History enthusiasts of many nations "lay claim" to the Xianbei. Chinese literature routinely describes them as a typical mongoloid people, as they consider themselves to be. Koreans have no doubt that they were tungusic peoples, as they believe of themselves. Turkic history enthusiasts often describe them as a "proto-turkic" people, without any real arguments to support such a claim. All parties routinely title the Xianbei kings as "khan", even though it is a turkic title that was not invented in the Sixteen Kingdoms period.
However, there are many indications that the Xianbei were a caucasian people with white skin and often with fair or reddish hair.
The debate over the ethnic origin of the Xianbei is a heated discussion with political overtones that has come up repeatedly. The idea that possible Indo-European peoples could have had their roots within the borders of modern China arouses considerable emotional aversion, which is capable of destroying friendships.
1. The Xianbei Peoples
The Xianbei were a group of people, who lived on the steppe, roughly described in present-day Inner Mongolia with outlying areas to the east and west.
According to "The Perilous Frontier" by Thomas Barfield, in the late Han Dynasty 120 small Xianbei tribes were recorded on the steppe. In comparison, only ten to twenty groups were reported on the entire steppe that could be classified under the name Xiongnu.
The known areas of the Xianbei peoples. Own work.
The Xianbei were apparently more competitive and intolerant, and therefore had a harder time coming together in larger organizations.
However, within a few hundred years, some larger and more numerous Xianbei peoples gathered. The Murong Xianbei formed the Yan states in northeastern China, and the Tuyuhun Xianbei formed a kingdom on the Tibetan Plateau. The most famous is the Tuoba Xianbei, who, according to the "Wei Shu", left their homeland on the plain along the Liao River and settled in the area of "Dai" southeast of the modern city of Hohhot in modern Inner Mongolia and later created the nomadic kingdom of "Northern Wei".
What language they spoke is not known, but the various Xianbei peoples probably understood each other with good will. In a Dunhuang document in Tibetan is told about the language of the Qi Dan people: "In the language they" (Qi Dan) "and the Tuyuhun could largely communicate with each other", and the Qi Dan were descendants of the Xianbei in their original eastern home on the Liao River, just as the Tuyuhun were.
Whether their language was Indo-European, Tungusic or Mongolian is impossible to determine with certainty based on today's lack of knowledge.
The later Qi Dan considered the Tuoba Xianbei to be their ancestors, and they had a deep fascination with lions. One might think that "Liao" means lion, as "lion", "løve", "löwe", "leeuw" or "lew" does in known Indo-European languages.
One might also think that a people who call themselves something like "Dan"
, have Indo-European origin in the recent or distant past, as "Danu" is an ancient Indo-European word for river, which can be found in the ancient names of European rivers, such as Danubius for the Danube, Danastius for the Dniester, Danapris or Danaper for the Dnieper, Rodanus for the Rhone and many others.
2. Early history of Xianbei
The Xianbei have a long and eventful history. "San Guo Zhi" or, "Records of the Three Kingdoms", states that in "Wei Shu" it is reported that the Xianbei got their name from a mountain: "They lived in a separate area at the Xianbei Mountain, hence their name - Their country bordered the Liao River in the east and Xicheng in the west." Xicheng means west city and is not easy to locate.
"San Guo Zhi" continues: "After being defeated by Maodun" (200 BC) "the Xianbei fled all the way to the border of Liaodong and did not compete with other states. They had no official contact with the Han Dynasty and instead bordered on the Wuhuan." Which must indicate that the Wuhuans lived in the area between the Xianbei's original eastern home on the Liao River and Han Dynasty China. It is fitting with that the Wuhuan are often mentioned in connection with the Han Dynasty military, but the Xianbei are not mentioned as frequently.
The Liao River in the modern province of Liaoning and the eastern part of Inner Mongolia. Photo Kmusser Wikipedia.
The Xianbei have a long and eventful history of great kings and bitter defeats.
"They often hold gatherings in late spring, enjoy music on the water, marry their daughters and have their heads shaved in feasts. Unlike the Chinese, their animals include wild horses, ibex and Duan cattle."
During the reign of Emperor Jianwu, which was 25 - 55 AD, "San Guo Zhi" continues "the Xianbei leader, Yu Qiuben, led his people to the imperial court to pay tribute and was stripped of his royal power". Which must mean that his people deprived him of power because he submitted to the emperor.
Xianbei ring. Photo Chinese internet
"During the reign of Emperor Shang Yanping, the Xianbei invaded the eastern border of the empire and killed Zhang Xian, the prefect of Yuyang", wherever it is located.
"During the reign of Emperor Guangwu, the northern and southern Chanyus attacked each other," which occurred in 46 AD. "Xiongnu suffered losses, and Xianbei flourished."
A Han court official named Zang Gong suggested that China should take advantage of the situation and ally with the Xianbei and attack the Xiongnu, but Emperor Guang Wudi firmly rejected further hostilities.
Very early on, Tuoba Xianbei developed a special fondness for the "Dai" region: "At the end of Emperor An's reign", which is 106 - 125 AD "over 20,000 infantry and cavalry were sent to the border to station themselves at strategic points. Later, eight or nine thousand Xianbei cavalry entered the Dai and Macheng Pass areas and attacked the local officials. The Han people sent general Deng Zun and general Ma Xu to pursue and defeat them. The Xianbei leaders Wulun and Qizhiqian, along with over seven thousand others, surrendered to Zun. Wulun was made king, Qizhiqian marquis, and they were given gifts of fine silk. After General Zun's departure, Qizhiqian rebelled again and besieged the Wuhuan commander at Macheng. General Geng Kui and the governor of Youzhou rescued him. Qizhiqian's forces were stronger and commanded tens of thousands of cavalry", which penetraded through the pass and into Dai.
The characters for Xianbei literally mean "fresh thieves". It cannot be a name they called themselves. At the same time, it sounds something like "Xin bai", meaning "new whites". Alphabetized with English consonants and Italian vowels, it would be something like "sjoenbein" as the final "n" symbolizes the first tone, meaning even, neither rising nor falling.
Tuoba Xianbei in Dai would later create the kingdom of Northern Wei, which ended the Sixteen Kingdoms Period.
"San Guo Zhi says "Tou Luhou had served in the Xiongnu army for three years. His wife had been at home and had given birth to a son. When Tou Luhou returned home, he was surprised and wanted to kill him. His wife said, "I once heard thunder while I was walking during the day. I looked up at the sky and saw hail entering my mouth. I swallowed it and I became pregnant. Ten months later I gave birth. This child will be extraordinary and will grow large."
Tou Luhou's wife was thus impregnated by the Thunder God, who we can believe was called "Tuo", which, alphabetized with English consonants and vowels as in Danish, would be something like Tjaar, which is very similar to the Scandinavian thunder god Thor.
"San Guo Zhi continues: "Tou Luhou refused to believe it. His wife then asked her family to adopt him. He was named Tan Shihuai," who lived from 136 to 181 AD. "and he grew up to be brave and strong with extraordinary wisdom. When he was fourteen or fifteen, a leader of another tribe, Bu Ben, seized his mother's family's cattle and sheep. Tan Shihuai pursued him relentlessly on horseback and found all the stolen cattle. As a result, the tribes were filled with fear. He enforced laws and regulations, settled disputes, and no one dared to challenge him. He was then recognized as a leader."
Map of Inner Mongolia, showing Dai, Wei, and Later Zhao. Own work.
Tan Shihuai established his headquarter at Mount Danhan in the present-day Shangyi county, midway between the modern cities of Hohhot and Beijing on the border of the modern provinces of Hebei and Inner Mongolia, where he built a fortress on the banks of the Dai River, which is probably identical to the Binghe River, which means "cold river", probably a modern name.
Many of the peoples of the east and west submitted to Tan Shihuai. He attacked the borders of the Han dynasty, repelling the Dingling invasion from the north and the Buyeo attack from the east. He attacked the Wusun in the west. His territory was comparable to the former Xiongnu territory.
"San Guo Zhi" continues, "Tan Shihuai died at the age of 45, and his son Helian succeeded him. Helian was not as skilled as his father, but he was greedy and indecent, and his judgments were unjust, causing half of the people to revolt." King Helian attacked northern China." - "A commoner who was skilled in crossbow shooting in northern China shot Helian and killed him instantly. His son Qianman was still young, so his brother's son Kuitou succeeded him. After Kuitou ascended the throne, Qianman grew up and fought with Kuitou for the throne, which caused the people to split. After Kuitou's death, his younger brother Budugen ascended the throne. Since Tan Shihuai's death, the position of king has been inherited from generation to generation. After Budugen ascended the throne, the people gradually became weak, but his middle brother Fuluohan also commanded tens of thousands of people and became the grand master."
Typical Xianbei Art - Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Museum.
"Hou Han Shu" quotes a memorandum delivered to the emperor in 177 AD: "Ever since the northern Xiongnu fled" (to the West), "the Xianbei have become strong and numerous, and have taken over all the land formerly belonging to the Xiongnu and claim to have 100,000 warriors - Pure metal and wrought iron have come into the possession of the rebels. Han Chinese deserters have also sought refuge" (with the Xianbei) "and act as their advisors. Their weapons are sharper and their horses are faster than the Xiongnu."
"Hou Han Shu" further quotes a historian from 185 AD: "The Xianbei people invade our borders so often that hardly a year passes in peace, and it is only when the trading season begins that they come forth in humility. But when they do, they are only inclined to appropriate valuable Chinese goods, not because they respect Chinese power or are grateful for Chinese generosity. As soon as they have obtained all that they in any way can, they return to their habit of plundering and destroying."
The Gaxian Cave in northeastern Inner Mongolia. Photo Chinese internet.
"Wei Shu" is the story of Northern Wei, which was founded by the Tuoba Xianbei people. It tells that in 443 AD, a group of horsemen from a people called the Wuluohou came and asked to be presented to Emperor Tuoba Dai. They told him that they had heard of a cave in the northeastern part of the modern province of "Inner Mongolia", today called the "Oroqen Autonomous Banner". The locals worshipped this cave as the Xianbei ancestral shrine, they said, which convinced the king that the legendary rock cave where all the ancestors of the Xianbei people had their original home in the dawn of time had been found.
"Wei Shu" further relates that the king sent one of his men, Li Chang, to investigate the matter. Li Chang found the story to be true and held various ceremonies at the site of the Xianbei's original ancestors. He had an inscription carved on the rock near the cave describing the ceremonies.
The cave and the inscriptions were explored by Professor M.I. Wenping in 1980. It has been inhabited since the Ice Age. It is known today as Gaxian Cave.
3. The Kingdom of Dai
DetailedPedia's proposal for the the line of kings of the Touba Xianbei kingdom of Dai in the period 219 - 376 AD. The Touba Xianbei later created the much larger kingdom of Northern Wei, but they considered the time in Dai to be the lost paradise. There is a gap in the chronology between Tan Shihuai's death in the stronghold at the Dai River in 181 AD and his successors according to DetailedPedia, which starts in 219 AD. But this can easily be filled by the "San Guo Zhi", which above tells of Tan Shihuai's son Helian, his brother's son Kuitou, Helian's son Qianman, and Kuitou's brothers Budugen and Fuluohan. Photo DetailedPedia.
The Tuoba Xianbei people entered history in the kingdom of "Dai". It was located around the modern city of Hohhot or between Hohhot and Beijing in the Chinese province of "Inner Mongolia".
The famous king Tan Shihuai, who was born to a Xianbei woman, who was impregnated by the thunder god by swallowing a hailstone during a severe thunderstorm, settled on the Dai River midway between the modern cities of Beijing and Hohhot perhaps around 165 AD. His descendants were called the Tuoba dynasty. They were kings of the Tuoba Xianbei in the country of Dai, one after the other.
In 376 AD, king Tuoba Shiyijian of Dai lost his wife, who was the sister of the Murong King Huang of "Former Yan".
He asked Huang of Yan for a new wife. However, King Huang demanded a large sum of money for a new princess. King Shiyijian refused to pay and accompanied his refusal with insults. Huang then sent his crown prince with an army against Dai, and king Shiyijian fled into the mountains with all his people. The following year, he sent his brother to Yan to once again ask for a new wife. We do not know if he succeeded. A few months later, an envoy from the Murong kingdom, Yan, arrived to request a princess for the king. King Tuoba Shiyijian accepted the request from Yan and chose his own sister as Huang's wife.
In 376 AD, the kingdom of Dai was attacked by "Former Qin", which was founded by the "Di" people, it is said. The Tuoba people fled again into the mountains, and while there, King Shiyijian died. The invaders succeeded in conquering all of Dai, and it thus ceased to exist as an independent Tuoba Xianbei kingdom.
It is amusing and a bit interesting that "Dai" is pronounced as the first part of the Danish word "dejlig", meaning delightful, which is a unique word. In the neighboring European languages, the corresponding expression would be something like lovely, wonderful, schön, lieblich, lief, härlig or neddingen. "Dejlig" literally means "like (in) Dai"
4. Murong Xianbei's Yan kingdoms
All the nations of North China during the Migration Period are often called something like "Former", "Later", "Northern", "Eastern" and so on. These are all bynames that later historians have given them to keep track of the many countries that were called the same.
Xianbei art could be a little strange - just as they later Qi Dan's also could be.
For example, there were six different kingdoms that called themselves "Yan". There was the original Yan, which existed in ancient China at the same time that Socrates and Plato were walking around Athens. In addition, there were Former Yan (337-370 AD), Later Yan (384-409 AD), Northern Yan (409-436 AD), Southern Yan (398-410 AD), and Western Yan (384-394 AD).
Most Yan kingdoms were established by the Murong Xianbei people. They were short-lived and extremely unstable. For example, "Western Yan" only existed for ten years, and during that time it had seven different rulers, all of whom died unnatural deaths.
5. The kingdom of Northern Wei
The new rulers handed over the Dai region to the Xiongnu people "Tiefu", who were led by kings of the "Liu" dynasty.
The Tiefu royal family had previously borne the name "Dugu", but one of their ancestors had married a woman they believed to be a Han Dynasty princess, and so they changed their name to Liu, which was the family name of the Han emperors.
The Di people of "Former Qin" were briefly masters of the northern plains. However, they became victims of their own over-ambition. They sought to conquer the Chinese Jin Dynasty, which still held sway in southern China. However, they suffered a disastrous defeat against a numerically inferior Chinese army at the Battle of Fei River in 383 AD. far to the south in modern Anhui province.
"Former Qin" then went into decline and Tuoba Gui (386-409), who was the grandson of King Tuoba Shiyijian, saw the opportunity to re-establish the Dai kingdom in the northern part of modern Chinese province of Shanxi. He established his capital at "Pincheng" which is now called Datong.
The Tuoba Xianbei kingdom of "Northern Wei" was established in 386 AD and then absorbed all the small nomadic states in northern China, thus ending the historical period called the Sixteen Kingdoms. In 398 AD, Tuoba Gui proclaimed himself emperor and changed the name of the kingdom to the more ambitious "Wei", meaning very large, powerful. In 494 AD, the capital was moved from Pingcheng to Luoyang. Northern Wei existed until 534 AD, when it split into Eastern Wei and Western Wei.
The sacred royal family of Northern Wei was the Tuoba. It seems to have been the royal family above all. Both the kings of the later Qi Dan (Khitan) and Dan Xiang (Tangut) claimed descent from Tuoba. These kingdoms arose several hundred years after the fall of Northern Wei. Here one can truly speak of "the return of the King". The Tuoba royal line must have had simply enormous prestige.
The royal court, however, only stayed in the capital occasionally. Most of the time they traveled around the country and took care of the kingdom's problems. Twice a year they went up into the mountains to visit their ancestors.
As early as 386 AD - the same year the new kingdom was founded - Tuoba Gui recaptured the former Dai territory. King Liu Peini of the Tiefu Xiongnu surrendered. Two of his brothers, Liu Xian and Liu Kangni, continued the fight against the Tuoba until their deaths.
Another branch of the Tiefu Xiongnu, led by Liu Weichen, was defeated by Tuoba Xiabeii in 391 AD and was killed by his own people. However, one of his sons, Liu Bobo, managed to escape to the Ordos area, where in 407 AD he founded a new kingdom, which he called Xia.
6. Ran Min's massacre on the Jie people
The two Xianbei rulers, Tuoba Gui of Wei and Murong Chui of "Later Yan", united to attack the country of "Later Zhao" which was located in modern Hebei province around the city of Handan.
Two statuettes allegedly depicting foreign merchants - Tang Dynasty - Gansu Provincial museum. The term Western merchants is often used when the finds do not have modern Asian features. Photo Chinese internet.
Later Zhao was originally founded by the "Jie" people. However, a Chinese-born general, Ran Min, had organized a kind of Kristallnacht and massacred all the Jie he could get his hands on. There were said to have been several hundred thousand. They were easily recognizable because of their typical Caucasian appearance, deep eye sockets, large eyes, strong beards, and so on. Some believe that they descended from the Yuezhi. The character for "Jie" literally means something like "castrated sheep" or "animal skin". It cannot be something they called themselves.
Ran Min was the adopted son of a Jie nobleman.
Ran Min's forces had good success at the beginning of the war, but they fell into a Xianbei ambush. Wei's armored cavalry shattered the Chinese lines. General Ran Min was captured alive.
Before he was executed, he was asked why he had overthrown the Jie rulers of Later Zhao. He replied: "If beastly barbarians like you can become emperors, why not me, a descendant of the Yellow Emperor?" - Ethnic Chinese call themselves "Hua Xia", meaning descendant of the Yellow Emperor, Huang Di.
Ran Min's "Later Zhao" ceased to exist in 387 AD.
7. Helian Bobo's Xia Kingdom
In 407 AD, a Tiefu Xiongnu named Liu Bobo founded the kingdom of "Xia" in modern Ningxia and Shaanxi Provinces. He named it "Xia" because of the story that the Xiongnu descended from the ancient Xia Dynasty.
The ruins of Tongwan in Tongwanchang. Photo Chinese Internet.
In 413 AD, he decided to build a capital city that would be absolutely impregnable.
He assigned his evil general Chigan Ali to oversee the construction. The city was named "Tongwan", meaning the United Ten Thousand, as Bobo's goal was to rule over all of China's ten thousand states.
Chigan ordered that all the earth used for the city's ramparts be boiled (with rice) to make it hard and difficult to destroy. He often tested the quality of the ramparts. If an iron wedge was able to penetrate more than an inch into the wall, the chairman in charge of that section of the rampart would be executed, and the body would be used as fill in the interior of the rampart.
Liu Bobo himself supervised the manufacture of weapons and armor. He ordered them to be tested by shooting arrows at the armor; if the arrows could penetrate the armor, the smiths who had made the armor were to be beheaded; if the arrows could not penetrate the armor, the smiths who had made the arrowheads were to be executed. In this way, both fortifications, weapons, and armor became of very high quality.
Ruins of the city of Tongwan in Tongwanchang. Photo Chinese internet.
In 413 AD, King Bobo decided to change his name from "Liu Bobo" to "Helian Bobo". His family had previously adopted the Han emperors' family name of Liu. But Bobo meant that was not appropriate.
A Chinese historian describes Helian Bobo thus: "He was arrogant and cruel, and he treated the people like weeds. He often climbed a tower with a bow and arrow, and whenever he had an impulsive suspicion, dislike, or anger towards a person, he would personally kill that person. If anyone stared at him, he would cut out their eyes. Anyone who burst into unbridled laughter would have their lips cut open with a knife. Anyone who dared to have an opinion different from his would first have their tongue cut out and then their head would be chopped off."
Helian Bobo decided in 424 AD for reasons not recorded in history to push his eldest son, Helian Gui, aside as crown prince and instead appoint another son, Helian Lun, to succeed him. Helian Gui was a very capable general; he immediately led his soldiers against Helian Lun, defeated him, and killed him. When another son, Helian Chang, heard of this, he carried out a surprise attack, killed Helian Gui, took command of his troops, and led them back to the capital, Tongwan. This impressed his father so much so that he appointed Helian Chang as crown prince.
The old man, on the other hand, had very little to spare for another son, Helian Ding. It is said that Ding had too easy to laugh for Bobo's taste.
Miniature clay figures depicting Xianbei people.
Left: A Xianbei king or emperor.
In the middle: A Xianbei man or woman, probably a man.
Right: A Xianbei soldier.
Helian Bobo died in the summer of 425 AD and was succeeded by his son, Helian Chang.
As early as 426 AD, Northern Wei attacked the Xia kingdom of the Helian brothers. With fast cavalry units, they penetrated deep into Xia territory, and in the same year they captured Chang'an (Xian). The young king, Helian Chang, sent his brother Helian Ding with an army to recapture the city. However, the Xia army became engaged in a protracted standoff around Chang'an and got nowhere.
When the Northern Wei emperor, Tuoba Tao, learned that the Xia army was engaged around Chang'an, another Wei army under General Daxi quickly advanced on the Xia fortress of Tongwan and began a siege. The Wei army planted a false rumor in Tongwan that they were short of food. This tempted Helian Chang to abandon his impregnable fortress and launch a counterattack, which, however, completely failed. He fled with the remnants of his army to the city of Shanggui, now Tianshui in Gansu. The Wei army then easily captured his otherwise impregnable Tongwan.
Map of Ningxia and southeastern Gansu. Photo Chinese History Forum.
Helian Ding managed to free his army from the confrontation around Chang'an and join his brother in Shanggui. In the spring of 428 AD, the now unified Xia army retreated further to Pingliang, also in Gansu.
The Wei army was weakened by disease, which tempted the Helian brothers to take the initiative and surround the Wei army. However, during the siege, some Wei units made a sortie, King Helian Chang personally led his men in an effort to stop them, but he fell from his horse and was captured.
His brother Helian Ding now became king of Xia and the Qifu Xiongnu people. He gathered the remnants of the army and retreated towards Pingliang.
The Wei general Daxi felt humiliated that he had almost been defeated by the Xia forces. Despite the fact that he was now seriously short of provisions and also short of water, he pursued the enemy towards Pingliang.
A subordinate Wei officer, who was accused of negligence, deserted and told Helian Ding about the real dire situation of the Wei army. Helian Ding believed him, took the initiative, surrounded the Wei army and captured their general Daxi and his entire army.
A few Wei forces were stationed in the city of Anding and in Chang'an. When they heard that General Daxi had surrendered with his entire army, they abandoned their posts and retreated to the north. This allowed Helian Ding to take back Anding and Chang'an and the entire area without a fight.
Helian Ding regretted that the old Helian Bobo had not appointed him as his successor from the beginning, otherwise Tongwan would not have been lost, he thought.
Xianbei gold belt buckle. Foto self-made, photographed at the Musee Guimet PHGCOM Wikipedia
King Helian Chang was taken back to Northern Wei as a prisoner. He was not executed, on the contrary. The emperor treated him well. The emperor gave him his sister as a wife and appointed him the Prince of Qin. Perhaps the emperor knew that Helian Chang and his brothers were all very capable and experienced generals, who could make a good contribution to the Wei army.
In 431 AD, the southern Chinese Liu Song Dynasty launched an offensive against their enemy and rival, Northern Wei. Helian Ding saw the opportunity to ally with the enemy of his enemies. Xia and Song agreed to defeat Wei and divide their territory between them.
At the same time, in another part of Gansu, political events were developing against Helian Ding and his Xia veterans.
The Qifu Xianbei state, "Western Qin", was under severe pressure from its neighbors, the Tuyuhun Xianbei and the Xiongnu state Northern Liang. King Qifu Mumo decided to surrender to the great power Northern Wei in exchange for the Pingliang and Anding territories as duchies. Of course, they were not available at the time of the agreement, but it was thought that it was only a matter of time. King Qifo Mumo and his army left his kingdom to join Northern Wei in the fight against Xia and Helian Ding.
Two Xianbei figures found in Ningxia, they wear typical Xianbei clothing.
When this intelligence reached Helian Ding, he immediately set out to intercept Qifo Mumo and his army, who had, however, halted in the city of Nan'an, also in Gansu.
However, the Song Dynasty did not take any serious initiative in the war, and Northern Wei decided to turn against Xia and Helian Ding first. The emperor himself led an army against Pingliang, which was defended by Ding's younger brother Helian Shegan. The emperor had the captured king Helian Chang try to persuade his brother to surrender. Helian Chang's fate was an illustration of the fair terms they could expect if they surrendered. But Shegan refused to surrender.
When Helian Ding heard that Pinglian was under siege, he tried to turn back and come to his younger brother's aid, but he was cut off by a sizable Wei army led by General Tuxi Bi. The Wei general tricked Ding into thinking that his army was only a small force, thereby causing an attack from Helian Ding. In the ensuing battle, the Xia army was badly defeated and retreated to the Chingdu Plain near Pingliang, where they were surrounded by the Wei army. They held out for several days - without water or food. Eventually, Ding managed to fight his way out of the encirclement, but most of his army was lost and he himself was seriously wounded. He gathered the survivors and fled to Shangui.
Around the year 431 AD, Helian Shegan and another brother Helian Duluogu were forced to surrender both Pingliang and Anding.
Xianbei cavalry of Eastern Wei.
Helian Ding gathered a final army and marched north to attack the small Xiongnu state of Northern Liang, intending to take over its territory and thereby ensure the existence and survival of his people. However, the Tuyuhun king, Murong Mugui, had foreseen this and sent an army to cut him off. Just as the Xia army was about to cross a river, they were attacked by the Tuyuhun, who captured Helian Ding and all his people. Mugui handed Helian Ding over to Northern Wei in 432 AD in exchange for being appointed Prince of Xiqin and receiving other rewards.
For reasons not recorded in history, Helian Chang escaped from his gilded captivity in 434 AD. However, he was captured by Wei generals west of the Yellow River, who executed him. After that, the Wei emperor gave up on winning the loyalty of the Helian brothers, and they were all executed.
This was the end of the Tiefu Xiongnu people.
8. Tuoba Wei's mobile warfare
As a defense against the nomads to the north, the Chinese had always put their trust in the Great Wall, gifts, and bribes.
Xianbei cavalry. Photo Chinese internet.
Tuoba, on the other hand, used mobile warfare. Emperor Tuoba Tao (408-452 AD), explained how to fight the Rouran nomads to the north: "The Chinese are foot soldiers, and we are soldiers on horseback. What can a herd of goats and heifers do against tigers and a pack of wolves?"
"With the Rouran people, it is like this: they graze north in the summer, when autumn comes they move south, and in the winter they raid our pastures. We only need to attack them in the summer on their pastures. On "At this time their horses are useless, the stallions are busy with the young mares, and the mares are busy with their foals. If we attack them there and cut them off from their pastures and their water, within a few days we will either have conquered or destroyed them."
During Tuoba Tao's reign, the area of Northern Wei was doubled, practically uniting all of North China under his rule.
9. Emperor Tuoba Tao according to historian Sima Guang
Sima Guang beskrev Tuoba Tao i sin "Zhi Zhi Tong Jian", which means "Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government":
The Emperor of Wei was strong and brave and calm and resolute. Whether it was about to defend a town or to fight on the battlefield, he was always in the frontline. His bodyguards could suffer losses, but his expression was always the same, and therefore they were humble and impressed by him and willing to fight hard to the death. He was also modest, and he was satisfied with his clothes and his food, as long as it was sufficient."
A Xianbei king of Northern Zhou - Longquan Mountain. Photo Chinese internet.
When his officials suggested that he should strengthen the defense of the capital and rebuild the palace, they argued with "I Ching,": "Princes and dukes must build defenses to ensure their homes and property," and with Xiao He: "An emperor may be home anywhere in his empire, but if his home is not sufficiently grand and luxurious, he cannot demonstrate his strength," he replied: "the ancient sages said, "what it depends on is flexibility, not secure defenses. Helian Bobo used boiled soil to build his city, and I destroyed his state; it was not because he was not safe enough. Right now there is no peace in the country, and we need manpower, and I despise large buildings. What Xiao Han said was not right."
He also felt that money should be spent on the state and the military and they should not be wasted. He handed out money as rewards only to those families, whose sons had died for the state or those who significantly had contributed to the nation. When he sent generals out, he always gave them instructions personally, and those, who did not follow his advice, most often did not reach their goal.
He was also good in judging his men's personalities and were able to select generals among its soldiers, he appointed only officials, who were qualified, not those who had good connections. He was very skilled in observation and could see, what was happening under the surface, and his advisers could not keep him from important information. He rewarded the ordinary soldiers and common people if they deserved it, and he punished men in high offices if they deserved it. He protected also not those, as he usually favored, and he often said: "I and the people obey the laws, and how dare you ignore them?"
However, he was cruel and often handed the death penalty, and he often bitterly regretted the executions.
10. The Gai Wu Rebellion
Two soldiers in typical Xianbei dress. Photo Chinese Internet.
In the autumn of 445 AC, a Xiongnu named Gai Wu started a rebellion against Northern Wei in the previous "Former Qin" area in modern Shaanxi. Very quickly a lot of other Xiongnu and Han Chinese joined the rebellion. Gao sought and obtained the support of the Liu Song regime in South China, as he declared his loyalty as a vassal.
The local authorities failed for to quell the rebellion in the birth, and the Gai insurgency was growing still stronger, as he proclaimed himself the title of "Prince of Tiantai".
In the spring of 446 AC, the emperor Tuoba Tao personally led successful attacks on one of Gai Wu's allies, the Han insurgent, Xue Yongzong. By the news of Yongzong's defeat, Gai Wu fled into the mountains, and the emperor mercilessly punished those, who had supported the rebellion, they were all killed without mercy.
When the Wei forces took Chang'an (Xian), they found a big quantity of weapons hidden in Buddhist monasteries. The emperor, therefore, believed that the monks had collaborated with the Gao Wu rebels. Therefore, all Buddhist monks in the town were killed, the temples demolished and the Holy Scriptures burned. He subsequently issued a ban on Buddhism throughout his empire.
11. Dowager-Empress Feng and Emperor Tuoba Hong's integration and chinezation policy
All the conqueror peoples of the Migrations Age in Europe as well as in Asia, established a society based on a dual system, as it is called. It was essentially a kind of apartheid system. The conquering people was an upper class that took care of the military, administration and religious affairs, while the original inhabitants were farmers, merchants and craftsmen who run the basic production.
The Franks conquered the Roman province of Gaul, including farmers and craftsmen. The conquerors thought that it was their natural right, that they and all their descendants should enjoy the country they honestly had won by the sword. Only the French Revolution more than a thousand years after abolished their inborn nobility privileges.
A blond group with Buddha in the middle. Photo Chinese internet
Northern Wei was also such a migratory state. The Xianbei Tuoba people were conquerors and master people, and they formed the core of the military. As Emperor Wudi Tai expressed himself: "The Chinese are foot soldiers, and we are soldiers on horseback." It was not the case that the Chinese were slaves, but they had clearly an inferior status just as the peasants had in medieval France.
But the difference between Europe and China have probably been that in Europe the common people and the masters were basically of the same race. If one did not know or were able to conclude from dress, speech and manners, one could not say, who were masters and who were the subjects.
There are stories from medieval European peasant revolts, where peasants are described as "small, black and badly armed". But, on the time of the French Revolution, there are no indications of any ethnic difference between the estates.
But in migration time North China there seemed to have been a rather visible ethnic difference between the masters and the subjects. As Ran Min said before he was executed: "If brute barbarians as you can become emperors, why not I, a descendant of the Yellow Emperor?" It is also logically included in the label "Five Hu" since the term "Hu" describes the physical appearance.
A Buddha from the Yungang Caves at Datong with a high nose bridge and rather narrow eyes, a compromise. Photo Chinese internet.
Kings and emperors were responsible for maintaining the delicate balance between the conquerors and the people. The barbarian conqueror peoples were the backbone of the states and without them, they would disintegrate. The original inhabitants of the country were the productive part of the nations, and they constituted the overwhelming majority. Any change in the balance between the country's groups could be catastrophic.
Empress Feng and her grandson Emperor Xiaowen (467-499) of Northern Wei introduced in 494 AC a dramatic integration policy. They thought it would make it easier to govern the country, but it turned out to be the end of their nation and at the very end of their people.
The emperor and his family changed their name from the original Xianbei "Tuoba" to the Chinese "Yuan".
The language at court, and any other any administrative centers were changed from Xianbei to Chinese. Officials who did not speak Chinese got a short time to learn it.
Luoyang City Wall - The ruins of ancient Luoyang, the capital of Tuoba, lie some distance from the modern city.
All Xianbei families were ordered to change their traditional Xianbei names into Chinese names.
All Xianbei families were called on to marry their sons and daughters to Chinese persons.
It became forbidden to wear the traditional Xianbei dress. Everybody should dress in Chinese costumes. Artistic creations should be consistent with Chinese culture.
The whole thing reminds about the Longobards, Franks and Goths in Europe. They abandoned all their own native language and took up to speak Latin, maybe they thought it was more noble. But they were not so good at it, so the resulting languages were Italian, French and Spanish; which were Latin mixed up with their native language's words and phrases.
The capital of the country of Wei was transferred from Pincheng to Luoyang. Originally the administrative center was located in Pincheng, which was near the front against the Rouran nomads on the steppe. After moving to Luoyang the army and indigenous Xianbei tribes and clans, which formed the core of the army, were downgraded.
A tomb guardian or other monster from the Xianbei state of Eastern Wei - note his repulsive large eyes.
Mobile warfare as the military strategy was abandoned in favor of a traditional Chinese defense based on stationary positions, gifts and bribes to selected barbarians. The military was downgraded and increasingly populated with convicts and similar.
The traditional Xianbei tribes and clans were furious. An opposition against the integration policy centered around the crown prince Yuan Xun was revealed, and he was forced to commit suicide.
In 528 AC the Northern Wei's last real emperor asked his general Erzhu Rong to march against Luoyang and rid him of his mother's (Dowager Empress Ling) Chinese advisers. However, before they arrived, the Dowager Empress got wind of the plan and she succeeded to kill the young emperor with poison.
Erzhu Rong and his Xianbei army surrounded the palace and killed the entire court together with all their family, two thousand persons, of whom most were Chinese.
The Cosmic Dance - Longmen at Luoyang.
Then he placed his son in law Tuoba Ziyu on the throne, while he retained the command of the military for himself and thus the real power.
While Erzhu Rong and the army was on an expedition in the north, Luoyang was conquered by forces from the neighboring state of "Liang". They deposed Tuoba Ziyu and crowned their own emperor, Tuoba Hao (529 AC).
Erzu Rong returned, defeated the Liang forces and reinstated his son in law as Emperor.
However, in 530 AC the young emperor killed his father in law with the royal scepter. He did not think, it was suitable for a true emperor, to be led by a man of lower rank.
Erzhu Rong's nephew, Erzhu Zhao, avenged his uncle in collaboration with another general, Gao Huan, and together they set a new emperor, Tuoba Ye, on the throne. .
While Erzhu Zhao was on expedition with the army to the north, one of his relatives forced the new emperor to abdicate, and he put his own candidate, Tuoba Gong, on the throne.
Meanwhile, General Gao Huan made friends with men, who hated the Erzhu clan, and in 531 AC he set his own emperor, Tuoba Lang, on the throne. However, already after a year he became unhappy with his emperor's behavior and introduced a new Tuoba Xiu, (531 AC). He gave the new emperor's his eldest daughter as a wife.
A Xianbei king of Northern Zhou. He has a very large head with large eyes, perhaps he was a child. Longquan Mountain. Photo Chinese internet.
However, while Gao Huan was away fighting the enemies of the Empire, Emperor Tuoba Xiu revolted against his general and repudiated his daughter as wife. General Gao had to turn around and insert a new emperor, Tuoba Shao, who received his repudiated oldest daughter as a wife. The former emperor escaped.
However, after a short time, general Gao Huan once again had to set a new emperor on the throne, namely Tuoba Shanjian, who received another of his daughters as a wife.
In 550 AC Gao Huan's son, Gao Yang deposed the last Emperor of the Tuoba royal family and proclaimed himself as the first Emperor of Northern Qi.
As you can see, it looks like the end of the Roman Empire, only faster and more absurd.
In fact, as early as three hundred years before the disaster, the Xianbei in Northern Wei were showing signs of the self-hatred that provoked the massacre of 528 AD and the ensuing chaos and disunity.
Jin Shu records that the Wei general Deng Ai, who lived from 195 to 264 AD, proposed to settle tens of thousands of Xianbei in such a way that they would be dispersed among ethnic Chinese. This was because of their innate bestiality. The main point that Deng Ai pointed out as the difference between the Chinese and the barbaric Hu and Yu was the barbaric hearts of the latter. The worst were the Xianbei. Although the barbarians did not immediately show any malice and seemed to have calmed down, their hearts were too difficult to mend and they would not stay calm forever, and in order to prevent the evil barbarians from becoming destructive and harmful here and there, they were transferred to present-day Gansu Province. In their new settlement, these Xianbei immigrants were called "Baibu", which means "the white tribe" or "the white Xianbei".
12. Xianbei ethnicity
A learned man with a typical Caucasian appearance - Dunhuang cave 202 from the early Tang Dynasty 642 AD. Photo Chinese internet.
As described above, the Chinese general Ran Min had all ethnic Jie people in Later Zhao killed. They were easily identified by their typical Caucasian appearance, deep eye sockets, large noses, thick beards, etc. and were executed.
Ran Min was captured alive. Before he was executed, he was asked why he had overthrown the Jie rulers of Later Zhao. He replied: "If beastly barbarians like you can become emperors, why not me, a descendant of the Yellow Emperor?" Ran Min thus had no doubt that they were different races.
Only about 70 years after Northern Wei was divided into two states, the scholar Yan Shigu (581 - 645 AD) added a comment on the appearance of the Wusun people in the Han Shu: "The Wusun in the Western Regions are the same as the "Rong people" (ancient term for the people 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."
A fair-haired Buddha from cave no. 45 at Dunhuang. Photo Chinese internet.
Yan Shigu served at the court of the first Tang ruler, Li Shimi. He wrote commentaries in both the "Han Shu" and the "Shi Ji".
He lived in a very turbulent period. The dominant Xianbei state, "Northern Wei", had split into Eastern Wei and Western Wei, which in turn developed into Northern Qi and Northern Zhou. Northern Zhou proclaimed itself the Sui Dynasty and claimed power over all of China. However, the new dynasty quickly collapsed in peasant uprisings and civil war. From its ruins, however, the famous Tang Dynasty was raised on the political foundation of coalitions with the peoples of the steppe, especially with many Xianbei tribes and states.
Yan Shigu's comment is not only a statement about the distant Wusun people, it is also a statement about the "Hu" people, who surrounded him. It was undoubtedly the eternally rivaling Xianbei people he had in mind, when he wrote about "green eyes", "red beards", and "bearded monkeys".
Two types on a cave painting. The man on the top left must be one of those whom the scholar Yan Shigu had in mind when he wrote - "these "Hu" people have green eyes, red beards and their appearance is like bearded monkeys."
The book "Zhi Zhi Tong Jian" - meaning "Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government" - was presented to the emperor during the Song Dynasty by Sima Guang (1019 - 1086). He had spent eighteen years writing it. It tells a story that the Emperor of the "Eastern Jin" dynasty, Jin Ming Di (Sima Shao 323 - 326 AD) had yellow hair and beard because his mother was a xianbei. Once he went out unannounced to inspect his troops. But because of the color of his hair, his soldiers thought he was a xianbei and chased him as an enemy.
Folk songs from that time were: "Huang tou Xianbei", which means: "Xianbei has Yellow Head".
During the Song Dynasty, the poet and painter Su Shi was inspired by a painting of a xianbei riding a horse and wrote a poem describing an elderly xianbei with red hair and blue eyes.
A Tang Dynasty poet named Zhang Ji wrote a poem about how Luoyang was captured by the Xianbei troops of Wei:
The yellow-headed Xianbei invaded Luoyang.
A Hu child with a halberd climbed the Mingtang Hall.
The Jin emperor surrendered.
Nobles and ministers fled like cattle and sheep.
The Zimo tribe clashed in the darkness.
Every household's chickens and dogs fled to their roofs in terror.
A woman went out to follow the rebels.
She dared not cry due to her husband's death.
The princes of the Nine Provinces each looked after their own territory.
No one led troops to defend their lord.
Most northerners fled south to avoid the Hu people.
Southerners still speak the Jin dialect.
In "Jin Shu: Biography of Emperor Ming", it is recorded that Wang Dun, the chancellor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, referred to Emperor Ming of Jin as "the yellow-bearded Xianbei slave" and added: "The emperor's appearance is similar to his mother's relatives with yellow beards, so Wang Dun called the emperor that."
Types from the Mogave Caves at Dun Huang from the Northern Wei period - Some tough men, were they kings? Foto kinesisk internet.
As told before the "Jin Shu" describes that already the Wei general Deng Ai (195 - 264 AD), proposed to settle his thousands of xianbei in a way so that they could be dispersed among ethnic Chinese. This was because of their innate bestiality. General Deng Ai believed that the barbaric Hu and Yi peoples were very different from the Chinese. The worst of these were the Xianbei. Their bestial hearts were too difficult to repair and would not remain calm forever, and to prevent the evil barbarians from becoming destructive and harmful here and there, they should be transferred to modern Gansu province. In their new settlements, these Xianbei immigrants were called Baibu, "The White Tribe", or "The White Xianbei".
In the classic novel "The Outlaws of the Marsh", the robber chieftain Song Jiang sought out by a rough-looking man, who gives him a white horse: "My family name is Duan, my given name is Jingzhu. Because of my red hair and yellow beard, I am called the "Golden Dog". My family is from Zhuozho Prefecture, and I earn my living by working with horses up north. - " (page 1267)
"The Outlaws of the Marsh" is a collection of tales and legends from the Song and Yan Dynasties, written together by Shi Nai'an and Luo Guanzong and published in roughly complete form for the first time in 1541.
A fair-haired steppe warrior shows off his trained horse - cave painting from Dunhuang.
The Portuguese and the English had not yet arrived on the shores of China. The Portuguese first landed in Japan in 1542 AD and the English came much later. But people in eastern China could still remember the Duan Xianbei people, their horses and their golden hair.
Basically, the statements about the Xianbei's Mongolian or Tungusic origin are simply repeated many times, as if it were an obvious truth - after all, this is Asia - but with very little and flimsy actual evidence. Since it seems to be politically correct in both East and West, it has gradually gained a grain of truth.
Advocates of the Xianbei Mongol origin believe that the Xianbei descendants, Qi Dan, mobilized their soldiers in military units called "ordo". Mongolian has a word with the same meaning, "ordu", for example in the "Golden Horde" and others of Genghis Khan's armies. The word is found in Danish and English as "horde", but they believe that it comes from Mongolian. Therefore, since the Xianbei descendants used a word that the later Mongols also used, they must have been of Mongolian ethnic origin, the proponents of the theory conclude.
Warrior figure excavated in a tomb in Cixian from the Northern Dynasty period. He looks like a Viking on the loose, only he is a few hundred years too early. Photo Chinese internet.
But this evidence is worth nothing, and it proves indeed the opposite.
The Americans were the first to drill for oil offshore, they gave names to "derrick", "casing", "christmas tree" and "spot cans". Their successors the British, Norwegians and Danes simply took over the terminology, which already existed in the industry.
The Indo-Europeans were the first to develop mounted warfare on the steppe, and they developed the associated terminology. They invented the concept of "horde" originally "orde" as the name for a military formation. When the Mongols and Turks much later took possession of the steppe and picked up mounted warfare, they simply took over the terminology that already existed.
Danish is an ancient Indo-European language that still contains many words beginning with "or-", which denotes various military activities. Just try opening a Danish computer dictionary, type "or-" and see what comes up.
"Orlog" refers to naval warfare. "Orlov" is a leave from military units. An "Ordonans" is a military messenger. "Ordre" is a military command. "Orden" is the opposite of sloppiness and disorder, which typically must prevail in an army. "Orden" is also the military decoration of honour. "Orke" is to perform strenuous efforts, as it is often the case in war.
A white beauty from the Dunhuang caves - bodhisattva or dancer? Definitely dancer. - She has white skin and fair hair but modern Asian narrow eyes. Photo Chinese internet.
The basic word "horde" or "orde" can be recognized in modern Danish and English in that meaning of "orden" as the word for an organization, such as a knightly order, the order of the Knights Templar, the Johanitter Knights order and so on.
Such military designations are in relatively recent times replaced by terms such as "regiment", "arme" and "battalion" and therefore the meaning of horde has been degraded to describe a spontaneous, primitive and aggressive group.
Luoyang was the capital of Northern Wei, which was a Tuoba Xianbei state. Here is a pillar foundation with four dwarfs indicating each corner of the world. It brings one to think about the dwarf list in the Voelve's Divination, verses 11-13 of the Elder Edda, where the dwarves Nordri and Sudri, Austr and Vestri are named after the corners of the compass - or maybe it's the compass directions, which have been named after the dwarfs. The idea, that a dwarf should indicate a compass direction, is so unique that there must be a connection.
Column Foundations from the Tuoba capital Luoyang with four dwarfs indicating each corner of the world. Photo Chinese internet.
The arguments for Xianbei should be of Tungusic ethnic origin are equally unconvincing.
Some believe to have reconstructed a group of words from the now extinct Xianbei language, which shows that it belongs to the Tungusic language family.
Now, the fact is that everything passed on from Xianbei comes from Chinese sources, and Chinese characters say, as you well know, nothing about the pronunciation. It is hard to see how such a reconstruction has taken place. Xiabei's Tungusic origin is mentioned in many places as a matter of course, but nowhere gives any clue about the nature of such a reconstruction. It may not be something, which is particularly obvious or scientific.
The Chinese character for house - it can be pronounced haus, hus, house, dom, casa or fangzi.
The Dunhuang documents, P. 1283 (in Tibetan) tell about the language of the Qi Dan people: "In the language they (Qi Dan) and Tuyuhun could communicate with each other in a broad sense", meaning that the languages were related to each other like Danish and Swedish, for example. The Tuyuhun were a branch of the Murong Xianbei, and the Qi Dan descended from the Tuoba Xianbei.
This indicates that the Xianbei people of the Migration Period, who lived roughly in what is now Inner Mongolia, spoke essentially the same language. The Xianbei people founded the Wei Dynasty and several other migration states. The Sui and Tang Dynasties arose from the Xianbei people, who had adopted Chinese culture. Their language, whatever its nature, necessarily have had a significant influence on the development of the Chinese language.
A strong man with big eyes, a large nose and generally Caucasian features - sculpture from the caves at Dunhuang.
Now it is the case that there are a small number of words that sound the same in Danish and Chinese and have similar meanings.
Which indicates that some of the Danes' Indo-European ancestors, who came from Asia, perhaps the Aesirs, the Danes or the Jutes, had a common origin with the Xianbei people.
Among the Xianbei people, and also among their descendants the Qi Dan, women were quite equal to men. They rode horses and shot with a bow just as well as men, says an old poem. Also during the subsequent Tang Dynasty, women could do much the same as men. However, there were severe penalties for adultery.
It is known that the Tang Dynasty had a rather plump ideal of women, and that women also played polo. It was not until the ethnically Chinese Song Dynasty that the very slim ideal of women with elegant small feet developed.
In Tuoba Xianbei's old capital of Luoyang are a few statues with fairly high nose bridge among the statues and figures, which have been preserved to our time. Most of the other surviving figures are either of a neutral ethnic appearance or with a modern Asian features.
Another Buddha with blond hair from Dunhuang cave no. 45. Photo Chinese internet.
In the Dunhuang caves, the depicted individuals generally have black hair. However, there is a certain frequency of yellow and brown hair, especially on the the figures from the Wei, Sui and Tang Dynasties, which were strongly influenced by the Xianbei people.
It is not a question of the paint peeling off or becoming discolored or the like, as the rest of the figure's paint appears to be in good condition.
However, many of the figures with fair hair have distinct modern Asian facial features, narrow eyes, low backs, etc.
I think some of the artists in Dunhuang at the time thought that yellow hair and white skin were nice; they also thought that narrow eyes and small noses were nice, and therefore they created such really nice figures with both fair hair and modern Asian features.
The "Buddha of the Future" in the Mogave Caves at Dunhuang Cave No. 275 has a Western, almost Greek style. The statue was made during the Northern Wei Dynasty shortly after the invasion from the steppe.
"Buddha of the Future" from the Mogave Caves at Dunhuang, Cave 275 - from the Northern Wei period. - he has fair hair, large eyes and white skin. He does not look like a Mongolian or Tungusic type. Photo Silk Road Video.
In general, the Xianbei seemed to have been rather broad types with round or square faces. They had large eyes and, in the case of men, strong beards. They often had rather large broad noses, it seems, which others may have looked down on. Some of them seemed to have had a certain "Miss Piggy" style, which is often exaggerated, especially in harsher and less sympathetic characters such as soldiers, tomb guards and the like.
Perhaps the appearance of the figures is an expression of the enormous self-hatred that existed early in the Northern Wei, and which led to division and massacres.
Bodhisattva with fair hair from Dunhuang cave 57 - or is it a queen? Photo Chinese internet.
Just as Dan-Xiang (Tangut), the Sogdians and of course the Indians (the God Shiwa) Xianbei Tuoba knew the cosmic dance, the god's creative destruction. It is an Indo-European ide.
The cosmic dance is also found in Buddhism, as a god, trampling on an evil creature. The Buddhist god from Northern Wei has noble, a little narrow, eyes, which were considered beautiful, while the man, he is trampling upon, has an appearance, which can be exaggerated Xianbei traits. Also the many tomb guardians, who are somewhat unsympathetic creatures, seems to have been equipped with exaggerated Xianbei traits, like for example big eyes and wide snub nose. A sort of political correctness in the same way as when bad guys in "James Bond" movies often are exaggerated "Arian" types.
It brings one to remind the Taiping ruler Hong Xiuquan's revelation in his dream: "Those who travel up to Heaven along the eastern road," which Hong did in his dream, "They see God in his majesty, still with the black dragon cape, a hat with turned up brim and golden beard," like Hong also saw him. "They see the king of the devilish demons, with square cut face and red eyes, and learns that he is really the same as the demonic devil of the eastern ocean and the devil king on Earth, known as Yan Luo. As God showed it to Moses on Mount Sinai, as he wrote the tablets of the law "with his own hands", he identifies the devil king for heaven's guest (with his own hands)." ("Gods Chinese Son," page 108)
The Northern Wei sages look quite ordinary, not particularly modern Asian.
Left: Sage from Longmen near Luoyang. He has rather Caucasian features.
Center: Sage from Longmen near Luoyang. He has a round face and rather small eyes, let's say he is somewhere between a Caucasian type and a modern Asian type.
Right: Sage from Longmen near Luoyang. He is a Caucasian type.
That is, the Taiping ruler believed that God had revealed to him that the devil king in the Eastern Ocean (the king of foreign devils) was in fact the same as the devil king on Earth (the king of Chinese devils), whose name was Yan Luo and who had a typical square face and red eyes.
White horse and owner with yellow hair - Glazed pottery from Tang Dynasty - private property. Photo Chinese internet..
This indicates that Hong thought that some descendants of the Xianbei and Yuezhi on the plains and in the western mountains, whom the Chinese called devils, were similar to the Portuguese and English devils, who came from the eastern ocean and were probably ruled by the same king. This was probably the reason why the Europeans were given the term "foreign" devils, as they resembled the local devils they already had.
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Hong Xiuquan also named the Manchus as devils, and he left no doubt about how to deal with devils, namely kill them and stamp them out from the surface of the earth.
13. The name Tuoba
Tuoba in Chinese characters.
In Danish, the word Tuoba will sound a lot like Thor-far. "Thor" is the Scandinavian god of thunder, and "far" is the danish word for father or decendant. Therefore, I believe that Tuoba means "the descendants after Thor."
The literal meanings of the two Chinese characters in simplified Chinese, which say Tuoba, are "extension" and "postscript" and it does not really make any sense. It is clear that these two characters have been chosen because they best describe the pronunciation of the word regardless of their literal meaning.
Tarzan written in Chinese characters.
If one on Google Translate is trying to translate Tarzan, the king of the apes, from English to Chinese, you get two characters which really mean "Thai mountain", which is pronounced Taishan. (It is also a famous mountain in Shandong). If you ask then a Chinese: "What is the name of the king of the Apes?" so maybe he will reply, "hmm - yes, we can read it here, let's see - I got it - he is called Taishan."
The characters chosen to describe the sound of a foreign word are frequently the best possible approximation and does not necessarily reproduce exactly the original pronunciation in the foreign language. So it must be that the word Tuoba represent the pronunciation of the Chinese characters, they have chosen to use, and the original pronunciation may have been slightly different.
"O" is a closing sound in pinyin, you have to imagine it being followed by an "r". "uo" is pronounced "å"-like as the last part of the name for China, "Zhong Guo", which is pronounced like gjår. with Danish vowels
According to the pin-yin system, the Chinese word "Tuo-ba" is alphabetized as "Tuoba". However, if it were alphabetized with consonants like in English and vowels like in Danish, it would be something like Tjår-bah, as we represent the closing sound with an "r". The final "h" represents the fourth tone, rising, bright and optimistic.
After the older Wade-Giles alphabetizing system Tuoba must be written "T'o-pa", but the pronunciation may, according to the nature of the case, be the same.
The name of a people or a family line is often a word, whose meaning has been lost in the mists of the past or a name of an original ancestor followed by something which means descendants, children, relatives or the like.
For example, ethnic Chinese call themselves Hua Xia, meaning descendants of Hua, the Yellow Emperor. In Scandinavian Skjoldungerne (The Shield Cubs) means the descendants of the child found lying on a shield. Gjukungerne (The Gjuk Cubs) means the descendants after Gjuki and so on.
"Father" in Chinese is "ba" (falling tone). It is very close to the Danish "far", and it can be difficult to hear the difference.
The final "-ba" in Tuoba is with a rising tone in modern Chinese.
If you listen carefully, you can hear that the Danish "far" is also pronounced with a rising tone. It is only if you want to blame your father for something or warn him that you can pronounce it with a falling tone.
In Danish, a sow that gives birth is said to "fare". It is easy to imagine that this expression has previously been valid for humans, but has gradually been reduced to the animal world.
Nationality names ending with -far were typical of several historical peoples in Europe, such as the Danes, the Angles and the Burgundians. At the Danes in Sjællands-, Lollands-, Langelands-, Hallands-, Blekinge- and Gullands-far. At the Angles in Lindis-far and at the Burgundians in Burgunda-far. For example, a man from Zealand was called a Sjællands-far. For the Angles, a Lindis-far came from Lindis, and a Burgundian called himself a Burgunda-far. The meaning of this -far is close to descendant
So a qualified guess at the meaning of "Tuoba" would be that it means descendants of an original ancestor, Tjår i.e. "Thor".
The Chinese thunder god with a short-handled hammer, with which he produces thunder. The Scandinavian god, Thor, also has a short-handled hammer.
Wei Shu, the "Book of Wei" was written by Wei Shou from 551 to 554 AD. Here he tells us that the name "Tuoba" comes from the fact that the Tuoba Xianbei people descended from the "Yellow Emperor", who is believed to be the common ancestor of all Chinese.
Wei Shou lived in Eastern Wei, which was the part of the divided Northern Wei kingdom that still adhered to the hard-boiled sinicization and integration policy that was initiated in 494 AD. He uses the Chinese name "Yuan", which replaced the imperial family's original name "Tuoba", also for emperors before 494 AD, thus creating some confusion.
He only talks about the emperor of Eastern Wei, and makes no mention of his rivals in Western Wei, who had rejected the integration policy and returned to the traditional Xianbei culture.
It would have been politically incorrect, and probably harmful to health, not to approve of the state's racial policy. And he could not have written that the Xianbei people have one ancestor and the Chinese another, that would have been quite dangerous. Moreover, after more than half a century of intensive integration pressure, at a time when there were only a few books, many might not even remember the history of their own people.
But he confirms that the name Tuoba contains a meaning of being descended from an original ancestor.
Furthermore, the author of Wei Shu also seems to disagree with General Ran Min, who believed that the Xianbei and Jie people were animalistic barbarians, who were not descended from the Yellow Emperor, as he himself did as a real Chinese.
14. Chinese names
When one reads the translations of the classical Chinese writings, such as "Wei Shu" and "Hou Han Shu", it is striking that all the names sound Chinese. Among the Xiongnu, Qi Dan, Dan(g)-Xiang, Xianbei and Qiang peoples, all kings and generals apparently had Chinese-sounding names. Place names and the very names of the peoples in the West, mentioned in the writings, also sound Chinese.
One is left with the feeling that the history of the Eastasia and China was perhaps a completely internal Sino-Korean development only influenced by some border episodes with the Turks and Mongols.
It is also that, which history-interested people in this part of the world claim so passionately. They are passionate adherents of the philosophy of history which is based on the "China is an island" concept, i.e. that the Kingdom in the Middle has developed completely independently without any significant interaction with the rest of the world.
But in all probability the Chinese-sounding names of the people of the West were names, which the Chinese had given them, and the barbarian kings and generals of the past, who had contact with China had both their own barbarian name and a Chinese name, which the Chinese could remember and pronounce. For example, the Dan-Xiang king "Weiming" also had a Chinese name "Li Yuanhao" - Upon closer consideration, "Wei Ming" means "mighty name" in Chinese, so it may also have been a name given to him by the Chinese.
The Chinese character for mighty great - wei da.
Once, when I was in China, I wanted to buy a carved stamp as a gift for my son. His barbaric name is "Magnus", which comes from Latin and means "great". I discussed with the woman in the shop how to express this with a Chinese characters. We chose Mao Zhe Dong's byname "Wei da", which means "mighty great".
Let's imagine that time has moved forward a few centuries. A historian has found an old book stamped with Hansen's son's barbaric name. He contacts an expert, who is knowledgeable in the special simplified Chinese characters from the Mao dynasty and asks him: "Tell me, what was Hansen's son's barbaric name?" The expert looks at the the Chinese characters and say: "It's easy, his name was Wei Da".
Even if one tries to find some Chinese characters where the pronunciation matches the barbaric name as well as possible and ignores the meaning, it is difficult to avoid that a later alphabetization will sound quite Chinese.
Genes for fair hair and blue eyes can still be found on the Central Asian steppe.
Left: Fair-haired little girl from Tuva, the Russian autonomous region just north of Mongolia. Photo China History Forum.
Top right: Kyrgyz boy with blue eyes. Photo China History Forum.
Bottom right: Fair-haired little girl from Mongolia. Photo China History Forum.
