Xianzhi (Old Chinese: 鮮支 (xiānzhī)), is one of theXiongnu tribes.[1]
Xianzhi meansGardenia in Chinese.[2]
It is one of the 19Xiongnu tribes counted by theJin book. There is limited information about the Xianzhi (鮮支) tribe. According to theBook of Jin, in 417 AD, theWestern Liang rulerLi Xin defeatedJuqu Mengxun at the Xianzhi creek.[3]Dai the Elder's ritual records state that the Xianzhi (鮮支), the Qosuo, the Di, and the Qiang were pacified by Emperor Shun in the West. And the same sentence is cited as the pacified tribes inShiji, "the Western Rong, the Xizhi (析枝), the Qusou, the Di, and the Qiang". Based on this, it is possible to say that it is mentioned as Xianzhi in the Jin book and the Book of Rites, but as Xizhi in Shiji.[4]