Huo Qubing was one of the most talented military generals that served during the reign of Emperor Wu (r. 141-87 BCE). His rise to prominence was greatly helped by the influence of his uncle, general-in-chief Wei Qing, and his aunt, Empress Wei Zifu—yet, once he was given an avenue to leadership, Huo Qubing seized his destiny and began building his legend through impressive military feats. His name first appeared in an imperial edict around 123 BCE, at which time Huo Qubing was something of a scout, leading a force of around 800 horsemen on missions in front of his uncle’s army. He was masterful in commanding that band of cavalry and was given the noble title of marquis as a reward for his successes. Finally, in 121 BCE, Huo Qubing was promoted to the rank of general and his troop of 800 horsemen was increased to an army of 10,000 cavalrymen.
For his first campaign as a general, Huo Qubing was sent against Emperor Wu’s greatest foe, the nomadic Xiongnu confederation. He set out from Longxi in Spring and marched deep into what is now Gansu Province, China. Crossing over mountains and rivers, Huo Qubing reportedly invaded the territories of five Xiongnu kings. He was said to have slain one or two of these kings, captured a son of another, and killed or captured between 8,000-18,000 Xiongnu warriors—all this reportedly accomplished before the arrival of summer.
The most intriguing event of the Spring campaign occurred when Huo Qubing was in battle against a certain Xiutu king of the Xiongnu confederation. While scavenging items from a battlefield or pillaging an abandoned Xiongnu camp, Huo Qubing came into possession of a curious religious idol. Emperor Wu praised the acquisition of the sacred item in a public edict, which was thankfully recorded by the emperor’s Grand Historian and palace secretary, Sima Qian (c. 145-90 BCE). The edict lauded the general’s campaign, claiming, “He has killed and captured over 8,000 of the enemy and seized the golden man which the Xiutu king uses in worshipping Heaven” (Sima Qian, Shi Ji 111).
Unfortunately, no further elaboration was given to the golden figure’s appearance. Yet, many history and religion scholars wonder if the golden man might have been a depiction of the Buddha. Supposing that the unidentified golden figure really was a Buddha, Huo Qubing’s finding of it would have been the first documented interaction between China and Buddhism. Nevertheless, as the ancient Chinese eyewitnesses of the statue did not record any distinctive features of the figure besides its golden sheen, the identity of the deity depicted by the idol remains a subject of speculation and theory.
After battling through the five Xiongnu subkingdoms and capturing the golden man, Huo Qubing returned to China, where he was rewarded with an enlargement of his marquisate fiefdom. He did not have long to rest, for in the summer of that same year (still 121 BCE), Huo Qubing would participate in yet another campaign against the Xiongnu.
Written by C. Keith Hansley.
Picture Attribution: (Romance of the Three Kingdoms scene at Long Corridor in China, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).
- Records of the Grand Historian (Shi ji) by Sima Qian, translated by Burton Watson. New York: Columbia University Press, 1993.
- http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Han/personshuoqubing.html
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