Many famous dynasties in Chinese history were powerful, and many small countries around China were either vassals of China or dependent on China. But there has always been one exception, and that is the Huns.
In the northwest of China, the Xiongnu have always been a thorn in the hearts of emperors of various dynasties. Although the emperor of China has great power, the Xiongnu are far away on the frontier, and many emperors have no way to take them. In order to maintain the stability of the frontier, from the Han Dynasty onwards, each dynasty chose to achieve this goal in a friendly way.
Although the way of peace and affection is extremely cruel to the princess of peace, it is the best for the imperial court, for the people of the imperial court, and for the soldiers of the frontier, they can not experience war, do not have to experience life and death, only need to sacrifice a person's happiness in exchange for the stability of the frontier.
So no matter which dynasty, there were princesses who were sent to the Huns to make peace. But it is strange that many princesses who married into the Huns died without giving birth to children, why is this?
The Xiongnu were located in the northwest of the Central Plains, in what is now Siberia, which had a very harsh climate and harsh living conditions. We can imagine how unaccustomed it would be for a princess who was spoiled in the palace to be suddenly sent to a place with poor climatic conditions, poor quality of life, and very different habits from the Central Plains because of her relatives.
Therefore, some princesses who were close to each other had just arrived in the Xiongnu and died of illness due to the disobedience of the water and soil and their weak physical condition. There are also some princesses who do not die as soon as they arrive at the Huns, but her physical condition will become worse and worse, and her life expectancy will not be very long.
Many of the princesses who were close to him had no idea who her husband was until they married the Huns, and Shan Yu of the Huns never met his wife. The reason why they agreed to make peace was to use this method to humiliate the imperial court at that time, so many Xiongnu did not like the princesses of the Central Plains at all, and naturally these princesses had no way to have children.
In addition, the Xiongnu, like the emperor of the Central Plains, could also marry many concubines, and after marrying the princess of the Xiongnu, she was only an ordinary woman in the harem of the Xiongnu. Although we have not personally seen the Xiongnu fighting among the various concubines in the harem, we can still imagine that the fighting in the harem there is absolutely no less fierce than in the Central Plains.
As a girl who was only a teenager and had always grown up in a protected state, how could she fight with other concubines in the harem, so some of them died because of palace fights, and the deaths were unclear.
Finally, there is another reason for the unique local customs of the Xiongnu. Although the Xiongnu, as a people on horseback, fought fiercely, their civilization level lagged far behind that of the Central Plains. Especially when it comes to marriage, they even retain some primitive customs.
For example, in the Central Plains, the relationship between husband and wife is generally more conservative, especially for women. If a woman's husband dies, she will generally stay alone in an empty house and will not marry again, which is also a manifestation of female chastity. But in the Xiongnu, they did not take the virginity of women as serious, and they were very open to marriage and funeral.
In the Huns, many women were forced to marry their husbands' brothers or even their husbands' fathers after their husbands died. The same was true of Shan Yu as a Xiongnu, and if he died, his younger brother or son could legitimately inherit his father's concubine. Many princesses of the Central Plains simply could not accept such open customs and traditions, so they chose to commit suicide in order to maintain their virginity.
Although we cannot rule out that after some princesses and relatives to the Xiongnu, her life was more exciting and happier, but this is only a very small part. Most of the princesses have a tragic fate, they sacrifice everything for the country, for the peace of the people.