This study analyzes the dynamics of ethnic minorities in the Wuling areas from the late Tang to the Northern Song dynasty and examines the policy changes of state power in managing them from a long-term perspective. The Wuling areas are mountainous re...
This study analyzes the dynamics of ethnic minorities in the Wuling areas from the late Tang to the Northern Song dynasty and examines the policy changes of state power in managing them from a long-term perspective. The Wuling areas are mountainous regions where the boundaries of four present-day provincial-level administrative units — Hunan, Hubei, Chongqing, and Guizhou — meet. These areas have functioned as frontier zones where various ethnic minorities reside and where the frontier governance approaches of the Chinese empire were intensively manifested. In particular, these areas serve as an optimal case study for closely observing and analyzing how the relationship between state power and ethnic minority societies was specifically reorganized and transformed amid the great waves of social change during the Tang-Song transition.
In the course of the Tang empire's collapse and the chaotic period of the Five Dynasties, a new power realignment took place in the Wuling areas. In this process, the Peng clan of Xi prefecture emerged as a latecomer force distinct from the indigenous tribal chieftains bearing great clan names such as Tian, Xiang, and Tan, who had been rooted in local society for a long time. The rise of the Peng clan, represented by Peng Shichou, was symbolically manifested in the Battle of Xi prefecture and the establishment of the resulting Copper Pillar of Xi prefecture. The covenant concluded between Ma Xifan, King of Chu, and Peng Shichou was inscribed on the pillar. Although it presupposed loyalty to the King of Chu, it actually contained content that significantly recognized the Peng clan's autonomy over Xi prefecture and surrounding areas. The principles of non-aggression toward Chu boundaries and autonomy for Xi prefecture mentioned in the Copper Pillar inscription became an important foundation for the Peng clan to establish superiority over the tribal chieftains of great clans internally, while minimizing direct interference from the Chu regime of the Ma family externally and forming the bloc of Five Streams tribes (Wuximan). Furthermore, even when the Ma family's Chu regime experienced extreme turmoil due to internal power struggles, the Five Streams tribes did not participate in that internal strife and concentrated on maintaining their indigenous foundation. This process can be evaluated as having become the actual inception of the Peng clan's power in this region that continued for approximately eight hundred years thereafter.
The establishment of the Song dynasty brought another change to the political landscape of the Wuling areas. The various tribes of streams and grottoes (xidong zhuman) established relationships with the Song court according to their respective interests and circumstances, which can be broadly categorized into the "guiming" of tribal people, the "guishun" of tribal chieftains and their being designated as haltered-and-bridled prefectures (jimizhou), and "land offering" (natu) meaning territorial incorporation into Song. "Guiming" refers to cases where tribal people, who were pushed out of internal power struggles among ethnic minorities or faced economic difficulties, migrated to areas under direct Song rule to seek new living foundations. The Song court used appeasement policies toward them, such as granting land, to maintain frontier stability. "Guishun" was a method by which tribal chieftains maintained their existing power base while receiving political authority recognition from the Song court. These leaders could be appointed as prefects (zhizhou) or governors (cishi) of haltered-and-bridled prefectures and could pass down their positions to their successors, while securing their interests by obtaining economic benefits through tribute. "Land offering" refers to cases where ethnic minorities offered their territories to the Song for incorporation into regular prefectures and counties. This occurred under complex backgrounds including internal conflicts within ethnic minorities and military pressure or active frontier expansion from the Song court.
The Song court's basic policy approach in responding to such various forms of "submission" (neifu) can be summarized as "pacification" (zhenfu). This was a flexible and cautious approach that recognized the autonomy of ethnic minorities to a certain extent while gradually expanding the Song's influence. In particular, regarding the Peng clan of Xi prefecture, who exercised influence in the North River region as "chief oath presider" (dushizhu) with the historical legacy of the Copper Pillar of Xi prefecture, the Song court's response took on an even more complex character. The Northern Song court recognized the traditional status of the Peng clan while using various methods to check their influence. For example, they reduced potential threats through forced relocation of disobedient Peng clan leaders to the Chinese interior or intervened in succession disputes by mobilizing military force. The Song court also used various restraint measures such as relocating the Copper Pillar of Xi prefecture or taking key descendants as hostages to the capital as symbolic measures.
In parallel with this, the Song court promoted the construction of fortified garrisons (baozhai) as physical means to strengthen frontier defense and control. The fortified garrisons of the early and middle Northern Song periods were mainly established in border areas with ethnic minorities or along major transportation routes, focusing on relatively defensive and controlling functions such as military defense, monitoring and intimidating ethnic minority activities, and maintaining frontier order.
In the late Northern Song period, particularly the active "frontier expansion" (kaibian) policy developed in conjunction with the implementation of Shenzong's New Policies represented an important transition in the Song court's frontier governance methods. This aimed to establish direct rule over areas inhabited by ethnic minorities, departing from the existing "pacification" approach. Various ethnic minority groups in the Wuling areas, including the Meishan grottoes tribes, South River tribes, North River tribes, and the tribes of Cheng and Hui prefectures, became targets of this policy. The Song court sought to strengthen central control by establishing prefectures and counties in these areas and building new fortified garrisons through military pressure and inducement (zhaoyu).
In this process, fortified garrisons did not remain merely military strongholds. They developed into local-level governance institutions with multifunctional capabilities including tax collection, lawsuit processing, and trade management. The background to the emergence of the "frontier expansion" policy lay in the increased contact with ethnic minorities as a result of Han Chinese people advancing into frontier areas. Trade relationships surrounding essential goods like salt were important channels for continuous interaction between tribal and Han peoples. While this increased contact sometimes manifested as various forms of conflict, it also caused fundamental changes in the traditional lifestyles and political orientations of tribal societies.
However, the financial burden and casualties brought by the "frontier expansion" policy, as well as criticism of its effectiveness, triggered discussions about "territory abandonment" (qidi) during the Yuanyou reign of Emperor Zhezong. Reflecting on the territorial expansion policy led by the New Policy Party, arguments arose that newly incorporated but economically unviable or difficult-to-govern areas should be abandoned. However, the actual implementation of "territory abandonment" was carried out selectively according to regional circumstances and strategic interests.
The cases of the tribes of Cheng and Hui prefectures and North River tribes after Emperor Zhezong's personal rule show different paths of prefecturalization. In the case of the tribes of Cheng and Hui prefectures, although there was a process of temporary retreat and readjustment, they succeeded in complete incorporation into regular prefectures and counties through voluntary "land offering" methods by the time of Emperor Huizong. The relatively stable indigenous governing structure centered on the Yang clan and the importance of transportation routes leading to Guangxi are cited as major factors. In contrast, in the case of the North River tribes, direct Song control was limited due to frequent internal power struggles within the Peng clan, complex indigenous power structures, and rugged topographical characteristics. Although the Song forces occupied the core of the Peng chief oath presider system and strengthened control by constructing a new fortified city called Huixi, there were limitations in prefecturalizing the entire North River areas. Therefore, multiple haltered-and-bridled prefectures continued to exist in the North River tribal region, maintaining an independent path that later developed into the Tusi system.
The Song people's cognitive system regarding space and residents in the Wuling areas during the Northern Song period was closely related to the governance reality of that time. The Song court called areas within prefectures and counties where they could project direct administrative power and collect taxes stably "administered territory" (shengdi). Here, not only Han registered households but also "cooked households in administered territory" (shengdi shuhu) who were incorporated into the Song's taxation and corvée systems resided together as and "administered populace" (shengmin). In mountainous areas outside the administered territory, located at the boundaries between various prefectures and counties, groups called "mountain-dwelling Yao" (shanyao) existed. They were relatively free from the direct Song control or financial obligations except for limited trading activities. Outside the regular prefectures, haltered-and-bridled prefectures ruled hereditarily by tribal chieftains were widely scattered. Here resided "cooked households outside administered territory" (shengdi wai shuhu) who maintained relationships with the Song court through symbolic taxes, and "conscripts from grottoes" (dongding) who could be militarily mobilized as needed. Beyond the jurisdiction of haltered-and-bridled prefectures or at the edges of frontiers where no offcial contact with the Song court had ever taken place, "raw territories" (shengjie) existed, where "raw tribes" (shengman) lived beyond the reach of the Chinese civilization and transformation.
This categorical distinction was essentially viewed from the Song people's perspective. In reality, boundaries between these different ethnic groups were fluid, and belonging or identity was difficult to define simply, so movement or alliances between them frequently occurred. This phenomenon directly revealed the complexity and instability of frontier society at that time.
This study provides a new attempt to integrate institutional historical approaches and regional developmental historical approaches that were treated fragmentarily in existing research by comprehensively analyzing changes in ethnic minority societies in the Wuling areas from the long-term perspective of the Tang-Song transition. In particular, it highlighted the complex realities of tribal-Han relations at that time and the active roles of ethnic minority groups by deeply analyzing the historical implications of physical historical sources such as the Copper Pillar of Xi prefecture. It also clarified the internal logic and operational mechanisms of the Song frontier management by systematically organizing concepts that categorized spaces and residents in the Song frontier areas. Furthermore, by understanding active development and prefecturalization attempts in frontier areas as early stages of the "sinicization" or "Chinese civilization" processes of later Chinese empires, it presented the historical significance of Shenzong's "frontier expansion" policy as a precursor to the Qing dynasty's "replacing native chieftains with appointed officials" (gaitu guiliu) policy. Through case studies of the Wuling areas, it demonstrated that the frontier governance history of Chinese empires cannot be explained by a single model and requires multifaceted approaches reflecting the specificities of each region.