Dynasties of ChinaWestern XiaWestern Xia lineage
Xiandao and others · Reign 1032—1048
He changed his surname to Wei, created writing, established a government system, proclaimed himself emperor and established Daxia. He defeated the Song army three times and defeated the Liao army, establishing the Three Kingdoms.
Li Yuanhao, nicknamed Weili, was from the Tuoba tribe of Dangxiang. He was the eldest son of Li Deming and his mother was Wei Mu. He liked to read military books since he was a child, was proficient in Tibetan and Chinese characters, and studied Buddhism intensively. He once advised his father not to submit to the Song Dynasty, saying, "When a hero is born, he will be the king's domineering king, so how can Jinqi do it." In 1028, he led his army to attack the Uighurs in Ganzhou and was made Crown Prince. After that, he captured Liangzhou. When Deming died in 1032, he succeeded him as the leader of the Xiazhou regime.
After he succeeded to the throne, he abandoned the two surnames of Li and Zhao given by the Tang and Song Dynasties, changed his surname to Wei, ordered the people to be bald, promoted Xingzhou to Xingqing Prefecture, established an official system and a military system, ordered Ye Lirenrong to create the Western Xia script, and captured the three prefectures of Gua, Sha, and Su, all in Hexi. In 1038, he officially proclaimed himself emperor, and the country was named Daxia. He immediately went to war with the Song Dynasty, winning three battles at Sanchuankou, Haoshuichuan, and Dingchuanzhai. In 1044, he signed a Qingli peace treaty with the Song Dynasty. In the same year, he defeated Liao Xingzong in Hequ.
Years of war made Western Xia financially strapped. In his later years, Yuan Hao was jealous and prone to killing, and indulged in drinking and sex. He successively killed the Yeli brothers, deposed Yelihuanghou, and took away the fiancée of Crown Prince Ning Lingge from the Yi family. In the first month of 1048, Ning Lingge entered the palace to assassinate Yuan Hao and cut off Yuan Hao's nose. Yuan Hao died of his injuries at the age of forty-six and was buried in Tailing.
Li Yuanhao is the most outstanding leader of the Dangxiang nation. He created writing, established the official and military system, and established national identity. With the power of a small country, he defeated the Song army three times and defeated the Liao army. He created a pattern in which Song, Liao, and Xia stood side by side. Western Xia has continued for nearly two hundred years. However, he resorted to militarism and used troops for years to deplete the country and the people. In his later years, he was jealous of murderers, indulged in licentiousness, and took away his son's wife. Eventually, father and son killed each other, which also left Western Xia with the long-term hidden danger of the exclusive power of his relatives.
MilitaryAttack Ganzhou
He led an army to raid Ganzhou controlled by the Uighurs. The Khan of Ganzhou was defeated at night and Tongshun was defeated. Dangxiang captured important territory in the middle section of the Hexi Corridor. Yuan Hao was made the Crown Prince for his meritorious service.
DiplomacyMarry Princess Liao Xingping
Liao Dynasty married Princess Xingping, the royal family daughter, to Yuan Hao and Xia Liao. Dang Xiang gained strong support in his relationship with the Song Dynasty. The princess was at odds with Yuan Hao after her marriage and died in 1038. Liao Dynasty sent envoys to question her.
PoliticsChange of surname after heir
After Deming died, Yuan Hao succeeded to the throne. He was granted the title of Military Envoy of Dingnan Army and King of the West by Song Dynasty. He immediately abandoned the surname Li given by Tang Dynasty and the surname Zhao given by Song Dynasty, changed his surname to Wei, and called himself "Wuzi".
PoliticsAscension to Xingqing Mansion and Bald Hair Order
Xingzhou was promoted to Xingqing Prefecture, and extensive construction was carried out as the capital. At about this time, a baldness order was issued, ordering all people in the country to shave off their top hair. Those who did not obey for three days were killed by many people in order to restore the old custom of the party.
Lasting legacyXingqing District, Yinchuan City, Ningxia today, was named after Xingqing Mansion in Western Xia, and Yinchuan began to become an important town in the northwest.
MilitaryThe attack was thwarted
In the west, he attacked the Tibetan government in Hehuang, and besieged the city of Maoniu for more than a month, in order to deceive and defeat the city. When they entered the Zongge River, they were lured into deep water by secretly moving the river crossing sign. The Xia army drowned and many were captured.
MilitaryTake all Hexi
Captured Guazhou, Shazhou, and Suzhou, and controlled the entire Hexi Corridor. The Western Xia territory "ends the Yellow River in the east, Yumen in the west, Xiaoguan in the south, and controls the desert in the north."
CultureCreate Western Xia text
Ye Lirenrong was appointed to preside over the creation of the Western Xia script, with a total of more than 6,000 characters. It imitated the strokes of Chinese characters and formed its own system. It was respected as the "State Book" and established Tibetan studies for official documents, engraving scriptures and translating Chinese classics.
Lasting legacyThis word was still used for hundreds of years after the fall of Western Xia. The Western Xia scripture building unearthed in Baoding, Hebei Province was engraved in 1502 in the Ming Dynasty and is now preserved in the ancient lotus pond in Baoding.
PoliticsProclaim emperor and found country
In October, he built an altar in the southern suburbs of Xingqing Mansion to receive the title of emperor, and the country was named Daxia. He changed the rituals of the Yuan Dynasty to Yan Zuo, and honored his grandfather Li Jiqian as Taizu and his father Li Deming as Taizong.
MilitaryEstablish a military system
Before and after becoming emperor, twelve supervisory military divisions were set up to command the country's troops. Men between the ages of 15 and 60 were required to serve, and the "Iron Kites" heavy cavalry and the "Poxi" army with whirlwind cannons were formed, with a strength of 500,000.
DiplomacyThe above table asks for confirmation
An envoy was sent to the Song Dynasty to request recognition of his imperial title. The Song court refused to admit it, cut off Yuan Hao's surname and official titles, closed border trade, and offered rewards for arrests. The Song-Xia War broke out in an all-round way.
MilitaryBattle of Mikawakou
In the first month of the first month, he used a trick of false surrender to lure the enemy, surrounded and annihilated the Song army at Sanchuankou near Yanzhou, and captured Song generals Liu Ping and Shi Yuansun. Due to heavy snowfall and the approaching Song reinforcements, the Xia army failed to capture Yanzhou.
MilitaryBattle of Haoshuichuan
He lured Song general Ren Fu to pursue Haoshuichuan and surrounded him with an ambush. Ren Fu and other generals died in the battle, and the Song army lost more than 10,000 people. Zhang Yuan, the counselor accompanying the army, wrote a poem at the border to ridicule the Song generals.
MilitaryBattle of Dingchuan Village
In leap September, the Song army was surrounded and annihilated in Dingchuan Village, and Song general Ge Huaimin and others died in the battle. Taking advantage of the victory, the Xia army went deep into Weizhou and plundered the area before returning. However, the Song army held on under the leadership of Fan Zhongyan and others, and the Xia army failed to further expand its results.
DiplomacyQingli Peace Conference
After years of war, Western Xia was depleted of financial resources and public dissatisfaction gradually arose. Yuan Hao then professed his vassalage to the Song Dynasty, and the Song Dynasty named him the Lord of Xia. He was "granted" 50,000 taels of silver, 130,000 pieces of silk, and 20,000 jins of tea every year, and he reopened the market.
MilitaryHequ defeated Liao
Liao Xingzong used Western Xia to lure Dangxiang tribes in Liao border to conquer it personally. Yuan Hao built a strong wall to clear the country, falsely retreated to lure the enemy, took advantage of the wind to counterattack in the meander of the river, defeated the Liao army, and captured the Liao prince-in-law Xiao Hujian.
PoliticsTo seize the Crown Prince's wife
Yuan Hao had previously killed the important ministers Yeli Wangrong and Yeli Yuqi's brothers, and deposed Yelihuanghou; this year he made the Meiyi clan appointed by Crown Prince Ning Lingge his concubine, and the conflict between father and son sharply intensified.
Peopleassassinated
In the first month of the first month, Ning Lingge entered the palace and stabbed Yuan Hao at the instigation of Mei Cangepang, cutting off Yuan Hao's nose. Yuan Hao died of serious injuries the next day at the age of forty-six. Mei Cangepang immediately killed Ning Lingge and supported the one-year-old Liang Zuo.
SocietyBuried at Tailing Mausoleum
Buried in Tailing at the east foot of Helan Mountain. Western Xia Emperor's Mausoleum imitates the layout of the Song Dynasty Mausoleum, and incorporates Dangxiang tradition and Buddhist elements to form a unique mausoleum system.
Lasting legacyWestern Xialing Mausoleum No. 3 is generally considered to be Yuan Hao's Tailing Tomb; Western Xialing Tomb will be included in the World Heritage List in 2025.
Dangxiang nobleman, an important minister of Yuan Hao, advocated "the utility of teaching according to one's nature, and punishing and rewarding according to customs". He was ordered to create Western Xia characters, preside over Tibetan studies, and translate Chinese classics in Western Xia.
A native of Huazhou in the Northern Song Dynasty, he failed in many trials and defected to Western Xia. He was reused by Yuan Hao and became the prime minister of the country. He made many plans to attack the Song Dynasty. After the Battle of Haoshuichuan, he wrote a poem to ridicule Song generals.
Queen Yuanhao is the mother of Crown Prince Ning Lingge. Her brothers Yeli Wangrong and Yeli Yuqi are both important ministers. She was deposed after her brother was killed, and Yuan Hao was killed by Mei Cangepang after his death.
She was originally the wife of a beggar in Yeli. After being killed by a beggar, she entered the palace. She became a nun for a time and was named Master Meuzang. Li Liangzuo was born in 1047. After Yuan Hao's death, he became regent as the Queen Mother.
Mei Cangshi's brother. He encouraged Ning Lingge to kill his father, and then killed Ning Lingge. He supported his nephew Liang Zuo and held power as the prime minister for more than ten years. In 1061, he was executed by Yizong.
The son of Yuan Hao, his mother is Yelihuanghou. The engaged wife, Mei Yishi, was snatched away by her father. In 1048, she entered the palace to assassinate Yuan Hao, but was killed by Mei Cangepang afterwards.