Modu, Maodun, Modun (, from

Old Chinese Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones from around 1250 ...

(220 B.C.E.): *''mouᴴ-tuən'' or *''mək-tuən'', c. 234 – c. 174 BCE) was the son of

Touman Touman ( zh, 頭曼), from Old Chinese (220 B.C.E.): *''do-mɑnᴬ'', is the earliest named leader (''chanyu'') of the Xiongnu, reigning from . Life Competing with the Xiongnu for supremacy were the ''Dōnghú'' (東胡) or 'Eastern Barbarian ...

and the founder of the empire of the

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 20 ...

. He came to power by ordering his men to kill his father in 209 BCE. Modu ruled from 209 BCE to 174 BCE. He was a military leader under his father

and later Chanyu of the Xiongnu Empire, based on the

Mongolian Plateau The Mongolian Plateau is the part of the Central Asian Plateau lying between 37°46′-53°08′N and 87°40′-122°15′E and having an area of approximately . It is bounded by the Greater Hinggan Mountains in the east, the Yin Mountains to ...

. He secured the throne and established a powerful Xiongnu Empire by successfully unifying the tribes of the Mongolian-Manchurian grassland in response to the loss of Xiongnu pasture lands to invading Qin forces commanded by

Meng Tian Meng Tian (c. 250 BC – 210 BC) was a Chinese inventor and military general of the Qin dynasty who distinguished himself in campaigns against the Xiongnu and in the construction of the Great Wall of China. He was the elder brother of Meng Yi. ...

in 215 BCE. While Modu rode and then furthered the wave of militarization and effectively centralized Xiongnu power, the Qin quickly fell into disarray with the death of the first emperor in 210 BCE, leaving Modu a free hand to expand his Xiongnu Empire into one of the largest of his time. The eastern border stretched as far as the Liao River, the western borders of the empire reached the Pamir Mountains, whilst the northern border reached Lake Baikal. Modu was succeeded by his son

Laoshang Laoshang (; r. 174–161 BCE), whose personal name was Jiyu (), was a Chanyu of the Xiongnu Empire who succeeded his father Modu Chanyu in 174 BCE. Under his reign, the Xiongnu Empire continued to expand against the Yuezhi and the Xiongnu thus ...

Name

His name ''Mòdùn'' ( Wade-Giles: ''Motun'') is pronounced in

Later Han Chinese Eastern Han Chinese or Later Han Chinese is the stage of the Chinese language revealed by poetry and glosses from the Eastern Han period (first two centuries AD). It is considered an intermediate stage between Old Chinese and the Middle Chinese o ...

and in

Middle Chinese Middle Chinese (formerly known as Ancient Chinese) or the Qieyun system (QYS) is the historical variety of Chinese recorded in the '' Qieyun'', a rime dictionary first published in 601 and followed by several revised and expanded editions. The ...

; the name's

pronunciation might have represented the pronunciation of the foreign word ''*baɣtur'', a relative of the later attested Central Eurasian culture word '' baɣatur'' "hero". According to Gerard Clauson, ''bağatur'', transcribed by Chinese with ''-n'' for foreign ''-r'', was by origin almost certainly a Hunnic (Xiongnu) proper name. His name was also read as ''Modun'' 墨頓 (MC: *''mək-tuən^H''; following to

Sima Zhen Sima Zhen (; 679–732), courtesy name Zizheng (Tzu-cheng; 子正), was a Tang dynasty Chinese historian born in what is now Jiaozuo, Henan. Sima Zhen was one of the most important commentators on the ''Shiji ''Records of the Grand Histo ...

's commentary on

Shiji ''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 his ...

) and ''Modu'' 墨毒 (MC: *''mək-duok''; following

Song Qi Song Qi (; 998–1061), courtesy name Zijing (子京), was a Chinese essayist, historian, politician, and poet of the Northern Song dynasty. Imperial advisor Song was a Grand Councilor in the Imperial Chinese court. In this role, he was called ...

's commentary on

Hanshu The ''Book of Han'' or ''History of the Former Han'' (Qián Hàn Shū,《前汉书》) is a history of China finished in 111AD, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. I ...

), the latter of which, according to Pulleyblank (1999), "does not make sense" phonologically.

Origins and rise to power

According to Sima Qian, Modu was a gifted child but his father Touman wanted the son of another of his wives to succeed him. To eliminate Modu as a competitor to his chosen heir, Touman sent the young Modu to the

Yuezhi The Yuezhi (;) were an ancient people first described in Chinese histories as nomadic pastoralists living in an arid grassland area in the western part of the modern Chinese province of Gansu, during the 1st millennium BC. After a major defeat ...

as a hostage; then he attacked the Yuezhi in the hopes that they would kill Modu as retribution. Modu was able to escape this fate by stealing a fast horse and returned to the Xiongnu, who welcomed him as a hero. As reward for this show of bravery, his father appointed him the commander of 10,000 horsemen. Due to his reputation for bravery, Modu began to gather a group of extremely loyal warriors. He invented a signaling arrow that made a whistling sound in flight and trained his men to shoot in the direction of the sound in synchrony. To be sure of his men's loyalty, Modu commanded the warriors to shoot his favourite horse, any who refused to do so being summarily executed. He later repeated this test of loyalty, but with one of his favourite wives and once again executed those who hesitated to carry out his order. Only when he was convinced of the absolute loyalty of his remaining warriors did he order them to shoot his father during a hunting trip, killing him in a shower of arrows. With none of his followers failing to shoot at his command and the removal of his father, Modu proclaimed himself Chanyu of the Xiongnu. After his self-proclaimed ascension as Chanyu, Modu began to eliminate those who would prove a threat to his newly acquired power. Thus, he proceeded to execute his rival half-brother, his step-mother and other Xiongnu officials who refused to support his rule.

Rise of the Xiongnu Empire

Modu's Xiongnu Empire aggressively protected and expanded their territory. When their eastern neighbors, the Donghu, expressed desire to occupy uninhabited land that lay between them, Modu reacted by attacking them. By 208 BCE, the Donghu had been defeated and their remnants split into 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 th ...

and

Wuhuan The Wuhuan (, < Eastern Han Chinese: *''ʔɑ-ɣuɑn'', <

tribes. Modun went on to subdue the

Dingling The Dingling ( (174 BCE); (200 BCE); Eastern Han Chinese: *''teŋ-leŋ'' <

Old Chinese

: *''têŋ-rêŋ'') were ancient peopl ...

and other peoples to the north, and defeat the

in 203 BCE. After these conquests, all Xiongnu lords submitted to him. With these victories, he was able to gain control of the important trade routes, which later supplied the Xiongnu with a large income.

War with Han dynasty

In 200 BCE, Xin, King of Han, surrendered to the Xiongnu at Mayi,

Shuofang Shuofang () was an ancient Chinese commandery, situated in the Hetao region in modern-day Inner Mongolia near Baotou. First founded by Emperor Wu of Han in the wake of the successful reconquest of the area from Xiongnu tribes, it was dissolved ...

Dai Commandery Dai Commandery was a commandery (''jùn'') of the state of Zhao established BC and of northern imperial Chinese dynasties until the time of the Emperor Wen of the Sui dynasty (r. AD581–604). It occupied lands in what is now Hebei, Shanxi, a ...

, and joined them in raiding Han territory. Emperor Gaozu of Han led an army against them and scattered their forces, defeating them several times before they retreated. Later Xin set up Zhao Li as King of Zhao and marched south against Gaozu. They too were defeated. Seeing the influence the Xiongnu had on his vassals, Gaozu marched north with a 320,000 strong army to confront them. However his men suffered from inadequate clothing to ward off the cold and a lack of supplies, so Gaozu left them behind and advanced to Pingcheng with only 40,000 men. Modu Chanyu saw his chance to turn the tide and immediately surrounded the city 400,000 cavalry, cutting the emperor off from the rest of his army. It's not clear why, but the Chanyu eventually withdrew some of his men. Sima Qian suggests his consort persuaded him to let the emperor escape. However a prolonged siege would have been impractical anyway since Xin's infantry never made it on time. Seeing the Chanyu's thinned lines, Gaozu sortied out and broke the siege. When Han reinforcements arrived, the Xiongnu withdrew. This came to be known as the

Battle of Baideng The Battle of Baideng (白登之戰) was a military conflict between Han China and the Xiongnu in 200 BC. Han Dynasty of China invaded the territory of the Xiongnu in 200 BC attempting to subjugate them. However the Xiongnu united their forces unde ...

. Gaozu's narrow escape from capture by the Xiongnu convinced him to make peace with his nomadic enemy. He sent a "princess" to the Chanyu (''

heqin ''Heqin'', also known as marriage alliance, refers to the historical practice of Chinese monarchs marrying princesses—usually members of minor branches of the ruling family—to rulers of neighboring states. It was often adopted as an appeaseme ...

,'' marriage alliance) and offered him silk, wine, and food stuffs. The Chanyu accepted the offer and restricted himself to minor raids throughout the duration of Gaozu's reign. The Han dynasty sent random unrelated commoner women falsely labeled as "princesses" and members of the Han imperial family multiple times when they were practicing ''heqin'' marriage alliances with the Xiongnu in order to avoid sending the emperor's daughters. After his Chinese campaign, Modu forced the Yuezhi and the

Wusun The Wusun (; Eastern Han Chinese *''ʔɑ-suən'' <

Old Chinese

(140 BCE < 436 BCE): *''Ɂâ-sûn'') were an ancient semi-

to become vassals of the Xiongnu. In 195 BCE,

Lu Wan Lu Wan (died 194 BC) was an official and vassal king of the early Han dynasty. He served under Liu Bang (Emperor Gaozu), the founding emperor of the Han dynasty. Early life Lu Wan was from Feng Town (), which is in present-day Feng County, ...

King of Yan, fled to the Xiongnu after he was defeated by the Han general Zhou Bo. In 178 BCE, the Xiongnu overran the Yuezhi and Wusun in Gansu and the

Tarim Basin The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Northwest China occupying an area of about and one of the largest basins in Northwest China.Chen, Yaning, et al. "Regional climate change and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim Basin, China." Hydr ...

. Modu died in 174 BCE and was succeeded by his son, Jiyu, who became

Laoshang Chanyu Laoshang (; r. 174–161 BCE), whose personal name was Jiyu (), was a Chanyu of the Xiongnu Empire who succeeded his father Modu Chanyu in 174 BCE. Under his reign, the Xiongnu Empire continued to expand against the Yuezhi and the Xiongnu thus ...

Marriage proposal to Empress Lü Zhi

In 192 BC Empress Dowager Lü Zhi (widow of Emperor Gaozu of Han) received a marriage proposal from Modu, who wrote as follows in a letter meant to intimidate and mock her:

I'm a lonesome ruler born in marshes and raised in plains populated by livestock. I've visited your border numerous times and wanted to tour China. Your Majesty is now alone and living in solitude. Since both of us are not happy and have nothing to entertain ourselves, I'm willing to use what I possess to exchange for what you lack.

Lü Zhi was infuriated at the rude proposition, and in a heated court session, her generals advised her to rally an army and exterminate the Xiongnu immediately. As she was about to declare war, an outspoken attendant named Ji Bu pointed out that the Xiongnu army was much more powerful than the Chinese. At Ji Bu's words, the court immediately fell into a fearful silence. Rethinking her plans, Lü Zhi rejected Modu's proposition humbly, as follows:

Your Lordship does not forget our land and writes a letter to us, we fear. I retreat to preserve myself. I'm old and frail, I'm losing hair and teeth, and I struggle to maintain balance when I move. Your Lordship has heard wrongly, you shouldn't defile yourself. Our people did not offend you, and should be pardoned. We've two imperial carriages and eight fine steeds, which we graciously offer to Your Lordship.

However she continued implementing the ''

'' policy of marrying so called "princesses" to Xiongnu chieftains and paying tribute to the Xiongnu in exchange for peace between both sides.

Analysis of the Xiongnu's rise

As Nicola Di Cosmo summarizes the sequence of events, the Qin invasion of the

Ordos Plateau The Ordos Plateau, also known as the Ordos Basin or simply the Ordos, is a highland sedimentary basin in northwest China with an elevation of , and consisting mostly of land enclosed by the Ordos Loop, a large northerly rectangular bend of the Y ...

(the area within the bend of the

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...

) came at the same time as a leadership crisis within the loose Xiongnu confederation. Modu took advantage of the Xiongnu militarization process that came in response to the Qin invasion, and ably created a newly centralized political structure that made possible his empire. He was aided by the rapid fall of Qin and the fact that the Han initially set up independent "kingdoms," whose leaders, like Xin, King of Han, were as likely to ally with Xiongnu and attack Han as the other way around. Han weakness meant that it supplied Modu and his successors with a steady flow of luxury and staple tribute they could pass down to the aristocracy supporting them. Without that tribute, the Xiongnu might not have been able to expand and maintain control.

Later legends

Christopher I. Beckwith Christopher I. Beckwith (born October 23, 1945) is an American philologist and distinguished professor in the Department of Central Eurasian Studies at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. He has a B.A. in Chinese from Ohio State Unive ...

has pointed out that the story of the young Modu resembles a widespread class of folk tales in which a young hero is abandoned, goes on a quest, proves his worth, gains a group of trusted companions, returns to his home country, slays a powerful figure and becomes a king. The name of Modu has been associated with Oghuz Khagan, a legendary ancestor of Oghuz Turks. The reason for that is a striking similarity of the Oghuz Khagan biography in the

Turco-Persian tradition The composite Turko-Persian, Turco-Persian
''Turko-Persia in historical perspective'', Cambridge University Press, ...

(

Rashid-al-Din Hamadani Rashīd al-Dīn Ṭabīb ( fa, رشیدالدین طبیب;‎ 1247–1318; also known as Rashīd al-Dīn Faḍlullāh Hamadānī, fa, links=no, رشیدالدین فضل‌الله همدانی) was a statesman, historian and physician in Ilk ...

, Husayni Isfahani, Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur) with the Modu biography in the Chinese sources (feud between the father and son and murder of the former, the direction and sequence of conquests, etc.), which was first noticed by Hyacinth (Compilation of reports, pp. 56–57). Another suggestion connects it with the name of the ''Magyar'' royal tribe of the

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...

and with their distant relatives the Mators, now extinct. Modu has been linked with the

Dulo clan The Dulo clan was a ruling dynasty of the Bulgars. The origins of the Bulgars and Dulo clan are not known precisely, and there are many theories about their origin. It is generally considered that they – or at least the elite caste – were in ...

known from the Nominalia of the Bulgarian khans and this, in the form *Duh-klah

Tuqi King The Tuqi King () was a high office of the Xiongnu, a title also known to the Chinese as "worthy/wise prince/king".Chen (1999), p. 237–277Ma (2005), p. 397–411 In the 6th to 8th centuries, Chinese annalists used the expression 贤王 ''Xian wang ...

, with the Hungarian Gyula clan. It has been suggested that his name, as Bixtun or Beztur, appears in the genealogy as the ancestor of Attila, in the ''

Chronica Hungarorum ''Chronica Hungarorum'' (Chronicle of the Hungarians) is the title of several works treating the early History of Hungary, Hungarian history. Buda Chronicle A popular chronicle partly based on the ''Chronicon Pictum'' (entitled just ''Chronica ...

'' of Johannes de Thurocz.

Legacy

Modu Chanyu is also known as Mete Khan (particularly, ''Mete Han'' in Turkish) across a number of

Turkic languages The Turkic languages are a language family of over 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia ( Siberia), and Western Asia. The Turkic l ...

. The

Turkish Land Forces The Turkish Land Forces ( tr, Türk Kara Kuvvetleri), or Turkish Army (Turkish: ), is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the ...

claims the beginning of his reign in 209 BCE as its symbolic founding date.

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

* * *

External links

The Xiongnu – China Knowledge site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Modu Chanyus 230s BC births 174 BC deaths 2nd-century BC rulers in Asia 3rd-century BC rulers in Asia Patricides Leaders who took power by coup