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The First Chu Period
(206-180 BCE)

Liu Bang's Rebellion:


The Eighteen Kingdoms in 206
Credit: Nederlanse Leeuw

In the wake of the Qin Dynasty, China began to experience a period of chaos and disunity in the vein of earlier periods such as those of the Spring and Autumn Period (770-479 BCE) and the later Warring States Period (476-221 BCE). The latter of these two periods had famously led to the ascension of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE) and the reigns of the tyrannical Qin Shi Huangdi (221-210 BCE) and Qin Er Shi (210-207 BCE). But with growing rebellions against the Qin Empire under Qin Er Shi, largely as a result of the famous tyranny of his father and his own incompetence, this dynasty seemed to many to have forfeited the 'Mandate of Heaven' [1] and was due to reach it's end. Indeed these rebellions would rock China and soon enough the Qin Empire had once again split into a number of states, torn apart and divided by the leader of the Chu Rebels and later King of the Chu, Xiang Yu. This would begin a new era in Chinese history often identified as the Post-Qin period or the Eighteen Kingdoms (named after the fact that Xiang Yu had split the empire into eighteen kingdoms ruled over by his subordinates and loyal allied leaders).

This would reveal a massive difference between the two men who would come to dominate China: Xiang Yu ,who claimed hegemony over the other Chinese states but seemed to have little interest in a more centralised state such as the Qin Dynasty and his commander Liu Bang King of the Han who seemed to be more interested in establishing an imperial dynasty. Within months of the division of the Qin Empire, Xiang Yu found his hegemony and control over the other states challenged such as within the Qi in which Tian Rong reunited the old Qi State after which Liu Bang went on to conquer the Qi and begin the Chu-Han contention. This was the biggest and, in many ways, most important war of the post-Qin period in which Xiang Yu and Liu Bang would find themselves head to head in a conflict that would decide the fate of China. Indeed this was a war that, in the short run, would decide the immediate future of China as to whether it was to be a less centralised system such as had existed under the old Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BCE) or a more centralised imperial as had existed under the shortly lived Qin Dynasty. Were it the former then Xiang Yu's control of China would be more a political hegemony over the other states rather than direct control whereas the latter would lead to Liu Bang being the official emperor of China and would establish a direct imperial control such as had existed under the Qin.

Following the fall of the Qi to Liu Bang's growing state while Xiang Yu was away putting down rebellions, the growing Han state would continue it's advance across China. Four kingdoms would be brought low in short order as Liu Bang subjugated the Sai, Di, Henan and the Hán with Liu Bang establishing the new King Xin. It was during this early period that Liu Bang would be the first to accuse Xiang Yu of murdering Emperor Yi of Chu the grandson of the previous King of Chu prior to the Qin Dynasty. This was important because, even after the eventual defeat of Liu Bang's rebellion, this would be a factor that would continue to challenge and Xiang Yu and would be the reason the Chu hegemony would never last. The war would be fought back and forth for years to come but the tide would really begin to turn against Liu Bang after his defeat at the Battle of the Wei River, a battle that didn't cost him much in the way of manpower but seems to have marked the point at which his fortunes began to slide. The battle was won when the Chu general, Long Ju decided to adopt a plan devised by his ally Tian Guang to instead strengthen their defences and focus on depriving the Han of resources and starving into submission. Indeed this tactic would prove crucial in the eventual defeat of Liu Bang as Han Xin was unable to actually make use of rash action nor break the Chu forces. His eventual surrender to the Chu would prove disastrous although not because of the numbers of soldiers but because of the deprivation Liu Bang found himself in of one of his most capable generals.

But this defeat was also crucial in that it would deprive Liu Bang of his army within the Qi Kingdom (which had been restored after previous defeats) and would allow the joint forces of Long Ju and Tian Guang to retake the cities lost to the Han. This was crucial as Han Xin's defeat also left Liu Bang under siege by Xiang Yu at Xingyang where he had been awaiting the forces of Han Xing to relieve his beleaguered defenders. Linzi, the Qi capital, was recaptured followed by Lixia and then much of the Qi Kingdom. Stranded in Xingyang and without any reinforcements coming from Han Xing, Liu Bang was in a desperate situation as it seemed his forces were now doomed against Xiang Yu. Liu Bang was able to escape the city and would manage to eventually trap a Chu army at Guangwu but with the Chu victory at the Wei River, the Chu forces were able to hold firm until the arrival of reinforcements would force Liu Bang back. From here the war would finally turn properly against Liu Bang who would spend the next two years fighting a losing battle against the Chu until his eventual defeat in 202 BCE.

In another universe this victory over Liu Bang may have served to validate and even strengthen Xiang Yu's dominion and hegemony over the other Chinese states. However this may have relied upon an earlier victory over Liu Bang than was instead achieved, a victory that involved fewer casualties and less damage to the structure of the 18 Kingdoms. Instead Xiang Yu's victory over Liu Bang had cost him not only significant military casualties but it had undermined the 18 Kingdoms as well as further dividing the kings among themselves. Indeed Xiang Yu would soon find his domination of the Chinese states contested by a number of states within China and often opposed by their kings. Meanwhile many of the kings who had been deposed would retake their thrones but this would only lead to further chaos in the future. But most importantly as a precursor to establishing the situation of China in the wake of Liu Bang's rebellion is to establish what kingdoms still remained and who was king of each dominion:

The Kingdom of Chu:
King Xiang Yu (206-180)

The Kingdom of Hán
Hang Cheng (206)
Zheng Chang (206-205)
Han Xi (205-204)
Zheng Chang (204-)

The Kingdom of Sai:
Sima Xin (206-)

The Kingdom of Di:
Dong Yi (206-)

The Kingdom of Henan:
Shen Yang (206-)

The Kingdom of Qi:
Tian Rong (206-205)
Tian Jia (205)
Tian Guang (205-)

The Kingdom of Yan:
Zang Tu (206-)

The Kingdom of Wei:
Wei Bao (206-)

The Kingdom of Juijiang:
Ying Bu: (206-)

The Kingdom of Han:
Liu Bang (206-202)
Liu Ying (202-)

The Kingdom of Zhao:
Zhao Xie (206-205)
Zhang Er (205)
Long Ju (205-)

*All dates are in BCE

What ought to be noted is that this is conspicuously less than 18 Kingdoms but many had been absorbed by 202 BCE and others are less notable but do appear at times while these would be the main players in events to come. What should be noted is that in many cases Liu Bang's supporters weren't overthrown in the aftermath of his rebellion and even his son, Liu Ying would continue to reign in the Kingdom of Han. This was because of the war itself which had taken such a toll on Xiang Yu both in his authority and his manpower that he found it increasingly hard to deal with many of these states. Indeed people such as Long Ju (one of the commanders under Xiang Yu) were only really installed within his kingdom because Zhang Er had been captured at the Wei River alongside Han Xin. But for the next few years the Chu were effectively still at war with many of their enemies such as Liu Ying who would continue fighting against Xiang Yu and the Chu for the duration of his reign. This only served to further weaken and undermine Xiang Yu's authority and would soon lead to very real problems.

The Fall of the Chu

Ultimately Xiang Yu would see the greatest points of resistance from not only the Han and former supporters of Liu Bang but from people such as the Qi or Sai who had either sided with the Chu out of sheer necessity such as with the former in his drive to reclaim his kingdom or had defected at later dates to the Chu or in some cases the Han after defeats for their chosen side. But his authority wasn't only weakened by continued resistance from his enemies throughout China, instead it was also the claim of regicide as brought up by Liu Bang in 205 BCE that did just as much damage. Indeed this would be a claim that would frequently be brought up by challengers to Xiang Yu's domination of China and would be frequently used by Liu Ying himself during the period following the defeat and death of his father in 202 BCE.

As a result of Xiang Yu's fading authority towards the end of the 200s BCE, some historians have begun organising parts of this era of Chinese history into 'periods of domination' in which they define the period by whatever kingdom held dominance over the others. This means that the period between 206 BCE and 180 BCE is frequently known as the 'First Chu Period' of China in which the Chu under Xiang Yu held hegemony (albeit declining hegemony) over the other states of China. Indeed the title of King-Hegemon would become an often passed one in which each successive period would be characterised by the king or kings responsible for their kingdom's prosperity adopting the title of King-Hegemon as Xiang Yu did in 206 BCE. This was a title that Xiang Yu would hold on to throughout his reign until his death in 180 BCE at the age of 52 although the position was mostly nominal for much of that period. Instead of a period of Chu dominance in China, therefore, the 'First Chu Period' is often remembered as a period of declining influence for the once strong Xiang Yu in the face of growing powers within China. Indeed by the time he died in 180 BCE, Xiang Yu would be faced with powers already growing to be stronger than the Chu under capable leaders similar to that of Liu Bang.

Ironically it would not be the Liu clan that would pose the biggest threat to Xiang Yu as, while Liu Ying had been an opponent of Xiang Yu, his reign in the wake of the death of his father would come to be known as a period of weakness for the Han. Instead Liu Ying was very much dominated by his mother and would indulge himself throughout his reign. It was the rise of more capable leaders such as Tian Guang whose advice had been crucial at the Battle of the Wei River that would threaten Xiang Yu's dominance and eventually overthrow it. The years between 202 and 190 would see much of the Han military conquests begin to fade away as Liu Yin found himself under increasing pressure from his neighbours and wasn't strong enough himself to actually hold on to them. Instead his lands would be eaten away in favour of states such as the Qi who under Tian Guang conquered what had once been the Kingdom of Yin prior to it's conquest by the Han. Similarly Long Ju would exert his control over the Kingdom of Zhao but also over what had once been the Kingdom of Dai before the Kingdom of Dai, under Zhao Xie, had conquered Zhao and basically became Zhao.

Indeed the Han would find their land stripped away until by 190 BCE they had little more than the region they originally held before Liu Bang's conquests. However it would be the relations between the Chu and the Qi that would mark the latter few years of the 'First Chu Period' as their relationship began to break down. It had never been very good to start with and their alliance during Liu Bang's rebellion was one of convenience and practicality more than mutual friendship but with the growing power of the Qi under Tian Guang during the 190s, their relations broke down more and more. During the 190s there was a growing influence from the Qi as they strove to exert their own power and influence in the areas that were now rapidly being pulled away from the Han. Indeed the first and most notable of these conquests was the Qi invasion of Yin but during the 190s they would also invade the area known as Henan and re-establish Shen Yang there. Shen Yang had surrendered to the Han in 205 BCE but had remained a local figure during the period of Han domination until his eventual return to power in the waning days of the Han Kingdom's power throughout China in the 190s. His re-installation would bring Shen Yang within Qi's sphere of influence and this would only worsen the relations between the Qi and the Chu the latter of whom feared an attempt by the Qi to claim the title of King-Hegemon.

It seems that the ascension of the Qi was in general quite a logical thing given that not only was it led by capable leaders such as Tian Guang and his predecessors but it also had the resources for these leaders to make use of and, furthermore, it was ideally placed to take advantage of the retreating Kingdom of Han under Liu Ying. It also had enough conflict with the Chu to make it one of the states most willing to take advantage of any instability or weakness within the Chu which was especially helpful given their position right on the border with the Chu. However they didn't have so much conflict with the Chu that they were unwilling to ever work with them unlike some previous supporters of the Han. It was their growing animosity with the Chu during the 190s and 180s BCE that would ultimately drive the Qi to further seek to secure their power and, to this end, Tian Guang was happy to fish among any who might have a vested interest in seeing the Chu dominion ended. So it was that by 180 BCE the Qi had secured a number of allies willing to help them move against the Chu and end their dominion. However the death of Xiang Yu in 180 BCE and the ascension of his son Xiang Ah would effectively bring an end to the 'First Chu Period' as the young Xiang Ah was far less prepared for an invasion than his father may have been.

Indeed within a year of his ascension to the throne as King-Hegemon Xiang Ah of the Chu, the Kingdom of Chu would have been badly wrecked by the invading Qi forces who now claimed the title of King-Hegemon for their own ruler. Xiang Ah's time on the throne was extraordinarily brief as the Chu would soon implement their own ruler in the form of another of Xiang Yu's sons, Xiang Jing whose job on the throne was effectively little more than a puppet for the victorious Qi. The fall of Pengcheng (the capital of the Chu) in 180 BCE marked the end of the 'First Chu Period' in the wake of the fall of the Qin Dynasty. In the wake of this victory would begin a new period of hegemony under China with the 'Qi Period'.
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