Tu people
Encyclopedia
The Monguor or Tu people (Chinese: 土族, also 土昆), White Mongol/Chagan Mongol (察罕蒙古尔) are one of the 56 officially recognized ethnic group
s in the People's Republic of China
. The "Tu" ethnic category was created in the 1950s.
The total population of 241,198 (2000 Census) lived mostly in Qinghai
and Gansu
provinces. The differences in the Tu population is seen in the languages they speak-- Monguor which belongs to the Mongolic languages
, Chinese
, and Tibetan
. Nearly all Tu speak Chinese. Most are farmers; some have a few livestock.
Their culture and social organizations have been influenced by Confucianism
. The religions of the Monguor reflect elements of Tibetan
) Buddhism
, Taoism
, Shamanism
, and local beliefs not easily categorized. A few Tu in Huzhu and Minhe are Christian.
.
, who was the older son of the King of Murong Xianbei
and separated to undertake the great westward migration from the northeast in 284. The last character of Tuyühu, pronounced as "hun" today, was pronounced as "hu" in the ancient Chinese language. The contemporary reference of his name spelled as "Tuyuhun
" in China and the West should be "Tuyühu." It came from the Chinese phonetic transcription of his original name "Teihu", which is still a common name seen among the Monguor today. Since the Chinese language cannot represent "Tei," two characters of "Tu" and "yü" were used. The ethnonym "Tu" in Chinese came from the abbreviation of "the Tuyühu people" or "the people of the Tuyühu Empire." Between the years 908 and 1042, the reference became simplified into "Tuhu" and "Tüihu" people. As the other ethnic groups of the Tuyühu Empire came to be ascribed with different ethnonym
s through subsequent history, the Xianbei who founded the empire remained to bear with the identity of "Tu."
"). It was derived from their origins from the Murong Xianbei
, from whom Tuyühu Khan separated and who had been historically referred to as "the White Section," or "Bai Bu," due to their lighter skin. The term "Monguor" was first used by the European Catholic missionaries, Smedt and Mosaert, who studied the Monguor language and compiled a Monguor-French
dictionary in the beginning of the twentieth century. Subsequently the Flemish
Catholic missionary, Louis Schram, made it into an international name through three volumes of extensive reports based on his experiences from having living among them from 1911 to 1922. The term is a variant pronunciation of "Mongol" in the Monguor language, characterized by the final "-r" in place of "-l" in the Mongolian language.
Despite that "Monguor" was made into an international name for the "Tu," it is not representative: the reference is only used by the Monguor in Huzhu and Datong counties in Qinghai
, and when used, it should be combined with "Chaghan" (or "White") in order to be distinguished from the "Khara" (or "Black") Mongols. In Minhe County, which holds the most densely populated "Monguor" settlement and where everyone speaks their native "Monguor" language, it is never used as an autonym
.
are reflected in their account of the unique wedding ceremony attributed to Madam Lushi, who organized an ambush through an elaborate banquet combined with liquor and singing in order to subdue a bully named "Wang Mang". In historical terms, the "Wang Mang" people were recorded more than four thousand years ago as physically robust and active on the west of the present Liaoning, whose culture was associated with the Hongshan Culture. In archaeological terms, the Hongshan Culture gradually gave rise to the Lower Xiajiadian Culture and represented the transition toward the bronze technology. It eventually evolved into the Upper Xiajidian Culture, which was associated with the Donghu and characterized by the practice of agriculture and animal husbandry supplemented by handicrafts and bronze art. The Donghu was a federation formed by the Mongolic-language speaking groups of the Donghu, Wuhuan
, and Xianbei
. Among the northern ethnic groups, the Donghu was the earliest to evolve into a state of civilization and first developed bronze
technology. Through the usage of bronze weaponry and armored cavalry in warfare, they maintained extensive dominance over the Xiongnu
on their west. In the end of the third century B.C., the Xiongnu Maodun attacked to destroy the Donghu by surprise and caused disintegration in the federation. The Wuhuan moved to Mt. Wuhuan and engaged in continuous warfare with the Xiongnu on the west and China on the south. The Donghu spoke Mongolic language and was formed by the federation of the Donghu, Wuhuan, and Xianbei. As the Wuhuan and Xiongnu came to be worn out from the lengthy battles, the Xianbei preserved their strengths by moving northward to Mt. Xianbei. In the first century, the Xianbei defeated the Wuhuan and northern Xiongnu, and developed into a powerful state under the leadership of their elected Khan
, Tanshihuai. In the third century, the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220A.D.) in China disintegrated into three kingdoms, including the Cao Wei
(220-265) in the north, the Sun Wu
(222-280) in the south, and the Shu Han
(221-263) in the southwest. In 235, the Cao Wei assassinated the last Khan
of the Xianbei, Kebineng, and caused disintegration in the Xianbei Kingdom. Thereafter, the Xianbei pushed their way inside the Great Wall and established extensive presence in China.
(304-439) period, the Xianbei
founded six kingdoms, including the Former Yan
(281-370), Western Yan
(384-394), Later Yan
(383-407), Southern Yan
(398-410), Western Qin
(385-430) and Southern Liang
(397-414). Most of them were unified by the Tuoba
Xianbei, who established the Northern Wei
(386-535), which was the first of the Northern Dynasties
(386-581) founded by the Xianbei. In 534, the Northern Wei split into an Eastern Wei
(534-550) and a Western Wei
(535-556). The former evolved into the Northern Qi
(550-577), and the latter into the Northern Zhou
(557-581), while the Southern Dynasties
were pushed to the south of the Yangtze River
. In 581, the Prime Minister of Northern Zhou, Yang Jian
founded the Sui Dynasty
(581-618). His son, Emperor Yang Guang, annihilated the Southern Chen (557-589), the last kingdom of the Southern Dynasties, thereby unifying northern and southern China. Yang Guang commanded the construction of the Grand Canal to enhance cultural exchanges and trade between the north and south, developed unified monetary and measurement standards, and initiated the national examination system to identify and promote talents based on merits. After the Sui came to an end amidst peasant rebellions and renegade troops, his maternal cousin, Li Shimin, founded the Tang Dynasty
(618-907). Born in Qin’an, Gansu
and revered as "the Heavenly Khan," or "Tian kehan" after defeating the Tujue, Li led China to develop into the most prosperous state of civilization seen in the world, which saw extravagant palaces, architecture, music, literature, and fine arts, long before Europe
was in the Dark Ages. The Khitans who founded the subsequent Liao Dynasty
(916-1125) and the Mongols
who founded the Yuan Dynasty
(1271–1368) in China proper
also derived their ancestries from the Xianbei
. Through these extensive political establishments, the Xianbei who entered into China were immersed among the Chinese and later classified into "Han
," whereas the "Monguor"/"Tu" represented a branch of the Xianbei who have preserved their distinctive identity, language, and culture until today.
occurred during the Western Jin Dynasty (265-316), which succeeded the Cao Wei
(220-265) in northern China. Legends accounted the separation to be due to a fight between his horses and those of his younger brother, Murong Wei
. The actual cause was intense struggle over the Khanate position and disagreement over their future directions. The fraction that supported Murong Wei into the Khanate
position aimed at ruling over China, whereas Tuyühu intended to preserve the Xianbei culture and lifestyles. The disagreement resulted in Tuyühu to proclaim as the Khan, or Kehan, and undertook the long westward journey under the title of the Prince of Jin, or Jin Wang, followed by other Xianbei and Wuhuan
groups. While passing through western Liaoning
and Mt. Bai, more Xianbei groups joined them from the Duan
, Yuwen
, and Bai sections. At the Hetao Plains near Ordos
in Inner Mongolia
, Tuyühu Khan led them to reside by Mt. Yin for over thirty years, as the Tuoba
Xianbei and Northern Xianbei joined them through political and marriage alliances. After settling down in the northwest, they established the powerful Tuyühu Empire named to his honor as the first Khan who led them there, by subjugating the native peoples who were summarily referred to as the "Qiang" and included more than 100 different and loosely coordinated tribes that did not submitted to each other or any authorities.
After Tuyühu Khan departed from the northeast, Murong Wei composed an "Older Brother’s Song," or "the Song of A Gan:" "A Gan" is Chinese transcription of "a ga" for "older brother" in the Xianbei language. The song lamented his sadness and longing for Tuyühu. Legends accounted that Murong Wei often sang it until he died and the song got spread into central and northwest China. The Murong Xianbei whom he had led successively founded the Former Yan
(281-370), Western Yan
(384-394), Later Yan
(383-407), and Southern Yan
(398-410). Their territories encompassed the present Liaoning
, Inner Mongolia
, Shandong
, Shanxi
, Hebei
, and Henan
, and their capitals included Beijing
and other cities. Through these establishments, they were immersed among the Chinese
, whereas the Xianbei who followed Tuyühu Khan preserved their language and culture until the present times.
: one in the present Jinzhou
City and one near Yi County. Another Mt. Xianbei was recorded in the northern portions of Daxinganling, located near Alihe Town of Elunchun Autonomous County in Hulunbeiermeng in the northeastern portion of Inner Mongolia that borders eastern Russia
. The Gaxian Cave, currently Khabarovsk
and Amur
regions in the Russian Far East
, which had stone inscriptions of the Northern Wei
emperor dated 443, was recognized to be the sacred ancestral shrine of the Xianbei. In the northwest, the Qilian Mountains that run along Gansu
and Qinghai
provinces were referred to as the Greater Mt. Xianbei. In Sanchuan/Guanting
of Minhe County in Qinghai
, which holds the most densely populated Monguor settlement, Mt. Xianbei stands in the west, upon which sits the ancestral shrine of the Xianbei Khans.
in 317, his sixty sons inherited to further develop the empire, by annihilating the Western Qin
(385-430), which had annexed Southern Liang
(396-414) earlier, and Haolian Xia
(407-431) kingdoms, from which the Qinghai Xianbei, Tufa Xianbei, Qifu Xianbei and Haolian Xianbei joined them. These Xianbei groups formed the core of the Tuyühu Empire and numbered about 3.3 million at their peak. They carried out extensive military expeditions westward, reaching as far as Hetian in Xinjiang
and the borders of Kashmir
and Afghanistan
, and established a vast empire that encompassed Qinghai
, Gansu, Ningxia
, northern Sichuan
, eastern Shaanxi
, southern Xinjiang, and most of Tibet
, stretching 1,500 kilometers from the east to the west and 1,000 kilometers from the north to the south. They unified northwest China for the first time in history, developed the southern route of the Silk Road
, and promoted cultural exchanges between the eastern and western territories, dominating the northwest for more than three and half centuries until the empire was destroyed by the Tibetans
who rose up in 670.
asserted everlasting cultural imprints in the region. The English reference for "Tibet
" most likely came from the Xianbei language for the Tibetans referred to as "Tiebie," in contrast to the self reference of the Tibetans as "Bo". The name "Tiebie" was probably derived from the Tuoba
Xianbei who founded the Southern Liang
(397-414). Because the Tuoba who established the Northern Wei
(386-535) in China proper objected the Tuoba of Southern Liang to use the same Chinese characters, the latter adopted "Tufa
," when in fact they were of the same Tuoba descent. After the Southern Liang was annexed by the Western Qin
, which in turn was annexed by the Tuyühu Empire, the majority of Tufa Xianbei joined the Tuyühu Empire. Some submitted under the Northern Wei in China, while a small fraction went into Tibet and gave rise to the name "Tiebie". In the ancient Chinese records, the reference of Tibet included "Tubo" and "Tufan," which reflected the Chinese transcriptions of "Tuoba" and "Tufa." It is likely that "Tuoba" recorded in the Chinese language may have been pronounced as "Tiebie" originally in the Xianbei language. Among the Monguor settlement in Minhe, Qinghai
today, the La and Bao Family Villages were accounted to have descended from "Tiebie", indicating that they have derived their origins from the Tufa (Tuoba) Xianbei of the Southern Liang. The Tibetans refer to the Monguor as "Huo’er," which came from the final word of the name of Tuyühu Khan
. The Monguor refer to Tuyühu Khan as "Huozhou didi;" in which "Huozhou" was applied to Linxia, Gansu
where Tuyühu Khan died, and "didi" was traditionally a reverence term for a deceased ancestor with deity status. The earliest record of the Monguor in the Western publications was made by the French
missionaries, Huc and Gabet, who traveled through northwest China in 1844–46. They used "Dschiahour" to represent the Monguor, based on Tibetan reference, in which "Dschia" was likely abbreviated from the first part of "Chaghan" (or "White") from the self reference of the Monguor as "Chaghan Monguor" (or "White Mongols"), and "Hour" was a variant record to the Tibetan reference of the Monguor as "Huo’er" used by the Tibetans today.
, the Tuyühu Empire came to a gradual decline and was increasingly caught in the conflict between the Tang and Tibet
. Because the Tuyühu Empire controlled the crucial trade routes between the east and the west, the Empire became the immediate target of invasion by the Tang. Meanwhile, Tibet developed rapidly under the leadership of Songzanganbu who united the Tibetans and expanded northward, directly threatening the Tuyühu Empire. The exile Tuyühu Khan
, Dayan, submitted under Tibet, which resorted to an excuse that Tuyühu objected its marriage with the Tang and sent 200,000 troops to attack. The Tuyühu troops retreated to Qinghai
, whereas Tibet went eastward to attack Dangxiang and reached into southern Gansu
. The Tang government was shocked and sent five troops to fight. Although Tibet withdrew in response, the Tuyühu Empire lost much of its territory in southern Gansu. Meanwhile, the Tuyühu Government was split between the pro-Tang and pro-Tibet factions, with the latter increasingly becoming stronger and corroborated with Tibet to bring about an invasion. The Tang sent its famous general, Xue Rengui
, to lead 100,000 troops to fight Tibet in Dafeichuan (present Gonghe County
in Qinghai). They were annihilated by the ambush of 200,000 troops of Dayan and Tibet, which became the biggest debacle in the Tang history, and formally brought the Tuyühu Empire to an end.
After its fall in 670, the Tuyühu Empire split into an Eastern and Western Kingdom. The Eastern Kingdom existed on the eastern side of the Qilian Mountains and increasingly migrated eastward into central China, whereas the Western Kingdom existed under the leadership of the former exile Khan
, Dayan, in Tibet. As the An Shi Rebellion
shook up the Tang court and caused its emperor to flee, Tibet overtook the entire territory of Tuyühu until internal turmoil developed within the Tibetan government and massive revolts brought an end to its ruling. Through this period, the Xianbei
underwent massive diasporas over a vast territory that stretched from the northwest into central and eastern parts of China, with the greatest concentrations found by Mt. Yin near Ordos. In 946, the Shatuo Turk, Liu Zhiyuan, conspired to murder the highest Xianbei leader, Bai Chengfu, who was reportedly so wealthy that "his horses had silver mangers". With the robbed wealth that included an abundance of property and thousands of fine horses, Liu established the Latter Han (947-950), which lasted only four years and became the shortest dynasty in the Chinese history. The incident took away the central leadership and stripped the opportunity for the Xianbei to restore the Tuyühu Empire.
Empire inherited the political and social structures of the Tang
and further developed an outstanding civilization characterized as "shining and sparkling". It became the new kingdom for the descendants of the Tuyühu Xianbei
who had lost their country. The Western Xia made significant achievements in literature, art, music, architecture, and chemistry. Through effective military organizations that integrated cavalry, chariots, archery, shields, artillery (cannons carried on the back of camels), and amphibious troops for combats on the land and water, the Xia army maintained a powerful stance in opposition to the Song
, Liao
(916-1125), and Jin (1115–1234) empires to its east, the last of which was founded by the Jurchens
, who were the predecessors of the Manchu
s to found the Qing Dynasty
(1644–1912) later. The Xia territory encompassed the present Ningxia
, Gansu
, eastern Qinghai
, northern Shaanxi
, northeastern Xinjiang
, southwest Inner Mongolia
, and southernmost Outer Mongolia
, measuring about 800,000 square kilometers. In the beginning of the thirteenth century, Genghis Khan
unified the northern grasslands of Mongolia
and led the Mongol troops to carry out six rounds of attacks against Western Xia
over a period of twenty two years. As Western Xia resisted vehemently, more and more of its people crossed the Qilian Mountains to join the earlier establishments in Qinghai and Gansu in order to avoid the Mongol assaults, which gave rise to the current settlements of the Monguor. During the last round of the Mongol attacks, Genghis died in Western Xia. The official account of the Mongol history attributed his death to an illness, whereas legends accounted that he died from a wound inflicted in the battles. After the Xia capital was overrun in 1227, the Mongols inflicted devastating destruction on its architecture and written records, killing the last emperor and massacring tens of thousands of civilians. The Xia troops were later incorporated into the Mongol army in their subsequent military conquests in central and southern China. Due to the fierce resistance of the Xia against the Mongol attacks, especially in causing the death of Genghis, they were initially suppressed in the Yuan Dynasty
(1271–1368). Toward the middle and later phases of the Yuan, they received equivalent treatment as the ruling Mongols and attained highest offices in the Central Court. After the Yuan fell, the Xia who followed the Mongols into the northern grassland were immersed among and later classified into the "Mongols."
" was derived from the combination of the Mongolian
reference of "Tangut" and the Chinese reference as "Xixia" or "Western Xia
." The Chinese reference was derived from the location of the empire on the western side of the Yellow River
, in contrast to the Liao
(916-1125) and Jin on its east. The Mongolian usage of "Tangut" most likely referred to the "Donghu people;" "-t" in Mongolian language means "people". Whereas "Donghu" was a Chinese transcription, its Mongolian reference was "Tünghu". By the time that the Mongols emerged in the thirteenth century, the only "Donghu people" who existed were the "Tu" in Western Xia.
That the Mongols referred to Western Xia as "Tangut" to represent the founding ethnic group, the Tuyühu Xianbei, is consistent with the theories of the Mongol origins postulated by the Outer Mongolian scholars, who have held that the Mongols had descended from the Xiongnu
, more specifically the eastern Xiongnu who spoke proto-Mongolic language, as opposed to the western Xiongnu who spoke proto-Turkish language
. In contrast, the Chinese scholars have characterized that the Mongols had descended from the Xianbei. The Mongols were recorded as "Mengwu Shiwei
" in the Northern Dynasties
: "Mengwu" was a variant Chinese transcription of "Menggu" designated to the Mongols, and "Shiwei" was a variant transcription of the Xianbei, as "Xianbei" was also recorded as "Sian-pie," "Serbi," "Sirbi" and "Sirvi". This equated the Mongols to be "Mongol Xianbei," which was likely associated with the submission of the Xiongnu under Xianbei. In 87 A.D., the Xianbei defeated the northern Xiongnu and killed their king, Chanyu
Youliu, causing its thorough disintegration. Thereafter, the Xiongnu submitted under and self proclaimed to be Xianbei. This resulted in a mix of the Xiongnu into Xianbei and made it difficult to differentiate the two groups in subsequent historical records. That the Mongolian term "Tangut" represented "the Donghu people," the Xianbei and their descendants who had founded the Tuyühu and Western Xia
empires, would validate the theories of the Outer Mongolian scholars that the Mongols had descended from the Xiongnu. The fact that there were Wuhuan
groups, who were part of the Donghu federation and followed Tuyühu Khan
in the westward migration, would make the interpretation that "Tangut" represented "the Donghu people" stronger, not only from reflecting that the Wuhuan joined the Xianbei in the Tuyühu and Western Xia empires, but also contrasting that the Mongols had descended from the Xiongnu. If the Mongols had descended from the Xianbei, as the Chinese scholars characterized, the Mongols would have shared the same ethnic origins with the Xianbei of the Tuyühu Empire and not have called them as "the Donghu people" in reference of Western Xia. While the intimate associations between the two groups were manifested in the cross references of the Mongols as "Mengwu Shiwei
" (or "Mongol Xianbei") from the first century and the Monguor as "Chaghan (or White) Monguor" in the thirteenth century, ethnically and culturally they remained different. As much as the prefix "Mengwu" (or "Mongol") in front of "Shiwei" (or "Xianbei") marked the difference between the Mongols and the Xianbei, the prefix "Chaghan" in front of "Monguor" indicated that the Monguor and their Xianbei predecessors were not the same as the Mongols. Culturally, the Mongols have retained a nomad
ic lifestyle, whereas the social organizations and religious lives of the Monguor are of far greater complexities.
emerged as a mighty power in the thirteenth century, a reverse occurred in the ethnonyms of the Xianbei
and Mongols. This was represented in the reference of the Xianbei descendants as "Chaghan Monguor" (or "White Mongols"), which gave rise to the ethnonym of "Monguor" known in the Western publications. The term "White Mongols," or "Bai Menggu," first occurred when Genghis Khan
united the Mongols to rise up in Mongolia
in 1206. The Xianbei descendants who resided near Mt. Yin self proclaimed to be "White Mongols" and joined them. They received the same treatment as the Mongols and partook in their westward conquests in Central Asia
and Europe
.
As waves and waves of the Xianbei went south and westward to establish different empires, those who remained in the northeast emerged as major powers later to rule over China. While the "Mongol Xianbei" (or "Mengwu Shiwei
") emerged from the northern Manchuria
and northeastern Mongolia, the Khitans, or "Qidan" in Chinese, derived their ancestral origins from the Yuwen
Xianbei in southern Mongolia, who had earlier founded the Western Wei
(535-556) and Northern Zhou
(557-581) of the Northern Dynasties
. When the Khitans established the Liao Dynasty
(916-1125) in China proper
, they were referred to as "Qara (or Black) Khitāy". Their rule gave rise to the reference of China known as "Hătāi" and "Cathay
" in the Persian and Europe
an countries. The reference of "Qara" (or "Black") as a prefix in the name of the Khitans and "Khara" (or "Black") in that of the Mongols may indicate that both groups had substantial input from the Xiongnu
, who by self proclaiming to be "Xianbei" earlier made it hard in distinguish in the Chinese records.
After the Xianbei vacated from the northeast, the Jurchens
, known as "Nüzhen" in Chinese, moved southward into Manchuria from their original habitation in the Tungus Plains in eastern Russia
located on the north of Manchuria. They occupied the former areas of the Xianbei and ascribed Mt. Xianbei with a new name, known as "Daxinganling," which remains to be used today and literally meant "White Mountains" in their Tungus language. They first established the Jin Dynasty (1115–1234) in northern China by pushing the Liao Empire of the Khitans westward into Xinjiang
. After the Jin Empire was destroyed by the Mongols in 1234, they withdrew back to Manchuria and returned later with the rejoined forces from the Mongols to establish the last dynasty of the Qing (1644–1912) in China under the new ethnonym of Manchu
, or "Man Zu" in Chinese.
was "the Great Xia Kingdom of the White and Mighty," or "Bai Gao Da Xia Guo" (白高大夏国). The term "White" (or "Bai") was designated to the founding ethnic group, the Xianbei
descendants of the Tuyühu Empire, which is consistent with their reference of "Chaghan" (or "White"), derived from their origins from the Murong Xianbei known as the "White Section." The term "Mighty" (or "Gao") was designated to the "Qiang" people who formed the majority of the population. The "Qiang" were the native peoples who were subjugated by the Xianbei in the northwest. They initially rebelled but later their fate became intimately associated with the Xianbei, as they actively defended the empire when the enemies attacked. In addition to the Tibetans and authentic Han people, the "Qiang" comprised a portion of the Miao
/Hmong
who were relocated to the northwest from central China after their Three Miao Kingdom was destroyed by the legendary Chinese Emperor Yü the Great about four thousand years ago. The "Qiang" referred to Western Xia as their "Gao (or ‘Mighty’) Mi Yao" Kingdom. When "Mi Yao" is pronounced together, it is similar to "Miao." Since the autonyms of the Miao/Hmong include "Guoxiong", "Gaoxiong," and "Gouxiong," the character "Gao" (or "Mighty") in the Xia national title could have derived as a variant abbreviation. "Bai Gao" in the national title was in turn used it to refer to the Yellow River
, which had traditionally been referred to as the "Mother River" of China, known as "Mu Qin He," that has nurtured their homeland.
Catholic missionary, Schram, who wrote about the Monguor based on residence in the current Qinghai Province in the early twentieth century, cited Comte de Lesdain, who characterized the Monguor as "the most authentic reminder of the primitive race from which the Chinese sprung." This characterization reflected that the Monguor culture under their observation has embodied "a high civilization fortified by its own history and distinctive social structure" developed by the Xianbei forefathers from their extensive rulings over China and preserved by the "Monguor"/"Tu". As early as the Tuyühu period, Confucianism
served as the core ideology to govern the country, and the Chinese Buddhism
and Shamanism
functioned as the principle religions. In Western Xia, Confucianism was further strengthened, and Taoism
was made into the national religion along with Buddhism. As the Yellow Sect of Buddhism, also known as the Tibetan Buddhism
, became prevalent in the northwest, their religious lives shifted from the Chinese toward Tibetan Buddhism. After Western Xia fell, its territory centered in Ningxia was fragmented by the successive establishments of Shaanxi
, Gansu
, and Qinghai
provinces, which increasingly weakened the political and military powers of the Monguor. Through the Ming
(1368–1644) and Qing
(1644–1912) dynasties, the Monguor continued to play important roles in the national defense, and political and religious affairs of China. Starting in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the ranches of the Monguor were taken into the state possession, and their horses became the subject of being drafted into the national army and looted by the Mongols from the north, resulting in the eventual shift of their lifestyles toward sedentary agriculture, supplemented by minimum animal husbandry, as the original Monguor groups became settled into the form of different villages. In the last two centuries, the areas formerly occupied by the Monguor were encroached upon by increasing inland Chinese migrations. Throughout this period, the Monguor maintained a high degree of political autonomy and self governance under the local chiefdom system of Tusi
. the Monguor troops led by their Tusi defended not only their own homeland but also joined the national army to participate in wars that took place as far as in eastern Liaoning
, Shaanxi
, Shanxi
, Yunnan
, Mongolia
, and Dunhuang
, which progressively weakened their military power. Their political power came to the ultimate decline when the Tusi system was abolished in 1931, which exacerbated more Monguor to lose their language. By the founding of the People's Republic of China
in 1949, only about fifty thousand of the Monguor have maintained to speak their language, primarily in Qinghai
and Gansu
. During the Chinese classificatory campaigns carried out in the 1950s, those who could no longer speak their language were classified into "Han
," those who could not speak their language but adopted the Islamic religion were classified into "Hui
," those who followed the Mongols
into the northern grassland were classified into "Mongols," and those who spoke their language and adopted the Islamic religion were classified into "Dongxiang
," "Bao’an," and "Yügu," the last of which represented the intermixture of the Xianbei and Sari Uigur.
coexist. Almost all the temples and shrines seen today have been rebuilt in the last three decades, since they were invariably destroyed during the Cultural Revolution
(1966–1976). While Buddhist monks are common in most villages, Taoist priests and shamans have become very few and serve the whole area. The Taoist priests take charge of diverse functions that include weddings, funerals, and looking after the shrines, whereas the shaman's primary function is to serve as a trance medium during the Nadun
celebration and sometimes illness management. Local accounts indicated that there have been multiple Catholic churches constructed in the Monguor areas in the past. They were destroyed in early 1950s after the Communists took control and have not been rebuilt.
that takes place in the end of the summer. Nadun resembles Nadam of the Mongols
in name but are different in format and content. Both "Nadun" and "Nadam" are special nouns designated to an annual festival and reflect their shared origins from the Xianbei who were recorded to have "one major gathering every spring for leisure and fun by river". Whereas the Mongolian Nadam preserved the nomadic features of horse race, wrestling, and archery, the Monguor Nadun has encoded their history through masked dance performances and presents as an annual military drill combined with joyful celebrations of harvest. Held by villages in turn along the Yellow River
and circles through the entire Sanchuan/Guanting
region in Minhe, the Nadun festival is inherently tied to agricultural work. It functions as the Monguor form of "Thanksgiving
" in the Western culture
and expresses gratitude for an abundance of harvest blessed by Heaven
referred to as "Tiangere." The event lasts over two months, starting from the twelfth of the seventh month to the fifteenth of the ninth month by the Chinese lunar calendar
, and spans for a total of 63 days, giving rise to its eponym as "the world’s longest festival". Among the Huzhu Monguor, the characteristic traditional dance is "Anzhao." Its name and styles bear resemblance to the "Andai" dance of the Mongols who live in Ordos
, an area that has historically served as the transitional point for the Xianbei to move about in China.
and appropriateness were at work. Many songs "daola" were sung for days and nights with great variations in melody and contents. Wherever the Monguor go, they take their songs with them, which can be heard in parties, banquets, and at gatherings in cities where they work.
and commercialism
traditional Monguor cultures and language are endangered. Traditional performances (weddings, Nadun, funerals, New Year rituals, etc.) have increasingly abbreviated, and traditional songs, riddles, folktales, and proverbs are rapidly vanishing.
Ethnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
s in the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. The "Tu" ethnic category was created in the 1950s.
The total population of 241,198 (2000 Census) lived mostly in Qinghai
Qinghai
Qinghai ; Oirat Mongolian: ; ; Salar:) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake...
and Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
provinces. The differences in the Tu population is seen in the languages they speak-- Monguor which belongs to the Mongolic languages
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...
, Chinese
Chinese language
The 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...
, and Tibetan
Tibetan language
The Tibetan languages are a cluster of mutually-unintelligible Tibeto-Burman languages spoken primarily by Tibetan peoples who live across a wide area of eastern Central Asia bordering the Indian subcontinent, including the Tibetan Plateau and the northern Indian subcontinent in Baltistan, Ladakh,...
. Nearly all Tu speak Chinese. Most are farmers; some have a few livestock.
Their culture and social organizations have been influenced by Confucianism
Confucianism
Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . Confucianism originated as an "ethical-sociopolitical teaching" during the Spring and Autumn Period, but later developed metaphysical and cosmological elements in the Han...
. The religions of the Monguor reflect elements of Tibetan
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
) Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, Taoism
Taoism
Taoism refers to a philosophical or religious tradition in which the basic concept is to establish harmony with the Tao , which is the mechanism of everything that exists...
, Shamanism
Shamanism
Shamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. To quote Eliade: "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = technique of ecstasy." Shamanism encompasses the...
, and local beliefs not easily categorized. A few Tu in Huzhu and Minhe are Christian.
Ethnic origins
The ethnic history of the Monguor is contested. It has been suggested that their origins are related to the XianbeiXianbei
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:...
.
Origins
The Chinese reference of "Tu" was derived from the name of Tuyühu KhanKhan (title)
Khan is an originally Altaic and subsequently Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, widely used by medieval nomadic Turko-Mongol tribes living to the north of China. 'Khan' is also seen as a title in the Xianbei confederation for their chief between 283 and 289...
, who was the older son of the King of Murong 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:...
and separated to undertake the great westward migration from the northeast in 284. The last character of Tuyühu, pronounced as "hun" today, was pronounced as "hu" in the ancient Chinese language. The contemporary reference of his name spelled as "Tuyuhun
Tuyuhun
The Tuyuhun Kingdom was a powerful kingdom established by nomadic tribes related to the Xianbei in the Qilian Mountains and upper Yellow River valley....
" in China and the West should be "Tuyühu." It came from the Chinese phonetic transcription of his original name "Teihu", which is still a common name seen among the Monguor today. Since the Chinese language cannot represent "Tei," two characters of "Tu" and "yü" were used. The ethnonym "Tu" in Chinese came from the abbreviation of "the Tuyühu people" or "the people of the Tuyühu Empire." Between the years 908 and 1042, the reference became simplified into "Tuhu" and "Tüihu" people. As the other ethnic groups of the Tuyühu Empire came to be ascribed with different 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...
s through subsequent history, the Xianbei who founded the empire remained to bear with the identity of "Tu."
Tu
The name "Tu" was most likely associated with a derogatory meaning and "indigenous people". Its derogatory undertone came from the concurrent meaning of the Chinese character "Tu" for "soil." The ethnonym "Tu" is increasingly a self reference.Monguor
The reference of "Monguor" in the Western publications came from their self reference as "Chaghan Monguor" (or "White MongolsMongols
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...
"). It was derived from their origins from the Murong 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:...
, from whom Tuyühu Khan separated and who had been historically referred to as "the White Section," or "Bai Bu," due to their lighter skin. The term "Monguor" was first used by the European Catholic missionaries, Smedt and Mosaert, who studied the Monguor language and compiled a Monguor-French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
dictionary in the beginning of the twentieth century. Subsequently the Flemish
Flemish people
The Flemings or Flemish are the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Belgium, where they are mostly found in the northern region of Flanders. They are one of two principal cultural-linguistic groups in Belgium, the other being the French-speaking Walloons...
Catholic missionary, Louis Schram, made it into an international name through three volumes of extensive reports based on his experiences from having living among them from 1911 to 1922. The term is a variant pronunciation of "Mongol" in the Monguor language, characterized by the final "-r" in place of "-l" in the Mongolian language.
Despite that "Monguor" was made into an international name for the "Tu," it is not representative: the reference is only used by the Monguor in Huzhu and Datong counties in Qinghai
Qinghai
Qinghai ; Oirat Mongolian: ; ; Salar:) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake...
, and when used, it should be combined with "Chaghan" (or "White") in order to be distinguished from the "Khara" (or "Black") Mongols. In Minhe County, which holds the most densely populated "Monguor" settlement and where everyone speaks their native "Monguor" language, it is never used as an autonym
Exonym and endonym
In ethnolinguistics, an endonym or autonym is a local name for a geographical feature, and an exonym or xenonym is a foreign language name for it...
.
Donghu
Their earliest origins from the DonghuDonghu
Donghu was the name of a Mongolic nomadic tribal confederation that was first recorded from the 7th century BCE and was destroyed by the Xiongnu in 150 BCE. Donghu was later divided into the Wuhuan and Xianbei Confederations, from which the Mongols are derived...
are reflected in their account of the unique wedding ceremony attributed to Madam Lushi, who organized an ambush through an elaborate banquet combined with liquor and singing in order to subdue a bully named "Wang Mang". In historical terms, the "Wang Mang" people were recorded more than four thousand years ago as physically robust and active on the west of the present Liaoning, whose culture was associated with the Hongshan Culture. In archaeological terms, the Hongshan Culture gradually gave rise to the Lower Xiajiadian Culture and represented the transition toward the bronze technology. It eventually evolved into the Upper Xiajidian Culture, which was associated with the Donghu and characterized by the practice of agriculture and animal husbandry supplemented by handicrafts and bronze art. The Donghu was a federation formed by the Mongolic-language speaking groups of the Donghu, 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....
, and 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:...
. Among the northern ethnic groups, the Donghu was the earliest to evolve into a state of civilization and first developed bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
technology. Through the usage of bronze weaponry and armored cavalry in warfare, they maintained extensive dominance over the 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...
on their west. In the end of the third century B.C., the Xiongnu Maodun attacked to destroy the Donghu by surprise and caused disintegration in the federation. The Wuhuan moved to Mt. Wuhuan and engaged in continuous warfare with the Xiongnu on the west and China on the south. The Donghu spoke Mongolic language and was formed by the federation of the Donghu, Wuhuan, and Xianbei. As the Wuhuan and Xiongnu came to be worn out from the lengthy battles, the Xianbei preserved their strengths by moving northward to Mt. Xianbei. In the first century, the Xianbei defeated the Wuhuan and northern Xiongnu, and developed into a powerful state under the leadership of their elected Khan
Khan (title)
Khan is an originally Altaic and subsequently Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, widely used by medieval nomadic Turko-Mongol tribes living to the north of China. 'Khan' is also seen as a title in the Xianbei confederation for their chief between 283 and 289...
, Tanshihuai. In the third century, the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220A.D.) in China disintegrated into three kingdoms, including the Cao Wei
Cao Wei
Cao Wei was one of the states that competed for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period. With the capital at Luoyang, the state was established by Cao Pi in 220, based upon the foundations that his father Cao Cao laid...
(220-265) in the north, the Sun Wu
Eastern Wu
Eastern Wu, also known as Sun Wu, was one the three states competing for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period after the fall of the Han Dynasty. It was based in the Jiangnan region of China...
(222-280) in the south, and the Shu Han
Shu Han
Shu Han was one of the three states competing for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period, after the fall of the Han Dynasty. The state was based on areas around Sichuan, which was then known as Shu...
(221-263) in the southwest. In 235, the Cao Wei assassinated the last Khan
Khan (title)
Khan is an originally Altaic and subsequently Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, widely used by medieval nomadic Turko-Mongol tribes living to the north of China. 'Khan' is also seen as a title in the Xianbei confederation for their chief between 283 and 289...
of the Xianbei, Kebineng, and caused disintegration in the Xianbei Kingdom. Thereafter, the Xianbei pushed their way inside the Great Wall and established extensive presence in China.
Xianbei
During the Sixteen KingdomsSixteen Kingdoms
The Sixteen Kingdoms, or less commonly the Sixteen States, were a collection of numerous short-lived sovereign states in China proper and its neighboring areas from 304 to 439 AD after the retreat of the Jin Dynasty to South China and before the establishment of the Northern Dynasties...
(304-439) period, 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:...
founded six kingdoms, including the Former Yan
Former Yan
The Former Yan was a state of Xianbei ethnicity during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China.Initially, Murong Huang and his son Murong Jun claimed the Jin Dynasty -created title "Prince of Yan," but subsequently, in 352, after seizing most of the former Later Zhao territory, Murong Juan would...
(281-370), Western Yan
Western Yan
The Western Yan was a state of Xianbei ethnicity during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China. It was founded by Murong Hong in 384 in the aftermaths of Former Qin's defeat by Jin Dynasty at the Battle of Fei River, with the stated intent of permitting the Xianbei, whom Former Qin's emperor Fu...
(384-394), Later Yan
Later Yan
The Later Yan was a Murong-Xianbei state, located in modern day northeast China, during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China.All rulers of the Later Yan declared themselves "emperors". Later Yan fell to the Goguryeo dynasty.-Rulers of the Later Yan:...
(383-407), Southern Yan
Southern Yan
The Southern Yan was a state of Xianbei ethnicity during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China. Its territory roughly coincided with modern Shandong...
(398-410), Western Qin
Western Qin
The Western Qin was a state of Xianbei ethnicity during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China. Note that the Western Qin is entirely distinct from the ancient Qin Dynasty, the Former Qin, and the Later Qin....
(385-430) and Southern Liang
Southern Liang
The Southern Liang was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms during the Jin Dynasty in China. The founding family Tufa was of Xianbei ethnicity and distant relative of the Tuoba imperial house of Northern Wei...
(397-414). Most of them were unified by the Tuoba
Tuoba
Tuoba, or Tabgach, were a clan of Xianbei people of ancient China.-Xianbei Tuoba:Tuoba was a clan of the Xianbei people in the early centuries of the 1st millennium AD. They established the State of Dai from 310 to 376 AD, and the Northern Wei Dynasty from 386 to 536 AD...
Xianbei, who established the Northern Wei
Northern 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"...
(386-535), which was the first of the Northern Dynasties
Northern dynasties
The Northern Dynasties included Northern Wei Dynasty, Eastern Wei Dynasty, Western Wei Dynasty, Northern Qi Dynasty, Northern Zhou Dynasty.Also see Southern and Northern Dynasties.-External links:*...
(386-581) founded by the Xianbei. In 534, the Northern Wei split into an Eastern Wei
Eastern Wei
The Eastern Wei Dynasty followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei, and ruled northern China from 534 to 550.In 534 Gao Huan, the potentate of the eastern half of what was Northern Wei territory following the disintegration of the Northern Wei dynasty installed Yuan Shanjian a descendant of...
(534-550) and a Western Wei
Western Wei
The Western Wei Dynasty followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei, and ruled northern China from 535 to 556.After the Xianbei general Yuwen Tai killed the Northern Wei emperor Yuan Xiu, he installed Yuan Baoju as emperor of Western Wei while Yuwen Tai would remain as the virtual ruler...
(535-556). The former evolved into the Northern Qi
Northern Qi
The Northern Qi Dynasty was one of the Northern dynasties of Chinese history and ruled northern China from 550 to 577.-History:The Chinese state of Northern Qi was the successor state of the Chinese/Xianbei state of Eastern Wei and was founded by Emperor Wenxuan...
(550-577), and the latter into the Northern Zhou
Northern Zhou
The Northern Zhou Dynasty followed the Western Wei, and ruled northern China from 557 to 581. It was overthrown by the Sui Dynasty.Northern Zhou's basis of power was established by Yuwen Tai, who was paramount general of Western Wei, following the split of Northern Wei into Western Wei and...
(557-581), while the Southern Dynasties
Southern dynasties
The Southern dynasties comprise the Liu Song, Southern Qi, Liang Dynasty and Chen Dynasty, whose capital were at Jiankang , and Emperor Yuan of Liang, as well as the later Western Liang emperors , also set their...
were pushed to the south of the Yangtze River
Yangtze River
The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...
. In 581, the Prime Minister of Northern Zhou, Yang Jian
Emperor Wen of Sui
Emperor Wen of Sui — personal name Yang Jian , Xianbei name Puliuru Jian , nickname Naluoyan — was the founder and first emperor of China's Sui Dynasty . He was a hard-working administrator and a micromanager. As a Buddhist, he encouraged the spread of Buddhism through the state...
founded the Sui Dynasty
Sui Dynasty
The Sui Dynasty was a powerful, but short-lived Imperial Chinese dynasty. Preceded by the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it ended nearly four centuries of division between rival regimes. It was followed by the Tang Dynasty....
(581-618). His son, Emperor Yang Guang, annihilated the Southern Chen (557-589), the last kingdom of the Southern Dynasties, thereby unifying northern and southern China. Yang Guang commanded the construction of the Grand Canal to enhance cultural exchanges and trade between the north and south, developed unified monetary and measurement standards, and initiated the national examination system to identify and promote talents based on merits. After the Sui came to an end amidst peasant rebellions and renegade troops, his maternal cousin, Li Shimin, founded 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...
(618-907). Born in Qin’an, Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
and revered as "the Heavenly Khan," or "Tian kehan" after defeating the Tujue, Li led China to develop into the most prosperous state of civilization seen in the world, which saw extravagant palaces, architecture, music, literature, and fine arts, long before Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
was in the Dark Ages. The Khitans who founded the subsequent 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...
(916-1125) and the Mongols
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...
who founded the Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
(1271–1368) in China proper
China proper
China proper or Eighteen Provinces was a term used by Western writers on the Qing Dynasty to express a distinction between the core and frontier regions of China. There is no fixed extent for China proper, as many administrative, cultural, and linguistic shifts have occurred in Chinese history...
also derived their ancestries from 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:...
. Through these extensive political establishments, the Xianbei who entered into China were immersed among the Chinese and later classified into "Han
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
," whereas the "Monguor"/"Tu" represented a branch of the Xianbei who have preserved their distinctive identity, language, and culture until today.
Westward migration
The separation of Tuyühu from the Murong XianbeiXianbei
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:...
occurred during the Western Jin Dynasty (265-316), which succeeded the Cao Wei
Cao Wei
Cao Wei was one of the states that competed for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period. With the capital at Luoyang, the state was established by Cao Pi in 220, based upon the foundations that his father Cao Cao laid...
(220-265) in northern China. Legends accounted the separation to be due to a fight between his horses and those of his younger brother, Murong Wei
Murong Wei
Murong Wei , courtesy name Jingmao , formally Emperor You of Yan was the last emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei state Former Yan...
. The actual cause was intense struggle over the Khanate position and disagreement over their future directions. The fraction that supported Murong Wei into the Khanate
Khanate
Khanate, or Chanat, is a Turco-Mongol-originated word used to describe a political entity ruled by a Khan. In modern Turkish, the word used is kağanlık, and in modern Azeri of the republic of Azerbaijan, xanlıq. In Mongolian the word khanlig is used, as in "Khereidiin Khanlig" meaning the Khanate...
position aimed at ruling over China, whereas Tuyühu intended to preserve the Xianbei culture and lifestyles. The disagreement resulted in Tuyühu to proclaim as the Khan, or Kehan, and undertook the long westward journey under the title of the Prince of Jin, or Jin Wang, followed by other Xianbei and 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....
groups. While passing through western Liaoning
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
and Mt. Bai, more Xianbei groups joined them from the Duan
Duan (tribe)
The Duan was a pre-state tribe of Xianbei ethnicity during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China. The reason the tribe adopted the Han Chinese family name Duan is unknown. Duan Wuwuchen was given in 303 a hereditary title— the "Duke of Liaoxi" —by the Jin Dynasty...
, Yuwen
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...
, and Bai sections. At the Hetao Plains near Ordos
Ordos
-Places:*Ordos Loop of the Yellow River, a region of China*Ordos Desert, in Inner Mongolia*Ordos City, city and district in Inner Mongolia*Ordos International Circuit, a race track in Ordos City.-People:...
in Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation...
, Tuyühu Khan led them to reside by Mt. Yin for over thirty years, as the Tuoba
Tuoba
Tuoba, or Tabgach, were a clan of Xianbei people of ancient China.-Xianbei Tuoba:Tuoba was a clan of the Xianbei people in the early centuries of the 1st millennium AD. They established the State of Dai from 310 to 376 AD, and the Northern Wei Dynasty from 386 to 536 AD...
Xianbei and Northern Xianbei joined them through political and marriage alliances. After settling down in the northwest, they established the powerful Tuyühu Empire named to his honor as the first Khan who led them there, by subjugating the native peoples who were summarily referred to as the "Qiang" and included more than 100 different and loosely coordinated tribes that did not submitted to each other or any authorities.
After Tuyühu Khan departed from the northeast, Murong Wei composed an "Older Brother’s Song," or "the Song of A Gan:" "A Gan" is Chinese transcription of "a ga" for "older brother" in the Xianbei language. The song lamented his sadness and longing for Tuyühu. Legends accounted that Murong Wei often sang it until he died and the song got spread into central and northwest China. The Murong Xianbei whom he had led successively founded the Former Yan
Former Yan
The Former Yan was a state of Xianbei ethnicity during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China.Initially, Murong Huang and his son Murong Jun claimed the Jin Dynasty -created title "Prince of Yan," but subsequently, in 352, after seizing most of the former Later Zhao territory, Murong Juan would...
(281-370), Western Yan
Western Yan
The Western Yan was a state of Xianbei ethnicity during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China. It was founded by Murong Hong in 384 in the aftermaths of Former Qin's defeat by Jin Dynasty at the Battle of Fei River, with the stated intent of permitting the Xianbei, whom Former Qin's emperor Fu...
(384-394), Later Yan
Later Yan
The Later Yan was a Murong-Xianbei state, located in modern day northeast China, during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China.All rulers of the Later Yan declared themselves "emperors". Later Yan fell to the Goguryeo dynasty.-Rulers of the Later Yan:...
(383-407), and Southern Yan
Southern Yan
The Southern Yan was a state of Xianbei ethnicity during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China. Its territory roughly coincided with modern Shandong...
(398-410). Their territories encompassed the present Liaoning
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
, Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation...
, Shandong
Shandong
' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...
, Shanxi
Shanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
, Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
, and Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
, and their capitals included Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
and other cities. Through these establishments, they were immersed among the Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
, whereas the Xianbei who followed Tuyühu Khan preserved their language and culture until the present times.
Mt. Xianbei
In the extensive migrations that the Xianbei undertook in the northeast, northern, and northwest China, the name of Mt. Xianbei was found along their trajectories. The earliest recorded Mt. Xianbei was in the southern portions of Daxinganling, located in northeast Inner Mongolia, which represented the originating place of the Xianbei. Two Mt. Xianbei were recorded subsequently in western LiaoningLiaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
: one in the present Jinzhou
Jinzhou
Jinzhou , is a prefecture-level city of Liaoning province, China. It is a geographically strategic city located in the "Liaoxi Corridor" , which connects land transportation between North China and Northeast China. Jinzhou is China's northernmost seaport and the coastal economic center of West...
City and one near Yi County. Another Mt. Xianbei was recorded in the northern portions of Daxinganling, located near Alihe Town of Elunchun Autonomous County in Hulunbeiermeng in the northeastern portion of Inner Mongolia that borders eastern Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. The Gaxian Cave, currently Khabarovsk
Khabarovsk
Khabarovsk is the largest city and the administrative center of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia. It is located some from the Chinese border. It is the second largest city in the Russian Far East, after Vladivostok. The city became the administrative center of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia...
and Amur
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...
regions in the Russian Far East
Russian Far East
Russian Far East is a term that refers to the Russian part of the Far East, i.e., extreme east parts of Russia, between Lake Baikal in Eastern Siberia and the Pacific Ocean...
, which had stone inscriptions of the Northern Wei
Northern 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"...
emperor dated 443, was recognized to be the sacred ancestral shrine of the Xianbei. In the northwest, the Qilian Mountains that run along Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
and Qinghai
Qinghai
Qinghai ; Oirat Mongolian: ; ; Salar:) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake...
provinces were referred to as the Greater Mt. Xianbei. In Sanchuan/Guanting
Guanting
Guanting is a town in eastern Qinghai province, People's Republic of China. It is located in the southeast of Minhe County and, together with Guanting, Zhongchuan, Xiakou, Gangou and Xin'er townships, is referred to as the Guanting Area ....
of Minhe County in Qinghai
Qinghai
Qinghai ; Oirat Mongolian: ; ; Salar:) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake...
, which holds the most densely populated Monguor settlement, Mt. Xianbei stands in the west, upon which sits the ancestral shrine of the Xianbei Khans.
Tuyühu Empire
After Tuyühu Khan died in Linxia, also known as Huozhou, GansuGansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
in 317, his sixty sons inherited to further develop the empire, by annihilating the Western Qin
Western Qin
The Western Qin was a state of Xianbei ethnicity during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China. Note that the Western Qin is entirely distinct from the ancient Qin Dynasty, the Former Qin, and the Later Qin....
(385-430), which had annexed Southern Liang
Southern Liang
The Southern Liang was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms during the Jin Dynasty in China. The founding family Tufa was of Xianbei ethnicity and distant relative of the Tuoba imperial house of Northern Wei...
(396-414) earlier, and Haolian Xia
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...
(407-431) kingdoms, from which the Qinghai Xianbei, Tufa Xianbei, Qifu Xianbei and Haolian Xianbei joined them. These Xianbei groups formed the core of the Tuyühu Empire and numbered about 3.3 million at their peak. They carried out extensive military expeditions westward, reaching as far as Hetian in Xinjiang
Xinjiang
Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...
and the borders of Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
and Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, and established a vast empire that encompassed Qinghai
Qinghai
Qinghai ; Oirat Mongolian: ; ; Salar:) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake...
, Gansu, Ningxia
Ningxia
Ningxia, formerly transliterated as Ningsia, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Located in Northwest China, on the Loess Plateau, the Yellow River flows through this vast area of land. The Great Wall of China runs along its northeastern boundary...
, northern Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
, eastern Shaanxi
Shaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
, southern Xinjiang, and most of Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
, stretching 1,500 kilometers from the east to the west and 1,000 kilometers from the north to the south. They unified northwest China for the first time in history, developed the southern route of the Silk Road
Silk Road
The Silk Road or Silk Route refers to a historical network of interlinking trade routes across the Afro-Eurasian landmass that connected East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean and European world, as well as parts of North and East Africa...
, and promoted cultural exchanges between the eastern and western territories, dominating the northwest for more than three and half centuries until the empire was destroyed by the Tibetans
Tibetan Empire
The historic name for the Tibetan Empire is different from Tibet's present name.Traditional Tibetan history preserves a lengthy list of rulers, whose exploits become subject to external verification in the Chinese histories by the seventh century. From the 7th to the 11th century a series of...
who rose up in 670.
Tibet
Through this extensive rule, the XianbeiXianbei
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:...
asserted everlasting cultural imprints in the region. The English reference for "Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
" most likely came from the Xianbei language for the Tibetans referred to as "Tiebie," in contrast to the self reference of the Tibetans as "Bo". The name "Tiebie" was probably derived from the Tuoba
Tuoba
Tuoba, or Tabgach, were a clan of Xianbei people of ancient China.-Xianbei Tuoba:Tuoba was a clan of the Xianbei people in the early centuries of the 1st millennium AD. They established the State of Dai from 310 to 376 AD, and the Northern Wei Dynasty from 386 to 536 AD...
Xianbei who founded the Southern Liang
Southern Liang
The Southern Liang was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms during the Jin Dynasty in China. The founding family Tufa was of Xianbei ethnicity and distant relative of the Tuoba imperial house of Northern Wei...
(397-414). Because the Tuoba who established the Northern Wei
Northern 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"...
(386-535) in China proper objected the Tuoba of Southern Liang to use the same Chinese characters, the latter adopted "Tufa
Southern Liang
The Southern Liang was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms during the Jin Dynasty in China. The founding family Tufa was of Xianbei ethnicity and distant relative of the Tuoba imperial house of Northern Wei...
," when in fact they were of the same Tuoba descent. After the Southern Liang was annexed by the Western Qin
Western Qin
The Western Qin was a state of Xianbei ethnicity during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China. Note that the Western Qin is entirely distinct from the ancient Qin Dynasty, the Former Qin, and the Later Qin....
, which in turn was annexed by the Tuyühu Empire, the majority of Tufa Xianbei joined the Tuyühu Empire. Some submitted under the Northern Wei in China, while a small fraction went into Tibet and gave rise to the name "Tiebie". In the ancient Chinese records, the reference of Tibet included "Tubo" and "Tufan," which reflected the Chinese transcriptions of "Tuoba" and "Tufa." It is likely that "Tuoba" recorded in the Chinese language may have been pronounced as "Tiebie" originally in the Xianbei language. Among the Monguor settlement in Minhe, Qinghai
Qinghai
Qinghai ; Oirat Mongolian: ; ; Salar:) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake...
today, the La and Bao Family Villages were accounted to have descended from "Tiebie", indicating that they have derived their origins from the Tufa (Tuoba) Xianbei of the Southern Liang. The Tibetans refer to the Monguor as "Huo’er," which came from the final word of the name of Tuyühu Khan
Khan (title)
Khan is an originally Altaic and subsequently Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, widely used by medieval nomadic Turko-Mongol tribes living to the north of China. 'Khan' is also seen as a title in the Xianbei confederation for their chief between 283 and 289...
. The Monguor refer to Tuyühu Khan as "Huozhou didi;" in which "Huozhou" was applied to Linxia, Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
where Tuyühu Khan died, and "didi" was traditionally a reverence term for a deceased ancestor with deity status. The earliest record of the Monguor in the Western publications was made by the French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
missionaries, Huc and Gabet, who traveled through northwest China in 1844–46. They used "Dschiahour" to represent the Monguor, based on Tibetan reference, in which "Dschia" was likely abbreviated from the first part of "Chaghan" (or "White") from the self reference of the Monguor as "Chaghan Monguor" (or "White Mongols"), and "Hour" was a variant record to the Tibetan reference of the Monguor as "Huo’er" used by the Tibetans today.
Rise of Tibet
In the beginning of the Tang DynastyTang 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...
, the Tuyühu Empire came to a gradual decline and was increasingly caught in the conflict between the Tang and Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
. Because the Tuyühu Empire controlled the crucial trade routes between the east and the west, the Empire became the immediate target of invasion by the Tang. Meanwhile, Tibet developed rapidly under the leadership of Songzanganbu who united the Tibetans and expanded northward, directly threatening the Tuyühu Empire. The exile Tuyühu Khan
Khan (title)
Khan is an originally Altaic and subsequently Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, widely used by medieval nomadic Turko-Mongol tribes living to the north of China. 'Khan' is also seen as a title in the Xianbei confederation for their chief between 283 and 289...
, Dayan, submitted under Tibet, which resorted to an excuse that Tuyühu objected its marriage with the Tang and sent 200,000 troops to attack. The Tuyühu troops retreated to Qinghai
Qinghai
Qinghai ; Oirat Mongolian: ; ; Salar:) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake...
, whereas Tibet went eastward to attack Dangxiang and reached into southern Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
. The Tang government was shocked and sent five troops to fight. Although Tibet withdrew in response, the Tuyühu Empire lost much of its territory in southern Gansu. Meanwhile, the Tuyühu Government was split between the pro-Tang and pro-Tibet factions, with the latter increasingly becoming stronger and corroborated with Tibet to bring about an invasion. The Tang sent its famous general, Xue Rengui
Xue rengui
Xue Ren'gui , formal name Xue Li but went by the courtesy name of Rengui, was one of the most famous Chinese generals during the early Tang Dynasty, due to references to him in popular literature...
, to lead 100,000 troops to fight Tibet in Dafeichuan (present Gonghe County
Gonghe County
Gonghe County is a county of Qinghai Province, China. It is under the administration of Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture....
in Qinghai). They were annihilated by the ambush of 200,000 troops of Dayan and Tibet, which became the biggest debacle in the Tang history, and formally brought the Tuyühu Empire to an end.
After its fall in 670, the Tuyühu Empire split into an Eastern and Western Kingdom. The Eastern Kingdom existed on the eastern side of the Qilian Mountains and increasingly migrated eastward into central China, whereas the Western Kingdom existed under the leadership of the former exile Khan
Khan (title)
Khan is an originally Altaic and subsequently Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, widely used by medieval nomadic Turko-Mongol tribes living to the north of China. 'Khan' is also seen as a title in the Xianbei confederation for their chief between 283 and 289...
, Dayan, in Tibet. As the 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...
shook up the Tang court and caused its emperor to flee, Tibet overtook the entire territory of Tuyühu until internal turmoil developed within the Tibetan government and massive revolts brought an end to its ruling. Through this period, 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:...
underwent massive diasporas over a vast territory that stretched from the northwest into central and eastern parts of China, with the greatest concentrations found by Mt. Yin near Ordos. In 946, the Shatuo Turk, Liu Zhiyuan, conspired to murder the highest Xianbei leader, Bai Chengfu, who was reportedly so wealthy that "his horses had silver mangers". With the robbed wealth that included an abundance of property and thousands of fine horses, Liu established the Latter Han (947-950), which lasted only four years and became the shortest dynasty in the Chinese history. The incident took away the central leadership and stripped the opportunity for the Xianbei to restore the Tuyühu Empire.
Western Xia Empire
The Western XiaWestern Xia
The Western Xia Dynasty or the Tangut Empire, was known to the Tanguts and the Tibetans as Minyak.The state existed from 1038 to 1227 AD in what are now the northwestern Chinese provinces of Ningxia, Gansu, eastern Qinghai, northern Shaanxi, northeastern Xinjiang, southwest Inner Mongolia, and...
Empire inherited the political and social structures of the Tang
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...
and further developed an outstanding civilization characterized as "shining and sparkling". It became the new kingdom for the descendants of the Tuyühu 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:...
who had lost their country. The Western Xia made significant achievements in literature, art, music, architecture, and chemistry. Through effective military organizations that integrated cavalry, chariots, archery, shields, artillery (cannons carried on the back of camels), and amphibious troops for combats on the land and water, the Xia army maintained a powerful stance in opposition to the Song
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
, 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...
(916-1125), and Jin (1115–1234) empires to its east, the last of which was founded by the Jurchens
Jurchens
The Jurchens were a Tungusic people who inhabited the region of Manchuria until the 17th century, when they adopted the name Manchu...
, who were the predecessors of the 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...
s to found the Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
(1644–1912) later. The Xia territory encompassed the present Ningxia
Ningxia
Ningxia, formerly transliterated as Ningsia, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Located in Northwest China, on the Loess Plateau, the Yellow River flows through this vast area of land. The Great Wall of China runs along its northeastern boundary...
, Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
, eastern Qinghai
Qinghai
Qinghai ; Oirat Mongolian: ; ; Salar:) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake...
, northern Shaanxi
Shaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
, northeastern Xinjiang
Xinjiang
Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...
, southwest Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation...
, and southernmost Outer Mongolia
Outer Mongolia
Outer Mongolia was a territory of the Qing Dynasty = the Manchu Empire. Its area was roughly equivalent to that of the modern state of Mongolia, which is sometimes informally called "Outer Mongolia" today...
, measuring about 800,000 square kilometers. In the beginning of the thirteenth century, Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
unified the northern grasslands of Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
and led the Mongol troops to carry out six rounds of attacks against Western Xia
Western Xia
The Western Xia Dynasty or the Tangut Empire, was known to the Tanguts and the Tibetans as Minyak.The state existed from 1038 to 1227 AD in what are now the northwestern Chinese provinces of Ningxia, Gansu, eastern Qinghai, northern Shaanxi, northeastern Xinjiang, southwest Inner Mongolia, and...
over a period of twenty two years. As Western Xia resisted vehemently, more and more of its people crossed the Qilian Mountains to join the earlier establishments in Qinghai and Gansu in order to avoid the Mongol assaults, which gave rise to the current settlements of the Monguor. During the last round of the Mongol attacks, Genghis died in Western Xia. The official account of the Mongol history attributed his death to an illness, whereas legends accounted that he died from a wound inflicted in the battles. After the Xia capital was overrun in 1227, the Mongols inflicted devastating destruction on its architecture and written records, killing the last emperor and massacring tens of thousands of civilians. The Xia troops were later incorporated into the Mongol army in their subsequent military conquests in central and southern China. Due to the fierce resistance of the Xia against the Mongol attacks, especially in causing the death of Genghis, they were initially suppressed in the Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
(1271–1368). Toward the middle and later phases of the Yuan, they received equivalent treatment as the ruling Mongols and attained highest offices in the Central Court. After the Yuan fell, the Xia who followed the Mongols into the northern grassland were immersed among and later classified into the "Mongols."
Tangut-Xixia
The English reference of "Tangut-XixiaWestern Xia
The Western Xia Dynasty or the Tangut Empire, was known to the Tanguts and the Tibetans as Minyak.The state existed from 1038 to 1227 AD in what are now the northwestern Chinese provinces of Ningxia, Gansu, eastern Qinghai, northern Shaanxi, northeastern Xinjiang, southwest Inner Mongolia, and...
" was derived from the combination of the Mongolian
Mongolian language
The Mongolian language is the official language of Mongolia and the best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the Mongolian residents of the Inner...
reference of "Tangut" and the Chinese reference as "Xixia" or "Western Xia
Western Xia
The Western Xia Dynasty or the Tangut Empire, was known to the Tanguts and the Tibetans as Minyak.The state existed from 1038 to 1227 AD in what are now the northwestern Chinese provinces of Ningxia, Gansu, eastern Qinghai, northern Shaanxi, northeastern Xinjiang, southwest Inner Mongolia, and...
." The Chinese reference was derived from the location of the empire on the western side of the Yellow River
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He, formerly known as the Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into...
, in contrast to 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...
(916-1125) and Jin on its east. The Mongolian usage of "Tangut" most likely referred to the "Donghu people;" "-t" in Mongolian language means "people". Whereas "Donghu" was a Chinese transcription, its Mongolian reference was "Tünghu". By the time that the Mongols emerged in the thirteenth century, the only "Donghu people" who existed were the "Tu" in Western Xia.
That the Mongols referred to Western Xia as "Tangut" to represent the founding ethnic group, the Tuyühu Xianbei, is consistent with the theories of the Mongol origins postulated by the Outer Mongolian scholars, who have held that the Mongols had descended from the 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...
, more specifically the eastern Xiongnu who spoke proto-Mongolic language, as opposed to the western Xiongnu who spoke proto-Turkish language
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
. In contrast, the Chinese scholars have characterized that the Mongols had descended from the Xianbei. The Mongols were recorded as "Mengwu 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....
" in the Northern Dynasties
Northern dynasties
The Northern Dynasties included Northern Wei Dynasty, Eastern Wei Dynasty, Western Wei Dynasty, Northern Qi Dynasty, Northern Zhou Dynasty.Also see Southern and Northern Dynasties.-External links:*...
: "Mengwu" was a variant Chinese transcription of "Menggu" designated to the Mongols, and "Shiwei" was a variant transcription of the Xianbei, as "Xianbei" was also recorded as "Sian-pie," "Serbi," "Sirbi" and "Sirvi". This equated the Mongols to be "Mongol Xianbei," which was likely associated with the submission of the Xiongnu under Xianbei. In 87 A.D., the Xianbei defeated the northern Xiongnu and killed their king, Chanyu
Chanyu
Chanyu , was the title used by the nomadic supreme rulers of Middle and Central Asia for 8 centuries, starting...
Youliu, causing its thorough disintegration. Thereafter, the Xiongnu submitted under and self proclaimed to be Xianbei. This resulted in a mix of the Xiongnu into Xianbei and made it difficult to differentiate the two groups in subsequent historical records. That the Mongolian term "Tangut" represented "the Donghu people," the Xianbei and their descendants who had founded the Tuyühu and Western Xia
Western Xia
The Western Xia Dynasty or the Tangut Empire, was known to the Tanguts and the Tibetans as Minyak.The state existed from 1038 to 1227 AD in what are now the northwestern Chinese provinces of Ningxia, Gansu, eastern Qinghai, northern Shaanxi, northeastern Xinjiang, southwest Inner Mongolia, and...
empires, would validate the theories of the Outer Mongolian scholars that the Mongols had descended from the Xiongnu. The fact that there were 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....
groups, who were part of the Donghu federation and followed Tuyühu Khan
Khan (title)
Khan is an originally Altaic and subsequently Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, widely used by medieval nomadic Turko-Mongol tribes living to the north of China. 'Khan' is also seen as a title in the Xianbei confederation for their chief between 283 and 289...
in the westward migration, would make the interpretation that "Tangut" represented "the Donghu people" stronger, not only from reflecting that the Wuhuan joined the Xianbei in the Tuyühu and Western Xia empires, but also contrasting that the Mongols had descended from the Xiongnu. If the Mongols had descended from the Xianbei, as the Chinese scholars characterized, the Mongols would have shared the same ethnic origins with the Xianbei of the Tuyühu Empire and not have called them as "the Donghu people" in reference of Western Xia. While the intimate associations between the two groups were manifested in the cross references of the Mongols as "Mengwu 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....
" (or "Mongol Xianbei") from the first century and the Monguor as "Chaghan (or White) Monguor" in the thirteenth century, ethnically and culturally they remained different. As much as the prefix "Mengwu" (or "Mongol") in front of "Shiwei" (or "Xianbei") marked the difference between the Mongols and the Xianbei, the prefix "Chaghan" in front of "Monguor" indicated that the Monguor and their Xianbei predecessors were not the same as the Mongols. Culturally, the Mongols have retained a nomad
Nomad
Nomadic people , commonly known as itinerants in modern-day contexts, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world. Many cultures have traditionally been nomadic, but...
ic lifestyle, whereas the social organizations and religious lives of the Monguor are of far greater complexities.
Mongols, Khitans, and Jurchens
When the MongolsMongols
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...
emerged as a mighty power in the thirteenth century, a reverse occurred in the ethnonyms 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:...
and Mongols. This was represented in the reference of the Xianbei descendants as "Chaghan Monguor" (or "White Mongols"), which gave rise to the ethnonym of "Monguor" known in the Western publications. The term "White Mongols," or "Bai Menggu," first occurred when Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
united the Mongols to rise up in Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
in 1206. The Xianbei descendants who resided near Mt. Yin self proclaimed to be "White Mongols" and joined them. They received the same treatment as the Mongols and partook in their westward conquests in Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
As waves and waves of the Xianbei went south and westward to establish different empires, those who remained in the northeast emerged as major powers later to rule over China. While the "Mongol Xianbei" (or "Mengwu 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....
") emerged from the northern 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...
and northeastern Mongolia, the Khitans, or "Qidan" in Chinese, derived their ancestral origins from the Yuwen
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...
Xianbei in southern Mongolia, who had earlier founded the Western Wei
Western Wei
The Western Wei Dynasty followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei, and ruled northern China from 535 to 556.After the Xianbei general Yuwen Tai killed the Northern Wei emperor Yuan Xiu, he installed Yuan Baoju as emperor of Western Wei while Yuwen Tai would remain as the virtual ruler...
(535-556) and Northern Zhou
Northern Zhou
The Northern Zhou Dynasty followed the Western Wei, and ruled northern China from 557 to 581. It was overthrown by the Sui Dynasty.Northern Zhou's basis of power was established by Yuwen Tai, who was paramount general of Western Wei, following the split of Northern Wei into Western Wei and...
(557-581) of the Northern Dynasties
Northern dynasties
The Northern Dynasties included Northern Wei Dynasty, Eastern Wei Dynasty, Western Wei Dynasty, Northern Qi Dynasty, Northern Zhou Dynasty.Also see Southern and Northern Dynasties.-External links:*...
. When the Khitans 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...
(916-1125) in China proper
China proper
China proper or Eighteen Provinces was a term used by Western writers on the Qing Dynasty to express a distinction between the core and frontier regions of China. There is no fixed extent for China proper, as many administrative, cultural, and linguistic shifts have occurred in Chinese history...
, they were referred to as "Qara (or Black) Khitāy". Their rule gave rise to the reference of China known as "Hătāi" and "Cathay
Cathay
Cathay is the Anglicized version of "Catai" and an alternative name for China in English. It originates from the word Khitan, the name of a nomadic people who founded the Liao Dynasty which ruled much of Northern China from 907 to 1125, and who had a state of their own centered around today's...
" in the Persian and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an countries. The reference of "Qara" (or "Black") as a prefix in the name of the Khitans and "Khara" (or "Black") in that of the Mongols may indicate that both groups had substantial input from the 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...
, who by self proclaiming to be "Xianbei" earlier made it hard in distinguish in the Chinese records.
After the Xianbei vacated from the northeast, the Jurchens
Jurchens
The Jurchens were a Tungusic people who inhabited the region of Manchuria until the 17th century, when they adopted the name Manchu...
, known as "Nüzhen" in Chinese, moved southward into Manchuria from their original habitation in the Tungus Plains in eastern Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
located on the north of Manchuria. They occupied the former areas of the Xianbei and ascribed Mt. Xianbei with a new name, known as "Daxinganling," which remains to be used today and literally meant "White Mountains" in their Tungus language. They first established the Jin Dynasty (1115–1234) in northern China by pushing the Liao Empire of the Khitans westward into Xinjiang
Xinjiang
Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...
. After the Jin Empire was destroyed by the Mongols in 1234, they withdrew back to Manchuria and returned later with the rejoined forces from the Mongols to establish the last dynasty of the Qing (1644–1912) in China under the new ethnonym of 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...
, or "Man Zu" in Chinese.
Xia title
The full national title of Western XiaWestern Xia
The Western Xia Dynasty or the Tangut Empire, was known to the Tanguts and the Tibetans as Minyak.The state existed from 1038 to 1227 AD in what are now the northwestern Chinese provinces of Ningxia, Gansu, eastern Qinghai, northern Shaanxi, northeastern Xinjiang, southwest Inner Mongolia, and...
was "the Great Xia Kingdom of the White and Mighty," or "Bai Gao Da Xia Guo" (白高大夏国). The term "White" (or "Bai") was designated to the founding ethnic group, 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:...
descendants of the Tuyühu Empire, which is consistent with their reference of "Chaghan" (or "White"), derived from their origins from the Murong Xianbei known as the "White Section." The term "Mighty" (or "Gao") was designated to the "Qiang" people who formed the majority of the population. The "Qiang" were the native peoples who were subjugated by the Xianbei in the northwest. They initially rebelled but later their fate became intimately associated with the Xianbei, as they actively defended the empire when the enemies attacked. In addition to the Tibetans and authentic Han people, the "Qiang" comprised a portion of the Miao
Miao people
The Miao or ม้ง ; ) is an ethnic group recognized by the government of the People's Republic of China as one of the 55 official minority groups. Miao is a Chinese term and does not reflect the self-designations of the component nations of people, which include Hmong, Hmu, A Hmao, and Kho Xiong...
/Hmong
Hmong people
The Hmong , are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Hmong are also one of the sub-groups of the Miao ethnicity in southern China...
who were relocated to the northwest from central China after their Three Miao Kingdom was destroyed by the legendary Chinese Emperor Yü the Great about four thousand years ago. The "Qiang" referred to Western Xia as their "Gao (or ‘Mighty’) Mi Yao" Kingdom. When "Mi Yao" is pronounced together, it is similar to "Miao." Since the autonyms of the Miao/Hmong include "Guoxiong", "Gaoxiong," and "Gouxiong," the character "Gao" (or "Mighty") in the Xia national title could have derived as a variant abbreviation. "Bai Gao" in the national title was in turn used it to refer to the Yellow River
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He, formerly known as the Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into...
, which had traditionally been referred to as the "Mother River" of China, known as "Mu Qin He," that has nurtured their homeland.
Current status
The FlemishFlanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
Catholic missionary, Schram, who wrote about the Monguor based on residence in the current Qinghai Province in the early twentieth century, cited Comte de Lesdain, who characterized the Monguor as "the most authentic reminder of the primitive race from which the Chinese sprung." This characterization reflected that the Monguor culture under their observation has embodied "a high civilization fortified by its own history and distinctive social structure" developed by the Xianbei forefathers from their extensive rulings over China and preserved by the "Monguor"/"Tu". As early as the Tuyühu period, Confucianism
Confucianism
Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . Confucianism originated as an "ethical-sociopolitical teaching" during the Spring and Autumn Period, but later developed metaphysical and cosmological elements in the Han...
served as the core ideology to govern the country, and the Chinese Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
and Shamanism
Shamanism
Shamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. To quote Eliade: "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = technique of ecstasy." Shamanism encompasses the...
functioned as the principle religions. In Western Xia, Confucianism was further strengthened, and Taoism
Taoism
Taoism refers to a philosophical or religious tradition in which the basic concept is to establish harmony with the Tao , which is the mechanism of everything that exists...
was made into the national religion along with Buddhism. As the Yellow Sect of Buddhism, also known as the Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
, became prevalent in the northwest, their religious lives shifted from the Chinese toward Tibetan Buddhism. After Western Xia fell, its territory centered in Ningxia was fragmented by the successive establishments of Shaanxi
Shaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
, Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
, and Qinghai
Qinghai
Qinghai ; Oirat Mongolian: ; ; Salar:) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake...
provinces, which increasingly weakened the political and military powers of the Monguor. Through the Ming
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
(1368–1644) and Qing
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
(1644–1912) dynasties, the Monguor continued to play important roles in the national defense, and political and religious affairs of China. Starting in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the ranches of the Monguor were taken into the state possession, and their horses became the subject of being drafted into the national army and looted by the Mongols from the north, resulting in the eventual shift of their lifestyles toward sedentary agriculture, supplemented by minimum animal husbandry, as the original Monguor groups became settled into the form of different villages. In the last two centuries, the areas formerly occupied by the Monguor were encroached upon by increasing inland Chinese migrations. Throughout this period, the Monguor maintained a high degree of political autonomy and self governance under the local chiefdom system of Tusi
Tusi
Al-Tusi or Tusi is the title of several Iranian scholars who were born in the town of Tous in Khorasan. Some of the scholars with the al-Tusi title include:*Ferdowsi Tusi , Persian poet...
. the Monguor troops led by their Tusi defended not only their own homeland but also joined the national army to participate in wars that took place as far as in eastern Liaoning
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
, Shaanxi
Shaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
, Shanxi
Shanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
, Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
, Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
, and Dunhuang
Dunhuang
Dunhuang is a city in northwestern Gansu province, Western China. It was a major stop on the ancient Silk Road. It was also known at times as Shāzhōu , or 'City of Sands', a name still used today...
, which progressively weakened their military power. Their political power came to the ultimate decline when the Tusi system was abolished in 1931, which exacerbated more Monguor to lose their language. By the founding of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
in 1949, only about fifty thousand of the Monguor have maintained to speak their language, primarily in Qinghai
Qinghai
Qinghai ; Oirat Mongolian: ; ; Salar:) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake...
and Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
. During the Chinese classificatory campaigns carried out in the 1950s, those who could no longer speak their language were classified into "Han
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
," those who could not speak their language but adopted the Islamic religion were classified into "Hui
Hui people
The Hui people are an ethnic group in China, defined as Chinese speaking people descended from foreign Muslims. They are typically distinguished by their practice of Islam, however some also practice other religions, and many are direct descendants of Silk Road travelers.In modern People's...
," those who followed the Mongols
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...
into the northern grassland were classified into "Mongols," and those who spoke their language and adopted the Islamic religion were classified into "Dongxiang
Dongxiang people
The Dongxiang people are one of 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China...
," "Bao’an," and "Yügu," the last of which represented the intermixture of the Xianbei and Sari Uigur.
Current culture
Most Mongour in rapidly changing rural settlements today practice sedentary agriculture, supplemented by minimum animal husbandry, and seasonal work in towns and cities. Those who have succeeded in the Chinese educational system take up government jobs in a wide range of academic, medical, and business fields.Religion
In most villages, a Buddhist temple and a Taoist shrineShrine
A shrine is a holy or sacred place, which is dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon or similar figure of awe and respect, at which they are venerated or worshipped. Shrines often contain idols, relics, or other such objects associated with the figure being venerated....
coexist. Almost all the temples and shrines seen today have been rebuilt in the last three decades, since they were invariably destroyed during the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
(1966–1976). While Buddhist monks are common in most villages, Taoist priests and shamans have become very few and serve the whole area. The Taoist priests take charge of diverse functions that include weddings, funerals, and looking after the shrines, whereas the shaman's primary function is to serve as a trance medium during the Nadun
Nadun
Nadun is a traditional festival held by the people known as “Monguor” in the West and as "Tu Zu" in China. Its name resembles the Nadam festival of the Mongols, but different in format and content.-Origins:...
celebration and sometimes illness management. Local accounts indicated that there have been multiple Catholic churches constructed in the Monguor areas in the past. They were destroyed in early 1950s after the Communists took control and have not been rebuilt.
Nadun and Anzhao
Distinctive cultural events take place throughout the year. Whereas the common festival held during the Spring Festival is "Yangguo," the most characteristic tradition is represented by NadunNadun
Nadun is a traditional festival held by the people known as “Monguor” in the West and as "Tu Zu" in China. Its name resembles the Nadam festival of the Mongols, but different in format and content.-Origins:...
that takes place in the end of the summer. Nadun resembles Nadam of the Mongols
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...
in name but are different in format and content. Both "Nadun" and "Nadam" are special nouns designated to an annual festival and reflect their shared origins from the Xianbei who were recorded to have "one major gathering every spring for leisure and fun by river". Whereas the Mongolian Nadam preserved the nomadic features of horse race, wrestling, and archery, the Monguor Nadun has encoded their history through masked dance performances and presents as an annual military drill combined with joyful celebrations of harvest. Held by villages in turn along the Yellow River
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He, formerly known as the Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into...
and circles through the entire Sanchuan/Guanting
Guanting
Guanting is a town in eastern Qinghai province, People's Republic of China. It is located in the southeast of Minhe County and, together with Guanting, Zhongchuan, Xiakou, Gangou and Xin'er townships, is referred to as the Guanting Area ....
region in Minhe, the Nadun festival is inherently tied to agricultural work. It functions as the Monguor form of "Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
" in the Western culture
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
and expresses gratitude for an abundance of harvest blessed by Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
referred to as "Tiangere." The event lasts over two months, starting from the twelfth of the seventh month to the fifteenth of the ninth month by the Chinese lunar calendar
Lunar calendar
A lunar calendar is a calendar that is based on cycles of the lunar phase. A common purely lunar calendar is the Islamic calendar or Hijri calendar. A feature of the Islamic calendar is that a year is always 12 months, so the months are not linked with the seasons and drift each solar year by 11 to...
, and spans for a total of 63 days, giving rise to its eponym as "the world’s longest festival". Among the Huzhu Monguor, the characteristic traditional dance is "Anzhao." Its name and styles bear resemblance to the "Andai" dance of the Mongols who live in Ordos
Ordos
-Places:*Ordos Loop of the Yellow River, a region of China*Ordos Desert, in Inner Mongolia*Ordos City, city and district in Inner Mongolia*Ordos International Circuit, a race track in Ordos City.-People:...
, an area that has historically served as the transitional point for the Xianbei to move about in China.
Wedding songs
The traditional weddings of the Monguor differ markedly. In Minhe County, elaborate rules of courtesyCourtesy
Courtesy comes from old french 'courteis' is gentle politeness and courtly manners. In the Middle Ages in Europe, the behaviour expected of the gentry was compiled in courtesy books...
and appropriateness were at work. Many songs "daola" were sung for days and nights with great variations in melody and contents. Wherever the Monguor go, they take their songs with them, which can be heard in parties, banquets, and at gatherings in cities where they work.
Globalization
In an age of globalizationGlobalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
and commercialism
Commercialism
Commercialism, in its original meaning, is the practices, methods, aims, and spirit of commerce or business. Today, however, it primarily refers to the tendency within open-market capitalism to turn everything into objects, images, and services sold for the purpose of generating profit...
traditional Monguor cultures and language are endangered. Traditional performances (weddings, Nadun, funerals, New Year rituals, etc.) have increasingly abbreviated, and traditional songs, riddles, folktales, and proverbs are rapidly vanishing.