Zhao Tuo

In this Chinese name, the family name is Zhao and is a generation name.

Zhao Tuo (Chinese: 趙佗; pinyin: Zhào Tuó; Wade–Giles: Chao⁴ T‘o²), rendered as Triệu Đà in Vietnamese, was a Qin dynasty Chinese general and first emperor of Nanyue. He participated in the conquest of the Baiyue peoples of Guangdong, Guangxi and Northern Vietnam. After the fall of the Qin, he established the independent kingdom of Nanyue with its capital in Panyu (now Guangzhou) in 204 BCE.^[1] Some traditional Vietnamese history scholars considered him the founder of the Triệu dynasty while some contemporary historians contest that he was a foreign invader.^[2]

Emperor Wu of Nanyue 南越武帝
Emperor of Nanyue
Statue of Zhao Tuo
Emperor of Nanyue
Reign	203–137 BC
Successor	Zhao Mo
Born	240 BC Zhengding County, Shijiazhuang
Died	137 BC (aged 103) Nanyue
Burial	Guangzhou
Spouse	Trình Thị Queen
Posthumous name Emperor Wu 武帝 Chinese: 開天體道聖武神哲皇帝 Vietnamese: Khai Thiên Thể Đạo Thánh Vũ Thần Triết Hoàng Đế
House	Zhao (Triệu)
Dynasty	Nanyue
Father	Ren Ao (Nhâm Ngao)

Zhao Tuo/Triệu Đà
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	趙佗
Simplified Chinese	赵佗
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhào Tuó Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Jiuh Tòh Jyutping Ziu6 To4 IPA [tsiw˨.tʰɔ˩]
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet	Triệu Đà
Chữ Hán	趙佗

Emperor Wu/Vũ Đế
Chinese name
Chinese	武帝
Literal meaning	The Martial Emperor
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Wǔdì Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Móuh Dai Jyutping Mou5 Dai3
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet	Vũ Đế
Chữ Hán	武帝

Life

A statue of Zhao in front of Heyuan Railway Station

A statue of Zhao Tuo in Hebei, China

Triệu Đà statue at đình Xuân Quan, Hưng Yên, Vietnam

Nanyue

Zhao Tuo was born around 240 BC in Zhending in the state of Zhao (within modern Hebei). When the state of Zhao was defeated and annexed by Qin (state) in 222 BC, Zhao Tuo joined the Qin, serving as one of their generals in the conquest of the Baiyue. The territory of those conquered Yues was divided into the three provinces of Guilin, Nanhai, and Xiang. Zhao served as magistrate in the province of Nanhai until his military commander, Ren Xiao, fell ill. Before he died, Ren advised Zhao not to get involved in the affairs of the declining Qin, and instead set up his own independent kingdom centered around the geographically remote and isolated city of Panyu (modern Guangzhou). Ren gave Zhao full authority to act as military commander of Nanhai and died shortly afterwards. Zhao immediately closed off the roads at Hengpu, Yangshan, and Huangqi. Using one excuse or another he eliminated the Qin officials and replaced them with his own appointees. By the time the Qin fell in 206 BC, Zhao had also conquered the provinces of Guilin and Xiang. He declared himself King Wu of Nanyue (Southern Yue).^[3][4]

Conflict with the Han

In June or July 196 BC,^[5] Emperor Gaozu of Han dispatched Lu Jia to recognize Zhao Tuo as king of Nanyue.^[3] Lu gave Zhao a seal legitimizing him as king of Nanyue in return for his nominal submission to the Han.

In 185 BC, Empress Lü's officials outlawed trade of iron and horses with Nanyue. Zhao Tuo retaliated by proclaiming himself Emperor Wu of Nanyue and attacking the neighboring kingdom of Changsha, taking a few border towns. In 181 BC, Zhou Zao was dispatched by Empress Lü to attack Nanyue, but the heat and dampness caused many of his officers and men to fall ill, and he failed to make it across the mountains into enemy territory. Zhao began to menace the neighboring kingdoms of Minyue, Western Ou, and Luo. After securing their submission he began passing out edicts in a similar manner to the Han emperor.^[6]

In late 180 BC, Emperor Wen of Han made efforts to appease Zhao. Learning that Zhao's parents were buried in Zhending, he set aside a town close by just to take care of their graves. Zhao's cousins were appointed to high offices at the Han court. He also withdrew the army stationed in Changsha on the Han-Nanyue border. In response, Zhao rescinded his claims as emperor while communicating with the Han. However, he continued using the title of emperor within his kingdom. Tribute bearing envoys from Nanyue were sent to the Han and thus the iron trade was resumed.^[7]

Conquest of Âu Lạc

Having mobilized his armies for war with the Han dynasty, Zhao Tuo found the conquest of Âu Lạc both "tempting and feasible".^[8]

Zhao Tuo's early setbacks and eventual victory against King An Dương were mentioned in Records of the Outer Territories of the Jiao province (交州外域記) and Records [about the Era] of Jin Taikang (晉太康記).^[9] The Records of the Grand Historian mention neither King An Dương nor Zhao Tuo's military conquest of Âu Lạc; just that after Empress Lü's death (180 BCE), Zhao Tuo used his own troops to menace and used wealth to bribe the Minyue, the Western Ou, and the Luo (Âu Lạc) into submission.^[10] The campaign against the Âu Lạc inspired a legend whose theme is the transfer of the turtle claw-triggered crossbow from King An Dương to Zhao Tuo. According to this legend, ownership of the crossbow conferred the political power. As described in one account, Cao Lỗ is quoted as saying:“He who is able to hold this crossbow rules the realm; he who is not able to hold this crossbow will perish.”^[11]

Unsuccessful on the battlefield against the supernatural crossbow, Zhao Tuo asked for a truce and sent his son Zhong Shi, to submit to King An Dương to serve him.^[12][13] There, he and King An Dương's daughter, Mỵ Châu, fell in love and were married.^[13][14] A vestige of the matrilocal organization demanded that the husband came to live in the residence of his wife's family.^[15] As a result, they resided at An Dương's court until Zhong Shi managed to lay his hands upon the magic crossbow that was the source of King An Dương's power.^[15] Meanwhile, King An Dương treated Cao Lỗ disrespectfully, and he abandoned him.^[16]

Zhong Shi had Mỵ Châu show him her father's sacred crossbow, at with point he secretly changed its trigger, thus neutralizing its special powers.^[14] He stole the turtle claw, rendering the crossbow useless, then returned to his father, who thereupon launched new attack on Âu Lạc and this time defeated King An Dương.^[15] History records that, in his defeat, the King jumped into the ocean to commit suicide. In some versions, he was told by the turtle about his daughter's betrayal and killed his own daughter before killing himself. A legend, however, discloses that a golden turtle emerged from the water and guided him into the watery realm.^[13]

Zhao Tuo subsequently incorporated the regions into his Nanyue domain, but left the indigenous chiefs in control of the population with the royal court in Cổ Loa.^[17][18][19] For the first time, the region formed part of a polity headed by a Chinese ruler.^[20] He posted two legates to supervise the Âu Lạc lords, one in the Red River Delta, which was named Jiaozhi, and one in the Mã and Cả River, which was named Jiuzhen. Some records suggest that he also invested a king at Cổ Loa who continued to preside over the Âu Lạc lords. The legates established commercial outposts accessible by sea.^[21]

Death

Zhao Tuo died in 137 BC at the age of 103, and was succeeded by his grandson, Zhao Mo.^[7]

See also

• History of China
• History of Vietnam
• Qin's campaign against the Yue tribes
• Nanyue
• Triệu dynasty
• Phiên Ngung
• Trọng Thuỷ
• Han-Nanyue War
• An Dương Vương
• Âu Lạc
• Phiên Ngung Palace
• Museum of the Mausoleum of King Triệu Mạt
• Luobowan Tomb No.1
• Đông Sơn culture
• Changsha (state)
• Minyue
• Yelang
• Bách Việt

Citations

1. Ulrich
2. Brantly Womack (2006). China and Vietnam: the politics of asymmetry. Cambridge University Press, 2006. p. 100. ISBN 0-521-85320-6.
3. Watson 1993, p. 208.
4. Amies, Alex; Ban, Gu (2020). Hanshu Volume 95 The Southwest Peoples, Two Yues, and Chaoxian: Translation with Commentary. Gutenberg Self Publishing Press. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-9833348-7-3.
5. 5th month of the 11th year of Liu Bang's reign (including his tenure as King of Han), per vol.12 of Zizhi Tongjian. The month corresponds to 18 Jun to 16 Jul 196 BCE in the proleptic Julian calendar.
6. Watson 1993, p. 209.
7. Watson 1993, p. 210.
8. Taylor 1983, p. 24.
9. both quoted in Li Daoyuan's Commentary on the Water Classic. "vol. 37", "section Yi Province Yeyu River"
10. Watson 1961, p. 241.
11. Nam C. Kim 2015, p. 5.
12. Leeming 2001, p. 193.
13. Taylor 1983, p. 25.
14. Kelley 2014, p. 89.
15. Taylor 2013, p. 15.
16. Taylor 2013, p. 16.
17. Jamieson 1995, p. 8.
18. Brindley 2015, p. 93.
19. Buttinger 1958, p. 92.
20. Kiernan 2019, p. 69.
21. Taylor 2013, p. 17.

References

• Taylor, K.W. (1983), The Birth of the Vietnamese, University of California Press
• Taylor, K.W. (2013), A History of the Vietnamese, Cambridge University Press
• Watson, Burton (1993), Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian: Han Dynasty II (Revised Edition, Columbia University Press
• Ulrich, Theobald (2000). "Chinese History". ChinaKnowledge.de – An Encyclopaedia on Chinese History, Literature and Art. Theobald Ulrich. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
• Watson, Burton (1961). Records Of The Grand Historian Of China. Columbia University Press.
• Buttinger, Joseph (1958). The Smaller Dragon: A Political History of Vietnam. Praeger Publishers.
• Leeming, David (2001). A Dictionary of Asian Mythology. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-512052-3.
• Kiernan, Ben (2019). Việt Nam: a history from earliest time to the present. Oxford University Press.
• Brindley, Erica (2015). Ancient China and the Yue: Perceptions and Identities on the Southern Frontier, C.400 BCE-50 CE. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-08478-0.
• Higham, Charles (1996). The Bronze Age of Southeast Asia. Cambridge World Archaeology. ISBN 0-521-56505-7.
• Kelley, Liam C. (2014), "Constructing Local Narratives: Spirits, Dreams, and Prophecies in the Medieval Red River Delta", in Anderson, James A.; Whitmore, John K. (eds.), China's Encounters on the South and Southwest: Reforging the Fiery Frontier Over Two Millennia, United States: Brills, pp. 78–106, ISBN 978-9-004-28248-3
• Jamieson, Neil L (1995). Understanding Vietnam. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-20157-6.
• Miksic, John Norman; Yian, Go Geok (2016). Ancient Southeast Asia. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-317-27903-7.
• Kim, Nam; Lai Van Toi; Trinh Hoang Hiep (2010). "Co Loa: an investigation of Vietnam's ancient capital". Antiquity. 84 (326): 1011–1027. doi:10.1017/S0003598X00067041. S2CID 162065918.
• Nam C. Kim (2015). The Origins of Ancient Vietnam. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-998089-5.

Zhao Tuo/Triệu Vũ Đế Triệu dynasty Born: 240 BC Died: 137 BC
Preceded by Dynasty established	Emperor of Nanyue 203–137 BC	Succeeded by Zhao Mo