Ⅲ. Wei, Jin, North and South Dynasties

　　At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Central Plains were plunged into warlordism and chaos, and finally formed the situation of the three kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu. The Dunhuang area was under the rule of Cao Wei, and production was further developed. Although the Western Jin Dynasty experienced a short period of unification, the Eight Kings' Rebellion and the Yongjia Rebellion soon pushed the Western Jin Dynasty into extinction, after which the Jin family moved southward, the northern minorities came to dominate the Central Plains, and a large number of people from the Central Plains moved westward. During the period of the Sixteen Kingdoms (304-439), Dunhuang came under five regimes: Qianliang, Qianqin, Houliang, Xiliang and Beiliang.
　　When Cao Wei unified the north, he had no time for the west of the river, and by the time of Cao Pi, the Emperor of Wei, he continued the policy of garrisons in the west of the river since the Western Han Dynasty, and appointed Yin Feng as governor of Dunhuang. In the first year of Taihe (227) of the Ming Emperor of Wei, Cang Ci succeeded him as governor of Dunhuang. At that time, due to the growing power of the powerful clans formed since the Eastern Han Dynasty, the trend of land annexation was prevalent, and the powerful also oppressed the peasants and extorted the merchants in the Western regions. In response to this situation, Xu Miao, the governor of Liangzhou at that time, and Cang Ci, the governor of Dunhuang, suppressed the powerful, disarmed the private armies of the powerful, and restricted the annexation of land by the powerful, so as to combat the arrogance of the powerful clans. Cang Ci also provided compassion for the poor, encouraged interracial marriages, and facilitated trade and transportation for merchants, which led to social stability and greater development of production and commerce in Dunhuang. After Cangci, Wang Qian and Zhao Ji became the governor of Dunhuang. In the first year of King Jia Ping's reign (249), Huangfu Long became the governor of Dunhuang, changing the backward customs of Dunhuang women in terms of clothing, and vigorously promoting the advanced production tools and farming techniques of the Central Plains, which led to the further development of Dunhuang's agriculture.
　　Although the ruling center of the Qianliang Zhang clan was in Wuwei, Dunhuang was still the major town in the western region at that time. Zhang Rail relied heavily on people from Dunhuang such as Song Jia, Yin Chong, Yin Tama, and Floodwon to plan for him, and because of these people's assistance, production in the western part of the river developed considerably, and the population increased, enabling Zhang Rail to "build up the western part of the state with authority, and to carry out the right side of the river". Zhang Jun Taiyuan 22 years (345), Dunhuang, Jinchang, Gaochang three counties and the western region, Wuji school captains, Yumen army three battalions merged to become Shazhou, the seat of Dunhuang, to the West Hu school captain Yang Xuan for the assassin. During his term of office, Yang Xuan had organized the people to build water conservancy, constructed five-stone bucket gate, weir water to irrigate the fields, and built the fifteen-mile "Yangkai Canal"; he had also used his own 10,000 ducats of grain to buy stones to repair the Pinghe bucket gate on the Beifu Canal in the north of the city. In addition, Yin Tan, the governor of Shazhou, also built a seven-mile-long canal in the southwest of the city during his term of office, so that the water in the southwest of Shazhou could be diverted to the northwestern aqueduct to irrigate a large area of land in the west of the city, which benefited the people in this area a lot and made them live in peace and contentment, and thus this canal was called "Yin'an Drainage Canal".
　　In the twelfth year of Fu Jian's reign (376), the Former Qin Dynasty destroyed Qianliang and brought the western part of the river, including Dunhuang, under its rule. In the 18th year of Fu Jian's reign (382), Lu Guang was sent to attack Guzi. In the 21st year of the reign (385), in order to consolidate his base of operations in the western region, Fu Jian moved 10,000 households of Jianghan people and more than 7,000 households of Central Plains people to Dunhuang. The arrival of a large number of Chinese scholars and people once again facilitated the development of the Dunhuang area. Shortly thereafter, the Former Qin collapsed due to the loss of the Battle of the Interstate War. 386, Lü Guang returned to Hexi from the Western Regions and established the Later Liang Regime (386-403) in Liangzhou. In the seventh year of Linjia (395), the Houliang internal strife, westward to Dunhuang, Jinchang, Wuwei, Zhangye to the east of the people of thousands of households, Dunhuang once again imported a large number of manpower. In addition, Meng Min, the governor of Dunhuang in the Later Liang Dynasty, had presided over the construction of a 20-mile-long aqueduct in the southwestern part of the city, which was called "Meng Zhuan Canal" to divert the water from the Ganquan Spring to irrigate the farmland, thus contributing to the development of agriculture in the area. In 400, Li Hao (李暠) proclaimed himself as the Champion General and Assassin of Shazhou (沙州刺史) in Dunhuang and established Xilang (西凉), a regime that was independent from that of the Later Liang Dynasty. Dunhuang became the capital of an independent regime for the first time in history. During the reign of the Xiliang Regime, a three-tier administrative structure of counties, townships and districts was established, a strict household system was practiced, and production was encouraged, resulting in a good harvest and a happy population in Dunhuang. Li Hao (李暠) erected the Temple of the First King for his father in Dunhuang; built the Hall of Gongde (恭德殿), the Hall of Jinggong (靖恭堂), the Hall of Jiana (嘉納堂), the Hall of Humble Virtue (谦德堂), to preside over the imperial government and refer to the military affairs; and set up the Palace of Pan (泮宮), with an increase of five hundred students. Ü-Tsang, Shanshan and other western kingdoms also come here to pay tribute, Dunhuang just like a capital of the school. However, the Northern Liang Regime (401-439) established by Mengxun (沮渠蒙逊) posed a great threat to Xiliang (西凉), and Li Hao (李暠) had to move the capital to Jiuquan (酒泉) in the first year of the Jianchu era (405). This move also took away 23,000 people and households from Dunhuang, which was greatly weakened. When Xiliang turned his attention to the east, Dunhuang lost its role as a base for operating in the western regions, and thus declined after Li Hao's death in 417. In the fourth year of Jiaxing (420), Northern Liang destroyed Xiliang, and Xun Li, the younger brother of Xiliang's king Li Xin, continued to resist at Dunhuang; in 421, Frustrated Qiu Mengxun led his troops to flood the city of Dunhuang with water, and Xun Li was captured when he sent his brave men to dig out the dike. Li Xun finally committed suicide, the frustrated Monksun massacred the city, Dunhuang men were destroyed, Dunhuang city even more declined.
　　The decline of Dunhuang during the Northern Liang period is not particularly noteworthy. In the fifth year of the Northern Wei Dynasty (439), Tuoba To captured Guzang, Frustrated Ditch Mugandan surrendered, and Northern Liang actually perished, but only the brothers of the Liang kings still resisted in the western part of the Hexi region, among which Frustrated Ditch Wuhui held Dunhuang. 442 years, Wuhui withdrew from Dunhuang, led more than 10,000 family members westward across the Quicksand, occupied Shanshan, and then entered into the Gaochang area, and was still called the King of the Western Hexi region. The retreat of the Northern Liang royal family took away a large number of Dunhuang households, most of which were the Hexi elites who had gathered in Dunhuang because of the Northern Wei's attack from east to west. Dunhuang suffered unprecedented destruction during the two military disasters of Northern Liang's destruction of Xiliang and Northern Wei's destruction of Northern Liang.
　　In 442, Li Bao, grandson of Li Hao (李暠), the king of Xiliang, took advantage of the withdrawal of Frustrated Ditch Wudi to occupy Dunhuang and sent Li Huaida into Wei to surrender. In 444, the Northern Wei summoned Li Bao to Pingcheng and took direct control of Dunhuang, where he built the town of Dunhuang to manage the western region and to fight against Zoran in the north. In the sixth year of Emperor Taiping Zhenjun's reign (445), Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty sent Duke Wan Duqui to send troops west of Liangzhou, out of Dunhuang, to attack Shanshan in the west, and later to break Yanqi and Guzi. This battle brought most of the Western Region under the control of Northern Wei, and the Silk Road was once again opened, with merchants from the Western Region coming to trade. But the good times didn't last long, the northern Zoran controlled the western region west of Dunhuang at this time, and directly controlled the Turpan Basin, which was closest to Dunhuang. Yanxing two years to four years (472-474), Ruo Ran continuously violated Dunhuang, as many as 30,000 riders. Dunhuang army and people in the town of general Yudohou, Le Luosheng's leadership, a few defeated the enemy, to save Dunhuang. However, in front of the severe situation, the Northern Wei Dynasty upper class on whether to continue to keep Dunhuang disagreed, many people suggested retreating Liangzhou, give up Dunhuang. But Han Xiu, the governor, believed that if Dunhuang was abandoned, not only would Liangzhou be lost, but Guanzhong would also have no peace and quiet. Emperor Xiaowen supported Han Xiu's opinion and promoted the general of Dunhuang to the rank of general in order to strengthen the defense of Dunhuang. Taihe nine years (485), Mu Liang Dunhuang town of generals, its policy is simple, and relief for the poor, Dunhuang economy has been restored. 492, the Northern Wei dynasty sent 100,000 troops to defeat the Zoran, Dunhuang has been peaceful since then, but years of war and loss of population, resulting in this area "empty especially" situation, it is difficult to quickly recover.
　　Zhengguang five years (524), the northern border towns of the Northern Wei Dynasty broke out in the six towns of the uprising. In August, Emperor Xiaoming issued an edict to change the town into a state, Dunhuang for the abundance of beautiful melons and the name of the "melon state" (once renamed "Yi state"), governing Dunhuang, Jiuquan, Yumen, Changle, Huiji five counties, the seat of Dunhuang. The Six Towns Uprising also affected the western part of the river, and in order to strengthen the rule of the western part of the river, Yuanrong, the fourth grandson of Emperor Ming Yuan, became the assassin of Guazhou in the first year of Xiaochang (525). In the second year of Yong'an (529), Yuan Rong was appointed King of Dongyang. Because Dunhuang was located in the northwest, it was not greatly affected by the wars of the late Northern Wei Dynasty, and even during the period of division between the Eastern and Western Wei Dynasties, Yuan Rong continued to serve as the Western Wei Dynasty's governor of Guazhou, and ruled until the tenth year of the Daitong era (544). Yuan Rong ruled Dunhuang for nearly twenty years, uniting Dunhuang's powerful rightists, protecting the country and its people, and contributing to the writing of more than a dozen sutras, as well as the excavation of a large grotto in the Mogao Grottoes. At this time, Dunhuang's economy and culture were restored and developed. After the death of Yuan Rong, his son Yuan Kang succeeded to the position of assassin, but Yuan Rong son-in-law Deng Yan killed Kang to stand up for himself, the Western Wei must not be recognized. In the 11th year of Daitong (545), Shen Hui, the ambassador of the Western Wei Dynasty to Dunhuang, with the assistance of local clansmen, such as Linghu Zheng, captured Deng Yan and sent him to the capital to be punished, and in 546, he became the assassin of Guazhou, and was diligent in his administration, so that the people were able to live in peace and work in contentment.
　　In 557, Yu Wenjue established Northern Zhou, which was opposed to Gao Yang's Northern Qi. After the Zhou Dynasty replaced the Western Wei Dynasty, it continued to set up Guazhou in Dunhuang, and according to the Book of Zhou, Wei Zhen and Li Xian were the assassins of Guazhou. 565-576 around the time of Guazhou assassins of Jianping Gong Yuyi, continued Yuan Rong's activities of opening the Mogao Grottoes for the creation of statues, and there is a monument that reads: "Jianping and Dongyang Hong its traces". Jiande three years (574), the Northern Zhou Emperor Wudi Buddhism, but Guazhou Buddhism seems to be only a short break in the opening of caves and statues, and did not suffer much impact.
　　It is worth mentioning that since the Han Dynasty, the Hexi region, especially Dunhuang, has been a place of great cultural prosperity, with a large number of literati and scholars. From the Zhang rail out of the Liangzhou pastoral since, on the protection of the territory and people, the establishment of culture and education, the selection of talents, for the landlord class in the west of the river to create a favorable conditions for the preservation and development of their own family and family school, which attracted a lot of people from central China flow to the west of the river. Hexi literati, mostly out of the western state of the big name, such as stabilizing Zhang's, Longxi Li's, Loyang Guo's, Xiping Tian's, Jincheng Zong's, and Dunhuang Song, Yin, Suo, Flood, etc., are Confucianism big name. The Dunhuang Confucians of Heshi not only dominated in number, but were also far ahead in academic achievements. In addition, they also organized schools, gathered disciples to teach, spread and promote traditional culture. These made important contributions to the preservation of traditional Chinese culture against the background of the turmoil in the Central Plains at that time, the abolition of the Jingluo Public School, and the downward movement of academics.

Translated with DeepL