Xiangping ( zh, 襄平) is a historical name of

Liaoyang Liaoyang ( zh, s=辽阳 , t=遼陽 , p=Liáoyáng) 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 hom ...

Liaoning ) , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = Clockwise: Mukden Palace in Shenyang, Xinghai Square in Dalian, Dalian coast, Yalu River at Dandong , image_map = Liaoning in China (+all claims hatched).svg , ...

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 sta ...

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 Xia ...

, 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 () is a geographical region of China, consisting officially of three provinces Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The heartland of the region is the Northeast China Plain, the largest plain in China with an area of over . The regi ...

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

Former Yan Yan, known in historiography as the Former Yan (; 337–370), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Murong clan of the Xianbei during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. From Liaoning, the Former Yan later conquered and ruled over Hebei, Shaanxi, ...

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 during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms. The prefix "Later" to distinguish them from the Former Yan before them and othe ...

. The city was taken by

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC – 668 AD) (; ; Old Korean: Guryeo) also later known as Goryeo (; ; Middle Korean: 고ᇢ롕〮, ''kwòwlyéy''), was a Korean kingdom which was located on the northern and central parts of the Korea, Korean Peninsula an ...

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, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

Warring States

Before the Yan conquest, the area was inhabited by the

Donghu people The Donghu (; ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic Hu (people), Hu people that were first recorded from the 7th century BCE and was taken over by the Xiongnu in 150 BCE. They lived in northern Hebei, southeastern Inner Mongolia and the western ...

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

, 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 (Yin) dynasty royal house. Understanding before 20th century Chinese records Chinese records before the Qin dynasty descr ...

. 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'' long wall") is a series of fortifications in China. They were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection agains ...

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

King Zhao of Yan King Zhao of Yan (, died 279 BC), personal name Ji Zhi, was a king of the Yan state. He ruled the kingdom between 311 BC until his death in 279 BC. King Zhao was a son of Ji Kuai. In early years, he was chosen to serve as a political hosta ...

, 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 The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st ce ...

, '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 2020 census its population was 888,79 ...

(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 (, ; February 25912 July 210 BC), born Ying Zheng () or Zhao Zheng (), was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of China. He is widely regarded as the first ever supreme leader of a unitary dynasty in Chine ...

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 Commandery 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 com ...

. For example, the Han vassal state of

Buyeo Buyeo (; ; ), also rendered as Puyŏ or Fuyu, was an ancient kingdom that was centered in northern Manchuria in modern-day northeast China. It had ties to the Yemaek people, who are considered to be the ancestors of modern Koreans. Buyeo is ...

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 Han dynasty#Eastern Han (25–220 AD), Eastern Han dynasty of China. He reigned from ...

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 Commandery 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 __NOTOC__ Gongsun Du () (150 – 204), 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 to participate in battle until Dong Zhuo seized powe ...

(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 Commandery into three, establishing the Liangdong (辽东), Zhongliao (中辽), and Liaoxi (辽西) Commandaries. The newly established Liaodong Commandery 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 traditional Chinese culture, Chinese Chinese nobility, feudal title referring to the ancient Chinese State of Yan and to Principality of Yan, its fiefs including the capital Yanjing (located within modern Beijing). ...

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 merged Pingzhou with Youzhou, and set the capital of Liaodong Commandery 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 a grandson of Sima Yi, nephew of Sima Shi and son of Sima Zhao. He became the first emperor of the Jin dynasty (266–420), Jin dynasty a ...

, 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 is a province in northeast China. It is the northernmost and easternmost province of the country and contains China's northernmost point (in Mohe City along the Amur) and easternmost point (at the confluence of the Amur and Us ...

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 Commandery 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 Commandery. In 334 AD, the

Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were an ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. The Xianbei were likely not of a single ethnicity, but rather a multiling ...

leader

Murong Huang Murong Huang (; 297 – 25 October 348), courtesy name Yuanzhen (元真), also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Wenming of Former Yan (前燕文明帝), was the founding monarch of the Xianbei-led Former Yan dynasty of China. When h ...

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 Qin, known as the Former Qin and Fu Qin (苻秦) in historiography, was a Dynasties of China, dynastic state of China ruled by the Fu (Pu) clan of the Di (Five Barbarians), Di peoples during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. Founded in the wake of ...

, and Liaodong was seized. In 384 AD,

Murong Chui Murong Chui (; 326 – 2 June 396), courtesy name Daoming (道明), Xianbei name Altun (阿六敦), also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Chengwu of Later Yan (後燕成武帝), was the founding emperor of China's Later Yan dynasty ...

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 Commandery within the confines of the area west of today's

. The region was contested territory between the northern Korean Kingdom of Goguryeo and the various imperial dynasties of China. 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 fortress protected the roads leading into Korea and the nearby Goguryeo cities of Yodong and Baegam. One source refers to the fortress as the anchor of the Korean kingdom'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 ( zh, c=北魏, p=Běi Wèi), Tuoba Wei ( zh, c=拓跋魏, p=Tuòbá Wèi), Yuan Wei ( zh, c=元魏, p=Yuán Wèi) and Later Wei ( zh, t=後魏, p=Hòu Wèi), was an Dynasties of China, impe ...

dynasty,

Jangsu of Goguryeo Jangsu (394–491, r. 412–491) 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 409, and upon his father's death in 412, became ...

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

Munjamyeong of Goguryeo Munja or Munjamyeong (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 (古鄒大加助多) had b ...

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

Anjang of Goguryeo Anjang (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 of Munjamye ...

was regiven the title. In 577 AD, during the

Northern Zhou Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties of China's ...

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 Dynasties in Chinese history, Chinese imperial dynasty and one of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties during the ...

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

Western Han The Han dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) and a warring int ...

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

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty ( ) was a short-lived Dynasties of China, Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618. The re-unification of China proper under the Sui brought the Northern and Southern dynasties era to a close, ending a prolonged peri ...

. The Chinese 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 force ...

; 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 with the Chinese. This war came when in 642 the Tang Dynasty

invaded An invasion is a military offensive of combatants of one geopolitical entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory controlled by another similar entity, often involving acts of aggression. Generally, invasions have objectives of co ...

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 fo ...

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 Korea, Korean Peninsula. It was established after the Tang dynasty defeated Goguryeo and annexed ...

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

References