Chinese History titles of rulers and names of persons

Han Wudi (汉武帝）

Private, posthumous, temple name and reign motto

Chinese rulers were not named and counted by their personal name like in Europe (for instance, William I. the Conqueror), but with the honorific title "the Upper" (shang 上) or the epithet "Down of the stairs to the throne" (in order to avoid a direct addressing to the ruler; bixia 陛下).After death, they were called with a posthumous name (shi 謚), that was mostly given in accordance to the circumstances during their lifetime (like "the Martial Emperor" or "the Lamentable King"). There are certain guidelines for the appointment of such titles. For the ceremony of ancestal veneration that is in use within the whole population of China and was accordingly exerted by the rulers, the deceased emperor was given a honorific title, his temple name (miaohao 廟號).This custom means that a ruling person can be addressed with three names: 1) the "real" personal name, 2) the posthumous name, and 3) the temple name. Lists and tables of rulers are therefore somewhat confusing. While the rulers and feudal lords of the Zhou Dynasty and the rulers of Han, Three Kingdoms, Jin, the period of division in north and south, and the Sui Dynasty are - in most cases - listed with their posthumous name (Wudi 武帝 "Martial Emperor", Huidi 惠帝 "Benevolent Emperor", Pingdi 平帝 "Appeasing Emperor", Xiaowendi 孝文帝 "Filial-Cultured Emperor", Huangong 桓公 "Effector Duke", Xuangong 宣公 "Propagator Duke", etc.), the rulers from the Tang Dynasty on are listed with their temple name (Gaozong 高宗 "High Ancestor", Taizong 太宗 "Great Ancestor", Shizong 世宗 "Ancestor of the Generations", Gaozu 高祖 "High Forefather", Taizu 太祖 "Great Forefather", Shizu 世祖 "Forefather of the Generations", etc.). Some rulers do not have a temple name or posthumous title (deposed, minors, and last rulers), and the rulers of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Ten States are listed with their personal name although they had a temple name and posthumous title. Talking of an emperor it is important not only to call him "Taizu" or "Gaozu" but also adding the dynasty because every dynasty has an ancestor of this name, hence say "Tang Taizong" 唐太宗, "Song Taizong" 宋太宗, "Song Gaozong" 宋高宗, "Qing Gaozong" 清高宗. The pre-Zhou rulers had other systems to address their ancestors. The Shang kings simply adresses their forefathers with a date according to the Ten Celestial Stems, like Waibing 外丙 "Outer III", Zhongren 中壬 "Middle IX", Taijia 太甲 "Great I", Woding 沃丁 "Fertile IV", Taigeng 太庚 "Great VII" etc. These numbers are not a counting of rulers with the same name, like Henry I, Henry II, but are given according to the date of a special event.From Emperor Han Wudi 漢武帝 (r. 140-87 BC) on rulers chose a reign motto (nianhao 年號) that could be changed every year - sometimes every few months - or only one or twice a reign. Ming and Qing emperors only chose one reign motto and are generally known with this reign motto (Hongwu 洪武, Yongle 永樂, Kangxi 康熙, Qianlong 乾隆) and not with their temple name (Ming Taizu 明太祖, Ming Chengzu 明成祖, Qing Shengzu 清聖祖, Qing Gaozong 清高宗).

Personal name
Zhu Yuanzhang 朱元璋

Posthumous title

Ming Gaodi 明高帝 "High Emperor of Ming"

Temple name

Ming Taizu 明太祖 "Great Forefather of the Ming"

Reign motto

Hongwu 洪武 "Inundating martiality"

Private persons Even private persons in China traditionally have different names (xingming 姓名). The clan or family name is called shi (e.g. Huang shi 黃氏, "Mister Huang"; better "Master", "Sir"). The surname is xing 姓 - surprisingly written with the radical "wife", probably a reminiscence of the old matrilinear clan organisation. In modern Chinese, the personal name of a person is called mingzi 名字, a combination of zi 字 (name given by birth) and ming 名 (how people call him). Moreover, many persons have epithets or styles (hao 號). For example, the Song Dynasty calligrapher Huang Tingjian 黃庭堅 has the family name Huang 黃, he is usually called Tingjian 庭堅 but was given the name Luzhi 魯直 by birth. He has the epithets Fu Weng 涪翁 ""Old Man from Fu/Sichuan and Shangu Daoren 山谷道人 "Hermit from the Mountain Valleys". Some people are called with their office (Du Gongbu 杜工部 "Du Minister of Official Works", i.e. the poet Du Fu 杜甫), some with their homeplace (Wei Suzhou 韋蘇州 "Wei from Suzhou", i.e. the writer Wei Yingwu 韋應物), and some with a honorific feudal title (Sima Wengong 司馬溫公 "Sima Duke of Wen", i.e. the politician and historian Sima Guang 司馬光), or with their epithet (Huang Shangu 黃山谷 "Huang from the mountain valley", i.e. Huang Tingjian 黃庭堅).Feudal titles One part of posthume names of rulers are the ruling ranks, according to the ruling rank during lifetime. The old Chinese feudal system (not "feudal" in the Marxist sense) is sometimes compared to the European Middle Age system of enfeoffment.Traditionally, the feudal ranks are divided into five (the "Five Ranks" wujue 五爵) and translated with the English terms of aristocracy.
公 gong "Duke", like 魯哀公 Duke Ai the Lamentable of Lu, Lu Aigong
侯 hou "Marquis", like 晉文侯 Duke Wen the Cultured of Jin, Jin Wenhou
伯 bo "Count"
子 zi "Viscount"
男 nan "Baron"The head of all these nobles was the ruler ("Lord" jun 君 or zhu 主), concretley: 王 wang "King", like 周文王 King Wen the Cultured of the Zhou Dynasty (Zhou Wenwang), and 帝 di "Emperor", like 漢武帝 Emperor Wu the Martial of the Han Dynasty (Han Wudi). The title huangdi 皇帝 (simply translated as "emperor") literally means "august god-like" and was first assumed by King Ying Zheng 嬴政 of the state of Qin.A special title created during the Spring and Autumn period was that of "Hegemonial Lord" (ba 霸), a feudal noble that assumed the role as political leader instead of the weak Zhou rulers.From the Han Dynasty on, emperors bestowed their relatives and sons with the title of wang that has from now on to be translated as "Prince".Last rulers of a dynasty are often not venerated in the ancestor temple, they are simply called with the pattern 齊王建 "Jian, King of Qi". Names like Han Modi 漢末帝, Jin Shaodi 晉少帝, or Jin Feidi 齊廢帝 are normally not cited in this way but are translated as "the last ruler of Han", "the minor emperor of Jin", "the deposed emperor of Qi".Empresses are called "Family name+hou", dowagers "Family name+taihou" as private person as well as in the ancestral temple (Lühou or Lü Hou 呂后, Lü Taihou 呂太后) - historians did not lay great stress on the surnames of women. Princesses are called with a honorific name: Yongtai Gongzhu 永泰公主 "Princess Everlasting Greatness".List of posthumous names and dynastic titles Guideline for the names of dynasties and rulersGreat dynasties are written in CAPITAL letters, the feudal states of the Warring States time in brackets (). Not to be confused, the feudal state 韓 is written "Hann", the dynasty 漢 is written "HAN". "JIN" 晉 is the follower of the Three Kingdoms, "JINN" 金 is the Jurchen empire of north China. XIA means the Western Xia 西夏. The titles and terms are listed in alphabetical order according to the pinyin system.哀 ai "the Lamentable": ZHOU (Lu, Hann), HAN, JIN, TANG, JINN安 an "the Peaceful": ZHOU, HAN, JIN, combination 安釐 anxi: (Wei)成 cheng "the Completer": ZHOU (Lu, Zhao), HAN, JIN, YUAN, MING, combination 文成 wencheng: BEIWEI, wucheng 武成: BEIQI, 孝成 xiaocheng: (Zhao)崇 chong "the Venerated": XIA衝 chong "the Offender": HAN出 chu "the Outstanding": (Qin), HOUJIN純 chun "the Faithful"大 da "the Great", 大帝 Dadi: SUN-WU戴 dai "the Respectful"代 dai "the Dynastical": TANG, MING道 dao "the Well-Lead": LIAO, combination 道武 daowu: BEIWEI悼 dao "the Mournful": (Chu), combination 悼襄 daoxiang: (Zhao)德 de "the Virtuous": TANG, QING定 ding "the Settler": ZHOU (Lu), combination 貞定 zhending: ZHOU, 泰定 taiding: YUAN度 du "the Careful": SONG端 duan "the Upright": SONG愕 e "the Honest"二世皇 Ershihuang "the Second Emperor": QIN廢 fei "the Deposed", 廢帝 feidi: JIN, LIU-SONG, XIWEI, BEIQI; always translated高 gao "the High", 高祖 Gaozu: HAN, TANG, HOUJIN, HOUHAN, 高宗 Gaozong: TANG, SONG, QING, 高帝 Gaodi: (HAN), QI, Empress Lü 呂后 called Gaohou: HAN恭 gong "the Reverent": JIN, XIWEI, SUI, HOUZHOU, SONG共 gong "the Common": ZHOU, error for 恭 gong光 guang "the Bright": SONG, MING, combination 光武 guangwu: HAN和 he "the Harmonious": HAN, QI,懷 huai "the Mindful": (Chu), JIN 桓 huan "the Effector": ZHOU (Lu, Qi, Yan), HAN, XIA, combination 桓惠 huanhui: (Hann)惠 hui "the Benevolent": ZHOU (Qin, Yan, Wei), HAN, JIN, XIA, MING, combination 惠文 huiwen: (Qin, Zhao), 桓惠 huanhui: (Hann)徽 hui "the Honorable": SONG簡 jian "the Simple": ZHOU (Qin, Yan), combination 簡文 jianwen: JIN, LIANG節 jie "the Integer", combination 節閔 jiemin: BEIWEI敬 jing "the Honorable": ZHOU (Zhao), LIANG, TANG景 jing "the Luminous": ZHOU (Hann), HAN, SUN-WU, LIAO, XIA, combination 景閔 jingmin: (Wei)靜 jing "the Tranquil", DONGWEI (孝靜 xiaojing), BEIWEI靚 jing "the Quiet", combination 慎靚 shenjing: ZHOU康 kang "the Strong": ZHOU (Qi), JIN考 kao "the Deceased": ZHOU, combination 考烈 kaolie: (Chu)匡 kuang "the Corrector": ZHOU厲 li "the Severe": ZHOU理 li "the Well-ordered": SONG烈 lie "the Eminent": ZHOU (Zhao, Hann), combination 威烈 weilie: ZHOU, 考烈 kaolie: (Chu)靈 ling "the Clever": ZHOU, HAN, combination 武靈 wuling: (Zhao)湣 min "the Grievable": (Lu), HOUTANG, combination 節閔 jiemin: BEIWEI, 孝閔 xiaomin: BEIZHOU愍 min "the Commiserated": JIN湣 min "the Confused": (Qi), combination 景湣 jingmin: (Wei)明 ming "the Luminous": HAN, CAO-WEI, JIN, LIU-SONG, QI, BEIZHOU, HOUTANG, YUAN, combination mingyuan 明元: BEIWEI, 孝明 xiaoming: BEIWEI末 mo "the Last", like 末帝 modi: SUN-WU, HOULIANG, HOUTANG, JINN, XIA; always translated穆 mu "the Respectful": ZHOU, JIN, TANG, LIAO, MING, QING赧 nan "the Embarrassed": ZHOU. 寧 ning "the Peaceful": SONG, YUAN 平 ping "the Appeaser": ZHOU, HAN欽 qin "the Respected": SONG頃 qing "the Inclined": ZHOU, combination 頃襄 qingxiang: (Chu)仁 ren "the Human": SONG, XIA, YUAN, MING, QING睿 rui "the Wise": TANG孺子 ruzi, "the Kid", a person that has no title for ancestor veneration, like 孺子嬰 Ying the Kid, last emperor of the Han. Ying actually also means "baby" or "kid", but it was also a common name during Zhou and Han dynasties.殤 shang "Young Deceased": HAN少 shao "the Minor", 少帝 shaodi: HAN, LIU-SONG, TANG; always translated神 shen "the Godlike": SONG, XIA, MING慎 shen "the Careful", combination 慎靚 shenjing: ZHOU聖 sheng "the Holy", LIAO, QING聲 sheng "the Famous": (Chu)世 shi "the Generationer": HOUZHOU, LIAO, JINN, YUAN, MING, QING (shizu and shizong)始皇 Shihuang "the First Emperor": QIN順 shun "the Obedient": HAN, LIU-SONG, TANG, YUAN, combination 天順 tianshun: YUAN思 si "the Thoughtful": ZHOU, MING肅 su "the Reverential": (Chu, Zhao), TANG太 tai "the Great", 太祖 Taizu: HOULIANG, HOUZHOU, SONG, JINN, MING, 太宗 Taizong: TANG, LIAO, SONG, JINN泰 tai "the Grand", 泰武 Taiwu: BEI-WEI, 泰定 Taiding: YUAN天 tian "the Heavenly", combination 天順 tianshun: YUAN威 wei "the Mighty": (Qi, Chu), combination 威烈 weilie: ZHOU文 wen "the Cultured": ZHOU (Lu, Yan, Hann, Wei), HAN, CAO-WEI, LIU-SONG, XIWEI, SUI, TANG, YUAN, QING, combination 文成 wencheng: BEIWEI, 文宣 wenxuan: BEIQI, 簡文 jianwen: JIN, LIANG, 顯文 xianwen: BEIWEI, 孝文 xiaowen: (Qin), BEIWEI, 惠文 huiwen: (Qin, Zhao) 武 wu "the Martial", often the founder or most important emperor of a dynasty: ZHOU (Qin, Wei), HAN, JIN, LIU-SONG, QI, LIANG, BEIZHOU, TANG, YUAN, MING, combination wucheng 武成: (Yan), 武靈 wuling: (Zhao), BEIQI, 悼武 daowu: BEIWEI, 光武 guangwu: HAN, 孝武 xiaowu: JIN, LIU-SONG, BEIWEI釐 xi "the Blessed", combination 安釐 anxi: (Wei)僖 xi "the Joyful": (Lu), TANG, error for 釐 xi "the Blessed": ZHOU熙 xi "the Brilliant": JINN熹 xi "the Dawning": MING顯 xian "the Clear": ZHOU 獻 xian "the Dedicated": (Qin), HAN, XIA, combination 獻文 xianwen: BEIWEI憲 xian "the Intelligent": TANG, MING襄 xiang "the Accomplisher": ZHOU (Lu, Qi, Hann, Wei), XIA, combination 頃襄 qingxiang: (Chu), 悼襄 daoxiang: (Zhao)孝 xiao "the Filal": ZHOU (Qin, Yan), SONG, MING; during Han added to the dynastic title, making combinations like 孝武 xiaowu: JIN, LIU-SONG, BEIWEI, 孝文 xiaowen: BEIWEI, 孝明 xiaoming: BEIWEI, 孝莊 xiaozhuang: BEIWEI, 孝昭 xiaozhao: BEIQI, 孝成 xiaocheng: (Zhao)興 xing "the Prosperous": LIAO宣 xuan "the Propagator": ZHOU (Lu, Qi, Chu), HAN, BEIZHOU, TANG, JINN, MING, QING, combination 宣武 xuanwu: BEIWEI, 宣惠 xuanhui: (Hann), 文宣 wenxuan: BEIQI玄 xuan "the Mysterious": TANG煬 yang "the Brilliant": SUI易 yi "the Amiable": (Yan)懿 yi "the Modest": ZHOU (Hann), TANG夷 yi "the Respectful": ZHOU毅 yi "the Resolute": XIA隱 yin "the Retiring": HOUHAN英 ying "the Flowering": SONG, YUAN, MING幽 you "the Darkened": ZHOU (Chu)元 yuan "the Originator": ZHOU, HAN, CAO-WEI, JIN, LIANG躁 zao "the Hot-tempered" (Qin)章 zhang "the Exemplarious": HAN, JINN昭 zhao "the Prominent": ZHOU (Lu, Qin, Yan, Hann, Wei), HAN, TANG, combination 孝昭 xiaozhao: BEIQI哲 zhe "the Wise": SONG貞 zhen "the Devoted", combination 貞定 zhending: ZHOU真 zhen "the True": SONG質 zhi "the Elementarious": HAN中 zhong "the Middle" or "the Mean", 中宗 Zhongzong: TANG莊 zhuang "the Dignified": ZHOU (Lu), HOUTANG, combination 孝莊 xiaozhuang: BEIWEI, 莊襄 zhuangxiang: (Qin)

from http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History

The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China (Wanli Changcheng 萬里長城; literally "Ten Thousand Leagues Long Fortification") is one of the most outstanding buildings of mankind, sometimes called the eight world wonder and said to be the only human work that can be seen from the moon (which is, of course, not true).The part of the Great Wall we can admire today north of Beijing, are the reconstructed remnants of the Ming Dynasty wall. But this wall is only the last wall-fortification in a long tradition of wall building.The oldest fortification walls of China were erected as an instrument of defense between the kingdoms of the Warring States period from the 5th to the 3rd century BC, that means, to defend Chinese against Chinese, not against "barbarians", like later. Today, it is possible to reconstruct five of these inner-China walls: the walls of Qi 齊 (modern Shandong), Chu 楚 (modern Hubei), Qin 秦 (modern Shaanxi), Yan 燕 (modern Hebei), Zhao 趙 (modern Shanxi), and Wei 魏 (modern Henan).Very famous is the Great Wall built by the First Emperor of Qin in 215 BC who was told by a magician that barbarians from the north would be able to attack his empire. The work to throw back the "barbarians" and to erect a defensive wall was undertaken by his general Meng Tian 蒙恬. Not much is left of this wall (we know a part made from unhewn stones near Baotou 包頭/Inner Mongolia), but we are able to trace back the course of his wall from Lintao 臨洮/Gansu to the Liaodong Peninsula 遼東/Liaoning that partially used older walls, especially in the east. Thousands of slaves and forced corvée workers are said to have died during the erection of the Qin wall - but we can imagine that the situation during the following dynasties was not very different.The first very important walls are that of the Han Dynasty. The offensive foreign politics of Emperor Han Wudi lead to the opening of the "western corridor" to Inner Asia and the begin of an intense trade with the Central Asian countries. A traveller named Zhang Qian 張騫 was the first Chinese to discover the importance of these Inner Asian kingdoms. The trade route to the west is known as the Silkroad. Nomad tribes north of the Chinese empire, in modern Mongolia, steadily attacked the towns and market places of the border region. To prevent the nomad tribes from their raids on Chinese soil, the Chinese government developed two kinds of political measures: tributary presents (heqin 和親) like silk, alcohol, later porcelain and tea, or even princesses, to appease the martial tribes; the second method was the offensive war undertaken by Emperor Han Wudi. His generals destroyed the mighty chieftain of the Xiongnu 匈奴 tribes, advanced into new territory and had erected defensive fortification walls in the years of 127 BC and 105 BC. These walls were very simply constructed with the main materials tamped loam, and straw. The forts along the wall (the most important Han Dynasty fort is the Yumenguan Fort 玉門關/Gansu) were not only constructed to prohibit the northern barbarians to attack Chinese border towns. Signal towers had the objective to quickly inform a fort or the capital from a barbarian attack. The third objective of the Han Dynasty walls was the protection of the markets along the road to the west like the newly founded commandery of Dunhuang 敦煌/Gansu, or the storehouse at Hecang 河藏/Gansu. To ensure the living of the troops along the wall-fortification, the soldiers were partially obliged to engage in agriculture, partially, peasants were resettled into the frontier-near military colonies (tuntian 屯田). The Han Dynasty wall reached far into the west, probably until Lake Lop Nur/Xinjiang (Chinese: Luobu Bo 羅布泊).Less important - or less famous - are the walls of the Northern Wei Dynasty from the 5th century AD. After repelling the Rouran 柔然 nomads, walls were erected along the norther frontier of the Wei empire, a dynasty whose founders were barbarians themselves only a few centuries before. An official named Gao Lü 高閭 demonstrated the advantages of a fortification wall: stationary defense instead of mobile defense; better reconnaissance of military attacks; no more robbing of kettle along the borders; better economical growth by less raids and less defense spendings; and less tied up political work by better protection of the borders. The short-lived Northern Qi and Sui Dynasties also erected provisory walls against the Eastern Turks (Chinese: Tujue 突厥).The cultural openness of the Tang Empire was followed by a political and military openness. The whole period of Tang, from about 600 to 900 AD, showed an economical prosperity by the open trade routes to Inner Asia. No fortification walls were necessary.The Song Empire - although always in a defensive political situation against the empires of Liao, Western Xia, and Jin - did not build fortification walls. The whole Song Dynasty had a strict orientation to appeasement politics and made intensive use of tributary presents (or rather, in fact, real tributs to the neighboring empires in the north). A second reason why the Song emperors did not build fortification walls, was the advancec military technology of the Liao and Jin empires. The old nomad tribes like the Xiongnu or Rouran made use of cavaly and bow and arrow. Their undertakings were raids of the borders towns, their target was kettle and other valuables. The modern rulers of the Liao and Jin empires were no more nomads, but real emperors of a empire modeled after the Chinese Song empire. Their target was territory, their technology was armored cavalry.After the Jin Dynasty conquered whole northern China, they started to erect a long fortification wall along their northern frontier from Qiqihar 齊齊哈爾/Heilongjiang to Baotou/Inner Mongolia. The technology of this wall is very different to the old ones: it was covered with hewn stones, crowned with battlements and parapets, and protected with moats. But even these technologically advanced fortifications were unable to protect China from the Mongols.

The follower of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty, was not very decisive in the question how to deal with the nomad tribes - especially the Mongols. Only bad experience with the restrengthening of the Mongol tribes under the command of Altan Khan lead to the construction of the famous Ming Wall from the 1530es on (the oldest parts are from 1485), but especially at the end of the 16th century. The Ming Walls are purely defensive and strictly follow the hill crests in mountainous areas. The building material is - at least in the famous eastern parts - burned brick. The Manchus were only able to enter Chinese soil because a traitor opened the gates to them in 1644.From the 1980es on, large parts of the Great Wall(s) were reconstructed, and today, the eastern wing of the Wall is one of the most important tourist attractions of China, especially the part near Badaling 八達岭, Gubeikou 古北口, Simatai 司馬台, and Mutianyu 慕田峪 (all near Beijing), and the Fortresses Shanhaiguan 山海關/Hebei and Juyongguan 居庸關/Beijing. The western part of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall is the Fortress Jiayuguan 嘉峪關/Gansu.

From http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Han/changcheng.html

History of the Silkroad

History of the Silkroad

The technique of silk production and weaving was fully developed in the beginning bronze age of China (Shang period 商), and at the begin of Han the neighboring people of the northwestern steppe highly estimated silk fabrics. Peoples like the Wusun 烏孫, Yuezhi 月氏, and Xiongnu 匈奴 controlled the ways to Inner Asia and acted as intermediary traders. In the late 2nd century BC the belligerent emperor Han Wudi 漢武帝 conquered the territories of the northwest to get rid of the tributary pressure of the intruding and robbing Xiongnu tribes. He installed the commanderies Jiuquan 酒泉, Wuwei 武威, Zhangyi 張掖, and Dunhuang 敦煌 where Chinese soldiers were deployed and had to supply themselves with agrarian military colonies (tuntian 屯田). Additionally, forts and fortified walls (later known as the Great Wall, Changcheng 長城) were constructed to prevent the Xiongnu from plundering Chinese villages. To administer and to control these regions, a Protectorate of the Western Regions (Xiyu duhu 西域都護) was installed, and the Han court often interfered into the politics of the city states along the silkroad. Along the silkroad, China sent embassadors to kingdoms and empires in the west, one of them called Daqin 大秦 that some scholars identify with Rome.After the political center of the unified empire collapsed with the end of Eastern Han, and during the three centuries of the division between north and south (Southern and Northern Dynasties, Nanbeichao 南北朝) trade and political and cultural exchange along the silkroad increased, and trade centers like the commandery Dunhuang developed a vivid cultural and religious life. With the foundation of the Sui 隋 and shortly after the Tang Dynasty 唐 the regular trade with the Central Asian kingdoms became crucial for the social and economic life of the capital Chang'an. The Tang government installed four garrisons (sizhen 四鎮) to administer the protectorate of the "Pacified West" (Anxi duhufu 安西都護府), Qiuci 龜茲 (Kucha), Yanqi 焉耆 (Karashar), Yutian 于闐 (Khotan), and Shule 疏勒 (Kashgar). After the end of Tang the Chinese government and economy of Song 宋 oriented more to the seashore and the trade with Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia and India, and the trade routes along the silkroad were again controlled by Non-Chinese empires like the Khitan-Liao 遼, Jurchen-Jin 金 and Tangut-Xixia 西夏. The Mongols that controlled Asia from China to Eastern Europe again allowed a continuous passage from the Near East to the capital in modern Beijing. Marco Polo and many other traders and missionaries followed the silkroad to enter the realm of the mighty qaghan Khubilai.Geography of the SilkroadFor more details see citystates of the silkroad. The silkroad started in the Han and Tang capitals Chang'an 長安 and Luoyang 洛陽 and lead through the Gansu corridor along the commanderies Wuwei 武威, Zhangyi 張掖, Jiuquan 酒泉 and Dunhuang 敦煌 to the Yumen Pass 玉門關 and the Yangguan Pass 陽關 from where the road first ended in Loulan 樓蘭 (northwest of Lop Nur Lake 羅布泊/Xinjiang, today buried under sand dunes). From there, the silkroad separated in a northern route and a southern route to by-pass the Taklamakan desert. The northern route passed Yiwu 伊吾, Cheshi 車師 , Gaochang 高昌, Yanqi 焉耆, Weixu 危須, Quli 渠犁, Wulei 烏壘, Luntai 輪台, Qiuci 龜茲, Gumo 姑墨 to Shule 疏勒. The southern route passed Shanshan 鄯善, Qiemo 且末, Yumi 扜彌, Yutian 于闐, Pishan 皮山, Shache 莎車, and met the northern route in Shule. Today, many cities of the southern route have been swallowed by the desert. A second northern route was opened in Later Han and lead along Yiwulu 伊吾廬 (modern Hami 哈密), Liuzhong 柳中, Gaochangbi 高昌壁, Cheshi 車師, Jiaohecheng 交河城 (near modern Turpan 吐魯番), crossed the Tianshan and ended in Yanqi 焉耆 and Qiuci. During the division in south and north, the Southern Dynasties (Nanchao 南朝) reached the silkroad via modern Sichuan and Qinghai that was dominated by the Tuyuhun 吐谷渾 realm. From Shule, the silkroad stretched on to the empire of Dayuan 大宛 and from there on divided into many sideroutes to Eastern Europe, Persia and India.