匈奴列傳（上）

The Xiongnu are descended from the Xia royal house, from a line called Chunwei. In the ages before Yao and Shun, there were the Shanrong, the Xianyun, and the Xunyu, who lived in the northern wilds and moved with their herds. Their most common livestock are horses, cattle, and sheep; their rarer animals include camels, donkeys, mules, and wild horses. They follow water and grass in their migrations, having no walled cities, fixed settlements, or agriculture, though each group has its own territory. They have no writing; agreements are made by word of mouth. Children can ride sheep and draw a bow to shoot birds and mice; when a little older, they shoot foxes and hares for food. Every man who can draw a bow serves as armored cavalry. In their customs, when times are easy they follow the herds, hunting game for their livelihood; when times are hard, everyone trains for war and raids — this is their nature. Their long-range weapons are the bow and arrow; their close-combat weapons are the sword and short lance. When conditions favor them, they advance; when unfavorable, they retreat, feeling no shame in flight. Where there is profit, they go, knowing nothing of ritual or righteousness. From the ruler on down, all eat the meat of their livestock, wear its hides, and cover themselves with felt and fur. The strong eat the choicest portions; the old eat what remains. They honor the strong and despise the old and weak. When a father dies, his sons take his widows as wives; when brothers die, the survivors take their wives. They use personal names without taboo but have no surnames.

When the Xia dynasty declined, Duke Liu lost his post as Minister of Grain, changed his ways to those of the western Rong, and settled at Bin. After more than three hundred years, the Rong and Di attacked the Great King Danfu, who fled to the foot of Mount Qi. The people of Bin all followed Danfu and settled there, founding Zhou. More than a hundred years later, the Lord of the West, Chang, attacked the Quanyi. More than ten years after that, King Wu conquered King Zhou and built Luoyang, returning to rule from Feng and Hao. He drove the Rong and Yi north of the Jing and Luo rivers and required them to pay tribute at fixed times — these were called the ‘Outer Domains.’ More than two hundred years later, the Zhou dynasty declined, and King Mu campaigned against the Quanrong, obtaining four white wolves and four white deer before returning. After this, the Outer Domains ceased their tribute. Thereupon Zhou produced the Punishments of Fǔ.

At that time, Qin and Jin were the great powers. Duke Wen of Jin drove the Rong and Di back and settled them between the Western River and the Luo. They were called the Red Di and White Di. Duke Mu of Qin obtained the services of You Yu, and eight Rong states submitted to Qin. Thus west of the Long range were the Mian, Gun, Di, and Rong peoples; north of Qi, Liang Mountain, the Jing, and the Qi rivers were the Yiqu, Dali, Wushi, and Quyan Rong. To the north of Jin were the Lin Hu and Loufan Rong; to the north of Yan were the Eastern Hu and the Shanrong. Each was scattered in its own valley, with its own chieftain. Altogether there were more than a hundred Rong groups, but none could unite them.

More than a hundred years after this, Duke Dao of Jin sent Wei Jiang to make peace with the Rong and Di, and the Rong and Di came to pay court to Jin. Another hundred-odd years later, Lord Xiang of Zhao crossed the Juzhu Mountains, defeated and annexed Dai, and pushed up to the borders of the Hu and Mo. After he and the lords of Han and Wei destroyed the Zhi clan and divided Jin among themselves, Zhao held Dai and the land north of Juzhu, while Wei held the Western River and Shang Commandery — both bordering Rong territory. The Yiqu Rong later built walled cities and defended themselves, but Qin gradually encroached upon them. By the time of King Hui, Qin had taken twenty-five Yiqu cities. King Hui attacked Wei, and Wei ceded the entire Western River and Shang Commandery to Qin. In the time of King Zhao of Qin, the Yiqu Rong king had an affair with the Queen Dowager Xuan and she bore him two sons. The Queen Dowager then treacherously murdered the Yiqu king at Ganquan and launched an army to destroy the Yiqu. Qin thus acquired Longxi, Beidi, and Shang Commandery, and built the Long Wall to hold back the Hu. King Wuling of Zhao also reformed customs to adopt Hu-style clothing and practice mounted archery. He defeated the Lin Hu and Loufan to the north, built a long wall from Dai along the Yin Mountains to Gaoque as a barrier, and established the commanderies of Yunzhong, Yanmen, and Dai. Later, Yan had a capable general, Qin Kai, who had served as hostage among the Hu and won their trust. Upon returning, he surprised and routed the Eastern Hu, driving them back more than a thousand li. Qin Wuyang, who accompanied Jing Ke in the assassination attempt on the King of Qin, was Qin Kai’s grandson. Yan also built a long wall from Zaoyang to Xiangping and established the commanderies of Shanggu, Yuyang, Right Beiping, Liaoxi, and Liaodong to resist the Hu. At this time there were seven cap-and-belt Warring States, of which three bordered the Xiongnu. Later, during the time of Zhao’s general Li Mu, the Xiongnu did not dare invade Zhao’s borders. After Qin destroyed the six states, the First Emperor sent Meng Tian with three hundred thousand troops to strike the Hu in the north, recovering all the land south of the Yellow River. He used the river as a barrier, built forty-four walled county-towns along its banks, and settled convict colonists there. He opened the Straight Road from Jiuyuan to Yunyang, fortified every exploitable mountain ridge and valley along the frontier, and constructed a wall from Lintao to Liaodong stretching more than ten thousand li. He also crossed the river and occupied the northern slopes of the Yin Mountains.

At that time, the Eastern Hu were strong and the Yuezhi were flourishing. The Chanyu of the Xiongnu was named Touman. Unable to withstand Qin, Touman retreated north. After more than ten years, Meng Tian died, the lords revolted against Qin, and China fell into turmoil. All the convict colonists Qin had settled on the frontier departed, and the Xiongnu gained room to breathe, gradually crossing the Yellow River southward again to their old borders with China.

The Chanyu had a crown prince named Modu. Later, a beloved consort bore a younger son, and the Chanyu wished to depose Modu and install the younger son. He therefore sent Modu as a hostage to the Yuezhi. Once Modu was among the Yuezhi, Touman launched a sudden attack on them. The Yuezhi intended to kill Modu, but Modu stole one of their finest horses and rode it home. Touman, impressed by his daring, gave him command of ten thousand cavalry. Modu then invented the whistling arrow and trained his mounted warriors with it, issuing the order: “Anyone who does not shoot where my whistling arrow strikes shall be beheaded.” When they hunted birds and beasts, any who failed to shoot where the whistling arrow struck were immediately executed. Then Modu shot his whistling arrow at his own finest horse. Some of his men dared not shoot; Modu instantly beheaded them. After a time, he shot his whistling arrow at his beloved wife. Some were frightened and did not shoot; Modu beheaded them too. Then Modu went hunting and shot his whistling arrow at the Chanyu’s finest horse, and all his men shot it. Then Modu knew his men could be relied upon. While hunting with his father the Chanyu Touman, he shot his whistling arrow at Touman, and all his men followed the whistling arrow and shot the Chanyu dead. Modu then killed his stepmother, his younger brother, and every minister who refused to obey. Modu installed himself as Chanyu.

After Modu established himself, the Eastern Hu were at the height of their power. Hearing that Modu had killed his father and installed himself, they sent an envoy demanding Touman’s thousand-li horse. Modu consulted his ministers. They all said: “The thousand-li horse is one of the Xiongnu’s most prized steeds. Do not give it.” Modu said: “Why should one begrudge a single horse to a neighboring state?” He gave them the horse. After a time, the Eastern Hu, thinking Modu feared them, sent another envoy demanding one of the Chanyu’s consorts. Modu consulted his advisers again. They were all furious: “The Eastern Hu are outrageous — demanding a consort! Attack them!” Modu said: “Why should one begrudge a single woman to a neighboring state?” He took his beloved consort and gave her to the Eastern Hu. The Eastern Hu king grew ever more arrogant and encroached westward. Between the Xiongnu and the Eastern Hu lay an unclaimed buffer zone of more than a thousand li, where no one lived; each side held its own border as a neutral strip. The Eastern Hu sent an envoy saying: “The wasteland in the buffer zone between us — the Xiongnu cannot use it anyway. We wish to have it.” Modu asked his ministers. Some said: “It is wasteland. We could give it or not.” At this, Modu flew into a rage: “Land is the foundation of the state! How can we give it away?” He beheaded everyone who had suggested giving it. Modu mounted his horse and issued the order that any man who was late would be beheaded. He then launched a surprise attack eastward on the Eastern Hu. The Eastern Hu had held Modu in contempt and made no preparations. When Modu’s army arrived, they struck and completely destroyed the Eastern Hu king, capturing his people and livestock. Returning home, he attacked and drove off the Yuezhi to the west, and to the south annexed the Loufan and the King of Muyang south of the river. He recovered all the lands Qin had taken from the Xiongnu under Meng Tian, pushed up to the old frontier at the Yellow River, reaching Chao and Fushi, and invaded Yan and Dai. At this time, the Han army was locked in confrontation with Xiang Yu, and China was exhausted by war. Thus Modu was free to grow strong, commanding over three hundred thousand mounted warriors.

The system comprised a Wise King of the Left and a Wise King of the Right, a Luli King of the Left and a Luli King of the Right, a Grand General of the Left and Right, a Grand Commandant of the Left and Right, a Grand Danghu of the Left and Right, and a Gudu Marquis of the Left and Right. In the Xiongnu language, ‘wise’ was pronounced ‘tuqi,’ so the crown prince was always the Left Tuqi King. From the Wise Kings down to the Danghu, the greater commanded ten thousand cavalry and the lesser several thousand, making twenty-four chiefs in all, who bore the title ‘Commander of Ten Thousand Cavalry.’ All the great ministers held hereditary positions. The Huyan clan, the Lan clan, and later the Xubu clan — these three surnames were the noble lineages.

At this time, Han had just unified China. The King of Han, Xin, was relocated to Dai with his capital at Mayi. The Xiongnu launched a massive attack and besieged Mayi, and King Xin of Han surrendered to them. The Xiongnu then led their troops south across the Juzhu range, attacked Taiyuan, and reached the outskirts of Jinyang. Emperor Gaozu personally led the campaign against them. It was the depth of winter with heavy snow, and two or three out of every ten soldiers lost fingers to frostbite. Modu feigned a retreat to lure the Han army forward. The Han forces gave chase. Modu hid his best troops and displayed only his weakest, so the Han committed their entire army — three hundred twenty thousand, mostly infantry — and pursued northward. Emperor Gaozu, riding ahead, reached Pingcheng before the infantry had fully arrived. Modu then unleashed four hundred thousand elite cavalry and surrounded the Emperor at Baideng. For seven days, the Han forces inside and outside the encirclement could not communicate or deliver supplies. The Xiongnu cavalry was organized by color: all white horses on the west, all grey horses on the east, all black horses on the north, all bay horses on the south. The Emperor secretly sent an envoy with rich gifts to Modu’s consort. The consort told Modu: “Two rulers should not press each other to the wall. Even if you took the Han lands, the Chanyu could never live there. Besides, the Han king has divine protection — consider that.” Modu had arranged to meet up with King Xin’s generals Wang Huang and Zhao Li, but their forces had not appeared. Suspecting they had conspired with Han, and heeding his consort’s words, he opened one corner of the encirclement. The Emperor ordered every soldier to nock his bow and aim outward. They marched straight out through the gap, joined the main army, and Modu withdrew his forces. Han also withdrew, and Liu Jing was sent to conclude a peace-through-marriage treaty.