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The Xianbei (; ) were an ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeast China. The Xianbei were likely not of a single ethnicity, but rather a multilingual, multi-ethnic confederation consisting of mainly Proto-Mongols (who spoke either pre-Proto-Mongolic,, quote: "The Xianbei confederation appears to have contained speakers of Pre-Proto-Mongolic, perhaps the largest constituent linguistic group, as well as former Xiongnu subjects, who spoke other languages, Turkic almost certainly being one of them."Pulleyblank, Edwin G. (1983). "The Chinese and Their Neighbors in Prehistoric and Early Historic China," in The Origins of Chinese Civilization, University of California Press, p. 452 of pp. 411–466. or Para-Mongolic languages), and, to a minor degree, Tungusic peoples and Turkic peoples peoples.Wolfgang-Ekkehard Scharlipp Die frühen Türken in Zentralasien, Darmstadt 1992, p. 10 They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into the Wuhuan and Xianbei when they were defeated by the Xiongnu at the end of the third century BC. Following the split, the Xianbei people did not have a direct contact with the Han dynasty, residing to the north of the Wuhuan. In the first century BC, the Xianbei began actively engaging in the struggle between the Han and Xiongnu, culminating in the Xianbei replacing the Xiongnu on the Mongolian Plateau.
In the mid-2nd century, the chieftain, Tanshihuai unified the Xianbei and waged war against the Han dynasty. His confederation threatened the Han's northern borders for many years, but quickly disintegrated following his death in 181 AD. After suffering several defeats by the end of the Three Kingdoms, the Xianbei migrated south and settled in close proximity to Han society and submitted as vassals to the Chinese dynasties. As one of the so-called "Five Barbarians" that settled in northern China, the Xianbei fought as auxiliaries for the Western Jin dynasty during the War of the Eight Princes and the Upheaval of the Five Barbarians before eventually distancing themselves and declaring their autonomy as the Jin was pushed to the south. During the Sixteen Kingdoms period, the Xianbei founded several short-lived states in the north and established themselves on the Zhongyuan.
The Xianbei were at one point all subjected to the Di-led Former Qin before it fell apart not long after its defeat in the Battle of Fei River by the Eastern Jin. In the wake of the Former Qin's collapse, the Tuoba formed the Northern Wei dynasty and eventually reunited northern China, ushering China into the Northern and Southern dynasties period. The Northern dynasties, all of which were either led or heavily influenced by the Xianbei, opposed and promoted sinicization at one point or another but trended towards the latter and had merged with the general Chinese population by the Tang dynasty. The Northern Wei also arranged for ethnic Han elites to marry daughters of the Tuoba imperial clan in the 480s. More than fifty percent of Tuoba Xianbei princesses of the Northern Wei were married to southern Han men from the imperial families and aristocrats from southern China of the Southern dynasties who defected and moved north to join the Northern Wei.
According to Schuessler, however, the Eastern Han Chinese pronunciation of 鮮卑 is /sian pie/, and he does not reconstruct syllables ending in -r for this stage. He reconstructed the Later Han pronunciation of 室韋 as /śit wui/. (2025). 9780824829759, University of Hawaiʻi Press. ISBN 9780824829759
On the one hand, *Särpi may be linked to the Mongolic root *ser ~ *sir which means "crest, bristle, sticking out, projecting, etc." (cf. Khalkha сэрвэн serven), possibly referring to the Mongolian horse (semantically analogous with the Turkic ethnonym Yabaqu < Yapağu 'matted hair or wool', later 'a matted-haired animal, i.e. a colt')Golden, Peter B. “The Stateless Nomads of Central Eurasia” , in Empires and Exchanges in Eurasian Late Antiquity
Shimunek (2018) reconstructs * serbi for Xiānbēi and * širwi for 室韋 Shiwei people < MC *ɕiɪt̚-ɦʉi.
When the Donghu "Eastern Barbarians" were defeated by Modu Chanyu around 208 BC, the Donghu splintered into the Xianbei and Wuhuan.Xu Elina-Qian, Historical Development of the Pre-Dynastic Khitan, University of Helsinki, 2005. p. 164 According to the Book of the Later Han, "the language and culture of the Xianbei are the same as the Wuhuan".
The first significant contact the Xianbei had with the Han dynasty was in 41 and 45, when they joined the Wuhuan and Xiongnu in raiding Han territory.
In 49, the governor Ji Tong convinced the Xianbei chieftain Pianhe to turn on the Xiongnu with rewards for each Xiongnu head they collected. In 54, Yuchouben and Mantou of the Xianbei paid tribute to Emperor Guangwu of Han.
In 58, the Xianbei chieftain Pianhe attacked and killed Xinzhiben, a Wuhuan leader causing trouble in Yuyang Commandery.
In 85, the Xianbei secured an alliance with the Dingling and Southern Xiongnu.
In 87, the Xianbei attacked the Xiongnu chanyu Youliu and killed him. They flayed him and his followers and took the skins back as trophies.
In 93, as the Northern Xiongnu were forced to the northwest by the Han dynasty, the Xianbei began occupying the Mongolian Plateau, absorbing 100,000 Xiongnu tribes and increasing their strength.
In 109, the Wuhuan and Xianbei attacked Wuyuan Commandery and defeated local Han forces. The Southern Xiongnu chanyu Wanshishizhudi rebelled against the Han and attacked the Emissary Geng Chong but failed to oust him. Han forces under Geng Kui retaliated and defeated a force of 3,000 Xiongnu but could not take the Southern Xiongnu capital due to disease among the horses of their Xianbei allies.
The Xianbei under Qizhijian raided Han territory four times from 121 to 138. In 145, the Xianbei raided Dai Commandery.
In 177, Xia Yu, Tian Yan and the Southern Xiongnu Chanyu, Tute Ruoshi Zhujiu led a force of 30,000 against the Xianbei. They were defeated and returned with only one-tenth of their original forces. A memorial made that year records that the Xianbei had taken all the lands previously held by the Xiongnu and their warriors numbered 100,000. Han deserters who sought refuge in their lands served as their advisers and refined metals as well as wrought iron came into their possession. Their weapons were sharper and their horses faster than those of the Xiongnu. Another memorial submitted in 185 states that the Xianbei were making raids on Han settlements nearly every year.
Despite the constant raids, the loose Xianbei confederacy lacked the organization of the Xiongnu empire, and they were struggling to sustain their growing population. Tanshihuai died in 181 and was succeeded by his son, Helian, but he lacked his father's abilities and was killed in a raid on Beidi Commandery during the last years of Emperor Ling of Han. Helian's son, Qianman was too young at the time of his father's death, so the chieftains elected his nephew, Kuitou, to succeed him. Once Qianman came of age, however, he challenged his cousin to succession, destroying the last vestiges of unity among the Xianbei.
Kebineng was from a minor Xianbei tribe. He rose to power west of Dai Commandery by taking in a number of Chinese refugees, who helped him drill his soldiers and make weapons. After the defeat of the Wuhuan in 207, he also sent tribute to Cao Cao, and even provided assistance against the rebel Tian Yin. In 218 he allied himself to the Wuhuan rebel Nengchendi but they were heavily defeated and forced back across the frontier by Cao Zhang. In 220, he acknowledged Cao Pi as emperor of Cao Wei. Eventually, he turned on Wei for frustrating his advances on Suli. Kebineng conducted raids on Cao Wei before he was killed in 235, after which his confederacy disintegrated.
Many of the Xianbei tribes migrated south and settled on the borders of the Wei-Jin dynasties, where they often offered their submission. In 258, the Tuoba tribe settled in the abandoned city of Shengle, north of the Yin Mountains. To the east of them, the Yuwen tribe settled between the Luan River and Liucheng, while the Murong tribe were allowed to move deeper into Liaodong. The Duan tribe tribe was founded in Liaoxi within the Great Wall by a Xianbei ex-slave along with a group of exiles. In the west, an offshoot of the Murong moved into northern Qinghai and mixed with the native Qiang people, becoming Tuyuhun. The Qifu tribe settled near the Longxi basin, while a branch of the Tuoba, the Tufa tribe, roamed the Hexi Corridor. In 270, the Tufa chieftain, Tufa Shujineng, led the various ethnic tribes in the northwest in a rebellion against the Jin dynasty in Qin and Liang Province provinces but was defeated in 279 by Ma Long.
The Xianbei founded several of the Sixteen Kingdoms in northern China. The Murong of Liaodong were the most notable clan of this period. Having adopted the Jin governing system and customs, they rose to prominence during the fall of Western Jin by providing refuge and cooperating closely with the Chinese exiles, eventually establishing Xianbei rule over the Zhongyuan after they defeated the Ran Wei in 352. They founded the Former Yan (337–370), Later Yan (384–407) and Southern Yan (398–410), as well as the Western Yan (384–394; not listed among the Sixteen Kingdoms). The Murong dominated the northeast and at one point vied to unify China, but fell short due to family infighting, corruption and weak rulers. Meanwhile, in Gansu, the Qifu established the Western Qin (385–431) while the Tufa established the Southern Liang (397–414).
The Tuoba retained their fiefdom of Dai (310–376), which was elevated to a kingdom in 315, before they were eventually conquered by the Di-led Former Qin. With the fall of Dai, northern China was briefly unified under the Qin, but as they rapidly collapsed following a disastrous defeat at the Battle of Fei River in 383, the Tuoba restored their state as the Northern Wei (386–535), becoming the first of the Northern dynasties (386–581). The Northern Wei grew in power after they defeated and supplanted the Later Yan on the Zhongyuan. In 439, they conquered the last of the Sixteen Kingdoms, thereby unifying the north and completing the transition into the Northern and Southern dynasties period.Ma, Changshou 馬長壽 (1962). Wuhuan yu Xianbei Wuhuan 烏桓與鮮卑. Shanghai 上海, Shanghai ren min chu ban she Shanghai 上海人民出版社.Liu, Xueyao 劉學銚 (1994). Xianbei shi lun the 鮮卑史論. Taipei 台北, Nan tian shu ju Nantian 南天書局.Wang, Zhongluo 王仲荦 (2007). Wei jin nan bei chao shi History 魏晋南北朝史. Beijing 北京, Zhonghua shu ju China 中华书局.
Marriages to Han elite families were encouraged, and the Northern Wei started to arrange for Han Chinese elites to marry daughters of the Xianbei Tuoba royal family in the 480s. More than fifty percent of Tuoba Xianbei princesses of the Northern Wei were married to southern Han Chinese men from the imperial families and aristocrats from southern China of the Southern dynasties who defected and moved north to join the Northern Wei. Some Han Chinese exiled royalty fled from southern China and defected to the Xianbei. Several daughters of the Xianbei Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei were married to Han Chinese elites, the Liu Song royal Liu Hui (劉輝), married Princess Lanling (蘭陵公主) of the Northern Wei,
After the Six Frontier Towns Rebellion and the events that followed, the Northern Wei split into Eastern Wei (534–550) and Western Wei (535–556) before becoming the Northern Qi (550–577) and Northern Zhou (557–581) respectively. The chaos allowed the Xianbei frontier nobility to enter the Central Plains and give pushback on the Wei's sinicization policies. The Northern Qi was ruled by the Gao clan, a Xianbeified Han Chinese family who relied on the Xianbei elites and favoured their traditions. Meanwhile, the Northern Zhou was ruled by the Yuwen clan of Xianbei ethnicity. Ruling over a predominantly Chinese population, the military reforms of the Western Wei and Northern Zhou saw an attempt to revive the Xianbei warrior culture, which includes reverting the sinicized names of the Northern Wei and rewarding Han Chinese officers with Xianbei names. The Prime Minister of Northern Zhou, Yang Jian, later had these names restored back to Han names.
In 581, Yang Jian founded the Sui dynasty (581–618) and unified China in 589 after absorbing the Chen dynasty (557–589). When the Sui came to an end amidst peasant rebellions and renegade troops, his cousin, Li Yuan, founded the Tang dynasty (618–907). Both Sui and Tang were founded by families who identified with their Han Chinese patrilineage, and were backed by an alliance of Chinese and Xianbei nobles from the Northern Zhou who sought to protect their common interest.Chen, Yinke 陳寅恪, 1943, Tang dai zheng zhi shi shu lun gao Manuscript 唐代政治史述論稿. Chongqing 重慶, Shang wu 商務.Chen, Yinke 陳寅恪 and Tang, Zhenchang 唐振常, 1997, Tang dai zheng zhi shi shu lun gao Manuscript 唐代政治史述論稿. Shanghai 上海, Shanghai gu ji chu ban she Shanghai 上海古籍出版社. Through these political establishments, the Xianbei who entered China and their culture were largely merged with the Chinese, examples such as the wife of Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Empress Taimu and Emperor Taizong of Tang's wife, Empress Zhangsun, both having Xianbei ancestries.
The Xianbei who remained behind in the northern grassland evolved into tribes of the Rouran Khaganate and Khitan people. In the west, the Tuyuhun remained independent until it was defeated by the Tibetan Empire in 670. After the fall of the kingdom, the Tuyuhun underwent a diaspora over a vast territory that stretched from the northwest into central and eastern parts of China. Murong Nuohebo led them eastward into central China, where they settled in modern Yinchuan, Ningxia.
It is also possible that the Xianbei spoke more than one language.Shimunek, Andrew. "Early Serbi-Mongolic-Tungusic lexical contact: Jurchen numerals from the 室韦 Shirwi (Shih-wei) in North China". Philology of the Grasslands: Essays in Mongolic, Turkic, and Tungusic Studies, Edited by Ákos Bertalan Apatóczky et al. (Leiden: Brill). Retrieved 22 September 2019. quote: "Asdemonstrated by Ratchnevsky (1966: 231), the Shirwi confederation was a multiethnic, multilingual confederation of Tungusic-speaking Mo-ho 靺鞨 people (i.e. ancestors of the Jurchen), the Meng-wa 蒙瓦 ~ Meng-wu 蒙兀, whom Pelliot (1928) and others have shown were Proto-Mongolic speakers, and other groups. The dominant group among the Shirwi undoubtedly were ethnolinguistic descendants of the Serbi (鮮卑 Hsien-pei), and spoke a language closely related to Kitan and more distantly related to Mongolic."Xu Elina-Qian (2005). Historical Development of the Pre-Dynastic Khitan. University of Helsinki. p. 173-179
However, there are no remaining works written in Xianbei, which are thought to have been written using Chinese characters. Only a few words remain, such as 啊干 'elder brother'.
Yellow hair in Chinese sources could have meant brown rather than blonde and described other people such as the Jie rather than the Xianbei. Historian Edward H. Schafer believes many of the Xianbei were blondes, but others such as Charles Holcombe think it is "likely that the bulk of the Xianbei were not visibly very different in appearance from the general population of northeastern Asia." Chinese anthropologist Zhu Hong and Zhang Quan-chao studied Xianbei crania from several sites of Inner Mongolia and noticed that anthropological features of studied Xianbei crania show that the racial type is closely related to the modern East-Asians, and some physical characteristics of those skulls are closer to modern Mongols, Manchu people and Han Chinese.
A genetic study published in the Russian Journal of Genetics in April 2014 examined the mtDNA of 17 Tuoba Xianbei buried at the Shangdu Dongdajing cemetery in Inner Mongolia, China. The 17 samples of mtDNA extracted belonged to haplogroups D4 (four samples), D5 (three samples), C (five samples), A (three samples), G and B.
A genetic study published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology in November 2007 examined 17 individuals buried at a Murong Xianbei cemetery in Lamadong, Liaoning, China ca. 300 AD. They were determined to be carriers of the maternal haplogroups J1b1, D (three samples), F1a (three samples), M, B, B5b, C (three samples) and G2a. These haplogroups are common among East Asians and some Siberians. The maternal haplogroups of the Murong Xianbei were noticeably different from those of the Huns and Tuoba Xianbei.
A genetic study published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology in August 2018 noted that the paternal haplogroup C2b1a1b has been detected among the Xianbei and the Rouran, and was probably an important lineage among the Donghu people.
A full genome analysis published in November 2023 analyzed the genomic data of nine Xianbei individuals (ca. 200 CE to 300 CE), together with previous published Xianbei samples, covering almost the entire period of Xianbei as well as pre- and post-Xianbei periods, and found that the Xianbei displayed a homogenous population with nearly exclusive Ancient Northeast Asian ancestry. The authors further remark that these results are consistent with an Amur, specifically around the Greater Khingan, origin for the ancestral Xianbei population. Early Xianbei did not display signs of admixture from surrounding groups, while later Xianbei displayed limited amounts of admixture with "late Xiongnu-Sarmatians" and Han Chinese ("Yellow River farmer-like") groups. Later Xianbei in Northern China adopted an agricultural lifestyle and mixed with the local population, contributing to the genetic history of Northern China.
A 2024 study on Xianbei remains, including the remains of Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou, found them to be derived primarily from Ancient Northeast Asians at c. 62–96%, with a lower amount of admixture from Neolithic 'Yellow River farmers' (associated with Han Chinese) at c. 4–32%. Western Steppe Herder ancestry was only found at low amounts or absent entirely among the different Xianbei remains (average at c. 2–7%). The analysed Xianbei remains display their closest genetic affinities to ancient Khitan people and Mohe people, as well as modern-day Mongolic peoples. The amount of Ancient Northeast Asian and Yellow River farmer ancestries varied depending on geographic location, suggesting a form of heterogeneity among the ancient Xianbei. In contrast to the Xianbei, the early Turkic peoples ruling class, the Ashina tribe, was found to be nearly entirely derived from Ancient Northeast Asians without significant Yellow River ancestry.
The Northern Wei's Eight Noble Xianbei surnames were the Buliugu 步六孤, Helai 賀賴, Dugu , Helou 賀樓, Huniu 忽忸, Qiumu 丘穆, Gexi 紇奚, and Yuchi .
The "Monguor people" (Tu) people in modern China may have descended from the Xianbei who were led by Tuyuhun Khan to migrate westward and establish the Tuyuhun Kingdom (284–670) in the third century and Western Xia (1038–1227) through the thirteenth century.Lü, Jianfu 呂建福, 2002. Tu zu shi The 土族史. Beijing 北京, Zhongguo she hui ke xue chu ban she Chinese 中囯社会科学出版社. Today they are primarily distributed in Qinghai and Gansu Province, and speak a Mongolic language.
The Xibe people or "Xibo" people also believe they are descendants of the Xianbei, with considerable controversies that have attributed their origins to the Jurchens, the Oroqen people, and the Xianbei.Liaoning Provincial Nationalities Research Institute 辽宁省民族硏究所 (1986). Xibo zu shi lun kao Examination 锡伯族史论考. Shenyang, Liaoning Nationalities PressJi Nan 嵇南 and Wu Keyao 吳克尧 (1990). Xibo zu Xibo 锡伯族. Beijing, Nationalities Press.
Xianbei descendants among the Korean population carry surnames such as Mo 모 ( (shortened from Murong)), 석; (Revised Romanization: Seok; McCune–Reischauer: Sŏk; (shortened from Wushilan 烏石蘭)), 원 (Revised Romanization: Won; McCune–Reischauer: Wŏn; (the adopted Chinese surname of the Tuoba) and Dokgo ( (from Dugu)).
/ref> On the other hand, the Book of the Later Han and the Book of Wei stated that before becoming an ethnonym, Xianbei had been a toponym, referring to the Great Xianbei mountains (大鮮卑山), which is now identified as the Greater Khingan range (). Hou Hanshu vol. 90 "鮮卑者，亦東胡之支也，別依鮮卑山，故因號焉" "the Xianbei people branched off from the so-called 'Eastern Hu' and came to settle around Mt. Xianbei after which name they were designated" translated by Toh (2005) Weishu vol. 1
History
Origin
Warring States period's Chinese literature contains early mentions of Xianbei, as in the poem "The Great Summons" () in the anthology Chu Ci Chu Ci, "Da Zhao". quote: "小腰秀頸，若 鮮卑只。". translation (by Gopal Sukhu, 2017): "And she is as small-waisted and long-necked as a Xianbei woman." and possibly the chapter "Discourses of Jin 8" in Discourses of the States. Guoyu, "Jinyu 8" quote: "昔成王盟諸侯于岐陽，楚為荊蠻，置茅蕝，設望表，與 鮮卑守燎，故不與盟。" translation: "Of yore, King Cheng convened an alliance-covenant ceremony with the various vassals at Qishan County's south-side, the Chu, being Nanman from Jing, held up bundles of cogon grass (through which to pour sacrificial wine), set up spirit tablets (for making offerings to the spirits of mountains and streams), and tended to the torches along with the Xianbei, therefore (the Chu) were not present at the alliance-covenant ceremony."Zhang, Zhengming. (2019) A History Of Chu (Volume 1) Honolulu: Enrich Professional Publishing. p. 42-46
Xianbei Confederation
Around the mid-2nd century, a chieftain, Tanshihuai, unified the Xianbei tribes and established an imperial court at Mount Danhan (彈汗山; in present-day Shangyi County, Hebei). Under Tanshihuai, the Xianbei attacked the Wusun in the west and repelled the Dingling from the north and Buyeo from the east. He divided the Xianbei empire into three sections, each governed by an appointed chieftain."Nomads in Central Asia." N. Ishjamts. In: History of civilizations of Central Asia, Volume II. The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizations: 700 B.C. to A.D. 250. Harmatta, János, ed., 1994. Paris: UNESCO Publishing, pp. 155–156.SGZ 30. 837–838, note. 1.Throughout his reign, Tanshihuai aggressively raided the Han dynasty's northern borders, with his first recorded raid being in 156. In 166, he even allied with the Southern Xiongnu and Wuhuan to attack Shaanxi and Gansu. These raids devastated the border commanderies and claimed many lives. Though the Han was able to repel them at times, they were concerned that they would not be able to subdue Tanshihuai. The Han attempted to appease him by offering him the title of King, but Tanshihuai rejected them and continued to harass their borders.
Three Kingdoms
By the Jian'an era (196–220), the Xianbei had split into many different groups, most notably with Kuitou ruling in Inner Mongolia, Kebineng in northern Shanxi, and Suli, Mijia and Queji in northern Liaodong. Following his death, Kuitou's brothers Budugen and Fuluohan divided his territory among themselves. After Cao Cao defeated the Wuhuan at the Battle of White Wolf Mountain in 207, Budugen, Fuluohan, Kebineng and others paid tribute to him. In 218, Fuluohan met with the Wuhuan chieftain Nengchendi to form an alliance, but Nengchendi double crossed him and called in Kebineng, who killed Fuluohan. Budugen went to the court of Cao Wei in 224 to ask for assistance against Kebineng, but he eventually betrayed them and allied with Kebineng in 233. Kebineng killed Budugen soon afterwards.
Sixteen Kingdoms and Northern Wei
During the War of the Eight Princes, the Xianbei of the northeast, primarily the Duan tribe, were brought in to fight in the civil wars of the Jin princes and played a deciding factor in the wars. When the Xiongnu in Shanxi rebelled and founded the Han-Zhao, the Tuoba offered their assistance to Jin to fight the rebels. The Jin were heavily reliant on the Xianbei's military force as they gradually lost the north during the upheaval of the Five Barbarians. For their services, the Duan and Tuoba were granted the duchies of Liaoxi and Dai Commandery, respectively. However, for varying reasons, most of the Xianbei eventually withdrew from the conflict, allowing the remnants of Jin to be quickly overwhelmed. Mass number of Chinese officers, soldiers and civilians fled south to join the Eastern Jin or north to join the Xianbei duchies.
Sinicization, assimilation and descendants
The Northern Wei unification was long-lasting and brought a period of relative peace to the north in the wake of the chaotic Sixteen Kingdoms period. The Xianbei had naturally been in the process of sinicization since they first entered the Chinese interior, but this process became systemic during the late Northern Wei period. Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei established a policy of systematic sinicization that was continued by his successors and largely abandoned Xianbei traditions. The royal family took sinicization a step further by decreeing the change of Xianbei names to Han names, even changing their own family name from Tuoba to Yuan. Xiaowen also moved the capital to Luoyang in the Chinese heartlands away from Pingcheng near the northern frontiers. While the population in Luoyang were open to accepting the policies, the population near the old capital were more conservative and held on to their Xianbei culture.
(2025). 9780231531009, Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231531009 Princess Huayang (華陽公主) to Sima Fei (司馬朏), a descendant of Jin dynasty (266–420) royalty, Princess Jinan (濟南公主) to Lu Daoqian (盧道虔), Princess Nanyang (南陽長公主) to Xiao Baoyin (蕭寶寅), a member of Southern Qi royalty. Emperor Xiaozhuang of Northern Wei's sister the Shouyang Princess was wedded to the Liang dynasty ruler Emperor Wu of Liang's son Xiao Zong (蕭綜).
Culture
The economic base of the Xianbei was animal husbandry combined with agricultural practice. They were the first to develop the khanate system,Wittfogel, Karl August and Chia-sheng Feng (1949). History of Chinese society: Liao, 907–1125. Philadelphia, American Philosophical Society distributed by the Macmillan Co. New York. p. 1. in which formation of social classes deepened, and developments also occurred in their literacy, arts and culture. They used a zodiac calendar and favoured song and music. Tengrism and subsequently Buddhism were the main religions among the Xianbei people. After they abandoned the frigid north and migrated into Northern China, they gradually abandoned nomadic lifestyle and were Sinicization and assimilated with the Han Chinese. Emperor Xiaowen of the Xianbei-led state of Northern Wei in northern China, eventually decreed the changes of Xianbei names to Han names.Patricia Buckley Ebrey, Kwang-ching Liu – The Cambridge illustrated history of China Prior to Tanshihuai, the Xianbei did not have a hereditary system, and their chieftains were chosen by electing a member of their tribe based on their character and abilities. Even as they established their states on the Central Plains and adopted the Chinese hereditary system, influential brothers, uncles and cousins of the Xianbei rulers often posed as rival claimants to the throne.
Art
Art of the Xianbei portrayed their nomadic lifestyle and consisted primarily of metalwork and figurines. The style and subjects of Xianbei art were influenced by a variety of influences, and ultimately, the Xianbei were known for emphasizing unique nomadic motifs in artistic advancements such as leaf headdresses, crouching and geometricized animals depictions, animal pendant necklaces, and metal openwork.Watt, James C.Y. China: Dawn of a Golden Age, 200–750 AD. Comp. An Jiayao, Angela F. Howard, Boris I. Marshak, Su Bai, and Zhao Feng. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2004. Print.
Leaf headdresses
The leaf headdresses were very characteristic of Xianbei culture, and they are found especially in Murong Xianbei tombs. Their corresponding ornamental style also links the Xianbei to Bactria. These gold hat ornaments represented trees and antlers and, in Chinese, they are referred to as buyao ("step sway") since the thin metal leaves move when the wearer moves. Sun Guoping first uncovered this type of artifact, and defined three main styles: "Blossoming Tree" (huashu), which is mounted on the front of a cap near the forehead and has one or more branches with hanging leaves that are circle or droplet shaped, "Blossoming Top" (dinghua), which is worn on top of the head and resembles a tree or animal with many leaf pendants, and the rare "Blossoming Vine" (huaman), which consists of "gold strips interwoven with wires with leaves." Leaf headdresses were made with hammered gold and decorated by punching out designs and hanging the leaf pendants with wire. The exact origin, use, and wear of these headdresses is still being investigated and determined. However, headdresses similar to those later also existed and were worn by women in the courts.
Animal iconography
Another key form of Xianbei art is animal iconography, which was implemented primarily in metalwork. The Xianbei stylistically portrayed crouching animals in geometricized, abstracted, repeated forms, and distinguished their culture and art by depicting animal predation and same-animal combat. Typically, sheep, deer, and horses were illustrated. The artifacts, usually plaques or pendants, were made from metal, and the backgrounds were decorated with openwork or mountainous landscapes, which harks back to the Xianbei nomadic lifestyle. With repeated animal imagery, an openwork background, and a rectangular frame, the included image of the three deer plaque is a paradigm of the Xianbei art style. Concave plaque backings imply that plaques were made using lost-wax casting, or raised designs were impressed on the back of hammered metal sheets.
Horses
The nomadic traditions of the Xianbei inspired them to portray horses in their artwork. The horse played a large role in the existence of the Xianbei as a nomadic people, and in one tomb, a horse skull lay atop Xianbei bells, buckles, ornaments, a saddle, and one gilded bronze stirrup. The Xianbei not only created art for their horses, but they also made art to depict horses. Another recurring motif was the winged horse. It has been suggested by archaeologist Su Bai that this symbol was a "heavenly beast in the shape of a horse" because of its prominence in Xianbei mythology. This symbol is thought to have guided an early Xianbei southern migration, and is a recurring image in many Xianbei art forms.
Figurines
Xianbei figurines help to portray the people of the society by representing pastimes, depicting specialized clothing, and implying various beliefs. Most figurines have been recovered from Xianbei tombs, so they are primarily military and musical figures meant to serve the deceased in afterlife processions and guard their tomb. Furthermore, the figurine clothing specifies the according social statuses: higher-ranking Xianbei wore long-sleeved robes with a straight neck shirt underneath, while lower-ranking Xianbei wore trousers and belted tunics.
Buddhist influences
Xianbei Buddhist influences were derived from interactions with Han culture. The Han bureaucrats initially helped the Xianbei run their state, but eventually the Xianbei became Sinophiles and promoted Buddhism. The beginning of this conversion is evidenced by the Buddha imagery that emerges in Xianbei art. For instance, the included Buddha imprinted leaf headdress perfectly represents the Xianbei conversion and Buddhist synthesis since it combines both the traditional nomadic Xianbei leaf headdress with the new imagery of Buddha. This Xianbei religious conversion continued to develop in the Northern Wei dynasty, and ultimately led to the creation of the Yungang Grottoes.
Language
The Xianbei are thought to have spoken Mongolic or Para-Mongolic languages, with early and substantial Turkic languages influences, as Claus Schönig asserts:
Anthropology
According to Du, et al. (2024), some historians believe that the Xianbei could have had "exotic" features such as high nose bridges, blond hair and thick beards. However, other scholars have suggested the appearance of the Xianbei was not dramatically different from modern East Asians. A genetic analysis of Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou revealed that he had an East Asian appearance, consistent with the hypothesis that the Xianbei were primarily of East Asian appearance.
Genetics
A genetic study published in The FEBS Journal in October 2006 examined the mtDNA of 21 Tuoba Xianbei buried at the Qilang Mountain Cemetery in Inner Mongolia, China. The 21 samples of mtDNA extracted belonged to haplogroups O (9 samples), D (7 samples), C (5 samples), B (2 samples) and A. These haplogroups are characteristic of Northeast Asians. Among modern populations they were found to be most closely related to the Oroqen people.
Notable people
Pre-dynastic
Sixteen Kingdoms
Yan and Tuyuhun
Dai
Southern Liang
Western Qin
Northern dynasties
Sui dynasty
Tang dynasty
Modern descendants
Most Xianbei clans adopted Chinese family names during the Northern Wei dynasty. In particular, many were sinicized under Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei.
Notes
Bibliography
External links
Categories: Xianbei, Mongol Peoples, History Of Manchuria, Ancient Peoples Of China, Inner Asia, Agglutinative Languages, Unclassified Languages Of Asia, Extinct Languages Of Asia, Donghu People, Former Countries In Chinese History, Nomadic Groups In Eurasia, States And Territories Established In The 2nd Century, States And Territories Disestablished In The 3rd Century, 230s Disestablishments, Former Empires, Former Confederations, Mongol States
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