Chunwei is an ethnonym

Ethnonym

An ethnonym is the name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms and autonyms or endonyms .As an example, the ethnonym for...

 for the most ancient nomadic tribes that invaded China during legendary times. A Chinese Classical scholar and the first President of the Imperial Nanking University Wei Zhao (204–273) commented, identificating the name Chunwei with the name of the Huns: “During the Han (206 BC-220 AD) they (the Huns) were called Xiongnu

Xiongnu

The Xiongnu were ancient nomadic-based people that formed a state or confederation north of the agriculture-based empire of the Han Dynasty. Most of the information on the Xiongnu comes from Chinese sources...

 匈奴, and the Hunyu 葷粥 is just another name for the same people, and similarly, the Xunyu

Xunyu

The Xunyu is the name of an ancient nomadic tribe which invaded China during legenary times. They are often identified as the Xiongnu.-Identification:...

 獯粥 is just another transcription of Chunwei’s 淳維, their ancestor’s name”.

Etymology

Considering that in the Yin age (殷, 1,401-1,122 BC) there was a northern dialect of the word chunwei 淳維 corresponding to xunyu 獯粥, it is concluded that the two varieties cover the same name. Katalin Csornai stated a concept that chunwei 淳維, xunyu 獯粥 and xiongnu 匈奴 should once have been the same name in different languages or dialects. For this reason Ying Shao

Ying Shao

Ying Shao , also called Ling Shao in the Shi Yu, style name Zhongyuan , was a Chinese writer and historian of the late Eastern Han period , an author of the famous work Fengsu Tongyi, an encyclopedic work about the folk customs and legends that existed in the Eastern Han state...

 (應劭, Hou Han Shu commentator, 195 AD) wrote in Fengsutung

Fengsu TongYi

Fengsu Tongyi , or "Penetrating Customs", is a book written in about 195AD, by author Ying Shao, who lived during the later Eastern Han period...

(Ying Shao, The Meaning of Popular Customs, AD 140-206 ): “The name Xunyu 獯粥 of the Yin age has been transformed to Xiongnu 匈奴”. And according to the records of Sima Qian, the Xiongnu 匈奴 were mentioned as Shanrong 山戎 , Xianyun

Xianyun

The Xianyun is the name of an ancient nomadic tribe that invaded China during legenary times.They are usually associated with the Xiongnu.-Overview:...

 獫狁 , and Hunyu 葷粥 between the age of Tang and the age of Yu (2205-1766 BC).

Overview

Sima Qian

Sima Qian

Sima Qian was a Prefect of the Grand Scribes of the Han Dynasty. He is regarded as the father of Chinese historiography for his highly praised work, Records of the Grand Historian , a "Jizhuanti"-style general history of China, covering more than two thousand years from the Yellow Emperor to...

 stated, based on preceding Chinese records (Bamboo Annals

Bamboo Annals

The Bamboo Annals is a chronicle of ancient China. It begins at the earliest legendary times and extends to the Warring States Period , particularly the history of the Wei state...

), that the Xiongnu's 匈奴 ruling clan were descendants of Chunwei (淳維 "Chun tribes"), possibly a son of Jie of Xia

Jie of Xia

King Jie was the 17th and last ruler of the Xia dynasty of China. He is traditionally regarded as a tyrant and oppressor who brought about the collapse of a dynasty. Around 1600 BCE Jie was defeated by Shang Tang, bringing an end to the Xia Dynasty, that lasted about 500 years, and a rise to the...

 (the last ruler of the Xia Dynasty

Xia Dynasty

The Xia Dynasty is the first dynasty in China to be described in ancient historical chronicles such as Bamboo Annals, Classic of History and Records of the Grand Historian. The Xia Dynasty was established by the legendary Yu the Great after Shun, the last of the Five Emperors gave his throne to him...

 c. 1728–1675 BC).

However, a contradictory statement testified to the Chunwei presence in China up to the time when the writing was standardised, Zhang Yen

Sima Zhen

Sima Zhen , courtesy name Zizheng , was a Chinese historian born in what is now Jiaozuo, Henan during the Tang Dynasty.Sima Zhen was one of the most important commentators on the Shiji...

 wrote in Suoyin (Guide to the Hidden Meanings, an 8th century commentary): “In the Qin era (221–206 BC) Chunwei fled to the northern boundaries.” After standartisation of writing in the Qin era, the name Chunwei went out of use, replaced by the standardised characters 匈奴 for Xiongnu.

After the defeat of Xia by Shang

Shang Dynasty

The Shang Dynasty or Yin Dynasty was, according to traditional sources, the second Chinese dynasty, after the Xia. They ruled in the northeastern regions of the area known as "China proper" in the Yellow River valley...

, some Xia royalties founded the Qi (Henan)

Qi (Henan)

Qi was a minor feudal state that appears in Chinese history from the beginning of the Shang Dynasty until the beginning of the Warring States Period, circa 445 BCE.-History:...

 state until 445 BC. The Qi state was well recorded in the Oracle script as the one major supporter of the Xia Dynasty.