Sushen is the modern Chinese name for an ancient ethnic group of people who lived in the northeastern part of
China (in the area of modern
Jilin
Jilin (; alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea ( Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, Ryanggang and Chagang) and Russia (Prim ...
and
Heilongjiang
Heilongjiang () formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is the northernmost and easternmost province ...
) and what is in modern times the
Russian Maritime Province and some other Siberian provinces. They were active during the
Zhou Dynasty
The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by ...
period. Archeological relics in the area are attributed to the
Xituanshan Culture. Chinese Bronze Age archaeologist Zou Heng of
Peking University believed that the Sushen were also related to the
Lower Xiajiadian culture
The Lower Xiajiadian culture (; 2200–1600 BC) is an archaeological culture in Northeast China, found mainly in southeastern Inner Mongolia, northern Hebei, and western Liaoning, China. Subsistence was based on millet farming supplemented wi ...
. The Sushen are thought to have been
Tungusic speakers.
According to the
''Guoyu'' and the ''
Classic of Mountains and Seas
The ''Classic of Mountains and Seas'', also known as ''Shan Hai Jing'', formerly romanized as the ''Shan-hai Ching'', is a Chinese classic text and a compilation of mythic geography and beasts. Early versions of the text may have existed sin ...
'' published in the
Warring States period
The Warring States period () was an era in ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded with the Qin wars of conquest ...
(476–221 BCE), Sushen was the name of the tribe who lived in
Shandong and border of
Liaoxi Province
Liaoxi () was a former province in Northeast China, located in what is now part of Liaoning and Jilin provinces. It existed from 1949 to 1954, and its capital was Jinzhou
Jinzhou (, ), formerly Chinchow, is a coastal prefecture-level city ...
.
The name's characters appeared as early as the 6th century BC in Chinese documents. They are almost unknown with the exception of the fact that they lived to the north of China and used flint-headed wooden arrows, farmed, hunted, and fished, and lived in caves and trees. Ancient Chinese believed that the Sushen paid arrows as tribute to an ideal Chinese ruler. In other words, an arrival of Sushen delegates was, for the Chinese, an auspicious sign of the Chinese ruler's virtue.
From the 3rd century to the 6th century, the name Sushen was used as an alias for the
Yilou
Yilou is the modern Chinese name of a people in 3rd- to 6th-century Manchuria.
In some sources, their name was also written as Sushen, after an earlier people that were traditionally thought to be from the same region. Although it is common to ...
, who were in eastern
Manchuria
Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer M ...
. However, the connection between the Yilou and the ancient Sushen is unclear. Some historians think that Chinese, having heard that the Yilou paid arrows as tribute, linked them with the Sushen based on knowledge of ancient documents. They paid tribute several times and pleased rulers of Northern China. The Yilou disappeared from documents in the 6th century. The
Mohe rose into power there instead.
The Chinese characters of the name can also be found in
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
documents, in which the characters are annotated and read as ''
Mishihase
The , also read as Ashihase and Shukushin, were a people of ancient Japan, believed to have lived along the northern portion of the coast of the Sea of Japan. The term Sushen, rendered 肅愼, is found in Chinese records, but is annotated as M ...
'' or ''Ashihase''. According to the ''
Nihon Shoki'', the Mishihase first arrived to
Sado Province
was a province of Japan until 1871; since then, it has been a part of Niigata Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Sado''" in . It was sometimes called or . It lies on the eponymous Sado Island, off the coast of Niigata Prefectu ...
during the reign of
Emperor Kimmei
was the 29th Emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 欽明天皇 (29) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Titsingh, Isaac. (1834)pp. 34–36 Brown, Delmer. (1979) ''Gukanshō,'' pp. 261–2 ...
. In 660, Japanese General
Abe no Hirafu
was a Japanese military strategist and commander of the Asuka period.
Some sources say he lived from c.575-664
Biography
Events in his life are accounted in the Nihon Shoki and Kojiki, both written several decades after his death. His father ...
defeated the Mishihase in
Hokkaidō in response to requests from the native inhabitants.
Some historians consider that the
Mishihase
The , also read as Ashihase and Shukushin, were a people of ancient Japan, believed to have lived along the northern portion of the coast of the Sea of Japan. The term Sushen, rendered 肅愼, is found in Chinese records, but is annotated as M ...
were identical with the Sushen of Chinese records, and others think that Japanese named the indigenous people in the northeast based on the knowledge of Chinese documents, just as the Chinese did during the
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...
period. They are generally believed to be ethnic
Nivkh people
The Nivkh, or Gilyak (also Nivkhs or Nivkhi, or Gilyaks; ethnonym: Нивхгу, ''Nʼivxgu'' (Amur) or Ниғвңгун, ''Nʼiɣvŋgun'' (E. Sakhalin) "the people"), are an indigenous ethnic group inhabiting the northern half of Sakhalin Islan ...
and have influenced several later peoples in the region such as the Wuji,
Yilou
Yilou is the modern Chinese name of a people in 3rd- to 6th-century Manchuria.
In some sources, their name was also written as Sushen, after an earlier people that were traditionally thought to be from the same region. Although it is common to ...
and
Mohe, and subsequently of the
Jurchen,
Manchu,
Nanai and many other
Tungusic peoples
Tungusic peoples are an ethno-linguistic group formed by the speakers of Tungusic languages (or Manchu–Tungus languages). They are native to Siberia and Northeast Asia.
The Tungusic phylum is divided into two main branches, northern (Evenic or ...
.
References
{{Reflist, 30em
Ethnic groups in Chinese history
Tungusic peoples
Ancient peoples of China
History of Manchuria