Hu (; IPA: ) also Huren (胡人, "Hu people") or Huzu (胡族, "Hu tribes"), was a rather vague term to designate ancient barbarians, namely populations beyond the Central Plains, generally to the north and west of the Huaxia realm. The Hu are usually horse or mounted nomads. According to Hill (2009): Ancient Chinese dynasties such as the Shang dynasty and Zhou dynasty, into the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period was a period in Chinese history from approximately 770 to 476 BC (or according to some authorities until 403 BC) which corresponds roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou period. The period's name derives fr ...

, recount of numerous encounters with the nomadic tribes of the northern steppes and other alien tribes. At that time, the preferred term to designate them was the " Four Barbarians" ( zh, c=四夷, p=sìyí), each was named for a cardinal direction: the '' Dongyi'' (東夷, "Eastern Barbarians"), '' Nanman'' (南蠻, "Southern Barbarians"), '' Xirong'' (西戎, "Western Barbarians"), and '' Beidi'' (北狄, "Northern Barbarians"). According to Di Cosmo, the Chinese considered the Hu as "a new type of foreigner" and "This term, whatever its origin, soon came to indicate an 'anthropological type' rather than a specific group or tribe, which the records allow us to identify as early steppe nomads. The Hu were the source of the introduction of cavalry in China." During the pre- Qin dynasty (before 221 BCE) period, the term "Hu" (胡) came to be used to designate the

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 209 ...

barbarians to the north of China. The vassal of the Xiongnu, and later confidant of Emperor Han Wudi, Jin Midi (134–86 BCE) would be described as both a Hu (胡), and a Yidi (夷狄).

Ban Gu Ban Gu (AD32–92) was a Chinese historian, politician, and poet best known for his part in compiling the ''Book of Han'', the second of China's 24 dynastic histories. He also wrote a number of '' fu'', a major literary form, part prose ...

also uses the terms 夷狄 ''yidi'' to describe Jin Midi: 金日磾夷狄亡国 "The nation of the barbarian Jin Midi was destroyed" in Indo-European "Scythian" Sakas from Central Asia, or the Yuezhi would also be referred as "Hu". Some northeastern barbarians were also referred as the Donghu ("Eastern Hu"). Huteng dancer

During the Han dynasty (202 BCE-220 CE) and Jin dynasty (266–420 CE) "Hu" tends to refer to the Five Barbarians (五胡), which are the

, Xianbei, Jie, Di, and Qiang. Later, "Hu" was also used to designate various groups of Iranians in China, especially the Sogdians, whose cultural practices would be qualified as "Hu", such as their dance the "

Huteng Huteng ( zh, s=胡腾, t=胡騰, p=Húténg, l=Barbarian leap, also 胡腾舞, ''Húténgwǔ'', "Dance of the Barbarian leap") was the Chinese term for a type of dance that originated in Central Asia, especially among the Sogdians and the region of ...

" (胡腾, "Barbarian hopping"), or the

Sogdian Whirl dance The Sogdian Whirl dance or Sogdian Whirl (in Chinese ''huxuan wu'', zh, 胡旋舞) was a Sogdian dance imported in China in the first half of the first millennium AD. The dance was imitated by the Chinese, and became extremely popular in China, w ...

(胡旋, ''Húxuăn'', "Whirling Barbarian", also 胡旋舞, ''Húxuănwǔ'', "Dance of the Whirling Barbarian"), but known as "Sogdian Whirl dance" or simply "Sogdian whirl" to Western scholars. The "

Jihu The Jihu (), also known as the Buluoji (), Buluojian (), and Shanhu (), were a Hu people who lived along the Yellow River in northern Guannei and Hedong during the 7th century AD. According to Jonathan Karam Skaff, the Jihu had facial features d ...

" (稽胡) were indigenous inhabitants of Shaanbei and Western Shanxi in the 7th century CE. Pulleyblank E. G. (1994) �
Ji Hu: Indigenous Inhabitants of Shaanbei and Western Shanxi
�� in Edward H. Kaplan, ed.,'' Opuscula Altaica: Essays presented in honor of Henry Schwarz''. ed. by. Bellingham: Western Washington University. pp. 518-519 of 499-531

References

{{Historical Non-Chinese peoples in China Chinese words and phrases