The Huyan (; LHC: *''ha^(C)-jan'' <

Old Chinese Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese language, Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones ...

(~200 BCE): *''hɑ-jan^H/B'') was a noble house that led the last remnants of the

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

Dzungaria Dzungaria (; from the Mongolian language, Mongolian words , meaning 'left hand') is a geographical subregion in Northwest China that corresponds to the northern half of Xinjiang. It is thus also known as Beijiang, which means "Northern Xinjiang" ...

during the second century after the

Battle of the Altai Mountains The Battle of Altai Mountains (), was a major expedition launched against the Northern Xiongnu by the Han Dynasty in June AD 89. The battle was a success for the Han under Dou Xian (d. AD 92).'' Book of Later Han'', vols. 04, 19, 23, 88, 89, ...

. The House of Huyan emerged during the political organization that came under

Modun Modu, Maodun, Modun (, from Old Chinese (220 B.C.E.): *''mouᴴ-tuən'' or *''mək-tuən'', c. 234 – c. 174 BCE) was the son of Touman and the founder of the empire of the Xiongnu. He came to power by ordering his men to kill his father in 209 B ...

's reign which saw the Xiongnu reach its

apogee An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion. General description There are two apsides in any ellip ...

. It is an earlier maternal lineage name subsequently replaced by

Xubu The Xubu (; LHC: *''sio-pok'') was a tribe of the Xiongnu tribe that flourished between 3rd century BCE to 4th century CE. Chinese annals noted that the Xubu tribe replaced the Huyan tribe, which was an earlier maternal dynastic tribe of the dynast ...

, much as the

Ashina Ashina may refer to: *Ashina tribe, a ruling dynasty of the Turkic Khaganate *Ashina clan (Japan),_one_of_the_Japanese_clans *Ashina_District,_Hiroshima.html" ;"title="DF 7 of 80; retrieved 2013-5-4 ..., one of the Japanese clans *Ashina District, H ...

and Yujiulu (郁久閭).Lin (1986), p. 33–45, 114-119Wang (2004), p. 132–147, The Mongol

Khiyad A Borjigin, ; ; russian: Борджигин, Bordžigin; English plural: Borjigins or Borjigid (from Middle Mongolian);''Histoire des campagnes de Gengis Khan'', p. 119. Manchu plural: is a member of the Mongol sub-clan, which started with ...

tribe's name is probably derived from Huyan. By the 3rd century BCE, the upper stratum of 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 20 ...

was made up of five aristocratic houses,

Luandi The Luandi (; alternatively written as Xulianti ) was the ruling clan of the ancient Xiongnu that flourished between 3rd century BCE to 4th century CE. The form Luandi comes from the ''Book of Han'', while the form Xulianti comes from the ''Book of ...

(house of the

Chanyu Chanyu () or Shanyu (), short for Chengli Gutu Chanyu (), was the title used by the supreme rulers of Inner Asian nomads for eight centuries until superseded by the title "''Khagan''" in 402 CE. The title was most famously used by the ruling L ...

and the

Tuqi King The Tuqi King () was a high office of the Xiongnu, a title also known to the Chinese as "worthy/wise prince/king".Chen (1999), p. 237–277Ma (2005), p. 397–411 In the 6th to 8th centuries, Chinese annalists used the expression 贤王 ''Xian wang ...

of the east and west), Huyan,

Qiulin Qiulin ({{zh, c=丘林 < LHC: *''kʰu-lim'' < *''khwə-rəm''Schuessler, Axel (2014) "Phonological Notes on Hàn Period Transcriptions of Fo ...

and Lan. Both the Huyan and Xubu settled in the east, Qiulin and Lan in the west and Luandi in modern-day central

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

.Wang (2004), p. 132–147, Around the first century BCE, a supreme administrative council dominated the upper Xiongnu hierarchy and this was composed of six top-ranking nobles, which included the "Rizhu kings" of the Left and Right. These titles were later transferred to the Huyan clan, which became influential due its close relationship with the royal family by way of marriage. Historical record also cited a Huyan tribe called Barkol, which attacked and demolished the Yiwu garrison of the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

in 151.

Prominent people with family name Huyan

* Empress Huyan, wife of

Han Zhao The Han Zhao (; 304–329 AD), or Former Zhao (), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Xiongnu people during the Sixteen Kingdoms period of Chinese history. In Chinese historiography, it was given two conditional state titles, the Northern ...

's founding emperor, Liu Yuan * Empress Huyan, wife of Liu Yuan's son, Liu Cong, the fourth emperor of Han Zhao * Empress Huyan, wife of

Murong Chao Murong Chao (; 385–410), courtesy name Zuming (祖明), was the last Emperor of China, emperor of the Xianbei-led Chinese Southern Yan, Southern Yan dynasty. He was the nephew of the founding emperor Murong De (Emperor Xianwu) who was trapped un ...

, emperor of the Southern Yan * Huyan Yan (呼延晏), general and minister of Han Zhao *

Huyan Zan Huyan Zan (呼延贊) (died 1000) was a Chinese military general in the early years of the Northern Song dynasty. He participated in the Northern Song's conquest of the Later Shu in 964-965 and the Northern Han in 979. Later he helped defend Song ...

(呼延贊), general of the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

(d. 1000) *

Huyan Zhuo Huyan Zhuo is a fictional character in ''Water Margin'', one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Double Clubs", hə ranks eighth among the 36 Heavenly Spirits (天罡), the first third of the 108 Stars of Destiny. ...

(呼延灼), fictitious descendant of Huyan Zan in ''

Water Margin ''Water Margin'' (''Shuihu zhuan'') is one of the earliest Chinese novels written in vernacular Mandarin, and is attributed to Shi Nai'an. It is also translated as ''Outlaws of the Marsh'' and ''All Men Are Brothers''. The story, which is s ...

'', one of the

Four Great Classical Novels Classic Chinese Novels () are the best-known novels of pre-modern Chinese literature. These are among the world's longest and oldest novels. They represented a new complexity in structure and sophistication in language that helped to establish t ...

Notes

References

*Lin, Gan (1986). ''A Comprehensive History of Xiongnu''. Beijing: People's Press. CN / K289. *Wang, Zhonghan (2004). ''Outlines of Ethnic Groups in China''. Taiyuan: Shanxi Education Press. . *Gumilev L.N., "Hunnu in China", Moscow, 'Science', 1974, Chinese-language surnames Han dynasty Xiongnu Individual Chinese surnames {{Asia-hist-stub