The siege of Baideng and the price of peace with the Xiongnu
TL;DR — Trapped at Baideng hill for seven days by the Xiongnu ruler Modu, the founder of Han escaped, then made peace by sending a princess and yearly silk, wine and food.
The Han dynasty, which Columbia University’s Asia for Educators dates from 202 BC, began its dealings with the steppe with a defeat. In the winter after the autumn of 201 BC, its founder, Emperor Gaozu, was surrounded at Baideng hill by the cavalry of Modu, ruler of the Xiongnu, and cut off for seven days. Both Sima Qian’s Shiji and the later Han Shu tell how he got out, and how Han then bought peace with a princess and yearly gifts. Quotations from the Shiji are our own translations; those from the Han Shu are A. Wylie’s 19th-century translation, published by Silk Road Seattle at the University of Washington.
Quick facts
- When
- The winter of 201–200 BC, after the Xiongnu took Mayi in the autumn of 201 BC
- Where
- Pingcheng and Baideng hill, on Han's northern frontier
- Who
- Emperor Gaozu (Liu Bang), founder of Han; Modu, chanyu of the Xiongnu; Liu Jing
- Outcome
- Gaozu escaped after seven days; Han made peace by sending a woman of the imperial clan as the chanyu's consort, with fixed yearly gifts of silk, wine and food
A pursuit in the snow
The campaign began with a loss on the frontier. In the Han Shu’s account, the Xiongnu took the city of Mayi “in the autumn of B.C. 201,” and Gaozu went north in person. “It being winter time, what with the severe frost, the rain and the snow,” many of his men were disabled by the cold.
Modu pretended to be beaten and fled, hiding his best troops. “The Chinese, confident in their great numbers,” the Han Shu says, “told off three hundred and twenty thousand infantry for the pursuit.” Gaozu reached Pingcheng with an advance party before the main body.
Seven days at Baideng
The trap closed on the hill of Baideng nearby. The Han Shu gives Modu “three hundred thousand of his choicest cavalry”; the Shiji says 400,000. “For seven days all communication was cut off between the Chinese forces inside and those outside the circle,” the Han Shu continues, “the enclosed party being thus deprived of provisions.” Both histories describe the Xiongnu horses ranged by color: white on the west, grey on the east, black on the north and bay on the south.
The way out came through the chanyu’s household. Gaozu sent gifts in secret to Modu’s consort, who said to Modu: “Why should two sovereigns distress each other?” Modu had also been waiting for two allied generals, Wang Huang and Zhao Li, who had not arrived, and he began to suspect them of a plot with Han. He opened one corner of the ring. Gaozu’s men came out with their bows drawn and arrows pointing outward, and rejoined the main army.
A princess, silk and wine
Peace followed. The Shiji says that “Han also withdrew its troops and stopped, and sent Liu Jing to make a treaty of peace and kinship,” the arrangement known as heqin. When the Xiongnu kept raiding the frontier, Gaozu sent Liu Jing to present “a woman of the imperial clan, as a princess, to be the chanyu’s consort.”
Gifts went with her every year. The Shiji lists “silk floss, silk cloth, wine, rice and food, each in a fixed amount,” and says the two rulers pledged to be brothers, after which “Modu’s raids eased a little.” In Wylie’s translation of the Han Shu, the Chinese “sent yearly presents of raw and wove silk, wine and food, thus aiming to cultivate Chinese tastes among them.”
The arrangement continued
The marriages outlived Gaozu. When Modu died and his son became chanyu, the Han Shu records that Emperor Wen, “following up the example and policy of his ancestor, sent a princess of the imperial house.” The eunuch chosen to escort her, Zhonghang Yue, did not want to go. “If I am compelled to go,” he said, “it will be an unfortunate day for the house of Han.” On arrival he “tendered his submission to the Shen-yu,” the chanyu, and stayed with the Xiongnu.
The balance turned only under Emperor Wu, who reigned, in Asia for Educators’ dates, from 141 to 87 BC. Among his moves against the Xiongnu was a search for allies in the west, carried by the envoy Zhang Qian.
Key facts
- The Han dynasty is dated 202 BC to AD 220 (Asia for Educators).
- The Xiongnu took Mayi in the autumn of 201 BC; Gaozu marched north that winter (Han Shu).
- Han sent 320,000 men, mostly infantry, in pursuit (Shiji; Han Shu).
- Modu surrounded Gaozu at Baideng with 300,000 cavalry by the Han Shu’s count, 400,000 by the Shiji’s, for seven days.
- Gaozu escaped after secret gifts to Modu’s consort, and Modu opened one corner of the ring (Shiji; Han Shu).
- Liu Jing arranged the heqin peace: a woman of the imperial clan as the chanyu’s consort and fixed yearly gifts of silk, wine and food (Shiji).
FAQ
What happened at Baideng?
Emperor Gaozu of Han, pursuing the Xiongnu, was surrounded on Baideng hill by Modu's cavalry and cut off for seven days. He got out after sending secret gifts to Modu's consort.
How large were the armies at Baideng?
The Shiji and the Han Shu give 320,000 men on the Han side, most of them infantry. For Modu's cavalry the Han Shu gives 300,000 and the Shiji 400,000.
What was heqin?
The peace Han made with the Xiongnu after Baideng, negotiated by Liu Jing. Han sent a woman of the imperial clan to be the chanyu's consort and fixed yearly gifts of silk, wine, rice and food, and the two rulers pledged to be brothers.
Was the princess the emperor's daughter?
The Shiji calls her "a woman of the imperial clan" presented as a princess, not the emperor's own daughter.
When did Han stop paying the Xiongnu?
Later princesses were still sent, under Emperor Wen. The balance changed under Emperor Wu, who reigned from 141 to 87 BC.
Sources
- Sima Qian, Shiji, chapter 110, "Account of the Xiongnu," Chinese text, Wikisource
- Silk Road Seattle, University of Washington, "Selections from the Han Narrative Histories," the Han Shu on the Xiongnu translated by A. Wylie (1874–1882)
- Asia for Educators, Columbia University, "Key Points Across East Asia, 4000 BCE–1000 CE"
- Asia for Educators, Columbia University, "Excerpt from Sima Qian's Letter to Ren An," introduction
Cite this article
- APA
- Song Letter. (2026, October 11). The siege of Baideng and the price of peace with the Xiongnu. Our Earth's History. https://ourearthshistory.com/east-asia/classical/han-empire-silk-tribute-baideng/
- Chicago
- Song Letter. “The siege of Baideng and the price of peace with the Xiongnu.” Our Earth's History, October 11, 2026. https://ourearthshistory.com/east-asia/classical/han-empire-silk-tribute-baideng/.
- MLA
- Song Letter. “The siege of Baideng and the price of peace with the Xiongnu.” Our Earth's History, 11 Oct. 2026, https://ourearthshistory.com/east-asia/classical/han-empire-silk-tribute-baideng/.
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