 Muren inregular script | |
| Pronunciation | Mùróng(Pinyin), Мөрөн(Mongolian) |
|---|---|
| Language | Mongolic Language |
| Origin | |
| Language | Xianbei |
| Derivation | name of the ancestor of the Muren tribe |
| Other names | |
| Variant form | Murong (Mandarin) |
TheMurong (Chinese:慕容;pinyin:Mùróng;Wade–Giles:Mu4-jung2;LHC: *mɑC-joŋ;[1]EMC: *mɔh-juawŋ[2]) orMuren refers to an ethnicXianbei tribe who are attested from the time ofTanshihuai (r. 156–181). Different strands of evidence exist linking the Murong to theMongol[3][4] nomadicconfederation inCentral Asia. TheFormer Yan (337–370),Later Yan (384–409),Western Yan (384–394),Southern Yan (398–410) dynasties as well asTuyuhun (285–670) were all founded by Murong peoples.
Murong is also a surname, predominantly used by people of Xianbei descent. Prominent individuals who bear the surname include the Emperors and family ofFormer Yan andLater Yan,Murong Ke,Murong Long,Murong Sanzang (慕容三藏),Murong Yanzhao (慕容延钊),Murong Yanchao,Murong Nong,Murong Han,Murong Chuqiang (慕容楚强),Murong Haoran (慕容浩然), and the fictional characterMurong Fu (慕容復). When Han peoples during the reign ofYuwen Tai were forced to change their surnames, Murong was one of three officially mandated Xianbei surnames. This policy was reversed byEmperor Wen of Sui, but some Han people retained the Murong surname.
The chieftain Murong was the first ancestor of the Murong tribe, which was named after him. He was adaren (chieftain noble) of the Middle Section during the rule ofTanshihuai (r. 156–181). TheRecords of the Three Kingdoms records:
Tanshihuai of the Xianbei divided his territory into three sections: the eastern, the middle and the western. From the You Beiping to the Liao River, connecting the Fuyu and Mo to the east, it was the eastern section. There were more than twenty counties. The darens (chiefs) (of this section) were called Mijia, Queji, Suli and Huaitou. From the You Beiping to Shanggu to the west, it was the middle section. There were more than ten counties. The darens of this section were called Kezui, Queju, Murong, et al. From Shanggu to Dunhuang, connecting the Wusun to the west, it was the western section. There were more than twenty counties. The darens (of this section) were called Zhijian Luoluo, Rilü Tuiyan, Yanliyou, et al. These chiefs were all subordinate to Tanshihuai.[5]
Tanshihuai'sXianbei state to which the Murong belonged fragmented following the fall ofBudugen (222–234), who was the younger brother of Kuitou (r. 189–222). Kuitou was the nephew of Tanshihuai's incapable son and successor Helian (r. 181–199). The Murong consequently broke off and submitted to theCao Wei dynasty, settling in theLiaoxi area. The Murong ruler at this time wasMohuba, a descendant of the chieftain Murong. Murong Mohuba actively supportedSima Yi's Liaodong campaign in 238, leading an auxiliary Murong force. Mohuba was succeeded in 246 by his son Muyan (木延) who also aided the Cao Wei campaign against theGoguryeo that same year.
Muyan's son Shegui (涉歸), fought against theJin dynasty (266–420), and was pushed back to the upperLiao River region. Shegui died in 283, and his younger brother Shan (刪) usurped the leadership. Murong Shan was killed in 285, and the people proclaimed Shegui's sonMurong Hui (r. 285–333) as their chieftain. Hui attacked theBuyeo kingdom in 285, capturing ten thousand prisoners. He launched an attack on the agricultural area of the Liao River basin in 286 that had been occupied byHan Chinese settlers afterEmperor Wu of Han's conquest ofOld Chosŏn in 108 BC.
Hui founded a new capital nearby the modern-day city ofChaoyang, Liaoning in 294. In 284, an internal feud developed betweenMurong Hui and his older brother, Tuyuhun, which folktales explained as being caused by a horse race but which was in fact caused by disputes over the position of khan. As a result of the dispute, Murong Tuyuhun led his people and undertook a long westward journey passing through theOrdos Loop all the way toQinghai Lake.
Some Murong members live in a town in Guangdong.[6][7]Zhaoqing is the area where they lived since they moved from north to south.[8][9] They practice no aspect of Xianbei culture or identity.[10][11] The move to southern China from the north is described in their genealogical records.[12][13] They are descended from Murong Bao.[14] They moved to southern China after the foundation of the Ming dynasty.[15][16]
TheXianbei are generally considered speakers ofMongolic languages. Some tribes such as theDuan,Qifu andTufa have not left sufficient evidence to prove that they, as sub-tribes, were in fact Mongolic, although most scholars assume that they were Mongolic based on some indications. There is no doubt, however, regarding theKhitan andShiwei sub-tribes being Mongolic (in their case there is strong evidence). As far as the Murong are concerned, the evidence pointing in the Mongolic direction is relatively convincing. Shimunek (2017) identifies the language of the Murong asTuyuhun, or at least a linguistic variety closely related to it.[17]
The Dunhuang Documents, P. 1283 (in Tibetan) records a very important piece of information about the Khitan and Murong:
The language (of the Khitan) and that of theTuyuhun could generally communicate with each other.[18]
TheKhitan language is widely recognized as Mongolic. Mongolic, Turkic and Tungusic are mutually unintelligible, although they share significant loan-vocabulary.
The titlekhagan was first seen in a speech between 283 and 289, when the Xianbei chief Murong Tuyuhun (son of Murong Shegui by an illegitimate wife) tried to escape from his younger stepbrotherMurong Hui, and began his route from Liaodong to the areas of Ordos Desert. One of Murong's generals called Yinalou addressed him askěhán (可寒, later可汗), some sources suggests that Tuyuhun might also have used the title after settling at Koko Nor in the 3rd century.[19] Some suggest that the titles Khan and Khagan were originally Mongolic.
TheSong of the Xianbei Brother is a popular song of the Xianbei people composed byMurong Hui in 285 AD. It is preserved in Chinese translation and is about the Xianbei chief's regrets for having sent his brother Tuyuhun away to the West. The original Chinese translation left the Xianbei word for elder brother (A-kan) in the title, which is identical to the Mongolic word for elder brother (Aqan or Aghan). The same word exists in Turkic and Tungusic languages, but the Xianbei are generally considered Mongolic peoples. This would make the song one of the earliest attestations of a Mongolic language.
The modern day minority ofWhite Mongols orMonguor are regarded as the culturally and ethnically-distinct descendants of the Murong.[20]
A genetic study published in theAmerican Journal of Physical Anthropology in November 2007 examined of 17 individuals buried at the Murong Xianbei cemetery in Lamadong,Liaoning, Chinac. 300 AD. They were determined to be carriers of the maternal haplogroups B, C, D, F, G2a, Z, M, and J1b1. These haplogroups are common among East Asians, and to a lesser extent Siberians. The maternal haplogroups of the Murong Xianbei were noticeably different from those of the Huns and Tuoba Xianbei.[21]
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