车师后王国 / Later Cheshi Kingdom (late Han)

Overview

车师后王国 / Later Cheshi Kingdom is the Western Regions polity in Hanji 839 where a local royal conflict becomes a Han frontier-management problem. The episode follows King 阿罗多 from conflict with Han authorities into rebellion, flight to 北匈奴, return, and restored kingship under 阎祥’s containment policy.

Current Profile

The kingdom appears as a dependent frontier polity rather than a directly administered commandery. Aluoduo’s conflict with Han officials escalates into an attack on Han agricultural garrison troops, causing casualties and forcing internal elites to choose sides. Houmuhou Tanzhe and some residents leave Aluoduo and surrender to Han authorities, after which Aluoduo flees north with a small cavalry group.

The settlement is pragmatic. Dunhuang administrator Song Liang proposes installing Beijun, the hostage son of the earlier king Junjiu, but Aluoduo returns and still has local support. Yan Xiang worries that excluding him may invite Northern Xiongnu intervention, so he promises restored kingship in exchange for surrender. The court accepts, restores Aluoduo, sends Beijun back to Dunhuang, and assigns three hundred households for his settlement.

Key Characteristics

• Western Regions dependent polity whose internal succession problem affects Han frontier security.
• Local royal authority remains meaningful because Aluoduo retains support after rebellion and flight.
• Han屯田 troops and local elites are both exposed when the king rebels.
• Hostage-backed replacement is available but not automatically the best stabilizing choice.
• Restoration of the rebel king becomes a containment tool when outside Xiongnu involvement is the larger risk.

Evidence

• Frontier-polity status: Hanji 839 identifies the crisis as happening in the Cheshi Hou kingdom and treats its king as a ruler whom Han can depose, replace, or restore.
• Rebellion and casualties: Hanji 839 says Aluoduo attacks Han屯田 forces and causes deaths among Han generals and soldiers.
• Internal split: Hanji 839 says Houmuhou Tanzhe leads part of the population away from Aluoduo and toward Han surrender.
• Replacement option: Hanji 839 says Song Liang proposes Beijun, a hostage prince, as a new king.
• Restoration settlement: Hanji 839 says Yan Xiang restores Aluoduo after weighing the risk that Northern Xiongnu could use him.

Qualifications

This page is source-bounded to Hanji 839. The exact office titles, the full royal genealogy around Junjiu and Beijun, and the long-term outcome of the settlement remain source-scoped. The page treats “Later Cheshi Kingdom” as a route for 车师后王国 and does not attempt a full Western Regions history.

What Changed

• Created the page from Hanji 839’s Cheshi rebellion, hostage-replacement, and restoration-settlement branch.
• Added the kingdom as a late-Han example of frontier recognition used after rebellion rather than before conflict.

Relationships

• 阿罗多 - king whose rebellion and restoration define the source branch.
• 阎祥 - Han official whose negotiation stabilizes the kingdom.
• 北匈奴 - outside power whose possible involvement shapes the restoration decision.
• 册封威慑式边疆外交 - concept extended by the Cheshi restoration case.
• 质子外交破裂 - adjacent hostage-politics frame because Beijun’s availability as a hostage prince does not settle the succession problem by itself.