Xianbei 鮮卑 Xiānbēi | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd century BC–3rd century AD | |||||||||||||
![Territory of the Xianbei Confederation under Tanshihuai during the late 2nd century. It spanned from the Liao River in the east to the borders of the Wusun in the west. North of them were the Dingling people that resided south of Lake Baikal.[1][2][3]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aXianbei_Confederation_c._160_AD.png) Territory of the Xianbei Confederation underTanshihuai during the late 2nd century. It spanned from theLiao River in the east to the borders of theWusun in the west. North of them were theDingling people that resided south ofLake Baikal.[1][2][3] | |||||||||||||
| Status | Nomadic empire | ||||||||||||
| Capital | Mount Danhan (around present-dayShangyi County,Hebei) | ||||||||||||
| Common languages | Xianbei | ||||||||||||
| Religion | Shamanism Tengrism Buddhism[4] | ||||||||||||
| Government | Tribalconfederation | ||||||||||||
| Chieftain | |||||||||||||
• c. 156–181 | Tanshihuai | ||||||||||||
• c. 181–189 | Helian | ||||||||||||
• c. 190s | Kuitou | ||||||||||||
| Historical era | Antiquity | ||||||||||||
• Established | 3rd century BC | ||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 3rd century AD | ||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||
| 200[5] | 4,500,000 km2 (1,700,000 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Xianbei | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 鮮卑 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 鲜卑 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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TheXianbei (/ʃjɛnˈbeɪ/;simplified Chinese:鲜卑;traditional Chinese:鮮卑;pinyin:Xiānbēi) were an ancient nomadic people that once resided in the easternEurasian steppes in what is todayMongolia,Inner Mongolia, andNortheastern China. The Xianbei were likely not of a single ethnicity, but rather a multilingual, multi-ethnic confederation consisting of mainlyProto-Mongols (who spoke either pre-Proto-Mongolic,[6][7][8][9] orPara-Mongolic languages[9]), and, to a minor degree,Tungusic[10] andTurkic peoples.[6][11] They originated from theDonghu people who splintered into theWuhuan and Xianbei when they were defeated by theXiongnu at the end of the third century BC. Following the split, the Xianbei people did not have direct contact with the Han dynasty, residing to the north of the Wuhuan. In the first century BC, the Xianbei began actively engaging in the struggle between the Han and Xiongnu, culminating in the Xianbei replacing the Xiongnu on theMongolian Plateau.
In the mid-2nd century, the chieftain,Tanshihuai unified the Xianbei and waged war against the Han dynasty. His confederation threatened the Han's northern borders for many years, but quickly disintegrated following his death in 181 AD. After suffering several defeats by the end of theThree Kingdoms period, the Xianbei migrated south and settled in close proximity to Han society and submitted as vassals to the Chinese dynasties. As one of the so-called "Five Barbarians" that settled in northern China, the Xianbei fought as auxiliaries for theWestern Jin dynasty during theWar of the Eight Princes and theUpheaval of the Five Barbarians before eventually distancing themselves and declaring their autonomy as the Jin were pushed to the south. During theSixteen Kingdoms period, the Xianbei founded several short-lived states in the north and established themselves on theCentral Plains.[12][13]
The Xianbei were at one point all subjected to theDi-ledFormer Qin dynasty before it fell apart not long after its defeat in theBattle of Fei River by the Eastern Jin. In the wake of the Former Qin's collapse, theTuoba formed theNorthern Wei dynasty and eventually reunited northern China, ushering China into theNorthern and Southern dynasties period. TheNorthern dynasties, all of which were either led or heavily influenced by the Xianbei, opposed and promotedsinicization at one point or another but trended towards the latter and had merged with the general Chinese population by theTang dynasty.[14][15][16][17][18] TheNorthern Wei also arranged for ethnic Han elites to marry daughters of theTuoba imperial clan in the 480s.[19] More than fifty percent of Tuoba Xianbei princesses of the Northern Wei were married to southern Han men from the imperial families and aristocrats from southern China of theSouthern dynasties who defected and moved north to join the Northern Wei.[20]
Paul Pelliot tentatively reconstructs theEastern Han Chinese pronunciation of 鮮卑 as */serbi/, from *Särpi, after noting that Chinese scribes used 鮮 to transcribeMiddle Persiansēr (lion) and 卑 to transcribe foreign syllable /pi/; for instance,Sanskrit गोपीgopī "milkmaid, cowherdess" became Middle Chinese 瞿卑 (ɡɨo-piᴇ) (>Mand.qúbēi).[21]
On the one hand,*Särpi may be linked to the Mongolic root*ser ~*sir which means "crest, bristle, sticking out, projecting, etc." (cf.Khalkha сэрвэнserven), possibly referring to theXianbei's horses (semantically analogous with the Turkic ethnonymYabaqu <Yapağu 'matted hair or wool', later 'a matted-haired animal, i.e. a colt').[22] On the other hand, theBook of the Later Han and theBook of Wei stated that before becoming an ethnonym, Xianbei had been a toponym, referring to the Great Xianbei mountains (大鮮卑山), which is now identified as theGreater Khingan range (simplified Chinese:大兴安岭;traditional Chinese:大興安嶺;pinyin:Dà Xīng'ān Lǐng).[23][24][25]
Schuessler (2014) reconstructs 鮮卑's Old Chinese pronunciation in the 1st century BCE as *sen-pe, and Eastern Han Chinese pronunciation assian pie; while reconstructing no syllable coda-r for 鮮's pronunciation in any of those two stages, Schuessler remarks that "[i]n syllable-final positionn represents foreignn as well asr and perhapsl", and still derives both *sian pie and *sen-pe from foreign *Särbi.[26]
Shimunek (2018) reconstructs *serbi for Xiānbēi and *širwi for 室韋Shìwéi < MC*ɕiɪt̚-ɦʉi.[27]
Warring States period'sChinese literature contains early mentions of Xianbei, as in the poemThe Great Summons in the anthologyChu Ci[28] and possibly the chapter "Discourses of Jin 8" in theGuoyu.[29][30][a]
When theDonghu "Eastern Barbarians" were defeated byModu Chanyu around 208 BC, the Donghu splintered into the Xianbei and Wuhuan.[44] According to theBook of the Later Han, "the language and culture of the Xianbei are the same as theWuhuan".[45]
The first significant contact the Xianbei had with theHan dynasty was in 41 and 45, when they joined the Wuhuan and Xiongnu in raiding Han territory.[46]
In 49, the governor Ji Tong convinced the Xianbei chieftain Pianhe to turn on the Xiongnu with rewards for each Xiongnu head they collected.[46] In 54, Yuchouben and Mantou of the Xianbei paid tribute toEmperor Guangwu of Han.[47]
In 58, the Xianbei chieftain Pianhe attacked and killed Xinzhiben, a Wuhuan leader causing trouble inYuyang Commandery.[48]
In 85, the Xianbei secured an alliance with theDingling andSouthern Xiongnu.[46]
In 87, the Xianbei attacked the XiongnuchanyuYouliu and killed him. They flayed him and his followers and took the skins back as trophies.[49]
In 93, as the Northern Xiongnu were forced to the northwest by the Han dynasty, the Xianbei began occupying theMongolian Plateau, absorbing 100,000 Xiongnu tribes and increasing their strength.
In 109, the Wuhuan and Xianbei attackedWuyuan Commandery and defeated the local Han forces.[50] The Southern Xiongnu chanyuWanshishizhudi rebelled against the Han and attacked the Emissary Geng Chong but failed to oust him. Han forces underGeng Kui retaliated and defeated a force of 3,000 Xiongnu but could not take the Southern Xiongnu capital due to disease among the horses of their Xianbei allies.[50]
The Xianbei under Qizhijian raided Han territory four times from 121 to 138.[51] In 145, the Xianbei raidedDai Commandery.[52]
Around the mid-2nd century, a chieftain,Tanshihuai, unified the Xianbei tribes and established an imperial court at Mount Danhan (in present-dayShangyi County,Hebei). Under Tanshihuai, the Xianbei attacked theWusun in the west and repelled theDingling from the north andBuyeo from the east. He divided the Xianbei empire into three sections, each governed by an appointed chieftain.[1][53][54]
Tanshihuai of the Xianbei divided his territory into three sections: the eastern, the middle and the western. From theYou Beiping to theLiao 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 彌加, Queji 闕機, Suli 素利 and Huaitou 槐頭. 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 柯最, Queju 闕居, Murong 慕容, 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 置鞬落羅, Rilü Tuiyan 曰律推演, Yanliyou 宴荔游, et al. These chiefs were all subordinate to Tanshihuai.
Throughout his reign, Tanshihuai aggressively raided the Han dynasty's northern borders, with his first recorded raid being in 156. In 166, he allied with theSouthern Xiongnu andWuhuan to attackShaanxi andGansu. These raids devastated the border commanderies and claimed many lives. Though the Han was able to repel them at times, they were concerned that they would not be able to subdue Tanshihuai. The Han attempted to appease him by offering him the title of King, but Tanshihuai rejected them and continued to harass their borders.
In 177, Xia Yu, Tian Yan and the Southern Xiongnuchanyu,Tute Ruoshi Zhujiu led a force of 30,000 against the Xianbei. They were defeated and returned with only one-tenth of their original forces.[56] A memorial made that year records that the Xianbei had taken all the lands previously held by the Xiongnu and their warriors numbered 100,000. Han deserters who sought refuge in their lands served as their advisers and refined metals as well as wrought iron came into their possession. Their weapons were sharper and their horses faster than those of the Xiongnu. Another memorial submitted in 185 states that the Xianbei were making raids on Han settlements nearly every year.[57]
Despite the constant raids, the loose Xianbei confederacy lacked the organization of the Xiongnu Empire, and they were struggling to sustain their growing population.[58] Tanshihuai died in 181 and was succeeded by his son, Helian, but he lacked his father's abilities and was killed in a raid onBeidi during the last years ofEmperor Ling of Han.[59] Helian's son, Qianman was too young at the time of his father's death, so the chieftains elected his nephew, Kuitou, to succeed him. Once Qianman came of age, however, he challenged his cousin to succession, destroying the last vestiges of unity among the Xianbei.
%2c_from_Xianbei_tomb_in_Yushu%2c_Jilin_Province.jpg)
%2c_from_Xianbei_tomb_in_Yushu%2c_Jilin_Province.jpg)
By theJian'an era (196–220), the Xianbei had split into many different groups, including the Kuitou ruling inInner Mongolia,Kebineng in northernShanxi, and Suli, Mijia and Queji in northernLiaodong. Following his death, Kuitou's brothersBudugen andFuluohan divided his territory among themselves. AfterCao Cao defeated theWuhuan at theBattle of White Wolf Mountain in 207, Budugen, Fuluohan, Kebineng and others paid tribute to him. In 218, Fuluohan met with the Wuhuan chieftain Nengchendi to form an alliance, but Nengchendi double crossed him and called in Kebineng, who killed Fuluohan.[60] Budugen went to the court ofCao Wei in 224 to ask for assistance against Kebineng, but he eventually betrayed them and allied with Kebineng in 233. Kebineng killed Budugen soon afterwards.[61]
Kebineng was from a minor Xianbei tribe. He rose to power west ofDai Commandery by taking in a number of Chinese refugees, who helped him drill his soldiers and make weapons. After the defeat of the Wuhuan in 207, he also sent tribute to Cao Cao, and provided assistance against the rebel Tian Yin. In 218 he allied himself to the Wuhuan rebel Nengchendi but they were defeated and forced back across the frontier byCao Zhang. In 220, he acknowledgedCao Pi as emperor of Cao Wei. Eventually, he turned on Wei for frustrating his advances on Suli. Kebineng conducted raids on Cao Wei before he was killed in 235, after which his confederacy disintegrated.[62]
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Many of the Xianbei tribes migrated south and settled on the borders of the Wei-Jin dynasties, where they often offered their submission. In 258, theTuoba tribe settled in the abandoned city ofShengle, north of theYin Mountains.[12] To the east of them, theYuwen tribe settled between theLuan River andLiucheng, while theMurong tribe were allowed to move deeper intoLiaodong. TheDuan tribe was founded inLiaoxi within theGreat Wall by a Xianbei ex-slave along with a group of exiles. In the west, an offshoot of the Murong moved into northernQinghai and mixed with the nativeQiang people, becoming theTuyuhun.[46] The Qifu tribe settled near theLongxi basin, while a branch of the Tuoba, the Tufa tribe, roamed theHexi corridor. In 270, the Tufa chieftain,Tufa Shujineng, led the various ethnic tribes in the northwest in arebellion against theJin dynasty inQin andLiang provinces but was defeated in 279 byMa Long.[1]
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During theWar of the Eight Princes, the Xianbei of the northeast, primarily theDuan, were brought in to fight in the civil wars of the Jin princes and played a deciding factor in the wars. When theXiongnu inShanxi rebelled and founded theHan-Zhao dynasty, the Tuoba offered their assistance to the Jin to fight the rebels. The Jin were heavily reliant on the Xianbei's military force as they gradually lost the north during theupheaval of the Five Barbarians. For their services, the Duan and Tuoba were granted the duchies ofLiaoxi andDai, respectively. However, for varying reasons, most of the Xianbei eventually withdrew from the conflict, allowing the remnants of the Jin to be quickly overwhelmed. Mass number of Chinese officers, soldiers and civilians fled south to join the Eastern Jin or north to join the Xianbei duchies.
The Xianbei founded several of theSixteen Kingdoms in northern China. TheMurong ofLiaodong were the most prominent clan of this period. Having adopted the Jin governing system and customs, they rose to prominence during the fall of Western Jin by providing refuge and cooperating closely with the Chinese exiles, eventually establishing Xianbei rule over theCentral Plains after they defeated theRan Wei in 352. They founded theFormer Yan (337–370),Later Yan (384–407) andSouthern Yan (398–410), as well as theWestern Yan (384–394; not listed among the Sixteen Kingdoms). The Murong dominated the northeast and at one point vied to unify China, but fell short due to family infighting, corruption and weak rulers. Meanwhile, inGansu, the Qifu established theWestern Qin (385–431) while the Tufa established theSouthern Liang (397–414).
The Tuoba retained their fiefdom ofDai (310–376), which was elevated to a kingdom in 315, before they were eventually conquered by theDi-ledFormer Qin dynasty. With the fall of Dai, northern China was briefly unified under the Qin, but as they rapidly collapsed following a disastrous defeat at theBattle of Fei River in 383, the Tuoba restored their state as theNorthern Wei dynasty (386–535), becoming the first of theNorthern dynasties (386–581). The Northern Wei grew in power after they defeated and supplanted the Later Yan on theCentral Plains. In 439, they conquered the last of theSixteen Kingdoms, thereby unifying the north and completing the transition into theNorthern and Southern dynasties period.[63][64][65]
The Northern Wei unification was long-lasting and brought a period of relative peace to the north in the wake of the chaotic Sixteen Kingdoms period. The Xianbei had naturally been in the process ofsinicization since they first entered the Chinese interior, but this process became systemic during the late Northern Wei period.Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei established a policy of systematic sinicization that was continued by his successors and largely abandoned Xianbei traditions. The royal family took sinicization a step further by decreeing thechange of Xianbei names to Han names, even changing their own family name fromTuoba to Yuan. Xiaowen also moved the capital toLuoyang in the Chinese heartlands away fromPingcheng near the northern frontiers. While the population in Luoyang were open to accepting the policies, the population near the old capital were more conservative and held on to their Xianbei culture.
Marriages to Han elite families were encouraged, and the Northern Wei started to arrange for Han Chinese elites to marry daughters of the Tuoba in the 480s.[19] More than fifty percent of Tuoba Xianbei princesses of the Northern Wei were married to southern Han Chinese men from the imperial families and aristocrats from southern China of theSouthern dynasties who defected and moved north to join the Northern Wei.[66] Some Han Chinese exiled royalty fled from southern China and defected to the Xianbei. Several daughters of the Xianbeiemperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei were married to Han Chinese elites, theLiu Song royal Liu Hui, married Princess Lanling of the Northern Wei,[67][68][69][70][71] Princess Huayang to Sima Fei, a descendant ofJin dynasty (266–420) royalty, Princess Jinan to Lu Daoqian, Princess Nanyang toXiao Baoyin, a member ofSouthern Qi royalty.[72]Emperor Xiaozhuang of Northern Wei's sister the Shouyang Princess was wedded to theLiang dynasty rulerEmperor Wu of Liang's son Xiao Zong.[73]
After theSix Frontier Towns Rebellion and the events that followed, the Northern Wei split intoEastern Wei (534–550) andWestern Wei (535–556) before becoming theNorthern Qi (550–577) andNorthern Zhou (557–581) respectively.[74] The chaos allowed the Xianbei frontier nobility to enter the Central Plains and pushback on the Wei's sinicization policies. The Northern Qi was ruled by the Gao clan, a Xianbeified Han Chinese family who relied on the Xianbei elites and favoured their traditions. Meanwhile, the Northern Zhou was ruled by theYuwen clan of Xianbei ethnicity. Ruling over a predominantly Chinese population, the military reforms of the Western Wei and Northern Zhou saw an attempt to revive the Xianbei warrior culture, which included reverting the sinicized names of the Northern Wei and rewarding Han Chinese officers with Xianbei names. The Prime Minister of Northern Zhou,Yang Jian, later had these names restored back to Han names.
In 581, Yang Jian founded theSui dynasty (581–618) and unified China in 589 after absorbing theChen dynasty (557–589). When the Sui came to an end amidst peasantrebellions and renegade troops, his cousin,Li Yuan, founded theTang dynasty (618–907). Both Sui and Tang were founded by families who identified with their Han Chinese patrilineage, and were backed by an alliance of Chinese and Xianbei nobles from the Northern Zhou who sought to protect their common interest.[75][76] Through these political establishments, the Xianbei who entered China and their culture were largely merged with the Chinese, examples such as the wife ofEmperor Gaozu of Tang,Duchess Dou andEmperor Taizong of Tang's wife,Empress Zhangsun, both having Xianbei ancestries.[77]
The Xianbei who remained behind in the northern grassland evolved into tribes of theRouran Khaganate andKhitan people. In the west, theTuyuhun remained independent until it was defeated by theTibetan Empire in 670. After the fall of the kingdom, the Tuyuhun underwent a diaspora over a vast territory that stretched from the northwest into central and eastern parts of China.Murong Nuohebo led them eastward into central China, where they settled in modernYinchuan, Ningxia.
The economic base of the Xianbei wasanimal husbandry combined with agricultural practice. They were the first to develop thekhanate system,[78] in which formation of social classes deepened, and developments also occurred in their literacy, arts and culture. They used a zodiac calendar and favoured song and music.Tengrism and subsequentlyBuddhism were the main religions among the Xianbei people. After they abandoned the frigid north and migrated intoNorthern China, they gradually abandoned nomadic lifestyle and weresinicized and assimilated into theHan Chinese.Emperor Xiaowen of the Xianbei-led state ofNorthern Wei in northern China, eventually decreed thechanges of Xianbei names to Han names.[79] Prior to Tanshihuai, the Xianbei did not have ahereditary system, and their chieftains were chosen by electing a member of their tribe based on their character and abilities. Even as they established their states on theCentral Plains and adopted the Chinese hereditary system, influential brothers, uncles and cousins of the Xianbei rulers often posed as rival claimants to the throne.[80]
Art of the Xianbei portrayed their nomadic lifestyle and consisted primarily of metalwork and figurines. The style and subjects of Xianbei art were influenced by a variety of influences, and ultimately, the Xianbei were known for emphasizing unique nomadic motifs in artistic advancements such as leaf headdresses, crouching and geometricized animals depictions, animal pendant necklaces, and metalopenwork.[81]
The leaf headdresses were characteristic of Xianbei culture, and are found especially in Murong Xianbei tombs. Their corresponding ornamental style also links the Xianbei to Bactria. These gold hat ornaments represented trees and antlers and, in Chinese, they are referred to as buyao ("step sway") since the thin metal leaves move when the wearer moves. Sun Guoping first uncovered this type of artifact, and defined three main styles: "Blossoming Tree" (huashu), which is mounted on the front of a cap near the forehead and has one or more branches with hanging leaves that are circle or droplet shaped, "Blossoming Top" (dinghua), which is worn on top of the head and resembles a tree or animal with many leaf pendants, and the rare "Blossoming Vine" (huaman), which consists of "gold strips interwoven with wires with leaves."[82] Leaf headdresses were made with hammered gold and decorated by punching out designs and hanging the leaf pendants with wire. The exact origin, use, and wear of these headdresses is still being investigated and determined. However, headdresses similar to those later also existed and were worn by women in the courts.[81][82]
Another key form of Xianbei art is animal iconography, which was implemented primarily in metalwork. The Xianbei stylistically portrayed crouching animals in geometricized, abstracted, repeated forms, and distinguished their culture and art by depicting animal predation and same-animal combat. Typically, sheep, deer, and horses were illustrated. The artifacts, usually plaques or pendants, were made from metal, and the backgrounds were decorated with openwork or mountainous landscapes, which harks back to the Xianbei nomadic lifestyle. With repeated animal imagery, an openwork background, and a rectangular frame, the included image of the three deer plaque is a paradigm of the Xianbei art style. Concave plaque backings imply that plaques were made usinglost-wax casting, or raised designs were impressed on the back of hammered metal sheets.[83][84]
Horses played a large role in the existence of the Xianbei as a nomadic people, and in one tomb, a horse skull lay atop Xianbei bells, buckles, ornaments, a saddle, and one gilded bronze stirrup.[85] The Xianbei also made art depicting horses. A recurring motif was the winged horse. It has been suggested by archaeologist Su Bai that this symbol was a "heavenly beast in the shape of a horse" because of its prominence in Xianbei mythology.[83]
Xianbei figurines help to portray the people of the society by representing pastimes, depicting specialized clothing, and implying various beliefs. Most figurines have been recovered from Xianbei tombs, so they are primarily military and musical figures meant to serve the deceased in afterlife processions and guard their tomb. Furthermore, the figurine clothing specifies the according social statuses: higher-ranking Xianbei wore long-sleeved robes with a straight neck shirt underneath, while lower-ranking Xianbei wore trousers and belted tunics.[86]
Xianbei Buddhist influences were derived from interactions with Han culture. The Han bureaucrats initially helped the Xianbei run their state, but eventually the Xianbei became Sinophiles and promoted Buddhism. The beginning of this conversion is evidenced by the Buddha imagery that emerges in Xianbei art. For instance, the included Buddha imprinted leaf headdress represents the Xianbei conversion and Buddhist synthesis since it combines both the traditional nomadic Xianbei leaf headdress with the new imagery of Buddha. This Xianbei religious conversion continued to develop in the Northern Wei dynasty, and ultimately led to the creation of theYungang Grottoes.[81]
| Xianbei | |
|---|---|
| Serbi | |
| Native to | Xianbei |
| Region | Mongolian–Manchurian grassland |
| Ethnicity | Xianbei |
| Era | c. 3rd century BC – c. 3rd century AD |
Serbi–Mongolic?
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
| Glottolog | None |
The Xianbei are thought to have spokenMongolic orPara-Mongolic languages, with early and substantialTurkic influences, as Claus Schönig asserts:
The Xianbei derived from the context of theDonghu, who are likely to have contained the linguistic ancestors of theMongols. Later branches and descendants of the Xianbei include theTabghach andKhitan, who seem to have been linguistically Para-Mongolic. [...] Opinions differ widely as to what the linguistic impact of the Xianbei period was. Some scholars (like Clauson) have preferred to regard the Xianbei and Tabghach (Tuoba) as Turks, with the implication that the entire layer of early Turkic borrowings in Mongolic would have been received from the Xianbei, rather than from the Xiongnu. However, since the Mongolic (or Para-Mongolic) identity of the Xianbei is increasingly obvious in the light of recent progress inKhitan studies, it is more reasonable to assume (with Doerfer) that the flow of linguistic influence from Turkic into Mongolic was at least partly reversed during the Xianbei period, yielding the first identifiable layer of Mongolic (or Para-Mongolic) loanwords in Turkic.[9]
It is also possible that the Xianbei spoke more than one language.[88][89][10][6]
However, there are no remaining works written in Xianbei, which are thought to have been written usingChinese characters. Only a few words remain, such as 啊干 'elder brother'.[90][91]
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According to Du, et al. (2024), some historians believe that the Xianbei could have had "exotic" features such as high nose bridges, blond hair and thick beards. However, other scholars have suggested the appearance of the Xianbei was not dramatically different from modern East Asians. A genetic analysis ofEmperor Wu of Northern Zhou revealed that he had an East Asian appearance, consistent with the hypothesis that the Xianbei were primarily of East Asian appearance.[93]
Yellow hair in Chinese sources could have meant brown rather than blonde and described other people such as the Jie rather than the Xianbei. HistorianEdward H. Schafer believes many of the Xianbei were blondes, but others such as Charles Holcombe think it is "likely that the bulk of the Xianbei were not visibly very different in appearance from the general population of northeastern Asia."[88] Chinese anthropologist Zhu Hong and Zhang Quan-chao studied Xianbei crania from several sites of Inner Mongolia and noticed that anthropological features of studied Xianbei crania show that the racial type is closely related to the modern East-Asians, and some physical characteristics of those skulls are closer to modern Mongols,Manchu andHan Chinese.[94]
A genetic study published inThe FEBS Journal in October 2006 examined themtDNA of 21 Tuoba Xianbei buried at the Qilang Mountain Cemetery inInner Mongolia, China. The 21 samples of mtDNA extracted belonged to haplogroupsO (9 samples),D (7 samples),C (5 samples),B (2 samples) andA.[95] These haplogroups are characteristic of Northeast Asians.[96] Among modern populations they were found to be most closely related to theOroqen people.[97]
A genetic study published in theRussian Journal of Genetics in April 2014 examined the mtDNA of 17 Tuoba Xianbei buried at the Shangdu Dongdajing cemetery in Inner Mongolia, China. The 17 samples of mtDNA extracted belonged to haplogroupsD4 (four samples),D5 (three samples), C (five samples), A (three samples),G and B.[98]
A genetic study published in theAmerican Journal of Physical Anthropology in November 2007 examined 17 individuals buried at aMurong Xianbei cemetery in Lamadong,Liaoning, China ca. 300 AD.[99] They were determined to be carriers of the maternal haplogroupsJ1b1, D (three samples),F1a (three samples),M, B,B5b, C (three samples) andG2a.[100] These haplogroups are common among East Asians and some Siberians. The maternal haplogroups of the Murong Xianbei were noticeably different from those of the Huns and Tuoba Xianbei.[99]
A genetic study published in theAmerican Journal of Physical Anthropology in August 2018 noted that the paternalhaplogroup C2b1a1b has been detected among the Xianbei and theRouran, and was probably an important lineage among theDonghu people.[101]
A full genome analysis published in November 2023 analyzed the genomic data of nine Xianbei individuals (ca. 200 CE to 300 CE), together with previous published Xianbei samples, covering almost the entire period of Xianbei as well as pre- and post-Xianbei periods, and found that the Xianbei displayed a homogenous population with nearly exclusiveAncient Northeast Asian ancestry. The authors further remark that these results are consistent with anAmur River region, specifically around theGreater Khingan mountain range area, origin for the ancestral Xianbei population. Early Xianbei did not display signs of admixture from surrounding groups, while later Xianbei displayed limited amounts of admixture with "late Xiongnu-Sarmatian-like" andHan Chinese ("Yellow River farmer-like") groups. Later Xianbei in Northern China adopted an agricultural lifestyle and mixed with the local population, contributing to the genetic history of Northern China.[102]
A 2024 study on Xianbei remains, including the remains ofEmperor Wu of Northern Zhou, found them to be derived primarily fromAncient Northeast Asians at c. 62–96%, with a lower amount of admixture from Neolithic 'Yellow River farmers' (associated withHan Chinese) at c. 4–32%.Western Steppe Herder ancestry was only found at low amounts or absent entirely among the different Xianbei remains (average at c. 2–7%). The analysed Xianbei remains display their closest genetic affinities to ancientKhitan andMohe people, as well as modern-dayMongolic peoples. The amount of Ancient Northeast Asian and Yellow River farmer ancestries varied depending on geographic location, suggesting a form of heterogeneity among the ancient Xianbei. In contrast to the Xianbei, the earlyTurkic ruling class, theAshina tribe, was found to be nearly entirely derived from Ancient Northeast Asians without significant Yellow River ancestry.[103]
Most Xianbei clans adopted Chinese family names during the Northern Wei dynasty. In particular,many were sinicized underEmperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei.
The Northern Wei's Eight Noble Xianbei surnames八大贵族 were the Buliugu 步六孤, Helai 賀賴,Dugu獨孤, Helou 賀樓, Huniu 忽忸, Qiumu 丘穆, Gexi 紇奚, and Yuchi尉遲.
The "Monguor" (Tu) people in modern China may have descended from the Xianbei who were led byTuyuhun Khan to migrate westward and establish theTuyuhun Kingdom (284–670) in the third century andWestern Xia (1038–1227) through the thirteenth century.[104] Today they are primarily distributed in Qinghai and Gansu Province, and speak a Mongolic language.
TheXibe or "Xibo" people also believe they are descendants of the Xianbei, with considerable controversies that have attributed their origins to theJurchens, theElunchun, and the Xianbei.[105][106]
Xianbei descendants among the Korean population carry surnames such as Mo 모 (Chinese:慕;pinyin:mù;Wade–Giles:mu (shortened fromMurong)), 석; (Revised Romanization: Seok;McCune–Reischauer: Sŏk;Chinese:石;pinyin:shí;Wade–Giles:shih (shortened from Wushilan 烏石蘭)), 원 (Revised Romanization: Won; McCune–Reischauer: Wŏn;Chinese:元;pinyin:yuán;Wade–Giles:yüan (the adopted Chinese surname of theTuoba) and Dokgo독고 (Chinese:獨孤;pinyin:Dúgū;Wade–Giles:Tuku (fromDugu)).[107][108][109][110][111][112][113]
Xiao Baoyin.
In addition, Xianbei's appearance remains controversial in historical records. Some have described the Xianbei people as having some exotic characteristics with thick beards, yellow hair, and protuberant "high" noses33,34,35; others believe that most Xianbei were not visibly dramatically different from the general population of northeastern Asia.29 The latter view is in line with our genetic prediction
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