于阗国 / Khotan Kingdom (late Han)

Overview

于阗国 / Khotan Kingdom enters the wiki through Hanji 838 as the Western Regions polity destabilized by Wang Jing’s banquet killing of its king. The source makes Khotan a case where Han envoy action, local rivalry, and internal succession collide in quick sequence.

Current Profile

Khotan first appears as the place where former Western Regions chief clerk Zhao Ping dies. 居弥王成国 turns that death into an accusation against 于阗王建, but the source does not verify the charge. King Jian attends Wang Jing’s banquet because he believes he has no fault and does not expect a Han envoy to kill him.

After Jian is killed, Khotanese military and political actors reject Wang Jing’s imperial-command claim. 输僰 kills Wang Jing, then self-enthrones, but the people reject him too and kill him. The polity is stabilized only after Khotanese actors install Jian’s son 安国.

Key Characteristics

• Western Regions kingdom whose ruler is killed during a Han envoy’s failed intervention.
• Polity exposed to external accusation from Jumi and internal succession struggle after Jian’s death.
• Local actors reject both Wang Jing’s imperial-command claim and Shubo’s self-enthronement.
• Succession repair comes through installing Jian’s son Anguo rather than accepting the violent usurper.
• Source case for frontier instability produced by unverified accusation and coercive envoy action.

Evidence

• Zhao Ping death setting: Hanji 838 says Zhao Ping dies in Khotan before his son hears Chengguo’s accusation.
• Banquet killing: Hanji 838 says King Jian is seized and beheaded at Wang Jing’s banquet.
• Rejection of Wang Jing: Hanji 838 says Khotanese forces do not believe Wang Jing’s imperial-command claim and kill him.
• Rejection of Shubo: Hanji 838 says Shubo self-enthrones but the people kill him.
• Anguo settlement: Hanji 838 says Khotanese actors install King Jian’s son Anguo.

Qualifications

This page is bounded to Hanji 838 and does not reconstruct Khotan’s broader history, geography, or later Han relations. The charge that Jian caused Zhao Ping’s death remains an accusation from a hostile ruler unless later source notes verify it.

What Changed

• Created the Khotan Kingdom page from Hanji 838’s frontier incident.
• Added Khotan as a dependent-polity case where failed intervention triggers both anti-Han violence and internal succession repair.

Relationships

• 于阗王建 - king whose killing creates the crisis.
• 安国 - Jian’s son installed after Shubo is rejected.
• 输僰 - general whose counterattack and self-enthronement briefly reshape the crisis.
• 王敬 - Han official whose banquet plot destabilizes the kingdom.
• 居弥国 - rival polity whose ruler’s accusation initiates the intervention chain.
• 谣言驱动的边疆干预 - concept expressed through Khotan’s destabilization.