The Chinese Empire was born on the middle reaches of the Yellow River more than four thousand years ago, when an Indo-European nomadic people from the steppe - called the Zhou - settled in the river valley, where they learned agriculture from the Stone Age people, who were already there. It was the "Yellow Emperor" and his nation from whom all Chinese are supposed to descend. Over more than a thousand years, the emperor's territory grew.
But since there was no external pressure from similar state formations to keep it together, this empire dissolved into several warring states, which situation culminated in the "Warring States Period", which was, however, abruptly ended by the state of Qin, which conquered them all and created a unified and aggressive China, which could then utilize all the resources created by millions of industrious Chinese.
The neighboring peoples immediately felt the consequences. The closest were the horse-riding nomads, the Xiongnu, who lived, among other places, "south of the bend of the Yellow River", as Sima Qian puts it. The First Qin Emperor sent his general, Meng Ti'en, to clear the area of nomads, because he wanted to use it for new irrigation systems and new settlements for Chinese farmers.
However, feudal lords across China rose up against the Qin in at least eight years of civil war.
The Xiongnu leading families took advantage of the lull by reaching out to all the other peoples of the steppe and convincing them that the time would come for them too. They argued that they were the natural leaders because they were descended from the demigods of the ancient Xia Dynasty. Furthermore, the Xiongnu lived closest to the new unified and aggressive empire, and therefore had the greatest interest in organizing resistance.
For almost three hundred years, they held the new Han Dynasty at bay before either being absorbed into the empire or giving up.
1. Expansion of the Empire
The Xiongnu were a people from Central Asia near the expanding Chinese Empire, who created an "empire", a kind of confederation, which also included nomadic peoples on the steppe of other ethnicities. All were mainly cattle breeders.
Today's knowledge of the Xiongnu and their history comes mainly from Sima Qian's history, "Shiji", from around 100 - 0 BC, "Hanshu" written by General Ban Gu describes the Han dynasty's battles against the Xiongnu. The later "Hou Hanshu" by Fan Ye provides valuable information about the later fate of the Xiongnu people.
Modern artistic depiction of the Xiongnu on the move across the steppe. Note that there appear to be two main groups, right and left wing. The Xiongnu had a keen sense of symmetry. Photo Southern Mongolian comment on current affairs.
When one reads Sima Qian carefully, one must conclude that at least some Xiongnu originally lived "south of the Yellow River" in parts of the modern provinces of Ningxia, Gansu and Shaanxi and here they were attacked and driven out by the Qin general Meng Ti'en and later by Han Dynasty armies. Thus, one cannot say that the wars between the Xiongnu and Han Dynasty China were provoked solely by Xiongnu raids. .
The Chinese characters for "Xiongnu". Alphabetized with the pinyin system it is written as Xiongnu, and alphabetized with English consonants and Italian vowels, it will be something like Sjung-nuh. According to the characters used, it means something like "Cruel Slaves". These are probably some characters that are used as an alphabet. That is, the words that they represent are pronounced as the name of the Xiongnu.
The Xiongnu were able to promote the myth that their leading families descended from the demigods of the Xia Dynasty thousands of years before the Han Dynasty. This led many peoples on the steppe in both the east and west to recognize the Xiongnu's leadership by virtue of their divine lineage, presumably because they also feared Chinese expansion.
It is clear that the Jie, Xianbei, Qiang and Di peoples had been there all along, but it was the Xiongnu who lived closest to a unified and aggressive Chinese empire, and therefore it was natural that an initiative for united resistance came from them.
The Han dynasty Chinese, and probably also the Xiongnu, had only faint ideas of numbers and quantities.
All ancient sources tell of many thousands of mounted warriors roaming the arid steppe. The first Han emperor is said to have led an army of 320,000 infantry on the steppe in northern Shanxi. But his opponent, Modun, reportedly attacked him with 400,000 cavalry. In 166 BC, Shan-yü Laoshang led an army of 140,000 horsemen in an invasion of Anding in Gansu or Ningxia. General Li Kuang-li is said to have marched onto the steppe with 60,000 cavalry and 100,000 infantry in an attack on the Xiongnu.
Xiongnu on the move across the steppe. Photo Author Today.
All these figures are completely unrealistic. For logistical reasons, it was simply not possible to lead very large armies - with horses, through such rather dry steppe landscapes.
It is assumed by European military experts that before the advent of the railway, an army in the field could not exceed 50,000 men for logistical reasons. Napoleon's Grande Armee against Moscow in 1812 was at 450,000 to 600,000 men, but that did not go very well. The Swedish armies in the Thirty Years' War, which typically "lived off the land" in fairly fertile agricultural areas, numbered around 20-30,000 men.
Xiongnu and Chinese armies, which roamed the rather dry steppe, could not "live off the land" to any great extent. It seems highly unrealistic that at this time one should have been able to supply armies - with horses - in the size of a hundred thousand.
In reality, the Chinese and Xiongnu of that time probably could not count to much more than a few hundreds.
2. Xiongnu's Xia lineage
The myth that the Xiongnu descended from the demigods of the mythical Xia dynasty, which ruled China nearly two thousand years before the Han dynasty, was very important to them, and it is also the first thing that Sima Qian mentions in his chapter on the Xiongnu.
The demigods of the Xia dynasty.
He writes: "The ancestor of the Hsiung-nu was a descendant of one of the rulers of the Xia dynasty named Chunwei. As early as the time of the emperors Yao and Shun(nearly 2,000 years before Sima Qian's own time) and before we hear of these people, known as mountain barbarians, Xianyun or Hunzhu.
Elsewhere he writes: "Over a thousand years have passed since Chunwei, the ancestor of the Hsiung-nu, to the time of Mo-tun, a long period during which the tribes split and dispersed into various groups, sometimes expanding, sometimes diminishing in size. It is therefore impossible to give an orderly account of the lineage of the Hsiung-nu rulers."
We recall that the linguist Zhou Jixu believes that around 2100 BC the Zhou people were one of many Indo-European nomadic peoples on the steppe.
But they invaded the area of the middle reaches of the Yellow River from the north, learned agriculture from the inhabitants who already lived there, and thereby became so rich and numerous that they were able to give birth to the Chinese nation in the Yellow River and later the Yangtze River valleys. The mythical Xia and Shang dynasties, which according to tradition preceded the Zhou dynasty, were only the early phases of the Zhou dynasty.
The Xiongnu never forgot that they descended from the Xia rulers. Even four hundred years after Sima Qian's time, Helian Bobo was able to establish the state of Xia in Ordos, citing his descent from the demigods of the ancient Xia Dynasty as a Xiongnu.
Depiction of a presumed Xiongnu horseman with the typical large eyes and full beard on a bronze plaque found near the Russian town of Troikosavsk in Transbaikalia, very close to the border between Russia and Mongolia. Photo Wikiwand.
During the period of civil war between the death of the First Qin Emperor and the establishment of the Han dynasty, 210 - 202 BC, the myth of the Xiongnu's Xia lineage had such strength and vitality that it enabled the Xiongnu leading families to unite the scattered and probably rivaling nomadic peoples of the steppe under the Xiongnu banner in common resistance to Chinese expansion.
We might think that the peoples of the steppe recognized the Xiongnu's noble lineage and thus their leadership in the Xongnu "empire".
3. The Five Hu
The Five Hu or "Wu Hu" as it is called in Chinese, is a historical designation for five ancient ethnic "Hu" people who lived on the steppe in the area that now encompasses northern China and Mongolia during the period of Chinese history known as the "Sixteen Kingdoms", which was characterized by a series of short-lived states.
The Chinese characters for "The Five Hu". Alphabetized with the pinyin system it is written Wu Hu, and it is also pronounced the same way alphabetized with English consonants and Italian vowels.
The character, alphabetized with "Hu", originally denotes the flap of skin hanging from the neck of an ox. One can imagine that the character was used as a kind of alphabet in the sense that the character represents the sound of the word that was a common term for these five peoples.
From the mythological Xia and Shang dynasties 2,000 BC through the long-lasting Zhou dynasty until the end of the Tang dynasty around 900 AD, the Chinese Empire had developed in interaction with ethnic peoples on the steppe, who in early times were mostly of Indo-European origin. Chinese, and perhaps especially Old Chinese language, contains many words of Indo-European origin.
"Hu" gives associations to the English "hunger" and "hungry", Danish "hungre" and German "hungrig". It may have been a word describing the tendency of these people to rob and plunder because they are hungry.
The most common definition of the "Five Hu" is:
- Xiongnu
- Jie
- Xianbei
- Qiang
- Di
On the Internet, a verbal battle rages between different nationalities that identify with the historical ethnic groups of the steppe. Turks from Asia Minor and Central Asia believe that at least the Xiongnu, Xianbei, and possibly the Jie were their early proto-Turkic ancestors, Koreans consider the Xianbei to be their early Tungusic ancestors, Chinese believe that they were all ordinary Chinese operating within the confines of the Chinese world, and Europeans tend to believe that most peoples of the steppe in early history were of Indo-European origin.
In the "Book of Jin" by Fang Xuanling, which also describes the history of the Jin dynasty, Empress Dowager Chu Suanzi was the first to use the term "Five Hu" when she ended her reign in 357 AD in favor of her son, Emperor Mu of Jin. Elsewhere in the book, the peoples of the the steppe during this period were mentioned as "The Four Barbarians" or "The Six Barbarians".
The Sogdians appeared in China later than the Five Hu, but they are also clearly a Hu people due to their large noses, beards, and overall caucasian appearance. Sogdian huteng dancer, Xiuding temple pagoda, Anyang, Henan, China, Tang dynasty, 7th century. Photo ALFGRN - Flickr Wikipedia.
The "Five Hu" barbarian peoples were first categorized in the 12th century during the Song Dynasty, when the official Hong Mai wrote an essay titled "Wuhu Luanhua", which means "The Upheaval of the Five Barbarians". However, he did not define the term correctly, as the reigns of the seven rulers he wrote about only mentioned four non-Han groups, namely the Xiongnu, Jie, Xianbei and Di. However, a later chronicle by Hu Sanxing lists Hong Mai's "Five Hu" as the Xiongnu, Jie, Xianbei, Di and Qiang, after which the term became generally accepted.
Who are these five ethnic groups in and around China? What were their characteristics that made them special in history?
The Xiongnu people are described in great detail by Sima Qian. It can be considered fairly certain that the Xiongnu were caucasian in type, with a strong physique, strong growth of facial hair and large eyes. What language they spoke is uncertain, but it was not Chinese.
The Jie people originally lived in the area covered by the modern Chinese province of Shanxi. They were characterized by strong hair and a high nosebridge. When the Chinese general Ran Min in 349 AD ordered that all Jie in the nomadic state of Later Zhao should be killed, he ordered his soldiers to kill all with strong beards and big nosebridge. The Jie people never recovered from this blow. There is a description of four words in the Jie language, which is however very difficult to decipher, as it is of course written in the Chinese characters of the time, which say nothing about the pronunciation.
The Xianbei people lived mainly in several subgroups in the area that today consists of the provinces of Liaodong, Inner Mongolia, and parts of Shaanxi, Ningxia and Sichuan. In the "Han Shu" the scholar Yan Shigu around 640 AD added a comment on the appearance of the Wusun people, which also applies to the Xianbei of his time: "The Wusun in the Western Regions are the same as the "Rong" people. Nowadays these "Hu" people have green eyes, red beards, their appearance is like bearded monkeys, and they are originally of this kind." Which indicates that the Xianbei were a people of caucasian appearance probably of Indo-European origin.
The "Sixteen Kingdoms" of China's Migration Period lasted from 304 to 439 AD. Most of these kingdoms were created by ethnic groups such as the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Di, Jie, and Qiang. They were independent of the Jin dynasties, which were displaced to southern China. However, they showed their respect for China's history by naming their kingdoms after ancient Chinese dynasties.
- Northern Liang in northern Gansu was founded by the Xiongnu,
- Later Liang was founded by the Di general Lü Guang
- South Liang was founded by the Tufa Xianbei people
- Tuyuhun was a Xianbei people who established a kingdom on the Tibetan plateau around Lake Koko Nor.
- Later Qin was founded by the Yao Qiang people.
- Northern Wei was founded by the Tuoba Xianbei
- Later Yan was founded by the Murong Xianbei
- Southern Yan was founded by another branch of the Murong Xianbei
- The Chinese Jin Dynasty was displaced to South China.
This is just a cross-section of the time, there were many more nomadic kingdoms, including Helian Bobo's Xia kingdom, which was located in Ordos, where Later Qin was located.
The period ended in 439 AD when Northern Wei, founded by the Tuoba Xianbei, unified the north. Photo Wikimedia Commons.
The Qiang people lived in the western mountains, mainly in the area now defined by the modern province of Sichuan, and they can still be found there, although they do not recall having had their own language. The Russian explorer Nikolay Przhevalsky encountered them in Sichuan in 1884. He wrote that they resembled gypsies in appearance.
The Di people lived in the western mountains in the area now occupied by the modern provinces of Gansu, Qinghai, and Sichuan. Their language and physical appearance are unknown. They may have been a type of Tibetans.
4. Sima Qian on the Xiongnu
The historian Sima Qian spends an entire chapter on Xiongnu in his "Historical Records", "Shi Ji": "As early as the time of the emperors Yao and Shun and before (Yao and Shun were rulers of the mythological Shang dynasty more than 2,000 years before Sima Qian's own time) we hear of these people" - "who lived in the region of the northern barbarians and wandered from place to place to graze their animals. The animals they raise consist mainly of horses, cattle and sheep, but also include rare animals such as camels, mules and the wild horses known as taotu and tuoji."
"They move around in search of water and pasture and have no walled cities or permanent dwellings, nor do they practice any form of agriculture. However, their land is divided into regions under the control of different leaders. They have no written language, and even promises and agreements are only oral."
Many people want to make the Xiongnu a kind of Mongols. But a bronze figure found in the Ordos area, which was Xiongnu territory, does not look Mongolian. He has large eyes, a large nose and a strong beard.
Photo Wikimedia Commons.
Sima Qian continues: "The little boys start by learning to ride on sheeps and shoot birds and rats with bows and arrows, and when they are a little older, they shoot foxes and hares, which are used for food. Thus all the young men are able to use a bow and act as armed cavalry in time of war".
"It is their custom to guard their flocks in peacetime and earn their living by hunting, but in times of crisis they take up arms and go on raids and robberies. This seems to be their innate nature."
"As long-range weapons they use bows and arrows, and swords and spears at close quarters. If the battle goes well for them, they will advance, but if not, they will retreat, for they consider it no disgrace to flee."
"Their only concern is their own advantage, and they know nothing of decency or justice. From the chiefs of the tribe downwards, all eat the flesh of their domestic animals and wear clothes of skin, felt or fur. The young men eat the richest and best food, while the old eat what is left, when The tribe respects those who are young and strong, and despises the weak and old." Which was completely different from Chinese culture, as handed down from Confucius, which respects the old.
"At the death of his father, a son will marry his stepmother, and when brothers die, the remaining brothers will take the widows as wives. They have no proper names, only personal names, and they observe no taboos in the use of personal names."
Sima Qian further says: "According to the Hsiung-nu Law, anyone who draws his sword in peacetime is sentenced to a foot from the scabbard, to death. Anyone convicted of theft has his property confiscated. Minor offenses are punished with whipping and major offenses with death. No one is held in prison awaiting trial for more than ten days, and the number of imprisoned men for the entire nation does not exceed a handful." Which, we can believe, contains a hidden criticism of the Han Dynasty on Sima Qian's part.
Qilian Mountains - The Xiongnu had a religious relationship with the Qilian Mountains, although we do not know any details about this part of their beliefs. A Tang Dynasty writer named Yan Shigu wrote that "Qilian" was a Xiongnu word meaning "heaven". If the gods did not live in Heaven, then they at least lived on high mountains, just as the Greek gods lived on Mount Olympus.
The king or overking of the Xiongnu bore the title "Shan-yü", "Son of Heaven, the Magnificent, Born of Heaven and Earth and Created by the Sun and Moon."
"At dawn, Shan-yü leaves his camp and bows to the sun as it rises, and in the evening he makes a similar bow to the moon."
Almost all the peoples of the time worshipped the Heaven, the Sun, and the Moon in some way. The Chinese emperor went to special Temples of Heaven or the Moon and prayed for good luck for his people, the Yuezhi worshipped the Moon, and the Sogdians worshipped the sun god, Mithra. It was the chief duty of kings and emperors to be in good standing with the heavenly powers.
"As for seating, the left side or the seat facing north is considered the place of worship."
Both the Xiongnu and Han Chinese had a ten-day week. Sima Qian wrote: "The days wu and chi of the ten-day week are considered the most auspicious."
"At funerals, the Hsiung-nu use an inner and an outer coffin with accessories of gold, silver, cloth, and fur, but they do not build a burial mound or plant trees on the grave, nor do they use incense."
Xiongnu bronze belt plaque with the motif of two men engaged in a wrestling match, while their horses look on with interest. Found in Ordos. Note the right-left symmetry in the motif. From the 2nd century BC. According to Professor Frankfort, the wrestlers are Xiongnu, and their horses have Xiongnu-like horse equipment. Ethnological Museum, Berlin. Photo Daderot Wikipedia.
"When a ruler dies, the ministers and concubines, who were favored by him and who are obliged to follow him to death, count often numbers in the hundreds or even thousands." It has also been proven by Russian archaeologists that a ruler was followed to death by many of his subjects. However, we must take "hundreds" and "thousands" with a grain of salt. As we know, both the Han Chinese and the Xiongnu had a very bad relation towards numbers and quantities.
"When the Hsiung-nu begin an enterprise, they observe the stars and the moon. They attack, when the moon is full, and withdraw their troops when it is waning. After a battle, those who have cut off the heads of the enemies or taken prisoners, are given a cup of wine and are allowed to keep the booty they have taken."
"All prisoners who are taken are made slaves." It seems that Sima Qian contradicts himself to some extent here, since he states in several other places. It is said that captured Chinese people were given Xiongnu wives and a position in society. The great traveler, Zhang Qian, for example, got a Xiongnu wife during his long captivity with the Northern Xiongnu, although he was prevented from escaping."
In the History Museum of Xian, some figures from Tang Dynasty tombs are exhibited. They depict the Xiongnu according to the sign. In the Tang Dynasty period, there were apparently still Xiongnu on the steppe. There we can see how they looked like. The Tang Dynasty was from 626 AD to 907 AD.
On the left: Xiongnu figure 1 in the Xian History Museum. Own photo.
In the middle: Xiongnu figure 2 in the Xian History Museum. Own photo.
On the right: Sculpture depicting a horseman from the tomb of Anpu and his wife in Longmen Luoyang - found in 1981 - Tang Dynasty. Photo Xian History Museum.
These Xiongnu have large round heads. They radiate physical strength. They have a thick beard from ear to ear. The rider has blond hair and beard. They are usually wearing a kind of Santa hat.
They are "Hu" types, which means caucasian types with a large nose, prominent eyebrows and, as I said, a thick beard. They stand in somewhat challenging poses, like very self-confident people. Such figures were previously described as Western merchants or similar, I remember; but they seem to be Xiongnu according to the sign behind the glass. The museum could be wrong, maybe no one knows. They are just figures found in a tomb.
Unfortunately, the figures are not life-size, so they give no direct idea of their absolute size.
However, near Xian is the tomb of General Huo Qu-bing. He was a Han Dynasty Chinese general who defeated the Xiongnu with the help of the new cavalry on the fantastic horses the Chinese got from Fergana, "The Horses That Sweat Blood".
In the tomb of General Hou Qui-bing at Xian, one of the "horses that sweat blood" is seen trampling a Xiongnu. The characteristic beard are clearly visible from one ear to the other. Note how large the Xiongnu man is in relation to the horse. Although this is possibly an artistic exaggeration, the Chinese of the time must have thought that the Xiongnu were very large. At first glance, he may appear to have rather narrow Mongolian eyes, but they are really the upper eyelids, and the eyes are actually very large. He has a strong beard, which is not normal for modern Asian types. The artist has given him large eyes and a strong beard, so that everyone can see that it is precisely a Xiongnu that General Hou Qui-bing has defeated. Photo Wikiwand.
Shortly after Modun died his son, Chi-chu, became Shan-yü. The emperor wanted to send him a Chinese princess. Sima Qian writes: "When Chi-chu became Shan-yü, Emperor Wen sent a princess from the imperial family as his consort and sent a eunuch from Yen named Chung-hsing Shuo to accompany her as her tutor. Chung-hsing Shuo did not want to undertake the mission, but the Han officials forced him to do so. "My departure will only bring trouble to Han!" he warned them".
Immediately upon his arrival in the Xiongnu camp, the eunuch switched sides and became a highly valued advisor to Shan-yü.
Chung-hsing Shuo warned his new friends: "All the inhabitants of the Hsiung-nu nation are not as numerous as a province of the Han empire. The strength of the Hsiung-nu lies in the very fact that their food and clothing are different from those of the Chinese, and they are therefore not dependent on the Han for anything. Now the Shan-yü have this fondness for Chinese things and are trying to change the customs of the Hsiung-nu. Although the Han Dynasty does not send more than a fifth of its goods to here, they will eventually succeed in winning over the entire Hsiung-nu nation. From now on, when you get the Han silk, put it on and try riding around on your horses through the scrub and bramble forests! In no time your coats and leggings will be torn to pieces, and everyone will see that silk cannot match the utility and the superiority of felt or leather clothes. Likewise, when you get some of the Han foods, throw them away, so that people can see that they are not as practical or as tasty as milk and kumiss!"
He also taught Shan-yüs assistants how to count the number of people and livestock in the country. This confirms the present writer's suspicion that both the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu had a very bad relationship with numbers and quantities.
Despite the many zeros in the description of the armies of the time, the Xiongnu were not numerous enough to actually conquer China or even parts of the empire. Their preferred tactic was rapid raids into Chinese territory. They plundered livestock and carried off women, children, and young people as slaves. They retreated to the steppe before a real military force could be assembled against them.
Although, that is what actually happened several times later in China's history, that relatively few steppe nomads have conquered China with all its resources and industrious inhabitants. For example, the Mongols established the Yan Dynasty, and the Manchus established the Qing Dynasty.
5. Xiongnu's organisation
As mentioned, the Xiongnu called their kings by the title Shan-yü.
Sima Qian states that the high offices of government are hereditary and are filled from generation to generation by "the members of the Hu-yen and Lan families, and in more recent times by the Hsü-pu family." These three families constituted the Xiongnu aristocracy.
Xiongnu belt buckle ornament drawn - the person does not resemble a Mongoloid type, and he does not have a stoop nose. Note the symmetry of the motif. The Xiongnu seem to have had a preference for order and symmetry. Also, their organization was divided between right and left wings at all levels.
The person shown seems to have a rather large nose and rather large eyes, it sems to have been important for the artist to show this, to emphasize that the person in the subject was indeed a Xiongnu.
He describes in great detail how the Xiongnu were organized.
All functions were duplicated: "Under Shan-yü are the wise kings of the left and right wings, the left and right Lu-li kings, the left and right generals, the left and right commanders, the left and right house administrators, and the left and right Ku-tu marquises. The Hsiung-nu word for "wise" is "t'u-ch'i", so Shan-yüs heir is usually called "T'u-ch'i King of the Left Wing". Among the other leaders, from the wise kings down to the house administrators, the most important have ten thousand horsemen and the lesser several thousand, in twenty-four leaders in all, although all are known by the title of "Ten Thousand Horsemen". - "The kings and other leaders of the left wing live in the eastern sector, the region from Shang-ku in the east to the land of the Hui-mo and Ch'ao-hsien peoples. The kings and leaders of the right wing live in the west, the area from the Shang province in the west to the territories of the Yüeh-chi and Chiang peoples. Shan-yü has his court in the region of Tai and Yün-chung.
The Longcheng city was discovered in 2017 on the steppe of Ulziit district of Arkhangai province in Mongolia. The ruins bear the inscription: "Son of Heaven Chanyu". As you can see, the building is laid out in a perfect square, as you would expect from a people who value order and symmetry. Photo News MN.
Each group has its own territory, within which it moves from place to place in search of water and pasture. The Wise Kings of the Left and Right and the Lu-li Kings are the most powerful, while the Ku-tu Marquises assist the Shan-yü in the administration of the nation. Each of the twenty-four leaders appoints in turn his own "chiefs of a thousand", "chiefs of a hundred" and "chiefs of ten", as well as his subordinate kings, prime ministers, supreme commanders, household administrators, chü-chü officials and so on."
Longcheng, meaning "Dragon City", was the annual meeting place of the kings and important nobles of the Xiongnu confederation. The ruins of Longcheng were found in Arkhangai Province in modern Mongolia in 2017.
6. War between Han Dynasty and Xiongnu.
Historians have no doubt that the Xiongnu "empire" was born of a crisis.
Sima Qian relates that already during the Qin dynasty, the First Emperor's general, Meng T'ien, drove the Xiongnu from an area south of the Yellow River: "Finally Ch'in overthrew the other six states, and the First Emperor of Ch'in sent Meng T'ien to lead a force of one hundred thousand men north to attack the barbarians. He gained control of all the lands south of the Yellow River and established border defenses along the river, building forty-four walled district cities overlooking the river and manning them with convicts who were transported to the border for garrison duty".
Detail from a painting by Ilya Repin painted around 1860. In 1676, the Zaporozhe Cossacks, led by Ivan Sirko, responded to a call for alliance from the Turkish Sultan in their characteristic fashion. They wrote a letter full of insults and profanities.
Almost all artistic representations of the Xiongnu show them as somewhat modern dark Asian types with narrow eyes, which is in contrast to the figure on General Hou Qui-bing's tomb at Xian and other finds, which clearly show a Caucasian type with strong beard and large eyes.
It is well known that Cossacks have a very mixed origin, but many believe that the germ of the different groups of Cossacks was Genghis Khan's enemy, the Cuman people, who came to Europe fleeing the Mongol armies. Many contemporaries referred to the Cuman as "the blond", "the pale" and the like. The early Cossacks probably resembled the Xiongnu more than the modern paintings of the Xiongnu. Not that the present author would claim that the Cossacks descended from the Xiongnu. It is merely intended as an illustration of the probable appearance of the Xiongnu. Photo Russian Museum Saint Petersburg, Russia. Wikimedia Commons.
We note that the Xiongnu seem to have been pushed out of areas "south of the Yellow River bend", which is quite far into what we understand of China.
In connection with the civil war after Qin Shi Huang's death, Sima Qian relates: "The Xiongnu, as the pressure against them eased, began to infiltrate south of the Yellow River bend again, until they had established themselves along the old frontier of China." Which apparently extended south of the "Yellow River bend".
It is always portrayed that the Xiongnu raided and plundered across China's borders, and this was the cause of the war between the Xiongnu and the Han Dynasty. But if "China's ancient borders" were far south of the Yellow River and the Xiongnu were displaced from here by the Qin general Meng T'ien and later again by the Han Dynasty, then it was the Qin and Han Dynasties that attacked the Xiongnu and pushed them northward from their original area at "China's ancient borders".
Gold belt buckle plate depicting a one-eyed horseman killing a wild boar with a spear (which is missing). It was found in Saksanokhur, in southern Tajikistan. According to Professor Francfort, this decorative belt buckle may have been made for a Xiongnu-related brand and may date to the 2nd-1st century BC. The horseman is wearing the steppe dress, his hair is tied in a hair knot typical of the oriental steppes, and his horse has the characteristic Xiongnu harness. One might argue that Tajikistan is not typically Xiongnu territory.
The one eye and the spear give associations to Odin with the spear Gungner or perhaps "The Great White Ruler of the West", whom some early Qin rulers worshipped. Photo Marie-Lan Nguyen - Wikimedia Commons
Xiongnu Shan-yü during the battles against Qin was T'ou-man, who, as we know, was the father of Modun.
"Unable to resist the Qin forces, T'ou-man had retreated to the far north, where he lived with his subjects for over ten years."
"After Meng T'ien died and the feudal lords rebelled against Qin, plunging China into a period of strife and unrest, the convicts, that Qin had sent to the northern border to garrison the area, all returned to their homes."
While the Chinese civil war between the Qin generals and the rebel armies raged for ten years, The noble families of the Xiongnu accomplished the amazing political feat of uniting the nomadic peoples around China with themselves as leaders, citing their distinguished descent from the demigods of the mythical Xia dynasty.
Sima Qian writes: "The Hsiung-nu, as the pressure against them eased, began again to infiltrate south of the bend of the Yellow River until they had established themselves along the old frontier of China." Which apparently extended south of the "bend of the Yellow River".
"Thus Modun regained possession of all the lands which the Ch'in general Meng T'ien had taken from the Hsiung-nu;. The boundary between the Xiongnu territory and the Han empire now followed the old defensive line south of the Yellow River, and from there he marched into the Ch'ao-na and Fu-shih districts, and then invaded Yen and Tai. By this time the Han forces were locked in battle with the armies of Hsiang Yü, and China was exhausted by warfare."
Xiongnu on the move. Modern artistic representation. The figures are depicted as somewhat dark modern Asian types with narrow eyes. Unknown artist. Photo Gary Todd Flickr Wikipedia.
Sima Qian was well aware that the myth of the Xiongnu's Xia lineage legitimized their power and strength: "Over a thousand years had passed from Ch'un-wei, the ancestor of the Xiongnu, to the time of Mo-tun, an immense period during which the peoples split and dispersed into various groups, sometimes expanding, sometimes diminishing. It is therefore impossible to give an orderly account of the lineage of the rulers of the Xiongnu. However, when Motun came to power, the Xiongnu reached their peak of strength and size, subduing all the other barbarian tribes in the north and turning south to confront China as a hostile nation."
When the new Chinese ruler, after the victory in the civil war, returned south of the Yellow River to take up the thread after Qin, the emperor himself confronted an unpleasant surprise. Sima Qian writes: "Emperor Kao-tsu (Liu Bang), the founder of the Han Dynasty, personally led an army to attack them, but it was winter and he encountered such cold and deep snow that two or three out of every ten of his men lost their fingers due to frostbite."
"Modun pretended to retreat to lure the Han Dynasty soldiers into attacking. When they pursued him, he hid his best troops and allowed the Han scouts to observe only the weakest and most pitiful men. With Kao-tsu at the head, the entire Han force pursued him northward, supplemented by 320,000 infantry, as far as the city of P'ing-ch'eng".
The only place, where one can meaningfully speak of "south of the Yellow River" as the former homeland of the Xiongnu, is the area south of the Yellow River in the modern provinces of Gansu, Ningxia and Shaanxi. It must have been here that the fighting took place. It was also here that Helian Bobo, a few hundred years later, established his Xia kingdom in memory of the Xiongnu's descent from the demigods of the ancient Xia Dynasty.
Before the infantry had a chance to arrive, Modun attacked with 400,000 of his best cavalry, surrounded Kao-tsu on White Mountain, and held him there for seven days.
Finally, Modun opened a breach in the siege and allowed Liu Bang's men to escape. Peace was then made between the Xiongnu and the Han Dynasty.
7. The policy of appeasement
The policy of appeasement or cooperation was called the heqin policy.
At this time, the Han Dynasty was newly established and the Xiongnu were not impressed. A number of generals had switched sides and gone over to the Xiongnu, and there were occasional spontaneous local uprisings throughout the country. The situation was very difficult for the Han Dynasty.
Emperor Liu Bang sent a Chinese princess of the imperial family to the Xiongnu. The Han Dynasty court promised to send a certain amount of silk and silk clothing, grain and other foodstuffs every year, and the two nations promised to live in peace and brotherhood. After this, the Xiongnu plundered less than before.
However, in 177 BC After Liu Bang's death, the Xiongnu Wise King of the Right Wing invaded "Shang Province" "south of the Yellow River", wherever that was. But since it was "right wing" it must have been in the western part of the kingdom, perhaps in present-day Gansu, Ningxia or Shaanxi.
A typical right-left symmetrical Xiongnu belt buckle plate found in China. The Xiongnu were a people who valued order and symmetry. Photo The Commercial Press and Shanghai Dictionary Publishing House, October 1994.
As previously mentioned, Shan-yü Modun sent a lengthy letter to the emperor, explaining the situation. The Wise King of the Upper Wing had annihilated the Yuezhi around 170 BC and, due to some misunderstandings with some Chinese border officials, by mistake plundered some Chinese territories. "Thus, I wish to lay down my weapons, let my soldiers rest and let my horses graze, to forget the recent affair and re-establish the old pact."
Shan-yü Modun added that both he and the empress dowager had grown old and lonely and proposed a marriage. She became furious and wanted to send an army against him, but her generals reminded her that "even Emperor Kao-tsu (Liu Bang) with all his wisdom and bravery encountered great trouble at P'ing-ch'eng".
The empress dowager had good reason to be afraid. Modun had followed up his success against the Han Dynasty with another decisive victory, this time over the Yuezhi, and had also annexed the cities of the Tarim River. He boasted that a total of "26 nations" west of China, including the Wusun north of the Tien Shan Mountains, had been subdued by the Xiongnu.
All her courtiers unanimously said "Since Shan-yü has just conquered Yueh-chih and is riding a wave of victories, he cannot be attacked. Besides, even if we were to conquer the Hsiung-nu lands, they are all swamps and salt marshes, unfit for habitation. It would be far better to make peace."
Finally, the empress dowager was persuaded to continue peaceful relations with the Xiongnu. She sent a letter to Shan-yü Modun, which reads: "The Emperor respectfully wishes to inquire after Shan-yyü's health. We heartily welcome your request for peace" - "This is indeed how the wise rulers of ancient times would have spoken. He has made a brotherly pact with Hsiung-nu, and for this reason we have sent generous gifts to you."
According to Sima Qian, Shan-yü Laoshang demonstrated in 166 BC that he did not take the peace treaty seriously. He personally led 140,000 horsemen in an invasion of Anding (which is in eastern Gansu or southern Ningxia). He writes: "In the fourteenth year of Emperor Wen's reign, Shan-yü led a force of 140,000 horsemen through the Ch'ao-na and Hsiao passes, killed Sun Ang, the commander-in-chief of Pei-ti Province, and carried off a large number of people and animals. Finally, he rode as far as P'eng-yang, sent a surprise force to break into and burn the Hui-chung Palace, and sent scouts as far as the Palace of the Sweet Springs in Yung."
The number 140,000 should not be taken seriously, as both the Xiongnu and Han had trouble counting. It simply means that there were many.
Despite repeated assurances from both sides, the Xiongnu attacked several times under successive emperors, carrying off inhabitants and livestock. But generally there was peace along the border.
According to Hansu, Emperor Han Wendi (reigned 180–157 BC) increased the tribute paid to the Xiongnu to 1,000 gold pieces per year in order to appease his northern rival.
Until 135 BC, the treaty of friendship was renewed nine times, each time with an increase in the "gifts" to the Xiongnu.
8. Renewed war Han Dynasti against Xiongnu
The policy of appeasement was ended by the militant Emperor Wu in 129 BC. Sima Qian tells in detail the story of how the war between the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu broke out.
However, the decisive change in the Han Dynasty's relationship with the Xiongnu came as early as 133 BC.
Xiongnu headdress. Photo Chinese internet.
Some Chinese generals laid a trap for Shan-yü Junchen, by having agents promise to open the Chinese city of Mayi, located in northern Shanxi, to the Xiongnu. However, large Chinese forces hid to attack them as they approached the city. However, Junchen became suspicious. He squeezed the truth out of two Chinese prisoners and then retreated to the steppe in good order.
However, trust was broken, and "After this, the Hsiung-nu severed friendly relations with the Han people and began to attack the border defenses wherever they were. Again and again they crossed the border and carried out countless raids. At the same time, they continued to be greedy as ever, benefiting from the border markets and craving Han goods, and the Han people continued to allow them to trade on the markets to exhaust their resources."
However, in 129 BC The Chinese sought to seize the initiative: "The Han government sent four generals, each with a force of 10,000 cavalry, to make surprise attacks on the barbarians at the border markets. General Wei Ch'ing rode out of Shang-ku to Lung-ch'eng and killed or captured 700 of the enemy(reportedly in Ordos). Kung-sun Ho moved on from Yen-men, but took no prisoners. Kung-sun Ao rode north from Tai Province, but was defeated by the barbarians and lost over 7,000 of his men. Li Kuang advanced from Yenmen, but was defeated and captured, although he later managed to escape and return to Han. On their return, Kung-sun Ao and Li Kuang were thrown into imprisonment by the Han officials, but were allowed to buy pardons for their misdeeds and were reduced to the status of ordinary citizens."
Xiongnu banner decoration - also an eagle. One might think that the Xiongnu's favorite heraldic animal was the eagle. Photo Chinese Internet.
In the following years, the Xiongnu carried out raids into Chinese territory, taking thousands of prisoners, and Chinese generals conducted raids deep into enemy territory with varying success.
By 111 BC, Han forces were having a hard time finding the Xiongnu. Sima Qian writes: "Three years after Wu-wei became Shan-yü, Han, after having destroyed the southern Yüch kingdom, sent the former charioteer Kung-sun Ho at the head of a force of fifteen thousand cavalry; they rode more than two thousand li north from Chiu-yüan, and reached Fu-chü-ching before returning, but they did not see a single Hsiung-nu. He also sent Chao P'o-nu, the former Marquis of Ts'ung-p'iao, with over ten thousand cavalry out of Ling-ch; Chao P'o-nu continued several thousand li and reached the Hsiung-ho River (The Yellow River), before he returned, but he did not see a single Hsiung-nu either."
"When Boy-Shan-yü came to power, he sent two envoys, one to the new Shan-yü to offer condolences on the death of his father, and the other to offer condolences to the Wise King of the Right Wing, hoping in this way to create discord between the two leaders. However, when the envoys entered Hsiung-nu territory, Hsiung-nu's guides took them both to Shan-yü, who discovered what they were doing, became furious, and detained them both."
Sima Qian relates: "In the winter of 104 BC, the Hsiung-nu were plagued by heavy snowfall, and many of their animals died of hunger and cold. Shan-yü, still a young boy, had a great fondness for warfare and slaughter, and many of his subjects were restless under his leadership. The Hsiung-nu's commander-in-chief of the Left Wing wanted to assassinate Shan-yü and secretly sent a messenger to report to Han: "I want to assassinate Shan-yü and surrender to Han, but Han is too far away. If He wants to send a group of troops to meet me, I will immediately carry out the plan."
Bronze belt plate found in North China, probably depicting a Xiongnu mounted archer. The large eyes and big nose are clearly Caucasian features, characterizing him as Xiongnu. Photo kronk.spb.ru.
"In the spring of the previous year, the Han Dynasty sent Chao P'o-nu, the Marquis of Cho-yeh, to lead a force of over twenty thousand cavalry, about two thousand li northwest from So-fang, and to make contact with the commander-in-chief of the left wing at Mount Ch'an-chi before returning."
"Chao P'o-nu arrived at the scene of the meeting, but before the commander-in-chief of the left wing could carry out the assassination, his plot was exposed. Shan-yü had him executed and sent the forces of his left wing to attack Chao P'o-nu. Chao P'o-nu had by this time begun to retreat, taking prisoners and killing several thousand Hsiung-nu soldiers on the way. When he was still four hundred li from the city, 80,000 Hsiung-nu cavalry fell upon him and surrounded him. Chao P'o-nu sneaked out of the encirclement alone during the night to look for water, but was captured alive by Hsiung-nu scouts. The bulk of the Hsiung-nu army then continued their attack on Chao P'o-nu's army. Kuo Tsung and Wei Wang, two of the most senior officers in the Han army, made a plan and said: "We all, down to the The company commanders are afraid that, having lost our commanding general, we will be executed under military law. Therefore, no one is eager to return home." Finally, the entire army surrendered to Hsiung-nu. The Boy Shan-yü was delighted with his capture."
"Afterwards, the Han Dynasty sent General Li Kuang-li with thirty thousand cavalry north from Chiu-ch'an to attack the Wise King of the Right Wing in the Heavenly Mountains. He killed or captured over ten thousand of the enemy before he turned back. However, Hsiung-nu surrounded him with a large force, and he was barely able to escape; six or seven out of every ten of his men were killed."
Xiongnu brooch found at Ivolga. Photo Chinese internet.
"The Han Dynasty also sent General Kung-sun Ao north from Hsi-ho; at Mount Cho-t'u he joined forces with Lu Po-te, but neither succeeded in killing or capturing any of the enemy. The Han Dynasty also sent the cavalry commander Li Ling with a force of five thousand infantry and cavalry to march north from Ch'en. After they had advanced over a thousand li, they fought against Shan-yü. Li Ling killed or captured over ten thousand of the enemy, but his supplies soon ran out and his men began to scatter and flee home. The Hsiung-nu then surrounded Li Ling, who surrendered to them. Most of his men were wiped out, only four hundred of them managed to return safely. Shan-yü treated Li Ling with great honor and gave him his own daughter to wife."
"Two years later, the Han Dynasty again sent General Li Kuang-li with 60,000 cavalry and 100,000 infantry to march north from So-fang. General Lu Po-te led about 10,000 men to join them, while General Han Yüeh advanced with 30,000 infantry and cavalry from Wu-yüan. General Kung-sun Ao marched out from Yen-men with 10,000 cavalry and 30,000 infantry. When Shan-yü received news of their advance, he moved his entire family and wealth far north beyond the Yü-wu River. He himself, with 10,000 cavalry, waited south of the river and challenged Li Kuang-li to battle. Li Kuang-li's lines collapsed, and he began to retreat and fought a running battle with Shan-yü for over ten days. But when he learned that his entire family had been wiped out as a result of the witchcraft conflict, he and all his men surrendered to the Hsiung-nu. Only one or two out of every 1,000 men, who went out with him managed to return to China."
"General Han Y'ch failed to kill or capture any of the enemy, while Kung-sun Ao, although he fought with the wise king of the left wing, was unable to gain any advantage and also retreated."
Bronze belt plate found in North China, probably of Xiongnu origin. It shows an animal fighting several goats. But the motif of the animal fighting one or more snakes seems to be completely absent from Xiongnu, despite being found all the way from the eastern steppe over the Tibetan highlands and Asia Minor to Scandinavia. Photo Chinese internet.
Sima Qian concludes: "Of all the groups that went out to attack the Xiongnu this year, there was no one among those who returned to testify to the great success of the various generals, and therefore no honors were bestowed. An imperial decree had been issued ordering the arrest of the great Sui Tan. He in return spread the news that the family of General Li Kuang-li had been exterminated, and thus he induced Li Kuang-li to surrender to the Xiongnu."
Here, around 99 BC, Sima Qian ends his chapter on the Xiongnu. They are mentioned and discussed in several other of his chapters, but this can be taken up another time.
In 9 AD, the usurper Wang Mang seized power in China, overthrew the Han Dynasty and established his own dynasty called the "Shijianguo" or "Xin" dynasty.
But in 11 AD, the Yellow River changed its course towards the sea and flooded entire provinces.
Until then, the river had flowed into the Bo Hai north of the Shantung peninsula, but in a dramatic way it changed to flow into the Yellow Sea south of the peninsula. Rebellion broke out, and in 23 AD furious peasants killed the usurper Wang Mang, who had failed to keep on good terms with the powers of Heaven, as was the highest duty of an emperor.
In 25 AD, the Han dynasty was reestablished as The Eastern Han Dynasty.
In the following years, a fierce internal struggle for power prevented the Xiongnu from reviving their power.
In 46 AD, Punu was elected to Shan-yü of the Xiongnu in the north, but in the south, eight disgruntled peoples and their nobles proclaimed another candidate named Bi, as their Shan-yü.
The Hou Hanshu records that in 50 AD, Shan-yü Bi sent his son to Luoyang and offered to submit to the new Eastern Han Dynasty in return for help against Punu. His Southern Xiongnu then broke permanently with the Xiongnu in the north and entered Ordos, setting up a rival court, only for the Southern Xiongnu.
After that, 58 Xiongnu tribes are said to have defected to the Han Dynasty.
Seal of a Xiongnu king. On the left is the seal itself, which is a mirror image of the intended text. In the middle is the intended text in Han dynasty Chinese characters, which are quite different from modern Chinese characters. On the right is the text in modern Chinese characters. It reads "King of the Han Xiongnu, who has returned to righteousness and has recognized Han". Photo Babelstone Wikipedia.
After the Southern Xiongnu were subjugated by the Han Dynasty, they moved beyond the borders of the Han Dynasty, probably into areas of the modern provinces of Shanxi, Shaanxi, Ningxia and Gansu, where they had previously lived. At the same time, there was a large immigration into these areas of ethnic Chinese.
The Southern Xiongnu seem to have acquired a similar position in relation to the emperor, as the Cossacks had in relation to the Russian Tsar. They retained a certain autonomy against participating in the emperor's wars.
In the "Book of Wei" 554 AD, section 65 reads:
"The Book of Documents records that "the barbarians were sly and cunning", and the Book of Songs describes the Xiongnu as "extremely powerful". This indicates that they had long been a threat to China. Since the Qin and Han dynasties, the Xiongnu had long been a threat to China's borders." - "The Xiongnu, however, were the most pressing. The Hu cavalry invasions to the south exposed China to attack on three fronts. Therefore, Wei and Huo generals were repeatedly ordered to launch expeditions deep into the north, pursuing the Chanyü dynasties and seizing their fertile territory. Later, they defended the border and became vassal states that gradually declined. In the Jian'an period, 196 - 220 AD, the Chanyü Huchuquan of the Southern Xiongnu came to the court, and the emperor retained the eunuchs and sent the Righteous King to rule his kingdom. As a result, the Xiongnu became more submissive, than they had been in the Han period."
After the collapse of the Han Dynasty in the early third century, China fell into chaos. The Xiongnu groups maintained their own social structures. During the Sixteen Kingdoms period, at least three of the kingdoms were formed by Xiongnu groups, namely Former Zhao, which was formed by the Chuge Xiongnu, Northern Liang, which was created by the Lushuihu Xiongnu, and the most famous, which was the Hu Xia or Helian Xia, which was founded by the Helian Xiongnu group.
Over the course of history, the Xiongnu gradually merged with other peoples, and they are no longer heard of as an ethnic group.
The Chinese surnames Dugu and Helian are said to represent the Xiongnu.
9. The Northern Xiongnu in the Tarim Basin
But the Northern Xiongnu had not given up.
"Hou Hansu" relates that: "The new Emperor Zhang did not want to exhaust and destroy the Empire for the sake of the Yi and Di peoples, and in 77 AD he withdrew the Empire's commanders and again closed down the state's food production in Hami. However, the division commander Ban Chao remained in Khotan and made peace by reconciling all the kingdoms."
However, regardless of the Emperor's wishes, the fighting in the Tarim Basin continued.
"Ural Cossacks on the march". Painting by an unknown artist, who was possibly an Austrian officer named Andras Petrich 1765-1842. We should not be fooled by the tired horses and sad-looking men. It was Cossacks who conquered the Khanate of Siberia beyond the Urals in 1580, thus initiating Russia's conquest of Siberia.
Modern artistic representations of the Xiongnu almost always show desperate dark types with narrow modern Asian eyes. Not that the artists knows anything about it, but after all it takes place in Asia, and dark desperate Asian types give a better artistic "touch" than sad looking caucasian types with long beards.
The present writer has absolutely no knowledge about that Cossacks were descended from the Xiongnu, but I just think that it is likely that the Xiongnu resembled the Cossacks in the old paintings. Namely Caucasian types with long beards, big noses and large eyes. Photo Ural Cossacks, 1799, Wikipedia.
"Hou Hansu" reports: "In the first year of Yongyuan, which is 89 AD, during the reign of Emperor He, the commander-in-chief Dou Xian won a great victory over the Xiongnu. In the second year, 90 AD, General Dou Xian sent deputy commander Yan Pan at the head of more than 2,000 cavalry on a surprise attack against Hami, which he captured."
In 91 AD, the northern Shan-yü travelled with his followers to the northwest and has not been seen since.
But the Xiongnu could do without their Shan-yü.
"Hou Hansu" tells about 105 AD: "After the death of Emperor Xiaohe, the western regions rebelled. In the first year of Yongchu," which is 107 AD, "of Emperor An's reign, the protectors-general Ren Shang and Duan Xi and others were surrounded and attacked several times. The imperial government proclaimed that the position of protector-general should be abolished because these regions were remote, difficult and dangerous to reach. From that time on, the western regions were therefore abandoned. The northern Xiongnu immediately took control and unified all kingdoms again."
In conjunction with the "Farther Jushi" people, the "Northern Xiongnu" attacked and killed the imperial envoy Suo Ban and others. They then attacked the king of "Nearer Jushi" and forced him to flee.
Left: Scythian animal ornamentation, which is nervous, intense and lively. Photo State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.
In the middle: Xiongnu belt buckle decoration. The motif is symmetrical and orderly. Note the right-left symmetry. The fight between the animal and the snake is completely absent in Xiongnu. Photo Hing Chao Collection. City University of Hong Kong.
Right: The London Animal. Scandinavian animal ornamentation is abstract and intellectual and focuses a lot on the fight between the animal and the snake.
"Later, the Northern Savages", who were "The Northern Xiongnu", "joined forces with the "Jushi" in Turfan to invade the Hexi Corridor west of the Yellow River. The imperial government was unable to prevent it. After discussions, it was decided to close the Yumen and Yang Passes to prevent disasters".
"Hou Hansu" relates that "Northern Xiongnu" held out in the Tarim Basin for a long time. "They allied themselves with the Nearer Jushi people and conquered Turfan in 119 AD. In 126 AD they were subjugated by the Han dynasty general Ban Yong, while a branch led by a "Huyan king" continued to resist." The Huyan king was last mentioned in 151 AD, when he launched an attack on Hami, which was repulsed by Han forces. According to the Book of Wei from the fifth century, the remnants of the northern Shan-yü people settled as the Yueban near Kucha and submitted to the Wusun; while the rest fled over the Pamir Mountains towards Kangju in Transoxania. It is said that this group later became the Hephthalites.
"In the spring of the fourth year," around 135 AD, "the king of the Northern Xiongnu people, Huyan, led troops to invade the Further Jushi territory. Since the Jushi Six Kingdoms bordered on "The Northern Savages", who were "The Northern Xiongnu" and protected the western regions, the emperor ordered the governor of Dunhuang to send troops from all the kingdoms."
It is also interesting to note that The Jushi consisted of many subgroups.
The last mention in the "Hou Hansu" about the "Northern Xiongnu", perhaps around 155 AD, is that a certain Aluoduo, king of the "Distant Jushi", returned from the "Northern Xiongnu", which is the "Northern Savages", where he had been in exile.
10. Xiongnu and the Huns
In "The Silk Road", edited by Susan Whitfield, Etienne de la Vaissiere explains that the Xiongnu's real name is "Hun".
A Sogdian letter from the fourth century has been found that mentions the Xiongnu's raids in connection with the collapse of the Jin Dynasty. Here, the Xiongnu are referred to by the term "Xwn", which is the Sogdian spelling of the word "Hun".
The author of the letter proves in another way a first-hand knowledge of the events. Therefore, he should be considered a very reliable source.
In 280 AD the Kushan monk Zhu Fahu of Dunhuang translated the "Tahagataguhya-sutra" from Sanskrit into Chinese. Here he translated the Sanskrit word, "Huna", into "Xiongnu". He did so again in 308 AD when translating the "Lalivavistara".
In the not-so-distant past, these "Huna" had driven the Yuezhi from their original land with their ancestral tombs. Zhu Fahu was a Kushan, and he was directly descended from the Yuezhi. He could not have been in any doubt, as to who these "Xiongnu" were and what their real name was.
Indian sources also referred to the Xiongnu as "Huna".
But perhaps "Hun" is nevertheless a generic term, because it gives associations to the English "hunger" and "hungry", Danish "hungre" and German "hungrig". It may have been a more general term, describing people who are prone to robbery and plunder because they are hungry.
But it may be that the Xiongnu became known in Europe by their real name, which they called themselves, "Hun".
"Wei Shu" is the history of the Wei Dynasty. It was written in the period 437 AD - 457 AD. Here it says: "Formerly, the Xiongnu killed the king of Sogdiana and took the country. "King Huni" is the third ruler in line."
We remember Saxo Grammaticus's story about King Frode and the war between the Danes and the Huns. Here he wrote: "Two years had King Hun devoted to his preparations for the campaign against the lands around the east."
When one reads this, it is hard not to think that it cannot be true that the king of the Huns was simply called "King Hun", that is too simple. It must be something the old storytellers have invented, one immediately thinks.
But, as you can see, Saxo Grammaticus was very well-informed. Some of the Hun kings were actually called "Huni" or perhaps "Hun". Therefore, it is possible that the Huns simply got their name from their king.
We remember Jordanes' account of Priscus' visit to Attila, king of the Huns, preserved to our time in his "History of the Goths": "He was short in stature with a broad chest, a large head, thin beard with gray splashes, a stuffed nose, and he displayed the features of his ancestors (originis suae signa restiuens). His personality was such that he always carried himself with great self-confidence." That sounds like a Mongol type.
However, in Priscus' own account this detailed description is not found.
On the statue at General Hou Qui-bing's tomb and Xiongnu belt buckle ornaments, the depicted persons also to have rather large eyes. They do not resemble Mongoloid types.
11. The Wusun people
On the plain of the Ili River and by the salt lake, which bears the Turkish name, Issyl Kul, lived a people of Caucasian type. We know nothing of their language. The Chinese called them "Wusun".
The shore of the salty lake, Issyl Kul.
Sima Qian says that "The Wusun live two thousand li northeast of Ta-yüan,(Fergana) moving from place to place in the area with their herds of animals. Their customs are very much like the Hsiung-nus."
"The Wusun recognizes the overlordship of the Xiongnu, but they have their own king, who has the title "kiun-mo". He calls himself the Son of Heaven."
The great traveler, Zhang Qian, says that when he was a prisoner of the Xiongnu for 10 years during his first journey around 130 BC, he heard the following story about the Wusun:
"When I lived with the Hsiung-nu, I heard of the king of the Wusun people, named K'un-mo. K'un-mo's father was the ruler of a small state on the western border of the Hsiung-nu territory. The Hsiung-nu attacked and killed his father, and K'un-mo, who was only an infant, was thrown into the wilderness to die. But the birds came and flew over the place where he was, with meat in their beaks, and the wolves suckled him, so that he was able to survive. When Shan-yü heard of this, he believed that K'un-mo was a god."
"Shan-yü considered this a marvel, and after he had taken care of the boy until he became grown-up, he made him a military leader, in which capacity he distinguished himself on several occasions. Shan-yü restored his father's people and made him governor of the western fortified camp.
"As he received tribute from his people, K'un-mo could attack the smaller neighboring states with tens of thousands of archers, he gathered experience in warfare, and after the death of the old Shan-yü, he retired to a distant place and refused to appear at the Xiongnu court."
"The Xiongnu sent selected troops to attack him, but since they were unable to overcome him, they considered him a spirit, whom they did best to keep a certain distance from and not attack in earnest."
Stone man from the plain of the Ili River and the Issyk Kul salty lake. Photo Chinese internet.
"Xiongnu's Shan-yü continued to claim nominal supremacy over K'un-mo and his Wusun people".
In 115 BC Zhang Qian traveled westward on orders from his emperor to seek out the Wusun and create an alliance against the Xiongnu, which project failed.
He wrote in his report that: "There are 120,000 families in the country, and their army numbers 188,000 mounted men. The country is cold and rainy, but with extensive pastures. The mountains are covered with pine forests. The Wusun breed horses. The rich ones can own up to five thousand horses."
"They have twenty or thirty thousand skilled archers and they are very brave in battle. They were originally subjects of the Hsiung-nu, but later, when they had become stronger, they refused to attend the gatherings at the Hsiung-nu court, although they still consider themselves part of the Hsiung-nu nation."
"The people have "pig heads", they are cunning as wolves and extremely unreliable. They are very prone to raids, and they are typically violent as a nation."
A royal marriage was arranged between K'un-mo of Wusun and a Chinese princess of the Han Dynasty.
"The Wusun sent a thousand horses to the Han Dynasty as a betrothal gift for the Han princess, whom they had been promised. The Han Dynasty then sent a princess of the imperial family to become the wife of the Wusun leader. K'un-mo, the king of Wusun, made her the wife of his right side."
"Hsiung-nu also sent one of their women to marry K'un-mo, and he made her his wife on the left side. Later, saying that he was too old, he gave the Han princess to his son to be his wife".
The princess wrote a poem:
My family has married me off
Helpless as I am, I can do nothing
In a distant, foreign kingdom
Married to the king of Wusun
My dwelling is simple
The walls are covered with felt and not with silk
My daily food is pork
I drink milk to that
I am burdened with dark thoughts
My heart is heavy with sorrow
If only I were a yellow stork
Then I would fly back to my nest.
The new queen bore the title "kiun-di". For her sake, a Chinese palace was built in the Wusun king's camp. This royal residence was called "The Palace in the Red Valley" by the Chinese. It was located some distance from the salty lake.
6-700 years later, around 600 AD, the scholar Yan Shigu added in "Han Shu" a comment on the appearance of the Wusun people: "The Wusun in the Western regions are the same as the "Rong" people. (Rong is an old term for the peoples of the steppe around China) Nowadays, these "Hu" people have green eyes, red beards, their appearance is like bearded monkeys, and they are originally of this kind."
In fact, only 30 years after Yan Shigu made his note in "Han Shu", in 630 AD, the budhist pilgrim Xuanzang met the Great Khan of the Western Turks precisely on the Ili Plain on the shores of lake, Issyk Kul.
The salt lake with the Turkish name Issyl Kul. Photo Chinese internet.
Xuanzang wrote that: "he was dressed in a robe of green satin, and his hair was tied up only by a silk ribbon, ten feet long, which was wrapped around his head and fell down behind. He was surrounded by about 200 officers, all of whom were dressed in brocade cloth, with their hair braided. On his right and left side he was accompanied by independent troops all dressed in furs and fine spun garments. They were armed with lances and bows, carried banners, and mounted on camels and horses. The government could not estimate their number."
Chinese archaeologists have stated that the Wusun were a short-skulled caucasian people. By their very nature of the case, they cannot say anything about the color of their eyes and hair.
Russian archaeologists have shown that finds from the Wusun area around the Ili River closely resemble what they describe as Xiongnu finds from Tuva. Characteristic Wusun burials have also been found at Lake Zaisan in the Altai Mountains, which resemble those from the Ili River area. Therefore, we can believe that the Wusun were a people closely related to those whom archaeologists call the Xiongnu in the northern steppe of Tuva and Mongolia.
Stone man from the plain of the Issyk Kul lake. Photo Chinese internet.
The Chinese princess's son was called something like Ud-zyty. Already during his reign the country was divided into large and small areas, and the camp around the Palace in the Red Valley was abandoned forever, it is said.
On the plain by the salt lake stand the stone men. They stand in many places in Central Asia. The stone men on The Ili Plain may have been built by the Saka, who originally lived there, the Yuezhi, who lived there briefly, the Wusun, or the Western Turks.
It was a custom among some Indo-European peoples to erect stones over brave men and to depict gods and ancestors in stone - a custom that the ancient Greeks perfected.
