The Wuhuan (, <

Eastern Han Chinese Eastern Han Chinese or Later Han Chinese is the stage of the Chinese language revealed by poetry and glosses from the Eastern Han period (first two centuries AD). It is considered an intermediate stage between Old Chinese and the Middle Chinese ...

: *''ʔɑ-ɣuɑn'', <

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 ...

(c. 78 BCE): *''ʔâ-wân'' < *''Awar''Schuessler, Axel (2014) "Phonological Notes on Hàn Period Transcriptions of Foreign Names and Words" in ''Studies in Chinese and Sino-Tibetan Linguistics: Dialect, Phonology, Transcription and Text''. Series: Language and Linguistics Monograph. Issue 53. p. 257 of 249-292) were a

Proto-Mongolic Proto-Mongolic is the hypothetical ancestor language of the modern Mongolic languages. It is very close to the Middle Mongol language, the language spoken at the time of Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire. Most features of modern Mongolic languag ...

nomadic people A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...

who inhabited northern China, in what is now the provinces of

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...

Liaoning Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

, the municipality of

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

and the autonomous region of

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...

History

After the Donghu "Eastern Barbarians" were defeated by 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 ...

around 209 BC, they split into two groups. The northern Donghu became the

Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were a Proto-Mongolic ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into the ...

while the southern Donghu living around modern

became the Wuhuan. According to the

Book of Later Han The ''Book of the Later Han'', also known as the ''History of the Later Han'' and by its Chinese name ''Hou Hanshu'' (), is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the history of the Han dynasty from 6 to 189 CE, a period known as the Later ...

, “the language and culture of the Xianbei are the same as the Wuhuan”. Until 121 BC, the Wuhuan was a tributary of the Xiongnu empire. The Book of Later Han (Ch. 120) says: "From the time that Modu Shanyu crushed them the Wuhuan became weak. They were kept in constant subjugation to the Xiongnu and were forced to pay annual taxes of cow, horse and sheep skins. If anybody did not pay this tax his wife and children were taken from him." In 121 BC, 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 ...

general

Huo Qubing Huo Qubing (140 BC – 117 BC) was a Chinese military general and politician of the Western Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. He was the nephew of the general Wei Qing and Empress Wei Zifu (Emperor Wu's wife), and the half-brot ...

defeated the eastern wing of the Xiongnu. He then settled the Wuhuan in five commanderies (

Shanggu Shanggu Commandery ( zh, 上谷郡) was a commandery in imperial China from the Warring States period to Tang dynasty. It was located in present-day Hebei and Beijing. The commandery was established by the state of Yan for the defense against the ...

, Yuyang, Youbeiping,

Liaoxi 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 ...

and

Liaodong The Liaodong Peninsula (also Liaotung Peninsula, ) is a peninsula in southern Liaoning province in Northeast China, and makes up the southwestern coastal half of the Liaodong region. It is located between the mouths of the Daliao River (the ...

) created on the northern Chinese border in order to use them to keep watch of the Xiongnu. The chieftains of the Wuhuan paid annual visits to the Han capital

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin Shi ...

and were given rewards. In 78 BC, the Wuhuan looted the tombs of the Xiongnu chanyus. The outraged Xiongnu rode east and defeated them. Fan Minyou was sent with 20,000 men to aid the Wuhuan. However he arrived too late and the Xiongnu were out of his reach so he attacked the Wuhuan instead, defeated them and beheaded three of their kings. In 71 BC, the Wuhuan joined the Han, Dingling, and Wusun to defeat the Xiongnu. In 7 AD, the Han convinced the Wuhuan to stop sending tribute to the Xiongnu, who immediately attacked and defeated the Wuhuan. In 49 AD, Hedan, the Wuhuan elder of the Liaoxi district, came to the Han court with 922 other chieftains and "paid tribute" to

Emperor Guangwu of Han Emperor Guangwu of Han (; 15 January 5 BC – 29 March AD 57), born Liu Xiu (), courtesy name Wenshu (), was a Chinese monarch. He served as an emperor of the Han dynasty by restoring the dynasty in AD 25, thus founding the Eastern Han (Later ...

with slaves, cattle, horses, bows and tiger, leopard and sable skins. In 58 AD, the Xianbei chieftain Pianhe attacked and killed Xinzhiben, a Wuhuan leader causing trouble in

Yuyang Commandery Yuyang Commandery ( zh, 漁陽郡) was a commandery in imperial China from Qin dynasty to Tang dynasty. It was located in present-day Hebei province as well as Beijing and Tianjin municipalities. The commandery was established by the state of Yan ...

. In 109 AD, the Wuhuan joined the Xianbei in attacking

Wuyuan Commandery Wuyuan Commandery ( zh, 五原郡) was a historical commandery of China, located in eastern Hetao region. The commandery sat near the modern city of Baotou, Inner Mongolia. During late Warring States period and Qin dynasty, the region was part of ...

and defeated local Han forces. In 168 AD, the Wuhuan established some degree of independence under their own leaders. The largest of these groups were led by Nanlou in Shanggu,

Qiuliju Qiuliju ( 180s–190s) was a leader of the Wuhuan tribes in Liaoxi Commandery (遼西郡; commandery capital in present-day Yi County, Liaodong) during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He had about 5,000 tribal clans under his rule. Life ...

in Liaoxi, Supuyan in the Dependent State of Liaodong, and Wuyan in Youbeiping. In 187 Qiuliju joined the rebellion of Zhang Chun. Following the defeat of Zhang Chun in 188, Qiuliju attacked

Gongsun Zan Gongsun Zan () (before 161 - April or May 199), courtesy name Bogui, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. Life Little is known of Gongsun Zan's early life. He and Liu Bei stu ...

but was defeated. In 190 he surrendered to Liu Yu and died in 193. Qiuliju's son Louban was too young to succeed him so his cousin

Tadun Tadun (died 207) was a leader of the Wuhuan tribes during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was an ally of the warlord Yuan Shao and Yuan Shao's son and successor Yuan Shang. Life Tadun was a younger relative of the Wuhuan chieftain Q ...

became acting guardian. In 195 Tadun, Nanlou and Supuyan supported

Yuan Shao Yuan Shao (, ; died 28 June 202), courtesy name Benchu (), was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. He occupied the northern territories of China during the civil wars that occurred to ...

against Gongsun Zan. In 207 Tadun was defeated by

Cao Cao Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate Grand chancellor (China), grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the End of ...

at the

Battle of White Wolf Mountain The Battle of White Wolf Mountain was a battle fought in 207 in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. The battle took place in northern China, beyond the frontiers of the ruling Eastern Han dynasty. It was fought between the warlord Cao Cao ...

and died in battle. After their defeat many of the Wuhuan surrendered to Cao Cao and served as part of Cao Cao's cavalry forces. Louban and Supuyan fled to

Gongsun Kang Gongsun Kang () ( 200s to 210s) was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He became a vassal of the state of Cao Wei in the early Three Kingdoms periodMore specifically, as mentioned b ...

, who killed them. Cao Cao divided the Wuhuan into three groups situated in

Dai Commandery Dai Commandery was a commandery (''jùn'') of the state of Zhao established BC and of northern imperial Chinese dynasties until the time of the Emperor Wen of the Sui dynasty (r. AD581–604). It occupied lands in what is now Hebei, Shanxi, ...

. The chieftains Nengchendi and Pufulu continued to cause trouble until 218 when

Cao Zhang Cao Zhang () (189 – 1 August 223), courtesy name Ziwen, nickname "The Yellow Goatee" (黃鬚兒), was a prince of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was a son of Cao Cao, a warlord who rose to power towards t ...

destroyed the last remnants of their power for good. Their remnants became known as the

Kumo Xi The Kumo Xi (Xu Elina-Qian, p.296b), also known as the Tatabi, were a Mongolic steppe people located in current Northeast China from 207 CE to 907 CE. After the death of their ancestor Tadun in 207, they were no longer called Wuhuan but joined t ...

, or the Tatabi, who were finally absorbed by the

Khitans The Khitan people (Khitan small script: ; ) were a historical nomadic people from Northeast Asia who, from the 4th century, inhabited an area corresponding to parts of modern Mongolia, Northeast China and the Russian Far East. As a people desce ...

in the 10th century.

Culture

The

(Ch. 120) records:

Language

Andrew Shimunek (2017) classifies the Wuhuan (or "Awar"/"Avar", per Shimunek's reconstruction) language as the most divergent

para-Mongolic Para-Mongolic is a proposed group of languages that is considered to be an extinct sister branch of the Mongolic languages. Para-Mongolic contains certain historically attested extinct languages, among them Khitan and Tuyuhun. Languages The ...

language.

Battles

Battle of Nanpi The Battle of Nanpi happened in the first month of 205, during the period known as the end of the Han Dynasty. The battle spelled the annihilation of Yuan Tan, one of Yuan Shao's sons vying to succeed their father, by their common enemy Cao Cao ...

Rulers

*Hedan (49 AD) * Xinzhiben 歆志賁 (58 AD) *

丘力居 (187 AD) *Nanlou 難樓 (207 AD) *Supuyan 穌僕延 (207 AD) *Louban 樓班 (207 AD) *

蹋頓 (died 207 AD) *Nengchendi 能臣抵 (207-218 AD) *Pufulu 普富盧 (207-218 AD)

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{Authority control States and territories established in the 3rd century BC States and territories disestablished in the 3rd century Ancient peoples of China Donghu people