Han conquest of Nanyue

During the collapse of the Qin dynasty, Zhao Tuo established himself as the King of Nanyue in southern China.[1][2] Zhao was originally a Qin military officer from Zhending in northern China.[2] The Han frontier in the south was not threatened and there was no indication that Zhao Tuo would encroach on Han territory.[1] In 196 BC, the Emperor Gaozu sent Lu Jia on a diplomatic mission to Nanyue to officially recognize Zhao Tuo as a local ruler.[1] Nevertheless, relations between Han and Nanyue were sometimes strained.[3] Zhao Tuo resented Empress Lü's ban on exports of metal wares and female livestock to Nanyue.[3] In 183 BC, he proclaimed himself the "Martial Emperor of the Southern Yue" (南越武帝), which implied a perceived status on equal footing with the Han emperor.[4] Two years later, Nanyue attacked the Changsha Kingdom, a constituent kingdom of the Han empire.[4] In 180 BC, Lu Jia led a diplomatic mission to Nanyue.[3] During negotiations, he succeeded in convincing Zhao Tuo to give up on his title as emperor and pay homage to Han as a nominal vassal.[3]

Jade burial suit of King Zhao Mo

In 135 BC, King Zhao Mo of Nanyue appealed to the Han court for help against attacking Minyue forces.[5] The Han court responded swiftly and this led to Zhao Mo's agreement to send his son, Prince Zhao Yingqi, to serve in the palace at Chang'an.[6] Even though Nanyue neglected to pay regular homage to the Han court, the court had its attention focused on other commitments and was not set on forcing the issue.[5]

At the Nanyue court in 113 BC, the Queen Dowager of Nanyue suggested incorporating Nanyue as a kingdom under the suzerainty of the Han empire, thus formally integrating the kingdom on the same terms as the other constituent kingdoms of the Han empire.[6] She was Chinese herself and was married to Zhao Yingqi.[6] However, many Nanyue ministers opposed this suggestion.[6] Lü Jia was the primary Nanyue official to oppose the idea and he led the opposition against the Queen Dowager.[5] In 112 BC, the opposition retaliated violently and executed the Queen Dowager, a provocation that led to the mobilization of a large Han naval force into Nanyue.[5]

The Han forces comprised six armies, who traveled by sea, directly southward, or from Sichuan along the Xi River.[7] In 111 BC, General Lu Bode and General Yang Pu advanced towards Panyu (present-day Guangzhou).[5] This resulted in the surrender of Nanyue to the Han empire later that year.[5]

After the conquest of Nanyue in 111 BC, the Han empire established nine new commanderies to administer the former Nanyue territories.[5] Han control proceeded to expand further southwestward by military means after the conquest.[8] Following the conquest, the Han empire gradually extended its overseas trade with the various polities in Southeast Asia and around the Indian Ocean.[9]

• Qin campaign against the Yue tribes

• Loewe, Michael (1986). "The Former Han Dynasty". In Twitchett, Dennis; Loewe, Michael (eds.). The Cambridge History of China, Volume 1: The Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 BC–AD 220. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-24327-8.
• Loewe, Michael (1986). "The Structure and Practice of Government". In Twitchett, Dennis; Loewe, Michael (eds.). The Cambridge History of China, Volume 1: The Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 BC–AD 220. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-24327-8.
• Morton, W. Scott; Lewis, Charlton M. (2004). China: Its History and Culture (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-141279-4.
• Yü, Ying-shih (1986). "Han Foreign Relations". In Twitchett, Dennis; Loewe, Michael (eds.). The Cambridge History of China, Volume 1: The Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 BC–AD 220. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-24327-8.