Chuge

The Chuge (Chinese: 屠各; pinyin: Chúgè; Wade–Giles: Ch'u-ko), also known as Xiuchuge (Chinese: 休屠各; pinyin: Xiūchúgè; Wade–Giles: Hsiu-ch'u-ko) or Xiuchu (Chinese: 休屠; pinyin: Xiūchú; Wade–Giles: Hsiu-ch'u) were a Xiongnu tribe and later ethnic group that lived in ancient China. They were described as the most influential among the Xiongnu tribes that resettled within the Great Wall, and a branch of them, the Liu clan, founded the Han-Zhao dynasty in 304 AD during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. The Chuge's influence were as such that by the 4th century, they were seen as a distinct ethnic group from the rest of the Xiongnu, and continued to appear in history until the late Northern Wei period of the 6th century. Their name can also be transcribed as Tuge, Xiutuge, and Xiutu.

According to the Book of Jin, the Chuge were one of the nineteen recorded Xiongnu tribes that resettled in northern China. By the Jin dynasty period, they rose to be the most honored and prestigious among the Xiongnu, and members of the Chuge were elected by the tribes to become chanyus. They were spread out in the north and most prevalent in the areas around modern-day Shanxi and eastern Gansu.

One common theory among modern Chinese historians is that the Chuge were descendants of the Xiutu (休屠), also transcribed as Xiuchu, who lived around Wuwei in the Hexi Corridor and were among the earliest of the Xiongnu to surrender to the Han dynasty in 121 BC. The Xiuchu were relocated into Longxi and Beidi commanderies as well as the three commanderies of Shang, Shuofang and Yunzhong in the Hetao region of Bing province. The tribes that lived in Longxi and Beidi retained the "Xiuchu" name, while those living in Bing eventually added the "ge" (各) suffix, perhaps as a result of a language habit of the regional dialect at the time. They thus became known as the "Xiuchuge" (休屠各), and their name was then shortened to "Chuge" (屠各). After the Southern Xiongnu surrendered to the Han and became a vassal state in 48 AD, the Xiuchuge lived alongside them in Bing.

The Xiuchuge people rose to power during the late-2nd century, when both the Northern and Southern Xiongnu were in decline. They were first mentioned in 156 rebelling with the Wuhuan of Shuofang against the Han dynasty, but were defeated by the Han general, Zhang Huan. They later acted as auxiliaries for the Han general, Xia Yu who attacked the marauding Xianbei at Beidi in 174.

In 188, the Xiuchuge rebelled again, invading Xihe Commandery in Bing and killing the local administrator, Xing Ji. A few months later, the Xiuchuge defeated and killed the Inspector of Bing, Zhang Yi. At the time, many of the Southern Xiongnu tribes were disgruntled with the chanyu government as they were insistently being sent to fight against rebellions for the Han. Seeing the success of the Xiuchuge's rebellion, the Xiluo clan of the Southern Xiongnu Right Division allied with the Xiuchuge and killed the chanyu, Qiangqu. Though the Han court appointed Qiangqu's son, Yufuluo as the new chanyu, the Xiuchuge and their allies rejected him, forcing Yufuluo into exile east of the Fen River and electing a marquis from the Xubu clan in his place.

After the Marquis of Xubu's death, the chanyu position was abolished and a nominal king was installed instead in the rebel's territory, although Yufuluo still claimed the title in exile. The Southern Xiongnu began to disintegrate, but while the other tribes distanced themselves from the chaos of the ongoing Han civil war, the Xiuchuge were drawn into the conflicts instead. The Xiuchuge, who became known as the Chuge around this time, allied with Zhang Yan of the Heishan bandits in the Taihang Mountains and fought together against Yuan Shao in 193. After Yuan Shao defeated his rival Jizhou warlord, Gongsun Zan in 199, the Chuge had the latter's son, Gongsun Xu, killed when he fled to their territory.

The Chuge later retreated west as Cao Cao and Yuan Shao established control in the north. In 214, they were attacked and defeated at Gaoping County (present-day Guyuan, Ningxia) by Cao Cao's general Xiahou Yuan. Due to the hostile tribes and their remoteness from the imperial court, a number of commanderies in Bing, including Shang, Shuofang and Yunzhong, were abolished and essentially abandoned. In 216, Huchuquan, Yufuluo's brother and successor, was detained at Ye by Cao Cao, who then had the last vestiges of the Southern Xiongnu rearranged into the Five Divisions around Taiyuan Commandery in Bing.

Despite their defeat, the Chuge identity eventually gained prominence among the Five Divisions. During the Jiaping era (249–254), the Five Divisions were briefly unified by the Commander of the Left Divisions, Liu Bao. The Chinese court intervened, splitting them back into five and forcing their nobles to send hostages to the capital, Luoyang, including Liu Bao's son, Liu Yuan. During his time in Luoyang, Liu Yuan became highly sinicized and was soon made a general under the Western Jin dynasty. In 304, taking advantage of the War of the Eight Princes, Liu Yuan and the Five Divisions rebelled in Bing province and founded the Han-Zhao dynasty.