The Xianbei (; ) were an ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian

steppes In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the tropical and subtropical gr ...

in what is today

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of China. Its border includes two-thirds of the length of China's China–Mongolia border, border with the country of Mongolia. ...

, and

Northeastern China Northeast China () is a geographical region of China, consisting officially of three provinces Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The heartland of the region is the Northeast China Plain, the largest plain in China with an area of over . The regi ...

. The Xianbei were likely not of a single ethnicity, but rather a multilingual, multi-ethnic confederation consisting of mainly

Proto-Mongols The proto-Mongols emerged from an area that had been inhabited by humans as far back as 45,000 years ago during the Upper Paleolithic. The people there went through the Bronze Age, Bronze and Iron Ages, forming tribal alliances, peopling, and com ...

(who spoke either pre-Proto-Mongolic,, quote: "The Xianbei confederation appears to have contained speakers of Pre-Proto-Mongolic, perhaps the largest constituent linguistic group, as well as former Xiongnu subjects, who spoke other languages, Turkic almost certainly being one of them."Pulleyblank, Edwin G. (1983). "The Chinese and Their Neighbors in Prehistoric and Early Historic China," in The Origins of Chinese Civilization, University of California Press
p. 452
of pp. 411–466. or

Para-Mongolic languages 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 l ...

), and, to a minor degree, Tungusic and Turkic peoples. They originated from the

Donghu people The Donghu (; ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic Hu (people), Hu people that were first recorded from the 7th century BCE and was taken over by the Xiongnu in 150 BCE. They lived in northern Hebei, southeastern Inner Mongolia and the western ...

who splintered into the

Wuhuan The Wuhuan (, < Eastern Han Chinese: *''ʔɑ-ɣuɑn'', <

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of Nomad, 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, t ...

at the end of the third century BC. Following the split, the Xianbei people did not have a direct contact with the Han dynasty, residing to the north of the Wuhuan. In the first century BC, the Xianbei began actively engaging in the struggle between the Han and Xiongnu, culminating in the Xianbei replacing the Xiongnu on the Mongolian Plateau. In the mid-2nd century, the chieftain,

Tanshihuai Tanshihuai (137–181) was a Xianbei chieftain who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty period of China. It was under Tanshihuai when the Xianbei became a unified polity and posed a constant threat to the Han dynasty's northern borders for ma ...

unified the Xianbei and waged war against the Han dynasty. His confederation threatened the Han's northern borders for many years, but quickly disintegrated following his death in 181 AD. After suffering several defeats by the end of the

Three Kingdoms period The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Western Jin dynasty. Academically, the ...

, the Xianbei migrated south and settled in close proximity to Han society and submitted as vassals to the Chinese dynasties. As one of the so-called "

Five Barbarians The Five Barbarians, or Wu Hu (), is a Chinese historical exonym for five ancient non- Han ''" Hu"'' peoples who immigrated to northern China in the Eastern Han dynasty, and then overthrew the Western Jin dynasty and established their own king ...

" that settled in northern China, the Xianbei fought as auxiliaries for the

Western Jin dynasty Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that ...

during the

War of the Eight Princes The War of the Eight Princes, Rebellion of the Eight Kings, or Rebellion of the Eight Princes ( zh, t=八王之亂, s=八王之乱, p=bā wáng zhī luàn, w=pa wang chih luan) was a series of coups and civil wars among kings/princes (Chinese: '' ...

and the Upheaval of the Five Barbarians before eventually distancing themselves and declaring their autonomy as the Jin was pushed to the south. During the

Sixteen Kingdoms The Sixteen Kingdoms (), less commonly the Sixteen States, was a chaotic period in Chinese history from AD 304 to 439 when northern China fragmented into a series of short-lived dynastic states. The majority of these states were founded b ...

period, the Xianbei founded several short-lived states in the north and established themselves on the Central Plains. The Xianbei were at one point all subjected to the Di-led Former Qin dynasty before it fell apart not long after its defeat in the

Battle of Fei River The Battle of Fei River, also known as the Battle of Feishui (), took place in the autumn of 383 AD in China, where forces of the Di (Five Barbarians), Di-led Former Qin, Former Qin dynasty were decisively defeated by the outnumbered army of the ...

by the Eastern Jin. In the wake of the Former Qin's collapse, 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 ...

formed the

Northern Wei dynasty Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei ( zh, c=北魏, p=Běi Wèi), Tuoba Wei ( zh, c=拓跋魏, p=Tuòbá Wèi), Yuan Wei ( zh, c=元魏, p=Yuán Wèi) and Later Wei ( zh, t=後魏, p=Hòu Wèi), was an imperial dynasty of Chi ...

and eventually reunited northern China, ushering China into the

Northern and Southern dynasties The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered a ...

period. The

Northern dynasties The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered as ...

, all of which were either led or heavily influenced by the Xianbei, opposed and promoted

sinicization Sinicization, sinofication, sinification, or sinonization (from the prefix , 'Chinese, relating to China') is the process by which non-Chinese societies or groups are acculturated or assimilated into Chinese culture, particularly the language, ...

at one point or another but trended towards the latter and had merged with the general Chinese population by the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

. The

Northern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei ( zh, c=北魏, p=Běi Wèi), Tuoba Wei ( zh, c=拓跋魏, p=Tuòbá Wèi), Yuan Wei ( zh, c=元魏, p=Yuán Wèi) and Later Wei ( zh, t=後魏, p=Hòu Wèi), was an Dynasties of China, impe ...

also arranged for ethnic Han elites to marry daughters of the

imperial clan in the 480s. More than fifty percent of Tuoba Xianbei princesses of the Northern Wei were married to southern Han men from the imperial families and aristocrats from southern China of the

Southern dynasties The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered as ...

who defected and moved north to join the Northern Wei.

Etymology

Paul Pelliot tentatively reconstructs the

Eastern Han Chinese Eastern Han Chinese (alternatively Later Han Chinese or Late Old Chinese) is the stage of the Chinese language Chinese ( or ) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and List of ethnic groups in China, man ...

pronunciation of 鮮卑 as */serbi/, from *Särpi, after noting that Chinese scribes used 鮮 to transcribe

Middle Persian Middle Persian, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg ( Inscriptional Pahlavi script: , Manichaean script: , Avestan script: ) in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasania ...

sēr (

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

) and 卑 to transcribe foreign syllable /pi/; for instance,

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

गोपी ''gopī'' "milkmaid, cowherdess" became Middle Chinese 瞿卑 (''ɡɨo-piᴇ'') (> Mand. ''qúbēi''). CMOC Treasures of Ancient China exhibit - figure of a Xianbei warrior

According to Schuessler, however, the Eastern Han Chinese pronunciation of 鮮卑 is /sian pie/, and he does not reconstruct syllables ending in ''-r'' for this stage. He reconstructed the Later Han pronunciation of 室韋 as /śit wui/. On the one hand, *Särpi may be linked to the Mongolic root ''*ser'' ~''*sir'' which means "crest, bristle, sticking out, projecting, etc." (cf.

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 ...

сэрвэн ''serven''), possibly referring to the Xianbei's horses (semantically analogous with the Turkic ethnonym ''Yabaqu'' < ''Yapağu'' 'matted hair or wool', later 'a matted-haired animal, i.e. a colt') On the other hand, the ''

Book of the 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 Lat ...

'' and 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 ...

'' stated that before becoming an ethnonym, Xianbei had been a toponym, referring to the Great Xianbei mountains (大鮮卑山), which is now identified as the

Greater Khingan The Greater Khingan Range or Da Hinggan Range ( zh, s=大兴安岭, t=大興安嶺, p=Dà Xīng'ān Lǐng; IPA: ) is a volcanic mountain range in the Inner Mongolia region of Northeast China. It was originally called the Xianbei Mountains, whi ...

range (). Shimunek (2018) reconstructs *''serbi'' for Xiānbēi and *''širwi'' for 室韋 Shìwéi < MC ''*ɕiɪt̚-ɦʉi''.

History

Origin

Warring States period The Warring States period in history of China, Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and ...

Chinese literature The history of Chinese literature extends thousands of years, and begins with the earliest recorded inscriptions, court archives, building to the major works of philosophy and history written during the Axial Age. The Han dynasty, Han (202 ...

contains early mentions of Xianbei, as in the poem " The Great Summons" () in the anthology Verses of Chu and possibly the chapter "Discourses of Jin 8" in

Discourses of the States The ''Guoyu'', usually translated as ''Discourses of the States'', is an ancient Chinese text that consists of a collection of speeches attributed to rulers and other men from the Spring and Autumn period (771–476 BC). It comprises a total ...

. When the Donghu "Eastern Barbarians" were defeated by

Modu Chanyu Modu () 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 BCE. Modu ruled from 209 to 174 BCE. He was a military leader under his father Touman and later ''chanyu ...

around 208 BC, the Donghu splintered into the Xianbei and Wuhuan. According to the ''

'', "the language and culture of the Xianbei are the same as the

Wuhuan The Wuhuan (, < Eastern Han Chinese: *''ʔɑ-ɣuɑn'', <

In 49, the governor Ji Tong convinced the Xianbei chieftain Pianhe to turn on the Xiongnu with rewards for each Xiongnu head they collected. In 54, Yuchouben and Mantou of the Xianbei paid tribute to

Emperor Guangwu of Han Emperor Guangwu of Han (; 15 January 5 BC29 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 dynasty. He ...

. In 58, the Xianbei chieftain Pianhe attacked and killed Xinzhiben, a Wuhuan leader causing trouble in Yuyang Commandery. In 85, the Xianbei secured an alliance with the

Dingling The Dingling (174 BCE); (200 BCE); Eastern Han Chinese: *''teŋ-leŋ'' < Old Chinese: *''têŋ-rêŋ'' were an ancient people who appear in Chinese historiography in the context of the 1st century BCE. The Dingling are considered to have been ...

and

Southern 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 209& ...

. In 87, the Xianbei attacked the Xiongnu

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 AD. The title was most famously used by the ruling L ...

Youliu and killed him. They flayed him and his followers and took the skins back as trophies. In 93, as the Northern Xiongnu were forced to the northwest by the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

, the Xianbei began occupying the Mongolian Plateau, absorbing 100,000 Xiongnu tribes and increasing their strength. In 109, the Wuhuan and Xianbei attacked Wuyuan Commandery and defeated local Han forces. The

chanyu Wanshishizhudi rebelled against the Han and attacked the Emissary Geng Chong but failed to oust him. Han forces under Geng Kui retaliated and defeated a force of 3,000 Xiongnu but could not take the Southern Xiongnu capital due to disease among the horses of their Xianbei allies. The Xianbei under Qizhijian raided Han territory four times from 121 to 138. In 145, the Xianbei raided

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, ...

Xianbei Confederation

Around the mid-2nd century, a chieftain,

, unified the Xianbei tribes and established an imperial court at Mount Danhan (彈汗山; in present-day

Shangyi County Shangyi County () is a county in the northwest of Hebei province, China. It is under the administration of Zhangjiakou City, and borders Inner Mongolia to the north and west. Administrative Divisions Towns: *Nanhaoqian (), Daqinggou (), Badaogou ...

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 bor ...

). Under Tanshihuai, the Xianbei attacked the

Wusun The Wusun ( ) were an ancient semi-Eurasian nomads, nomadic Eurasian Steppe, steppe people of unknown origin mentioned in Chinese people, Chinese records from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD. The Wusun originally l ...

in the west and repelled the

from the north and

Buyeo Buyeo (; ; ), also rendered as Puyŏ or Fuyu, was an ancient kingdom that was centered in northern Manchuria in modern-day northeast China. It had ties to the Yemaek people, who are considered to be the ancestors of modern Koreans. Buyeo is ...

from the east. He divided the Xianbei empire into three sections, each governed by an appointed chieftain.Throughout his reign, Tanshihuai aggressively raided the Han dynasty's northern borders, with his first recorded raid being in 156. In 166, he even allied with the

and

Wuhuan The Wuhuan (, < Eastern Han Chinese: *''ʔɑ-ɣuɑn'', <

Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...

and

Gansu Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...

. These raids devastated the border commanderies and claimed many lives. Though the Han was able to repel them at times, they were concerned that they would not be able to subdue Tanshihuai. The Han attempted to appease him by offering him the title of King, but Tanshihuai rejected them and continued to harass their borders. In 177, Xia Yu, Tian Yan and the Southern Xiongnu

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 AD. The title was most famously used by the ruling L ...

, Tute Ruoshi Zhujiu led a force of 30,000 against the Xianbei. They were defeated and returned with only one-tenth of their original forces. A memorial made that year records that the Xianbei had taken all the lands previously held by the Xiongnu and their warriors numbered 100,000. Han deserters who sought refuge in their lands served as their advisers and refined metals as well as wrought iron came into their possession. Their weapons were sharper and their horses faster than those of the Xiongnu. Another memorial submitted in 185 states that the Xianbei were making raids on Han settlements nearly every year. Despite the constant raids, the loose Xianbei confederacy lacked the organization of the Xiongnu empire, and they were struggling to sustain their growing population. Tanshihuai died in 181 and was succeeded by his son, Helian, but he lacked his father's abilities and was killed in a raid on

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 huntin ...

during the last years of

Emperor Ling of Han Emperor Ling of Han (156/157 – 13 May 189), personal name Liu Hong, was the 12th emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty. He was also the last Eastern Han emperor to exercise effective power during his reign. Born the son of a lesser marquis who ...

. Helian's son, Qianman was too young at the time of his father's death, so the chieftains elected his nephew, Kuitou, to succeed him. Once Qianman came of age, however, he challenged his cousin to succession, destroying the last vestiges of unity among the Xianbei.

Three Kingdoms

By the

Jian'an era Emperor Xian of Han (2 April 181 – 21 April 234), personal name Liu Xie (劉協), courtesy name Bohe, was the 14th and last emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty of China. He reigned from 28 September 189 until his abdication and subsequent e ...

(196–220), the Xianbei had split into many different groups, most notably with Kuitou ruling in

, Kebineng in northern

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

, and Suli, Mijia and Queji in northern

Liaodong The Liaodong or Liaotung Peninsula ( zh, s=辽东半岛, t=遼東半島, p=Liáodōng Bàndǎo) is a peninsula in southern Liaoning province in Northeast China, and makes up the southwestern coastal half of the Liaodong region. It is located ...

. Following his death, Kuitou's brothers

Budugen Budugen (died 233) was a Xianbei chieftain who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the grandson of Tanshihuai, and after the death of his head chief and brother, Kuitou, his clan's domain was div ...

and Fuluohan divided his territory among themselves. After

Cao Cao Cao Cao (; ; ; 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde, was a Chinese statesman, warlord, and poet who rose to power during the end of the Han dynasty (), ultimately taking effective control of the Han central government. He laid the foundation f ...

defeated the

Wuhuan The Wuhuan (, < Eastern Han Chinese: *''ʔɑ-ɣuɑn'', <

Battle of White Wolf Mountain in 207, Budugen, Fuluohan, Kebineng and others paid tribute to him. In 218, Fuluohan met with the Wuhuan chieftain Nengchendi to form an alliance, but Nengchendi double crossed him and called in Kebineng, who killed Fuluohan. Budugen went to the court of

Cao Wei Wei () was one of the major Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic states in China during the Three Kingdoms period. The state was established in 220 by Cao Pi based upon the foundations laid by his father Cao Cao during the end of the Han dy ...

in 224 to ask for assistance against Kebineng, but he eventually betrayed them and allied with Kebineng in 233. Kebineng killed Budugen soon afterwards. Kebineng was from a minor Xianbei tribe. He rose to power west of

by taking in a number of Chinese refugees, who helped him drill his soldiers and make weapons. After the defeat of the Wuhuan in 207, he also sent tribute to Cao Cao, and even provided assistance against the rebel Tian Yin. In 218 he allied himself to the Wuhuan rebel Nengchendi but they were heavily defeated and forced back across the frontier by

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 the ...

. In 220, he acknowledged

Cao Pi Cao Pi () (late 187 – 29 June 226), courtesy name Zihuan, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Cao Cao, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty, but the ...

as emperor of Cao Wei. Eventually, he turned on Wei for frustrating his advances on Suli. Kebineng conducted raids on Cao Wei before he was killed in 235, after which his confederacy disintegrated. Many of the Xianbei tribes migrated south and settled on the borders of the Wei-Jin dynasties, where they often offered their submission. In 258, the

tribe settled in the abandoned city of Shengle, north of the

Yin Mountains The Yin Mountains, also known by their Chinese name as the Yin Shan or Yinshan and by various romanizations as the Daqing Mountains, are mountains in the Eastern Gobi Desert steppe of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region of China. The Yellow Riv ...

. To the east of them, the

Yuwen The Yuwen ( < Eastern Han Chinese: *''wa^B-mun'' <

Luan River and Liucheng, while the

Murong Murong (; Eastern Han Chinese, LHC: *''mɑC-joŋ''; Middle Chinese, EMC: *''mɔh-juawŋ'') or Muren refers to an ethnic Xianbei tribe who are attested from the time of Tanshihuai (reigned 156–181). Different strands of evidence exist linking ...

tribe were allowed to move deeper into

. The Duan tribe was founded in Liaoxi within the

Great Wall The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand Li (unit), ''li'' long wall") is a series of fortifications in China. They were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection agains ...

by a Xianbei ex-slave along with a group of exiles. In the west, an offshoot of the Murong moved into northern

Qinghai Qinghai is an inland Provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. It is the largest provinces of China, province of China (excluding autonomous regions) by area and has the third smallest population. Its capital and largest city is Xin ...

and mixed with the native

Qiang people The Qiang people (Qiangic languages, Qiangic: ''Rrmea''; ) are an List of ethnic groups in China, ethnic group in China. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognised by the People's Republic of China, with a population of approx ...

, becoming

Tuyuhun Tuyuhun (; LHC: *''tʰɑʔ-jok-guən''; Wade-Giles: ''T'u-yühun''), also known as Henan () and Azha (; ), was a dynastic monarchy established by the nomadic peoples related to the Xianbei in the Qilian Mountains and upper Yellow River valley, ...

. The Qifu tribe settled near the Longxi basin, while a branch of the Tuoba, the Tufa tribe, roamed the

Hexi corridor The Hexi Corridor ( ), also known as the Gansu Corridor, is an important historical region located in the modern western Gansu province of China. It refers to a narrow stretch of traversable and relatively arable plain west of the Yellow River's O ...

. In 270, the Tufa chieftain,

Tufa Shujineng Tufa Shujineng ( zh, t=禿髮樹機能, hp=Tūfà shùjīnéng, w=t'u-fa shu-chi-neng; died January or February 280) was a Xianbei chieftain who lived during the Three Kingdoms period of China. As the leader of the Tufa tribe of Hexi, he led a t ...

, led the various ethnic tribes in the northwest in a

rebellion Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

against the

Jin dynasty Jin may refer to: States Jìn 晉 * Jin (Chinese state) (晉國), major state of the Zhou dynasty, existing from the 11th century BC to 376 BC * Jin dynasty (266–420) (晉朝), also known as Liang Jin and Sima Jin * Jin (Later Tang precursor) ...

in Qin and Liang provinces but was defeated in 279 by

Ma Long Ma Long ( zh, s=马龙, p=Mǎ Lóng; born 20 October 1988) is a Chinese professional table tennis player. He is a two-time Olympic champion, three-time World Champion, and three-time World Cup champion in men's singles. Widely regarded as the g ...

Sixteen Kingdoms and Northern Wei

During the

, the Xianbei of the northeast, primarily the Duan, were brought in to fight in the civil wars of the Jin princes and played a deciding factor in the wars. When the

rebelled and founded the Han-Zhao dynasty, the Tuoba offered their assistance to Jin to fight the rebels. The Jin were heavily reliant on the Xianbei's military force as they gradually lost the north during the upheaval of the Five Barbarians. For their services, the Duan and Tuoba were granted the duchies of Liaoxi and Dai, respectively. However, for varying reasons, most of the Xianbei eventually withdrew from the conflict, allowing the remnants of Jin to be quickly overwhelmed. Mass number of Chinese officers, soldiers and civilians fled south to join the Eastern Jin or north to join the Xianbei duchies. The Xianbei founded several of the

in northern China. The

were the most notable clan of this period. Having adopted the Jin governing system and customs, they rose to prominence during the fall of Western Jin by providing refuge and cooperating closely with the Chinese exiles, eventually establishing Xianbei rule over the Central Plains after they defeated the

Ran Wei Wei ( zh, 魏; 350–352), known as Ran Wei () in Chinese historiography, was a short-lived Dynasties of China, dynastic state of China established by Ran Min. In 350, Ran Wei usurped the throne of the Later Zhao, Later Zhao dynasty in the city ...

in 352. They founded the

Former Yan Yan, known in historiography as the Former Yan (; 337–370), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Murong clan of the Xianbei during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. From Liaoning, the Former Yan later conquered and ruled over Hebei, Shaanxi, ...

(337–370),

Later Yan Yan, known in historiography as the Later Yan (; 384 – 407 or 409), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Xianbei people during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms. The prefix "Later" to distinguish them from the Former Yan before them and othe ...

(384–407) and

Southern Yan Yan, known in historiography as the Southern Yan (; 398–410), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Murong clan of the Xianbei during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms. Its founder Murong De (Emperor Xianwu) was a son of Murong Huang (Emperor ...

(398–410), as well as the Western Yan (384–394; not listed among the Sixteen Kingdoms). The Murong dominated the northeast and at one point vied to unify China, but fell short due to family infighting, corruption and weak rulers. Meanwhile, in

, the Qifu established the

Western Qin The Western Qin (; 385–400, 409–431) was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Qifu clan of Xianbei ethnicity during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms. All rulers of the Western Qin declared themselves "''wang''", translatable as either "king" or ...

(385–431) while the Tufa established the Southern Liang (397–414). The Tuoba retained their fiefdom of Dai (310–376), which was elevated to a kingdom in 315, before they were eventually conquered by the Di-led Former Qin dynasty. With the fall of Dai, northern China was briefly unified under the Qin, but as they rapidly collapsed following a disastrous defeat at the

in 383, the Tuoba restored their state as the

(386–535), becoming the first of the

(386–581). The Northern Wei grew in power after they defeated and supplanted the Later Yan on the Central Plains. In 439, they conquered the last of the

, thereby unifying the north and completing the transition into the Northern and Southern dynasties period.

Sinicization, assimilation and descendants

The Northern Wei unification was long-lasting and brought a period of relative peace to the north in the wake of the chaotic Sixteen Kingdoms period. The Xianbei had naturally been in the process of

since they first entered the Chinese interior, but this process became systemic during the late Northern Wei period.

Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei ((北)魏孝文帝) (October 13, 467 – April 26, 499), personal name Tuoba Hong (拓拔宏), later Yuan Hong (元宏), was an emperor of China's Northern Wei dynasty, reigning from September 20, 471 to April 26, ...

established a policy of systematic sinicization that was continued by his successors and largely abandoned Xianbei traditions. The royal family took sinicization a step further by decreeing the change of Xianbei names to Han names, even changing their own family name from Tuoba to Yuan. Xiaowen also moved the capital to

Luoyang Luoyang ( zh, s=洛阳, t=洛陽, p=Luòyáng) is a city located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River in the west of Henan province, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zheng ...

in the Chinese heartlands away from Pingcheng near the northern frontiers. While the population in Luoyang were open to accepting the policies, the population near the old capital were more conservative and held on to their Xianbei culture. Marriages to Han elite families were encouraged, and the Northern Wei started to arrange for Han Chinese elites to marry daughters of the Xianbei

royal family in the 480s. More than fifty percent of Tuoba Xianbei princesses of the Northern Wei were married to southern Han Chinese men from the imperial families and aristocrats from southern China of the

who defected and moved north to join the Northern Wei. Some Han Chinese exiled royalty fled from southern China and defected to the Xianbei. Several daughters of the Xianbei

were married to Han Chinese elites, the

Liu Song Song, known as Liu Song (), Former Song (前宋) or Song of (the) Southern dynasties (南朝宋) in historiography, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and the first of the four Northern and Southern dynasties#Southern dynasti ...

royal Liu Hui (劉輝), married Princess Lanling (蘭陵公主) of the Northern Wei, Princess Huayang (華陽公主) to Sima Fei (司馬朏), a descendant of

Jin dynasty (266–420) The Jin dynasty or Jin Empire, sometimes distinguished as the or the , was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty in China that existed from 266 to 420. It was founded by Emperor Wu of Jin, Sima Yan, eldest son of Sima Zhao, who had previou ...

royalty, Princess Jinan (濟南公主) to Lu Daoqian (盧道虔), Princess Nanyang (南陽長公主) to Xiao Baoyin (蕭寶寅), a member of

Southern Qi Qi, known in historiography as the Southern Qi ( or ) or Xiao Qi (), was a Chinese imperial dynasty and the second of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties era. It followed the Liu Song dynasty and was succee ...

royalty. Emperor Xiaozhuang of Northern Wei's sister the Shouyang Princess was wedded to the

Liang dynasty The Liang dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Liang () or Xiao Liang () in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the third of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. It was pre ...

ruler

Emperor Wu of Liang Emperor Wu of Liang () (464 – 12 June 549), personal name Xiao Yan (蕭衍), courtesy name Shuda (叔達), childhood name Lian'er (練兒), was the founding Emperor of China, emperor of the Chinese Liang dynasty, during the Northern and Souther ...

's son Xiao Zong (蕭綜). After the Six Frontier Towns Rebellion and the events that followed, the Northern Wei split into

Eastern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Eastern Wei (), was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei dynasty. One of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Nor ...

(534–550) and

Western Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Western Wei (), was an imperial dynasty of China that followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei. One of the Northern dynasties during the era of the Northern and Southern dynasties, it ruled the weste ...

(535–556) before becoming the

Northern Qi Qi, known as the Northern Qi (), Later Qi (後齊) or Gao Qi (高齊) in historiography, was a Dynasties in Chinese history, Chinese imperial dynasty and one of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties during the ...

(550–577) and

Northern Zhou Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties of China's ...

(557–581) respectively. The chaos allowed the Xianbei frontier nobility to enter the Central Plains and give pushback on the Wei's sinicization policies. The Northern Qi was ruled by the Gao clan, a Xianbeified Han Chinese family who relied on the Xianbei elites and favoured their traditions. Meanwhile, the Northern Zhou was ruled by the

Yuwen The Yuwen ( < Eastern Han Chinese: *''wa^B-mun'' <

Yang Jian, later had these names restored back to Han names. In 581, Yang Jian founded the

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty ( ) was a short-lived Dynasties of China, Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618. The re-unification of China proper under the Sui brought the Northern and Southern dynasties era to a close, ending a prolonged peri ...

(581–618) and unified China in 589 after absorbing the

Chen dynasty The Chen dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Chen (南陳 / 南朝陳) in historiography, was a Dynasties in Chinese history, Chinese imperial dynasty and the fourth and last of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Southern dynasties, ...

(557–589). When the Sui came to an end amidst peasant rebellions and renegade troops, his cousin, Li Yuan, founded the

(618–907). Both Sui and Tang were founded by families who identified with their Han Chinese patrilineage, and were backed by an alliance of Chinese and Xianbei nobles from the Northern Zhou who sought to protect their common interest. Through these political establishments, the Xianbei who entered China and their culture were largely merged with the Chinese, examples such as the wife of

Emperor Gaozu of Tang Emperor Gaozu of Tang (7 April 566 – 25 June 635), born Li Yuan, courtesy name Shude, was the founding Emperor of China, emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, reigning from 618 to 626 CE. Under the Sui dynasty, Li Yuan was the governor in t ...

, Duchess Dou and

Emperor Taizong of Tang Emperor Taizong of Tang (28January 59810July 649), previously Prince of Qin, personal name Li Shimin, was the second emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649. He is traditionally regarded as a co-founder of the dynasty fo ...

's wife, Empress Zhangsun, both having Xianbei ancestries. The Xianbei who remained behind in the northern grassland evolved into tribes of the

Rouran Khaganate 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'') ...

and

Khitan people The Khitan people (Khitan small script: ; ) were a historical Eurasian nomads, 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. ...

. In the west, the

remained independent until it was defeated by the

Tibetan Empire The Tibetan Empire (,) was an empire centered on the Tibetan Plateau, formed as a result of expansion under the Yarlung dynasty heralded by its 33rd king, Songtsen Gampo, in the 7th century. It expanded further under the 38th king, Trisong De ...

in 670. After the fall of the kingdom, the Tuyuhun underwent a diaspora over a vast territory that stretched from the northwest into central and eastern parts of China. Murong Nuohebo led them eastward into central China, where they settled in modern

Yinchuan Yinchuan is the capital of the Ningxia, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China, and was the capital of the Tangut people, Tangut-led Western Xia, Western Xia dynasty. It has an area of and a total population of 2,859,074 according to the 2020 C ...

, Ningxia.

Culture

The economic base of the Xianbei was

animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, animal fiber, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising ...

combined with agricultural practice. They were the first to develop the

khanate A khanate ( ) or khaganate refers to historic polity, polities ruled by a Khan (title), khan, khagan, khatun, or khanum. Khanates were typically nomadic Mongol and Turkic peoples, Turkic or Tatars, Tatar societies located on the Eurasian Steppe, ...

system,Wittfogel, Karl August and Chia-sheng Feng (1949). History of Chinese society: Liao, 907–1125. Philadelphia, American Philosophical Society distributed by the Macmillan Co. New York. p. 1. in which formation of social classes deepened, and developments also occurred in their literacy, arts and culture. They used a zodiac calendar and favoured song and music.

Tengrism Tengrism (also known as Tengriism, Tengerism, or Tengrianism) is a belief-system originating in the Eurasian steppes, based on shamanism and animism. It generally involves the titular sky god Tengri. According to some scholars, adherents of ...

and subsequently

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

were the main religions among the Xianbei people. After they abandoned the frigid north and migrated into

Northern China Northern China () and Southern China () are two approximate regions that display certain differences in terms of their geography, demographics, economy, and culture. Extent The Qinling, Qinling–Daba Mountains serve as the transition zone ...

, they gradually abandoned nomadic lifestyle and were

sinicized Sinicization, sinofication, sinification, or sinonization (from the prefix , 'Chinese, relating to China') is the process by which non-Chinese societies or groups are acculturated or assimilated into Chinese culture, particularly the language, ...

and assimilated with the

Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...

. Emperor Xiaowen of the Xianbei-led state of

in northern China, eventually decreed the changes of Xianbei names to Han names. Prior to Tanshihuai, the Xianbei did not have a hereditary system, and their chieftains were chosen by electing a member of their tribe based on their character and abilities. Even as they established their states on the Central Plains and adopted the Chinese hereditary system, influential brothers, uncles and cousins of the Xianbei rulers often posed as rival claimants to the throne.

Art

CMOC Treasures of Ancient China exhibit - gold horse head ornament

Art of the Xianbei portrayed their nomadic lifestyle and consisted primarily of metalwork and figurines. The style and subjects of Xianbei art were influenced by a variety of influences, and ultimately, the Xianbei were known for emphasizing unique nomadic motifs in artistic advancements such as leaf headdresses, crouching and geometricized animals depictions, animal pendant necklaces, and metal

openwork In art history, architecture, and related fields, openwork or open-work is any decorative technique that creates holes, piercings, or gaps through a solid material such as metal, wood, stone, pottery, cloth, leather, or ivory. Such techniques ha ...

.Watt, James C.Y. China: Dawn of a Golden Age, 200–750 AD. Comp. An Jiayao, Angela F. Howard, Boris I. Marshak, Su Bai, and Zhao Feng. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2004. Print.

Leaf headdresses

The leaf headdresses were very characteristic of Xianbei culture, and they are found especially in Murong Xianbei tombs. Their corresponding ornamental style also links the Xianbei to Bactria. These gold hat ornaments represented trees and antlers and, in Chinese, they are referred to as buyao ("step sway") since the thin metal leaves move when the wearer moves. Sun Guoping first uncovered this type of artifact, and defined three main styles: "Blossoming Tree" (huashu), which is mounted on the front of a cap near the forehead and has one or more branches with hanging leaves that are circle or droplet shaped, "Blossoming Top" (dinghua), which is worn on top of the head and resembles a tree or animal with many leaf pendants, and the rare "Blossoming Vine" (huaman), which consists of "gold strips interwoven with wires with leaves." Leaf headdresses were made with hammered gold and decorated by punching out designs and hanging the leaf pendants with wire. The exact origin, use, and wear of these headdresses is still being investigated and determined. However, headdresses similar to those later also existed and were worn by women in the courts.

Animal iconography

Another key form of Xianbei art is animal iconography, which was implemented primarily in metalwork. The Xianbei stylistically portrayed crouching animals in geometricized, abstracted, repeated forms, and distinguished their culture and art by depicting animal predation and same-animal combat. Typically, sheep, deer, and horses were illustrated. The artifacts, usually plaques or pendants, were made from metal, and the backgrounds were decorated with openwork or mountainous landscapes, which harks back to the Xianbei nomadic lifestyle. With repeated animal imagery, an openwork background, and a rectangular frame, the included image of the three deer plaque is a paradigm of the Xianbei art style. Concave plaque backings imply that plaques were made using

lost-wax casting Lost-wax castingalso called investment casting, precision casting, or ''cire perdue'' (; borrowed from French)is the process by which a duplicate sculpture (often a metal, such as silver, gold, brass, or bronze) is cast from an original scul ...

, or raised designs were impressed on the back of hammered metal sheets.

Horses

The nomadic traditions of the Xianbei inspired them to portray horses in their artwork. The horse played a large role in the existence of the Xianbei as a nomadic people, and in one tomb, a horse skull lay atop Xianbei bells, buckles, ornaments, a saddle, and one gilded bronze stirrup. The Xianbei not only created art for their horses, but they also made art to depict horses. Another recurring motif was the winged horse. It has been suggested by archaeologist Su Bai that this symbol was a "heavenly beast in the shape of a horse" because of its prominence in Xianbei mythology. This symbol is thought to have guided an early Xianbei southern migration, and is a recurring image in many Xianbei art forms.

Figurines

Xianbei figurines help to portray the people of the society by representing pastimes, depicting specialized clothing, and implying various beliefs. Most figurines have been recovered from Xianbei tombs, so they are primarily military and musical figures meant to serve the deceased in afterlife processions and guard their tomb. Furthermore, the figurine clothing specifies the according social statuses: higher-ranking Xianbei wore long-sleeved robes with a straight neck shirt underneath, while lower-ranking Xianbei wore trousers and belted tunics.

Buddhist influences

Xianbei Buddhist influences were derived from interactions with Han culture. The Han bureaucrats initially helped the Xianbei run their state, but eventually the Xianbei became Sinophiles and promoted Buddhism. The beginning of this conversion is evidenced by the Buddha imagery that emerges in Xianbei art. For instance, the included Buddha imprinted leaf headdress perfectly represents the Xianbei conversion and Buddhist synthesis since it combines both the traditional nomadic Xianbei leaf headdress with the new imagery of Buddha. This Xianbei religious conversion continued to develop in the Northern Wei dynasty, and ultimately led to the creation of the Yungang Grottoes.

Language

The Xianbei are thought to have spoken Mongolic or

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 language, Khitan and Tuyuhun lang ...

languages, with early and substantial Turkic influences, as Claus Schönig asserts: It is also possible that the Xianbei spoke more than one language.Shimunek, Andrew
"Early Serbi-Mongolic-Tungusic lexical contact: Jurchen numerals from the 室韦 Shirwi (Shih-wei) in North China"
Philology of the Grasslands: Essays in Mongolic, Turkic, and Tungusic Studies, Edited by Ákos Bertalan Apatóczky et al. (Leiden: Brill). Retrieved 22 September 2019. quote: "Asdemonstrated by Ratchnevsky (1966: 231), the Shirwi confederation was a multiethnic, multilingual confederation of Tungusic-speaking Mo-ho 靺鞨 people (i.e. ancestors of the Jurchen), the Meng-wa 蒙瓦 ~ Meng-wu 蒙兀, whom Pelliot (1928) and others have shown were Proto-Mongolic speakers, and other groups. The dominant group among the Shirwi undoubtedly were ethnolinguistic descendants of the Serbi (鮮卑 Hsien-pei), and spoke a language closely related to Kitan and more distantly related to Mongolic."Xu Elina-Qian (2005). ''Historical Development of the Pre-Dynastic Khitan''. University of Helsinki. p. 173-179 However, there are no remaining works written in Xianbei, which are thought to have been written using

Chinese characters Chinese characters are logographs used Written Chinese, to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars, they represe ...

. Only a few words remain, such as 啊干 'elder brother'.

Anthropology

According to Du, et al. (2024), some historians believe that the Xianbei could have had "exotic" features such as high nose bridges, blond hair and thick beards. However, other scholars have suggested the appearance of the Xianbei was not dramatically different from modern East Asians. A genetic analysis of

Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother/grandmother ( empress dowager/ grand empress dowager), or a woman who rul ...

revealed that he had an East Asian appearance, consistent with the hypothesis that the Xianbei were primarily of East Asian appearance. Yellow hair in Chinese sources could have meant brown rather than blonde and described other people such as the Jie rather than the Xianbei. Historian Edward H. Schafer believes many of the Xianbei were blondes, but others such as Charles Holcombe think it is "likely that the bulk of the Xianbei were not visibly very different in appearance from the general population of northeastern Asia." Chinese anthropologist Zhu Hong and Zhang Quan-chao studied Xianbei crania from several sites of Inner Mongolia and noticed that anthropological features of studied Xianbei crania show that the racial type is closely related to the modern East-Asians, and some physical characteristics of those skulls are closer to modern Mongols,

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic peoples, Tungusic East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized Ethnic minorities in China, ethnic minority in China and the people from wh ...

and

Genetics

A genetic study published in ''

The FEBS Journal ''The FEBS Journal'' is a biweekly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by John Wiley & Sons on behalf of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies. It covers research on all aspects of biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology, a ...

'' in October 2006 examined the

mtDNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA and mDNA) is the DNA located in the mitochondria organelles in a eukaryotic cell that converts chemical energy from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is a small portion of the DNA contained in ...

of 21 Tuoba Xianbei buried at the Qilang Mountain Cemetery in

, China. The 21 samples of mtDNA extracted belonged to haplogroups O (9 samples), D (7 samples), C (5 samples), B (2 samples) and A. These haplogroups are characteristic of Northeast Asians. Among modern populations they were found to be most closely related to the Oroqen people. A genetic study published in the Russian Journal of Genetics in April 2014 examined the mtDNA of 17 Tuoba Xianbei buried at the Shangdu Dongdajing cemetery in Inner Mongolia, China. The 17 samples of mtDNA extracted belonged to haplogroups D4 (four samples), D5 (three samples), C (five samples), A (three samples), G and B. A genetic study published in the ''

American Journal of Physical Anthropology The ''American Journal of Biological Anthropology''Info pages about the renaming are: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal/26927691/homepage/productinformation.html and https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/26927691 (previously known as ...

'' in November 2007 examined 17 individuals buried at a

Xianbei cemetery in Lamadong,

Liaoning ) , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = Clockwise: Mukden Palace in Shenyang, Xinghai Square in Dalian, Dalian coast, Yalu River at Dandong , image_map = Liaoning in China (+all claims hatched).svg , ...

, China ca. 300 AD. They were determined to be carriers of the maternal haplogroups J1b1, D (three samples), F1a (three samples), M, B, B5b, C (three samples) and G2a. These haplogroups are common among East Asians and some Siberians. The maternal haplogroups of the Murong Xianbei were noticeably different from those of the Huns and Tuoba Xianbei. A genetic study published in the ''American Journal of Physical Anthropology'' in August 2018 noted that the paternal haplogroup C2b1a1b has been detected among the Xianbei and the

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'') ...

, and was probably an important lineage among the

. A full genome analysis published in November 2023 analyzed the genomic data of nine Xianbei individuals (ca. 200 CE to 300 CE), together with previous published Xianbei samples, covering almost the entire period of Xianbei as well as pre- and post-Xianbei periods, and found that the Xianbei displayed a homogenous population with nearly exclusive Ancient Northeast Asian ancestry. The authors further remark that these results are consistent with an Amur River region, specifically around the Greater Khingan mountain range area, origin for the ancestral Xianbei population. Early Xianbei did not display signs of admixture from surrounding groups, while later Xianbei displayed limited amounts of admixture with "late Xiongnu- Sarmatian-like" and

("Yellow River farmer-like") groups. Later Xianbei in Northern China adopted an agricultural lifestyle and mixed with the local population, contributing to the genetic history of Northern China. A 2024 study on Xianbei remains, including the remains of

, found them to be derived primarily from Ancient Northeast Asians at c. 62–96%, with a lower amount of admixture from Neolithic 'Yellow River farmers' (associated with

) at c. 4–32%. Western Steppe Herder ancestry was only found at low amounts or absent entirely among the different Xianbei remains (average at c. 2–7%). The analysed Xianbei remains display their closest genetic affinities to ancient Khitan and

Mohe people The Mohe, Malgal, Mogher, or Mojie were historical groups of people that once occupied parts of what is now Northeast Asia during late antiquity. The two most well known Mohe groups were known as the Heishui Mohe, located along the Amur River, ...

, as well as modern-day

Mongolic peoples The Mongolic peoples are a collection of East Asian people, East Asian-originated ethnic groups in East Asia, North Asia and Eastern Europe, who speak Mongolic languages. Their ancestors are referred to as Proto-Mongols. The largest contempora ...

. The amount of Ancient Northeast Asian and Yellow River farmer ancestries varied depending on geographic location, suggesting a form of heterogeneity among the ancient Xianbei. In contrast to the Xianbei, the early Turkic ruling class, the

Ashina tribe Ashina may refer to: * Ashina tribe, a ruling dynasty of the Turkic Khaganate * Ashina clan (Japan), one of the Japanese clans * Ashina District, Hiroshima, a former Japanese district * Empress Ashina (551–582), empress of the Chinese/Xianbei dyna ...

, was found to be nearly entirely derived from Ancient Northeast Asians without significant Yellow River ancestry.

Notable people

CMOC Treasures of Ancient China exhibit - figure of a female warrior

Pre-dynastic

(檀石槐, 136–181), Xianbei leader who led the Xianbei confederation * Kebineng (軻比能, died 235), Xianbei chieftain who lived during the late

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

and

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...

period *

(禿髮樹機能, died 279), Xianbei chieftain who lived during the Three Kingdoms period

Sixteen Kingdoms

Yan and Tuyuhun

* Murong Hui (慕容廆, 269–333), chieftain of the Murong tribe and Duke of Liaodong * Murong Tuyuhun (慕容吐谷渾, 246–317), founder of the

Murong Huang Murong Huang (; 297 – 25 October 348), courtesy name Yuanzhen (元真), also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Wenming of Former Yan (前燕文明帝), was the founding monarch of the Xianbei-led Former Yan dynasty of China. When h ...

(慕容皝, 297–348), founder of the

Murong Chui Murong Chui (; 326 – 2 June 396), courtesy name Daoming (道明), Xianbei name Altun (阿六敦), also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Chengwu of Later Yan (後燕成武帝), was the founding emperor of China's Later Yan dynasty ...

(慕容垂, 326–396), a general of the

and founder of the

* Murong Ke (慕容恪, died 367), a general and statesman of the

* Murong Chong (慕容沖, 359–386) second ruler of the Western Yan * Murong De (慕容德, 336–405), founder of the

Dai

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 ...

(拓跋猗盧, died 316), founder of the Tuoba Dai * Tuoba Shiyiqian (拓跋什翼犍, 320–376), last ruler of the Tuoba Dai

Southern Liang

* Tufa Wugu (禿髮烏孤, died 399), founder of the Southern Liang * Tufa Rutan (禿髮傉檀, 365–415), last ruler of the Southern Liang

Western Qin

Qifu Gangui Qifu Gangui or Qifu Qiangui (; died 412), also known by his posthumous name as the Prince Wuyuan of Western Qin (西秦武元王), was a prince of the Xianbei-led Chinese Western Qin dynasty. He was a brother of the founding prince, Qifu Guoren ...

(乞伏乾歸, died 412), second ruler of the

* Qifu Chipan (乞伏熾磐, died 428), third ruler of the

Northern dynasties

* Tuoba Gui (拓跋珪, 371–409), founding emperor of the

Tuoba Tao Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei ((北)魏太武帝, 408 – 11 March 452), personal name Tuoba Tao (拓拔燾), Xianbei name Büri (佛貍), was the third emperor of China's Northern Wei dynasty. He was generally regarded as a capable ruler, and dur ...

(拓拔燾, 408–452), third emperor of the

* Tufa Poqiang (禿髮破羌, 407–479), a paramount general of the

Yuwen Tai Yuwen Tai () (505/7 – 21 November 556According to Yuwen Tai's biography in ''Book of Zhou'', he died aged 52 (by East Asian reckoning) on the ''yihai'' day of the 10th month of the 3rd year of the reign of Emperor Gong of Western Wei. This co ...

(宇文泰, 507–556), a paramount general of the state

, a branch successor state of

Dugu Xin Dugu Xin ( Chinese: 獨孤信; 503 – 24 April 557), Xianbei name Qimitou (期彌頭), known as Dugu Ruyuan (獨孤如願) before 540, was a general and official during the chaotic Northern and Southern dynasties period of imperial China ...

(独孤信, 503–557), a paramount general of the state

* Yuchi Jiong (尉遲迥, died 580), a paramount general of the states

and

Lou Zhaojun Lou Zhaojun (; 501 – 20 May 562), posthumous name Empress Wuming (武明皇后), was an empress dowager and grand empress dowager of the Chinese Northern Qi dynasty. She was the wife of Gao Huan, the paramount general of the Northern Wei and ...

(婁昭君, 501–562), an

empress dowager Empress dowager (also dowager empress or empress mother; ) is the English language translation of the title given to the mother or widow of a monarch, especially in regards to Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese monarchs in the Chines ...

of the state

* Lu Lingxuan (陸令萱, died 577), a

lady in waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but ...

in the palace of the state

Yuwen Hu Yuwen Hu (; 513 – 14 April 572), courtesy name Sabao (薩保, also a title, which can be traced back to ''sartpāw “caravan leader”'', but was used as given name, in many cases by Buddhists - referring to the metaphorical meaning of wise lead ...

(宇文護, 513–572), a

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

of the state

Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei ((東)魏孝靜帝) (524 – 21 January 552), personal name Yuan Shanjian (元善見), was the founder and the only Emperor of China, emperor of China's Eastern Wei dynasty. In 534, the Emperor Xiaowu of Northern We ...

(魏孝靜帝, 524-550) founder and only emperor of the state

Mu Tipo Mu Tipo (; died November 577), né Luo Tipo (), was an ethnic Xianbei official of the Chinese Northern Qi dynasty. He was a close associate of the emperor Gao Wei, and during the latter part of Gao Wei's reign controlled the political scene along ...

(穆提婆, 527–577), a paramount official of the state

* Mu Yeli (穆邪利, 557–577), an empress of the state

* Gao Anagong (高阿那肱, died 580), a paramount official and general of the state

* Queen Dugu (獨孤王后, 536–558), a queen of the state

* Yuwen Yong (宇文邕, 543–578), emperor of the state

Sui dynasty

* Dugu Qieluo (獨孤伽羅, 544–602), formally Empress Wenxian (文獻皇后), an empress of the

* Yuchi Yichen (尉遲義臣, died 617), a prominent general of the

* Yuwen Shu (宇文述, died 616), a paramount general of the Sui dynasty *

Yuwen Huaji Yuwen Huaji (; died March 22, 619) was a Chinese military general, monarch, and politician of the Sui dynasty who, in 618, led a coup against and murdered Emperor Yang of Sui. He subsequently declared Emperor Yang's nephew Yang Hao emperor and ...

(宇文化及, 569–619), a paramount general of the Sui dynasty * Yuwen Zhiji (宇文智及, 572–619), a general of the Sui dynasty

Tang dynasty

* Empress Zhangsun (長孫皇后, 601–636), an empress of the

. She was the wife of Emperor Taizong * Zhangsun Wuji (長孫無忌, died 659), a paramount official who served both as general and

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

in the early

* Yuchi Jingde (尉遲敬德, 585–658), a famous general who lived in the early

, Yuchi Jingde and another general Qin Shubao are worshipped as

door god ''Menshen'', or door gods, are divine guardians of doors and gates in Chinese folk religions, used to protect against evil influences or to encourage the entrance of positive ones. They began as the divine pair Shenshu () and Yulü () under ...

s in

Chinese folk religion Chinese folk religion comprises a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. This includes the veneration of ''Shen (Chinese folk religion), shen'' ('spirits') and Chinese ancestor worship, ances ...

Qutu Tong Qutu Tong (557 – 19 November 628), titled Duke of Jiang, Xianbei name Tandouba (), was a general in the Sui dynasty, Sui and Tang dynasty, Tang dynasties of China. He was listed as one of 24 founding officials of the Tang dynasty honored on the ...

(屈突通, 557–628), a general in the Sui and Tang dynasties of China. He was listed as one of 24 founding officials of the Tang dynasty honored on the Lingyan Pavilion due to his contributions in wars during the transitional period from Sui to Tang * Zhangsun Shunde (長孫顺德, ?–?), a general in the early

Yuwen Shiji Yuwen Shiji (died 11 November 642( ��观十六年��，十月，丙申，殿中监郢纵公宇文士及卒。) ''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol.196), courtesy name Renren, formally Duke Zong of Ying, was a Chinese statesman and politician of the Sui and ...

(宇文士及, died 642), an official who served both as general and

in the early

* Yu Zhining (于志寧, 588–665), a chancellor of the Tang dynasty, during the reigns of Emperor Taizong and Emperor Gaozong * Dou Dexuan (竇德玄, 598–666), a chancellor of the Tang dynasty, during the reign of Emperor Gaozong * Yuwen Jie (宇文節, ?–?), a chancellor of the Tang dynasty, during the reign of Emperor Gaozong *

Lou Shide Lou Shide (; 630–699), courtesy name Zongren (宗仁), formally Viscount Zhen of Qiao (譙貞子), was a Chinese military general and politician of the History of China, Chinese Tang dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou dynasty, twice serving as cha ...

(婁師德, 630–699), a scholar-general of the Tang dynasty, during the reign of

Wu Zetian Wu Zetian (624 – 16 December 705), personal name Wu Zhao, was List of rulers of China#Tang dynasty, Empress of China from 660 to 705, ruling first through others and later in her own right. She ruled as queen consort , empress consort th ...

Doulu Qinwang Doulu Qinwang () (630?Doulu's biography in the ''Old Book of Tang'' indicated that he died "more than 79 years old," but his biography in the ''New Book of Tang'' indicated that he died at age 79. Compare ''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 90 with ''New ...

(豆盧欽望, 624–709), a chancellor of the Tang dynasty, during the reign of

* Dou Huaizhen (竇懷貞, died 713), a chancellor of the Tang dynasty, during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong *

Yuwen Rong Yuwen Rong () (d. 730 or 731) was a Chinese economist and politician, serving as a chancellor of the Tang dynasty, chancellor for 100 days during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Emperor Xuanzong. He was said to be the first official during ...

(宇文融, died 731), a chancellor of the Tang dynasty, during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong *

Yuan Qianyao Yuan Qianyao (源乾曜; died December 22, 731), formally the Duke of Anyang (安陽公), was a Chinese politician during the Tang dynasty, twice serving as chancellor during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong. Background Yuan Qianyao was from Xiang P ...

(源乾曜, died 731), a chancellor of the Tang dynasty, during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong * Yu Di (于頔, died 818), a general and official of the Tang dynasty * Tutu Chengcui (吐突承璀, died 820), a paramount

eunuch A eunuch ( , ) is a male who has been castration, castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2 ...

official of the middle

Yuan Zhen Yuan Zhen (; 779 – September 2, 831), courtesy name Weizhi (), was a Chinese novelist, poet, and politician of the middle Tang dynasty. In prose literature, Yuan Zhen is particularly known for his work '' Yingying's Biography'', which has oft ...

(元稹, 779–831), a poet and politician of the middle

* Yu Cong (于琮, died 881), a chancellor of the late Tang dynasty, during the reign of Emperor Yizong * Doulu Zhuan (豆盧瑑, died 881), a chancellor of the late Tang dynasty, during the reign of Emperor Xizong

Modern descendants

Most Xianbei clans adopted Chinese family names during the Northern Wei dynasty. In particular, many were sinicized under

. The Northern Wei's Eight Noble Xianbei surnames 八大贵族 were the Buliugu 步六孤, Helai 賀賴, Dugu 獨孤, Helou 賀樓, Huniu 忽忸, Qiumu 丘穆, Gexi 紇奚, and Yuchi 尉遲. The " Monguor" (Tu) people in modern China may have descended from the Xianbei who were led by

Khan to migrate westward and establish the

Tuyuhun Kingdom Tuyuhun (; LHC: *''tʰɑʔ-jok-guən''; Wade-Giles: ''T'u-yühun''), also known as Henan () and Azha (; ), was a dynastic monarchy established by the nomadic peoples related to the Xianbei in the Qilian Mountains and upper Yellow River valley, ...

(284–670) in the third century and

Western Xia The Western Xia or the Xi Xia ( zh, c=, w=Hsi1 Hsia4, p=Xī Xià), officially the Great Xia ( zh, c=大夏, w=Ta4 Hsia4, p=Dà Xià, labels=no), also known as the Tangut Empire, and known as Stein (1972), pp. 70–71. to the Tanguts ...

(1038–1227) through the thirteenth century. Today they are primarily distributed in Qinghai and Gansu Province, and speak a Mongolic language. The Xibe or "Xibo" people also believe they are descendants of the Xianbei, with considerable controversies that have attributed their origins to the

Jurchens Jurchen (, ; , ) is a term used to collectively describe a number of East Asian people, East Asian Tungusic languages, Tungusic-speaking people. They lived in northeastern China, also known as Manchuria, before the 18th century. The Jurchens wer ...

, the Elunchun, and the Xianbei. Xianbei descendants among the Korean population carry surnames such as Mo 모 ( (shortened from

)), 석; (

Revised Romanization Revised Romanization of Korean () is the official Korean language romanization system in South Korea. It was developed by the National Academy of the Korean Language from 1995 and was released to the public on 7 July 2000 by South Korea's Mi ...

: Seok;

McCune–Reischauer McCune–Reischauer romanization ( ) is a romanization system for the Korean language. It was first published in 1939 by George M. McCune and Edwin O. Reischauer. According to Reischauer, McCune "persuaded the American Army Map Service to ad ...

: Sŏk; (shortened from Wushilan 烏石蘭)), 원 (Revised Romanization: Won; McCune–Reischauer: Wŏn; (the adopted Chinese surname of the

) and Dokgo 독고 ( (from Dugu)).

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

鮮卑語言 The Xianbei language
(Chinese Traditional Big5 code page) via

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

The Routes of TanShiHuai's campaigns in 156–178 AD
{{Authority control Xianbei Mongol peoples History of Manchuria Ancient peoples of China Inner Asia Agglutinative languages Unclassified languages of Asia Extinct languages of Asia Donghu people Former countries in Chinese history Nomadic groups in Eurasia States and territories established in the 2nd century States and territories disestablished in the 3rd century 230s disestablishments Former empires Former confederations Mongol states