As one of the three major enlightenment books in Chinese tradition, "Hundred Family Names" was written in the Northern Song Dynasty and has endured in the mouths of Chinese children for thousands of years. It includes 411 surnames that existed before the Northern Song Dynasty in ancient China, and later added to 504.
According to an examination, the surnames in the "Hundred Family Names" are not only the original surnames of the Han people, but also evolved from several ethnic minorities. Because China has been rich in land since ancient times, the Chinese nation does not originate in one place, but has the trend of multiple origins in many regions.
According to historical records, the ancient Chinese population showed a trend of migration from north to south, and the main reason for migration was to avoid the scourge of war. In China, the north is dominated by nomadic civilization and developed animal husbandry, which makes the northern part of the Central Plains often appear brave and warlike nomadic people, posing a great threat to the Central Plains.
The heyday and division of the Huns
In the pre-Qin period, with the progress of productive forces and production relations, the Central Plains region, which was dominated by agricultural culture, began to develop rapidly. At this time, the fledgling Xiongnu peoples just needed a place to live, and they coveted the increasingly developed Central Plains.
From the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty, the Xiongnu began to repeatedly invade the border. From the Western Zhou to the Eastern Zhou, from the Jin to the Zhao, the kings of all the countries had a headache for the Xiongnu. Weak countries marry and pay tribute, and strong countries start wars.
After the reform of Hu Fu, the king of Zhao Wuling, the State of Zhao defeated the Xiongnu in a turn of the offensive led by the general Li Mu, which was the first huge victory against the Huns in Chinese history.
However, at the same time that Qin Shi Huang unified the Six Kingdoms, a male lord also appeared on the Xiongnu steppe- Mao Dun Shan Yu. In 209 BC, Mo Dun Shan Yu killed his father and established himself, and unified the northern steppe in successive years of conquest, which was also the first time in history that the Huns unified the north, on this basis, Mo Dun Shan Yu established a huge Xiongnu empire.
After ascending the throne, Mao Dundan chose to avoid his sharp edge and paralyze his opponents in the face of the arrogant King of Donghu, and after the King of Donghu relaxed his vigilance, Mao Dundan sent troops to raid Donghu, and the King of Donghu died in the rebellion. The Great Moon Clan of the Hexi Corridor was also forced to migrate westward, and since then there has been a situation in which Qin and Xiongnu have coexisted on the East Asian continent.
By 202 BC, Liu Bang, the ancestor of Han Gao, established the Western Han Dynasty and personally led an army of 320,000 to launch a war against the Xiongnu. Due to the cold weather and the adventurous advance of light enemies, Liu Bang fell into a heavy ambush of the Xiongnu, and finally the Han Dynasty paid tribute to the Xiongnu, Liu Bang had to get out of danger, and the Xiongnu became the first hegemon in East Asia.
Around 150 BC, the Xiongnu state reached its peak, and at this time the Western Han Dynasty had to avoid its sharp edge and marry for many years to seek border peace.
This situation continued until the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, when the economy and national strength of the Western Han Dynasty were greatly enhanced. In the face of the arrogant Xiongnu, Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty gradually became aware of one thing- blindly peace and affinity could not be exchanged for peace, only strength could change the whole situation, and it was time to attack and defend.
In order to counterattack the Xiongnu, in 127 BC, Emperor Wu of han sent Wei Qing to launch two major wars in southern And northern Mo. In 121 BC, the famous general Huo Quyi seized the Hexi Corridor, surrendered 100,000 Xiongnu, and established the four counties of Wuwei, Jiuquan, Dunhuang, and Zhangye.
In 119 BC, Wei Qing and Huo Went ill again went out to attack the Xiongnu, all the way to the Wolf Juxu Mountain, and the Xiongnu scattered and fled, unable to go south.
During this period, the son of the Xiongnu Zhixiu Tu King was captured, and in order to reflect the national prestige and Huairen of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu of Han gave him the surname of "Jin" and let him stay in the Han court and give him a high-ranking official. From this point on, the Jin surname existed as a special surname in both Han and Hungary.
The Prince Of Xiutu who remained in the Han Dynasty was the later famous Jin Ribao. After the death of Emperor Wu of Han, he became one of the ministers of the will, and together with Huo Guang assisted Emperor Zhao of Han, making indelible contributions to the continuous prosperity of the Han Dynasty.
After years of conquest with the Han Dynasty and the deterioration of relations with neighboring countries, the Xiongnu gradually split into two parts, the south was mostly subordinate to the Han Dynasty, and began to communicate with the Han people in the Central Plains and learn farming culture. The Northern Xiongnu, on the other hand, were constantly in conflict with the Han Dynasty and neighboring countries in the process of moving west.
The ups and downs and bursts of the Huns
In their long-term interaction with the Han, the Huns found that the Han had extremely advanced cultural qualities and cultural roots, so these Huns began to learn from reflection.
Seeing that the Xiongnu were like this, the rulers of the Han Dynasty could not help but give them a great reward, and for many Xiongnu nobles, the rulers of the Han Dynasty took the initiative to make peace with them and gave them the surname of "Liu".
In this way, whether in war or peace, the Xiongnu were assimilated by the advanced culture of the Han people, and the Xiongnu had the custom of "following the mother's surname", so the Liu clan also began to spread among the Xiongnu. In the following centuries of evolution, it gradually became one of its main surnames.
The Northern Xiongnu were caught in an embattled situation due to their perennial conquests, and the Xiongnu king YuDan also surrendered to the Han Dynasty on the way westward, and in the days that followed, led the Han army to defeat his brother Yi Zhi xie, and the remnants of the Northern Xiongnu Yi Zhi Xie had to move west to a farther place to avoid the Han army's attack.
The rulers of the Han Dynasty were satisfied with the xiongnu king Yu Shan's actions, and made him a marquis and gave him the surname of "Zhao". In this way, the three surnames of "Jin", "Liu" and "Zhao" became the major surnames of the Xiongnu and have been passed down.
By the Eastern Han Dynasty, most of the Xiongnu in the North and South had been assimilated into Han culture and became an important part of Han culture. By the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Southern Xiongnu were almost destroyed by Cao Cao's army, and it was difficult to find a complete and unified Southern Xiongnu tribe in the north.
After a brief period of unification in the Western Jin Dynasty, the Central Plains once again fell into a situation of political division. In the last years of the Western Jin Dynasty, the Five Hu Dynasties were chaotic, the most important of which was the Xiongnu. By the time of the Sixteen Kingdoms, the Xiongnu had another leader with great talent, Liu Yuan, who still maintained his Han surname as a Xiongnu.
In 308, Liu Yuan declared himself emperor at Pingyang and established Zhao, and the Xiongnu ushered in a second heyday. After ascending the throne, Liu Yuan honored Liu Chan, the lord of the Shu Han Dynasty, as the Emperor Xiaohuai, a Xiongnu emperor, but he called himself Han, and the established regime also posthumously named the Han emperor as orthodox, which shows that Han culture at that time was already deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
The last glory of the Huns
At the same time as the rise of the Xiongnu, another nomadic people, the Xianbei, also took advantage of the rise. Relying on their long-term contacts with the Han People, the Xianbei people have learned many advanced rules and regulations, social customs and advanced culture.
The rulers of Xianbei also vigorously supported learning Chinese, changing Han surnames, and intermarriing with Han, so that the big surnames of the Northern Han people ,王) and "Han" also began to spread among the Xianbei people.
During this period, the Surname Of Wang was one of the most honorable surnames of the Han people, and most of the Wang clans were southern dignitaries or royal family members. Naturally, in the intermarriage with Xianbei, the Wang clan also became the surname of many Xianbei nobles.
In the 5th century AD, the Xiongnu at this time were no longer as majestic as they once were. The Northern Wei Dynasty established by the Xianbei completely unified northern China. In order to stabilize their rule, the rulers of the Northern Wei Dynasty constantly strengthened their own ethnic alliance with the Xiongnu.
By the time of Emperor Xiaowen of northern Wei, the Xiongnu and Xianbei became the two largest nomadic peoples in northern China, and in the long-term Xian-Hungarian marriage, Han surnames such as "Wang" and "Han" were also transmitted to the Xiongnu, plus the ethnic habits from the mother's surname, the "Wang" surname also developed rapidly for a period of time, becoming the big surname of the Xiongnu.
After a long historical evolution, the Xiongnu, the powerful hegemon of East Asia, was gradually assimilated by the advanced Han culture, and by the end of the 6th century, when Emperor Wen of Sui unified the country again, the Xiongnu were no different from the Han people, and many Xiongnu people lived in the influence of Han culture from childhood, and their parents and teachers also wore Han costumes, spoke Chinese, and taught Han etiquette from an early age.
By the time of the Tang Dynasty, not only the Xiongnu, but others, such as the Xianbei and The Xianbei, were subtly influenced by the advanced Han culture and unconsciously integrated into the lives of the Han people.
The Huns who disappeared in history may be all around us, or they may be ourselves. The five surnames of "Jin", "Liu", "Zhao", "Wang", and "Han" are all inseparable from the Xiongnu in history.
With the passage of time, it is difficult for us to distinguish who is the descendant of the Huns, and the powerful and mysterious Xiongnu have finally become a page in the history books, leaving people with endless imagination...
In my opinion, they have not lost their own nationality, but have changed their names and surnames, become members of the big Han family, and now they are like us, they have the same nation, the Chinese nation; they have the same dream as us, the great Chinese dream.