other · China, Tibet and Mongolia

Guiyi Circuit

848 CE – 1036 CE · capital Dunhuang (Shazhou)

The self-governing Chinese regime at Dunhuang that threw off Tibetan rule in 848 and whose rulers sponsored many of the Mogao caves and their famous manuscripts.

Origins

In 848, as the Tibetan Empire disintegrated, the local leader Zhang Yichao drove the Tibetan garrison out of Dunhuang (Shazhou) and soon of other Hexi Corridor towns. He sent envoys to the Tang court, which in 851 recognised him as military governor of the Guiyi ('Return to Allegiance') Army.

Rule and society

Though nominally a Tang and later Five Dynasties province, it was a hereditary oasis state, first under the Zhang family and from 914 under the Cao family, who married into the Khotanese and Uyghur royal houses. Its rulers financed cave temples at Mogao, and its monasteries produced the Dunhuang manuscripts in Chinese, Tibetan, Khotanese, Sogdian and Uyghur. Neighbours such as the Ganzhou Uyghur Kingdom often threatened it.

Decline and legacy

Cao rule weakened in the early 11th century, and around 1036 the Western Xia took Dunhuang; the details of the final years are debated. The cave library, sealed around this time, was rediscovered in 1900.

Connections (2)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Guiyi Circuit. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/guiyi-circuit
MLA
“Guiyi Circuit.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/guiyi-circuit. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Guiyi Circuit.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/guiyi-circuit.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Guiyi Circuit’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/guiyi-circuit (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻