In the history of the Chinese nation, the Xiongnu have always been the plague of the Chinese nation. This fierce and fierce nomadic people who are good at riding and shooting often invade the Central Plains and plunder wantonly, making the Central Plains unrestful.
Therefore, for a long time, resisting the invasion of the Xiongnu became the primary consideration of Chinese civilization. It is also in this process that
Many generals emerged, who were heroic and tenacious in the battle against the Huns and left a glorious image.
However, despite the bravery and fierceness of the Xiongnu, they eventually drowned in the river of history. This ethnic group, which has a deep bond with the Chinese nation, has now disappeared. So, where are the Xiongnu, who were once flourishing, now?
Origins of the Huns
Regarding the origin of the Xiongnu, it is recorded that their ancestors were the sons of Xia Jie, and these fierce warriors inherited the character and strength of their ancestors and galloped freely in the northern steppes. After annexing a number of other tribes, it became the most powerful force in the north.
Due to the special geographical environment in the north, the Huns formed a nomadic life habit.
This way of life laid a solid foundation for their future conquests. Whether it is a superb riding shot or a strong physique, it is the result of exercising in this way of survival.
The long-term life in the north gave the Xiongnu more advantage over the Central Plains people in both physical and mental terms. Therefore, in the process of conquest with the Central Plains, the Xiongnu firmly occupied the advantage.
It was not until the middle of the Warring States period, when King Wuling of Zhao wuling hufu rode and launched a reform, that the Central Plains Dynasty gradually had the capital to fight against the Xiongnu.
Later, li Mu, a famous general of the Zhao state, designed to annihilate the main force of the Xiongnu in one fell swoop, resulting in a serious injury to the Xiongnu's vitality and failing to recover for decades, during which the Central Plains Dynasty was never harassed by the Xiongnu.
Although the Xiongnu crisis was successfully lifted, due to the war launched by Qin Shi Huang to unify the six kingdoms, resulting in continuous wars in the Central Plains, the Xiongnu took this opportunity to develop and grow again, and went south to occupy the Hetao region.
After unifying the Central Plains, Qin Shi Huang not only successfully recovered the Hetao region, but also chased the Xiongnu all the way to the Helan Mountains.
After this war, the Xiongnu did not dare to go south to invade the Central Plains for more than ten years. The Central Plains had a rare respite, and Qin Shi Huang took advantage of this opportunity to build the Great Wall and shut out the Xiongnu.
The Western Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu
The entanglement of the Xiongnu with the Chinese people is most well known during the Han Dynasty. During this period, the Xiongnu and the Han Dynasty were at war and war, and with the change of the situation, they constantly changed their strategies, which became the main theme of the Han Dynasty's diplomacy at that time.
At the same time that Liu Bang and Xiang Yu were vying for the throne, the Xiongnu also rose rapidly in the north.
After killing his father, Mao Dundan led the Xiongnu to defeat the Yue clan, Dong hu, and Lou Fu, and many northern ethnic minorities were forced to ally with them under the pressure of the Xiongnu.
It can be seen that in the process of development, the Xiongnu also integrated with other ethnic groups and were no longer a single ethnic minority.
When the Han Dynasty was established, Liu Bang, the ancestor of Han Gaozu, sent Han Wangxin to attack the Xiongnu, and Han Wangxin was defeated and reprimanded by Liu Bang. Fearing that Liu Bang would persecute him, Wang Xin of Han turned to the Xiongnu. Therefore, Liu Bang personally led a large army to fight against the Xiongnu and Han Wangxin.
However, this expedition was very unsuccessful, and Liu Bang was besieged by the Xiongnu for seven days and seven nights on Mount Baishan. Later, due to the lack of supplies for the Xiongnu and the imminent arrival of reinforcements from the Han army, Mao Dundan returned with his army after a raid.
This was the first intimate contact between the Xiongnu and the Han.
After this, the Western Han Dynasty realized the fierceness of the Xiongnu and began to accumulate strength and prepare for a disgrace. By the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty had made all preparations, and the famous generals Wei Qing and Huo Went ill several times, and finally defeated the Xiongnu again, so that the Xiongnu did not dare to covet the Central Plains.
After the deaths of Wei Qing and Huo, the war between Han and Hungary was in a state of confrontation.
Just as the so-called "wounded one thousand enemies, eight hundred self-inflicted losses", successive years of conquest led to a rapid decline in the national strength of the Han Dynasty, and the originally strong and rich country also became full of holes, and the people were not happy.
Therefore, Emperor Wu of Han issued an edict and stopped the war against the Xiongnu, and there was a period of rest between Han and Hungary. Due to the long war with the Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu also triggered a series of internal disputes and began to split into different tribes. The war had a huge impact on both China and Hungary.
At this point, the once-mighty Xiongnu no longer had the glory of the past. The integration of the nationalities caused the internal cohesion of the Xiongnu to take a sharp turn, and the division was also the inevitable result of its disintegration.
The afterglow of the Huns
The fate of the Huns, who split into different tribes, is still inconclusive. But what is certain is that they could not gain a foothold in the original territory, and they could not go south to occupy the Central Plains, and the westward expansion was the only way out for the Huns.
One of them is certainly the Hunnic Empire led by Attila.
This empire was a powerful empire of divided Huns, who swept through Eurasia under the leadership of Attila, making the Western Roman Empire exist in name only, and its fierceness was evident.
After Attila's death, however, the Huns were once again embroiled in infighting.
In order to compete for the inheritance of the empire, the heirs constantly fought with each other, so that the Hun empire soon collapsed. The Huns had to once again integrate into the various peoples of Europe.
At this point, the Huns no longer had pure blood, that is to say, the Huns had developed to this point, and there was no longer a real Hun. After these Huns had merged with the Europeans, there was nowhere to be found.
At that time, the Huns, who did not advance westward, continued to live in the northern part of the Central Plains, but these Huns no longer posed a threat to the Central Plains, so there was no trace of them in the history books. In order to survive, these Huns also had to integrate with other ethnic groups.
Through genetic testing, the Mongols on the mainland contain about 8% of the Hun genes in their bodies.
This shows that the ancestors of the Mongols existed in the Huns, and the Mongols' ability to ride horses and shoot arrows may also be inherited from these warriors who were once able to fight.
epilogue
With the continuous development of history, many of the peoples that once flourished have ceased to exist, leaving only the glory of their past recorded in the history books.
Although the Xiongnu and the Chinese peoples are of the same origin, after experiencing the screening of time, the powerful Xiongnu people have disappeared without a trace, and the Chinese civilization has been passed down to this day.
The reason for this is that Chinese civilization focuses not on blood but on the inheritance of culture.
Although the Central Plains civilization has experienced ups and downs and has also been ruled by foreign countries, foreign rulers are usually attracted to Chinese civilization and then assimilated. It can be seen that the cultural output is far more gentle and effective than the sword.
Tribal rulers were usually attracted to chinese civilization and thus assimilated. It can be seen that the cultural output is far more gentle and effective than the sword.