The Xianbei ( ) were a significant nomadic people residing in Manchuria and eastern Mongolia, or Xianbei Shan.

Origins

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.

The Xianbei people consisted of a federation of non-Han groups of which the most important was the Tuoba (拓跋). During the Han Dynasty, they occupied the steppes in Mongolia, Hebei and Liaodong. After the downfall of the Xiongnu, the Xianbei set up the nomadic Xianbei state. After the fall of the Han dynasty, the Xianbei established extensive presence in China.

Dynasties

During the Sixteen Kingdoms (304-439) period, the Xianbei founded six kingdoms in China proper, including the Former Yan (281-370), Western Yan (384-394), Later Yan (383-407), 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.

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, 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, while those who remained behind in the northern grassland emerged as later powers to rule over China.

Modern Descendants

Today the "Monguor" as known in the West and as “Tu Zu” in China 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.

See also

• Change of Xianbei names to Han names
• Xianbei state
• Tribes in Chinese history
• Wu Hu
• Sixteen Kingdoms
• Wuhuan
• Northern Wei Dynasty
• Chinese sovereign
• Bu Dugen

Notes

1. Hao, Weimin (郝维民) and Qimudedaoerji (齐木德道尔吉), 2007, Neimenggu tong shi gang yao, Outline of Comprehensive History of Inner Mongolia 内蒙古通史纲要. Beijing (北京, Renmin chu ban she [People's Press] 人民出版社. p. 17).
2. 鮮卑石室（嘎仙洞）祝詞Xianbei cave(Chinese Traditional Big5 code page) via Internet Archive
3. Ma, Changshou [馬長壽] (1962). Wuhuan yu Xianbei [Wuhuan and Xianbei] 烏桓與鮮卑. Shanghai [上海], Shanghai ren min chu ban she [Shanghai People's Press] 上海人民出版社.
4. Liu, Xueyao [劉學銚] (1994). Xianbei shi lun [the Xianbei History] 鮮卑史論. Taibei [台北], Nan tian shu ju [Nantian Press] 南天書局.
5. Wang, Zhongluo [王仲荦] (2007). Wei jin nan bei chao shi [History of Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties] 魏晋南北朝史. Beijing [北京], Zhonghua shu ju [China Press] 中华书局.
6. Chen, Yinke [陳寅恪], 1943, Tang dai zheng zhi shi shu lun gao [Manuscript of Discussions on the Political History of the Tang Dynasty] 唐代政治史述論稿. Chongqing [重慶], Shang wu [商務].
7. Chen, Yinke [陳寅恪] and Tang, Zhenchang [唐振常], 1997, Tang dai zheng zhi shi shu lun gao [Manuscript of Discussions on the Political History of the Tang Dynasty] 唐代政治史述論稿. Shanghai [上海], Shanghai gu ji chu ban she [Shanghai Ancient Literature Press] 上海古籍出版社.
8. Lü, Jianfu [呂建福], 2002. Tu zu shi [The Tu History] 土族史. Beijing [北京], Zhongguo she hui ke xue chu ban she [Chinese Social Sciences Press] 中囯社会科学出版社.
9. Liaoning Sheng, min zu yan jiu suo [Liaoning Provincial Nationalities Research Instite] 辽宁省民族硏究所 (1986). Xibo zu shi lun kao [Examination on the History of the Xibo Nationality] 锡伯族史论考. Shengyang [沈阳], Liaoning min zu chu ban she [Liaoning Nationalities Press] 辽宁民族出版社.
10. Ji, Nan [嵇南] and Keyao [吳克尧] Wu (1990). Xibo zu [Xibo Nationality] 锡伯族. Beijng [北京], Min zu chu ban she [Nationalities Press] 民族出版社.

References

• Hanshu
• Sanguozhi

External links

• 鮮卑語言The Xianbei language(Chinese Traditional Big5 code page) via Internet Archive