高昌・闝爽政權と縁禾・建平紀年文書

Abstract

Although the kingdom of the Northern Liang 北涼 was destroyed as the result of an attack by the Northern Wei 北魏 in 439, one of the Northern Liang descendants, Juqu Wuwei 沮渠無諱 escaped to the original Northern Liang capital in Gaochang commandery (in the Turfan region), where he established the Gaochang kingdom of the Juqu family in 442. However, a rival power had already taken authority over the Turfan region. It can be supposed that this Kan Shuang 闞爽 government had been established in the tenth month of 435. Documents bearing the reign periods Yuanhe 縁禾 and Jianping 建平 belong to the period of Kan Shuang rule. Following exanimation of documents bearing this reign periods, certain points are clear. The reign period name "Yuanhe" is the effort of the Northern Liang kingdom to emulate the Northern Wei's Yanhe 延和. The Turfan documents bearing the Yuanhe era after the tenth month of 435 show that he didn't create the new reign period after taking power. "Jianping" has been thought to be the reign period of Northern Liang. Kan Shuang used this reign period in 441. It is possible that in 441, because the descendant of the Northern Liang, Juqu Wuwei accepted a title from the Northern Wei, Kan Shuang may have realized that he himself was the only remaining successor to the Northern Liang and thus adopted this reign period. Moreover, that the independent Kan Shuang should have not established his own reign period but have used one of the Northern Liang is closely tied up with the complicated international situation of the time. It is conceivable that the Kan Shuang government squeezed between Juran 柔然 and the Northern Liang--or the Northern Liang successor state--did not declare its independence by announcing itself as a kingdom nor did it establish its own reign periods because it sought to keep its independence in the complicated international situation.