Chouchi (), or Qiuchi (), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Yang clan of Di ethnicity in modern-day

Gansu Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibe ...

Province. Its existence spanned both the

Sixteen Kingdoms The Sixteen Kingdoms (), less commonly the Sixteen States, was a chaotic period in Chinese history from AD 304 to 439 when northern China fragmented into a series of short-lived dynastic states. The majority of these states were founded by ...

and

Northern and Southern dynasties The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered a ...

periods, but it is not listed among one of these regimes in historiography.

History

At the beginning of the 3rd century CE Yang Teng (楊騰), chieftain of the White Neck Di (白項氐), had occupied the southeast area of modern

province, at the upper course of the Han River. His followers Yang Ju (楊駒) and Yang Qianwan (楊千萬) paid tribute to the emperors of the Cao-Wei Dynasty and were rewarded with the title of prince (wáng 王).''抱朴子, part 內篇, section 仙藥'' Yang Feilong (楊飛龍) shifted the center of the Chouchi realm back to Lüeyang, where his successor Yang Maosou (楊茂捜) reigned as an independent king at the beginning of the 4th century. The Chouchi troops often plundered territories in the Central Plains to the east and abducted people there, but the troops of

Eastern Jin Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

and

Former Zhao The Han Zhao (; 304–329 AD), or Former Zhao (), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Xiongnu people during the Sixteen Kingdoms period of Chinese history. In Chinese historiography, it was given two conditional state titles, the Northern ...

deprived the Chouchi empire of some of its people. In 322 Yang Nandi (楊難敵) suffered a defeat at the hands of

and was degraded to prince of Wudu (武都王) and duke of Chouchi (仇池公). The following years were characterized by numerous internal struggles among the Yang clan and several usurpations of the throne. The rulers were not seen as mere regional inspectors (cishi 刺史) or governors (taishou 太守) of their region under the government of Jin. In 371 Fu Jian, ruler of

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 ...

, attacked Chouchi, captured the ruler Yang Cuan (楊篡) and ended the period of Former Chouchi. Yang Ding, a great-great-grandson of Yang Maosou, and a son-in-law of Fu Jian, resurrected the Chouchi kingdom in 385, with the capital at Licheng (歷城). His younger brother Yang Sheng (楊盛) was able to conquer the region of Liangzhou (梁州) at the upper course of the Han River, and declared himself governor for the Jin Dynasty. Efforts to occupy the territory of modern

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of t ...

failed, but Chouchi controlled a large part of the modern provinces of Gansu (east) and

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...

(south). After 443, the lords of Chouchi were only puppet rulers controlled by the

. Historians talk of the five realms of Chouchi (Chouchi wuguo 仇池五國): Former and Later Chouchi (Qianchouchi 前仇池, Houchouchi 後仇池), Wudu (武都), Yinping (陰平), and Wuxing (武興).''Era of 魏晉南北朝, Title 三國志, Part 吳書十, section 董襲傳'' Former Chouchi lasted between 296 and 371 while Later Chouchi lasted between 385 and 443. The Wudu period between 443 and 477 can be seen as a continuation of Later Chouchi. After the death of Yang Wendu in 477, the realm split into Yinping and Wuxing.

History

Rulers

References

See also