The Di (; < Eastern Han Chinese *teiSchuessler, Axel. 2007. An Etymological Dictionary of Old Chinese. University of Hawaii Press. p. 209 < Old Chinese (B-S): *tˤij) were an ancient ethnic group that lived in western China, and are best known as one of the non-Han Chinese peoples known as Five Barbarians that seized power in northern China during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. This ethnic group should not be confused with the earlier Dí (), which refers to unrelated nomadic peoples in northern China during the earlier Zhou dynasty.
History
Origins The Di people were first mentioned in the Classic of Poetry (11th to 7th century BCE), which recounts them paying tribute to the Shang dynasty during the reign of Tang (c.1670–1587 BCE). Later records indicate that the Di lived in the regions of modern-day Gansu, western Shaanxi and northern Sichuan, with an especially dense population in area of Longnan. They were a proto-Tibeto-Burman people, and were culturally related to a broad group of western herding tribes known to the ancient Chinese as the Qiang. They were thus sometimes collectively referred to as the Di-Qiang, but unlike their more nomadic counterparts, the Di were also farmers who practiced agriculture in the river valleys and lived in wood-frame homes with mud walls.(Chinese) 段渝, 先秦巴蜀地区百濮和氐羌的来源 2006-11-30四川三星堆之謎新解：平武發現"縱目人"後裔?-搜狐IT汉晋时期藏彝走廊中的“氐” There were various distinct tribes among the Di people, each ruled by their own chieftain or king.
Han dynasty In the 2nd century BCE, the most powerful tribe among the Di people were recorded as the Baima Di (白馬氐; "White Horse Di"), who lived in an area called Hechi (河池) or Chouchi (仇池) in modern Longnan, Gansu. In 111 BCE, as part of Emperor Wu of Han's westward expansion, the Han dynasty general, Guo Chang invaded the land of the Baima and established Wudu Commandery (武都; around present-day Longnan, Gansu) in its place. As more Han counties and commanderies were founded in the region, some of the Di tribes fled west and found refuge in the valleys around the Qinghai Lake, while the others that remained began to show resentment. In 108 BCE, the Di tribes rebelled against the Han in Wudu, but were promptly defeated. To deter further uprisings, Emperor Wu of Han had a number of their people forcibly relocated to Jiuquan Commandery in the Hexi Corridor. Another Di revolt broke out in Wudu in 80 BCE, but was quickly put down by Zhao Chongguo.
During the political upheaval of Wang Mang in the first half of the 1st century CE, the Di seized the opportunity to rebel once more and submitted to the local warlords of the Longxi and Shu regions. After Emperor Guangwu restored the Han dynasty, the Di people of Wudu, led by the powerful chieftain Qi Zhongliu (齊鐘留), defected back to Han and assisted them in their campaigns against Gongsun Shu and Wei Ao. For their contributions, some of the Di leaders were formally reinstated back to their positions as chieftains, kings and marquises, and were even bestowed with seals of office, recognizing them as official Han administrators.
Fall of Han and Three Kingdoms The Di remained at peace for more than a century until the fall of the Han dynasty in the last 2nd century CE. With the collapse of central authority, the Di tribes were drawn into Han civil war and entered loose alliances with their surrounding warlords. In the Longxi, King Agui () ruled over the Di people of Xingguo (; northeast of present-day Qin'an County, Gansu), while Yang Qianwan led the Baiqing Di at Mount Chouchi. Other Di leaders included Lei Ding (雷定) in Wudu and Xiabian (下辯; northwest of present-day Cheng County, Gansu) and Dou Mao (竇茂) in Hechi. When the Han Chancellor, Cao Cao invaded northwestern China in 211 CE, the Di tribes aligned themselves with the warlords, Ma Chao, Han Sui and Zhang Lu to resist him, but were eventually defeated.
By 217 CE, Cao Cao had reached a deadlock with his rival, Liu Bei, who held control over the Sichuan Basin. The Di homeland around Wudu became a hotly contested region between Cao Cao and Liu Bei's forces. Fearing that Liu Bei may sway the Di into defection and rebellion, Cao Cao facilitated a large-scale resettlement of the Di away from the frontlines, concentrating them in the commanderies of Jingzhao, Fufeng and Shiping (始平郡; in western Shaanxi) within the Guanzhong Basin, as well as Tianshui, Nan'an (南安郡; southeast of present-day Longxi County, Gansu) and Guangwei (廣魏; later known as Lüeyang (略陽) in modern Tianshui, Gansu) within the Longxi Basin.
The stalemate persisted into the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 CE), with the Cao Wei in northern China and Shu Han in Sichuan. Many of the Di still remained in the Wudu area, but despite their previous conflicts and concerns, the Di tribes were generally supportive of the Wei and remained submissive towards them throughout their rule. To manage the affairs of the resettled Di, the Wei court introduced the offices of the Colonel Protector Who Stabilizes the Yi (安夷護軍) and Colonel Protector Who Comforts the Yi (撫夷護軍). The Di people in the Guanzhong and Longxi underwent sinicization as they engaged in agriculture and intermingled with the local Chinese communities, but still retained their tribal affiliation.
Western Jin After the establishment of the Western Jin dynasty (266–318 CE), however, the Colonel Protector offices were abolished, and the tribes of the Di were forcibly disbanded and turned into registered households under the local fiefdoms instead. As registered households, the Di were now obligated to pay taxes and carry out corvée labour. By 296 CE, the various minority groups in the Guanzhong and Longxi regions such as the Qiang and Lushuihu had also grown frustrated with the oppressive governance of the Prince of Zhao, Sima Lun. That year, a Di chieftain named Qi Wannian led these groups into a massive uprising against the Jin and declared himself emperor. The rebellion lasted for years, causing much devastation to the Guanzhong region along with famines and plagues as the Jin court struggled to put it down effectively. After the rebellion ended in Qi Wannian's death in 299 CE, the official, Jiang Tong, submitted a memorial to the court urging them, among others, to relocate the Di people of Guanzhong back to their old homelands in the Longnan region, but was ignored.
Sixteen Kingdoms The Di people are considered in historiography as one of the "Five Barbarians" (together with the Xiongnu, Jie, Xianbei and Qiang) who founded most of the Sixteen Kingdoms of the 4th and early 5th centuries. The Former Qin (351–394 CE) and Later Liang (386–403 CE) were both founded by the Di people of Lüeyang Commandery (略陽郡; roughly modern day Tianshui, Gansu). The founders of Cheng-Han (304–347 CE) were actually Zong (賨) or Bandun Man people who intermixed with the Di people.
Cheng-Han (304–347) As part of Cao Cao's resettlement strategy against Liu Bei in 215 CE, a number of Zong or Bandun Man people in Hanzhong were relocated north to Lüeyang Commandery, where they intermingled with the Di people. They became known as the Ba Di (巴氐), with "Ba" referring to their ancestral home in the Sichuan Basin. Among the Ba Di people were the Li clan, and after the outbreak of Qi Wannian's rebellion in 296 CE, the family led many displaced refugees from six affected commanderies in the Guanzhong and Longxi to find refuge south in Sichuan. In 301 CE, the refugees refused to heed the Jin court's order to return north and rallied behind Li Te to rebel. In 304 CE, Li Xiong, the son of Li Te, ousted the Chinese provincial inspector from Chengdu and soon founded the state of Great Cheng (later renamed Han in 338 CE, and hence collectively known as "Cheng-Han").
Cheng-Han is considered the first of the Sixteen Kingdoms, and was the only state among them to be based within the Sichuan Basin. Their territory grew to encompass all of Sichuan, southwestern Shaanxi and parts of northern Guizhou and Yunnan, becoming a regional power in southwestern China. The ruling clan was highly sinicized, adopting the Jin style of imperial governance and showing reverence towards Taoism through the Way of the Celestial Masters sect. The state was eventually conquered by the Eastern Jin commander, Huan Wen in 347 CE.
Former Qin (351–394) The Fu clan of the Lüeyang Di (略陽氐) were specifically from Linwei County (臨渭; in modern Qin'an County, Gansu) and claimed descent from the legendary Youhu clan from the ancient Xia period. During the collapse of the Western Jin, their chieftain, Fu Hong gathered refugees in his home commandery and proclaimed himself as the Duke of Lueyang in 310 CE. In 329 CE, he surrendered to the Jie-led Later Zhao dynasty, who later resettled him and his followers to the east in the Henan region, where he was given the important task of supervising the relocated Di and Qiang tribes. As the Later Zhao began to collapse in 349 CE, Fu Hong resolved to return to his home in the west and breakaway. In 351 CE, after entering the Guanzhong Basin and capturing Chang'an, Fu Hong's son, Fu Jiàn, established the Former Qin dynasty.
The Former Qin rose to power during the early reign of their third monarch, Fu Jiān. With the help of his Han Chinese Prime Minister, Wang Meng, the Qin formed a centralized Chinese-style bureaucracy and rapidly expanded their territory, unifying northern China and conquering Sichuan by 376 CE. Fu Jian vigorously upheld Confucianism by opening schools and presenting himself as a representative of the Middle Kingdom. At the same time, he also held Buddhism in high esteem and helped to propagate the religion. Fu Jian often incorporated his defeated enemies such as the Qiang and Xianbei into his military and administration while also refusing to grant special privileges to the Di nobility at first.
With most of China under his rule, Fu Jian sought to complete the unification by conquering the Eastern Jin dynasty. In 378 CE, his forces captured the key city of Xiangyang, and two years later, he began assigning the Di nobles and soldiers to military garrisons in various parts of the empire outside of the Guanzhong Basin. In 383 CE, he led a massive force purported to be 870,000 strong and faced the outnumbered Jin army at the Battle of Fei River. Despite his numerical advantage, a defector within his rank enticed his army to make a panicked retreat, leading to a disastrous rout. Fu Jian barely escaped back to his capital, but just a year later, many of his vassals took the opportunity to rebel and fragmented his empire. Fu Jian was killed in 385 CE, and while his family continued to hold out, the Former Qin was eventually destroyed nine years later.
Later Liang (386–403) The Lü clan were another prominent family among the Lüeyang Di, though their ancestor was a Chinese official who fled and lived among the Di to escape persecution during the Han dynasty. Under the Former Qin dynasty, the Lü became an important ally to the imperial Fu clan. In 383 CE, the general, Lü Guang was sent on an expedition to the Western Regions in the Tarim Basin, thus avoiding the chaos that followed the Battle of Fei River. Two years later, after conquering the city state of Kucha, Lü Guang returned to China. Along the way, he was met with resistance by the provincial inspector of Liang province, but prevailed and promptly took over the region of modern eastern Gansu. In 386 CE, upon receiving news of Fu Jian's death, he declared a new reign era at his capital of Guzang (姑臧, in modern Wuwei, Gansu), beginning the Later Liang dynasty.