7. 221 to 0 BC

7.1. Keywords

  • yelang

  • qi fell

  • chao cheej

  • xi han

  • dong han

  • bang

  • state

  • across empire

7.2. Events

  • Qi fell to Qin [20007r].

  • (221–206) Qin Chao (Cheej Tshoj)

  • Revolts against Qin rule broke out across the empire. A Chu state was formed by Xiang Yu [Lew04].

  • (206 BC–220 AD) Xi Han Chao (Ham Tshoj)

  • (206 BC–220 AD) Dong Han Chao (Ham Tshoj)

  • (206–202 BC) Chu State emerged to challenge Han State to succeed the Qin Dynasty [20007i].

  • Chu King Xiang Yu’s lieutenant, Liu Bang, defeated the third and last Qin emperor at the valley of Wei. Liu Bang turned against Xiang Yu and eventually accumulated enough land to declare himself emperor with the title Gao Zu (High Progenitor). Liu Bang’s rule would eventually become the Han Dynasty [Lew04].

  • The Yelang Kingdom was an ancient minor kingdom in what is now Guizhou Province during the Han Dynasty. This kingdom lasted from 206 BC–220 AD [20007n]. Legend tells of how a girl washing clothes in the river found a boy in large piece of bamboo who would later become the King of Yelang [20007q]. There is a saying, “Yelang zida”, which translates to “Yelang is self-conceited.” The story behind this phrase is that when an envoy from the Han empire came to Yelang, the King of Yelang asked the envoy, “Which is bigger, Han or Yelang?” Yelang was large enough only to be compared with a prefecture of Han [20007l]. It is said, the same Han envoy first went to the neighboring Dian Kingdom, also equally small in size to the Yelang Kingdom, whose King also asked the Han envoy the same question [20007l]. Other sources place the Yelang Kingdom as early as 475 BC–26 BC [20007j] or 5th century BC to the later Han Dynasty [20007c]. Yelang people were said to wear their hair up, have supernatural skills, lead farming lives and have strong armies, according to records from such history books as The Historian and The Han Shu [20007c]. Yelang was not a powerful state but an alliance of several tribes across areas in Guizhou and neighboring provinces [20007c]. Kele may have been the center of the Yelang Kingdom [20007c]. The rulers of Yelang may have been Yi people as Kele is predominantly Yi [20007c]. However, surronding Kele are many Miao people as well [20007c].