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Mugulü ( zh, c=木骨閭, p=Mùgǔlǘ) was a legendary warrior and
chieftain A tribal chief, chieftain, or headman is a leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies There is no definition for "tribe". The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of weste ...
in the Mongolian Plateau during the period when it was under the rule of tribes and peoples originating from the fragmentation of the failed and crumbling Xianbei confederation. The term "
Mongol Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of M ...
" is a likely derivation from his name.


Biography

Mugulü was likely born before AD 277, at the end of
Tuoba Liwei Tuoba Liwei () (174–277) was the first leader of the Tuoba-Xianbei tribe who lived during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the ancestor of the future Northern Wei Dynasty and was thus posthumously honored as Emperor Shenyuan, with the ...
's
reign A reign is the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation (e.g., King of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia, List of Belgian monarchs, Belgium, Co-princes of Andorra, Andorra), of a people (e.g., List of Frankish kin ...
.Weish
vol. 103
始神元之末,掠騎有得一奴 tr. "In the beginning of the end of the Shenyuan, a uobaraider cavalryman acquired a slave"
Little is known about his childhood. His date and place of birth, and the names of his parents or those of his consorts, are not disclosed in
Book of Wei The ''Book of Wei'', also known by its Chinese name as the ''Wei Shu'', is a classic Chinese historical text compiled by Wei Shou from 551 to 554, and is an important text describing the history of the Northern Wei and Eastern Wei from 386 to 5 ...
. He served in the Xianbei army under the leadership of the
Tuoba The Tuoba (Chinese language, Chinese) or Tabgatch (, ''Tabγač''), also known by #Names, other names, was an influential Xianbei clan in early imperial China. During the Sixteen Kingdoms after the fall of Han and the Three Kingdoms, the Tuoba e ...
tribal chief,
Tuoba Yilu Tuoba Yilu (; died 316) was the chieftain of the western Tuoba territory from 295 to 307, supreme chieftain of the Tuoba from 307 to 316, Duke of Dai from 310 to 315, and first ruler of the Dai kingdom from 315 to 316. He was the son of Tuoba Sham ...
(295–316) of Dai. Possibly a legendary figure, he was a fugitive slave according to Chinese sources, however one researcher thinks that this is questionable and assumes that Chinese authors frequently ascribed lowly origins to the Northern nomads, as a way of emphasizing their barbarity. According to Barbara West, Mugulü believe to have been a slave of the Xianbei.


Youth

According to Chinese chronicles, Mugulü was a slave of unknown origin who was captured and enslaved by a Tuoba raider cavalryman during the reign of chief Liwei (220-277) of the
Tuoba The Tuoba (Chinese language, Chinese) or Tabgatch (, ''Tabγač''), also known by #Names, other names, was an influential Xianbei clan in early imperial China. During the Sixteen Kingdoms after the fall of Han and the Three Kingdoms, the Tuoba e ...
, a
Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were an ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. The Xianbei were likely not of a single ethnicity, but rather a multiling ...
clan most likely of Proto-Mongolic origin. The anecdote of his enslaved status has been rejected by modern scholars as "a typical insertion by the Chinese historians intended to show the low birth and barbarian nature of the northern nomads."


Mugulü's career and his escape through the Gobi

According to the
Book of Wei The ''Book of Wei'', also known by its Chinese name as the ''Wei Shu'', is a classic Chinese historical text compiled by Wei Shou from 551 to 554, and is an important text describing the history of the Northern Wei and Eastern Wei from 386 to 5 ...
, after either having matured (being 30 or older) or because of his strength, Mugulü was emancipated and became a warrior in the Tuoba Xianbei cavalry, under the leadership of
Tuoba Yilu Tuoba Yilu (; died 316) was the chieftain of the western Tuoba territory from 295 to 307, supreme chieftain of the Tuoba from 307 to 316, Duke of Dai from 310 to 315, and first ruler of the Dai kingdom from 315 to 316. He was the son of Tuoba Sham ...
of Dai (307–316). However, he tarried past the deadline and was sentenced to death by beheading. He vanished and hid in the
Gobi Desert The Gobi Desert (, , ; ) is a large, cold desert and grassland region in North China and southern Mongolia. It is the sixth-largest desert in the world. The name of the desert comes from the Mongolian word ''gobi'', used to refer to all of th ...
,依紇突隣部 諸本及北史卷九八蠕蠕傳「紇」作「純」。按本卷高車傳末即附有紇突隣部,卷二太祖紀登國五年五月及十二月、皇始二年二月見此部,都作「紇突隣」,「純」乃形近而訛,今改正。 but then gathered a hundred or more other escapees. They sought refuge under a neighboring tribe of
Tiele people The Tiele ( zh, c=鐵勒, p=Tiělè),, Mongolian ''*Tegreg'' " eople of theCarts" also transliterated as Chile ( zh, c=敕勒, links=no), Dili ( zh, c=狄歷, links=no), Zhile ( zh, c=直勒, links=no) and Tele ( zh, c=特勒, links=no), who wer ...
called ''Hetulin'' (紇突隣). It is not known when Mugulü died; sources say 316 AD.


Family and succession

When Mugulü died, his son Yujiulü Cheluhui acquired his own tribal horde and either Cheluhui was or his tribe called themselves
Rouran The Rouran Khaganate ( Chinese: zh, c=, p=Róurán, label=no), also known as Ruanruan or Juan-juan ( zh, c=, p=Ruǎnruǎn, label=no) (or variously ''Jou-jan'', ''Ruruan'', ''Ju-juan'', ''Ruru'', ''Ruirui'', ''Rouru'', ''Rouruan'' or ''Tantan'') ...
. Cheluhui's government was marked by Xianbei Tuobas. His descendants and successors were:Grousset (1970), pp. 61, 585, n. 91. # Yujiulü Cheluhui, son #Yujiulü Tunugui, grandson #Yujiulü Bati, great-grandson #Yujiulü Disuyuan, great-great-grandson


Personal name

According to the Chinese chronicles, the Xianbei (Sianbi) master called the captive Mugulü, a Xianbei word glossed as "bald-headed" (首禿) possibly owing to his appearance, his hairline starting at his eyebrow's level, and because he did not remember his name and surname. This was reconstructed as Mongolic ''Muqur'' (Mukhur) or ''Muquli'' (Mukhuli) presumably "round, smooth" by Japanese researcher Shiratori Kurakichi.
Alexander Vovin Alexander Vladimirovich Vovin (; 27 January 1961 – 8 April 2022) was a Soviet-born Russian-American linguist and philologist, and director of studies at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS) in Paris, France. He wa ...
instead proposes that ''Mùgúlǘ'' (木骨閭), in reconstructed
Middle Chinese Middle Chinese (formerly known as Ancient Chinese) or the Qieyun system (QYS) is the historical variety of Chinese language, Chinese recorded in the ''Qieyun'', a rime dictionary first published in 601 and followed by several revised and expande ...
*''muwk-kwot-ljo'', transcribed Tuoba Xianbei *''moqo-lo'' ~ ''muqo-lo'' 'bald head', which is analysable as 'one ho/hich has cut off/fallen off
air An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...
and cognate with Mongolic lexical items like ( Written Mongolian ''moɣutur ~ moqutur'' 'blunt, hornless, bald tail' (cf. Chinese gloss as 禿尾 'bald tail'), ''moqu-ɣar'',
Middle Mongol Middle Mongol or Middle Mongolian was a Mongolic languages, Mongolic koiné language spoken in the Mongol Empire. Originating from Genghis Khan's home region of Northeastern Mongolia, it diversified into several Mongolic languages after the coll ...
'hornless', ''moqo-dag'' 'blunt'; all of those are from Proto-Mongolic *''muqu'' 'to be cut off, break off, fall off', which in turn would produce the semantic variation 'blunt ~ hornless ~ hairless ~ bald').


Clan name

According to the Book of Wei, the dynasty founded by Mugulü's descendants was called ''Yujiulü'', which sounds superficially like ''Mugulü'', and thus the
Yujiulü clan The Yujiulü clan ( zh, t=郁久閭氏; reconstructed Middle Chinese: ''ʔjuk kjǝu ljwo'') was the ruling clan of the Rouran Khaganate, which ruled over Northern China, the Mongolian Steppe and Southern Siberia. Origin According to Book of Wei ...
(郁久閭氏, reconstructed
Middle Chinese Middle Chinese (formerly known as Ancient Chinese) or the Qieyun system (QYS) is the historical variety of Chinese language, Chinese recorded in the ''Qieyun'', a rime dictionary first published in 601 and followed by several revised and expande ...
: ''ʔjuk kjǝu ljwo'') emerged. Róna-Tas suggests that Yujiulü rendered *''ugur(i)'' > ''Uğur'', a secondary form of Oğur.; Peter B. Golden additionally proposes connection with Turkic ''uğurluğ'' "feasible, opportune", later "auspicious fortunate" or ''oğrï'' "thief", an etymology more suited to the dynasty's founder's activities; additionally Yujiulü may be comparable to
Middle Mongolian Middle Mongol or Middle Mongolian was a Mongolic languages, Mongolic koiné language spoken in the Mongol Empire. Originating from Genghis Khan's home region of Northeastern Mongolia, it diversified into several Mongolic languages after the coll ...
''uğuli'' "owl" (>
Khalkha The Khalkha (; ) have been the largest subgroup of the Mongols in modern Mongolia since the 15th century. The Khalkha, together with Chahars, Ordos Mongols, Ordos and Tumed, were directly ruled by Borjigin khans until the 20th century. In cont ...
ууль ''uul), as personal names based on bird names are common in Mongolic.Golden, Peter B. "Some Notes on the Avars and Rouran", in ''The Steppe Lands and the World beyond Them''. Ed. Curta, Maleon. Iași (2013). p. 55.


See also

*
Yujiulü Shelun Yujiulü Shelun (, Simplified Chinese: 郁久闾社仑; pinyin: Yùjiǔlǘ Shèlún, Wade–Giles: Yü-chiu-lü She-lun) (c. 391–410) or Qiudoufa Khagan (丘豆伐可汗; Rouran: ''Kötölber Qaγan'') was khagan of the Rouran from 402 to 410. E ...
*
Yujiulü Anagui Yujiulü Anagui (Rouran: ''Ańakay''; ; pinyin: Yùjiǔlǘ Ānàguī) (?–552) was ruler of the Rouran (520–552) with the title of Chiliantouqiudoufa Khagan (敕連頭丘豆伐可汗; Rouran: ''Tengridü Kötölber Qaγan''). First reign His r ...
* Yujiulü Dengshuzi *
Tuoba Liwei Tuoba Liwei () (174–277) was the first leader of the Tuoba-Xianbei tribe who lived during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the ancestor of the future Northern Wei Dynasty and was thus posthumously honored as Emperor Shenyuan, with the ...
* Tuoba clan *
Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were an ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. The Xianbei were likely not of a single ethnicity, but rather a multiling ...
* Rourans


Succession


References


Notes


Citations


Further reading

* ''Beishi'' vol. 9
section "Ruru"
* ''Weishu'' vol. 103 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mugulu, Yujiulu 3rd-century Chinese people Xianbei Central Asia East Asia Place of birth unknown Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain 3rd-century births 4th-century deaths Legendary monarchs Inner Asia Khagans of the Rouran Donghu people Mongolian nobility Founding monarchs in Asia Place of death unknown 4th-century Chinese monarchs Legendary Chinese people Tengrist monarchs Mongol mythology Sixteen Kingdoms nobility Sixteen Kingdoms monarchs Self-proclaimed monarchy Chinese escapees