When it comes to the great migration of people in Chinese history, people will always subconsciously think of the "breaking into the Guandong", "going west" and "going down to the South Sea" dominated by the Han population (Extended Reading:
"Breaking into the Kanto Region": The History of the Blood and Tears of the Poor People in North China
）。
In fact, the migration of ethnic minorities in ancient China was larger, broader and more distinctive.
They "went out of the northeast", "into Central Asia" and even "into Europe", which had a profound impact on the development process of Chinese and even world history.
As we all know, most of the northern ethnic minorities in ancient times on the mainland were nomadic peoples, and they all lived a nomadic life with uncertain migration.
Records such as the Xiongnu "migrating with livestock" and "migrating by water and grass", Rouran "migrating to the south of the desert in winter, and living in the north of the desert in summer", and the Turkic records of "following the water and grass, not constant", can be described as everywhere in the historical materials of Chinese.
So the question is, what are the characteristics of the migration of ethnic minorities in the ancient north of the mainland? I checked some information, and then I will talk to you briefly.
Uighurs with mounted cavalry imagination
One
The mobile migration of ethnic minorities in the ancient north of the mainland mainly had two major directions: one was from east to west, and the other was from north to south.
Ethnic groups that migrate from east to west
There are mainly Yueshi, Wusun, Xiongnu, Xianbei, Tuguhun, Ruoran, Turkic, Uighur, Mongolian and other ethnic groups. They either migrated as a group or in part, and a large part of them moved to other countries overseas.
peoples who migrate from north to south,
There are mainly Xiongnu, Wuhuan, Xianbei, Turkic, Mongolian and other ethnic groups. However, although the flow from north to south is relatively frequent, it is mainly "local flow", and there are few records of ethnic migration. These northern ethnic groups who migrated to the interior basically integrated into the northern Han or other ethnic groups.
Turkic khanates from the 6th century to the early 7th century
Two
Throughout Chinese history, the main representatives of the east-to-west migration are the Great Moon Clan, the Northern Xiongnu, the Tuguhun Clan, the Turbat Tribe that moved west, and the Xibe tribe that migrated west from the "Shubian".
1) Mr. Moon
The Yue clan was one of the ancient nomadic peoples of the mainland, living in the Hexi Corridor and the Qilian Mountains before the rise of the Xiongnu.
Also known as "Yuezhi" and "Yuzhi", Sima Qian called it "Xingguoye, migrating with livestock, and sharing customs with the Xiongnu".
The Kingdoms of the Western Regions in the 1st century BC
All along, the Yue clan and the Xiongnu were "like water and fire", and there was a very deep contradiction.
Because they could not withstand the invasion of the Xiongnu, the Yue clan had to move west frequently.
Around 206 BC, the Huns were in a position to be alone (?) –174 BC) defeated the Yue clan, and most of the Yue clan had to move west from the western part of present-day Gansu to the present-day eastern region of Xinjiang. Around the fourth year of Emperor Wen's reign (176 BC), Mao Dundan sent King Youxian to lead an army to the west, defeating the Yue clan again, forcing the Yue clan to move west again.
In the sixth year OF BCE (174 BC), the Xiongnu Shangdan Yu (?) —In 161 BC, the son of Mo Dun Shan Yu) defeated the Yue clan again and took full control of the entire Western Regions. The scattered Yue clan had to move west again.
Scholars generally believe that the Yue clan who migrated to the Ili River Valley are the Great Moon Clan, "the rest of the minority can not go, Baonan Mountain Qiang, the number of Xiao Yue Clan.".
Over time, the "left-behind" Kozuki eventually merged with the local ethnic groups.
The homeland of the Huns
Around the third year of Emperor Wen's reign (161 BC), Wusun (wusun, who had a vendetta against the people of the Great Moon clan for killing his father (the Book of Han records that Wusun "has the most unusual shape, and now the Hu people have blue eyes and red whiskers like the monkeys, and their species is also") Wang Houjiaojing (birth and death year unknown) led his troops to the west, defeated the Great Moon clan, and stayed in the Ili River Valley.
Most of the Ōtsuki clan had to leave the Ili region and migrate southwestern once more;
A small group of the Ōtsuki clan that remained in the Ili River Valley chose to submit to Wusun and gradually merged with the local ethnic groups.
The westward migration of the Ōtsuki clan passed through Dawan (present-day Fergana Basin in Central Asia), crossed the Syr Darya River, and reached the area of present-day river, "Sui Du Fei Shui (
Present-day Amu Darya
North, for the royal court". 20 years later, they crossed the Amu Darya River and "attacked Bactria (i.e., the kingdom of Bactria along the upper reaches of the Amu Darya River) and made Bactra (present-day Balkh, Afghanistan) the capital of Bactria , making it a "vassal state".
Shi Zai", "(Ōtsuki)'s string controllers can be 100,000 or 200,000", "The land is fertile", and "Zhi'an Le", as if it has become a major power in Central Asia, completely leaving ancient China.
The Great Moon Clan during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty
Around the first half of the 1st century AD, the Marquis of Guishuang (xī hòu, official name of the Yue clan) of the Great Moon Clan (xī hòu, official name of the Yue clan) Qiu Yu (?) –c. 75 AD) unified the various divisions of the Ōtsuki clan and eventually founded the Kingdom of Guishang.
At its peak, the Kushan Kingdom, whose territory stretched from the Border of Iran in the west to the middle reaches of the Ganges River in the east, from the Syr Darya River and the Green Ridge in the north to the Nabad River in the south, was once regarded as one of the four great powers of Europe and Asia, alongside the Han Dynasty, Rome, and the Rest (Parthian Empire).
In the 3rd century AD, the Kushan Empire weakened and split into several smaller states.
By the 4th century, the Gupta Empire (c. 320 – c. 540) in the East Indies had arisen, and the remnants of the Kushan princes in northwestern India were under the control of the Gupta Empire.
yàn dā,
The continued armed attacks of the nomadic peoples living in Eurasia, known as the White Huns, made the stormy Kushan Kingdom even worse.
Scholars believe that around 425 AD, the last small state established by the Ōtsuki clan in the local area was eventually destroyed by The Great Moon Clan.
The Kushan Kingdom at its peak
2) Huns
During the Warring States period, the Xiongnu were mainly active in the areas north of Yan, Zhao, and Qin. At the time of the Qin and Han Dynasties, Mao Dundan unified the xiongnu departments and ruled the northern and southern regions of the desert.
In the twenty-fourth year of the Eastern Han Dynasty's Guangwu Emperor Jianwu (48 AD), the Xiongnu split into two parts, the southern and northern parts - those who followed the Han in the south were called the Southern Xiongnu, and those who stayed in the desert were called the Northern Xiongnu.
And Emperor
Yongyuan Yuan year (89 AD),
The Northern Xiongnu were defeated by a coalition of Eastern Han and Southern Xiongnu.
Dou Xian, the supreme commander of the Han army, deliberately carved a stone inscription (the inscription was written by Ban Gu) at Yanran Mountain (present-day Hangai Mountain), which is it
"Le Shi Yan Ran"
Origin. Two years later, the Northern Xiongnu suffered the final blow, "Northern Danyu fled, not knowing where it was."
At this point, the Northern Xiongnu completely disappeared from Chinese historical sources.
"Le Shi YanRan" inscription
In principle, the remnants of the Northern Xiongnu could only migrate westward, and indeed so.
Objectively speaking, their westward migration took a long time.
The first stop of the Northern Xiongnu's westward migration was the nomadic Ili River Valley of the Wusun (state) tribes, which stayed for about 91-160 years.
In the third year of the Eastern Han Dynasty (160 AD), most of the Northern Xiongnu continued to move westward, and some of the tribes stayed in their homeland, and eventually assimilated and integrated with the local Wusun and Gaoche people, forming a country of its own, that is, the "Pan State" in the historical data.
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Yueban Kingdom was one of the most powerful people in the Western Regions.
The "Biography of the Northern History and Western Regions" records that the Yueban Kingdom "has thousands of miles in a place, and the people of Liangzhou can be called a single king" for more than 100,000 people. In the war against northern Wei and Rouran, they initially befriended Rouran, but soon turned against each other, and eventually formed allies with Northern Wei and maintained friendly diplomatic relations.
Wei Xi Rong Colonel's Mansion Yanqi Town Beiliang Guizi Yu Khotan Shule Wusun Yueban and other states (Southern and Northern Dynasties)
The second stop of the Northern Xiongnu's westward migration was the Kangju region in Central Asia, where they stayed for about 160-260 years.
According to the Book of later Han, the southwestern capital of the Kangju State was adjacent to the Anshi (Parthian Empire), the southeast was bordered by the Kushan Dynasty, and the northern States of Xiangcai and Yan were their "vassal states", which were the more populous and powerful Central Asian states at that time, and the lower reaches of the Syr Darya River to the Kyrgyz Plain were the center of their territory.
In fact, the Xiongnu Zhizhi Shan Yu (?) –36 BC) As early as around 44 BC, he led his troops into Kangju and briefly controlled the area, but was soon defeated by the Han Dynasty.
More than a hundred years later, the Northern Xiongnu forces made a comeback and once again occupied Kangju.
Unfortunately, due to the lack of relevant historical records,
The specific activities of the Northern Xiongnu in Kangju became a "historical mystery".
Kangju during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty
Time is like an arrow, and in the fourth century AD,
A mysterious oriental force that made the whole of Europe smell suddenly appeared in front of the Europeans.
The leader of this force was none other than Attila the Hun the Great, who had the "Whip of God" (Ythira).
406 AD – 453 AD
So the question is, is this "Xiongnu Emperor" a descendant of the Northern Huns?
Portrait of Attila
Frankly speaking, based on current historical records, no one can prove that Attila "must be a descendant of the Northern Huns", but also cannot prove that "he has nothing to do with the Northern Huns".
However, interesting phonetics may bring new thinking and inspiration to everyone.
The ancient Roman geographer Ptolemy (c. 90-168), who first proposed the "geocentric theory", in his monumental work Geography, roughly written in 150 AD, mentioned a nomadic tribe inhabiting the northern shore of the Caspian Sea, "Xouvol" (pronounced similar to "Hunwo"),
This should be the earliest record of the "Huns" in the West.
Ptolemy (c. 90–168)
In fact, the Khotanese state in the western region used the word "Huna" (pronounced near "Kuna") to refer to the surrounding nomadic tribes; in Armenian, the word "Honk" was also used to refer to the inhabitants of some nomadic tribes.
In a correspondence between the Sogdians (who lived around Uzbekistan), it was mentioned that the Xiongnu leader Liu Cong (?) –318, the third emperor of Han Zhao) led an army to besiege Luoyang and plunder the affairs of Sima Zhao, the emperor of Jinhuai.
In the letter, the author refers to the Han Zhao army surrounding Luoyang as "Xwn" (pronounced very similar to "Hun"). ）”，
In short, from around 150 AD to around 300 AD, a tribe known as the Huns existed on Eurasia, whose range of activities extended from Luoyang, China, to the northern shore of the present-day Caspian Sea.
Full map of the Sixteen Kingdoms period of the Eastern Jin Dynasty
In the second half of the fourth century, a mysterious armed force known in the West as the "Huns" suddenly appeared on the stage of world history.
After defeating the Alans in the northern Caucasus, they quickly defeated the Ostrogoths, who lived west of the Dnieper River.
In 376, they began an offensive against the declining Roman Empire, and two years later defeated the Roman Emperor Valence, severely shaking the foundations of Roman rule. Thereafter, the Huns gradually conquered the Germanic tribes in the north and seized the Pannonia Plain.
Thus, a large area of land from the Black Sea to the north of the Danube Fell into the hands of the Huns.
Route of the 380-453 Hun invasion
Around 434, Attila rose and the Huns became more powerful.
Around 435, Attila launched a series of raids against southern Rus and the Persian Sassanids, and set his sights on the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire. Attila not only demanded more tribute taxes from Eastern Rome, but also constantly meddle in its foreign affairs.
Obviously, Eastern Rome simply could not meet attila's "whimsical" "needs".
In 441, Attila declared war on Byzantium and sacked the Balkans. In 442, he was intercepted in the Thracian region by the Eastern Roman general Aspar and had to retreat. In 443, the Huns attacked the eastern Roman capital of Constantinople, and the Eastern Roman army was completely destroyed, so they had to sign an alliance under the city and sign a peace treaty with the Huns.
Under Attila's leadership, the Huns reached their peak – from the Aral Sea in the east, to the Atlantic coast in the west, from the Danube in the south to the Baltic Sea in the north.
The stage of maximizing Attila's power
This is the relatively highly credible history given in the limited documentary records.
But, "Huns =Xwn=Huna=Honk=Xouvol=Huns=Huns? In other words, how deep the origins of the Chinese "Hungarian" and the European "Hungarian" are, it is difficult to give an answer based on phonetics alone.
Perhaps, we can guess that whether it is Xwn, Huna or Honk, it is most likely referring to "the general name of a nomadic tribe in a certain region".
Further reading:
An overview of the article: The past and present lives of the Turkic Khaganate
Article Overview: Who were the Uighurs?
3) Tuguhun
Tuguhun was a branch of the Xianbei Murong Clan whose ancestors were first nomadic in the area of the Xilamulun River (present-day Chifeng, Inner Mongolia) in present-day Inner Mongolia.
"Tuguhun" was originally a personal name, that is, The Xianbei Murong Clan Shan Yu Murong Shigui (?) –283) was murong tuguhun (c. 245 – c. 317), who had about 1,700 households under his rule.
Sylamulun River
After Murong Shigui's death, his concubine Murong Yu (269–333, founder of Former Yan) succeeded Shan Yu.
In the beginning, the two maintained a relatively good relationship. However, due to Murong Xi's repeated external provocations, the relationship between the two gradually became estranged, and at one point there was a dispute over the trivial matter of "horses biting each other".
Afterwards, although Murong Xi took the initiative to apologize and repair it, Murong Tuguhun believed that the gap between the two had been born and was determined to go.
In 283, Murong Tuguhun led 1,700 households to move west to Yinshan, Inner Mongolia. Around 313, he led his troops south from the Yin Mountains, through the southern part of Hetao, through the Longshan Mountains, and reached Paohan (present-day Linxia City, Gansu Province), "as the chief of the king". In 317, Murong Tuguhun died at the age of seventy-two.
His eldest son Murong Tuyan succeeded to the throne.
In 329, Tuyan was stabbed to death by the Qiang chieftain Jiang Cong.
Before dying, Tuyan instructed his eldest son, Ye Yan, to "quickly go to Baobailan (roughly located at the southeast edge of the Qaidam Basin)." After Ye Yan succeeded to the throne, he established the headquarters of Mukechuan in Shazhou (沙州, in present-day Muketan, Guinan County, Qinghai Province) with Tuyan as his clan, Tuguhun as his surname, clan surname, and state name, and set up official positions such as Sima and Changshi.
Since then, Tuguhun has changed from a personal name to a surname and a family name.
By the middle of the 5th century, Tuguhun had grown into a powerful force in the western part of the mainland.
Liang Eastern Wei Western Wei and Tuguhun (546)
After the Sui Dynasty unified the Central Plains, Tuguhun and the Sui Dynasty were at wartime, and the territory was once occupied by the Sui army. At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, Tuguhun maintained friendly exchanges with the Tang Dynasty.
In the ninth year of Zhenguan (635), Tuguhun was defeated by the Tang army, and immediately split into two parts, the western part was centered on Shanshan and later attached to Tubo; the eastern part was in Fuqicheng (present-day Tiebuka Ancient City, Gonghe County, West Of Qinghai Lake), which was annexed to the Tang Dynasty and formed the "Kingdom of Uncles and Nephews" with Tang.
In the third year of Emperor Gaozong's reign (663), Tubo sent troops to destroy Tuguhun and Tuguhun's last ruler, Nuoyu Bao (?) –688) led the remnants to Liangzhou (梁州, in modern Wuwei, Gansu).
After the Anshi Rebellion, some of the Tuguhun people, who were entrenched in Hexi and Lingzhou, joined the Tang army, and the other part moved eastward into Yan (in present-day Dingbian County, Shaanxi), Qing (in present-day Qingyang County, Gansu), and Shuofang County in Xia Prefecture (in present-day Jingbian County, Shaanxi, where Ningshuo Prefecture) moved east.
After the 12th century, some of the Tuguhun people in Hedong returned to the gansu and Qing homelands, and most of them merged into the local Han or other ethnic groups.
Mural in the front room of the no. 1 tomb of Wulanquangou in Qinghai - Drawing of the Horse Welcome
4) Mongol Turks and Xibe tribes
Originally nomadic in Yar ( northwest of present-day Tacheng , Xinjiang and the Uralza region of Russia ) northwest of Talbahatai , in 1628 , the chieftain and Orlk were at odds with the Dzungar chieftain Batur Huntaiji , so they led their men and some of the Heshuot and Durbert tribes.
In the 1630s, it moved west to the then sparsely populated lower Volga region.
Later, due to the intrusion and bullying of Tsarist Russia, the Turks, under the leadership of the chief Wolbasi, left the Volga River Valley in the early 36th year of Qianlong (1771) and returned to the motherland after enduring all kinds of difficulties and dangers. The Turks, who were unable to move west, continued to remain in the Volga Valley and eventually became part of the Russian state, the "Kalmyks".
Learn more:
The road back is long, and the history of the blood and tears of the Turks in the east
The Turks who returned to the east
According to historical records, the Xibe (most likely) are one of the descendants of Xianbei.
They have been staying in the Daxing'anling area and living a life of fishing and hunting. During the Yuan (Northern Yuan) Ming Dynasty, the Xibe people have always been under the rule of the Mongolian Horqin Tribe, for example, in the Ming Dynasty historical materials, there is a record that "the slaves of (Xibe people) Horqin were enslaved by Horqin Nagong".
In the history of the Xibe people,
There have been four large-scale mobile migrations.
The first time: the Xibe people were relocated to the newly built wooden cities of Qiqihar, Jilin Ula and Boduna;
The second time: from 1699 to 1701, the Xibe people in this area were moved to Beijing, Shengjing (Shenyang) and the area to which Shengjing belonged;
The third time: In 1764 (the twenty-ninth year of Qianlong), more than a thousand officers and soldiers of the Xibe ethnic group in the northeast were selected and sent to the Ili region of Xinjiang together with their families to garrison Tuntian;
Fourth time: In 1769 (the thirty-fourth year of Qianlong), more than a thousand officers and soldiers were officially selected from the Xibe people and moved to the border area of Yunnan to garrison.
The most famous of these is the third "Westward Migration of Shubian". In the twenty-ninth year of Qianlong (1764), in order to strengthen the defense of Xinjiang, the Qing court also transferred 1016 young and powerful officers and soldiers from Shengjing and its subordinate cities, together with 3275 family members, to Ili, Tuntian Shubian, Xinjiang.
Now the Xibe people in all parts of Xinjiang are their descendants.
Reading Notes: From the northeast to Xinjiang, why did the Xibe people of the Qing Dynasty want to fight for thousands of miles?
Schematic diagram of the Xibe Westward Migration Route. Painting / Guan Jie, Source / Guan Wei: A Brief Discussion on the Westward Migration of the Xibe People and Their Historical Contributions
Three
The representatives of the ethnic minorities in the north who have migrated from north to south in history are undoubtedly Wuhuan.
Wuhuan was one of the ancient Donghu peoples of the mainland, and was active in the area of Raoleshui (present-day Xilamulun River) during the Qin and Han dynasties. At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, Eastern Hu was defeated by the Xiongnu, and the people were scattered, and the remnants of Wuhuan retreated to the area of Wuhuan Mountain (the southern end of the present-day Daxing'anling Mountains) and "took it as a trumpet".
Wuhuan in the Western Han Dynasty
In the fourth year of the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (119 BC), the Han Dynasty broke the Xiongnu and moved Wuhuan to Shanggu (southeast of present-day Huailai County, Hebei Province), Yuyang (southwest of present-day Miyun, Beijing), Youbeiping (southwest of present-day Lingyuan, Liaoning Province), Liaoxi (west of present-day Yixian County, Liaoning Province), and Liaodong (in present-day Liaoyang City), "to scout the Xiongnu for the Han Dynasty" to "scout the Xiongnu for the Han Dynasty."
In the twenty-fifth year of the Eastern Han Dynasty Guangwu Emperor Jianwu (49 AD), Wu Huan took the opportunity of "the Xiongnu turned north to migrate thousands of miles, and the desert south was empty",
Moved south to the counties of Liaodong, Liaoxi, Youbeiping, Yuyang, Dai, Yanmen, Taiyuan and Shuofang,
That is, in the lower reaches of the Daling River in the northeast, in northern Hebei, in northern and central Shanxi, and in inner Mongolia, hetao is stationed in the pasture.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, WuHuan was involved in battles in the Central Plains.
In the eleventh year of Jian'an (206 AD), Cao Cao personally went out on a campaign to attack Wuhuan, and the Book of Later Han - The Biography of Wuhuan records that "(Cao Cao) captured more than 200,000 people". After the victory over Wuhuan, Cao Cao moved the wuhuan troops of the three counties of Liaodong, Western Liaoning, and Youbeiping to the areas of Jixian (present-day southwest of Beijing) and Jinyang (southwest of present-day Taiyuan, Shanxi).
With the passage of time, the Wuhuan tribes were gradually assimilated by the Han, Xianbei, Tiele and other tribes.
The theme of "Guancang Sea" is painted
Four
In general, the mobile migration of ethnic minorities in northern China in ancient China has the following characteristics:
1) Large span
To discuss the huge span is undoubtedly the westward migration of the Northern Xiongnu.
They set out from the Mongolian plateau, passed through the Ili and Syr darya valleys, and even landed as far as the Danube River basin in Europe (of course, whether the Huns were descendants of the Huns remains to be discussed).
In addition to the Northern Xiongnu and the aforementioned Yueshi, Tuguhun and other tribes,
As a part of the Western Turks, Shatuo also has a large migration span.
Shatuo originally lived south of jinjiao mountain (Bogduo mountain or Nichijin mountain in Xinjiang) and east of Balikun Lake in northeast Xinjiang. During the Zhenguan period (627-649), there were constantly Shatuo leaders who led their troops to the Tang Dynasty.
(Sha Da) Suna-jin Image
After the Anshi Rebellion, Shatuo first attached himself to the Uighurs, and then surrendered to Tubo.
In the third year of Yuan He (808), the Shatuo chief Zhu Xie was defeated by Tubo, and his son Zhu Xieyi led the remaining troops of nearly 10,000 people to Lingzhou (lingzhou, present-day Lingwu, Ningxia) and surrendered to Tang. The Tang Dynasty placed Shatuo's descendants in Yanzhou (present-day Dingbian, Shaanxi), and set up the Governor's Mansion of Yinshan, and appointed Zhu Xiezhiyi as a soldier and horse envoy, "for the city cattle and sheep, to spread their livestock, and to care for them."
With the passage of time, the scattered Shatuo defected one after another, and his power was further strengthened.
In June of the fourth year of Yuan He (809), "the court agreed that Shatuo was in Lingwu, approaching Tubo, worrying about its repetition, and there were many tribes, fearing the price of the long valley",
Ling Shatuo raised an army to Hedong.
Hedong Jiedushi made Fan Xichao "choose his horse to ride a thousand and two hundred, call the Shatuo army, and place the envoys in dingxiangchuan" (around present-day Xinxian County, Shanxi); Zhu Xiezhiyi and his people lived in the Huanghuadui of the Shenwu River (present-day northeast of Shanyin, Shanxi), called "Yinshan Beishatuo".
In a word, Shatuo, which originally lived in Xinjiang, passed through Gansu, passed through Ningxia, turned to Shaanxi, and finally arrived in Shanxi, and the migration span was also very large.
What is China: "China" in the "Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms" Period
The founders of the Tang, Later Jin, and Later Han dynasties, Li Cunxun, Shi Jingyao, and Liu Zhiyuan, were all Shatuo people
2) Phases
Objectively speaking, the great migration of ethnic minorities in the north,
None of them complete the migration process at once.
Wusun first moved west from the present-day Hexi Corridor to the Ili River Valley, and then westward to present-day Kyrgyzstan, and during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, under the attack of Rouran in the east, moved west again to the area around the Onion Ridge;
The westward migration of the Dayue clan to Central Asia also went through different stages, first from Gansu to Xinjiang, and then to the Amu Darya River Basin in Central Asia;
Wuhuan migration also has the characteristics of a stage, first moving south to baowuhuan mountain, and then moving to the five counties outside saiwai, and some of it is inside.
Schematic map of the Silk Roads
3) Multi-directionality
In general, China's northern ethnic minorities mainly migrate in two directions, from east to west or from north to south.
But in terms of specifics, it tends to be multi-directional.
For example, during the reign of Emperor Wenzong of Tang (836-840), under the weight of civil strife, external troubles and natural disasters, the Uighurs collapsed and "scattered to the provinces".
Some moved west to present-day Xinjiang and present-day Gansu, some to Tubo in the southwest, and some to Yunzhou (present-day Datong, Shanxi), Shuozhou (in present-day Shuo County, Shanxi) and west to the Tiande Army (on the east bank of the Wujia River in present-day Urat, Inner Mongolia).
Reading Notes: How did the Culture of The Wu'er "bring up" the Mongols?
Reading Notes: The Main Historical Contributions of the Qarakhanid Dynasty to Chinese Culture
Both the Qarakhanid dynasty and the Uighurs of Gaochang (Xizhou) were branches of the former Uighur Khaganate
4) Toughness
Frankly speaking, the great migration of ethnic minorities in the north is basically accompanied by extreme situations such as civil unrest, natural disasters or invasion by foreign enemies. Therefore, the whole migration process is more difficult. Take the Tang Dynasty Turks as an example:
In the twenty-second year of Emperor Taizong's reign (648), the Western Turk Ashina Helu "led (led) his tribal subordinates" under the condition that the Khan of EbiShikyaki "sent troops to chase" and "did not often live in residence";
During the Wu Zetian period, the Ten Tribes of the Western Turks were repeatedly invaded by the Later Turkic Mosi Khan and "died and scattered", and the remaining 60,000 or 70,000 people "migrated to the interior" with Ashina Buzhen's son Hu Serro.
Que Special Service Monument
Five
In fact, there are some interesting questions about the migration of ethnic minorities in northern China in ancient China that are worth exploring and studying. Like what:
What is the origin of the Northern Xiongnu and the Western "Huns"?
What kind of changes will occur in the national culture of ethnic minorities during the long-term migration process?
What is the situation of ethnic minorities intermarriing with other ethnic groups in the process of migration, and are ethnic minorities adapted to the place of migration?
Is there any exchange or interaction between the migrated ethnic minorities and other ethnic groups that "come after them"?
We have reason to believe that with the development of archaeological technology and the unremitting efforts of scholars, these "unresolved" issues will surely achieve new breakthroughs, and some cognitive differences will gradually reach consensus.