Bronze buckles of man and feline defending caravan 2nd-1st C. BCE

January 18, 2023

Bronze buckles of man and feline defending caravan 2nd-1st C. BCE

"6.29 Emperor Wu on the Han Throne (140 BCE): When Emperor Wu acceded to the throne, he reaffirmed the marriage and peace treaty with Xiongnu; the people were well treated at the border markets, and the Han court sent them lavish gifts. The people from the Chanyu and down all had a friendly relationship with Han, and they could enter and exit the Long-Walls Passes freely.

6.30 The Battle of Mayi (133 BCE): The Han court sent a senior native of Mayi County, Nie Yi, to bring smuggled goods to trade with the Xiongnu beyond the Passes. He claimed with the Xiongnu that he had the means to make the Chanyu occupy the Mayi Cheng. The Chanyu believed him; avaricious for the properties at Mayi he led 100,000 mounted men to enter the Wuzhou Pass. Han in the meantime had laid down an ambuscade with 300,000 troops near Mayi; it was headed by the Imperial Counsellor, Han Anguo, who was appointed by the court as Army Protector General, aided by four other generals. After the Chanyu entered the Han border, when he was some 100 li from Mayi; he noticed that there were herds of cattle in the fields, but there were no herders in sight. He became suspicious and attacked a sentry post. A sentinel Officer of Yanmen was making a patrol at the defense post when he saw the invaders and tried to defend the station. the Xiongnu captured the Officer and was about to run him through. The Officer was aware that Han had installed for the Xiongnu, he surrendered to the Xiongnu and told the Chanyu what he knew. Much alarmed, the Chanyu said, "I knew somethin was amiss, I was right." He ordered a hasty retreat. After leaving the Pass, he said in relief, "Thank Heavens for sending me this guard; he indeed is a Godsend." He invested a title on the Han officer by calling him the Heavenly King.

The Han troops had agreed to wait until the Chanyu and all his forces had entered the Pass before making a concerted attack; since the Chanyu did not proceed too far, the army did not have a chance to strike; hence, nothing was accomplished. Meanwhile, General Wang Hui was assigned the task to cut off the baggage train and supply lines of the Xiongnu at Dai; when the General heard that the Chanyu had retreated and that the forces under him were formidable; he dared not advance. Later, the Han court censured Hui for coming up with the scheme but did not advance against the retreating Xiongnu forces; he was executed.

After this, Xiongnu broke off relationship with Han and frequently conducted attacks at the thoroughfares at the Passes. The occasions of incursion and raid at the border were so frequent that they could not be recorded. Nonetheless, the Xiongnu people desired Han goods and were eager to trade at the market bazaars at the Passes, and the Han government allowed such trading activities to continue.

6.31 Han Counterattacks (128 BCE): Five years after the Mayi incident, in the autumn of this year (128 BCE); the Han court sent four generals, each with a contingent of 10,000 mounted cavalrymen to attack the Hu barbarians (Xiongnu) at the border markets."

-Hanshu Xiongnu Zhuan Volume 94 Number 64 A. The Western Regions, Xiongnu, and Han (from the Shiji, Hanshu, and Hou Hanshu) translated and annotated by Joseph P. Yap

Bronze buckles of man and feline defending caravan 2nd-1st C. BCE. From modern day Mongolia and Northern China, Xiongnu era. The mounted man holds a knife or sword in one hand and grasps the hair of a pot-bellied creature in the other. It's hard to tell what the creature is. In one of the buckles it looks like a human, but in another it looks almost like a bear in a funny wig. The animal attacking the creature appears to be a feline (panther?) based on its tail. One of the animals pulling the cart may have antlers (possible reindeer?), it's hard to tell. Another feline rides on the caravan.