Prince of Martial Splendour in the Sixteen Kingdoms: Li Hao (351-417), Ruler of Western Liang

Dominik Declercq (Ph.D. Leiden, 1993) is an independent scholar who has lived and worked in China for nearly 40 years. He is the author of Writing against the State: Political Rhetorics in Third and Fourth Century China (Brill, 1998).

• PrefaceMaps1 Introduction2 The Hexi Corridor3 The Colonisation of Liangzhou, 100 BCE to 300 CE4 Former Liang (320–376): Li Hao’s Forebears under the Former Liang5 Former Qin (351–384) and Later Liang (385–403)6 Linked Destinies: Li Hao and Juqu Mengxun7 Building a State, Part 1: Li Hao’s Western Liang8 Building a State, Part 2: Juqu Mengxun’s Northern Liang9 Relations with Eastern Jin10 Li Hao Moves to Jiuquan11 Li Hao’s Last Years12 The Sequel: Li Hao’s Son Loses Western Liang13 The Aftermath, and ConclusionsAppendix 1: Commandant Protectors of the QiangAppendix 2: Prefects of Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan and DunhuangAbbreviationsBibliography

"A Prince of Martial Splendour is a rich and remarkable work that will surely inspire future research on this little understood and critically understudied period in Chinese history. In sum, Dominik Declercq has done us a great service with his new book, and I will return to it againand again."- Stephanie Balkwill, Journal of Chinese History (2025) doi:10.1017/jch.2025.10060.