She was originally a beloved daughter of the royal family. She became an orphan when her father failed in a rebellion and died. She was raised by her uncle, Liu Xu, King of Guangling. When the Xiongnu repeatedly invaded the borders of the Han Dynasty, the Han court sent her to the Wusun Kingdom as a marriage princess in order to "cut off the right arm of the Xiongnu". She made indelible achievements for the Han Dynasty in bringing the Western Regions into its territory. This royal daughter was Liu Xijun, who was later honored as "Princess Wusun".
Wusun betrothed his brother Kun to the Han Dynasty
"Hanshu" records that Wusun is 8,900 miles away from Chang'an. This country has the same customs as the Xiongnu. They don't do farming and live in pursuit of water and grass. The folk customs are violent and vicious, and many people become bandits and make a living by plundering. Zhang Qian went on a mission to the Western Regions and saw that Wusun and the Dayue clan were both in Dunhuang, and Wusun was a strong country. Therefore, he intended to use generous wealth to attract peace, marry a Han princess, and marry her as his younger brother, so that he could contain the Xiongnu.
The Wusun Kingdom was divided into three tribes at that time, all of which were controlled by King Wusun's hunting and arrogance. Zhang Qian went to Wusun as an envoy and handed the gifts from the Han Dynasty to Hou Jiaomi, and said to him: "If Wusun can return to his homeland, the Han court will send the princess to be the wife of Kunmo (the title of King Wusun). If the two countries form an alliance to fight against the Huns, they will definitely be able to defeat the Huns."
The map of Zhang Qian's mission to the Western Regions on the north wall of Cave 323 of the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, drawn in the early Tang Dynasty. (Public domain)
But Wusun was far away from the Han Dynasty, and the Chinese people did not know the size of the Han Dynasty's territory, national conditions and people's livelihood. Wusun had surrendered to the Xiongnu for a long time, and none of his officials were willing to move eastward. Liejiaomi did not comment on the Han's proposal, but sent an envoy to escort Zhang Qian back to Chang'an, and at the same time presented dozens of famous horses as a thank you. The Wusun envoy followed the Han envoy to Chang'an and saw that the Han country was rich and powerful and the people were prosperous. After returning to Liejiaomi, Wusun Fang had the intention to return to the Han Dynasty.
When the Xiongnu learned that Wusun was communicating with the Han Dynasty, they wanted to attack Wusun. King Wusun was frightened and quickly sent an envoy to pay tribute to the Han court, and offered to marry a Han Dynasty princess to marry Kun's younger brother. During the court meeting, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty asked the officials for their opinions and decided to follow the etiquette of the Han family and ask Wusun to send a betrothal gift first, and then the Han court would send the princess there.
In the third year of the Han Yuan Dynasty (108 BC), Liejiaomi, the king of Wusun Kingdom, sent a thousand famous horses to Chang'an as a betrothal gift for marrying a princess. So Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty chose Liu Xijun from among the royal eldest daughters, issued an edict to make her a princess, and went to the Western Regions to make peace with her.
The handprints of the Lingbi engraved by the villagers
This Liu Xijun was originally the daughter of Liu Jian, the king of Jiangdu in the Western Han Dynasty. Liu Jian privately carved jade seals and made weapons in order to rebel. After the incident was exposed, he committed suicide out of fear of guilt. Xijun's mother was also killed on charges of conspiracy. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty took pity on Xijun for losing his father at a young age, so he left her to be raised by her uncle, Liu Xu, King of Guangling. Under the tutelage of his uncle, Xijun grew up to be a beautiful and intelligent lady. She is good at singing, dancing, poetry, and writing. She knows everything about music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. It can be said that she has both talents.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty prepared a very generous dowry for Xijun, including all the carriages, horses, and daily utensils used by the royal family. He also selected hundreds of officials, eunuchs, and maids for her to accompany her to the Western Regions. . In the sixth year of Yuanfeng (105 BC), Princess Xijun was ordered to set off from Jiangdu with her husband's motorcade.
When traveling to Lingbi, Anhui, the princess stood quietly in front of a rock. She touched the boulder and looked at her hometown in the distance, unable to bear to leave for a long time. The ancients said: "Where sincerity reaches, gold and stone will open." The strong nostalgia, accompanied by the pain of parting, actually left clear handprints on the boulder.
It is said that this handprint was carved into stone by the craftsman, and the knuckles of the fingers can be clearly seen, so this place became a landscape called "Lingbi Handprint". Qian Weishan, a poet of the Yuan Dynasty, recorded this incident in "Handprints of the Lingbi", with the poem "Thousands of miles away, there is a poor and sad sky, and I once stood and leaned against the Lingbi, the Lingbi pavilion stood empty in the snow, and the stone marks are not rotten but the rouge festival", I lamented Princess Xijun’s feeling of leaving her hometown.
Music playing the pipa relieves homesickness
"Pipa Fu" compiled by Fu Xuan of Jin Dynasty. "Preface" mentioned that the Han Dynasty sent Princess Wusun to get married. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty thought that the princess would miss her hometown because of the long journey, so he ordered craftsmen to make musical instruments such as qin, zither, zhu, and konghou for her so that the princess could play, sing and play on the horse. , to relieve homesickness.
Because Xijun was proficient in music theory, after the craftsmen made the pipa, Liu Xijun set the scales for the pipa, so the design was recorded in history. Duan Anjie of the Tang Dynasty said in "Yuefu Miscellaneous Records": "Pipa was first made by Princess Wusun."
Princess Xijun went to the Western Regions to make peace and brought the laws of the Han Dynasty to Wusun Kingdom. , etiquette (including burial system), actors, craftsmen, etc. With the arrival of the Han princess, Wusun Kingdom began to build houses, plant mulberry and raise silkworms. Xijun also served as an important promoter of Han music, bringing Chinese music into the civilized and wild land.
A sad song that expresses pity to the emperor
Princess Xijun came to Wusun and became Kunmo’s right wife. Not long after Xijun came to Wusun, the Huns also sent a clan daughter to marry King Wusun and become Kunmo's left wife in order to contain Wusun. Although Xijun is a charming girl from Yangzhou, the marriage under the king's order is no different than being on an envoy. The ancients said: "If you send envoys to all directions, you will not insult the emperor's order." The emperor will not be surprised by small changes and deal with them calmly.
However, due to Kunmo’s old age and difficulty in speaking, Princess Wusun’s heart was full of sorrow and sorrow. She once wrote a "Sad Song":
My family will marry me. The sky is far away, and the King of Wusun in a foreign country is far away.
The dome house is a room with felt as the wall, and meat is used as food and cheese as pulp.
I miss you when I live here, and my heart hurts. I wish I could return to my hometown like a yellow swan.
After this poem reached Chang'an, it caused quite a shock among the literati. After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty read this poem, he felt pity and issued an edict to send envoys every other year to bring brocade, curtains, coins and silk as gifts to Princess Wusun.
According to the national custom, in order to destroy the barbarians
King Wusun was old and frail. Considering the inheritance of the throne and the goodwill towards the Han Dynasty, he killed Wusun in accordance with the national custom. Princess Sun married her eldest grandson, Jun Xumi, the future heir to the throne. The princess was shocked that the custom was contrary to the human ethics of the Han people, so she refused to comply and wrote a letter to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to express her love. In order to ensure the long-term stability of the country, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ordered Xijun: "According to the customs of the country, I want to fight with Wusun to destroy the Hu."
The princess obeyed the order. After Kunmo died, Married to Junxumi. The people of Wusun loved and respected this Han princess, and also called her "Princess Kemuzi", which means a princess who is as white and beautiful as mare's milk. Xijun assisted two generations of kings in Wusun and brought the Han style into Wusun, making the whole country admire Han culture and leaving a strong mark in the history of the spread of Central Plains civilization to surrounding countries.