Heishui Mohe
Encyclopedia
The Heishui Mohe or Heuksu Malgal also called Black-River Mohe (黑水靺鞨; Hangul
: 흑수말갈; pinyin
: Hēishuǐ Mòhé; Jurchen
/manchu
: sahaliyan i aiman 薩哈廉部), were the most feared among the Mohe tribes. They lived in the northernmost part of Manchuria, along the Hei Shui ("black river" 黑水), within today's Khabarovsk Krai
, Jewish Autonomous Oblast
and Amur Oblast
of Russia and the northern part of China's Heilongjiang Province. The southern Heishui Mohe were submitted by King Seon of Balhae
who administrated their territory. But most of them remained independent.
When the Liao
(Khitan
) Empire conquered Balhae in 926, the Heishui Mohe tribes that became incorporated into the Liao were called Shu Jurchen (熟女眞; Hangul
: 숙여진) literally, Familiar or Tamed Jurchens, who were the ancestor of the "Cultured Manchu": the Jianzhou Jurchens
and the Haixi Jurchens
. The remaining Heishui Mohe tribes, who were not incorporated into the Liao, were called Sheng Jurchens (生女眞; Hangul
: 생여진) literally, Unfamiliar or Wild Jurchens, who were the ancestors of the "Barbarian Manchu": the Yeren Jurchens (野人女眞).
mountain range formed a natural boundary between two groups of archaeological cultures. West of the range, the Talakan Culture (талаканская культура) was succeeded by the Mikhailovskaya Culture (михайловская культура), which has been identified with the Mongol-speaking Shiwei
people. East of the range, the Poltsevo Culture (польцевская культура) and the Naifeld Group (найфельдская группы, also known as Tongzhen Culture based on the findings on the Chinese side of the River) of the Mohe Culture was found; the latter was identified with the Tungusic
Heishui Mohe people.
According to the archeological evidence, during the late 7th century through 10th century AD, some Naifeld-Culture Heishui Mohe migrated west of the range (to the section of the Amur Valley west of the Bureya River
, and possibly also into the Nen River
basin), absorbing the indigenous population of the area (which is evidenced e.g. by the presence of the ornaments associated with the autochthonous Mikhailovskaya Culture on the ceramics of the Neifeld [Heishui Mohe] people who had migrated into the Mikhailovskaya's former area). Modern researchers surmise that the migration of some of the Mohe people west of the range during the late 7th - early 8th century may have been caused by the pressure from the Balhae
further south.
Another Mohe group, the Sumo Mohe from the Sungari
Valley migrated to the Western Amur Valley at roughly the same time as well. Which Mohe group arrived to the region first remains the subject of a dispute, hinging on radiocarbon and stratigraphic dating of various sites.
There is some archaeological evidence for the migration of the Sumo Mohe to the northeast, to the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk
as well, namely, apparent influence of the Neifeld Culture found in the ceramics of the Tokarevo Culture of the latter region.
Hangul
Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
: 흑수말갈; pinyin
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: Hēishuǐ Mòhé; Jurchen
Jurchen language
Jurchen language is an extinct language. It was spoken by Jurchen people of eastern Manchuria, the creators of the Jin Empire in the northeastern China of the 12th–13th centuries. It is classified as a Southwestern Tungusic language.-Writing:...
/manchu
Manchu
The Manchu people or Man are an ethnic minority of China who originated in Manchuria . During their rise in the 17th century, with the help of the Ming dynasty rebels , they came to power in China and founded the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China until the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, which...
: sahaliyan i aiman 薩哈廉部), were the most feared among the Mohe tribes. They lived in the northernmost part of Manchuria, along the Hei Shui ("black river" 黑水), within today's Khabarovsk Krai
Khabarovsk Krai
Khabarovsk Krai is a federal subject of Russia , located in the Russian Far East. It lies mostly in the basin of the lower Amur River, but also occupies a vast mountainous area along the coastline of the Sea of Okhotsk, an arm of the Pacific Ocean. The administrative center of the krai is the...
, Jewish Autonomous Oblast
Jewish Autonomous Oblast
The Jewish Autonomous Oblast is a federal subject of Russia situated in the Russian Far East, bordering Khabarovsk Krai and Amur Oblast of Russia and Heilongjiang province of China. Its administrative center is the town of Birobidzhan....
and Amur Oblast
Amur Oblast
Amur Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , situated about east of Moscow on the banks of the Amur and Zeya Rivers. It shares its border with the Sakha Republic in the north, Khabarovsk Krai and the Jewish Autonomous Oblast in the east, People's Republic of China in the south, and Zabaykalsky...
of Russia and the northern part of China's Heilongjiang Province. The southern Heishui Mohe were submitted by King Seon of Balhae
Seon of Balhae
Dae Insu, also known as King Seon was the 10th king of the Korean kingdom of Balhae. He restored national strength, and is remembered today as the last of the great Balhae rulers before its fall.- Background :...
who administrated their territory. But most of them remained independent.
When the Liao
Liao Dynasty
The Liao Dynasty , also known as the Khitan Empire was an empire in East Asia that ruled over the regions of Manchuria, Mongolia, and parts of northern China proper between 9071125...
(Khitan
Khitan people
thumb|250px|Khitans [[Eagle hunting|using eagles to hunt]], painted during the Chinese [[Song Dynasty]].The Khitan people , or Khitai, Kitan, or Kidan, were a nomadic Mongolic people, originally located at Mongolia and Manchuria from the 4th century...
) Empire conquered Balhae in 926, the Heishui Mohe tribes that became incorporated into the Liao were called Shu Jurchen (熟女眞; Hangul
Hangul
Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
: 숙여진) literally, Familiar or Tamed Jurchens, who were the ancestor of the "Cultured Manchu": the Jianzhou Jurchens
Jianzhou Jurchens
The Jianzhou Jurchens were a grouping of the Jurchens as identified by the Chinese of the Ming Dynasty. They were the southernmost group of the Jurchen people The Jianzhou Jurchens (Chinese:建州女真) were a grouping of the Jurchens as identified by the Chinese of the Ming Dynasty. They were the...
and the Haixi Jurchens
Haixi Jurchens
The Haixi Jurchens were a grouping of the Jurchens as identified by the Chinese of the Ming Dynasty. They were inhabiting an area that consists of parts of modern day Jilin, Heilongjiang, Liaoning and Inner Mongolia in China.- External links :*...
. The remaining Heishui Mohe tribes, who were not incorporated into the Liao, were called Sheng Jurchens (生女眞; Hangul
Hangul
Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
: 생여진) literally, Unfamiliar or Wild Jurchens, who were the ancestors of the "Barbarian Manchu": the Yeren Jurchens (野人女眞).
Notable Chieftains
- Nishuliji (SinicizedChinese languageThe Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
: 倪屬利稽, KoreanizedHangulHangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
: 예속리계, 아속리계, 아속이계 pinyinPinyinPinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: Níshǔlìjī) around 722. - Gaoziluo (SinicizedChinese languageThe Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
: 高子羅, KoreanizedHangulHangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
: 고자라 pinyinPinyinPinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: Gāozǐluó), who made a treaty in 921 with Taejo of GoryeoTaejo of GoryeoTaejo of Goryeo was the founder of the Goryeo Dynasty, which ruled Korea from the 10th to the 14th century. Taejo ruled from 918 to 943.-Background:...
, recognizing him as the king of GoryeoGoryeoThe Goryeo Dynasty or Koryŏ was a Korean dynasty established in 918 by Emperor Taejo. Korea gets its name from this kingdom which came to be pronounced Korea. It united the Later Three Kingdoms in 936 and ruled most of the Korean peninsula until it was removed by the Joseon dynasty in 1392...
by sending him an embassy of 170 men. - A-gu-lang (SinicizedChinese languageThe Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
: 阿於閒, KoreanizedHangulHangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
: 아어한 pinyinPinyinPinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: Āyúxián). - Adoutuofu (SinicizedChinese languageThe Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
: 阿豆陀弗, KoreanizedHangulHangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
: 아두타불), another Chieftain of the Heishui Mohe a contemporary Mohe Chieftain during Hyeonjong of GoryeoHyeonjong of GoryeoHyeonjong of Goryeo was the 8th ruler of the Goryeo dynasty of Korea. He was a grandson of Emperor Taejo. He was appointed by the military leader Gang Jo, whom the previous Emperor Mokjong had called upon to destroy a plot by Kim Chi-yang.In 1010, The Khitan attacked again during an internal...
's reign.
Archaeologhical exploration
Modern archaeologists on both sides of the Amur/Heilongjiang River have made a number of conclusions about the correspondence of the discovered arcaheological cultures to the ethnic groups known from ancient records. According to Russian archaeologists, prior to ca. second half of the 7th century AD the Lesser KhinganLesser Khingan
Lesser Khingan is a mountain range in China's Heilongjiang Province and the adjacent parts of Russia's Amur Oblast and Jewish Autonomous Oblast....
mountain range formed a natural boundary between two groups of archaeological cultures. West of the range, the Talakan Culture (талаканская культура) was succeeded by the Mikhailovskaya Culture (михайловская культура), which has been identified with the Mongol-speaking Shiwei
Shiwei
Shiwei were a Mongolic people that inhabited far-eastern Mongolia, northern Inner Mongolia and northern Manchuria and were recorded from the time of the Northern Wei until the rise of the Mongols of Genghis Khan in 1206 when the name "Mongol" and "Tatar" were applied to all the Shiwei tribes....
people. East of the range, the Poltsevo Culture (польцевская культура) and the Naifeld Group (найфельдская группы, also known as Tongzhen Culture based on the findings on the Chinese side of the River) of the Mohe Culture was found; the latter was identified with the Tungusic
Tungusic languages
The Tungusic languages form a language family spoken in Eastern Siberia and Manchuria by Tungusic peoples. Many Tungusic languages are endangered, and the long-term future of the family is uncertain...
Heishui Mohe people.
According to the archeological evidence, during the late 7th century through 10th century AD, some Naifeld-Culture Heishui Mohe migrated west of the range (to the section of the Amur Valley west of the Bureya River
Bureya River
The Bureya River is a 623 km long south-flowing tributary of the Amur River. Its name comes from the Evenk word birija, meaning river...
, and possibly also into the Nen River
Nen River
Nen River or Nenjiang , or Nonni is a river in Northeast China. The Nen River flows through the northern part of Heilongjiang Province and the northeastern section of Inner Mongolia, some parts of the river forming the border between the two regions...
basin), absorbing the indigenous population of the area (which is evidenced e.g. by the presence of the ornaments associated with the autochthonous Mikhailovskaya Culture on the ceramics of the Neifeld [Heishui Mohe] people who had migrated into the Mikhailovskaya's former area). Modern researchers surmise that the migration of some of the Mohe people west of the range during the late 7th - early 8th century may have been caused by the pressure from the Balhae
Balhae
Balhae was a Manchurian kingdom established after the fall of Goguryeo. After Goguryeo's capital and southern territories fell to Unified Silla, Dae Jo-yeong, a Mohe general, whose father was Dae Jung-sang, established Jin , later called Balhae.Balhae occupied southern parts of Manchuria and...
further south.
Another Mohe group, the Sumo Mohe from the Sungari
Songhua River
The Songhua or Sunggari River is a river in Northeast China, and is the largest tributary of the Heilong River , flowing about from Changbai Mountains through Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces. The river drains of land, and has an annual discharge of .As the Second Songhua River, it joins the...
Valley migrated to the Western Amur Valley at roughly the same time as well. Which Mohe group arrived to the region first remains the subject of a dispute, hinging on radiocarbon and stratigraphic dating of various sites.
There is some archaeological evidence for the migration of the Sumo Mohe to the northeast, to the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk
Sea of Okhotsk
The Sea of Okhotsk is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, lying between the Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands on the southeast, the island of Hokkaidō to the far south, the island of Sakhalin along the west, and a long stretch of eastern Siberian coast along the west and...
as well, namely, apparent influence of the Neifeld Culture found in the ceramics of the Tokarevo Culture of the latter region.
See also
- MoheMoheThe Mohe were a Tungusic people in ancient Manchuria. They are sometimes considered the ancestors of the Jurchens, modern-day Manchus and other Tungusic peoples. According to some records, they originally dwelt near the Liao River and later migrated southward. They were involved in the early...
- History of Manchuria
- Military history of KoreaMilitary history of KoreaKoreas military history spans back thousands of years, beginning with the early struggles of the ancient Kingdom of Gojoseon. Its long history consists of the many successful repulsions of major invasions and defensive against foreign invasions...
- List of Korea-related topics
- BalhaeBalhaeBalhae was a Manchurian kingdom established after the fall of Goguryeo. After Goguryeo's capital and southern territories fell to Unified Silla, Dae Jo-yeong, a Mohe general, whose father was Dae Jung-sang, established Jin , later called Balhae.Balhae occupied southern parts of Manchuria and...