Guifang
Encyclopedia
Guifang is an ethnonym
for the most ancient nomadic tribes that invaded China during legendary times. Sima Qian stated that in the literate period starting with the Shang
Yin period (1600-1046 BC), the Hu and Jung Huns were called Guifang. In Chinese gui (鬼) means "ghost, sly, crafty" whilst fang (方) means "region, area, place", or just "enemy".
which state that during the Shang Dynasty a people known as the Gǔiróng (Jung) had already been attacked by the Zhou
leader Jili in 1,119 BCE, the thirty-fifth year of the Shang King Wu Yi
. Historians believe that the Guirong were identical to the Guifang. The name Guifang appeared during the reign of the Zhou King Kang
(r. 1005/03–978 BCE). They were probably a people located northeast of the initial Zhou domain. According to the Xiao Yu Ding (小盂鼎) bronze vessel inscriptions, cast in the twenty-fifth year of King Kang (979 BC), after two successful battles against the Guifang, captured enemies were brought to the Zhou temple and offered to the king. The prisoners numbered over 13,000 with four chiefs who were subsequently executed. Zhou also captured a large amount of booty.
Later authors including Sima Qian
, Ying Shao
, Wei Zhao
and Jin Zhuo
, without citing any arguments, stipulated that Xunyu
or Guifang were the terms designated for nomadic people who during the Han dynasty were transcribed as Xiongnu
in Chinese. This view was also held by the Tang dynasty
commentator Sima Zhen
. As a result of phonetical studies and comparisons based on the inscriptions on bronze and the structure of the characters, Wang Guowei
came to the conclusion that the tribal names in the annalistic sources Guifang, Xunyu, Xianyu, Xianyun
, Jung, Di
, and Hu designated one and the same people, who later entered history under the name Xiongnu.
The Shang state had a system of writing attested to by bronze inscriptions and oracle bone
s, which record Shang troops fignting frequent wars with neighboring nomadic herdsmen from the inner Asian steppes. In his oracular divinations, a Shang king repeatedly showed concern about the fang (方) groups of barbarians outside his inner tu (土) regions in the center of Shang territory. A particularly hostile Tufang group from the Yanshan region is regularly mentioned in divinatory records. Another Chinese ethnonym for the animal husbandry nomads was ma (马) or "equine" barbarians mentioned at the Shang western military frontier in the Taihang Mountains
, where they fought and may have used chariot
s. The exact time period when the oldest phonetization of the name "Hun" had the form Guifang remains only vaguely determined: Sima Qian stated that in the earlier pre-historic period the Huns were called Hu and Jung (Pinyin Rong
), in the late pre-historic period they were called Xunyu, in the literate period starting with the Shang Dynasty when they were called Guifan, in the following Zhou Dynasty (1046–256 BC) they were called Xianyun. From the start of the Qin Dynasty
(221-206 BC), the Chinese annalists called them Xiongnu.
Ethnonym
An ethnonym is the name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms and autonyms or endonyms .As an example, the ethnonym for...
for the most ancient nomadic tribes that invaded China during legendary times. Sima Qian stated that in the literate period starting with the Shang
Shang Dynasty
The Shang Dynasty or Yin Dynasty was, according to traditional sources, the second Chinese dynasty, after the Xia. They ruled in the northeastern regions of the area known as "China proper" in the Yellow River valley...
Yin period (1600-1046 BC), the Hu and Jung Huns were called Guifang. In Chinese gui (鬼) means "ghost, sly, crafty" whilst fang (方) means "region, area, place", or just "enemy".
Overview
Chinese annals contain a number of references to the Guifang, the earliest are the records in the Bamboo AnnalsBamboo Annals
The Bamboo Annals is a chronicle of ancient China. It begins at the earliest legendary times and extends to the Warring States Period , particularly the history of the Wei state...
which state that during the Shang Dynasty a people known as the Gǔiróng (Jung) had already been attacked by the Zhou
Zhou Dynasty
The Zhou Dynasty was a Chinese dynasty that followed the Shang Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty. Although the Zhou Dynasty lasted longer than any other dynasty in Chinese history, the actual political and military control of China by the Ji family lasted only until 771 BC, a period known as...
leader Jili in 1,119 BCE, the thirty-fifth year of the Shang King Wu Yi
Wu Yi (ruler)
Wu Yi was king of the Shang Dynasty of China from 1147 BC to 1112 BC. His given name is Qu .According to Bamboo Annals, His capial was at Yin .One of the vassal Fen moved to Qizhou ....
. Historians believe that the Guirong were identical to the Guifang. The name Guifang appeared during the reign of the Zhou King Kang
Zhou Dynasty
The Zhou Dynasty was a Chinese dynasty that followed the Shang Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty. Although the Zhou Dynasty lasted longer than any other dynasty in Chinese history, the actual political and military control of China by the Ji family lasted only until 771 BC, a period known as...
(r. 1005/03–978 BCE). They were probably a people located northeast of the initial Zhou domain. According to the Xiao Yu Ding (小盂鼎) bronze vessel inscriptions, cast in the twenty-fifth year of King Kang (979 BC), after two successful battles against the Guifang, captured enemies were brought to the Zhou temple and offered to the king. The prisoners numbered over 13,000 with four chiefs who were subsequently executed. Zhou also captured a large amount of booty.
Later authors including Sima Qian
Sima Qian
Sima Qian was a Prefect of the Grand Scribes of the Han Dynasty. He is regarded as the father of Chinese historiography for his highly praised work, Records of the Grand Historian , a "Jizhuanti"-style general history of China, covering more than two thousand years from the Yellow Emperor to...
, Ying Shao
Ying Shao
Ying Shao , also called Ling Shao in the Shi Yu, style name Zhongyuan , was a Chinese writer and historian of the late Eastern Han period , an author of the famous work Fengsu Tongyi, an encyclopedic work about the folk customs and legends that existed in the Eastern Han state...
, Wei Zhao
Wei Zhao
Wei Zhao , style name Hongsi , was a scholar and politician of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history....
and Jin Zhuo
Jin Zhuo
Jin Zhuo was a Chinese scholar and commentator from the Jin state of the late 3rd–4th c. CE. His works are cited by ancient and modern scholars, and in many cases his comments are only known from the works of the Chinese classical historians...
, without citing any arguments, stipulated that Xunyu
Xunyu
The Xunyu is the name of an ancient nomadic tribe which invaded China during legenary times. They are often identified as the Xiongnu.-Identification:...
or Guifang were the terms designated for nomadic people who during the Han dynasty were transcribed as Xiongnu
Xiongnu
The Xiongnu were ancient nomadic-based people that formed a state or confederation north of the agriculture-based empire of the Han Dynasty. Most of the information on the Xiongnu comes from Chinese sources...
in Chinese. This view was also held by the Tang dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
commentator Sima Zhen
Sima Zhen
Sima Zhen , courtesy name Zizheng , was a Chinese historian born in what is now Jiaozuo, Henan during the Tang Dynasty.Sima Zhen was one of the most important commentators on the Shiji...
. As a result of phonetical studies and comparisons based on the inscriptions on bronze and the structure of the characters, Wang Guowei
Wang Guowei
Wang Guowei , courtesy name Jing'an or Baiyu , was a Chinese scholar, writer and poet...
came to the conclusion that the tribal names in the annalistic sources Guifang, Xunyu, Xianyu, Xianyun
Xianyun
The Xianyun is the name of an ancient nomadic tribe that invaded China during legenary times.They are usually associated with the Xiongnu.-Overview:...
, Jung, Di
Di (ethnic group)
The Di were an ethnic group in China from the 8th century BCE to approximately the middle of the 6th century CE. Note that the character Di is used to differentiate this group from the Beidi , a generic term for "northern barbarians". They lived in areas of the present-day provinces of Gansu,...
, and Hu designated one and the same people, who later entered history under the name Xiongnu.
The Shang state had a system of writing attested to by bronze inscriptions and oracle bone
Oracle bone
Oracle bones are pieces of bone normally from ox scapula or turtle plastron which were used for divination chiefly during the late Shang Dynasty. The bones were first inscribed with divination in oracle bone script by using a bronze pin, and then heated until crack lines appeared in which the...
s, which record Shang troops fignting frequent wars with neighboring nomadic herdsmen from the inner Asian steppes. In his oracular divinations, a Shang king repeatedly showed concern about the fang (方) groups of barbarians outside his inner tu (土) regions in the center of Shang territory. A particularly hostile Tufang group from the Yanshan region is regularly mentioned in divinatory records. Another Chinese ethnonym for the animal husbandry nomads was ma (马) or "equine" barbarians mentioned at the Shang western military frontier in the Taihang Mountains
Taihang Mountains
The Taihang Mountains are a Chinese mountain range running down the eastern edge of the Loess Plateau in Henan, Shanxi and Hebei provinces. The range extends over 400 km from north to south and has an average elevation of 1,500 to 2,000 meters. The principal peak is Xiao Wutaishan...
, where they fought and may have used chariot
Chariot (Ancient China)
The ancient Chinese chariot was used as an attack and pursuit vehicle on the open fields and plains of Ancient China during the Shang The ancient Chinese chariot was used as an attack and pursuit vehicle on the open fields and plains of Ancient China during the Shang The ancient Chinese chariot ...
s. The exact time period when the oldest phonetization of the name "Hun" had the form Guifang remains only vaguely determined: Sima Qian stated that in the earlier pre-historic period the Huns were called Hu and Jung (Pinyin Rong
Rong
Rong is an village in Øygarden, Norway, located on the island of Rongøy. It is connected to Toftøy via the Rongesundet Bridge, which crosses the sound Rongesundet....
), in the late pre-historic period they were called Xunyu, in the literate period starting with the Shang Dynasty when they were called Guifan, in the following Zhou Dynasty (1046–256 BC) they were called Xianyun. From the start of the Qin Dynasty
Qin Dynasty
The Qin Dynasty was the first imperial dynasty of China, lasting from 221 to 207 BC. The Qin state derived its name from its heartland of Qin, in modern-day Shaanxi. The strength of the Qin state was greatly increased by the legalist reforms of Shang Yang in the 4th century BC, during the Warring...
(221-206 BC), the Chinese annalists called them Xiongnu.