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Xiutu (p=Xiūtú Wáng, also romanized as Hsiu-t'u, lit. "The one who puts an end to massacres") was a king in the Hexi Corridor of the Gansu region, west of Wuwei, during the 2nd century BCE. "Xiutu" (休屠) is also an early Chinese transliteration for the name of the Buddha.
According to the Shiji and the Book of Han, King Xiutu, together with King Hunye, was a vassal of the Xiongnu under their ruler Yizhixie (伊稚邪 126–114 BCE), and was antagonistic towards the Han dynasty.Hanshu (28.2) says: “自武威以西,本匈奴昆邪王休屠王地,” meaning: “West of Wuwei, there was the Xiongnu king Hunye (and) the king Xiutu.”
King Xiutu, considered as "Hu" (barbarian) by the Han,His son Jin Midi was said to be a Hu: 貴戚多竊怨，曰：「陛下妄得一胡兒，反貴重之！」上聞，愈厚焉。in was positioned between the Xiongnu tribes of the Mongolian steppes to the north, the Han to the east, the Saka to the northwest, the Tocharians to the west, and the Southern Qiang to the south.
Although a vassal, Xiutu was probably not himself a Xiongnu: it is actually reported that his territory was occupied by the Xiongnu as they were pushed westward by the Han.The Hanshu yin yi (漢書音義) says: "The place where the Xiongnus worshipped Heaven was originally at the foot of Mt. Ganquan ( Ganquan xia 甘泉下), in Yunyang district (雲陽). After the Qin (秦) took their land, they moved westward to King Xiutu. Xiutu possessed the anthropomorphic golden statue for worshipping Heaven." (匈奴祭天处本在雲陽甘泉山下、秦奪其地、後徙之休屠王右地、故休屠有祭天金人、象. 祭天人也。)
The city of Xiutu (休屠城), about north of Wuwei, has left monumental ruins (), located on the ancient border of Zhuye Lake. After the conquests of Huo Qubing (121 BCE) the city would be incorporated just inside of the Great Wall built under the Han dynasty. The Minqin County along the Shiyang River was named "Xiutuze" (休屠泽, "Lake Xiutu") after the King.The Minqin Basin appeared like a lake named “Xiutuze,” named after the King of the Huns- “Xiutu” (Li Citation1986)
The number of Xiongnus living in the Hexi Corridor at that time is estimated at 50,000 people, and they were living along the rivers, were water resources were naturally abundant.
King Xiutu has a son named Jin Midi, born in 134 BCE, who was also captured and became a close aid to Han Wudi, becoming known as Jin Midi (金日磾) in Chinese.
The expression "金人" ("golden men") may show some unfamiliarity with this kind of free-standing anthropomorphic idol. Sima Qian probably personally saw which was brought back by Huo Qubing in 121 BCE, while he was working on his Records of the Grand Historian.
These golden statues were unlikely to be Buddhist because the Xiutu are not known to have been Buddhist and Jin Midi became very popular at the Chinese court to the point where his peculiarities were noted, but not worship of Buddhism. Jin Midi was only said to have worshipped the golden statue, now in the Imperial Palace, and this is the reason why he was given the family name "Jin" ("Gold") by the Emperor Han Wudi."本以休屠作金人為祭天主，故因賜姓金氏云。" (HS 68:23b9) in
Still, the term "Xiutu" is also known to have been used in Chinese as an early transliteration for the name of the Buddha and for Buddhist monks. This has reinforced suggestions that King Xiutu and the golden statue may have had a Buddhist character, leading to claims that Buddhism already entered China by the time of the Western Han (202 BCE – 9 CE).
Translation in According to Christoph Baumer "it is conceivable that this 'Golden man' was a statue of the Buddha".
A New Account of the Tales of the World () claims that the golden statues were more than ten feet high, and Emperor Wu of Han sacrificed to it in the Ganquan palace, which "is how Buddhism gradually spread into (China)." In Cave 323 in Mogao caves (near Dunhuang in the Tarim Basin), Emperor Wudi is shown worshipping two golden statues, with the following inscription (which closely paraphrases the traditional accounts of Huo Qubing's expedition):
The Han expedition to the west and the capture of booty by general Huo Qubing is well documented, but the later Buddhist interpretation at the Mogao Caves of the worship of these statues as a means to propagate Buddhism in China is probably apocryphal, since Han Wudi is not known to have ever worshipped the Buddha.
The statue(s) were moved to a temple in Yong county, Yunyang prefecture, near the royal summer palace Ganquan (modern Xianyang, Shaanxi), in the former capital of the Qin dynasty. Wei Shou believes it was located in the palace. The Ganquan Palace was a place of worship. Jin Midi, the son of Xiutu, became a favorite of Emperor Wu, who expanded the Ganquan Palace and spent much time there. Due to Emperor Wu's close relations with Jin, both his parents were honored and the golden statue(s) were placed in a temple dedicated to the spirit of Jinglu (a type of precious Xiongnu sword) for the worship of Xiutu. The locale seems to have been devoted to foreign deities as another temple dedicated to Baiyue practices was located in the same place. The golden statue(s) later disappeared and the temple came to be known for the sword.
The Chuge, also known as the Xiuchuge and Xiuchu, were an influential branch of Xiongnu that founded the Han-Zhao during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. One theory among modern Chinese scholars is that the Chuge were descendants of King Xiutu's people.Tang, Changru (December 2010). "〈魏晋杂胡考 一 屠各〉". 《魏晋南北朝史论丛》 (in Chinese). Beijing: Commercial Press. .Chen, Yong (August 2009). 《汉赵史论稿——匈奴屠各建国的政治史考察 》(in Chinese). Shanghai: Commercial Press. .
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