Xianbei
Encyclopedia
The Xianbei were a significant Mongolic nomadic people residing in Manchuria
, Inner Mongolia
and eastern Mongolia
. The title “Khan
” was first used among the Xianbei.
as already existing in Inner Mongolia
north of the state of Yan in 699-632 BC. Mentions in the Lost Book of Zhou (Yizhoushu) and the Shanhaijing indicate the Donghu were also active during the Shang dynasty
(1600-1046 BC). The Upper Xiajiadian culture
is sometimes associated with the Donghu. Donghu, and therefore the Xianbei, were also heirs of the horse-riding nomadic way of life first seen in the Afanasevo culture
(3500-2500 BC) in Mongolia. They were a Tengriist
, pastoralist
, yurt
-dwelling warlike people fond of epic poetry
, wrestling
, horse racing, archery, fur hats and fermented mare's milk
. The Mongolic-speaking Xianbei originally formed a part of the Donghu confederation, but existed even before that time, as evidenced by a mention in the Guoyu
("晉語八" section) which states that during the reign of King Cheng of Zhou
(reigned 1042-1021 BC) the Xianbei came to participate at a meeting of Zhou subject-lords at Qiyang (岐阳) (now Qishan County
) but were only allowed to perform the fire ceremony under the supervision of Chu (楚), since they were not vassals by covenant (诸侯). The Xianbei may have come to Qiyang as one of the Donghu tribes or as a separate Mongolic tribe. Whatever the case, they later formed an integral part of the Donghu confederation and took part in its various wars. As a nomadic confedation composed mainly of the Xianbei and Wuhuan, the Donghu were prosperous in the 4th century BC during the later Zhou dynasty
, forcing surrounding tribes to pay tribute and constantly harassing the State of Zhao (325 BC, during the early years of the reign of Wuling
) and the State of Yan (in 304 BC Qin Kai
, general of King Zhao of Yan, was given as a hostage to the Donghu). The Donghu, who were ruled by a king, enjoyed a golden age in the 4th century BC before Wuling and Qin Kai retaliated by adopting Donghu clothing and battle tactics and the North Wall of the Yan State was built to keep the Donghu out. Despite losing battles to Wuling and Qin Kai the Donghu were still powerful and prosperous (according to Sima Qian) until 209 BC when the Xiongnu
rose to put an end to their dominance.
After the Donghu were defeated by Modu Chanyu around 208 BC the Xianbei and Wuhuan survived as the main remnants of the confederation. The Hou Hanshu says that “the language and culture of the Xianbei are the same as the Wuhuan
”. Tadun of the Wuhuan (died 207 AD) was the ancestor of the proto-Mongolic Kumo Xi
(aka Tatabi). The Weishu (Description of the Khitan, Vol. 1000, 2221) records that the Kumo Xi and Khitan (descendants of the Xianbei) spoke the same language. In 49 AD the Mongolic Xianbei ruler Bianhe (Bayan Khan?) raided and defeated the Xiongnu
, killing 2000, after having received generous gifts from Emperor Guangwu of Han
. In 54 AD the Xianbei rulers Yuchoupen and Mantu presented themselves to the Han emperor and received the titles of wang and gou. Until 93 AD the Xianbei were quietly protecting the Chinese border from Wuhuan and Xiongnu attacks and received ample rewards. From 93 AD the Xianbei began to occupy the lands of the Xiongnu. 100,000 Xiongnu families changed their name to Xianbei. In 97 AD Feijuxian in Liaodong was attacked by the Xianbei, and the governor Qi Sen was dismissed for inaction. Other Xianbei rulers who were active before the rise of the Xianbei emperor Tanshihuai (141-181) were Yanzhiyang, Lianxu and Cizhiqian. Cizhiqian fought against the Han dynasty in the period 121-132 with mixed results. The Xianbei reached their peak under Tanshihuai Khan (reigned 156-181) who expanded the vast, but short lived, Xianbei Empire
.
Tanshihuai was born in 141. According to the Hou Hanshu his father Touluhou had been serving in the Southern Xiongnu army for three years. Returning from his military duties Touluhou was furious to discover that his wife had become pregnant and given birth to a son. He ordered the child put to death. His wife replied: “When I was walking through the open steppe a huge storm developed with much lightning and thunder. As I was looking upward a piece of hail fell into my mouth, which I unknowingly swallowed. I soon found out I had gotten pregnant. After 10 months this son was born. This must be a child of wonder. It is better to wait and see what happens.” Touluhou did not heed her words, so Tanshihuai was brought up secretly in the ger (yurt) of relatives. When Tanshihuai was around 14 or 15 years old he had become brave and sturdy with talent and ability. Once people from another tribe robbed his maternal grandparent’s herds. Tanshihuai pursued them alone, fought the robbers and managed to retrieve all the lost herds. His fame spread rapidly among the Xianbei tribes and many came to respect and trust him. He then put some laws and regulations in force and decided between litigants. Nobody dared to violate those laws and regulations. Because of this, he was elected supreme leader of the Xianbei tribes at the age of 15 and established his ordo (palace) at Mount Darkhan. He defeated the Dingling
to the north (around Lake Baikal
), Buyeo
to the east (north of Korea) and the Wusun
to the west (Xinjiang
and Ili River
). His empire stretched 7000 km and included all the lands of the former Xiongnu.
The Sanguo Zhi records:
Uneasiness at the Han court about this development of a new power on the steppes finally ushered in a campaign on the northern border to annihilate the confederacy once and for all. In 177 A.D., 30,000 Han cavalry attacked the confederacy, commanded by Xia Yu (夏育), Tian Yan (田晏) and Zang Min (臧旻), each of whom was the commander of units sent respectively against the Wuhuan, the Qiang, and the Southern Xiongnu before the campaign. Each military officer commanded 10,000 cavalrymen and advanced north on three different routes, aiming at each of the three federations. Cavalry units commanded by chieftains of each of the three federations almost annihilated the invading forces. Eighty percent of the troops were killed and the three officers, who only brought tens of men safely back, were relieved from their posts.
The Hou Hanshu records a memorial submitted in 177 AD:
Another memorial submitted in 185 AD is recorded by the Hou Hanshu:
Tanshihuai died in 181 at the age of 40. The Xianbei state
of Tanshihuai fragmented following the fall of Budugen (reigned 187-234), who was the younger brother of Kuitoi (reigned 185-187). Kuitou was the nephew of Tanshihuai's incapable son and successor Helian (reigned 181-185).
The 3rd century AD saw both the fragmentation of the Xianbei Empire in 235 and the branching out of the various Xianbei tribes later to establish significant empires of their own. The most prominent branches are the Murong
, Tuoba
, Khitan
, Shiwei
and Rouran
. These tribes spoke Mongolic (or Para-Mongolic) languages. The Murong tribe were descendants of the tribal division ruled by Murong, the Xianbei chief of the central section under Tanshihuai. Murong Mohuba actively supported Sima Yi's Liaodong campaign
in 238, leading an auxiliary Murong force. Mohuba was succeeded in 246 by his son Muyan (木延) who also aided the Cao Wei
campaign against the Goguryeo
that same year. The Former Yan
(337-370), Western Yan
(384-394), Later Yan
(384-409) dynasties as well as the Tuyuhun Kingdom (285-670) were all later founded by the Murong. The Tuoba (Tabgach) tribe started their rise with Tuoba Liwei
(219-277) who was the ancestor of the future Northern Wei Dynasty and was thus posthumously honored as Emperor Shenyuan, with the temple name Shizu. The Khitan tribe formed part of the Yuwen Xianbei
under Yuwen Mohuai
(reigned 260-293). They separated from the Yuwen along with the Kumo Xi in 344 and finally separated from the Kumo Xi in 388 beginning their independent history. The Khitan later established the Dahe Confederation (618-730), the Yaonian Khaganate (730-906), the Liao Dynasty
(907-1125) and the Kara-Khitan Khanate
(1124–1218). The Shiwei tribe, like the Tuoba, were originally located to the north of the Murong and Khitan. While the Tuoba migrated south and established the State of Dai
(310-376) and Northern Wei dynasty (386-534) the Shiwei remained in the north but eventually paid tribute to the Northern Wei (for example the Wuluohu sub-tribe started paying tribute in 444). Known also as the Tatars the Shiwei would later establish the Khamag Mongol Khanate
(1125–1206), the Mongol Empire
(1206–1368), the Northern Yuan Dynasty (1368–1635) and the Zungar Empire (1640–1756). The Rouran tribe remained in Outer Mongolia after the fragmentation of the Xianbei Empire. Yujiuliu Muguliu (reigned early 4th century) was the first ancestor of the Rouran khagans. Yujiuliu Shelun was the first major steppe leader to use the title “Khagan” in 402. The Rouran (also called Jujuan, Juanjuan and Nirun) are sometimes equated with the Avars
. The Avar khagan Bayan I has both a Mongol name (meaning 'rich') and title. The Göktürks
relentlessly pursued the Rouran (whose subjects they formerly were) west all the way to Crimea
in the 550's-570's.
The Xianbei were descendants of the Donghu, which used to be believed to represent the “Eastern Hu” based on the Chinese record. Now most Chinese historians believe that Donghu by itself was an ethnonym
, rather than having derived from their location on the east of the Xiongnu
. Whereas Donghu was a Chinese
transcription, the Mongolian
reference was “Tünghu”. Later they migrated south and westward into areas of the modern Chinese provinces of Shanxi
, Shaanxi
, Gansu
, Qinghai
, Hebei
, Inner Mongolia
, and Liaoning
. Possibly some Xianbei groups also lived in ancient Eastern Heilongjiang
or Hulun
Manchu Imperial province, currently Khabarovsk
and Amur
regions in the Russian Far East
.
of Genghis Khan are the Mengwu Shiwei. The Proto-Mongolic language, archaic features of 13th century written Mongolian
as well as Mongolic loanwords in Old Turkic reflect the early Shiwei language. The Khitan language
, a Mongolic language, has several closed systems of lexical items for which systematic information is available and which show that the language was Mongolic. These include seasons, numbers, animals, directions and natural objects. The fact that these two major Xianbei branches spoke Mongolic is enough for some to acknowledge that the Xianbei spoke Mongolic. Two more branches showing evidence of being Mongolic are the Murong (included in the core of the Xianbei during Tanshihuai's reign) and the Tuoba. According to the Dunhuang Documents (P. 1283, in Tibetan) the "language of the Khitan
and that of the Tuyuhun could generally communicate with each other". This shows that the Murong spoke a language closely related to Khitan. The earliest attestation of the Mongolic title 'Khagan' is among the Murong Xianbei between 283 to 289. The Mongolic word 'Agan' (elder brother) is also attestable from a Murong Xianbei song
composed in 285. Many Tuoba words are Mongolic such as holan (many), eulen (cloud), ezhen (owner), akan (brother), shilu (high mountain), chino (wolf), kapagchin (doorkeeper), tapagchin (infantryman), bitigchin (scribe), kelmorchin (interpreter), sagdagchin (quiver-bearer), qitgaichin (executioner), portogchin (post-office clerk) and tawusun (dust). Of these the most important is the Tuoba word for cloud 'eulen' (Pinyin
: youlian) which is not only exclusively Mongolic (i.e. not found in Turkic or Tungusic) but can also be directly compared to the Khitan word for cloud (eu.ul) and the Shiwei word for cloud (e'ule). This makes possible an accurate reconstruction of the Xianbei word for cloud as spoken in the time of Tanshihuai (141-181) and before. These four important branches, the Shiwei, Khitan, Murong and Tuoba all arose as discernible entities in the middle of the 3rd century just after the Xianbei Empire had fallen in 235. They were continuations of the original Xianbei populations. The fact that the Rouran branch of the Xianbei used the title 'Khagan' independently of the Murong shows their close continuity with the early Xianbei. Certain words and names of the Rouran also indicate a Mongolic identity. The fact that the Weishu states the Kumo Xi spoke the same language as the Khitan and that the Hou Hanshu states the Wuhuan spoke the same language as the Xianbei indicate relative linguistic homogeneity within the Xianbei and a common Mongolic identity of the Wuhuan and Xianbei as remnants of the Donghu confederation.
(304-439) period, the Xianbei founded six kingdoms in China proper
, including the Former Yan
(281-370), Western Yan
(384-394), Later Yan
(384-407), Southern Yan
(398-410), Western Qin
(385-430) and Southern Liang
(397-414). Most of them were unified by the Tuoba Xianbei, who established the Northern Wei
(386-535), which was the first of the Northern Dynasties
(386-581) founded by the Xianbei.
Ruan Xian
, Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove
, had a Xianbei slave who gave birth to his son, Ruan Fu.
In 534, the Northern Wei split into an Eastern Wei
(534-550) and a Western Wei
(535-556). The former evolved into the Northern Qi
(550-577), and the latter into the Northern Zhou
(557-581), while the Southern Dynasties
were pushed to the south of the Yangtze River
. In 581, the Prime Minister of Northern Zhou, Yang Jian
, founded the Sui Dynasty
(581-618). His son, the future emperor Yang Guang, annihilated the Southern Chen (557-589), the last kingdom of the Southern Dynasties, thereby unifying northern and southern China. After the Sui came to an end amidst peasant rebellions and renegade troops, his cousin, Li Shimin, founded the Tang Dynasty
(618-907); Li led China to develop into one of the most prosperous states in history. Sui and Tang dynasties were founded by Han Chinese generals who also served the Northern Wei Dynasty. Through these political establishments, the Xianbei who entered China were largely merged with the Han, examples such as the wife of Emperor Gaozu of Tang
, Duchess Dou and Emperor Taizong of Tang
's (Li Shimin's) wife, Empress Zhangsun
, both have Xianbei ancestries, while those who remained behind in the northern grassland emerged as later powers to rule over China.
can be traced back to a branch of the Xianbei called the Mengwu Shiwei
.
Today the "Monguor" as known in the West and as “Tu Zu” in China may have descended from the Xianbei who were led by Tuyuhun Khan to migrate westward and establish the Tuyuhun Kingdom (284-670) in the third century and Western Xia
(1038–1227) through the thirteenth century. Today they are primarily distributed in Qinghai and Gansu Province, and speak an Altaic Mongolic language. The multi-ethnic environment and relative distant distribution in the northwest, detached from the political centers of China, have enabled them to preserve their language and culture until the present times.
The Xibe
or "Xi Bo" people also believed themselves to be descendants of the Xianbei, with considerable controversies that have attributed their origins to the Jurchens
, the Elunchun, and the Xianbei. Since they were historically referred to as "Suolun people" and spoke Tungus
rather than Mongolic language, they may have derived their origins from one or more fractions of the Xianbei or other ethnic groups subjugated by the Xianbei. While most of the Xianbei went south and westward to establish different empires, they remained behind in Manchuria until subjugated by the Jurchens who moved southward from the Tungus Plains in Eastern Russia.
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
, Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation...
and eastern Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
. The title “Khan
Khan (title)
Khan is an originally Altaic and subsequently Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, widely used by medieval nomadic Turko-Mongol tribes living to the north of China. 'Khan' is also seen as a title in the Xianbei confederation for their chief between 283 and 289...
” was first used among the Xianbei.
Origins
Chinese historical texts unequivocally state that the Xianbei were descendants of the Donghu. The Donghu are mentioned by Sima QianSima 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...
as already existing in Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation...
north of the state of Yan in 699-632 BC. Mentions in the Lost Book of Zhou (Yizhoushu) and the Shanhaijing indicate the Donghu were also active during the Shang dynasty
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...
(1600-1046 BC). The Upper Xiajiadian culture
Upper Xiajiadian culture
The Upper Xiajiadian culture was a Bronze Age archaeological culture in Northeast China derived from the Eurasian steppe bronze tradition, and roughly contemporaneous to the Western Zhou Dynasty....
is sometimes associated with the Donghu. Donghu, and therefore the Xianbei, were also heirs of the horse-riding nomadic way of life first seen in the Afanasevo culture
Afanasevo culture
The Afanasevo culture, traditionally dated to 2500–2000 BC , is an archaeological culture of the late copper and early Bronze Age of southern Siberia....
(3500-2500 BC) in Mongolia. They were a Tengriist
Tengriism
Tengriism is a Central Asian religion that incorporates elements of shamanism, animism, totemism and ancestor worship. Despite still being active in some minorities, it was, in old times, the major belief of Turkic peoples , Bulgars, Hungarians and Mongols...
, pastoralist
Pastoralism
Pastoralism or pastoral farming is the branch of agriculture concerned with the raising of livestock. It is animal husbandry: the care, tending and use of animals such as camels, goats, cattle, yaks, llamas, and sheep. It may have a mobile aspect, moving the herds in search of fresh pasture and...
, yurt
Yurt
A yurt is a portable, bent wood-framed dwelling structure traditionally used by Turkic nomads in the steppes of Central Asia. The structure comprises a crown or compression wheel usually steam bent, supported by roof ribs which are bent down at the end where they meet the lattice wall...
-dwelling warlike people fond of epic poetry
Epic poetry
An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...
, wrestling
Mongolian wrestling
Mongolian wrestling, known as Bökh , is the folk wrestling style of Mongols in Mongolia, Inner Mongolia and other regions...
, horse racing, archery, fur hats and fermented mare's milk
Kumis
Kumis, also spelled kumiss or koumiss in English is a fermented dairy product traditionally made from mare's milk. The drink remains important to the peoples of the Central Asian steppes, of Turkic and Mongol origin: Bashkirs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Yakuts, Mongols and Kalmyks...
. The Mongolic-speaking Xianbei originally formed a part of the Donghu confederation, but existed even before that time, as evidenced by a mention in the Guoyu
Guoyu (book)
The Discourses of the States or Guoyu is a classical Chinese history book that collected the historical records of numerous states from Western Zhou to 453 BC. Its author is unknown, but it is sometimes attributed to Zuo Qiuming, a contemporary of Confucius...
("晉語八" section) which states that during the reign of King Cheng of Zhou
King Cheng of Zhou
King Cheng of Zhou or King Ch'eng of Chou was the second sovereign of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty. The dates of his reign are 1042-1021 BC or 1042/35-1006 BC King Cheng was young when he ascended the throne...
(reigned 1042-1021 BC) the Xianbei came to participate at a meeting of Zhou subject-lords at Qiyang (岐阳) (now Qishan County
Qishan County
Qishan County is a county of Baoji, Shaanxi, China. It was the site of Zhouyuan , the first capital of the Zhou Dynasty . Historically, the site was also known as Qiyi or Qishan . It is located in Fengchu township on the Weishui River to the south of Mt. Qi...
) but were only allowed to perform the fire ceremony under the supervision of Chu (楚), since they were not vassals by covenant (诸侯). The Xianbei may have come to Qiyang as one of the Donghu tribes or as a separate Mongolic tribe. Whatever the case, they later formed an integral part of the Donghu confederation and took part in its various wars. As a nomadic confedation composed mainly of the Xianbei and Wuhuan, the Donghu were prosperous in the 4th century BC during the later Zhou dynasty
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...
, forcing surrounding tribes to pay tribute and constantly harassing the State of Zhao (325 BC, during the early years of the reign of Wuling
King Wuling of Zhao
King Wuling of Zhao reigned in the State of Zhao during the Warring States Period of Chinese history...
) and the State of Yan (in 304 BC Qin Kai
Qin Kai
Qin Kai , was a general of the state of Yan during the Warring States Period of China. He was once sent by Yan to Donghu as hostage. Later, He returned to Yan. In around 300 BC, He defeated the Donghu and conquered the Liaodong Peninsula.-External links:*...
, general of King Zhao of Yan, was given as a hostage to the Donghu). The Donghu, who were ruled by a king, enjoyed a golden age in the 4th century BC before Wuling and Qin Kai retaliated by adopting Donghu clothing and battle tactics and the North Wall of the Yan State was built to keep the Donghu out. Despite losing battles to Wuling and Qin Kai the Donghu were still powerful and prosperous (according to Sima Qian) until 209 BC when the 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...
rose to put an end to their dominance.
After the Donghu were defeated by Modu Chanyu around 208 BC the Xianbei and Wuhuan survived as the main remnants of the confederation. The Hou Hanshu says that “the language and culture of the Xianbei are the same as the Wuhuan
Wuhuan
The Wuhuan were a proto-Mongolic nomadic people who inhabited northern China, in what is now the provinces of Hebei, Liaoning, Shanxi, the municipality of Beijing and the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia....
”. Tadun of the Wuhuan (died 207 AD) was the ancestor of the proto-Mongolic Kumo Xi
Kumo Xi
The Kumo Xi ) were a Mongolic steppe people located in current Manchuria from 207 AD to 907 AD. After the death of their ancestor Tadun in 207 they were no longer called Wuhuan but joined the Khitan Xianbei in submitting to the Yuwen Xianbei. Their history is widely linked to the more famous Khitan...
(aka Tatabi). The Weishu (Description of the Khitan, Vol. 1000, 2221) records that the Kumo Xi and Khitan (descendants of the Xianbei) spoke the same language. In 49 AD the Mongolic Xianbei ruler Bianhe (Bayan Khan?) raided and defeated the 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...
, killing 2000, after having received generous gifts from Emperor Guangwu of Han
Emperor Guangwu of Han
Emperor Guangwu , born Liu Xiu, was an emperor of the Chinese Han Dynasty, restorer of the dynasty in AD 25 and thus founder of the Later Han or Eastern Han...
. In 54 AD the Xianbei rulers Yuchoupen and Mantu presented themselves to the Han emperor and received the titles of wang and gou. Until 93 AD the Xianbei were quietly protecting the Chinese border from Wuhuan and Xiongnu attacks and received ample rewards. From 93 AD the Xianbei began to occupy the lands of the Xiongnu. 100,000 Xiongnu families changed their name to Xianbei. In 97 AD Feijuxian in Liaodong was attacked by the Xianbei, and the governor Qi Sen was dismissed for inaction. Other Xianbei rulers who were active before the rise of the Xianbei emperor Tanshihuai (141-181) were Yanzhiyang, Lianxu and Cizhiqian. Cizhiqian fought against the Han dynasty in the period 121-132 with mixed results. The Xianbei reached their peak under Tanshihuai Khan (reigned 156-181) who expanded the vast, but short lived, Xianbei Empire
Xianbei state
The Xianbei state or Xianbei confederation was a nomadic confederation existed in northern Manchuria and eastern Mongolia from 93 to 234 AD. They descended from the Donghu and spoke a Mongolic language....
.
Tanshihuai was born in 141. According to the Hou Hanshu his father Touluhou had been serving in the Southern Xiongnu army for three years. Returning from his military duties Touluhou was furious to discover that his wife had become pregnant and given birth to a son. He ordered the child put to death. His wife replied: “When I was walking through the open steppe a huge storm developed with much lightning and thunder. As I was looking upward a piece of hail fell into my mouth, which I unknowingly swallowed. I soon found out I had gotten pregnant. After 10 months this son was born. This must be a child of wonder. It is better to wait and see what happens.” Touluhou did not heed her words, so Tanshihuai was brought up secretly in the ger (yurt) of relatives. When Tanshihuai was around 14 or 15 years old he had become brave and sturdy with talent and ability. Once people from another tribe robbed his maternal grandparent’s herds. Tanshihuai pursued them alone, fought the robbers and managed to retrieve all the lost herds. His fame spread rapidly among the Xianbei tribes and many came to respect and trust him. He then put some laws and regulations in force and decided between litigants. Nobody dared to violate those laws and regulations. Because of this, he was elected supreme leader of the Xianbei tribes at the age of 15 and established his ordo (palace) at Mount Darkhan. He defeated the Dingling
Dingling
The Dingling were an ancient Siberian people. They originally lived on the bank of the Lena River in the area west of Lake Baikal, gradually moving southward to Mongolia and northern China...
to the north (around Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal is the world's oldest at 30 million years old and deepest lake with an average depth of 744.4 metres.Located in the south of the Russian region of Siberia, between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast, it is the most voluminous freshwater lake in the...
), Buyeo
Buyeo
Buyeo can mean:*Buyeo kingdom, a kingdom located in today's North Korea and southern Manchuria from around the 2nd century BC to 494 AD*Buyeo County, a county in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea, and one-time capital of the ancient kingdom of Baekje...
to the east (north of Korea) and the Wusun
Wusun
The Wūsūn were a nomadic steppe people who, according to the Chinese histories, originally lived in western Gansu in northwest China west of the Yuezhi people...
to the west (Xinjiang
Xinjiang
Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...
and Ili River
Ili River
thumb|right|300px|Map of the Lake Balkhash drainage basin showing the Ili River and its tributariesThe Ili River is a river in northwestern China and southeastern Kazakhstan .It is long, of which is in Kazakhstan...
). His empire stretched 7000 km and included all the lands of the former Xiongnu.
The Sanguo Zhi records:
Uneasiness at the Han court about this development of a new power on the steppes finally ushered in a campaign on the northern border to annihilate the confederacy once and for all. In 177 A.D., 30,000 Han cavalry attacked the confederacy, commanded by Xia Yu (夏育), Tian Yan (田晏) and Zang Min (臧旻), each of whom was the commander of units sent respectively against the Wuhuan, the Qiang, and the Southern Xiongnu before the campaign. Each military officer commanded 10,000 cavalrymen and advanced north on three different routes, aiming at each of the three federations. Cavalry units commanded by chieftains of each of the three federations almost annihilated the invading forces. Eighty percent of the troops were killed and the three officers, who only brought tens of men safely back, were relieved from their posts.
The Hou Hanshu records a memorial submitted in 177 AD:
Another memorial submitted in 185 AD is recorded by the Hou Hanshu:
Tanshihuai died in 181 at the age of 40. The Xianbei state
Xianbei state
The Xianbei state or Xianbei confederation was a nomadic confederation existed in northern Manchuria and eastern Mongolia from 93 to 234 AD. They descended from the Donghu and spoke a Mongolic language....
of Tanshihuai fragmented following the fall of Budugen (reigned 187-234), who was the younger brother of Kuitoi (reigned 185-187). Kuitou was the nephew of Tanshihuai's incapable son and successor Helian (reigned 181-185).
The 3rd century AD saw both the fragmentation of the Xianbei Empire in 235 and the branching out of the various Xianbei tribes later to establish significant empires of their own. The most prominent branches are the Murong
Murong
Murong refers to an ethnic Xianbei tribe who are a Mongolic people attested from the time of Tanshihuai . Different strands of evidence exist linking the Murong to the language family of Mongols. Murong is also a Chinese surname...
, Tuoba
Tuoba
Tuoba, or Tabgach, were a clan of Xianbei people of ancient China.-Xianbei Tuoba:Tuoba was a clan of the Xianbei people in the early centuries of the 1st millennium AD. They established the State of Dai from 310 to 376 AD, and the Northern Wei Dynasty from 386 to 536 AD...
, Khitan
Khitan people
thumb|250px|Khitans [[Eagle hunting|using eagles to hunt]], painted during the Chinese [[Song Dynasty]].The Khitan people , or Khitai, Kitan, or Kidan, were a nomadic Mongolic people, originally located at Mongolia and Manchuria from the 4th century...
, Shiwei
Shiwei
Shiwei were a Mongolic people that inhabited far-eastern Mongolia, northern Inner Mongolia and northern Manchuria and were recorded from the time of the Northern Wei until the rise of the Mongols of Genghis Khan in 1206 when the name "Mongol" and "Tatar" were applied to all the Shiwei tribes....
and Rouran
Rouran
Rouran , Mongolia name Jujan or Nirun Ruanruan/Ruru , Tan Tan , Juan-Juan or Zhu-Zhuwas the name of a confederation of nomadic tribes on the northern borders of Inner China from the late 4th century until the middle 6th century...
. These tribes spoke Mongolic (or Para-Mongolic) languages. The Murong tribe were descendants of the tribal division ruled by Murong, the Xianbei chief of the central section under Tanshihuai. Murong Mohuba actively supported Sima Yi's Liaodong campaign
Sima Yi's Liaodong campaign
Sima Yi's Liaodong campaign occurred in 238 during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. Sima Yi, a general of the state of Cao Wei, led a force of 40,000 troops to attack the warlord Gongsun Yuan, whose clan had ruled independently from the central government for three generations in the...
in 238, leading an auxiliary Murong force. Mohuba was succeeded in 246 by his son Muyan (木延) who also aided the Cao Wei
Cao Wei
Cao Wei was one of the states that competed for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period. With the capital at Luoyang, the state was established by Cao Pi in 220, based upon the foundations that his father Cao Cao laid...
campaign against the Goguryeo
Goguryeo
Goguryeo or Koguryŏ was an ancient Korean kingdom located in present day northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula, southern Manchuria, and southern Russian Maritime province....
that same year. The Former Yan
Former Yan
The Former Yan was a state of Xianbei ethnicity during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China.Initially, Murong Huang and his son Murong Jun claimed the Jin Dynasty -created title "Prince of Yan," but subsequently, in 352, after seizing most of the former Later Zhao territory, Murong Juan would...
(337-370), Western Yan
Western Yan
The Western Yan was a state of Xianbei ethnicity during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China. It was founded by Murong Hong in 384 in the aftermaths of Former Qin's defeat by Jin Dynasty at the Battle of Fei River, with the stated intent of permitting the Xianbei, whom Former Qin's emperor Fu...
(384-394), Later Yan
Later Yan
The Later Yan was a Murong-Xianbei state, located in modern day northeast China, during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China.All rulers of the Later Yan declared themselves "emperors". Later Yan fell to the Goguryeo dynasty.-Rulers of the Later Yan:...
(384-409) dynasties as well as the Tuyuhun Kingdom (285-670) were all later founded by the Murong. The Tuoba (Tabgach) tribe started their rise with Tuoba Liwei
Tuoba Liwei
Tuoba Liwei was the first leader of the Tuoba clan of the Xianbei people, from 219-277. He was the ancestor of the future Northern Wei Dynasty and was thus posthumously honored as Emperor Shenyuan, with the temple name Shizu...
(219-277) who was the ancestor of the future Northern Wei Dynasty and was thus posthumously honored as Emperor Shenyuan, with the temple name Shizu. The Khitan tribe formed part of the Yuwen Xianbei
Yuwen
The Yuwen is a Chinese compound surname first originated from the a pre-state clan of Xianbei ethnicity of Xiongnu origin during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China, until its destruction by Former Yan's prince Murong Huang in 345...
under Yuwen Mohuai
Yuwen Mohuai
Yuwen Mohuai was a chieftain of the Yuwen tribe from 260 to 293 CE....
(reigned 260-293). They separated from the Yuwen along with the Kumo Xi in 344 and finally separated from the Kumo Xi in 388 beginning their independent history. The Khitan later established the Dahe Confederation (618-730), the Yaonian Khaganate (730-906), the Liao Dynasty
Liao Dynasty
The Liao Dynasty , also known as the Khitan Empire was an empire in East Asia that ruled over the regions of Manchuria, Mongolia, and parts of northern China proper between 9071125...
(907-1125) and the Kara-Khitan Khanate
Kara-Khitan Khanate
The Kara-Khitan Khanate, or Western Liao was a Khitan empire in Central Asia. The dynasty was founded by Yelü Dashi, who led the remnants of the Liao Dynasty to Central Asia after fleeing from the Jurchen conquest of their homeland in North and Northeast of modern day China...
(1124–1218). The Shiwei tribe, like the Tuoba, were originally located to the north of the Murong and Khitan. While the Tuoba migrated south and established the State of Dai
State of Dai
Dai was a state of the Xianbei clan of Tuoba, during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China. It existed from 310 to 376 AD, with its capital at Shengle ....
(310-376) and Northern Wei dynasty (386-534) the Shiwei remained in the north but eventually paid tribute to the Northern Wei (for example the Wuluohu sub-tribe started paying tribute in 444). Known also as the Tatars the Shiwei would later establish the Khamag Mongol Khanate
Khamag Mongol
Khamag Mongol was a major tribal confederation in Mongolian plateau in 12th century. It is sometimes also considered a predecessor state to the Mongol Empire....
(1125–1206), the Mongol Empire
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
(1206–1368), the Northern Yuan Dynasty (1368–1635) and the Zungar Empire (1640–1756). The Rouran tribe remained in Outer Mongolia after the fragmentation of the Xianbei Empire. Yujiuliu Muguliu (reigned early 4th century) was the first ancestor of the Rouran khagans. Yujiuliu Shelun was the first major steppe leader to use the title “Khagan” in 402. The Rouran (also called Jujuan, Juanjuan and Nirun) are sometimes equated with the Avars
Eurasian Avars
The Eurasian Avars or Ancient Avars were a highly organized nomadic confederacy of mixed origins. They were ruled by a khagan, who was surrounded by a tight-knit entourage of nomad warriors, an organization characteristic of Turko-Mongol groups...
. The Avar khagan Bayan I has both a Mongol name (meaning 'rich') and title. The Göktürks
Göktürks
The Göktürks or Kök Türks, were a nomadic confederation of peoples in medieval Inner Asia. Known in Chinese sources as 突厥 , the Göktürks under the leadership of Bumin Qaghan The Göktürks or Kök Türks, (Old Turkic: Türük or Kök Türük or Türük; Celestial Turks) were a nomadic confederation of...
relentlessly pursued the Rouran (whose subjects they formerly were) west all the way to Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
in the 550's-570's.
The Xianbei were descendants of the Donghu, which used to be believed to represent the “Eastern Hu” based on the Chinese record. Now most Chinese historians believe that Donghu by itself was an ethnonym
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...
, rather than having derived from their location on the east of the 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...
. Whereas Donghu was a Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
transcription, the Mongolian
Mongolian language
The Mongolian language is the official language of Mongolia and the best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the Mongolian residents of the Inner...
reference was “Tünghu”. Later they migrated south and westward into areas of the modern Chinese provinces of Shanxi
Shanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
, Shaanxi
Shaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
, Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
, Qinghai
Qinghai
Qinghai ; Oirat Mongolian: ; ; Salar:) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake...
, Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
, Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation...
, and Liaoning
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
. Possibly some Xianbei groups also lived in ancient Eastern Heilongjiang
Heilongjiang
For the river known in Mandarin as Heilong Jiang, see Amur River' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. "Heilongjiang" literally means Black Dragon River, which is the Chinese name for the Amur. The one-character abbreviation is 黑...
or Hulun
Hulun
Hūlun was a powerful alliance of Jurchen tribes in the late 16th century, based primarily in what is today Jilin province of China.The Hūlun alliance was formed by Wan Hūlun was a powerful alliance of Jurchen tribes in the late 16th century, based primarily in what is today Jilin province of...
Manchu Imperial province, currently Khabarovsk
Khabarovsk
Khabarovsk is the largest city and the administrative center of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia. It is located some from the Chinese border. It is the second largest city in the Russian Far East, after Vladivostok. The city became the administrative center of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia...
and Amur
Amur Oblast
Amur Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , situated about east of Moscow on the banks of the Amur and Zeya Rivers. It shares its border with the Sakha Republic in the north, Khabarovsk Krai and the Jewish Autonomous Oblast in the east, People's Republic of China in the south, and Zabaykalsky...
regions in the Russian Far East
Russian Far East
Russian Far East is a term that refers to the Russian part of the Far East, i.e., extreme east parts of Russia, between Lake Baikal in Eastern Siberia and the Pacific Ocean...
.
Language
It is generally accepted that the Shiwei branch of the Xianbei spoke a Mongolic language. The core Borjigid MongolsMongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
of Genghis Khan are the Mengwu Shiwei. The Proto-Mongolic language, archaic features of 13th century written Mongolian
Mongolian script
The classical Mongolian script , also known as Uyghurjin, was the first writing system created specifically for the Mongolian language, and was the most successful until the introduction of Cyrillic in 1946...
as well as Mongolic loanwords in Old Turkic reflect the early Shiwei language. The Khitan language
Khitan language
The Khitan language is a now-extinct language once spoken by the Khitan people . Khitan is generally deemed to be genetically linked to the Mongolic languages. It was written using two mutually exclusive writing systems known as the Khitan large script and the Khitan small script...
, a Mongolic language, has several closed systems of lexical items for which systematic information is available and which show that the language was Mongolic. These include seasons, numbers, animals, directions and natural objects. The fact that these two major Xianbei branches spoke Mongolic is enough for some to acknowledge that the Xianbei spoke Mongolic. Two more branches showing evidence of being Mongolic are the Murong (included in the core of the Xianbei during Tanshihuai's reign) and the Tuoba. According to the Dunhuang Documents (P. 1283, in Tibetan) the "language of the Khitan
Khitan people
thumb|250px|Khitans [[Eagle hunting|using eagles to hunt]], painted during the Chinese [[Song Dynasty]].The Khitan people , or Khitai, Kitan, or Kidan, were a nomadic Mongolic people, originally located at Mongolia and Manchuria from the 4th century...
and that of the Tuyuhun could generally communicate with each other". This shows that the Murong spoke a language closely related to Khitan. The earliest attestation of the Mongolic title 'Khagan' is among the Murong Xianbei between 283 to 289. The Mongolic word 'Agan' (elder brother) is also attestable from a Murong Xianbei song
Song of the Xianbei Brother
The "Song of the Xianbei Brother" is a popular song of the Xianbei people composed by Murong Wei in 285 AD. It is preserved in Chinese translation and is about the Xianbei chief's regrets for having sent his brother away to the West...
composed in 285. Many Tuoba words are Mongolic such as holan (many), eulen (cloud), ezhen (owner), akan (brother), shilu (high mountain), chino (wolf), kapagchin (doorkeeper), tapagchin (infantryman), bitigchin (scribe), kelmorchin (interpreter), sagdagchin (quiver-bearer), qitgaichin (executioner), portogchin (post-office clerk) and tawusun (dust). Of these the most important is the Tuoba word for cloud 'eulen' (Pinyin
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: youlian) which is not only exclusively Mongolic (i.e. not found in Turkic or Tungusic) but can also be directly compared to the Khitan word for cloud (eu.ul) and the Shiwei word for cloud (e'ule). This makes possible an accurate reconstruction of the Xianbei word for cloud as spoken in the time of Tanshihuai (141-181) and before. These four important branches, the Shiwei, Khitan, Murong and Tuoba all arose as discernible entities in the middle of the 3rd century just after the Xianbei Empire had fallen in 235. They were continuations of the original Xianbei populations. The fact that the Rouran branch of the Xianbei used the title 'Khagan' independently of the Murong shows their close continuity with the early Xianbei. Certain words and names of the Rouran also indicate a Mongolic identity. The fact that the Weishu states the Kumo Xi spoke the same language as the Khitan and that the Hou Hanshu states the Wuhuan spoke the same language as the Xianbei indicate relative linguistic homogeneity within the Xianbei and a common Mongolic identity of the Wuhuan and Xianbei as remnants of the Donghu confederation.
Dynasties
During the Sixteen KingdomsSixteen Kingdoms
The Sixteen Kingdoms, or less commonly the Sixteen States, were a collection of numerous short-lived sovereign states in China proper and its neighboring areas from 304 to 439 AD after the retreat of the Jin Dynasty to South China and before the establishment of the Northern Dynasties...
(304-439) period, the Xianbei founded six kingdoms in China proper
China proper
China proper or Eighteen Provinces was a term used by Western writers on the Qing Dynasty to express a distinction between the core and frontier regions of China. There is no fixed extent for China proper, as many administrative, cultural, and linguistic shifts have occurred in Chinese history...
, including the Former Yan
Former Yan
The Former Yan was a state of Xianbei ethnicity during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China.Initially, Murong Huang and his son Murong Jun claimed the Jin Dynasty -created title "Prince of Yan," but subsequently, in 352, after seizing most of the former Later Zhao territory, Murong Juan would...
(281-370), Western Yan
Western Yan
The Western Yan was a state of Xianbei ethnicity during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China. It was founded by Murong Hong in 384 in the aftermaths of Former Qin's defeat by Jin Dynasty at the Battle of Fei River, with the stated intent of permitting the Xianbei, whom Former Qin's emperor Fu...
(384-394), Later Yan
Later Yan
The Later Yan was a Murong-Xianbei state, located in modern day northeast China, during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China.All rulers of the Later Yan declared themselves "emperors". Later Yan fell to the Goguryeo dynasty.-Rulers of the Later Yan:...
(384-407), Southern Yan
Southern Yan
The Southern Yan was a state of Xianbei ethnicity during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China. Its territory roughly coincided with modern Shandong...
(398-410), Western Qin
Western Qin
The Western Qin was a state of Xianbei ethnicity during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China. Note that the Western Qin is entirely distinct from the ancient Qin Dynasty, the Former Qin, and the Later Qin....
(385-430) and Southern Liang
Southern Liang
The Southern Liang was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms during the Jin Dynasty in China. The founding family Tufa was of Xianbei ethnicity and distant relative of the Tuoba imperial house of Northern Wei...
(397-414). Most of them were unified by the Tuoba Xianbei, who established the Northern Wei
Northern Wei
The Northern Wei Dynasty , also known as the Tuoba Wei , Later Wei , or Yuan Wei , was a dynasty which ruled northern China from 386 to 534 . It has been described as "part of an era of political turbulence and intense social and cultural change"...
(386-535), which was the first of the Northern Dynasties
Northern dynasties
The Northern Dynasties included Northern Wei Dynasty, Eastern Wei Dynasty, Western Wei Dynasty, Northern Qi Dynasty, Northern Zhou Dynasty.Also see Southern and Northern Dynasties.-External links:*...
(386-581) founded by the Xianbei.
Ruan Xian
Ruan Xian , a Chinese scholar who lived during the Six Dynasties period, is one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove. He was a skilled player of the Chinese lute, an old version of pipa which has been called ruan after his name since the Tang Dynasty. His achievement in music reached such high as...
, Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove
Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove
The Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove were a group of Chinese Taoist Qingtan scholars, writers, and musicians who came together in the 3rd century CE. Although the individual members all existed, their interconnection is not entirely certain...
, had a Xianbei slave who gave birth to his son, Ruan Fu.
In 534, the Northern Wei split into an Eastern Wei
Eastern Wei
The Eastern Wei Dynasty followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei, and ruled northern China from 534 to 550.In 534 Gao Huan, the potentate of the eastern half of what was Northern Wei territory following the disintegration of the Northern Wei dynasty installed Yuan Shanjian a descendant of...
(534-550) and a Western Wei
Western Wei
The Western Wei Dynasty followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei, and ruled northern China from 535 to 556.After the Xianbei general Yuwen Tai killed the Northern Wei emperor Yuan Xiu, he installed Yuan Baoju as emperor of Western Wei while Yuwen Tai would remain as the virtual ruler...
(535-556). The former evolved into the Northern Qi
Northern Qi
The Northern Qi Dynasty was one of the Northern dynasties of Chinese history and ruled northern China from 550 to 577.-History:The Chinese state of Northern Qi was the successor state of the Chinese/Xianbei state of Eastern Wei and was founded by Emperor Wenxuan...
(550-577), and the latter into the Northern Zhou
Northern Zhou
The Northern Zhou Dynasty followed the Western Wei, and ruled northern China from 557 to 581. It was overthrown by the Sui Dynasty.Northern Zhou's basis of power was established by Yuwen Tai, who was paramount general of Western Wei, following the split of Northern Wei into Western Wei and...
(557-581), while the Southern Dynasties
Southern dynasties
The Southern dynasties comprise the Liu Song, Southern Qi, Liang Dynasty and Chen Dynasty, whose capital were at Jiankang , and Emperor Yuan of Liang, as well as the later Western Liang emperors , also set their...
were pushed to the south of the Yangtze River
Yangtze River
The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...
. In 581, the Prime Minister of Northern Zhou, Yang Jian
Yang Jian
Yang Jian is the name of:*Erlang Shen, the mythological Chinese God*Emperor Wen of Sui , founder and first emperor of China's Sui Dynasty* Yang Jian , Emperor Wen's grandson...
, founded the Sui Dynasty
Sui Dynasty
The Sui Dynasty was a powerful, but short-lived Imperial Chinese dynasty. Preceded by the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it ended nearly four centuries of division between rival regimes. It was followed by the Tang Dynasty....
(581-618). His son, the future emperor Yang Guang, annihilated the Southern Chen (557-589), the last kingdom of the Southern Dynasties, thereby unifying northern and southern China. After the Sui came to an end amidst peasant rebellions and renegade troops, his cousin, Li Shimin, founded 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...
(618-907); Li led China to develop into one of the most prosperous states in history. Sui and Tang dynasties were founded by Han Chinese generals who also served the Northern Wei Dynasty. Through these political establishments, the Xianbei who entered China were largely merged with the Han, examples such as the wife of Emperor Gaozu of Tang
Emperor Gaozu of Tang
Emperor Gāozǔ of Táng , born Lǐ Yuān , courtesy name Shūdé , was the founder of the Tang Dynasty of China, and the first emperor of this dynasty from 618 to 626. Under the Sui dynasty, Li Yuan was the governor in the area of modern-day Shanxi, and was based in Taiyuan.In 615, Li Yuan was assigned...
, Duchess Dou and Emperor Taizong of Tang
Emperor Taizong of Tang
Emperor Taizong of Tang , personal name Lǐ Shìmín , was the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649...
's (Li Shimin's) wife, Empress Zhangsun
Empress Zhangsun
Empress Zhangsun , formally Empress Wendeshunsheng or, in short, Empress Wende , was an empress of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. She was the wife of Emperor Taizong and the mother of Emperor Gaozong...
, both have Xianbei ancestries, while those who remained behind in the northern grassland emerged as later powers to rule over China.
Modern descendants
The ancestries of the MongolsMongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
can be traced back to a branch of the Xianbei called the Mengwu Shiwei
Shiwei
Shiwei were a Mongolic people that inhabited far-eastern Mongolia, northern Inner Mongolia and northern Manchuria and were recorded from the time of the Northern Wei until the rise of the Mongols of Genghis Khan in 1206 when the name "Mongol" and "Tatar" were applied to all the Shiwei tribes....
.
Today the "Monguor" as known in the West and as “Tu Zu” in China may have descended from the Xianbei who were led by Tuyuhun Khan to migrate westward and establish the Tuyuhun Kingdom (284-670) in the third century and Western Xia
Western Xia
The Western Xia Dynasty or the Tangut Empire, was known to the Tanguts and the Tibetans as Minyak.The state existed from 1038 to 1227 AD in what are now the northwestern Chinese provinces of Ningxia, Gansu, eastern Qinghai, northern Shaanxi, northeastern Xinjiang, southwest Inner Mongolia, and...
(1038–1227) through the thirteenth century. Today they are primarily distributed in Qinghai and Gansu Province, and speak an Altaic Mongolic language. The multi-ethnic environment and relative distant distribution in the northwest, detached from the political centers of China, have enabled them to preserve their language and culture until the present times.
The Xibe
Xibe
The Xibe or Sibo are a Tungusic ethnic group living mostly in northeast China and Xinjiang. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China.- History :...
or "Xi Bo" people also believed themselves to be descendants of the Xianbei, with considerable controversies that have attributed their origins to the Jurchens
Jurchens
The Jurchens were a Tungusic people who inhabited the region of Manchuria until the 17th century, when they adopted the name Manchu...
, the Elunchun, and the Xianbei. Since they were historically referred to as "Suolun people" and spoke Tungus
Tungusic languages
The Tungusic languages form a language family spoken in Eastern Siberia and Manchuria by Tungusic peoples. Many Tungusic languages are endangered, and the long-term future of the family is uncertain...
rather than Mongolic language, they may have derived their origins from one or more fractions of the Xianbei or other ethnic groups subjugated by the Xianbei. While most of the Xianbei went south and westward to establish different empires, they remained behind in Manchuria until subjugated by the Jurchens who moved southward from the Tungus Plains in Eastern Russia.
See also
- Change of Xianbei names to Han namesChange of Xianbei names to Han namesThe Change of Xianbei family names to Han names was part of a larger sinicization campaign. It was at its peak intensity under Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei dynasty in 496.-Background:...
- Xianbei stateXianbei stateThe Xianbei state or Xianbei confederation was a nomadic confederation existed in northern Manchuria and eastern Mongolia from 93 to 234 AD. They descended from the Donghu and spoke a Mongolic language....
- Tribes in Chinese history
- Wu HuWu HuWu Hu was a Chinese term for the northern non-Chinese nomadic tribes which caused the Wu Hu uprising, and established the Sixteen Kingdoms from 304 to 439 AD.-Definition:...
- Sixteen KingdomsSixteen KingdomsThe Sixteen Kingdoms, or less commonly the Sixteen States, were a collection of numerous short-lived sovereign states in China proper and its neighboring areas from 304 to 439 AD after the retreat of the Jin Dynasty to South China and before the establishment of the Northern Dynasties...
- WuhuanWuhuanThe Wuhuan were a proto-Mongolic nomadic people who inhabited northern China, in what is now the provinces of Hebei, Liaoning, Shanxi, the municipality of Beijing and the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia....
- Northern Wei Dynasty
- Chinese sovereignChinese sovereignChinese sovereign is the ruler of a particular period in ancient China. Several titles and naming schemes have been used throughout history.-Emperor Title:...
- Bu DugenBu DugenBudugen was the territorial chief of the Xianbei tribe during the late Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He retained his independence by sending tribute to the state of Cao Wei during the reign of Cao Pi. Following the reign of Cao Rui, Budugen allied with Kebineng to start...
- Kebineng
External links
- 鮮卑語言The Xianbei language(Chinese Traditional Big5 code page) via Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...