The Classification of Ethnic Groups in Ancient China

Wenguang, Wang; Hongyun, Duan

The Classification of Ethnic Groups in Ancient China

by Wang Wenguang (Author) Duan Hongyun (Author)

Summary

Ethnic classification is the process of establishing standards, such as shared ancestry, language, religious practices, cultural traditions, and geographical distributions, for categorizing ethnic groups. Tracing the history of China to its tribal origins, the book explores how the identities of the numerous ethnic groups in China were established and how these groups interact with one another. By comparing and contrasting exonyms and autonyms, the authors offer an insightful ethnographic analysis of the system for assigning ethnonyms. Drawing on a large body of research in history, folklore studies, archaeology and linguistics as well as a rich trove of primary sources, the book provides readers with a both expansive and in-depth look at how people understand their similarities with, differences from and relationship to one another.

Excerpt

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Table of Contents
Introduction
1 Ethnic Classification in Northeast China
1.1 Pre-Qin and Qin-Han Ethnic Classification in the Northeast
1.1.1 Ethnic Groups in the Northeast during the Pre-Qin Period
1.1.2 Sushen Ethnic Groups in the Qin and Han Dynasties
1.1.3 Eastern Hu Ethnic Groups in the Qin and Han Dynasties
1.1.3.1 Xianbei
1.1.3.2 Wuhuan
1.1.3.3 Those Who Joined the Xiongnu
1.1.4 Yemaek Ethnic Groups in the Qin and Han Dynasties
1.1.4.1 Ye
1.1.4.2 Maek
1.1.4.3 Buyeo
1.1.4.4 Goguryeo
1.1.4.5 The Okjeo
1.2 Ethnic Classification in the Northeast during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties
1.2.1 Sushen Ethnic Groups
1.2.1.1 Yilou
1.2.1.2 Wuji
1.2.2 Eastern Hu Ethnic Groups
1.2.2.1 Kumo Xi
1.2.2.2 Khitan
1.2.2.3 Shiwei
1.2.2.4 Wuluohou
1.2.3 Yemaek Ethnic Groups
1.2.3.1 Buyeo
1.2.3.2 Goguryeo
1.2.3.3 Other Ethnic Groups
1.3 Ethnic Classification in the Northeast in the Sui, Tang, and Five Dynasties
1.3.1 Mohe Ethnic Groups from the Sushen
1.3.2 Diversity of the Bohai People
1.3.3 Ethnic Groups with Eastern Hu as Key Components
1.3.3.1 Shiwei Ethnic Groups
1.3.3.2 Khitan
1.3.3.3 Xi
1.3.3.4 Diversity of the Tatars
1.4 Ethnic Classification in the Northeast during the Liao, Song, Jin and Yuan Dynasties
1.4.1 Sushen Ethnic Groups
1.4.1.1 Jurchen
1.4.1.2 Mohe
1.4.2 Bohai
1.4.3 Eastern Hu Ethnic Groups
1.4.3.1 Khitan
1.4.3.2 Xi
1.4.3.3 Shiwei
1.5 Ming and Qing Ethnic Classification in Northeast China
1.5.1 Manchu Ethnic Groups of Manchu-Tungus in the Altaic Language Family
1.5.1.1 Jurchen-Manchuria (Manchu)
1.5.1.2 Hezhen
1.5.1.3 Xibe
1.5.2 Tungus Ethno-linguistic Group of Manchu-Tungus in the Altaic Language Family
1.5.2.1 Evenks
1.5.2.2 Oroqen
1.5.3 Daur Ethnic Group of Mongolic Languages in the Altaic Language Family
1.5.4 Korean Ethnic Group
2 Ethnic Classification in Northern China
2.1 Pre-Qin, Qin and Han Ethnic Classification in the North
2.1.1 Northern Ethnic Groups in the Pre-Qin Period
2.1.2 Xiongnu in the Qin and Han Dynasties
2.1.2.1 Xiongnu in the Western Han Dynasty
2. 1.2.2 Division of Xiongnu and the Sinicization of the Southern Xiongnu
2.1.3 Dingling in the Qin and Han Dynasties
2.2 Ethnic Classification in the North During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties
2.2.1 Xiongnu
2.2.2 Xianbei
2.2.3 Rouran
2.2.4 Turks
2.2.5 Tiele (Dingling)
2.3 Ethnic Classification in the North during the Sui, Tang, and Five Dynasties
2.3.1 Tiele
2.3.2 Huihe
2.3.3 Turks
2.3.4 Yenisei Kyrgyz
2.4 Ethnic Classification in the North during the Liao, Song, Xia, Jin and Yuan Dynasties
2.4.1 Turks
2.4.2 Tatars and Zubu
2.4.3 The Wugu, Yuguli, Dilie, Jiezi, and Fulu Who Were Closely Related to the Shiwei
2.4.3.1 Wugu and Yuguli
2.4.3.2 Dilie
2.4.3.3 Merkit
2.4.3.4 Fulu
2.4.4 Keraites
2.4.5 Naimans
2.4.6 Ongud
2.4.7 Jalayir
2.4.8 Uduyid
2.4.9 The Mongolian Tribe and the Formation of the Mongolian Ethnic Group
2.5 Mongolian Ethnic Group in the Ming and Qing Dynasties
3 Ethnic Classification in the Northwest China
3.1 Pre-Qin, Qin, and Han Ethnic Classification in the Northwest
3.1.1 Rong
3.1.2 Qiang
3.1.3 Di
3.1.4 Greater Yuezhi in the Qin and Han Dynasties
3.1.5 Lesser Yuezhi in the Qin and Han Dynasties
3.1.6 Wusun in the Qin and Han Dynasties
3.1.7 City-States of the Western Regions in the Qin and Han Dynasties
3.1.7.1 Ten States along the South Route to the Western Regions
3.1.7.2 Twelve States along the Northern Route to the Western Regions
3.1.7.3 States North of the Tianshan Mountains in the Western Regions
3.1.7.4 Kingdoms in the Pamir Mountain Area
3.1.7.5 Four Kingdoms in the Western Regions West of the Pamir Mountains
3.1.7.6 Qiang in the Qin and Han Dynasties
3.1.7.7 Di in the Qin and Han Dynasties
3.2 Ethnic Classification in the Northwest during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties
3.2.1 Di People
3.2.2 Qiang People
3.2.2.1 The Qiang of Dangchang
3.2.2.2 The Qiang of Dengzhi
3.2.2.3 The Qiang of Bailan
3.2.2.4 The Tangut Qiang 党项羌
3.2.2.5 The Qiang of Fuguo 附国羌
3.2.3 Tuyuhun People
3.2.4 Ethnic Groups in the Western Regions
3.3 Ethnicities in the Northwest in the Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties
3.3.1 Qiang People
3.3.1.1 The Tangut Qiang
3.3.1.2 The Qiang of Duomi 多弥羌
3.3.1.3 The Qiang of Sumpa 苏毗羌
3.3.2 Tuyuhun People
3.3.3 Ethnic Groups in the Western Regions
3.3.3.1 Western Turks
3.3.3.2 Gaochang
3.3.3.3 Yanqi
3.3.3.4 Kucha
3.3.3.5 Khotan
3.3.3.6 Shule
3.4 Ethnic Classification in the Northwest during the Song and Yuan Dynasties
3.4.1 Qiang
3.4.2 Western Xia
3.4.3 Huihu
3.4.3.1 Hexi Huihu
3.4.3.2 Xizhou Huhu
3.4.3.3 Huihu West of the Pamir Mountains
3.4.4 Weiwur (Uyghur)
3.4.5 Tuyuhun
3.4.6 Xiajiasi (Qierjisi)—Kyrgyz People
3.5 Ming and Qing Ethnic Classification in the Northwest
3.5.1 Uyghur (Weiwur)
3.5.2 Hui People
3.5.3 Kirgiz People
3.5.4 Kazakh People
3.5.5 Yugur People
3.5.6 Dongxiang People
3.5.7 Bonan People
3.5.8 Tu People
3.5.9 Salar People
3.5.10 Tajik People
4 Ethnic Classification in the Southwest China
4.1 Pre-Qin, Qin and Han Ethnic Classification in the Southwest
4.1.1 Southwestern Ethnic Groups in the Pre-Qin Period
4.1.1.1 Ethnic Groups Related to the Di-Qiang
4.1.1.2 Ethnic Groups of the Baiyue Ethnicities
4.1.2 Ethnic Groups of the Southwestern Di-Qiang in the Qin and Han Dynasties
4.1.2.1 Qiang People
4.1.2.2 Bo People
4.1.2.3 Sou People
4.1.2.4 Kunming People
4.1.2.5 Mosha People
4.1.2.6 Cong People
4.1.3 Baiyue Ethnic Groups in the Southwest during Qin and Han Dynasties
4.1.3.1 Yueshang, Dianyue, and Shan
4.1.3.2 Dian People
4.1.3.3 Yelang People
4.1.4 Baoman and Minpu in the Southwest during Qin and Han Dynasties
4.2 Ethnic Classification in the Southwest during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties
4.2.1 Di-Qiang Ethnic Groups
4.2.1.1 Qiang People
4.2.1.2 Bo People
4.2.1.3 Kunming People
4.2.1.4 Sou People
4.2.1.5 Mosha People
4.2.2 Baiyue Ethnic Groups
4.2.2.1 Liao People
4.2.2.2 Jiuliao People
4.2.3 Minpu People
4.3 Ethnic Classification in the Southwest during Tang and Song Dynasties
4.3.1 Ethnic Groups Mainly from the Di-Qiang
4.3.1.1 Qiang People
4.3.1.2 Tubo
4.3.1.3 Baiman
4.3.1.4 Wuman
4.3.1.5 Shiman and Shunman
4.3.1.6 Heman
4.3.1.7 Moxieman
4.3.1.8 Guocuoman
4.3.1.9 Xunchuan Man
4.3.2 Ethnic Groups with Baiyue as the Primary Population
4.3.2.1 Liao People
4.3.2.2 Jinchi, Mangman, and Others
4.3.2.3 Baiyi People
4.3.3 Ancestors of Modern Mon-Khmer Ethnic Groups
4.3.3.1 Puziman
4.3.3.2 Wangman
4.4 Yuan, Ming, and Qing Ethnici Classification in the Southwest
4.4.1 Ethnic Groups with the Di-Qiang as the Primary Population
4.4.4.1 Qiang People
4.4.1.2 Tubo, Xifan, and Zangfan (Tibetan)
4.4.1.3 Lhoba People
4.4.1.4 Monpa People
4.4.1.5 Xifan (Pumi) People
4.4.1.6 Luman and Lixie (Lisu People)
4.4.1.7 Nu People
4.4.1.8 Qiu (Derung) People
4.4.1.9 Echang, Achang (Achang People)
4.4.1.10 Jingpo People
4.4.1.11 Heni and Woni (Hani People)
4.4.1.12 Luohei (Lahu People)
4.4.1.13 Sancuomao (Jino People)
4.4.1.14 Bo, Minjia, and Bozi (Bai People)
4.4.1.15 Moxie (Nakhi People)
4.4.1.16 Lolo (Yi People)
4.4.2 Ethnic Groups with the Baiyue as the Primary Population
4.4.2.1 Jinchi and Baiyi (Dai People)
4.4.2.2 Zhongjia (Bouyei) People
4.4.2.3 Gelao People
4.4.3 Mon-Khmer-Speaking Peoples
4.4.3.1 Gula, Kala, and Kawa (Wa People)
4.4.3.2 Pu (Blang) People
4.4.3.3 Pu and Benglong (De’ang People)
5 Ethnic Classification in Southern China
5.1 Pre-Qin, Qin, and Han Ethnic Classification in the South
5.1.1 Southern Ethnic Groups in the Pre-Qin Period
5.1.1.1 Ethnic Groups Related to the Yue
5.1.1.2 Miaoman
5.1.2 Baiyue Ethnic Groups in Qin and Han Dynasties
5.1.2.1 Minyue
5.1.2.2 Dong’ou
5.1.2.3 Nanyue
5.1.2.4 Xi’ou
5.1.2.5 Luoyue
5.1.2.6 Shanyue
5.1.2.7 Yizhou People
5.1.3 Miaoman Ethnic Groups in the Qin and Han Dynasties
5.1.3.1 Ethnic Groups that Worship Panhu
5.1.3.2 Ethnic Groups that Worship Lingjun
5.2 Ethnic Classification in the South During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties
5.2.1 Ethnic Groups with Baiyue as the Primary Population
5.2.1.1 Liliao (Wuhu)
5.2.1.2 Shanyue
5.2.2 Ethnic Groups with Miaoman as the Primary Population
5.2.2.1 Yuzhou Man
5.2.2.2 Man Tribes in Jingzhou and Yongzhou
5.2.2.3 Moyao Man
5.3 Ethnic Classification in the South from the Sui and Tang to the Ming and Qing Dynasties
5.3.1 Ethnic Groups with Miaoman as the Primary Population
5.3.1.1 Li People
5.3.1.2 Liao People
5.3.1.3 Zhuang People
5.3.1.4 Li People
5.3.1.5 Dong People
5.3.1.6 Sui People
5.3.1.7 Maonan People
5.3.1.8 Mulam (Mulao People)
5.3.1.9 Liuqiu, Dongfan, Fanzu (Gaoshan People)
5.3.2 Ethnic Groups with Miaoman as the Primary Population
5.3.2.1 Miao People
5.3.2.2 Yao People
5.3.2.3 She People
5.3.2.4 Tujia People

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Introduction

Ethnic classification is the process of establishing standards for the characterization of ethnic group composition and identifying their ethnonyms. Since the founding of New China, the Communist Party of China’s (CPC) ethnic policy has been to achieve true equality among ethnic groups, regardless of size, and to provide strong incentives for members of all ethnic groups to participate in building a socialist country. It entails a commitment to recognizing the existence of all ethnic groups in the country with their distinct ethnonyms. Therefore, it is crucial to undertake a systematic classification of ethnic groups, address historical issues associated with ethnic categorization, and fully implement the Party’s ethnic policy. As a result, there has been a conscious effort to standardize the classification of ethnicity following the establishment of the People’s Republic of China.

If the process in which the ethnic groups are identified and classified in New China starts with a conscious effort, then there must have been a spontaneous classification that occurred unconsciously ever since ethnic groups began to take shape in ancient China.

“Ethnicity” is a historically constructed category. Once an ethnic group has been formed, information about it is documented. Inscriptions on oracle bones and tortoise shells, an early type of written language in China, contain descriptions of ethnicities. For example, such ethnonyms as Yi 夷 (Shi 尸), Di 狄, Rong 戎, ←1 | 2→Man 蛮, Tufang 土方, and Guifang 鬼方 found on oracle bone inscriptions in the Ruins of Yin, were the earliest known spontaneous categorization of ethnic groups.

Following the Western Zhou dynasty, waves of migration in and around the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, as well as frequent economic and cultural exchanges, resulted in a conceptual dichotomy between the “Xia 夏” and “Yi” in ethnic classification. In the Book of Rites, Confucius identifies the inhabitants of five regions as follows:

The inhabitants of those five regions—the Middle States, and the Rong, Yi, and other tribes around them—had all their various natural instincts, which they could not be made to alter. The tribes in the east were known as the Yi. They wore their hair unbound and tattooed their bodies. Some of them ate their food without having it cooked. Those in the south were referred to as the “Man.” They tattooed their foreheads and had their feet turned in towards each other. Some of them also ate their food without having it cooked. Those in the west were known as the Rong. They wore their hair unbound and dressed in animal skins. Some of them did not eat grain-food. Those in the north were called Di. They wore the skins of animals and birdsand dwelt in caves. Some of them did not eat grain-food either. The people of the Middle Statesand those of Man, Rong, and Di all had their own familiar habitat, preferred tastes, suitable clothes, proper implements, and utensil sets. In those five regions, the languages of the people were not mutually intelligible, and their likings and desires were different (Xu 1995, 55).¹

Some of the principles and methodologies used in the Book of Rites are similar to modern approaches to classifying ethnic groups. For example, the description of “consuming uncooked foods” in the Southern Man and Eastern Yi tribes indicates that they mainly ate their food raw, with their lifestyles of “hanging their hair loose and tattooing their bodies” or “tattooing their foreheads and having their feet turned in towards each other.” While pastoralism was the principal livelihood in the area, “no-grain food” in the Northern Di and Western Rong communities suggests that animal-source foods had always been a constituent of their diets,

In the Writings of the Huainan Master, particularly in the “Forms of Earth” chapter, one can even find the classification of the peoples beyond Huaxia based on observable physical characteristics:

People living in the plains are wise enough to plant crops. The east is where rivers flow into and the sun and moon rise from. People there have pear-shaped bodies with small heads, prominent noses, and large mouths. They walk on tiptoe and raise their shoulders like hawks … They are tall and large, precocious but not long-lived. The ←2 | 3→south is where the positive energy gathers and the heat and humility stay. The people of the south have apple-shaped bodies, with large mouths and their eyes wide open. People there are strong in their youth but die prematurely. The area is suited for rice cultivation. The west is a region of high ground where the river originates and the sun and moon set. The people there have hunchedbacks, long thin necks, and hold their heads high when walking … They are audacious but not benevolent. Their soil is suitable for planting millet; the north is a dark and gloomy location with a closed sky where ice accumulates with intense cold, and insects hibernate. The northerners have a sturdy physique, with short necks, broad shoulders, and low hips, but they are unwise; the central area extends in all directions and is a good place for wind and air to circulate and rain and dew to gather. People who live there have large faces and short cheeks, as well as gorgeous beards, yet they are overweight … The people there are intelligent, talented, and good at governing state affairs. The land there is suitable for growing grains. (Shanghai shudian 1986, 2991)

Using physical characteristics as a starting point for moving the discussion of ethnicity forward makes sense. It highlights external factors in the identification of ethnic groups that would become the basis for ethnic classification.

The Qin dynasty established a unitary multiethnic state by integrating many different ethnicities into its realm. At the same time, the steady growth of the Huaxia people and increased ethnic interactions necessitated the process of ethnic classification. In the Han dynasty, it was Sima Qian (1962) who systematically (though still spontaneously) classified ethnic groups and began writing their histories. The “History of the Xiongnu” in the Records of the Grand Historian, for example, covers Xiongnu customs, religious beliefs, class relations, social norms, and political systems in great detail. The Xiongnu’s neighbors—the Hu, Di, Qiang, Yuezhi, Daxia, and Wusun—were classified strictly as independent ethnic groups. They were no longer lumped together as either the Northern Di or the Western Rong. The identification of the “Southwest Yi” has been a classic example of ethnic classification:

There were dozens of chiefs among the southwestern tribes, but the most important was the chieftain of Yelang. To the west of Yelang’s tribe, there were dozens of Mimo tribal groups, among which the Dian was the most powerful. North of the Dian lived a slew of other chieftains, the most powerful of which was the Qiongdu’s. These tribemen wore their hair in a cone shape, cultivated fields, and lived in settlements. Beyond these settlements to the west, in the region from Tongshi east to Yeyu, were the tribes called Xi and Kunming, where people braided their hair. They moved their herds from one grazing area to another, covering thousands of li. They had no permanent settlements or chieftains. Dozens of chiefs lived in the northeast of Xi, the most powerful being those of Xi and Zuo … They were all ethnically the same as the Di tribe (Sima 1986, 61–62).

←3 | 4→This oft-cited passage from historical sources contains evidence of the earliest intentional efforts among the ancient Chinese to characterize and classify ethnic groups. Sima Qian observed that each ethnic group has its own unique traits that make it a distinctly identifiable entity. One ethnic group can be distinguished from another based on their livelihoods, lifestyles, customs and conventions, and other essential ethnic characteristics.

Sima Qian was the first historian to establish conventions for writing historical accounts of ethnic groups. The subsequent dynastic histories that later came to form the Twenty-Four Histories, with the exception of the Book of Chen and the Book of Northern Qi, modeled themselves after Sima Qian’s work, devoting chapters to ethnic minorities. Although those accounts vary in scope, detail, and principle of classification, they invariably shed light on how major ethnic groups can be roughly identified and classified.

In terms of ethnic categorizations, most ethnic histories have detailed ethnic makeup, geographical distributions, cultural traditions, and linguistic characteristics using various classification principles and approaches. However, these accounts inevitably led to confusion on many issues. The Han historiographers invariably see the world through an ethnocentric lens, betraying flaws in conceptualizations of ethnicity in ancient China, which may be briefly summarized as follows:

First, because of the established discourses of “strict distinction between the Hua 华 and Yi,” “geographical boundaries between the Xia as insiders and the Yi as outsiders,” and “the use of the Xia culture to transform that of the Yi” in China’s history, it was difficult for the historiographers to objectively recognize and conceptualize the traits of various ethnicities.

Second, in imperial China, the establishment of the “loose rein” or native chieftain administrative system inevitably complicated the natural process of ethnic differentiation and amalgamation.

Finally, because of their long-standing prejudices against ethnic minorities, dynastic rulers and historians were unable to objectively comprehend the complexities of ethnicity that had existed in China for thousands of years. Their views were inevitably subjective in nature and carried discriminatory overtones.

As a result, the study of ethnic classification in ancient China has theoretical as well as practical implications. The objective of this research is twofold. First, because China as a great country is built not by a single ethnic group but by all ethnic groups that have disappeared or grown throughout history, the ethnic classification is to ensure equality, solidarity, and mutual aid for all ethnic groups so that they can advance economic, social, and cultural prosperity while safeguarding the unity of the country. Second, our findings on the identification of ethnic groups in ancient ←4 | 5→China can be used as a starting point for ethnic history research as well as to address ethnic issues in real-world contexts.

Methodologically, the geographic regions where ethnic groups developed will be the spatial scope, and the timeline of Chinese historical periods and dynasties will serve as the temporal sequences for the present study. Primary sources are mainly historical documents, supplemented by folkloric, archaeological, and linguistic materials as secondary sources. The study of ethnic classification is based on the material lives, cultural customs, religious faith, and other features of ancient ethnic groups identified from these resources. Structurally, this research project uses the Paleolithic period as a starting point and the formation of modern ethnic groups as an ending point. This study will show how the Chinese people developed their civilization and eventually formed the great majority of today’s ethnic communities on their own land.

Details

Pages: XII, 242
Year: 2023
ISBN (PDF): 9781636670263
ISBN (ePUB): 9781636670270
ISBN (Hardcover): 9781636670256
DOI: 10.3726/b20446
Language: English
Publication date: 2023 (April)
Keywords: The Classification of Ethnic Groups in Ancient China Wang Wenguang Duan Hongyun China Liao, Song and Jin Dynasties Pre-Qin Period ancient ethnic groups ethnic identification ethnic differentiation ethnic fusion
Published: New York, Berlin, Bruxelles, Lausanne, Oxford, 2023. XII, 242 pp.

Biographical notes

Wang Wenguang (Author) Duan Hongyun (Author)

Wang Wenguang is a professor and a doctor of history. He is a tutor for doctoral students majoring in the history of ethnic groups in China. His main research field is Chinese ethnic history. Duan Hongyun is a researcher and a tutor for doctoral students. His main research fields are history of the peoples of southwest China and local history studies.

The Classification of Ethnic Groups in Ancient China

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Introduction

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