Kumo Xi
Encyclopedia
The Kumo Xi were a Mongolic
steppe
people located in current Manchuria
(northeast China) from 207 AD to 907 AD. After the death of their ancestor Tadun in 207 they were no longer called Wuhuan
but joined the Khitan Xianbei
in submitting to the Yuwen Xianbei
. Their history is widely linked to the more famous Khitan
. During their history the Kumo Xi engaged in conflict with numerous Chinese dynasties and with the Khitans, eventually suffering a series of disastrous defeats to Chinese armies and coming under the domination of the Khitans. By the founding of the Khitan Liao Dynasty in 907, the Kumo Xi were completely assimilated.
dynasty. When the battlefield seemed to favor Wei, the Khitans fled, leaving the Kumo Xi be crushed. The Kumo Xi were so badly weakened by their defeat to the Northern Wei that the Khitans were able to freely split from the Kumo Xi afterwards, thereby starting their own independent history.
The Kumo Xi were descendants of the Wuhuan
. The Hou Hanshu records that “the language and culture of the Xianbei
are the same as the Wuhuan”. Along with the Xianbei, the Wuhuan formed part of the proto-Mongolic
Donghu confederation in the 4th century BC. The Weishu (Description of the Khitan, Vol. 1000, 2221) records that the Kumo Xi and Khitans (descendants of the Xianbei) spoke the same language.
The Suishu records:
The Xin Tangshu records:
The Weishu (Description of the Khitan, Vol. 100, 2223) records :
(around the 7th century AD), the (now named) Xi had become subordinate to the Khitans. After the Khitans' Li-Sun Rebellion (696-697) and Ketuyu revolt (730-734), the Xi regained their position of dominance. The Xi then entered a golden age, lasting from approximately 755 to 847. During this period the Xi were friendly with An Lushan
, and supported An in his An Shi Rebellion
(756-763), plundering Han territories frequently within this period. This aggressive policy seems to have consumed Xi forces, especially weakening their demographic vitality, allowing the less aggressive Khitans to dominate them. Xi raids into China provoked successive heavy responses from the Tang, resulting in battles in the 760s and in 795 that were disastrous for the Xi. After 795, the Xi became a tributary people to the Tang. .
The Uyghur Empire
(744-840) collapsed in the 840's. When the Tang dynasty
simultaneously displayed signs of division, the Xi rose in rebellion in 847, and were subsequently and disastrously defeated by Zhang Zhongwu
, the frontier commander of Lulong
. The Xi were never able to recover from their defeat in 847. In the late ninth century AD the Khitans rose to eventually absorb the remnants of Xi people, and established the Liao Dynasty
in 907.
, a bowed, stringed instrument that is the ancestor of the Chinese Erhu
and the Mongolian Morin khuur), was derived from a Xi instrument.
Mongolic languages
The Mongolic languages are a group of languages spoken in East-Central Asia, mostly in Mongolia and surrounding areas plus in Kalmykia. The best-known member of this language family, Mongolian, is the primary language of most of the residents of Mongolia and the Mongolian residents of Inner...
steppe
Steppe
In physical geography, steppe is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes...
people located in current Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
(northeast China) from 207 AD to 907 AD. After the death of their ancestor Tadun in 207 they were no longer called Wuhuan
Wuhuan
The Wuhuan were a proto-Mongolic nomadic people who inhabited northern China, in what is now the provinces of Hebei, Liaoning, Shanxi, the municipality of Beijing and the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia....
but joined the Khitan Xianbei
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...
in submitting to the Yuwen Xianbei
Yuwen
The Yuwen is a Chinese compound surname first originated from the a pre-state clan of Xianbei ethnicity of Xiongnu origin during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China, until its destruction by Former Yan's prince Murong Huang in 345...
. Their history is widely linked to the more famous 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...
. During their history the Kumo Xi engaged in conflict with numerous Chinese dynasties and with the Khitans, eventually suffering a series of disastrous defeats to Chinese armies and coming under the domination of the Khitans. By the founding of the Khitan Liao Dynasty in 907, the Kumo Xi were completely assimilated.
Early history
The Kumo Xi and the Khitans were united in a tribal Kumo Xi entity until 388 AD, when the previously defeated Kumo Xi leaders insisted on fighting against with the proto-Mongolic Northern WeiNorthern Wei
The Northern Wei Dynasty , also known as the Tuoba Wei , Later Wei , or Yuan Wei , was a dynasty which ruled northern China from 386 to 534 . It has been described as "part of an era of political turbulence and intense social and cultural change"...
dynasty. When the battlefield seemed to favor Wei, the Khitans fled, leaving the Kumo Xi be crushed. The Kumo Xi were so badly weakened by their defeat to the Northern Wei that the Khitans were able to freely split from the Kumo Xi afterwards, thereby starting their own independent history.
The Kumo Xi were descendants of the Wuhuan
Wuhuan
The Wuhuan were a proto-Mongolic nomadic people who inhabited northern China, in what is now the provinces of Hebei, Liaoning, Shanxi, the municipality of Beijing and the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia....
. The Hou Hanshu records that “the language and culture of the Xianbei
Xianbei
The Xianbei were a significant Mongolic nomadic people residing in Manchuria, Inner Mongolia and eastern Mongolia. The title “Khan” was first used among the Xianbei.-Origins:...
are the same as the Wuhuan”. Along with the Xianbei, the Wuhuan formed part of the proto-Mongolic
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
Donghu confederation in the 4th century BC. The Weishu (Description of the Khitan, Vol. 1000, 2221) records that the Kumo Xi and Khitans (descendants of the Xianbei) spoke the same language.
The Suishu records:
The Xin Tangshu records:
The Weishu (Description of the Khitan, Vol. 100, 2223) records :
Conflict with the Tang dynasty
By the early Tang periodTang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
(around the 7th century AD), the (now named) Xi had become subordinate to the Khitans. After the Khitans' Li-Sun Rebellion (696-697) and Ketuyu revolt (730-734), the Xi regained their position of dominance. The Xi then entered a golden age, lasting from approximately 755 to 847. During this period the Xi were friendly with An Lushan
An Lushan
An Lushan was a general who rebelled against the Tang Dynasty in China.His name was also transcribed into Chinese as Āluòshān or Gáluòshān ,...
, and supported An in his An Shi Rebellion
An Shi Rebellion
The An Lushan Rebellion took place in China during the Tang Dynasty from CE December 16, 755 to CE February 17, 763, beginning when general An Lushan declared himself emperor, establishing the rival Yan Dynasty in Northern China...
(756-763), plundering Han territories frequently within this period. This aggressive policy seems to have consumed Xi forces, especially weakening their demographic vitality, allowing the less aggressive Khitans to dominate them. Xi raids into China provoked successive heavy responses from the Tang, resulting in battles in the 760s and in 795 that were disastrous for the Xi. After 795, the Xi became a tributary people to the Tang. .
The Uyghur Empire
Uyghur Empire
The Uyghur Khaganate, or, Uyghur Empire or Uighur Khaganate or Toquz Oghuz Country was a Turkic empire that existed for about a century between the mid 8th and 9th centuries...
(744-840) collapsed in the 840's. When the Tang dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
simultaneously displayed signs of division, the Xi rose in rebellion in 847, and were subsequently and disastrously defeated by Zhang Zhongwu
Zhang Zhongwu
Zhang Zhongwu , formally Prince Zhuang of Lanling or Duke Zhuang of Lanling , was a general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty who governed Lulong Circuit as its military governor in de facto independence from the imperial government,...
, the frontier commander of Lulong
Lulong County
-Administrative Divisions:Towns:*Lulong Town , Panzhuang , Yanheying , Shuangwang , Liutiangezhuang , Shimen Townships:...
. The Xi were never able to recover from their defeat in 847. In the late ninth century AD the Khitans rose to eventually absorb the remnants of Xi people, and established the Liao Dynasty
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...
in 907.
Cultural heritage
It is believed that the xiqinXiqin
The xiqin was a bowed string musical instrument adopted by the Chinese from the Xi, a Central Asian people, in ancient times. It is perhaps the original member of the huqin family of Chinese and Mongolian bowed string instruments; thus, the Erhu and Morin khuur and all similar fiddle instruments...
, a bowed, stringed instrument that is the ancestor of the Chinese Erhu
Erhu
The erhu is a two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a "southern fiddle", and sometimes known in the Western world as the "Chinese violin" or a "Chinese two-stringed fiddle". It is used as a solo instrument as well as in small ensembles...
and the Mongolian Morin khuur), was derived from a Xi instrument.