THE DIVERSE DUTIES OF CHINESE PEACE BRIDES
The advent of peace brides and the marriage alliance followed quickly on the heels of China forging itself into an empire. The Chinese states had been at war for centuries during the Warring States period, until one, Qin, prevailed. After consolidating power, the Qin emperor embraced expansion and looked north to the Ordos Plateau, an oasis of rivers and arable land in an otherwise brutal and barren terrain to the northwest of Chinese lands. There lived the Xiongnu Empire, a confederation of nomadic pastoralist tribes who, despite being famed as mounted archers, could not repel the 215 BC Qin invasion and occupation, which drove them out.
The Chinese colonization soon faltered. At the emperor’s death in 210 BC, the dynasty erupted into rebellion, and after its collapse and an ensuing war for the throne, a minor Qin official, Liu Bang, battled his way to the throne, establishing the Han dynasty. His nascent empire faced almost continuous revolts, so Liu strove to avoid conflict with the Xiongnu. Yet, in the Chinese absence, the Xiongnu reoccupied the Ordos region and either mounted an incursion or sought to form an alliance with a rebelling Chinese state. In 200 BC, the emperor took personal command of a gargantuan army to respond.
Led by Modun, their (supreme leader, from which comes the term later used by the Mongols and others), the Xiongnu retreated, with the Han army growing increasingly dispersed as it pursued. At the right moment, the Xiongnu sprung their trap – their retreat had been a ruse’s wife advised Modun, “Even if you gained possession of the Han lands, you could never occupy them, and the ruler of the Han may have his guardian deities as well as you.” Lacking the means or interest in conquering China, the Xiongnu instead struck a deal with the emperor: in return for a promise to honour the territorial integrity of China (and the emperor escaping the siege with his life), the Han would make annual payments to their northern neighbour. In 198 BC, this policy, called (‘marriage alliance’), went into effect, with silk, liquor, luxury goods, and fine foods being delivered – and also a Chinese princess to wed the .
