Xiangping ( zh, 襄平) is a historical name of

Liaoyang Liaoyang () is a prefecture-level city of east-central Liaoning province, China, situated on the Taizi River. It is approximately one hour south of Shenyang, the provincial capital, by car. Liaoyang is home to Liaoning University's College of Fo ...

Liaoning Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...

province. Xiangping was first mentioned in history as the capital of the

Liaodong Commandery Liaodong Commandery ( zh, 遼東郡) was a commandery in imperial China that existed from the Warring States period to the Northern dynasties. It was located in modern Liaoning, to the east of the Liao River. The commandery was created by the stat ...

in the

state of Yan Yan (; Old Chinese pronunciation: ''*'') was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Its capital was Ji (later known as Yanjing and now Beijing). During the Warring States period, the court was also moved to another capital at Xiadu ...

, and the eastern terminus of the Great Wall of Yan established in 284 BC. After the unification of China by the Qin dynasty, Xiangping became the political and cultural center of what is now

Northeastern China Northeast China or Northeastern China () is a geographical region of China, which is often referred to as "Manchuria" or "Inner Manchuria" by surrounding countries and the West. It usually corresponds specifically to the three provinces east of t ...

. From the 4th century onward, Xiangping was successively ruled by the

Former Yan The Former Yan (; 337–370) was a dynastic state ruled by the Xianbei during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China. Initially, Murong Huang and his son Murong Jun claimed the Jin dynasty-created title "Prince of Yan," but subsequently, in 352, ...

and

Later Yan Yan, known in historiography as the Later Yan (; 384 – 407 or 409) was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Xianbei people, located in modern-day northeast China, during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms. All rulers of the Later Yan declared them ...

. The city was taken by

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC–668 AD) ( ) also called Goryeo (), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled most ...

in AD 404 and renamed to Liaodong/Yodong (遼東) City. It saw several major battles during the

Goguryeo–Sui War The Goguryeo–Sui War were a series of invasions launched by the Sui dynasty of China against Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, between AD 598 and AD 614. It resulted in the defeat of the Sui and was one of the pivotal factors in ...

and Goguryeo–Tang Wars before eventually falling to the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

Warring States

Before the

Yan Yan may refer to: Chinese states * Yan (state) (11th century – 222 BC), a major state in northern China during the Zhou dynasty * Yan (Han dynasty kingdom), first appearing in 206 BC * Yan (Three Kingdoms kingdom), officially claimed indepe ...

conquest, the area was inhabited by the

Donghu people Donghu (; IPA: ; ) or Hu (; IPA: ) Pulleyblank E. G. (1994) “Ji Hu: Indigenous Inhabitants of Shaanbei and Western Shanxi,” in Edward H. Kaplan, ed.,'' Opuscula Altaica: Essays presented in honor of Henry Schwarz''. ed. by. Bellingham: Western ...

Shanrong Shanrong (山戎), or Rong (戎) were an Old Chinese nomadic people of ancient China. Origin Shanrong literally means the Rong of mountain. The Rong were a collection of tribes that lived in Northern China during the Spring and Autumn period, it ...

, and

Gija Joseon Gija Joseon (1120–194 BC) was a dynasty of Gojoseon allegedly founded by the sage Jizi (Gija), a member of the Shang dynasty royal house. Concrete evidence for Jizi's role in the history of Gojoseon is lacking, and the narrative has been c ...

. In 300 BC, the Yan general Qin Kai established

, with Xiangping as its capital. The Yan subsequently constructed its

Great Wall The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand Li (unit), ''li'' wall") is a series of fortifications that were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against Eurasian noma ...

, and Xiangping was the eastern terminus. During the reign of

King Zhao of Yan King Zhao of Yan (, died 279 BC), ancestral name Jī (姬), clan name Yān (燕), personal name Zhí (職), was the fourth king of the state of Yan in Warring States period of Chinese history. He ruled the kingdom between 311 BC until his death ...

, Qin Kai was sent to the Donghu as a hostage, and was deeply trusted by the Donghu people. When Qin Kai returned to Yan, he raised a force and decimated the Donghu, and per the

Records of the Grand Historian ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese hist ...

, 'drove the Donghu a thousand li east'. With the expansion of their borders, the Yan started to build the earliest version of the Yan Great Wall. The Yan Great Wall started in the west at

Zaoyang Zaoyang () is a city in the north of Hubei province, People's Republic of China, bordering Henan province to the north. Administratively, it is a county-level city under the administration of Xiangyang. At the 2010 census its population was 1,004, ...

(造陽) and ended in the east at Xiangping. The Kingdom of Yan was conquered by the Qin in 222 BC. In 221 BC,

Qin Shihuang Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of "king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Emperor ( ...

divided China into 36 commanderies, retaining the Yan-established Liaodong Commandery, with its commandery capital set at Xiangping.

Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms

During both the Western and Eastern Han Dynasties, the Qin's Liaodong Commandary was retained, but the most important matters of governance of the Northeast were handled at the

Four Commanderies of Han The Four Commanderies of Han (; ) were Chinese commanderies located in the north of the Korean Peninsula and part of the Liaodong Peninsula from around the end of the second century BC through the early 4th AD, for the longest lasting. The comma ...

. For example, the Han vassal state of

Buyeo Buyeo or Puyŏ (Korean: 부여; Korean pronunciation: u.jʌ or 扶餘 ''Fúyú''), also rendered as Fuyu, was an ancient kingdom that was centered in northern Manchuria in modern-day northeast China. It is sometimes considered a Korean ki ...

was initially placed under the jurisdiction of the Xuantu Commandery, but the king of Buyeo during the reign of

Emperor Xian of Han Emperor Xian of Han (2 April 181 – 21 April 234), personal name Liu Xie (劉協), courtesy name Bohe, was the 14th and last Emperor of China, emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty in China. He reigned from 28 September 189 until 11 December 220. ...

requested to change the jurisdiction of Buyeo under the Liaodong Commandery instead."獻帝時, 其王求屬遼東云", Dongyi, Fuyu chapter of the Book of the Later Han In the chaos of the late Eastern Han Dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period, Liaodong Commandary prospered, due to its location far from the warlordism and warfare going on in China, and many scholars and talented individuals sought refuge at Xiangping. In 189 AD,

Gongsun Du Gongsun Du () (150? – 2049th year of the ''Jian'an'' era, per vol. 08 of ''Sanguozhi''), courtesy name Shengji, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was not able ...

(公孙度), a Liaodong native and former governor of Liaodong, declared himself the Marquis of Liaodong and governor of the newly established Pingzhou. Gongsun Du divided the Liaodong Commandary into three, establishing the Liangdong (辽东), Zhongliao (中辽), and Liaoxi (辽西) Commandaries. The newly established Liaodong Commandary contained 8 counties, including Xiangping, Jujiu (居就), and Anshi (安市) counties. Gongsun Du's grandson

Gongsun Yuan Gongsun Yuan () (died September 238Cao Rui's biography in ''Sanguozhi'' indicated that Sima Yi laid siege to Xiangping on the ''bingyin'' day of the 8th month of the 2nd year of the ''Jing'chu'' era. However, there is no ''bingyin'' day in that ...

(公孙渊) declared himself the

King of Yan Prince or King of Yan () was a Chinese feudal title referring to the ancient Chinese State of Yan and to its fiefs including the capital Yanjing (located within modern Beijing). Typically, the title is translated as "King of Yan" for rulers pri ...

in 237 AD, but was killed during

Sima Yi's Liaodong campaign Sima Yi's Liaodong campaign occurred in 238 CE during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. Sima Yi, a general of the state of Cao Wei, led a force of 40,000 troops to attack the kingdom of Yan led by warlord Gongsun Yuan, whose clan h ...

the next year. Sima Yi ordered all of Gongsun Yuan's officials to be killed, and all men aged 15 and above in Xiangping to be massacred. Over 10,000 bodies were stacked in a mound to terrorise the locals. With the Kingdom of Yan vanquished, the

Kingdom of Wei Wei or WEI may refer to: States * Wey (state) (衛, 1040–209 BC), Wei in pinyin, but spelled Wey to distinguish from the bigger Wei of the Warring States * Wei (state) (魏, 403–225 BC), one of the seven major states of the Warring States per ...

merged Pingzhou with Youzhou, and set the capital of Liaodong Commandary at Xiangping, governing over 9 counties. The important new martial position of Dongyi Jiaowei (东夷校尉) was established to govern over non-Han peoples.

Jin dynasty and Sixteen Kingdoms

In 274 AD, during the reign of

Emperor Wu of Jin Emperor Wu of Jin (; 236 – 16 May 290), personal name Sima Yan (), courtesy name Anshi (安世), was the grandson of Sima Yi, nephew of Sima Shi and son of Sima Zhao. He became the first emperor of the Jin dynasty after forcing Cao Huan, ...

, Pingzhou (平州) was reestablished, governing the Liaodong (辽东郡), Xuantu (玄菟郡) and Changli (昌黎郡) Commandaries. The position of Dongyi Jiaowei was renamed Hudongyi Jiaowei (护东夷校尉), and given simulatenously to the regional inspector/cishi of Pingzhou, with the Jiaowei's authority extended to managing the relations with the many disparate peoples of the East, as far north as the

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang () formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is the northernmost and easternmost province ...

area and southwards, the entirety of the Korean peninsula. In 277 AD, Sima Rui (司馬蕤) was given the title of King of Liaodong, and Liaodong Commandary was reestablished as the Kingdom of Liaodong. 6 years later, Sima Rui was given another title, the King of Donglai, and the Liaodong Kingdom was reverted to Liaodong Commandary. In 334 AD, the

Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were a Proto-Mongolic ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into the ...

leader

Murong Huang Murong Huang (; 297–348), courtesy name Yuanzhen (元真), formally Prince Wenming of (Former) Yan ((前)燕文明王) was the founding monarch of the Xianbei-led Former Yan dynasty of China. When he first succeeded his father Murong Hui in 3 ...

seized Xiangping. Later on, he would declare himself the King of Yan of the

Dynasty. In 380 AD, Former Yan was destroyed by

Former Qin The Former Qin, also called Fu Qin (苻秦), (351–394) was a dynastic state of the Sixteen Kingdoms in Chinese history ruled by the Di ethnicity. Founded by Fu Jian (posthumously Emperor Jingming) who originally served under the Later ...

, and Liaodong was seized. In 384 AD,

Murong Chui Murong Chui (; 326–396), courtesy name Daoming (道明), Xianbei name Altun (阿六敦), formally Emperor Chengwu of (Later) Yan ((後)燕成武帝) was a great general of the Xianbei-led Chinese Former Yan dynasty who later became the foundi ...

established the kingdom of

Goguryeo

In 404 AD, the Goguryeo seized Liaodong, and renamed Xiangping to Liaodong/Yodong. The name of Xiangping was never used again. Most of

's lands were annexed by Goguryeo, and the later kingdom of

Northern Yan Yan, known in historiography as the Northern Yan (; 407 or 409–436), Eastern Yan () or Huanglong (), was a dynastic state of China during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms. Some historians consider Gao Yun, a member of the Goguryeo royal family, to ...

set Liaodong Commandary within the confines of the area west of today's

. The region was contested territory between Goguryeo and the various imperial dynasties in the Central Plain. The two political forces competed with each-other over trade and influence in the area by constructing fortresses in strategic locations. Yodong fortress was established prior to the year 612, possibly as early as 397.Kim, Sung Nam. "Koguryo: Kingdom or Empire?." ''The Journal of Northeast Asian History'' 10 (2013): 5-63. The fortress was considered to be a formidable defensive obstacle as it was located near the strategically important

Liao River The Liao River () is the principal river in southern Northeast China, and one of the seven main river systems in China. Its name derived from the Liao region, a historical name for southern Manchuria, from which the Liaoning province, Liaodong P ...

. The fortress protected the roads leading into the Korea Peninsula and the nearby Goguryeo cities of Yodong and

Baegam Paegam County is a Administrative divisions of North Korea, ''kun'', or county, in Ryanggang province, North Korea. Geography The terrain is mountainous, as Paegam lies atop the Paektu Plateau, the site of North Korea's tallest mountains. The Ham ...

. One source refers to the fortress as the anchor of Goguryeo's border defense. The fortress was well-stocked with provisions and maintained a large complement of troops in case of a siege. In 435 AD, during the

Northern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei (), Tuoba Wei (), Yuan Wei () and Later Wei (), was founded by the Tuoba (Tabgach) clan of the Xianbei. The first of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties ...

dynasty,

Jangsu of Goguryeo Jangsu of Goguryeo (394–491, r. 413–491) was the 20th monarch of Goguryeo, the northernmost of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He was born in 394 as the eldest son of Gwanggaeto. He became the crown prince in 408, and upon his father's death in ...

sent tribute, and Northern Wei gave Jangsu the title of King of Goguryeo and Duke of Liaodong Commandary. In 492 AD,

Munjamyeong of Goguryeo Munja of Goguryeo or Munjamyeong of Goguryeo (died 519, r. 491–519) was the 21st monarch of Goguryeo, the northernmost of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He was the grandson of Taewang Jangsu (413–491). Though Munja's father Gochudaega Joda () h ...

was given the title of Duke Kaiguo of Liaodong. In 519,

Anjang of Goguryeo Anjang of Goguryeo (died 531, r. 519–531) was the 22nd ruler of Goguryeo, the northernmost of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. With his original name of Heung-an, he was the eldest son of Munjamyeong. He was named Crown Prince in the seventh year o ...

was regiven the title. In 577 AD, during the

Northern Zhou Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern dynasties of China's Northern and Southern dynasties period, it succeeded the Western Wei dynasty and ...

dynasty, the king of Goguryeo was given the title of the King of Liaodong. Shortly thereafter,

Northern Qi Qi, known as the Northern Qi (), Later Qi (後齊) or Gao Qi (高齊) in historiography, was a Chinese imperial dynasty and one of the Northern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties era. It ruled the eastern part of northern China ...

disestablished Liaodong Commandary. Yodong fortress was located at the same place and had a similar size as the

Western Han The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...

Xiangping. In 598 AD, Goguryeo launched an attack across the Liao river against the newly-established

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and layi ...

. The Sui retaliated in 612 by launching a massive retaliatory attack into Goguryeo territory, laying siege to Yodong fortress. The fortresses' defenders refused to surrender and successfully held off the Sui army. Frustrated by the invasion's lack of progress, one third of the Sui army disengaged itself from the siege and marched on the Goguryeo capital of Pyongyang. The Sui army would later be destroyed at the pivotal

Battle of Salsu The Battle of Salsu was a major battle that occurred in the year 612 during the second campaign of the Goguryeo–Sui War between Goguryeo of Korea and Sui of China. Goguryeo won an overwhelming victory over the numerically superior Sui forces ...

; the war continued until 614, but the battle effectively ending the

in favor of Goguryeo. Following the conflict with the Sui dynasty, Goguryeo strengthened its border defenses in preparation for a future war. This war came when in 642 the

invaded An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...

Goguryeo, successfully breaching the latter's border defenses. Yodong fortress, which was garrisoned with 10,000 soldiers and holding 40,000 civilians, held off the Tang army for some time, but an army sent to relieve the fortress was destroyed.Graff, David. (2002). ''Medieval Chinese Warfare, 300-900''. London: Routledge. . pp 197 The Tang were able to breach the fortress walls with a rapid cavalry assault, and Yodong was eventually captured and its inhabitants enslaved.

Emperor Taizong of Tang Emperor Taizong of Tang (28January 59810July 649), previously Prince of Qin, personal name Li Shimin, was the second emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649. He is traditionally regarded as a co-founder of the dynasty ...

would later intercede and offer freedom to the prisoners and the fortress was incorporated into a new Imperial prefecture. However, the Tang unsuccessfully besieged Ansi and were forced to retreat into northern China.

Tang dynasty

The Goguryeo kingdom eventually collapsed in the final war of 668. The Tang established Liaocheng Prefecture (遼城州) at Liaodong City. Liaodong became the capital of the

Andong Protectorate The Protectorate-General to Pacify the East () was an administrative division of the Chinese Tang dynasty in Manchuria and the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. It was established after the Tang dynasty defeated Goguryeo and annexed its ter ...

in 676. However, the capital was moved again the following year.

References