In the more than 100 years of Wuhu Chaohua, dozens of countries established by various ethnic groups in the north and the Han People in North China, with different strengths and weaknesses, and different sizes, of which the Five Hu Sixteen Kingdoms had existed for a long time and had great influence.
The "Hu people" mentioned here originally referred to the nomadic ethnic groups north of the Great Wall. During the Qin and Han dynasties, the Hu people of Northern Sai were called Xiongnu by the Han people after the unification, and later, the term "Hu people" was used as a generic term for foreigners in the north and west.
Many people are reluctant to take the initiative to pay attention to the history of Wuhu Chaohua, although the evaluation given to it by posterity is not too bad, at least, in the area of national integration. However, in terms of the cost of this result, it may be too expensive.
History will always tell some stories repeatedly, just like the disputes in some regions now, the Central Plains more than 1,000 years ago was equivalent to a war concentration area. After the Rebellion of the Eight Kings, the Western Jin Dynasty was no longer able to give orders to the world, so the foreign tribes (Yi) who had been spying on the Central Plains for a long time entered the Central Plains, and everyone wanted to become the masters here.
At that time, although some Han Chinese migrated south with this Jin Dynasty, most of them remained. Their subsequent encounters, without too much pointing, are a "miserable" word. Massacres are an inevitable result, and this is the best way to declare victory in war. Or being captured and doing coolies is equivalent to being used as a tool, in fact, this is a kind of torture in disguise.
But for women, they are arguably the biggest victims of war. These people are generally not cut off their heads, they are treated as booty, usurped by the winners, or as prizes, to reward the soldiers. The reason for this need not be said more, after the beginning of the patriarchal society, the woman's status not only plummeted, but also became a kind of "thing" in the eyes of men who could do whatever they wanted.
When it comes to war, it is the most direct, especially for prisoners, and even sometimes it is not as precious as the cattle and sheep. There is a statistic here, saying that the population of the area was 20 million before the war, and after the war it became 4 million, referring to the Han people. In addition to the death of young and strong men on the battlefield, many of them died of non-deaths, and the rest were hard work. Women, with better posture, some cultures, will be uniformly registered, and then, according to needs.
How should this be understood?
Regardless of the dynasty, population is still the first factor, especially for these Hu people at that time. Therefore, these recorded women, like the means of production, were given to the sons of princes by the authorities at that time, and of course, their status was that of a "concubine".
Maybe this history was originally chaotic, and later, there was an emperor, and his mother was one of these "concubines", if according to the orthodox culture of the Central Plains, this is obviously Hu Lai, the son of the "sinner" can still be the emperor?
Here, let's read a short story first.
In that year, Western Wei attacked Southern Liang, so these more than 100,000 civilians were escorted to Chang'an, among them, there was a woman named Li Ezi. Yuwen Tai, a Western Wei chancellor who was not yet emperor at the time, felt that this woman was good-looking and gave her to his fourth son, Yuwen Yong.
Since then, Li Ezi's fate has taken a turn. She was very favored and gave birth to two sons in a row. First his husband became emperor, and then his own son became emperor. However, the good times did not last long, this Yang family was powerful, unified the world, and this empress dowager became a nun.
Some people may comment: her situation is good, although she was captured, she was stronger than others, and her son became the emperor. Even, it is said that her son can become emperor because this Yuwen Yong is Shusheng, so he does not shy away from this difference between concubines.
In fact, looking at her later Fa name "Chang Sadness", you should be able to read some other meanings. Uprooted from home, but also a lowly status, and finally fell into a posture to serve people. She wanted to survive, but she had to work on her own, first beautiful, then heirs, and nothing else.
In fact, she should be among the many "concubines", relying on a few luck, and more is her own grasp, so that she has a place to stay. She is not alone, her eldest son Yuwen Yun, there is a similar concubine around her, said to be a woman who specializes in serving her shoes and socks.
This later Emperor Xuan, before he could marry his wife, had a son with this concubine, or the eldest son, that is, the later Northern Zhou Jing Emperor Yuwen Xian. The story of these two people can only be said to be the "outlier" of that period.
Judging from this result, it seems that they have all been reduced to tools for giving birth to babies. In fact, at first, they were just for the "pastime" of these children. In fact, looking at some of the practices of that period, it is easy to understand.
This person is said to be the first person in Chinese history to have the largest harem, Hou Zhao Shihu. He divided the women according to their age, regardless of whether they were married or not, they were all included in the harem, and one palace could not be contained, and they were divided into three places. However, his attitude towards prisoners of war was not male or female, and all were pit kills.
These captured women, in fact, in the eyes of the victors, have no distinction of blood, but are only tools for serving themselves. Do not think that these Hu people do not value the purity of their own blood, the fate of these captive descendants is almost the same as their mothers, and it is only the property of their masters.
Looking at the intermarriage between Xianbei and the Han people, it is still the result of a certain emperor who likes this Han culture, and moreover, it is also the result of compulsory enforcement. The country is dead, and who else can protect these women, and in the end, all this must be at the mercy of others, including having their own children.
Resources:
[Book of Jin", "Wuhu Chaohua and Its Historical Role", "Chinese Cultural History: Blood Fertile Land, Cultural Integration"]