The Turbulent Origins of Two Rival Zhao States

The year 325 CE marked the outbreak of full-scale war between two formidable warlords of northern China—Liu Yao, leader of the Tuge (Southern Xiongnu), and Shi Le, commander of the multi-ethnic “Miscellaneous Hu” forces. Their battlegrounds stretched across Hedong and Hongnang commanderies, where the fate of two emerging kingdoms hung in the balance.

This conflict emerged from the ashes of the collapsed Han-Zhao dynasty (304-329 CE), a Xiongnu-led regime that had once toppled Western Jin. In a historically ironic twist, both warlords adopted “Zhao” as their state name—Liu Yao establishing the “Former Zhao” while Shi Le founded the “Later Zhao,” despite Shi Le technically declaring his kingdom first. The roots of this rivalry traced back to 318 CE when Liu Yao, during a rebellion by Jin Zhun, had granted Shi Le the title of Duke of Zhao to secure his military support. Though Liu Yao later reneged on promises to elevate Shi Le to King of Zhao—even sending assassins after his own envoys—the stage was set for confrontation.

The Ill-Fated Founding of Former Zhao

In 319 CE, Liu Yao made a fateful decision to abandon the “Han” dynastic title, deeming it inauspicious after his homeland in Bing Province fell. Consulting his ministers, he embraced the new name “Great Zhao” based on cosmological interpretations:

“Your Majesty destroyed Jin and was enfeoffed as Prince of Zhongshan—lands of ancient Zhao. As Zhao represents the north (water virtue) succeeding Jin’s metal virtue in the Five Elements cycle, this brings supreme fortune.”

This decision proved disastrous. Traditional Chinese political philosophy, as articulated in the Dao De Jing, warned against premature declarations: “The Way of Heaven reduces excess and supplements deficiency.” Unlike founders such as Liu Bang (Han) or Cao Cao (Wei) who named regimes after their territorial bases, Liu Yao’s “Zhao” lacked geographic legitimacy—a portent of doom.

A chilling omen came in 324 CE when Mount Zhongnan collapsed, revealing a jade slab inscribed:

“The emperor perishes, the emperor perishes, Zhao defeated and prosper…”

While courtiers celebrated this as predicting Shi Le’s demise, astute minister Liu Jun interpreted the true meaning: “Mountains and rivers correspond to rulers. Their collapse foretells our destruction.” His analysis proved prophetic—the inscriptions cryptically outlined Former Zhao’s impending collapse across zodiac years.

The Collapse of Xiongnu Power

As Shi Le consolidated eastern territories, Liu Yao faced insurmountable challenges governing the ethnically fractured Guanzhong region. Unlike Shi Le’s relatively homogenous Han Chinese opponents, Liu Yao contended with rebellious Qiang, Di, and Ba tribes—legacies of centuries-old conflicts.

Key crises included:
– 320 CE: Tuge defector Lu Songduo allied with Eastern Jin, sparking rebellions across Qinlong
– 322 CE: Campaigns against Di chieftain Yang Nandi ended in pandemic retreat
– 323 CE: Suppression of rebel Chen An required mass deportations to Chang’an

Liu Yao’s brutal tactics—executing 50 conspirators despite bloodied protests from advisor You Ziyuan—only inflamed tensions. Though temporary pacification was achieved through You’s diplomatic missions and resettlement programs, the structural weaknesses remained:

“Our core Xiongnu garrison troops are aged and exhausted,” Liu Yao admitted during his 323 western campaign against Liang warlords. The massive show of force—285,000 troops with “drums shaking heaven and earth”—masked an empire running on borrowed time.

The Decisive Clash: Luoyang Campaign (328 CE)

The final confrontation came when Shi Le’s general Shi Hu invaded Hedong in 328 CE, prompting Liu Yao’s desperate counterattack. Despite initial victories at Gaohou Plains where Shi Hu’s army was “strewn across 200 li,” strategic blunders doomed Former Zhao:

1. Intoxicated Leadership: Liu Yao commanded drunk, riding a small horse during the pivotal battle
2. Tactical Errors: Abandoning the impregnable Chenggao Pass allowed Shi Le to flank his overextended formations
3. Psychological Collapse: Mysterious nighttime panics twice scattered Liu Yao’s armies before engagements

The rout at Luoyang saw 50,000 Xiongnu slaughtered. Captured while incapacitated by alcohol, Liu Yao was paraded before his imprisoned clansmen in Xiangguo before execution. His final act—a defiant letter telling heir Liu Xi to “defend the state, ignore my fate”—sealed the dynasty’s doom.

The Ethnic Reckoning

Shi Le’s victory precipitated a genocide:
– 329 CE: 3,000 Xiongnu elites massacred at Shanggui
– Systematic Purges: 5,000 Tuge prisoners executed in Luoyang

This marked the effective extinction of the Southern Xiongnu as a political force after six centuries of interaction with China—from the Han-Xiongnu Wars to their final, disastrous experiment in conquest dynasticism. Their legacy served as a grim lesson in the perils of:
– Excessive reliance on terror tactics (mass executions, necropolitical displays)
– Failure to integrate conquered populations
– Ecological hubris (Liu Yao’s tomb construction ravaged 1,000 ancient graves)

The New Order: Later Zhao’s Precarious Supremacy

By 330 CE, Shi Le controlled northern China through:
– Inclusive Policies: Granting “Nationals” (Guoren) status to diverse ethnic groups
– Military Colonies: Resettling surrendered forces as border garrisons

Yet these measures couldn’t resolve fundamental tensions between Han Chinese gentry and tribal power structures. As Later Zhao celebrated unification, the south witnessed the rise of aristocratic dominance during the Eastern Jin’s Sujun Rebellion (328 CE)—a contrast in political evolution that would shape China’s north-south divide for centuries.

The Zhao kingdoms’ collapse opened the floodgates for subsequent “Five Barbarians” regimes, inaugurating three centuries of upheaval before the Sui reunification. Their story remains a cautionary tale about the limits of military conquest without cultural synthesis—a recurring theme in Chinese frontier history.