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TheWusun (/ˈwuːsʌn/WOO-sun)[a] were an ancient semi-nomadicsteppe people mentioned inChinese records from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD.
The Wusun originally lived between theQilian Mountains andDunhuang (Gansu) near theYuezhi.[3] Around 176 BC theXiongnu raided the lands of theYuezhi, who subsequently attacked the Wusun, killing their king and seizing their land. The Xiongnu adopted the surviving Wusun prince and made him one of their generals and leader of the Wusun. Around 162 BC the Yuezhi were driven into theIli River valley inZhetysu,Dzungaria andTian Shan, which had formerly been inhabited by theSaka. The Wusun then resettled inGansu as vassals of the Xiongnu. In 133–132 BC, the Wusun drove the Yuezhi out of the Ili Valley and settled the area.
The Wusun then became close allies of theHan dynasty and remained a powerful force in the region for several centuries. The Wusun are last mentioned by the Chinese as having settled in thePamir Mountains in the 5th century AD due to pressure from theRouran. They possibly became subsumed into the laterHephthalites.
Wusun is a modern pronunciation of theChinese Characters '烏孫'. The Chinese name '烏孫' (Wūsūn) literally meanswū 'crow, raven' +sūn 'grandson, descendant'.[4] There are several theories about the origin of the name.[5]
Canadian SinologistEdwin Pulleyblank reconstructed the pronunciation of 烏孫' Wūsūn as inMiddle Chinese asou-suən, fromOld Chineseaĥ-smən and linked the Wusun to the ΆσμίραιοιAsmiraioi, who inhabited modernIssyk-Kul andSemirechiye and were mentioned inPtolemy'sGeography (VI.16.3).[6][7] Another theory links them to theIssedones.[8]
Sinologist Victor H. Mair comparedWusun withSanskritáśva 'horse',aśvin 'mare' andLithuanianašvà 'mare'. The name would thus mean 'the horse people'. Hence he put forward the hypothesis that the Wusun used asatem-like language within theIndo-European languages. However, the latter hypothesis is not supported byEdwin G. Pulleyblank.[9]Christopher I. Beckwith's analysis is similar to Mair's, reconstructing the Chinese term Wusun asOld Chinese *âswin, which he compares toOld Indicaśvin 'the horsemen', the name of theRigvedictwin equestrian gods.[10]
Étienne de la Vaissière identifies the Wusun with thewδ'nn'p, mentioned on Kultobe inscriptions as enemies of the Sogdian-speakingKangju confederation.Wδ'nn'p contains two morphemesn'p "people" and *wδ'n [wiðan], which is cognate withManichaean Parthianwd'n and means "tent". Vaissière hypothesized that the Wusun likely spoke an Iranian language closely related toSogdian, permitting Sogdians to translate their endonym as *wδ'n [wiðan] and Chinese to transcribe their endonym with a native Chinese /s/ standing for a foreigndental fricative. Therefore, Vaissière reconstructs Wusun's endonym as *Wəθan "[People of the] Tent(s)".[11]
The Wusun were first mentioned byChinese sources as living together with theYuezhi between theQilian Mountains andDunhuang (Gansu).[12][13][14][15] although different locations have been suggested for these toponyms.[16]
Beckwith suggests that the Wusun were an eastern remnant of theIndo-Aryans, who had been suddenly pushed to the extremities of theEurasian Steppe by theIranian peoples in the 2nd millennium BC.[17]
Around 210–200 BC, princeModu Chanyu, a former hostage of the Yuezhi and prince of theXiongnu, who were also vassals of the Yuezhi,[18] became leader of the Xiongnu and conquered theMongolian Plain, subjugating several peoples.[19] Around 176 BC Modu Chanyu launched a fierce raid against the Yuezhi.[15] Around 173 BC, the Yuezhi subsequently attacked the Wusun,[15] at that time a small nation,[20] killing their king (KunmiChinese:昆彌 or KunmoChinese:昆莫) Nandoumi (Chinese:難兜靡).[20]
According to legend Nandoumi's infant son Liejiaomi was left in the wild. He was miraculously saved from hunger being suckled by a she-wolf, and fed meat by ravens.[21][22][23][24] The Wusun ancestor myth shares striking similarities with those of theHittites, theZhou Chinese, theScythians, theRomans, theGoguryeo,Turks,Mongols andDzungars.[25] Based on the similarities between the ancestor myth of the Wusun and laterTurkic peoples,Denis Sinor has suggested that the Wusun,Sogdians, or both could represent anIndo-Aryan influence, or even the origin of the royalAshinaTürks.[26]
In 162 BC, the Yuezhi were finally defeated by the Xiongnu, after which they fledGansu.[15] According toZhang Qian, the Yuezhi were defeated by the rising Xiongnu empire and fled westward, driving away theSai (Scythians) from theIli Valley in theZhetysu andDzungaria area.[27] The Sai would subsequently migrate intoSouth Asia, where they founded variousIndo-Scythian kingdoms.[15] After the Yuezhi retreat the Wusun subsequently settled the modern province of Gansu, in the valley of theWushui-he (lit. "Raven-Water River"), as vassals of the Xiongnu.[20] It is not clear whether the river was named after the tribe or vice versa.
The Xiongnu ruler was impressed withLiejiaomi, considering him a supernatural being, and adopted the child.[20] When the child grew up the Chanyu made him leader of the Wusun and a Xiongnu general.[20] He won many victories for the Xiongnu and the Wusun became powerful.[20] Liejiaomi constantly requested the Xiongnu ruler for permission to avenge his father, and around 133–132 BC, he successfully attacked the Yuezhi in the Ili Valley.[13][15][20] The Yuezhi then migrated toSogdia and thenBactria, where they became unified underKujula Kadphises and expanded into South Asia, founding theKushan Empire, which at its peak underKanishka stretched fromTurpan in theTarim Basin toPataliputra on theGangetic plain and played an important role in the development of theSilk Road and thetransmission of Buddhism to China.[13]
The Wusun subsequently took over the Ili Valley, expanding over a large area and trying to keep away from the Xiongnu. According toShiji, Wusun was a state located west of the Xiongnu.[28] When the Xiongnu ruler died, Liejiaomi refused to serve the Xiongnu.[20] The Xiongnu then sent a force against the Wusun but were defeated, after which the Xiongnu even more than before considered Liejiaomi a supernatural being, avoiding conflict with him.[20]
After settling in the Ili Valley the Wusun became so strong that the Han was compelled to win their friendship in alliance.[1] Chinese sources name the ScythianSai (Saka), and theYuezhi who are often identified asTocharians, among the people of the Wusun state in the Zhetysu and Dzungaria area.[29] The Wusun realm probably included both Yuezhi and Saka.[1] It is clear that the majority of the population consisted of linguistically Iranian Saka tribes.[1]
In 125 BC, under theHan EmperorWu of Han (156–87 BC), the Chinese traveller and diplomatZhang Qian was sent to establish an alliance with the Wusun Against the Xiongnu.[30][14][31] Qian estimated the Wusun to number 630,000, with 120,000 families and 188,000 men capable of bearing arms.[32]Hanshu described them as occupying land that previously belonged to the Saka (Sai).[33][34] To their north-west the Wusun borderedKangju, located in modern Kazakhstan. To the west wasDayuan (Ferghana), and to the south were various city states.[35] The Royal Court of the Wusun, the walled city of Chigu (Chinese:赤谷;pinyin:chìgǔ;lit. 'Red Valley'), was located in a side valley leading to Issyk Kul.[1][36] Lying on one of the branches of theSilk Road Chigu was an important trading centre, but its exact location has not been established.[1]
According toSima Qian in theShiji:
Wusun as a nation, has its great Kunmi [monarch] presiding at Chigu City which is 8900li [3700km] away fromChang'an (...) It land is bare and flat, rainy and chilly. Its hills are covered with pines. Its people do not plow of plant but follow their flocks to where water and grass are found. Its customs are similar to those of the Xiongnu. The nation has plenty of horses... and its people violent, greedy and not trustworthy. There are abundant bandits and thieves. Its territories originally belonged to theSakas, the latter king went south to Bolor (Baltistan) whereby theYuezhi took over and settled on the land. (...) Later, when the Yuezhi moved west to subjugateBactria, the Wusun Kunmo replaced them and lived there. For that reason, the Wusun population is admixed with Sakas and Yuezhi peoples.
— Sima Qian,Shiji[37]
The Wusun approved of a possible alliance, and Zhang Qian was sent as ambassador in 115 BC.[1] According to the agreement the Wusun would jointly attack the Xiongnu with the Han, while they were offered a Han princess in marriage and the return of their original Gansu homeland (heqin).[1] Due to fear of the Xiongnu, the Wusun however had second thoughts and suggested sending a delegation to the Han rather than moving their capital further west.[1][14]
Some time after the Han-Wusun negotiations had ended, the Han inflicted several blows to the Xiongnu.[14] The Han then threatened war upon the Wusun, after which Liejiaomi finally agreed to an alliance, sending tributary horses and acceptingPrincess Xijun as his wife.[14] Along with the Yuezhi and the Kangju of theFerghana Valley, the Wusun became the main suppliers of horses for the Han.[38] The Xiongnu had however also sent a princess to marry Liejiaomi, and the Xiongnu princess was declared his senior consort, with Xijun becoming his junior wife.[1] Since Liejiaomi was already an old man, Xijun was however married to his successor Cenzou (Chinese:岑陬), to which Wu agreed.[14] Xijun wrote a famous poem, theBeichouge (Chinese:悲愁歌), in which she complains about her exile in the land of the "barbarians":
My family sent me off to be married on the other side of heaven. They sent me a long way to a strange land, to the king of Wusun. A domed lodging is my dwelling place with walls of felt. Meat is my food, with fermented milk as the sauce. I live with constant thoughts of my home, my heart is full of sorrow. I wish I were a golden swan, returning to my home country.[14][39]
Xijun bore the Wusun a daughter but died soon afterward, at which point the Han court sentPrincess Jieyou (Chinese:解憂公主) to succeed her.[14] After the death of Cenzou, Jieyou married Wengguimi (Chinese:翁歸靡), Cenzou's cousin and successor. Jieyou lived for fifty years among the Wusun and bore five children, including the oldest Yuanguimi (Chinese:元貴靡), whose half-brother Wujiutu (Chinese:烏就屠) was born to a Xiongnu mother.[14] She sent numerous letters to the Han requesting assistance against the Xiongnu.[14]
Around 80 BC, the Wusun were attacked by the Xiongnu, who inflicted a devastating defeat upon them.[1][14] In 72 BC, Kunmi, chief of the Wusun requested assistance from the Han against the Xiongnu.[1][14] The Han sent an army of 160,000 men, inflicting a crushing defeat upon the Xiongnu, capturing much booty and many slaves.[1] In the campaign the Han captured theTarim Basincity-state ofCheshi (Turpan region), a previous ally of the Xiongnu, giving them direct contact with the Wusun.[14] Afterwards the Wusun allied with theDingling andWuhuan to counter Xiongnu attacks.[14] After their crushing victory against the Xiongnu the Wusun increased in strength, achieving significant influence over the city-states of the Tarim Basin.[1] The son of the Kunmi became the ruler ofYarkand, while his daughter became the wife of the lord ofKucha.[1] They came to play a role as a third force between the Han and the Xiongnu.[1]
Around 64 BC, according toHanshu, Chinese agents were involved in a plot with a Wusun kunmi known as Wengguimi ("Fat King"), to kill a Wusun kunmi known to the Chinese as Nimi ("Mad King"). A Chinese deputy envoy called Chi Tu who brought a doctor to attend to Nimi was punished by castration by the Han dynasty when he returned to China for treating the mad king's illness instead of killing him which the Han court ordered them to do.[40][41]
In 64 BC another Han princess was sent to Kunmi Wengguimi, but he died before her arrival. Han emperorXuan then permitted the princess to return, since Jieyou had married the new Kunmi, Nimi (Chinese:尼靡), the son of Cenzou. Jieyou bore Nimi the son Chimi (Chinese:鴟靡). Prince Wujiutu later killed Nimi, his half-brother. Fearing the wrath of the Han, Wujiutu adopted the title of Lesser Kunmi, while Yuanguimi was given the title Greater Kunmi. The Han accepted this system and bestowed both of them with theimperial seal. After both Yuanguimi and Chimi were dead, Jieyou asked Emperor Xuan for permission to return to China. She died in 49 BC. Over the next decades the institution of Greater and Lesser Kunmi continued, with the Lesser Kunmi being married to a Xiongnu princess and the Greater Kunmi married to a Han princess.[14]
In 5 BC, during the reign ofWuzhuliu Chanyu (8 BC – AD 13), the Wusun attempted to raidYueban pastures, but Wuzhuliu repulsed them, and the Wusun commander had to send his son to the Yueban court as a hostage. The forceful intervention of the Chinese usurperWang Mang and internal strife brought disorder, and in 2 BC one of the Wusun chieftains brought 80,000 Wusun to Kangju, asking for help against the Chinese. In a vain attempt to reconcile with China, he was duped and killed in 3 AD.[42][43]
In 2 AD,Wang Mang issued a list of four regulations to the allied Xiongnu that the taking of any hostages from Chinese vassals, i.e. Wusun,Wuhuan and the statelets of theWestern Regions, would not be tolerated.[44]
In 74 AD the Wusun are recorded as having sent tribute to the Han military commanders in Cheshi.[14] In 80 ADBan Chao requested assistance from the Wusun against the city-state Quchi (Kucha) in the Tarim Basin.[14] The Wusun were subsequently rewarded with silks, while diplomatic exchanges were resumed.[14] During the 2nd century AD the Wusun continued their decline in political importance.[14]
 | This sectionappears to contradict itself. Please see thetalk page for more information.(November 2024) |
In the 5th century AD the Wusun were pressured by theRouran and may have migrated to thePamir Mountains.[1][14][45] They are last mentioned in Chinese historical sources in 436 AD, when a Chinese envoy was sent to their country and the Wusun reciprocated.[14] It is possible that they became subsumed into the laterHephthalites.[1] After this event the Wusun seem to disappear from Chinese records: Wusun were last mentioned in 938 AD alongsidesTuyuhun and Mohe, astributary states to theKhitan Liao.[46]
TheHanshu andShiji do not make any special note of the physical appearance of the Wusun. The first description of the Wusun's physical appearance is found in aWestern Han dynasty book ofdivination, theJiaoshi Yilin, which describes the women of the Wusun as "with deep eyesockets, dark, ugly: their preferences are different, past their prime [still] without spouse."[47][48] A later 7th century commentary to the Hanshu byYan Shigu[49] says:
Among the barbarians (戎;Róng) in the Western Regions, the look of the Wusun is the most unusual. The present barbarians (胡人;húrén) who have green eyes and red hair, and look like macaque monkeys, are the offspring of this people.[49][50][51]
Initially, when only a few number of skulls from Wusun territory were known, the Wusun were recognized as aCaucasoid people with slightMongoloid admixture.[49] Later, in a more thorough study bySoviet archaeologists of eighty-seven skulls ofZhetysu, the six skulls of the Wusun period were determined to be purely Caucasoid or close to it.[49][52]
| Wusun | |
|---|---|
| Region | Pamir Mountains (latest) |
| Ethnicity | Wusun |
| Extinct | after 5th century |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
| Glottolog | None |
The Wusun are generally believed to be anIndo-European people[53] and speak a language belonging to theIndo-Iranian branch.[54][55][56][57] They are thought to beIranian-speaking by the archaeologistElena Kuzmina,[58]linguistJános Harmatta,[59]Joseph Kitagawa,[60] David Durand-Guédy,[61]TurkologistPeter B. Golden[62][63] andCentral Asian scholar Denis Sinor.[26][64]Yan Shigu (581–645) described the Wusun's descendants with the exonym胡人Húrén "foreigners, barbarians",[50] which had been used since the 6th century to denoteIranian peoples, especiallySogdians, inCentral Asia, besides other non-Chinese peoples.[65] Archaeological evidence also supports the idea that Wusuns were Iranian speakers.[66]
Edwin G. Pulleyblank has suggested that the Wusun, along with the Yuezhi, the Dayuan, the Kangju and the people ofYanqi, could have beenTocharian-speaking.[67][68][69][70]Colin Masica andDavid Keightley also suggest that the Wusun were Tocharian-speaking.[71][72] Sinor finds it difficult to include the Wusun within the Tocharian category of Indo-European until further research.[54]J. P. Mallory has suggested that the Wusun contained both Tocharian and Iranian elements.[63][73] Central Asian scholarChristopher I. Beckwith suggests that the Wusun wereIndo-Aryan-speaking.[10] The first syllable of the Wusun royal title Kunmi was probably the royal title while the second syllable referred to the royal family name.[10][74] Beckwith specifically suggests an Indo-Aryan etymology of the title Kunmi.[10]
In the past, some scholars suggested that the Wusun spoke aTurkic language. Chinese scholar Han Rulin, as well asÁrmin Vámbéry, A. Scherbak, P. Budberg, L. Bazin and V.P. Yudin, noted that the Wusun king's nameFu-li 拊離 (OC (20 BC)*phoʔ-rai >LHC*pʰuoᴮ-liai ~ *pʰuoᴮ-lie[75]), as reported in Chinese sources and translated as 'wolf', resembles Proto-Turkic *bȫrü 'wolf'. This suggestion however is rejected by Classical Chinese Literature expert Francis K. H. So, Professor atNational Sun Yat-sen University.[76] Other words listed by these scholars include the titlebag,beg 'lord'.[77] This theory has been criticized by modern Turkologists, including Peter B. Golden andCarter V. Findley, who explain that none of the mentioned words are actually Turkic in origin.[78][79][80] Findley notes that the termböri is probably derived from one of the Iranian languages of Central Asia (cf.Khotanesebirgga-).[79] Meanwhile, Findley considers the titlebeg as certainly derived from theSogdianbaga 'lord',[80] a cognate ofMiddle Persianbaγ (as used by the rulers of theSassanid Empire), as well asSanskritbhaga andRussianbog. According toEncyclopædia Iranica: "The origin of beg is still disputed, though it is mostly agreed that it is a loan-word. Two principal etymologies have been proposed. The first etymology is from a Middle Iranian form of Old Iranianbaga; though the meaning would fit since the Middle Persian forms of the word often mean 'lord,' used of the king or others. The second etymology is from Chinese 伯 (MCpˠæk̚ >bó) 'eldest (brother), (feudal) lord'.Gerhard Doerfer on the other hand seriously considers the possibility that the word is genuinely Turkish. Whatever the truth may be, there is no connection with Turkishberk, Mongolianberke 'strong' or Turkishbögü, Mongolianböge 'wizard, shaman.'"[81][82]
According to theShiji (c. 123) and theHanshu (c. 96),Liu Xijun, a daughter of the Han princeLiu Jian, was sent to the ruler (Kunmi or Kunmo) of the Wusun between 110 BC and 105 BC. She describes them as nomads who lived infelt tents, ateraw meat and drankfermented mare's milk.[83] Some early Chinese descriptions of the people were pejorative, describing them as "bad, greedy and unreliable, and much given to robbery", but their state was also described as very strong.[84] However, the Wusun were also noted for their harmony towards their neighbours, even though they were constantly raided by the Xiongnu and Kangju.
The principal activity of the Wusun was cattle-raising, but they also practicedagriculture. Since the climate of Zhetysu and Dzungaria did not allow constant wandering, they probably wandered with each change of season in the search of pasture and water. Numerous archaeological finds have found querns and agricultural implements and bones of domesticated animals, suggesting a semi-nomadicpastoral economy.[1]
The social structure of the Wusun resembled that of the Xiongnu. They were governed by the Great Kunmi, whose power washereditary. The Great Kunmi and his two sons, who commanded the east and left flanks of the Wusun realm, each commanded a force of 10,000 men.[1] The Wusun also fielded a regular army, with each freeman being considered a warrior. Their administrative apparatus was fairly sophisticated, consisting of sixteen officials.[1] The Great Kunmi was assisted by a council of elders, which limited his power to some degree.[1] The Wusun elite maintained itself through tribute from conquered tribes, war booty and trading profits. The booty acquired by the Wusun in their frequent conflicts enabled the administrative elite and members of the Kunmi's guard to amass enormous riches.[1]
Wusun society seems to have been highlystratified. The main source of this stratification seems to have beenpropertyownership.[1] The wealthiest Wusuns are believed to have owned as many as 4,000 to 5,000 horses, and there is evidence pointing to privileged use of certainpastures.[1] Typical of earlypatriarchal stratified societies, Wusunwidows were obliged to remain within the family of their late husband by marrying one of his relatives, a concept known aslevirate marriage.[1] Y. A. Zadneprovskiy writes that thesocial inequality among the Wusun created social unrest among the lower strata.[1] Wusun society also included manyslaves, mostly prisoners of war. The Wusun are reported as having captured 10,000 slaves in a raid against the Xiongnu.[1] Wusun slaves mainly laboured as servants and craftsmen, although the freemen formed the core of the Wusun economy.[1]
Numerous sites belonging to the Wusun period in Zhetysu and theTian Shan have been excavated. Most of the cemeteries are burial grounds with the dead interred in pit-graves, referred to as the Chil-pek group, which probably belong the local Saka population.[1] A second group ofkurgans with burials in lined "catacomb" chamber graves, of the so-called Aygîrdzhal group, are found together with the Chil-pek tombs from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD, and have been attributed to the Yuezhi.[1] Graves of the Wusun period typically contain personal belongings, with the burials of the Aygîrdzhal group often containing weapons.[1]
A famous find is theKargali burial of a femaleShaman discovered at an altitude of 2,300 m, nearAlmaty, containing jewellery, clothing, head-dress and nearly 300 gold objects. A beautiful diadem of the Kargali burial attest to the artistic skill of these ancient jewellers.[1] Another find atTenlik in eastern Zhetysu contained the grave of a high-ranking warrior, whose clothing had been decorated with around 100 golden bosses.[1]
Some scholars such as Peter B. Golden have proposed that the Wusun may have been identical with the people described byHerodotus (IV. 16–25) and inPtolemy'sGeography asIssedones (alsoIssedoni,Issedoi orEssedoni).[8][85][86] Their exact location of their country in Central Asia is unknown. The Issedones are "placed by some in Western Siberia and by others in Chinese Turkestan," according to E. D. Phillips.[87]
French historianIaroslav Lebedynsky suggests that the Wusun may have been theAsii ofGeographica.[88]
A genetic study published inNature in May 2018 examined the remains of four Wusun buried betweenc. 300 BC and 100 BC. The sample ofY-DNA extracted belonged tohaplogroup R1. The samples ofmtDNA extracted belonged toC4a1,HV6,J1c5a andU5b2c. The authors of the study found that the Wusun andKangju had lessEast Asian admixture than theXiongnu and theSaka. Both the Wusun and Kangju were suggested to be descended fromWestern Steppe Herders (WSHs) of the Late Bronze Age who admixed with Siberian hunter-gatherers and peoples related to theBactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex.[66]
One theory has suggested that the Uissun tribe of Kazakhstan is descended from the Wusun, based on the superficial similarity of the ethnonym 'Uissun' to Wusun.[90] A 2020 study could not find support for this theory, as the Uissun have a very low frequency of Haplogroup R1a (6%), most of it belonging to the Z94 clade rather than the Iranian Z93 clade.[91] Most of the Uissun lineages were typical of Mongols, supporting their historically attested Mongolian origin.[92]
| Part ofa series on |
| Indo-European topics |
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Archaeology Pontic Steppe Caucasus East Asia Eastern Europe Northern Europe Pontic Steppe Northern/Eastern Steppe Europe
South Asia Steppe Europe Caucasus Central Asia India |
Peoples and societies Indo-Aryans Iranians Nuristanis East Asia Europe East Asia Europe Indo-Aryan Iranian |
Religion and mythology |
The four tribes of the Asii and others, including the Da Yuezhi and the Wusun, were all Europoid and spoke Indo-European languages.
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