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Modu Chanyu's Yanzhi
The Xiongnu Yanzhi whose counsel helped open the encirclement at Baideng and enabled the Han escape.
Mural of the event “Siege of Baideng”, which this person took part in.
In the early Western Han, the state had emerged from late Qin warfare with the economy in tatters and the populace fragile. Meanwhile, the Xiongnu cavalry empire on the northern steppe surged in strength under Modu Chanyu and raided the frontier repeatedly.
Also known as Yanzhi Consort · Modu Chanyu's Consort · Modu's Yanzhi
- Roles
- Empress / Consort
The Shiji records that, while Emperor Gaozu was encircled at Baideng, a Han envoy secretly presented rich gifts to Modu Chanyu's Yanzhi. She advised Modu that two rulers should not trap one another and that he could not hold Han territory indefinitely. With expected allied troops also absent, Modu accepted her counsel and opened one corner of the encirclement, enabling the Han escape. The source records only her title, not a personal name, lifespan, or wider biography.
Life and times
Dates Dates unknown; active in 200 BCE
- 200 BCESiege of BaidengTook part
- 200 BCEGaozu Besieged at Baideng