Qubei (;

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese fo ...

: Qùbēi), ( 195–216) was a leader of the

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

who lived during the late

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a w ...

Life

There is uncertainty surrounding Qubei's family background. The ''

Book of Wei The ''Book of Wei'', also known by its Chinese name as the ''Wei Shu'', is a classic Chinese historical text compiled by Wei Shou from 551 to 554, and is an important text describing the history of the Northern Wei and Eastern Wei from 386 to ...

'' indicates that he was a member of the ruling-

Luandi The Luandi (; alternatively written as Xulianti ) was the ruling clan of the ancient Xiongnu that flourished between 3rd century BCE to 4th century CE. The form Luandi comes from the ''Book of Han'', while the form Xulianti comes from the ''Book o ...

clan of the Southern Xiongnu, with the ''

History of the Northern Dynasties The ''History of the Northern Dynasties'' () is one of the official Chinese historical works in the '' Twenty-Four Histories'' canon. The text contains 100 volumes and covers the period from 386 to 618, the histories of Northern Wei, Western ...

'' clarifying that he was the brother of the chanyu,

Qiangqu Qiangqu (; r. 179–188 AD) was the Western Wise Prince, successor to Huzheng, and chanyu of the Southern Xiongnu from 179 to 188 AD. Qiangqu's reign coincided with a troublesome time for the Han Empire, and few records address Chinese rel ...

. However, a later record, the '' New Book of Tang,'' instead claims that he was the son of Wuli (烏利), a descendant of a

Han dynasty 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 ...

prince-turned-Xiongnu noble, Liu Jinbo (劉進伯). When

Huchuquan Huchuquan was the last chanyu () of the Southern Xiongnu during the late Eastern Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms period of China. He was a younger brother of the Xiongnu chanyu in exile, Yufuluo. History After his brother died in 195, Huchuqu ...

ascended as chanyu in 195, Qubei was bestowed the title of "Worthy Prince of the Right" (; known in the ''Book of Wei'' as the "Worthy Prince of the Left"). That same year, when Emperor Xian of Han made his escape from

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin ...

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...

, his minister, Dong Cheng called upon Qubei and the

White Wave Bandits The Yellow Turban Rebellion, alternatively translated as the Yellow Scarves Rebellion, was a peasant revolt in China against the Eastern Han dynasty. The uprising broke out in 184 CE during the reign of Emperor Ling. Although the main rebell ...

to assist him in repelling Li Jue and Guo Si's pursuing forces. Qubei and the others initially routed them, but suffered a heavy defeat when Li Jue returned with more troops. Regardless, the emperor was able to escape safely to Anyi (安邑; in present-day

Xia County Xia County or Xiaxian () is a county in the southwest of Shanxi province, People's Republic of China, bordering Henan province to the southeast. It is under the jurisdiction of Yuncheng City. History In ancient China, it served as the previous ...

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

). In 196, Emperor Xian reached Luoyang and was placed under the care of the warlord,

Cao Cao Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate Grand chancellor (China), grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the End of ...

. Qubei accompanied Cao Cao in moving the capital to

Xuchang Xuchang (; postal: Hsuchang) is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province in Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the northwest, Kaifeng to the northeast, Zhoukou to the east, Luohe to the southeast, and P ...

before returning home. In 216, Cao Cao detained Huchuquan in Ye, abolished the chanyu title and divided the Southern Xiongnu into five divisions around

Taiyuan Commandery Taiyuan Commandery ( zh, 太原郡) was a commandery of China from the Warring States period to Tang dynasty. It was located in modern central Shanxi province. The commandery was established by the Qin state in 248 BC, after Qin general Meng Ao ...

. He then appointed Qubei to supervise the Southern Xiongnu in Huchuquan's stead. Qubei had two sons: Liu Meng and

Liu Gaoshengyuan / ( or ) is an East Asian surname. pinyin: in Mandarin Chinese, in Cantonese. It is the family name of the Han dynasty emperors. The character originally meant 'kill', but is now used only as a surname. It is listed 252nd in the classic text ...

, although the former may have been a brother instead according to the '' New Book of Tang''. Liu Meng led a rebellion against the

Jin dynasty (266–420) The Jin dynasty (; ) or the Jin Empire, sometimes distinguished as the (司馬晉) or the (兩晉), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed from 266 to 420. It was founded by Sima Yan (Emperor Wu), eldest son of Sima Zhao, who had p ...

but was killed in 272. His son, Liu Fulun (劉副崙) fled to the

Tuoba The Tuoba (reconstructed Middle Chinese pronunciation: *''tʰak-bɛt''), also known as the Taugast or Tabgach ( otk, 𐱃𐰉𐰍𐰲 ''Tabγač''), was a Xianbei clan in Imperial China. Wei Shou. ''Book of Wei''. Vol. 1 During the Sixteen Kin ...

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 t ...

tribe, where he and his descendants intermarried with the ruling Tuoba clan and became known as the Dugu tribe. Meanwhile, Liu Gaoshengyuan took over Liu Meng's people following his death, and Gaoshengyuan's son,

Liu Hu Emperor An of Han (; 94 – 30 April 125) was an emperor of the Chinese Han Dynasty and the sixth emperor of the Eastern Han, ruling from 106 to 125. He was the grandson of Emperor Zhang. When her infant stepson Emperor Shang succeeded ...

, became the founder of the

Tiefu Xia (), known in historiography as Hu Xia (胡夏), Northern Xia (北夏), Helian Xia (赫連夏) or the Great Xia (大夏), was a dynastic state of Xiongnu origin established by Helian Bobo during the Sixteen Kingdoms period in northern China. ...

tribe. In 407, Liu Hu's descendant,

Helian Bobo Helian Bobo (; Middle Chinese Guangyun: ; 381–425), né Liu Bobo (劉勃勃), courtesy name Qujie (屈孑), formally Emperor Wulie of Xia (夏武烈帝), was the founding emperor of the Xiongnu-led Hu Xia dynasty of China. He is generally co ...

, established one of 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 ...

, the Hu Xia dynasty.

References

* ''

Book of the Later Han The ''Book of the Later Han'', also known as the ''History of the Later Han'' and by its Chinese name ''Hou Hanshu'' (), is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the history of the Han dynasty from 6 to 189 CE, a period known as the Lat ...

'', vol.89 * ''

'', vol.95 * ''

'', vol.53 * '' New Book of Tang'', vol.75 Xia (Sixteen Kingdoms) people Xiongnu Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown {{DEFAULTSORT:Qubei