Albert E.; Knapp, Keith N., eds. (2019-11-07). The Cambridge History of China. Vol. 2 (1 ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 133. doi:10.1017/9781139107334. ISBN 978-1-139-10733-4.
5. Tse, Wicky W. K. (January 2018). "Fabricating Legitimacy in a Peripheral Regime: Imperial Loyalism and Regionalism in the Northwestern Borderlands Under the Rule of the Former Liang (301-376)". Early Medieval China. 2018 (24): 110–112. doi:10.1080/15299104.2018.1493829. ISSN 1529-9104.
6. Dien, Albert E. (2007). Six dynasties civilization. Early Chinese civilization series. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-300-07404-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
7. Wang, Eugene Y. (1999). "What Do Trigrams Have to Do with Buddhas? The Northern Liang Stupas as a Hybrid Spatial Model". RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics (35): 73. ISSN 0277-1322.
8. Fu, Chonglan; Cao, Wenming (2019). Introduction to the Urban History of China. China Connections. Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore. p. 139. doi:10.1007/978-981-13-8207-9. ISBN 978-981-13-8206-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
9. Lü, Simian (2020). 两晋南北朝史 [A History of Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties] (in Chinese). Zhonghua Book Company. ISBN 9787999131410.
10. Kleeman, Terry F., ed. (2019-11-07). The Cambridge History of China. Vol. 2 (1 ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 153. doi:10.1017/9781139107334. ISBN 978-1-139-10733-4.
11. Rong, Xinjiang; Church, Sally K. (2023). The Silk Road and cultural exchanges between East and West. East and west. Leiden ; Boston: Brill. pp. 476–477. ISBN 978-90-04-51259-7.
12. Wu Hung (2023). Spatial Dunhuang: experiencing the Mogao Caves. Seattle: University of Washington Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-295-75021-7.