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Beidi
The Di or Beidi (Northern Di) were various ethnic groups who lived north of the Chinese ('' Huaxia'') realms during the Zhou dynasty. Although initially described as nomadic, they seem to have practiced a mixed pastoral, agricultural, and hunting economy and were distinguished from the nomads of the Eurasian steppe who lived to their north. Chinese historical accounts describe the Di inhabiting the upper Ordos Loop and gradually migrating eastward to northern Shanxi and northern Hebei, where they eventually created their own states like Zhongshan and Dai. Other groups of Di seem to have lived interspersed between the Chinese states before their eventual conquest or sinicization. Name The ancient Chinese, whose Xia, Shang, and Zhou states flourished along the Fen, Yellow, and Wei valleys, discussed their neighbors according to the cardinal directions. The Four Barbarians were the Di to the north, the Man to the south, the Yi to the east, and the Rong to the west. These ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Four Barbarians
"Four Barbarians" ( zh, c=四夷, p=sìyí) was a generic term used in Ancient China, particularly by subjects of the Shang dynasty, Shang and Zhou dynasty, Zhou dynasties, referring to the various non-Sinitic peoples living outside the borders of the Huaxia civilization, who were pejoratively considered to be savage (pejorative term), savage barbarians by the agrarian society, agrarian Chinese people. Each was named according to a cardinal direction relative to China proper, China ''proper'': * The "Eastern Barbarians" or ''Dongyi'' (), referring to various peoples east of the Zhongyuan, Central Plain, particularly the Tungusic people, Tungusic and Koreans, Koreanic peoples from Northeast Asia; * The "Southern Barbarians" or ''Nanman'' (), referring to the Baiyue people from south of the Yangtze and the Burmic people beyond the Hengduan Mountains; * The "Western Barbarians" or ''Xirong'' (), referring to the highland peoples (especially the Qiang (historical people), Qiang) from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dongyi
The Dongyi or Eastern Yi () was a collective term for ancient peoples found in Chinese records. The definition of Dongyi varied across the ages, but in most cases referred to inhabitants of eastern China, then later, the Korean peninsula and Japanese Archipelago. Dongyi refers to different group of people in different periods. As such, the name "Yí" was something of a catch-all and was applied to different groups over time. According to the earliest Chinese record, the '' Zuo Zhuan'', the Shang dynasty was attacked by King Wu of Zhou while attacking the Dongyi and collapsed afterward. Ancient inhabitants of Eastern China Oracle bone inscriptions from the early 11th century BCE refer to campaigns by the late Shang king Di Yi against the ''Rénfāng'' (), a group occupying the area of southern Shandong and Jianghuai (northern Anhui and Jiangsu). Many Chinese archaeologists apply the historical name "Dongyi" to the archaeological Yueshi culture (1900–1500 BCE). Other ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xirong
Xirong () or Rong were various people who lived primarily in and around the western extremities of ancient China (in modern Gansu and Qinghai). They were known as early as the Shang dynasty (1765–1122 BCE), as one of the Four Barbarians that frequently (and often violently) interacted with the sinitic Huaxia civilization. They typically resided to the west of Guanzhong Plains from the Zhou dynasty (1046–221 BCE) onwards. They were mentioned in some ancient Chinese texts as perhaps genetically and linguistically related to the people of the Chinese civilization. Etymology The historian Li Feng says that during the Western Zhou period, since the term ''Rong'' "warlike foreigners" was "often used in bronze inscriptions to mean 'warfare', it is likely that when a people was called 'Rong', the Zhou considered them as political and military adversaries rather than as cultural and ethnic 'others'." Paul R. Goldin also proposes that ''Rong'' was a "pseudo-ethnonym" meaning "belli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zhou Dynasty
The Zhou dynasty ( ) was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from until 256 BC, the longest span of any dynasty in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period (771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji, had military control over territories centered on the Wei River valley and North China Plain. Even as Zhou suzerainty became increasingly ceremonial over the following Eastern Zhou period (771–256 BC), the political system created by the Zhou royal house survived in some form for several additional centuries. A date of 1046 BC for the Zhou's establishment is supported by the Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project and David Pankenier, but David Nivison and Edward L. Shaughnessy date the establishment to 1045 BC. The latter Eastern Zhou period is itself roughly subdivided into two parts. During the Spring and Autumn period (), power became increasingly decentralized as the authority of the royal house diminished. The Warring States ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ordos Loop
The Ordos Plateau, also known as the Ordos Basin or simply the Ordos, is a highland sedimentary basin in parts of most Northern China with an elevation of , and consisting mostly of land enclosed by the Ordos Loop, a large northerly rectangular bend of the Yellow River. It is China's second largest sedimentary basin (after the Tarim Basin) with a total area of , and includes territories from five provinces, namely Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia and a thin fringe of Shanxi (western border counties of Xinzhou, Lüliang and Linfen), but is demographically dominated by the former three, hence is also called the Shaan-Gan-Ning Basin. The basin is bounded in the east by the Lüliang Mountains, north by the Yin Mountains, west by the Helan Mountains, and south by the Huanglong Mountains, Meridian Ridge and Liupan Mountains. The name "Ordos" ( Mongolian: ) comes from the '' orda'', which originally means "palaces" or "court" in Old Turkic. The seventh largest prefectu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ancient Chinese States
Ancient Chinese states () were dynastic polities of China within and without the Zhou dynasty, Zhou cultural sphere prior to Qin's wars of unification. They ranged in size from large estates, to city-states to much vaster territories with multiple population centers. Many of these submitted to royal authority, but many did not—even those that shared the same culture and ancestral temple surname as the ruling house. Prior to the Battle of Muye, Zhou conquest of Shang, these ancient states were already extant as units of the preceding Shang dynasty, Predynastic Zhou or polities of other cultural groups. Once the Zhou had established themselves, they made grants of land and relative local autonomy to kinfolk in return for military support and tributes, under a system known as ''fengjian''. The rulers of the states were collectively the ''zhuhou'' (). Over the course of the Zhou dynasty ( 1046–256 ), the ties of family between the states attenuated, the power of the central gover ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zhongshan (state)
Zhongshan ( zh, c=, p=Zhōngshān) was a small state that existed during the Warring States period, which managed to survive for almost 120 years despite its small size. The origins of its founder are a matter of contention between scholars. Origins The origin of the Zhongshan state is disputed; some sources, such as the ''Records of the Grand Historian'', label the state as being founded and ruled by Beidi (北狄), while others only list them as not being Zhou or Han. Zhongshan occupies roughly the same place as the earlier Xianyu state. The two countries, being Zhongshan and Xianyu, have a muddled history, as the term Zhongshan begins somewhat before the term Xianyu ends. Zhongshan, meaning central mountains, is first mentioned in 506BC, by a Jin minister, as a hostile neighboring state. The last mention of the Xianyu, meanwhile, is in 489BC, when Zhao Yang, a Jin minister, leads a military campaign against them. There are three reasons Zhongshan is often considered a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ji (Zhou Dynasty Ancestral Surname)
''Jī'' () was the ancestral name of the Zhou dynasty which ruled China between the 11th and 3rd centuries BC. Thirty-nine members of the family ruled China during this period while many others ruled as local lords, lords who eventually gained great autonomy during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. Ji is a relatively uncommon surname in modern China, largely because its bearers often adopted the names of their states and fiefs as new surnames. The character is composed of the radicals (Old Chinese: ''nra'', "woman") and (OC: ''ɢ(r)ə'', "chin").Baxter, Wm. H. & Sagart, Laurent. '' '', pp. 61, 106, & 175. 2011. Accessed 11 October 2011. It is most likely a phono-semantic compound, with ''nra'' common in the earliest Zhou-era family names and ''ɢ(r)ə'' marking a rhyme of (OC: ''K(r)ə''). The legendary and historical record shows the Zhou Ji clan closely entwined with the Jiang (), who seem to have provided many of the Ji lords' high-ranking spo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
State Of Zhongshan
Zhongshan ( zh, c=, p=Zhōngshān) was a small state that existed during the Warring States period, which managed to survive for almost 120 years despite its small size. The origins of its founder are a matter of contention between scholars. Origins The origin of the Zhongshan state is disputed; some sources, such as the ''Records of the Grand Historian'', label the state as being founded and ruled by Beidi (北狄), while others only list them as not being Zhou or Han. Zhongshan occupies roughly the same place as the earlier Xianyu state. The two countries, being Zhongshan and Xianyu, have a muddled history, as the term Zhongshan begins somewhat before the term Xianyu ends. Zhongshan, meaning central mountains, is first mentioned in 506BC, by a Jin minister, as a hostile neighboring state. The last mention of the Xianyu, meanwhile, is in 489BC, when Zhao Yang, a Jin minister, leads a military campaign against them. There are three reasons Zhongshan is often considered a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hebei
Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It borders Shanxi to the west, Henan to the south, Shandong and Liaoning to the east, and Inner Mongolia to the north; in addition, Hebei entirely surrounds the direct-administered municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin on land. Its population is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu people, Manchu, 0.8% Hui people, Hui, and 0.3% Mongols in China, Mongol. Varieties of Chinese spoken include Jilu Mandarin, the Beijing dialect of Mandarin, and Jin Chinese. During the Spring and Autumn period, Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods (771–226 BC), the region was ruled by the states of Yan (state), Yan and Zhao (state), Zhao. During the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), the region was called Zhongshu Sheng, Zhongshu. It was called North Zhili during the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xianyu Kingdom
Zhongshan ( zh, c=, p=Zhōngshān) was a small state that existed during the Warring States period, which managed to survive for almost 120 years despite its small size. The origins of its founder are a matter of contention between scholars. Origins The origin of the Zhongshan state is disputed; some sources, such as the ''Records of the Grand Historian'', label the state as being founded and ruled by Beidi (北狄), while others only list them as not being Zhou or Han. Zhongshan occupies roughly the same place as the earlier Xianyu state. The two countries, being Zhongshan and Xianyu, have a muddled history, as the term Zhongshan begins somewhat before the term Xianyu ends. Zhongshan, meaning central mountains, is first mentioned in 506BC, by a Jin minister, as a hostile neighboring state. The last mention of the Xianyu, meanwhile, is in 489BC, when Zhao Yang, a Jin minister, leads a military campaign against them. There are three reasons Zhongshan is often considered a c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eurasian Nomads
Eurasian nomads form groups of nomad, nomadic peoples who have lived in various areas of the Eurasian Steppe. History largely knows them via frontier historical sources from Europe and Asia. The steppe nomads had no permanent abode, but travelled from place to place to find fresh pasture for their livestock. The generic designation encompasses the varied ethnic groups who have at times inhabited steppe regions of present-day Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, East Turkestan, Uyghuristan, Mongolia, Russia, and Ukraine. They domestication of the horse, domesticated the horse around 3500 BCE, vastly increasing the possibilities of nomadic lifestyle, and subsequently their economies and cultures emphasised horse breeding, horse riding, and nomadic pastoralism; this usually involved trading with settled peoples around the edges of the steppe. They developed the chariot, the wagon,cavalry, and horse archery, and introduced innovations such as the bridle, Bi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
