TheKumo Xi (traditional Chinese:庫莫奚; simplified Chinese:库莫奚; pinyin:Kùmò Xī[1]), also known as theTatabi, were ancientsteppe people located in currentNortheast China from 207 AD to 907 AD. After the death of their ancestorTadun in 207, they were no longer calledWuhuan but joined theKhitan Xianbei in submitting to theYuwenXianbei. Their history is widely linked to the more famousKhitan.[2]
During their history, the Kumo Xi engaged in conflict with numerous Chinese dynasties and with the Khitan tribes, eventually suffering a series of disastrous defeats to Chinese armies and coming under the domination of the Khitans. In 907, the Kumo Xi were completely assimilated into the Khitan-ledLiao dynasty of China.
Omeljan Pritsak reconstructs the ethnonym underlyingMiddle Chinese *kʰuoH-mɑk̚-ɦei asqu(o)mâġ-ġay. The first elementqu(o)mâġ is from *quo "yellowish" plus denominal suffix *-mAk, cognate withMongolianqumaġ "fine sands" and withTurkicqumaq andqum.[3] As for *ɦei, Christopher Atwood (2010) proposed that it reflects ani-suffixed form ofOC 胡 *gâ >hú.[4] Further,gâ is etymologically uncertain:Peter Benjamin Golden (2003) proposes several Mongolic etymologies:ɣai "trouble, misfortune, misery",χai "interjection of grief",χai "to seek",χai "to hew", albeit none compelling.[5][6]
Pritsak proposes that thequ(o)mâġ-ġay comprised twoProto-Mongolic groups: theQu(o)mâġ, whom he linked to theKimek and the Qun/Cumans (whose ethnonym possibly meant "yellow") and theQay proper. However, Golden thinks thatqu(o)mâġ-ġay simply means "desert Qay" or "sand Qay", referring to their earlier habitat.[3]
As for the exonymTatabï given to Kumo Xi byGöktürks,Yury Zuev (2002) comparesTatabï toAvestantata apo and proposes an etymology fromIranic *tata-api "falling waters", after having noted that the name of a Xī-(奚)-associated tribeBái-Xí 白霫 (< MC *bˠæk̚-ziɪp̚) literally meant "white downpour/torrent" inChinese, and that the Xī (奚) and Xí (霫) occupied the same area, Zhongjing (中京).[7][8]
The Kumo Xi were descendants of theWuhuan. TheBook of the Later Han records that “the language and culture of theXianbei are the same as the Wuhuan”. Along with the Xianbei, the Wuhuan formed part of theproto-Mongolic[9]Donghu confederation in the 4th century BC. TheWeishu (Description of the Khitan, Vol. 1000, 2221) records that the Kumo Xi and Khitans (descendants of the Xianbei) spoke the same language.
TheBook of Wei (Description of the Khitan, Vol. 100, 2223) records :
契丹國, 在庫莫奚東, 異種同類, 俱竄於松漠之間. 登國中, 國軍大破之, 遂逃迸, 與庫莫奚分背.
The Khitan state was situated east of the Kumo Xi. They were different ethnic groups but belonged to the same ethnic stock, and fled to the region of Songmo together. During the period ofDengguo (386-395), they were severely defeated by the imperial troops. Therefore, they (the Khitan) fled in disorder and split off from the Kumo Xi.
TheBook of Sui records:
奚本曰庫莫奚, 東部胡之種.
The Xi were originally called the Kumo Xi. They were of Donghu origin.
TheNew Book of Tang records:
奚亦東胡種, 為匈奴所破, 保烏丸山. 漢曹操斬其帥蹋頓蓋其後也.
The Xi were also of Donghu (the eastern barbarians) origin. They were defeated by the Xiongnu (underModu Chanyu), and then sought refuge in the Wuwan Mountains. During the Han Dynasty, Cao Cao killed their leaderTadun. (The Xi) were the descendants.
In 388 AD, the Kumo Xi and Khitans fought with the Xianbei-ledNorthern Wei dynasty. The conflict severely weakened the Kumo Xi while the Khitans were not as badly affected, resulting in their split into separate polities.[10]
By the earlyTang dynasty (around the 7th century AD), the (now named) Xi had become subordinate to the Khitans. After the Khitans'Li-Sun Rebellion (696-697) and revolt ofKetuyu (730-734), the Xi regained their position of dominance. The Xi then entered a golden age, lasting from approximately 755 to 847. During this period the Xi were friendly withAn Lushan, and supported An in hisAn Shi Rebellion (756-763), plundering Han territories frequently within this period. This aggressive policy seems to have consumed Xi forces, especially weakening their demographic vitality, allowing the less aggressive Khitans to dominate them. Xi raids into Tang territory provoked successive heavy responses from the Tang court, resulting in battles in the 760s and in 795 that were disastrous for the Xi. After 795, the Xi became a tributary people to theTang.[11]
TheUyghur Empire (744-840) collapsed in the 840's. When the Tang dynasty simultaneously displayed signs of division, the Xi rose in rebellion in 847, and were subsequently and disastrously defeated byZhang Zhongwu, the frontier commander ofLulong. The Xi were never able to recover from their defeat in 847. In the late ninth century AD the Khitans rose to eventually absorb the remnants of Xi people, and established theLiao dynasty in 907.[2]
It is believed that theXiqin, a bowed, stringed instrument that is the ancestor of the ChineseErhu, the MongolianKhuuchir andMorin khuur, was derived from a Xi instrument.[12][13]
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