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Gansu

 

Tourism

• The Silk Route Museum
• The Jiayuguan Pass of the Great Wall in Jiayuguan city, “The First And Greatest Pass Under Heaven.”
• The Mogao Grottoes near Dunhuang represent an astonishing collection of Buddhist art and religion.
• Silk Road and Dunhuang City: The historic Silk Road starts in Chang'an and goes to Constantinople. On the way merchants would go to Dunhuang in Gansu. In Dunhuang they would get fresh camels, food and guards for the journey around the dangerous Taklamakan Desert. Before departing Dunhuang they would pray to the Mogao Grottoes for a safe journey, if they came back alive they would thank the gods at the grottoes.
• Bingling Temple, or Bingling Grottoes, is a Buddhist cave complex in a canyon along the Yellow River. Begun in 420 AD during the Western Jin Dynasty, the site contains dozens of caves and caverns filled with outstanding examples of carvings, sculpture, and frescoes.
• Labrang Tashikyil Monastery is located in Xiahe County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, located in the southern part of Gansu, and part of the traditional Tibetan province of Amdo.

 

The cuisine of Gansu is based on the staple crops grown there: wheat, barley, millet, beans, and sweet potatoes. Within China, Gansu is known for its lamian (pulled noodles), and Muslim restaurants which feature authentic Gansu cuisine. Muslim restaurants are known as "qingzhen restaurants" ("pure truths restaurants"), and feature typical Chinese dishes, but without any pork products, and instead an emphasis on lamb and mutton.

Gansu

Excerpts from Wikipedia.org

Gansu (甘肅; Kan-su, Kansu, Kan-suh) is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It lies between Qinghai, Inner Mongolia, and the Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia to the north and Xinjiang to the west. The Yellow River passes the southern part of the province. It has a population of nearly 31 million (2009) and has a large concentration of Hui Chinese. The capital of the province is Lanzhou, located in the southeast part of Gansu. Gansu is abbreviated Gan or Long (陇/隴), and is also known as Long West or Long Right, in reference to the Long Mountain east of Gansu.

 

Geography

Gansu province has an area of 454,000 km², and the majority of its land is more than 1 km above sea level. It lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Inner Mongolia, and the Loess Plateau, and borders Mongolia to the north-west. The Yellow River passes through the southern part of the province. The province contains the geographical center of China.

Part of the Gobi Desert is located in Gansu, as well as small parts of the Badain Jaran Desert and Tengger Desert.

The Yellow River gets most of its water from Gansu province. The Yellow River also flows straight through Lanzhou. Area around Wuwei is part of Shiyang River Basin.

The landscape in Gansu is very mountainous in the south and flat in the north. The mountains in the south are part of the Qilian mountain range. At 5,547 meters high, Qilian Shan Mountain is Gansu’s highest elevation.

A natural land passage known as Hexi Corridor, stretching some 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) from Lanzhou to the Jade Gate, is situated within Gansu province. It is bound from north by the Gobi Desert and Qilian Mountains from the south.

Gansu has a generally semi-arid to arid, continental climate, with warm summers and very cold winters. Most of the precipitation is concentrated in the summer months.

Neighboring provinces: Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Qinghai, Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Ningxia.

 

Economy

Agricultural production includes cotton, linseed oil, maize, melons (such as the honeydew melon, known locally as the Bailan melon or "Wallace" due to its introduction by US vice president Henry A. Wallace), millet, and wheat. Gansu is known as a source for wild medicinal herbs which are used in Chinese medicine.

However, most of Gansu's economy is based on mining and the extraction of minerals, especially rare earth elements. The province has significant deposits of antimony, chromium, coal, cobalt, copper, fluorite, gypsum, iridium, iron, lead, limestone, mercury, mirabilite, nickel, crude oil, platinum, troilite, tungsten, and zinc among others. The oil fields at Yumen and Changqing are considered significant.

Despite recent growth in Gansu and the booming economy in the rest of China, Gansu is still considered to be one of the poorest provinces in China. Its nominal GDP for 2008 was about 317.6 billion yuan (45 billion USD) and per capita of 12,110 RMB (1,744 USD). Tourism has been a bright spot in contributing to Gansu's overall economy. As mentioned below, Gansu offers a wide variety of choices for national and international tourists.

 

Languages

Most of the inhabitants of Gansu speak dialects of Northern Mandarin Chinese. On the border areas of Gansu one might encounter Tu, Amdo Tibetan, Mongolian, and the Kazakh language. Most of the minorities also speak Chinese.

 

Demographics

Gansu province is home to 30,711,287 people. Most of the population, 73%, is still rural. Gansu is 92% Han and also has Hui, Tibetan, Dongxiang, Tu, Manchu, Uyghur, Yugur, Bonan, Mongolian, Salar, and Kazakh minorities. Prior to the Panthay Rebellion (also Muslim Rebellion), Gansu province had a large community of Chinese Hui Muslims, which was almost completely decimated by Qing authorities.

 

 

Northwestern China

Northwestern China (中國西北地區) includes the autonomous regions of Xinjiang and Ningxia and the provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu, and Qinghai.

中國西北地區是中國西北內陸的一個區域，地理上包括黃土高原西部，渭河平原，河西走廊，青藏高原北部，內蒙古高原西部，柴達木盆地，和新疆大部的廣大區域。通常簡稱「大西北」或「西北」。

中國行政區劃中的西北五省區包括：陝西省，甘肅省，青海省，寧夏回族自治區，新疆維吾爾自治區。這源於中華人民共和國已撤銷的大行政區級單位——西北區。

 

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Hui

The Hui people (回) are a Chinese ethnic group, typically distinguished by their practice of Islam. Hui is the abbreviation of the full name Huihui "回回". They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. They are concentrated in Northwestern China (Ningxia, Gansu, Shaanxi, Xinjiang), but communities exist across the country. Most Hui are similar in culture to Han Chinese with the exception that they practice Islam, and have some distinctive cultural characteristics as a result. For example, as Muslims, they follow Islamic dietary laws and reject the consumption of pork, the second most common meat consumed in Chinese culture (chicken being the most), and have also given rise to their variation of Chinese cuisine, Chinese Islamic cuisine and Muslim Chinese martial arts. Their mode of dress also differs only in that adult males wear white caps and females wear headscarves or (occasionally) veils, as is the case in most Islamic cultures.

The definition of Hui after 1949 does not include ethnic groups such as the Uyghur, who live in the Mainland China and practice Islam. The ancestors of some Hui People and all Uyghur people were Uyghurs who built the Uyghur Empire. After the fall of the Uyghur Empire, four groups fled to Gansu, Qinghai and Ningxia and two groups fled to Southern Xinjiang who intermarried with local Tocharian people. Only the Uyghur People retain the Turkic language. Prior to 1949, the definition of Hui refered to Chinese Muslim with Turkic ancestry which later extended to non-Turkic Muslim such as Southern Chinese Muslim who were predominantly Malay and Arabic origins. Included among the Hui in Chinese census statistics (and not officially recognized as a separate ethnic group) are several thousand Utsuls in southern Hainan province, who speak an Austronesian language (Tsat) related to that of the Cham Muslim minority of Vietnam, and who are said to be descended from Chams who migrated to Hainan.

The Hui Chinese have diverse origins. Some in the southeast coast are descended from Arab and Persian Muslim traders who settled in China and gradually intermarried and assimilated into the surrounding population keeping only their distinctive religion. A totally different explanation is available for the Mandarin Chinese-speaking Yunnan and Northern Huis, whose ethnogenesis might be a result of the convergence of large number of Mongol, Turkic or other Central Asian settlers in these regions who formed the dominant stratum in the Mongol Yuan Dynasty. However, even Cantonese Muslims, of the southeastern coast, typically resemble northern Asians much more so than their typical Cantonese neighbours.

It was documented that a proportion of these nomad or military ethnic groups were originally Nestorian Christians many of whom later converted to Islam, while under the sinicizing pressures of the Ming and Qing states. In early modern times, villages in Northern Chinese Hui areas still bore labels like "Blue-cap Huihui," "Black-cap Huihui," and "White-cap Huihui," betraying their possible Christian, Judaic and Muslim origins, even though the religious practices among North China Hui by then were by and large Islamic. Hui is also used as a catch-all grouping for Islamic Chinese who are not classified under another ethnic group. A traditional Chinese term for Islam is 回教 (literally "the religion of the Hui"), though the most prevalent is the transliteration 伊斯蘭教 (literally "Islam religion").

Muslim Revolts: During the mid-nineteenth century, a series of civil wars broke out throughout China by various ethnic-lingual groups against the ruling Manchu-Mongol-Han Bannerman and Han Confucians elites. These include the Taiping Rebellion in Southern China ( whose leaders were Evengelical Christians of ethnic Hakka and Zhuang backgroud), the Muslims Rebellion in Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai and Ningxia in Northwestern China and Yuannan, and the Miao people Revolt in Hunan and Guizhou. These revolts were supported by European Powers at the beginning but eventually put down by the Manchu government. The Dungan People were descendants of the Muslim rebels who fled to Russia after the rebellion were suppressed by the joint force of Hunan Army led by Zuo Zhongtang with support from local Hui elites.

The Dungan Revolt was a religious war. It also known as the Hui Minorities' War and the Muslim Rebellion. The term is sometimes used to refer to the Panthay Rebellion in Yunnan as well. It was an uprising by members of the Hui and other Muslim ethnic groups in China's Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia provinces, as well as in Xinjiang, between 1862 and 1877.

The purpose of this uprising was to develop a Muslim country in the western bank of Yellow River. Some people say it was directed against the Qing Dynasty, but there is no evidence at all showing that they intended to attack the capital of Beijing. The uprising was actively encouraged by the leaders of the Taiping Rebellion. When it failed, it instigated immigration of some of the Dungan people into Imperial Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Before the war, the population of Shaanxi province was about 13 million, at least 1,750,000 of whome were Dungan (Hui). After the war, the population dropped to 7 million; 150,000 fled, left to between 50,000, the rest are died in ten years. Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi province, was the Holy city of Dungan (Hui) in China before the revolt. But once-flourishing Chinese Muslim communities fell 93% in the revolt in Shaanxi province. Between 1648 and 1878, around twelve million Hui and Han Chinese were killed in ten unsuccessful uprisings.

Dungan People: Dungan (東干; Russian: Дунгане) is a term used in territories of the former Soviet Union to refer to a Muslim people of Chinese origin.

Turkic-speaking peoples in Xinjiang Province in China also refer to members of this ethnic group as Dungans. In both China and the former Soviet republics where they reside, however, members of this ethnic group call themselves Hui. In the censuses of Russia and the former Soviet Central Asia, the Hui are enumerated separately from Chinese, and are labelled as Dungans. In the former Soviet Union, a large population of Dungans can be found in Kazakhstan (36,900 according to the 1999 census), Kyrgyzstan (51,766 according to 1999 census), and Uzbekistan. Some also reside in Russia (801 according to 2002 census, mostly in Tatarstan.)

 

 

Tibetan

The Tibetan people (藏) are indigenous to Tibet and surrounding areas stretching from Central Asia in the North and West to Myanmar and China Proper in the East and India, Nepal and Bhutan to the south. Numbering 5.4 million, they are the 10th largest of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China.

The distribution of Haplogroup D-M174 is found among nearly all the populations of Central Asia and Northeast Asia south of the Russian border, although generally at a low frequency of 2% or less. A dramatic spike in the frequency of D-M174 occurs as one approaches the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau of western China. D-M174 is also found at high frequencies in Japan but it fades into low frequencies in the Han populated mainland China between Japan and Tibet.

"Different racial types live side by side or coalesce. The predominant strain in most cases in Mongoloid, but many travellers have been struck by the prevalence of what they describe as a 'Red Indian' type (in Kongpo, among the Hor nomads, and in Tatsienlu). Others have noted a European, 'Hellenic' or Caucasian element which seems sometimes to be identical with the preceding type, and sometimes to denote a separate type altogether, especially in north-eastern Tibet. A dwarfish type occurs in Chala, a district of Kham. Though all these are but impressions, the fact that different groups exist is plain. According to travellers with no special claim to scientific knowledge, the brachycephalic type predominates in the farming communities of the Brahmaputra valley and in the south-east. In Ladakh, it would appear to have been to have been superimposed on a dolichocephalic strain (no doubt Dards). Northerners, as in the Changthang lakes region—the Hor and Golok people—are themselves dolichocephalic , on the other hand. However, anthropologists merely distinguish two types: one distinctly Mongoloid and of slight build, typical of Kham. Blue-eyed 'blond' types have also been observed in the north-east."

 

 

Dongxiang

Photo from paulnoll.com

The Dongxiang people (autonym: Sarta or Santa (撒尔塔); 東鄉族) are one of 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. Most of the Dongxiang live in the Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture and surrounding areas of Gansu Province in northwestern China, while others groupings can also be found in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Qinghai Province, and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. According to the 2000 census, their population numbers 513,805. The Dongxiang are Chinese Muslims of Mongol descent mixed with various ethnic groups in the region.

Origin and Development: The Dongxiang are closely related to the Mongolians. Scholars speculate that their identity as an independent ethnic group arose through contact with Central Asians, due to whom the Dongxiang converted to Sunni Islam in the 13th century.

One possible origin is that they are descendants of Mongolian troops posted in the Hezhou area by Genghis Khan (1162-1227 AD) during his journey westward, while another possibility is that they could be a mixture of many peoples including Mongolian, Han, and Tibetan groups.

Their autonym, sarta, may also provide a contradictory clue to their origin: a similar word Sart was formerly used in Central Asia to refer to Arab traders, later to the local (mostly) Turkic-speaking city dwellers. Their official name.

Language and Education: The Dongxiang speak Dongxiang language, a member of the Mongolic family. The Dongxiang people also have a rich tradition of oral literature, but do not have their own writing system.

As a result of the language shift, some 20,000 people in several villages in the northeastern Dongxiang County now speak the so-called "Tangwang language": a creolized version of Mandarin with a strong Dongxiang influence, in particular in its grammar.

Government statistics show that the Dongxiang are among the poorest and least literate of China's minorities, with most Dongxiang having completed only an average of 1.1 years of schooling, a problem aggravated by the lack of a written language.

In 2004, the Ford Foundation provided US$30,000 in grant money for a pilot project to promote bilingual education in Dongxiang and Mandarin, in an effort to reduce school drop-out rates. The project is credited with the publication of a Dongxiang-Chinese bilingual dictionary as well as recent rises in test scores.

 

 

Tu

Photo from Cultural China

The Monguor or Tu Zu people are ethnically Xianbei (鲜卑). They were classified into Tu Nationality (土族) by the Chinese Government in 1953 and are known as "Monguor" or "Mangghuer" in the Western publications. They are one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. They are distributed throughout the 31 provinces and regions of China, with a higher concentration in Qinghai and Gansu Provinces in the northwest.

Ethnonym and Ethnic Origins: Ethnically the “Tu” descended from the Xianbei (鲜卑), a powerful nomadic people who descended from the Donghu in northeast China and played an important role in the Chinese and even the world’s history.

The name "Tu" was derived the name of Tuyühun (吐谷浑, also written as 土谷浑), the older son of the King of Murong (慕容) of Xianbei, who was the first Khan to separate and undertake the great westward migration from the northeast in 284. They founded two powerful empires of Tuyühun and Tangut-Xixia in the northwest. "Tuyuhun" was the Chinese phonetic transcription of his original name, "Teihu": "hun" in his Chinese name was pronounced as "hu" in the ancient times. The "Tu" represented “the Tuyühun people” or “the people of the Tuyühun Kingdom.” The reference became increasingly simplied into “Tuhun” (吐浑) and “Tüihun” (退浑) between the years of 908 and 1042, the reference was simplified to people. The earliest record of the specific designation "Tu" dates to the early Song Dynasty, in 1001 AD, when the Northern Song official discussed defense strategies against the Tangut-Xixia Empire. The official classification as "Tu Nationality" (土族) took place in 1953, when most of the Chinese nationalities were classified.

Internationally the "Tu" are known as "Monguor", a term invented by the European catholics in the beginning of the twentith century. It is the pronunciation of "Mongol" in the Xianbei language characterized by the final "r" sound, and came from the self reference of some Tu in Huzhu and Datong as "Chaaghaan monguor" (White Mongols) in contrast to their reference to the Mongolians as "Khara Monguor" (Black Mongols). The reference of "Chaaghaan" (White) came from their origins from the Murong Xianbei, who were historically referred to as the "Baibu Xianbei" due to their lighter skin in contrast to the other Xianbei groups (白部鲜卑, "White Section of the Xianbei"). Because the Mongols also derived their ancestry from the Xianbei, the two groups share much similarities in the languages, and the parallel festival celebrations of Nadun among the Tu and Naadam among the Mongolians, and shamanism as part of their religious practices.

Origins and History

The origins of the Tu are reflected in the local folktales that accounted the struggles the Tu ancestors, Donghu (東胡), with the Wangmang(汪茫) people more than four thousand years ago in northeast China. About three to four thousand years ago, the Donghu developed into the state of a country formed by the coalitions of the Donghu, Wuheng (乌恒), and Xianbei (鲜卑). Among the northern Chinese ethnic groups, the Donghu was the earliest to evolve into the state of civilization and first developed bronze technology. They spoke proto-Mongolian language and were associated with the Upper Xiajiadian Culture [夏家店上层文化], characterized by the practice of agriculture and animal husbandry in addition to handicrafts and bronze art. In the end of the third century B.C., the Xiongnu Maodun (匈奴冒顿) attacked to destroy the Donghu.

Origins as the Murong of the Xianbei Kingdom (2nd century BC): After Donghu coalition was disintegrated, the Wuheng and Xianbei moved respectively to Mt. Wuheng and Mt. Xianbei. The Wuhuan moved to Mt. Wuhuan and engaged in continuous warfare against the Xiongnu on the west and China on the south. As the Wuhuan and Xiongnu were worn out from the lengthy battles, the Xianbei preserved their strength by moving northward. The Murong (慕容) Section of Xianbei resided towards the north, and because of their lighter skin, they were referred to as "Bai Bu" (白部, lit. "White Section"), by the other Xianbei sections that resided in the west. In the first century, the Xianbei defeated the Wuhuan and northern Xiongnu, and developed into a powerful state, under the leadership of the first elected Khan Tanshihuai (檀石槐). In 87 A.D., the Xianbei killed the king of the northern Xiongnu, Shanyu Youliu (单于优留), resulting in its thorough disintegration. Therefater the Xiongnu submitted under the Xianbei and self proclaimed to be Xianbei. The Xianbei took control of the vast grassland of Mongolia formerly occupied by the Xiongnu.

In 235 AD, the last Khan of Xianbei, Kebineng (柯必能), was assassinated by the Chinese Cao Wei (曹魏) Kingdom and resulted in the disintegration of the Xianbei Kingdom. Thereafter, the Xianbei pushed their way inside the Great Wall and established extensive presence in China. During the Sixteen Kingdoms (304-439) period, the Xianbei founded six kingdoms, including the Former Yan (337-370), Western Yan (384-394), Later Yan (383-407), Southern Yan (398-410), Western Qin (385-430) and Southern Liang (397-414). These kingdoms were unified by the Tuoba Xianbei who established the Northern Wei (386-535) of the Northern Dynasties (386-581), in opposition to the Southern Dynasties (420-589) founded by the southern Chinese. In 534, the Northern Wei split into the Eastern Wei (534-550) and Western Wei (535-556) Kingdoms. The former evolved into the Northern Qi (550-577), and the latter evolved into the Northern Zhou (557-581), which pushed the Southern Dynasties to the south of the Yangtze River. In 581, the Prime Minister, Yang Jian, of the Northern Zhou, which was the last Xianbei kingdom of the Northern Dynasties, changed its national title into the Sui (581-618) Dynasty. The Sui annihilated the Southern Chen (557-589), the last kingdom of the Southern Dynasties, and unified the northern and southern China. The Tang (618-907) Dynasties succeeded the Sui and led China into the most prosperous state of civilization seen in the Chinese and world history. Contrary to the conventional beliefs that the Sui and Tang were founded by the Han ethnic group, these two powerful dynasties inherited the political structure of the Northern Wei and continued to be of Xainbei. The Khitans who founded the subsequent Liao Dynasty (916-1125) and the Mongols who founded the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) also derived their ancestry from the Xianbei. Through these extensive political establishments, the Xianbei who stayed in China were immersed among the Chinese, whereas those who followed the Mongols into the northern grasslands were immersed among the Mongols.

After the Xianbei Kingdom disintegrated, the Murong section separated first, led by Mohuba (莫护跋), to submit under Wei. He was succeeded by his son Muyan (木延) in 246, and grandson, Shegui (涉归), the latter of whom was appointed as the Xianbei Khan (单于). After She Gui died in 283, his brother, Nai (耐), first took the position of the Khan and, after being killed, was replaced by his younger son, Murong Gui (慕容廆). In 284, Tuyühun led Xianbei and Wuhuan from the Murong Section. The separation occurred during the Western Jin (265-316) which succeeded the Cao Wei (220-265) in northern China. Legends accounted that he separated due to the fight between his horses and those of Murong Wei. The actual cause was the intense struggle over the Khanate position. The fraction that supported Murong Wei into the Khanate position aimed at ruling over China, whereas Tuyühun intended to preserve the Xianbei culture and lifestyle. The disagreement resulted in Tuyühun to proclaim to be the Khan and undertook the long westward journey under the title of the Prince of Jin, followed by other Xianbei and Wuhuan groups.

Westward Migration to Qinghai and Gansu (4th century AD): Under the leadership of Tuyühun Khan, they "migrated westward 4,000 kilometers", and while passing through western Liaoning and Mt. Bai, more Xianbei groups joined from the Duan (段, Yuwen (宇文), and Bai (白) sections. At the Hetao Plains (河套平原) near Ordos (鄂尔多斯) in Inner Mongolia, they resided by Mt. Yin (阴山) for over thirty years, as the Tuoba Xianbei and Northern Xianbei joined through political and marriage alliances. In 315, they crossed the river and move southward to settle on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, thereby beginning their presence in the norhtwest China. They conquered the native peoples, who were summarily referred to as Qiang (羌) and included more than 150 loosely coordinated tribes, and established an Empire named to the honor of Tuyühun Khan. Two years later, Tuyühun Khan passed away in Linxia, Gansu, and his sixty sons inherited to further develop the Empire, by annihilating the Western Qin (385-430) and Xia (407-431) Kingdoms and annexing the Qinghai Xianbei, Tufa Xianbei, Qifu Xianbei and Haolian Xianbei from them. These Xianbei groups formed the core of the Empire and numbered about 3.3 million at their peak. The odest son of Tuyühun Yeyan (叶延) first succeeded him, and occupied the land of Xiqiang (西羌) through military conquest and established capital at Gansong (甘松, present south of Gansu), occupying a vast territory that covered the great Marshes of Gannan (甘南大草原) and Shaqiang (沙漒, present Hequ Marshes in northwest Sichuan), the upper and middle streams of the Tao River (洮河), and reached the Ruoergai Marshes (若尔盖草原, which transcends the present Gansu and Sichuan). After overtaking the Aba Grasslands (阿坝大草原), they expanded northwest along the Yellow River, Mt. Great Jishishan (大积石山, present Mt. Animaqing, 阿尼玛卿山) and Mt. Bailan (白兰山, present Mt. Bayankala, 巴颜喀拉山).

Tuyühun Empire and Expansion (4th-6th centuries AD): The Tuyühun descendants carried out extensive military expeditions westward, reaching as far as Hetian in Xinjiang and the borders of Kashmir and Afghanistan, and established a vast empire that encompassed Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, northern Sichuan, eastern Shaanxi, southern Xinjiang, and most of Tibet, stretching 1,500 kilometers from the east to the west and 1,000 kilometers from the north to the south. They unified northwest China for the first time in history, developed the southern route of the Silk Road, and promoted cultural exchanges between the eastern and western territories, dominating the northwest for more than three and half centuries until the Empire was destroyed by the Tibetans in 670.

Achai (阿柴) developed diplomatic relationships with the Liu-Song (刘宋) Dynasty (420-479), and expanded southwest to the east of River Jinsha (金沙江), the middle and upper streams of Yalong River (鸭砻江), Greater and Lesser Jinchuan (大小金川, present west of Sichuan), and the Qiang areas around the Dadu River (大渡河). He further expanded across Bailan to the other Qiang areas along the Tongtian River (通天河), and opened a route into the Xinu Kingdom (西女国, presently the Ali area in Tibet), current Lhasa and Nepal. In the northwest, he annexed the territories of Yifu (乙弗) and Qihan (契汗) and further expanded northward to reach the south of River Ruo (弱水, also known as Zhangye River, 张掖河). His son, Mugui (慕璝), brought the kingdom to its highest peak, by annexing West Qin (西秦) and eliminating Haolian Xia (郝连夏), and further expanding the territory to the upper streams of the Wei River (渭河, present central Gansu and Ningxia). At the southeast, the Kingdom extended to the Baishui River (白水江) area (present Yinping, Sichuan area). After his death in 436, his brother, Muliyan (慕利延), succeeded to be the Khan. In face of the growing and expanding North Wei (北魏) from the east, he undertook a famous westward campaign to eliminate the smaller kingdoms and to expand into the northwest of the present Tibet. After he died in 452, his son Shiyan succeeded him as Khan and further expanded to annex the south of the Great Chaidamu Basin (柴达木盆地) under his territory. Through these successful military conquests, he was able to expand into North Wei by 471.

Subsequently major changes took place in central China. Yang Jian (杨坚) replaced the North Zhou (北周) with Sui Dynasty. The Tuyuhun leadership did not adapt with changes in foreign policy and engaged in decades of warfare with the Sui. By 576, internal conflicts developed within the kingdom and brought it to a gradual decline. The Tuyuhun Khan, Kualu (夸吕), repeatedly abolished his heirs, killing those who were deemed not loyal, and further sent troops to assault the Sui and provoked the Sui to send troops to attack the Kingdom. Turmoil ensued and portions of the kingdom abandoned Tuyuhun and surrendered to the Sui.

Tibet Breaks Away from the Tuyuhun Kingdom (7th century): After the Tang Dynasty was established, the Chinese defeated the Turks in the north. Because the Tuyuhun kingdom controlled the crucial trade routes between the east and the west, the kingdom became the immediate target of attack by the Tang. Meanwhile, as the Tuyuhun kingdom underwent a decline through internal conflicts under the changing international politics, the region called Tubo (吐蕃, later known as Tibet), located in the southwest of the Kingdom, developed rapidly and expanded northward, directly threatening the kingdom. Songzanganbu (松赞干布) united the entire Tubo region and moved its capital to present Lhasa. The exile Tuyuhun Khan, Dayan (达延), submitted himself under Tubo, which resorted to an excuse that Tuyuhun objected its marriage with the Tang and sent 200,000 troops to attack. Tuyuhun troops retreated to the Qinghai area, whereas Tubo went eastward to attack the Dangxiang groups and reached the southern Gansu. The Tang Government was shocked and sent five troops to fight. Although Tubo withdrew in response, Tuyuhun lost much of its territory in southern Gansu. Meanwhile, the Tuyuhun Government was split between the pro-Tubo and pro-Tang fractions, with the former increasingly becoming stronger. In the struggle between the different fractions, the pro-Tubo fractions corroborated with Tubo and brought the Tubo troops to attack the Kingdom. The Tang sent the famous general, Xue Rengui (薛仁贵), who led 100,000 troops to fight Tubo in Dafeichuan (大非川, present Gonghe County in Qinghai). They were annihilated by the ambush of 200,000 troops of Dayan and Tobu, which became the biggest debacle in the Tang history.

Split into Eastern and Western Kingdoms (7th century): After its fall, the Tuyühun Empire disintegrated into an Eastern Kingdom that existed in the Tang Dynasty and a Western Kingdom in Tibet until the Tibetan Empire fell in the ninth century. The east Tuyuhun was distributed on the eastern side of Mt. Qilian (祁连山) and increasingly migrated eastward to central China, particularly following the An Shi Rebellion and the continued attacks of Tubo. The Anshi Turmoil shook the Tang Dynasty and caused its emperor to flee, during which Tubo overtook the entire territory of Tuyuhun. The former Khan and officials of Tuyuhun were forced to serve under the reign of Tubo until the internal turmoil developed within the Tubo Government and massive revolts brought an end to its ruling.

Tuyuhun Diaspora: Following the fall of the Tuyuhun Kingdom, the Tuyuhun people underwent continuous diasporas and were widely distributed over the vast territory in the north of the Yellow River, which stretched from the northwest to the central and eastern parts of China that covered the present Qinghai, Gansu, Shaanxi, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Hebei, Henan, and Shandong Provinces. Through the later dynasties, many Tuyuhun descendants became high-ranking officials and military generals. After the Tang Dynasty fell, Liu Zhiyuan(刘知远) conspired to murder the highest Tu leader, Bai Chengfu (白承福), in 946, who was reportedly so wealthy that “his horses had silver mangers”. With the robbed wealth that included an abundance of property and thousands of fine horses, Liu established the Latter Han (947-950), which lasted only four years and became the shortest dynasty in the Chinese history. The incident took away the central leadership and stripped the opportunity for the Tu to restore the Tuyühun Kingdom.

Founding of the West Xia kingdom (11th century): The Tangut-Xixia was established by the Tuoba descendants who followed Tuyühun from the Mt. Yin. After the empire fell, the Tang Court “bestowed” Tuoba Chici (拓跋赤辞), who was the famous prince of the Tuyühun Kingdom and controlled the Dangxiang Qiang, with the imperial name of “Li.” The Complete Book of the Tang, Quan Tang Shu (全唐书), recorded that the Buddhist monk, Fa Lin, pointed out to the Tang Emperor, Li Shimin (李世民), that Li had descended from the Tuoba Xianbei. It is likely that the Tang emperors and the Tuoba of the Tuyühun Kingdom were from the same Xianbei descent, or the monk would not have dared to speak of it in front of the Tang emperor. In the end of the Tang Dynasty, Tuoba Chici brought troops to suppress the Huangchao Rebellion on behalf of the Tang court and took control of the Xia State (夏州), in northern Shaanxi in 881. After the Tang fell in 907, the Tuoba descendants formally declared resistance against the expanding Northern Song in 982 and proclaimed independence to establish the Tangut-Xixia Empire in 1038.

The English reference of Tangut-Xixia derived from the combination of the Mongolian reference of “Tangut” and the Chinese reference as “Xixia” or “West Xia.” The Chinese reference derived from the location of the Empire on the western side of the Yellow River, in contrast to the Liao (916-1125) and Jin (1115-1234) on its east. The Mongolian usage of “Tangut” referred to the “Donghu people;” “-t” in Mongolian language means “people.” “Donghu” was a Chinese phonetic transcription whom the Mongols referred to as “Tünghu”. By the time that the Mongols emerged in the thirteenth century, the only Donghu people who existed were the Tu people, the Xianbei of the Tuyühun Kingdom, the founders of the Xixia Kingdom. That the Mongols referred to Xixia as “Tangut” to represent the founding ethnic group of the Tu is consistent with the theories on the Mongol origins postulated by the Outer Mongolian scholars, who have held that the Mongols had descended from the Xiongnu, more specifically the eastern Xiongnu who spoke proto-Mongolian language, as opposed to the western Xiongnu who spoke proto-Turkish language. The Chinese scholars have characterized the Mongols as having descended from the Xianbei, as recorded as “Mengwu Shiwei” by the Northern Dynasties. “Mengwu” was a variant Chinese transcription of “Menggu” designated to the Mongols, and “Shiwei” was a variant transcription of the Xianbei, since the Xianbei was also recorded as “Sian-pie,” “Serbi,” “Sirbi” and “Sirvi”. This equated the Mongols to be “Mongol Xianbei,” an interpretation that seems to be associated with the submission of the Xiongnu under the Xianbei. In 87 A.D., the Xianbei defeated the northern Xiongnu and killed their king, Shanyu Youliu, resulting in its thorough disintegration (Lü 2002:14), after which the Xiongnu submitted under the Xianbei and self proclaimed to be Xianbei. That the Mongolian usage of “Tangut” referred to the “Donghu people,” the Tu, validated the theories of Mongol descent from the Xiongnu postulated by the Outer Mongolian scholars. The term "Monguor" or "White Mongols" represented a reverse in the ethnonyms of the Xianbei and Xiongnu after the [Yuan Dynasty] in the thirteenth century.

The full title of the Tangut-Xixia Kingdom was “the Great Xia Kingdom of the White and High” (bai gao da xia guo 白高大夏国). The term “White,” or “bai,” was designated to the founding ethnic group, the Tu, which is consistent with the reference of them as “Chaaghaan,” or “White,” derived from their origins from the Murong Xianbei referred to as the “White Section.” The term “High,” or “gao,” is designated to the Qiang people who formed the majority population in Xixia. The “Qiang” were the native peoples conquered by Tuyühun after migrating to settle in the northwest. They initially rebelled but later their fate became intimately associated with the Xianbei, as they actively defended the kingdom when enemies attacked. The Qiang probably comprised the native Han and Tibetans, in addition to the Miao/Hmong (苗) ancestors who were relocated to the northwest from central China after their Three Miao Kingdom (三苗国) was destroyed by the legendary Chinese Emperor Yu (禹) about four thousand years ago. The autonyms of the Miao/Hmong included "Guoxiong", "Gaoxiong," or "Gouxiong." The character “gao,” or “High” could have derived as a variant abbreviation of it. The Qiang people referred to Xixia as their “gao mi yao ,” or “High mi yao” Kingdom. When “mi yao” is pronounced together, it is similar to “Miao.” This corroborated with the historical records that the relocated the Miao/Hmong ancestors formed the “Qiang” people and indicated that they believed the character “gao” or “High” in the national title of Xixia represented them. In addition to the Xianbei who ruled the Empire and the Qiang who formed the population base, the Xixia also comprised multiple other ethnic groups that included the Han, Tibetans, Uigurs, Khitans, Turks, and Mongols.

The Tangut-Xixia Empire inherited the political and social structures of the Tang and developed a unique and outstanding civilization characterized as “shining and sparkling”. It became the new kingdom for the Xianbei people who had lost their country, and earmarked permanent cultural imprints in northwest China. Through effective military organizations, the Xixia army inflicted extensive debacles against the Song and established a powerful stance against the Liao (916-1125) and Jin (1115-1234), the last of which was founded by the Jurchens, the predecessors of the Manchus who founded the Qing (1644-1912) Dynasty. The Xixia territory encompassed the present Ningxia, Gansu, eastern Qinghai, northern Shaanxi, northeastern Xinjiang, southwest Inner Mongolia, and southernmost Outer Mongolia, measuring about eight hundred thousand square kilometer. In 1206, Gengis Khan unified the northern grasslands of Mongolia and led the Mongol troops to carry out six rounds of attacks against Xixia over twenty two years. As Xixia resisted vehemently, more and more Tu people crossed Mt. Qilian and joined the original Xianbei residents of Qinghai and Gansu in order to escape from the Mongol assaults, which gave rise to the current settlements of the Tu people. During the last round of attack, Gengis died. After the Kingdom was overrun in 1227, the Mongols caused devastating destructions on the Xixia architectures and written records, killed the last emperor, and massacred tens of thousands of civilians. The Xixia troops were incorporated into the Mongol army in their subsequent military conquests in central and southern China. Due to the extensive resistance of the Tu people against the Mongol attacks of Xixia, the Tu were initially suppressed by the Mongols, but toward the middle and later phase of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), the Tu received equivalent treatment as the ruling Mongols and attained highest offices in the central court of the Yuan. After the Yuan fell, the Tu who followed the Mongols into the northern grassland were immersed among the Mongols.

 

 

Manchu

The Manchu people (滿族) are a Tungusic people who originated in Manchuria (today's Northeastern China). During their rise in the seventeenth century, along with the help of Ming rebels (such as general Wu Sangui), they conquered the Ming Dynasty and founded the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China until its abolition in 1912 after the Xinhai Revolution, which established a republican government in its place.

The Manchu ethnicity has largely been assimilated with the Han Chinese. The Manchu language is almost extinct, now spoken only among a small number of elderly people in remote rural areas of northeastern China and a few scholars; there are around ten thousand speakers of Sibe (Xibo), a Manchu dialect spoken in the Ili region of Xinjiang. In recent years, however, there has been a resurgence of interest in Manchu culture among both ethnic Manchus and Han. The number of Chinese today with some Manchu ancestry is quite large, and the adoption of favorable policies towards ethnic minorities (such as preferential university admission, government employment opportunities and exemption from the one child policy) has encouraged some people with mixed Han and Manchu ancestry to re-identify themselves as Manchu.

Northeast China (東北) is a geographical region of China, consisting of the three provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. Some people in parts of Inner Mongolia (like Chifeng) still call themselves Northeasterners. It is generally coterminous with some definitions of the historical region of Manchuria and is commonly referred to in English as such. It is also sometimes referred to as Inner Manchuria in contrast with Outer Manchuria, provinces lost to the Russian Empire, during the Qing Dynasty.

 

 

Uyghur

Photo from Joshua Project

The Uyghur (維吾爾) are a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Today Uyghurs live primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China. An estimated eighty percent of Xinjiang's Uyghurs live in the southwestern portion of the region, the Tarim Basin.

Large diasporic communities of Uyghurs exist in the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Smaller communities are found in Mongolia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkey, Russia and Taoyuan County of Hunan province in south-central Mainland China. Uyghur neighborhoods can be found in major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Sydney, Washington D.C, Munich, Tokyo, Toronto, Istanbul.

Uyghur history can be divided into four distinct phases: Pre-Imperial (300 BC – 630 AD), Imperial (630–840 AD), Idiqut (840–1209 AD), and Mongol (1209–1600 AD), with perhaps a fifth modern phase running from the death of the Silk Road in 1600 CE until the present. In brief, Uyghur history is the story of a small nomadic tribe from the Altai Mountains rising to challenge the Chinese Empire. After the collapse of the Uyghur Khaganate in 840 AD, Uyghur resettled to the Tarim Basin, merging with the existing Tocharian population. Ultimately, the Uyghurs became civil servants administering the Mongol Empire.

 

Yugurs

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The Yugurs (裕固族), or Yellow Uyghurs as they are traditionally known, are one of China's 56 officially recognized nationalities, consisting of 13,719 persons according to the 2000 census. The Yugur live primarily in Sunan Yugur Autonomous County in Gānsù Province.

About 4,600 of the Yugurs speak the Turkic Western Yugur language and about 2,800 the Mongolic Eastern Yugur language. The remaining Yugurs of the Autonomous County lost their respective Yugur language and speak Chinese. A very small number of the Yugur reportedly speak Tibetan. They use Chinese for intercommunication. Both Yugur languages are now unwritten, although vertical Uyghur script was in use in some Yugur communities till end of 18th century.

The Turkic speaking Yugurs are considered to be the descendants of a group of Uyghurs who fled from Mongolia southwards to Gānsù, after the collapse of the Uyghur Empire in 840 A.D., and soon established there a prosperous Ganzhou Kingdom (870-1036 A.D.) with capital near present Zhangye city on the foots of Nan Shan Mountains in the valley of the Ejin River (Black River). Population of this Kingdom, that was estimated at 300,000 in Song Dynasty chronicles, practised Manichaeism and Buddhism in numerous temples flourished throughout the country and had forcibly been incorporated into Tangut Kingdom, despite of fierce resistance, after bloody war of 1028-1036 A.D.( Mahmut Kashgari who lived at the time in Kashgar stated that "uyghur blood was pouring like a murmuring stream" during this war). The Mongolic speaking Yugurs are probably the descendants of one of the Mongolic speaking groups invading northern China during the Mongol conquests in the thirteenth century. The Yugurs were eventually incorporated in the Chinese Qing empire in 1696, during the reign of the second Manchu emperor Kangxi (1662-1723).

 

 

Bonan

Photo from paulnoll.com

The Bonan (also Bao'an) people (保安族) are an ethnic group living in Gansu and Qinghai provinces in northwestern China. They are one of the "titular nationalities" of Gansu's Jishishan Bonan, Dongxiang and Salar Autonomous County, which is located south of the Yellow River, near Gansu's border with Qinghai.

Numbering approximately 17,000 the Bonan are the 7th smallest of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China.

History: The Bonan people are believed to be descended from Muslim Mongol soldiers stationed in Qinghai during the Yuan or Ming dynasties.

The ancestors of today's Bonan people were Lamaist, and it is known that around 1585 they lived in Tongren County (in Amdo Region; presently, in Qinghai Province), north of the Tibetan Rebgong Monastery. It was in that year that the town of Bao'an was founded in that area.

Later on, some of the members of the Bonan-speaking community converted to Islam and moved north, to Xunhua County. It is said that they have been converted to Islam by the Hui Sufi master Ma Laichi (1681?- 1766). Later, in the aftermath of the Dungan Rebellion (during the reign of the Tongzhi Emperor (1862–1874) the Muslim Bonans moved farther east, into what's today Jishishan Bonan, Dongxiang and Salar Autonomous County of Gansu Province.

It were the members of this Muslim part of the original Bonan community who are officially recognized as the separate "Bonan" ethnic group in today's PRC. Their brethren who have remained Lamaists, and stayed in Tongren, are now officially classified as part of the Monguor (Tu) ethnic group, even though they speak essentially the same Bonan language. The official concept of the "Bonan ethnic group" still remains somewhat artificial for the Bonans themselves.

Language: Both the Muslim Bonans in Gansu and their Buddhist cousins in Qinghai (officially classified as Monguor) have historically spoken the the Bonan language, a Mongolic language. The Buddhist Bonan of Qinghai speak a slightly different dialect that the Muslim Bonan of Gansu. Whereas the Bonan language of Gansu has undergone Chinese influences, the Bonan language of Qinghai has been influenced by Tibetan.

The Muslim Gansu Bonans are more numerous than their Buddhist Qinghai cousins (the estimates for the two groups were around 12,200 (in 1990), and around 3,500 (in 1980), respectively). However, it has been observed that in Gansu the use of Bonan language is declining (in favor of the local version - the "Hezhou dialect" - of Mandarin Chinese), while in Qinghai the language keeps being transmitted to younger generations.

Culture: The Bonan share many traditions with the Dongxiang and Hui. Their traditional dress includes elements of Tibetan, Hui and Dongxiang clothing. Married Bonan women wear black veils, while unmarried women wear green veils. Bonan men typically wear black or white head coverings and white jackets.

Bonan knives are renowned for their beauty and hardness and their manufacture and sale form an important part of the local economy, along with farming and ranching.

 

 

Mongol

The name Mongol specifies one or several ethnic groups, now mainly located in Mongolia, China, and Russia.

A narrow definition includes the Mongols proper, which can be roughly divided into eastern and western Mongols. In a wider sense, the Mongol people includes all people who speak a Mongolic language, such as the Kalmyks of eastern Europe.

The name "Mongol", appeared first in 8th century records of the Chinese Tang dynasty as a tribe of Shiwei, but then only resurfaced in the 11th century during the rule of the Khitan. After the fall of Liao Dynasty in 1125, the Mongols became a leading steppe tribe. However, their wars with the Jin Dynasty and Tatars weakened them severely. In the 13th century, it grew into an umbrella term for a large group of Mongolic and Turkic tribes united under the rule of Genghis Khan under a same identity (mostly cultural).

Based on Chinese historical texts the ancestry of the Mongol peoples can be traced back to the Donghu, a nomadic confederation occupying eastern Mongolia and Manchuria, who were defeated by Modu Shanyu of the Xiongnu after he became Emperor in 209 B.C. The identity of the Xiongnu is still debated today. Although some scholars maintain that they were proto-Mongols, the fact that Chinese histories trace certain Turkic tribes from the Xiongnu complicates the issue. The Donghu, however, can be much more easily labeled proto-Mongol since the Chinese histories exclusively trace all the subsequent Mongolic tribes and kingdoms (mainly Xianbei peoples) from them, although some historical texts claim a mixed Xiongnu-Donghu ancestry for some tribes (e.g. in the case of the proto-Mongolic Khitan).

Three prominent proto-Mongol groups split from the Xianbei, as recorded by the Chinese histories: the Rouran (claimed by some to be the Avars), the Khitan and the Shiwei (a sub-tribe called the "Shiwei Menggu" is held to be the origin of the Genghisid Mongols). Their culture was basically nomadic, their religion Shamanism or Buddhism and their military strength formidable.

Geographically the Tuoba Xianbei ruled Inner Mongolia and northern China, the Rouran (Yujiulu Shelun was the first to use the title Khagan in 402) ruled Outer Mongolia, the Khitan were concentrated in Southern Manchuria north of Korea and the Shiwei were located to the north of the Khitan.

 

 

Salar

The Salar people (撒拉族) are one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. They numbered 104,503 people in the last census of 2000 and live mostly in Qinghai (in Xunhua Salar Autonomous County 循化撒拉族自治縣 and Hualong Autonomous County of the Hui Nationality 化隆回族自治縣), in Gansu (in Jishishan Autonomous County of the Bonan, Dongxiang and Salar Nationalities 積石山保安族東鄉族撒拉族自治縣) and in Xinjiang (in the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture 伊犁哈薩克自治州).

Their ancestors were migrating Oghuz Turks who intermarried with the Tibetans, Han Chinese, and Hui. They are a patriarchal agricultural society and Muslims.

 

 

Kazakh

The Kazakhs (also spelled Kazaks, Qazaqs) are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia (largely Kazakhstan, but also found in parts of Uzbekistan, China, Russia, and Mongolia).

Kazakhs are descendants of Turkic tribes (Kipchaks or Cumans, Nogais), Mongol groups (Kereis, Naimans, etc.) and Indo-Iranian tribes (Wusun, Sarmatians, Scythians, etc.) which populated the territory between Siberia and the Black Sea and remained in Central Asia when the Turkic and Mongolic groups started to invade and conquer the area between the fifth and thirteenth centuries AD.

Due to their complex history, Kazakhs display phenotypical diversity, though they tend to exhibit predominantly Mongoloid features. Fair to light-brown skin tends to be the norm. Among physical traits are aquiline noses, epicanthic fold and high cheekbones. Hair colour among Kazakhs varies from prevalent jet black to red and sandy brown. Hazel, green and blue eyes are not uncommon.

 

 

Qiang

Photo from paulnoll.com

The Qiang people (羌族) are an ethnic group of China. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China, with a population of approximately 200,000, living mainly in northwestern part of Sichuan province. Nowadays, the Qiang are only a small segment of the Chinese population, but they are commonly believed to be an old, once strong and populous people whose history can be traced at least to the Shang Dynasty and whose offsprings are thought to include some portion of the modern Tibetans, some portion of the modern Han Chinese and many minority ethnic groups in Western China.

Early History: In ancient China literature, Qiang was usually used as a generic term for the non-Huaxia peoples in the west part of modern China. These peoples were frequently at war with the inhabitants of the Yellow River valley. Not until the rise of the state of Qin under Duke Mu was the Qiang expansion effectively checked. A Qiang leader, Yao Chang founded the Later Qin kingdom (384-417) during the Sixteen Kingdoms period of Chinese history. But it should be noted that Qiang was not a distinct ethnic identity until 20–30 years ago. The term "Qiang" (the Chinese character for which suggests a shepherd) was used in old Chinese inscriptions to refer generically to the various nomadic peoples living to the west and has no direct relationship to today's Qiang. It has only been in recent decades that these people identified themselves as Qiang

The structure of the graph 羌 also reflects this view. It was composed of two elements: 人 (man) and 羊 (sheep), suggesting a sheep-herding people. During the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 AD) and Wei-Jin periods (221-419), Qiang were widely distributed along the mountainous fringes of the northern and eastern Tibetan Plateau, from the Kunlun Mountains (崑崙山) in Xinjiang province, and eastern Qinghai area, to southern Gansu, western Sichuan, and northern Yunnan. It was during this era that Qiang revolts along China's frontier borders led to a full scale invasion of China's interior by Qiang people. This was a significant factor in the eventual disintegration of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Later imperial Chinese government restricted the term Qiang min 羌民 (Qiang people registered with the Chinese government) to refer to sinicized non-Han people living in the Min River valley in Sichuan and used the term Fan Qiang 番羌 (raw Qiang) to refer to less sinicized non-Han tribes living in the vicinity.

Recent History: At present, the Qiang have a self-identity, referring to themselves as Qiang zu (羌族) and erma or rma (尔玛). There are about 200,000 Qiang people today in western Sichuan, predominantly in the five counties of Maoxian, Wenchuan, Lixian, Beichuan and Heishui, of the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture. On 12 May 2008, the Qiang people were heavily affected by the major earthquake, whose epicenter was in Wenchuan County.

The Qiang today are mountain dwellers. In these small valleys, people cultivate narrow fluvial plains along creeks or mountain terraces, hunt animals or collect mushrooms and herbs (for food or medicine) in the neighboring woods, and herd yaks and horses on the mountain-top pastures. In the past, warfare between villages was common.

From the linguistic point of view, all modern Qiang people speak one of the two Qiang languages, which are members of the Qiangic sub-family of Tibeto-Burman. However, dialects are so different that communication between different Qiang groups is often in Han Chinese. Lacking a script of their own, the Qiangs also use Chinese characters.

Legend of the White Stones: At the legendary time when the Qiang people moved into Sichuan from Tibetan Plateau, they placed white stones on every hilltop and crossroads , for they did not want to forget the route leading back to their original homeland. These piles of white stones also acts as a token of their affection for their homeland and the people they left behind at the same time.

Upon arriving at the territory of the local Geji people, the Qiang fought a losing battle. Jirpol, witnessing the condition that they were in, instructed the Qiang to find a strong white stone and attach it to rattan sticks and fight with this weapon, tying some sheep wool to the neck of the stick as well. Victory was on their side, and the Qiangs began to look upon the white stones as gods to be worshipped.

The Later Qin (後秦; 384-417) was a state of Qiang ethnicity of the Sixteen Kingdoms during the Jin Dynasty (265-420) in China. Note that the Later Qin is entirely distinct from the ancient Qin Dynasty, the Former Qin, and the Western Qin.

Its second ruler Yao Xing supported the Buddhism propagation by the monk Kumarajiva.

All rulers of the Later Qin declared themselves "emperors", but for a substantial part of Yao Xing's reign, he used the title "Heavenly Prince" (Tian Wang).

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Genetic Studies

 

* Y-Chromosome Evidence of Southern Origin of the East Asian–Specific Haplogroup O3-M122 by Hong Shi, et al.

Distribution of the O3-M122 Haplotypes in the East Asian Populations Studied

 

The Frequency Distribution of the O3-M122 Haplotypes in East Asian and Other Continental Populations

 

The Map of Multidimensional Scaling Analysis Based on the O3-M122 SNP Haplotype Distribution

 

 

* Genetic Distances Between Chinese Populations Ccalculated on Gene Frequencies of 38 Loci by DU Ruofu, et al.

Phylogenic Tree of Han Subpopulations in 30 Provinces, Cities and Autonomous Regions

(Gansu, Ningxia)

 

Phylogenic Tree of 10 Han Subpopulations and 14 Ethnic Minorities

Han subpopulations: GS, Gansu; HLJ, Heilongjiang; JL, Jilin; NM, Inner Mongolia; ShX, Shaanxi; GD, Guangdong; GX, Guangxi; GZ Guizhou; H ~ N , Hunan; SC, Sichuan.

 

 

* Genetic Relationships of Ethnic Minorities in Southwest China Revealed by Microsatellite Markers by Hongbin Lin, et al.

Principal Component Analysis with Normalized Allele Frequencies for the Full-loci Dataset

 

Unrooted Neighbor-joining Tree Constructed with DA Distances (full-loci dataset)

 

Unrooted Neighbor-joining Tree Constructed with DA Distances (full-population dataset)

 

 

* The Analysis of HLA-A, B and DRB1 Allelic Polymorphism in Han Race Population in Lanzhou Region of China by C. L. Li, et al.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the HLA-A, B and DRB1 allele polymorphism of the Han race population in Lanzhou area. METHODS: Polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific primer was used to detect HLA-A, B and DRB1 alleles in 200 unrelated healthy Han individuals from Lanzhou region, Northwest China, and the results were compared with those of Han populations in North, South and Northwest China, and Hui, Uigur and Tibetan population in China. RESULTS: Fourteen of alleles were detected and identified for HLA-A; 32 for HLA-B; and 13 for HLA-DRB1. HLA- A*01, A*02,A*11,A*24, A*30, A*31, A*33; HLA- B*13, B*15, B*40, B*44, B*46, B*51, B*58, B*60; HLA- DRB1*04,. DRB1*07, DRB1*08, DRB1*09, DRB1*11, DRB1*12, DRB1*14 and DRB1*15 were the most common alleles. The frequencies of HLA-A, B and DRB1 genes of Lanzhou Han race were close to that of North China Hans and Hui population in Northwest China, and a little different to that of South China Hans. The HLA-DRB1 alleles were significantly different to those of Uigur and Tibetan race population of China. CONCLUSION: The allelic polymorphism of HLA-A,B and DRB1 loci of Han race population in Lanzhou area was between North and South Han race of China, close to Northwest China Hui, and markedly different to Northwest China Uigur and Tibetan race populations.

 

 

* Genetic Polymorphisms at HLA-A, -B, and -DRB1 Loci in Han Population of Xi’an City in China by Chunmei Shen, et al.

Dendrogram Constructed by the Neighbor-joining Method Showing the Relationship Between Han Population with Other 15 Populations Based on the Allele Arequencies of HLA-DRB1 Locus

 

 

* STR Polymorphisms of the Henan Population and Investigation of the Central Plains Han Origin of Chaoshanese by Li-Na Xu, et al.

Neighbor-joining tree constructed from Nei’s genetic distance based on the allelic frequencies of CODIS STR loci in 25 Chinese Han populations

 

 

* Tracing the Origins of Hakka and Chaoshanese by Mitochondrial DNA Analysis by Wen-Zhi Wang, et al.

Population Analyzed

 

Two-dimensional PC Plot of mtDNA of Han Populations

 

PC Map of Y Chromosome of Han Chinese

 

 

* The Peopling of Korea Revealed by Analyses of Mitochondrial DNA and Y-Chromosomal Markers by Han-Jun Jin, et al.

Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) Plot Based on FST Distances of Y Chromosome Haplogroups

(Han Lanzhou clusters with Vietnamese, Han Yili)

 

Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) Plot Based on RST distances of Y chromosome STRs

(Han Lanzhou clusters with Qiang, Uygur)

 

 

* The ADH1B Arg47His Polymorphism in East Asian Populations and Expansion of Rice Domestication in History by Yi Peng, et al.

The Distribution of the ADH1B*47His Allele and the Sites of Early Rice Relics

 

The Distribution of the ADH1B*47His Allele in the 38 East Asian Populations

 

 

* ADH1B Arg47His Polymorphism Is Associated with Esophageal Cancer Risk in High-Incidence Asian Population: Evidence from a Meta-Analysis by Guohong Zhang, et al.

Excerpt: Some alleles that increase the risk of complex diseases like cancers, are ancestral. Both historical records of migration and genetic fingerprints of East Asians and ancient population in Central China suggested there were some common ancestries in populations along the ‘‘Asian esophageal cancer belt’’. The ADH1B*47His allele is highly prevalent in Asian populations, particularly in northeast Asians (i.e., Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans). It was proposed the ADH1B*47His allele may serve better as an ancestral marker for understanding expansions and migrations of ancient Central China populations, and is related to disease susceptibility and natural selection as well. Except for in East Asia, a high frequency of the ADH1B*47His allele is also found in West Asian countries such as Iran and Turkey, where high-incidence regions of ESCC exist, too. Such a worldwide double-peak pattern of frequency distribution of the ADH1B* 47His allele was argued to be the result of independent increase of the derived allele in both western and eastern Asia after humans had spread across Eurasia. Based on these facts and findings, we propose that ADH1B*47Arg is a risk factor for ESCC in Asian populations that stems from recent common ancestralness of them.

 

 

* Polymorphism of DYS287 on Y Chromosome in 28 Ethnic Populations of China by Y. Chen, et al.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the polymorphism of DYS287 among 28 ethnic populations in 9 provinces of China. METHOD: YAP element was detected by Touchdown PCR amplification and 2% agarose gel electrophoresis. RESULTS: YAP+ frequencies in these ethnic populations were as follows: Zang 36.7%, Tu 23.8%, Yi 18.4%, Pumi 11.3%, Tajik 7.4%, Bai 6.7%, Jino 5.1%, Shandong Han 4%, Mulao 2.7%, and Maonan 1.3%. The rest ethnic populations in our study, including Gansu Han, Yunnan Han, Zhuangzu, Daizu, Lizu, Nuzu, Lisu, Naxi, Lahu, Dulong, Hani, Shezu, Weiwuer, Sala, Kerkizi, Dongxiang, Vazu, and Korea didn't carry YAP + element. CONCLUSIONS: Zangzu, Tuzu, Yizu, Pumi, Jino, and Baizu, which belong to Sino-Tibetan language family (Tibeto-Burman Languages), carry a high YAP + frequency. Sala, Tuzu, and Tajik, regarded as Central Asia by origin in history and linguistics, also have a high YAP + frequency. Mulao and Maonan, which origin from "Baiyue" ancient ethnic groups, also have a considerable YAP + frequency.

 

 

Haplogroup C3 (Y-DNA)

Haplogroup C3 (M217, P44) is mainly found in indigenous Siberians and Mongolians. Haplogroup C3 is the most widespread and frequently occurring branch of the greater Haplogroup C (M130). One particular haplotype within Haplogroup C3 has received a great deal of attention for the possibility that it may represent direct patrilineal descent from Genghis Khan.

Genetic Origin: Haplogroup C3 is believed to have originated approximately 20,000 years before present in eastern or central Asia. Its closest phylogenetic relatives are found in the general vicinity of South Asia, East Asia, or Oceania. First, Haplogroup C1 has a relictual distribution in Japan, which suggests an origin in the Jōmon people of the prehistoric Japanese Archipelago. Second, Haplogroup C2 appears to have expanded throughout East Indonesia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia after the hybridization of Austronesian colonists, ultimately from the Asian mainland, with pre-existing Melanesians. Third, Haplogroup C4 is the predominant male lineage among the indigenous Australians. Finally, Haplogroup C5 is found at a low frequency in South Asia, Southwest Asia, and Central Asia. Haplogroup C* Y-chromosomes, which do not belong to any of the five identified subclades of Haplogroup C, are found at low frequency in Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia, and Oceania.

Distribution: Haplogroup C3 is the modal haplogroup among Mongolians and most indigenous populations of the Russian Far East, such as the Northern Tungusic peoples, Koryaks, Itelmens, and Nivkhs. The subclade C3b-P39 is quite common among males of the indigenous North American peoples whose languages belong to the Na-Dené phylum. The frequency of Haplogroup C3 tends to be negatively correlated with distance from Mongolia and the Russian Far East, but it still comprises more than ten percent of the total Y-chromosome diversity among the Manchus, Koreans, Ainu, and some Turkic peoples of Central Asia although in a genetic study in 2004, haplogroup C3 was more frequent among Koreans than previously thought (16.5%). Among the Kazakhs, who are a Turkic people of Kazakhstan and neighboring areas in northern Central Asia, Haplogroup C3 once again emerges as the most common haplogroup. Beyond this range of high-to-moderate frequency, which contains mainly the northeast quadrant of Eurasia and the northwest quadrant of North America, Haplogroup C3 continues to be found at low frequencies, and it has even been found as far afield as Northwest Europe, Turkey, Pakistan, Nepal and adjacent regions of India, Vietnam, the Malay Archipelago, and some aboriginal populations of Colombia and Venezuela. Within Japan, haplogroup C3 has been found almost exclusively among Ainus (2/16 = 12.5% or 1/4 = 25%) and among Japanese of the Kyūshū region (4/53 = 7.5%). The frequency of Haplogroup C3 among the Han Chinese population averages between 6.0% and 12.0%, with frequencies in individual samples ranging from 4.5% (2/44 Han from Shaanxi) to 20% (6/30 Han from Lanzhou, Gansu).

Geographical Origin: The extremely broad distribution of Haplogroup C3 Y-chromosomes, coupled with the fact that the ancestral paragroup C* is not found among any of the modern Siberian or North American populations among whom Haplogroup C3 predominates, makes the determination of the geographical origin of the defining M217 mutation exceedingly difficult. The presence of Haplogroup C3 at a low frequency but relatively high diversity throughout East Asia and parts of Southeast Asia makes that region one likely source. In addition, the C3 haplotypes found among North Eurasian populations appear to belong to a different genealogical branch from the C3 haplotypes found at a low frequency among East and Southeast Asians, which suggests that the marginal presence of C3 among modern East and Southeast Asian populations is not due to recent admixture from Northeast or Central Asia.

Subgroups

The subclades of Haplogroup C3 with their defining mutation(s), according to the 2008 ISOGG tree:

• C3 (M217, P44, PK2)
  • C3* Typical of Buryats, Mongolians, Daurs, Kalmyks, Hazaras, Manchus, Sibes, Oroqens, Koryaks, and Itelmens; with a moderate distribution among other Tungusic peoples, Koreans, Ainus, Nivkhs, Altaians, Tuvinians, and Uzbeks
  • C3a (M93) Observed sporadically among Japanese
  • C3b (P39) Found especially in the Na-Dené peoples of North America
  • C3c (M48, M77, M86) Typical of Northern Tungusic peoples, Kazakhs, Oirats, Kalmyks, Outer Mongolians, Yukaghirs, Nivkhs, Koryaks, Itelmens, and Udegeys, with a moderate distribution among other Southern Tungusic peoples, Inner Mongolians, Buryats, Tuvinians, Yakuts, Chukchi, Kyrgyz, Uyghurs, Uzbeks, Karakalpaks, and Tajiks
  • C3d (M407) Observed sporadically among Yakuts and Han Chinese
  • C3e (P53.1)
  • C3f (P62)

 

 

* Geographical Distributions of Y-chromosomal Haplogroups P*(xR1a), R1a, and J from Male Demography in East Asia: A North–South Contrast in Human Population Expansion Times by Yali Xue, et al.

 

 

Haplogroup J (Y-DNA)

Haplogroup J is believed to have arisen roughly 30,000 years ago in Southwest Asia (31,700±12,800 years ago according to Semino et al.. 2004).

Haplogroup J is found in greatest concentration in Southwest Asia. Outside of these regions, haplogroup J has a moderate presence in Southern Europe (especially in central and southern Italy, Greece, and Albania), Central Asia, and South Asia, particularly in the form of its subclade J2-M172. Haplogroup J is also found in North Africa and the Horn of Africa, particularly in the form of its subclade J1-M267. Subclades J2a and J2a1b1 are found mostly in Greece, Anatolia, and southern Italy.

J1: Haplogroup J1, defined by the 267 marker is most frequent in the Arabian Peninsula Yemen (76%), Saudi (64%), Qatar (58%), and Dagestan (56%). J1 is generally frequent amongst Arab Bedouins (62%). It is also very common among other Arabs such as those of the southern Levant, i.e. Palestinian Arabs (38.4%), in Algeria (35%), Iraq (68%), Tunisia (31%), Syria (30%), Lebanon (19%), Egypt (20%), and the Sinai Peninsula. The frequency of Haplogroup J1 collapses suddenly at the borders of Arabic speaking countries with mainly non-Arabic speaking countries, such as Turkey (9%) and Iran (9.5%).

J2: Haplogroup J2 is found in the highest concentrations in the Fertile Crescent and is found throughout the Mediterranean (including Southern Europe and North Africa), the Balkan peninsula, the Caucasus, the Iranian plateau and into Central Asia. More specifically it is found in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Israel, Greece, Italy, the Balkans and the eastern coasts of the Iberian Peninsula, and most frequently in Lebanese 30% (Wells et al. 2001), Iraqis 29.7% (Sanchez et al. 2005), Syrians 29%, Sephardic Jews 29%, Kurds 28.4%, Iranians 24%.

J*: Haplogroup J* includes all of J except for J1 and J2. J* is rarely found outside of the island of Socotra, where it is quite frequent at 71.4%. Haplogroup J* has also been found with lower frequency in Oman, Ashkenazi Jews, Pakistan, Greece, the Czech Republic, and several Turkic peoples.

 

 

Haplogroup R1a (Y-DNA)

Haplogroup R1a refers to a major cluster of human Y-chromosome types and is a frequent topic of discussion in human population genetics and genetic genealogy. Men in the same Y DNA haplogroup share a set of differences, or markers, on their Y chromosome, which distinguish them from men in other haplogroups. The Y chromosome is passed from father to son, and so men in R1a all descend from a shared male line ancestor.

R1a can be viewed as a family tree of male lineages. However one sub-branch, R1a1a, is much more common than the others in all major geographical regions. The mutation that is currently used to define the R1a family most broadly is M420. The recent discovery of M420 resulted in a reorganization of the known family tree of R1a. In particular, this discovery demonstrated that there are R1a lineages which are not in the R1a1 branch leading to R1a1a. These have only been found in Asia, including the area of the Middle East, where R1a1a is relatively uncommon.

R1a1a is particularly common in a large region extending from South Asia and Southern Siberia to Central Europe and Scandinavia. The origin of R1a and R1a1a is uncertain. However they are believed to have originated somewhere within Eurasia, most likely in the area from Eastern Europe to South Asia. The most recent studies indicate that Asia is a more likely region of origin than Europe.

Phylogeny (Family Tree)

Publications in 2009 created major changes in the scientific understanding of R1a. In particular, the discovery of the mutation M420 has defined a previously unidentified category of lineages, which are distant relatives of R1a1a, which is the most common and well-known variant of R1a. R1a1a is therefore now known to represent only one sub-branch of a bigger "family tree", and itself has many branches which have already been defined. Each major branching of this tree is identified by a corresponding set of known SNP mutations which are used to test individuals, and define the relationships between branches of descent.

Roots of R1a: R1a evolved from a male-line ancestor who was in haplogroup R1. R1 is defined by SNP mutation M173. The R1a clade can be distinguished by several unique markers including M420. R1a also has a similarly common sister-clade, called R1b, which also has M173, but is distinguished by its M343 marker. There is no simple consensus concerning the places in Eurasia where R1, R1a or R1b evolved, although Underhill et al. (2009) recently suggested that "the most distantly related R1a chromosomes [...] have been detected at low frequency in Europe, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Caucasus and Iran"implying that R1a's origin may perhaps be somewhere in or near these regions. The origins of the most common type of R1a, R1a1a, will be discussed separately below.

Distribution of R1a1a (R-M17 or R-M198)

R1a has been found in high frequency at both the eastern and western ends of its core range, for example in some parts of India and Tajikistan on the one hand, and Poland on the other. Throughout all of these regions, R1a is dominated by the R1a1a (R-M17 or R-M198) sub-clade.

Central and Northern Asia: R1a1a frequencies vary widely between populations within central and northern parts of Eurasia, but it is found in areas including Western China and Eastern Siberia. This big variation is possibly a consequence of population bottlenecks in isolated areas and the large movements of Turco-Mongols during the historic period. For example, exceptionally high frequencies of R1a1a (R-M17 or R-M198; 50 to 70%) are found among the Ishkashimis, Khojant Tajiks, Kyrgyzs, and in several peoples of Russia's Altai Republic. Although levels are comparatively low amongst some Turkic-speaking groups (e.g. Turks, Azeris, Kazakhs, Yakuts), levels are very high in certain Turkic or Mongolic-speaking groups of Northwestern China, such as the Bonan, Dongxiang, Salar, and Uyghurs. R1a1a is also found among certain indigenous Eastern Siberians, including: Kamchatkans and Chukotkans, and peaking in Itel'man at 22%.

South Asia: In South Asia high levels of R1a1a been observed in some populations. For example, in the eastern and northern parts of India, among the high caste Bengalis from West Bengal like Brahmins and Kshatriyas (72%), Uttar Pradesh Brahmins (67%), Bihar Brahmins (60%), Punjab (47%), and Gujarat (33%) of male lineages have been observed in this lineage. It is also found in relatively high frequencies in several South Indian Dravidian-speaking tribes including the Chenchu and Valmikis of Andhra Pradesh and the Kallar of Tamil Nadu suggesting that M17 is widespread in tribal southern Indians. To the south of India, it has also been found in >10% of Sinhalese in Sri Lanka.

Middle East and Caucasus: R1a has been found in various forms, in most parts of Western Asia, in widely varying concentrations, from almost no presence in areas such as Jordan, to much higher levels in parts of Turkey and Iran.

Wells et al. (2001), noted that in the western part of the country, Iranians show low R1ala levels, while males of eastern parts of Iran carried up to 35% R1a. Nasidze et al. (2004) found R1a in approximately 20% of Iranian males from the cities of Tehran and Isfahan. Regueiro et al. (2006), in a study of Iran, noted much higher frequencies in the south than the north.

Turkey also shows high but unevenly distributed R1a levels amongst some sub-populations. For example Nasidze et al. (2005) found relatively high levels amongst Kurds (12%) and Zazas (26%).

Further to the north of these Middle Eastern regions on the other hand, R1a levels start to increase in the Caucasus, once again in an uneven way. Several populations studied have shown no sign of R1a, while highest levels so far discovered in the region appears to belong to speakers of the Karachay-Balkar language amongst whom about one quarter of men tested so far are in haplogroup R1a1a.

Europe: In Europe, R1a, again almost entirely in the R1a1a sub-clade, is found at highest levels among peoples of Eastern European descent (Sorbs, Poles, Russians and Ukrainians; 50 to 65%). Levels in Hungarians have been noted between 20 and 60% The Balkans shows lower frequencies, and significant variation between areas, for example >30% in Slovenia, Croatia and Greek Macedonia, but <10% in Albania, Kosovo and parts of Greece. In the Baltic countries R1a frequencies decrease from Lithuania (45%) to Estonia (around 30%).

R1a1 was present in Europe at least 4600 years ago, as demonstrated by Y-DNA with the Y-SNP marker SRY10831.2 extracted from the remains of three individuals near Eulau, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, discovered in 2005. The discovery demonstrated the appearance of R1a1 with Corded Ware culture in Central Europe.

There is a significant presence in peoples of Scandinavian descent, with highest levels in Norway and Iceland, where between 20 and 30% of men are in R1a1a. Vikings and Normans may have also carried the R1a1a lineage westward; accounting for at least part of the small presence in the British Isles.

In Southern Europe R1a1a is not normally common but it is widespread and found in significant pockets. Scozzari et al. (2001) found significant levels in the Pas Valley in Northern Spain, and also the areas of Venice, and Calabria in Italy.

Origins and Hypothesized Migrations of R1a1a

Most discussions of R1a origins concern the dominant R1a1a (R-M17 or R-M198) sub-clade. There are two foci of high frequency of R1a1a, one in South Asia, near North India, and the other in Eastern Europe, in the area of the Ukraine. Until 2009 claims regarding the oldest R1a populations varied greatly between different articles, with Eastern Europe and South Asia being the main contenders. Such studies generally look at the STR haplotypes of each major population of R1a positive men. (These are the same markers mentioned above as being useful in trying to discover potential new branches within the R1a1a family tree.) Higher variation of STR haplotype in any particular region is normally seen as an rough indicator that a haplogroup has been present longer in that region. In order to gain more insight, the STR haplotypes are also often examined in detail, looking for clusters of more or less related male lines.

In 2009, several large studies of both old and new STR data, including Mirabal et al. (2009), Underhill et al. (2009), and Klyosov (2009) concluded that not only are there are two separate "poles of the expansion" with similar ages, but also that of these two poles, Asian R1a1a is apparently older than European R1a1a. The data is therefore said to be more consistent with Asian origins for R1a1a, as opposed to European origins, with a particular focus remaining upon South Asia.

South Asian Origin Hypothesis: As data collections have built up, an increasing number of studies have found South Asia to have the highest level of diversity of Y-STR haplotype variation within R1a1a. Three recent studies have argued that South Asia is a likely original point of dispersal, while four other studies have concluded that the data is at least consistent with this scenario. The most thorough study as of December 2009, including a collation of retested Y-DNA from previous studies, makes a South Asian R1a1a origin the strongest proposal amongst the various possibilities.

A particular interest has been taken in using R1a1a to investigate the long-presumed connection between Indo-Aryan origins and high caste Brahmins. For example Wells et al. (2001), noted that the Indo-European-speaking Sourashtrans, a population from Tamil Nadu in southern India, have a much higher frequency of M17 (R1a1a) than their Dravidian-speaking neighbours, the Yadhavas and Kallars, adding to the evidence that M17 is a diagnostic Indo-Aryan marker. On the other hand, some authors have not accepted this association. For example Saha et al. (2005) examined R1a1a in South Indian tribals and Dravidian population groups more closely, and their analyses of the haplogroups "indicated no single origin from any lineage but a result of a conglomeration of different lineages from time to time. The phylogenetic analyses indicate a high degree of population admixture and a greater genetic proximity for the studied population groups when compared with other world populations".

Age estimation techniques play a role in whether authors accept or reject any connection between Indo-Aryan languages, and R1a1a in any broad sense. In particular, researchers such as Underhill et al. and Mirabal et al., estimate the dispersal of R1a1a in India to be much older than the Indo-Aryan language family.

The proposal of Klyosov (2009) based upon STR cluster analysis is that Indian R1a1a combines two distinct clades not yet defined by SNP. One of these is approximately 4000 years old and appears similar to Eastern European R1a1a, thus apparently in accordance with the theory that some R1a1a came from the direction of the Eurasian Steppe, in association with an ancestral version of Indo-Aryan languages. The other R1a1a cluster is older and more uniquely Indian, and is estimated to have had a common male line ancestor about 7000 years ago according to his approximation. (Klyosov does not use the "evolutionarily effective" Zhivotovsky method as used by Underhill et al.).

Central Eurasian Origin Proposals: Cordaux et al. (2004) argued, citing data from 3 earlier publications, that R-M17 (R1a1a) Y chromosomes most probably have a central Asian origin. Central Asia is still considered a possible place of origin by Mirabal et al. (2009) after their larger analysis of more recent data. However these authors do not clearly distinguish the case being made for Central Asia for the case being made for Asia, particularly South Asia, more generally.

Recently, looking at Chinese STR data not included in other studies Klyosov (2009) concluded that the common source of Indian and European R1a must be somewhere near the modern Chinese ethnic groups known as the Hui, Bolan, Dongxiang and Sala and approximately 20,000 years ago, possibly somewhere near southern Siberia.

Eastern European Migration Hypotheses: Theories that the earliest generations of R1a1a men originated in Eastern Europe have become less common with the publication of bigger and more international surveys. However suggestions have been made which associate the distribution of R1a clades with several proposed movements of people in history and prehistory in Eastern Europe. As usual, these suggestions mainly concern the R1a1a sub-clade defined by M17 or M198, because this is the dominant R1a clade, and the only one for which there is significant data.

Four approximate time periods are frequently mentioned by different authors, but they are not mutually exclusive given that R1a lineages may have been taken part in many different human movements over time in the same geographical region. In an article which is still very widely cited, Semino et al. (2000) proposed that there may have been two expansions, suggesting that the spread of R1a from a point of origin in Ukraine following the Last Glacial Maximum may have been magnified by the expansion of males from the Kurgan culture. In a study of the Balkans, Pericic et al. (2005) saw evidence for "at least three major episodes of gene flow" adding "possibly massive Slavic migration from A.D. 5th to 7th centuries" as a third. Below is a discussion of various proposals about R1a in Europe, broken into different periods.

Researchers using the "evolutionarily effective" dating method therefore suppose that any Neolithic or more recent dispersals of R1a1a could not represent the initial spread of the whole clade, and might be more visible in the distribution of a subclade or subclades. Underhill et al. (2009) remark on the "geographic concordance of the R1a1a7-M458 distribution with the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age Corded Ware (CW) cultures of Europe". However they also note evidence contrary to a connection: Corded Ware period human remains at Eulau from which Y-DNA was extracted of R1a haplogroup appear to be R1a1a*(xM458) (which they found most similar to the modern German R1a1a* haplotype.) An earlier paper speculated that "R1a [in Norway] might represent the spread of the Corded Ware and Battle-Axe cultures from central and east Europe." Although Klyosov (2009) does not use the Zhivotovsky method, his interpretation of certain Balkan and Chinese data would lead him to agree that R1a1a was already present in Europe around 11,000 years ago, having departed from Asia closer to 20,000 years ago. However, in his scenario modern R1a1a in Europe is mainly a result of much later movements of R1a1a coming from a Balkan point of origin within Europe.

Europe from the Holocene to the Early Bronze Age: Semino et al. (2000) proposed that R1a1a originally spread from a Ukrainian refugium during the Late Glacial Maximum. This proposal is no longer the leading one, though it is still widely cited. Amongst recent publications, Underhill et al. (2009) does propose that R1a1a is old enough for this scenario, but finds it more likely that it was initially in Asia. These authors also estimate that R1a1a was in parts of Europe by approximately 11,000 years ago. Most age estimates for R1a1a having such an early presence in Europe come from papers using the "evolutionarily effective" methodology described by Zhivotovsky et al. (2004), the latest such example being Mirabal et al. (2009) and Underhill et al. (2009). Other methods, such as used by Klyosov (2009), tend to give much younger estimates for any given set of data. Klyosov and Zhivotovsky were amongst authors involved in an exchange in the journal Human Genetics in 2009 which was relevant to R1a age estimations.

Researchers using the "evolutionarily effective" dating method therefore suppose that any Neolithic or more recent dispersals of R1a1a could not represent the initial spread of the whole clade, and might be more visible in the distribution of a subclade or subclades. Underhill et al. (2009) remark on the "geographic concordance of the R1a1a7-M458 distribution with the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age Corded Ware (CW) cultures of Europe". However they also note evidence contrary to a connection: Corded Ware period human remains at Eulau from which Y-DNA was extracted of R1a haplogroup appear to be R1a1a*(xM458) (which they found most similar to the modern German R1a1a* haplotype.) An earlier paper speculated that "R1a [in Norway] might represent the spread of the Corded Ware and Battle-Axe cultures from central and east Europe."

Steppe Cultures: From the late Neolithic and into the Iron Age, archaeologists recognize a complex of inter-related and relatively mobile cultures living on the Eurasian steppe, part of which protrudes into Europe. Many of these are in turn associated with the dispersal of Indo-European languages, the most recent dispersal being the one which led to the Indo-Iranian family of languages becoming the dominant modern languages of regions from Kurdistan to Western China, including such civilizations as Persia and India. (With the Slavic and Baltic languages considered to represent a relatively closely related branch.)

Geneticists believing that they see evidence of R1a1a gene-flow from the Eurasian Steppe to India have frequently proposed the involvement of these Steppe cultures, Indo-European languages, and possibly with specific cultural traits such as Kurgan burials and horse domestication. All of these are generally felt to originate in the specifically European part of the steppes, which stretches as far west as the Ukraine.

Such a Steppe origin for R1a1a has also been argued by Keyser et al. (2009) on the basis of DNA results from ancient remains from several South Siberian late Kurgan sites, including some from the Andronovo culture. 9 out of 10 male specimens were found to be in R1a1a. Two of the three from the Andronovo culture, "matched the most frequent R1a1 haplotype (12 loci) seen in the southern Siberian population" (a haplotype found also in Eastern Europe and Anatolia). More generally, the authors considered 8 of these 9 R1a1a haplotypes to be of a type typical of Slavic, Baltic and South Siberian populations. The R1a1a evidence was felt by the authors to support the proposal that the Steppes Kurgan culture spread from Europe to Siberia. R1a1a has also been found in central European ancient DNA samples Late Neolithic and Bronze Age. In combination with the above-mentioned DNA samples found in Central Asia, the ancient DNA evidence is therefore thought to make it highly likely that R1a1a was present in or near any of the normally proposed staging points for the original dispersals of the Indo-Iranian and Balto-Slavic branches of the Indo-European language family, both thought to have originated in Eastern Europe, and both in the so-called "satem" cluster of Indo-European languages. (Balto-Slavic and Indo-Iranian also share the Ruki sound law.)

Based on analyses of STR diversity and clustering, Klyosov (2009) gives the most recent genetics based argument that there was a movement of R1a1a from Eastern Europe (specifically from the Balkans, he proposes) via the Steppes, to India, and associated with languages ancestral to Indo-Iranian and Slavic. According to Klyosov's analysis modern Indian R1a1a is made up of two components, an "Indo European" component which came from the direction of Europe, and another which must have been in India earlier, and which does not appear to derive from European lineages.

 

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Roman Legion in China?

Photo from Roman Descendants found in China? By Richard Spencer

Zhelaizhai (者來寨) is a village on the edge of the Gobi in China. It belongs to Yongchang county (永昌縣) , Gansu province (甘肅省).

History: Zhelaizhai lies in the Hexi Corridor (河西走廊). It did not become part of Chinese territory until Western Han dynasty conquered this area in 2nd century BC.

In 37 BC, general Chen Tang (陳湯) of Western Han dynasty attacked Xiongnu and brought many captives back to China in 36 BC. These captives were given a land to be settled. The place was called Liqian (驪靬), which is where Zhelaizhai is situated nowadays.

Liqian was split from Fanhe and received the county status in Western Han dynasty. The inhabitants around Liqian were later called Liqian Rong (驪靬戎) or Lushui Hu (盧水胡) in historical records. Several states established by non-Han Chinese have controlled Liqian during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. Lushui Hu even ruled one of these states, the Northern Liang, from 401 AD to 439 AD.

The Northern Wei conquered the Northern Liang. In the coming years, Liqian was ruled by the Northern Wei, the Western Wei, the Northern Zhou, and then the Sui dynasty, which reunified China in 589. Liqian county was merged into Fanhe county again in about 592.

Hypothetical Relationship with the Ancient Rome: The Qing dynasty scholar Hui Dong (惠棟) in his book The Supplementary Gloss on the Book of the Later Han (後漢書補注) stated:

Liqian county was created for the surrendered Liqian people (驪靬縣，本以驪靬降人置。)

Some scholars think that Liqian was the name for the Ancient Rome in ancient China. Many inhabitants of Zhelaizhai show some physical traits of the Caucasians. For example, some inhabitants have lighter hair colors, and some have blue or green eyes. The inhabitants practice bullfighting and have some other customs relative to the bulls. There is a theory suggesting that the inhabitants of modern Zhelaizhai are descendants of the soldiers of a missing ancient Roman legion.

In 54 BC, Marcus Licinius Crassus led seven legions in an attempt to conquer Parthia. In June 53 BC, he was defeated in the Battle of Carrhae at Carrhae (modern Harran in Turkey). Crassus was decapitated, and more than 20,000 Roman soldiers were killed. However, more than 10,000 Roman soldiers were made prisoners.

Most of the prisoners were enslaved. However, the Parthians reserved some. The rest of the prisoners were sent to the extreme eastern part of Parthia, around the Amu Darya region, to keep fighting for the Parthians in exchange for not being executed or enslaved. When the Romans and the Parthians reached peace in 20 BC, there was an exchange of prisoners, but the whereabouts of the captured Roman legion has been lost.

The proposed theory was that, afterwards, some of the lost Roman legionaries fought for Kangju as mercenaries. Around 40 BC, Kangju lent these mercenaries to one of the Xiongnu leaders, Zhizhi Chanyu (郅支單于). China attacked Zhizhi Chanyu in 37 BC, and the lost Roman legion was defeated by Chen Tang at the fortress of Zhizhi (郅支) (in modern Kazakhstan) in 36 BC. The captives were brought to China, settled in Liqian, and became the ancestors of the inhabitants of the modern Zhelaizhai. Zhelaizhai got much attention from international media and researchers because of the theory.

Several investigations have been conducted since. Rob Gifford commented on the theory and described it as one of many "rural myths." One DNA study found that: "a Roman mercenary origin could not be accepted as true according to paternal genetic variation, and the current Liqian population is more likely to be a subgroup of the Chinese majority Han."

 

 

* Testing the Hypothesis of an Ancient Roman Soldier Origin of the Liqian People in Northwest China: A Y-chromosome perspective by Ruixia Zhou, et al.

Abstract:  The Liqian people in north China are well known because of the controversial hypothesis of an ancient Roman mercenary origin. To test this hypothesis, 227 male individuals representing four Chinese populations were analyzed at 12 short tandem repeat (STR) loci and 12 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP). At the haplogroup levels, 77% Liqian Y chromosomes were restricted to East Asia. Principal component (PC) and multidimensional scaling (MDS) analysis suggests that the Liqians are closely related to Chinese populations, especially Han Chinese populations, whereas they greatly deviate from Central Asian and Western Eurasian populations. Further phylogenetic and admixture analysis confirmed that the Han Chinese contributed greatly to the Liqian gene pool. The Liqian and the Yugur people, regarded as kindred populations with common origins, present an underlying genetic difference in a median-joining network. Overall, a Roman mercenary origin could not be accepted as true according to paternal genetic variation, and the current Liqian population is more likely to be a subgroup of the Chinese majority Han.

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History of Gansu

Gansu is a compound name first used in Song Dynasty China, of two Sui and Tang Dynasty prefectures (州): Gan (around Zhangye) and Su (around Jiuquan).

In prehistoric times, Gansu was host to a number of Neolithic cultures. The Dadiwan culture (大地灣文化), from where numerous archaeologically significant artifacts have been excavated, flourished in the eastern end of Gansu from about 6000 BC to about 3000 BC . The Majiayao culture (馬家窯文化) and part of the Qijia culture (齊家文化) also took root in Gansu from 3100 BC to 2700 BC and 2400 BC to 1900 BC respectively.

The Qin state (秦), later to become the founding state of the Chinese empire, grew out from the southeastern part of Gansu, specifically the Tianshui (天水) area. The Qin name itself is believed to have originated, in part, from the area. Qin tombs and artifacts have been excavated from Fangmatan near Tianshui, including one 2200 year old map of Guixian County.

In imperial times, Gansu was an important strategic outpost and communications link for the Chinese empire, as the Hexi corridor (河西走廊) runs along the "neck" of the province. The Han dynasty extended the Great Wall across this corridor, also building the strategic Yumenguan (Jade Gate Pass, near Dunhuang) and Yangguan (阳关) fort towns along it. Remains of the wall and the towns can be found there to this date. The Ming dynasty also built the Jiayuguan outpost in Gansu. To the west of Yumenguan and the Qilian Mountains, at the northwestern end of the province, the Yuezhi, Wusun, and other nomadic tribes dwelt (Shiji 123), occasionally figuring in regional imperial Chinese geopolitics.

After the fall of the Uyghur Empire, a Uyghur state was established in Gansu that lasted from 848 to 1036 AD. During that time, many of Gansu's residents converted to Islam.

Situated along the Silk Road, Gansu was an economically important province, and a cultural transmission path as well. Temples and Buddhist grottoes  such as those at Mogao Caves ('Caves of the Thousand Buddhas') and Maijishan Caves contain artistically and historically revealing murals. An early form of paper inscribed with Chinese characters and dating to about 8 BC was discovered at the site of a Western Han garrison near the Yumen pass in August 2006.

The province was also the origin of the Muslim Rebellion of 1862-77, which later spread to much of China and resulted in the deaths of upwards of twelve million Chinese Muslims in addition to the decimation of Chinese Muslim culture in Yunnan province, where over one million Muslims were killed by Qing forces.

Its frequent earthquakes, droughts and famines have tended to slow its economic progress, until recently when based on its abundant mineral resources it has begun developing into a vital industrial center. An earthquake in Gansu at 8.6 on the Richter scale killed around 180,000 people in 1920, and another with a magnitude of 7.6 killed 70,000 in 1932.

 

 

Majiayao Culture

Painted pottery jar from the Majiayao culture

The Majiayao culture is a name given by archaeologists to a group of Neolithic communities who lived primarily in the upper Yellow River region in Gansu and Qinghai, China. The culture existed from 3100 BC to 2700 BC. The earliest discoveries of copper and bronze objects in China occur at Majiayao sites. The transition from Yangshao to Majiayao coincides, climatically, with the Piora Oscillation.

 

Qijia Culture

The Qijia culture (2400 BC - 1900 BC) was an early Bronze Age culture distributed around the upper Yellow River region of western Gansu (centered in Lanzhou) and eastern Qinghai, China. Johan Gunnar Andersson discovered the initial site at Qijiaping (齊家坪) in 1923. During the late stages of the culture, the Qijia culture retreated from the west and suffered a reduction in population size. Qijia culture produced some of the earliest bronze and copper mirrors found in China. Extensive domestication of horses are found at many Qijia sites. The archaeological site at Lajia is associated with the Qijia culture.

 

 

Di

氐

The Di (氐) were an ethnic group in China. They lived in areas of present-day provinces of Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan and Shaanxi, from the 8th century BC to approximately the middle of 6th century AD. During the 4th and early 5th centuries, they established several of this era's Sixteen Kingdoms.

The Di were eventually assimilated into other populations. The modern Baima people living in southeast Gansu and northwest Sichuan are descended from the Di. Genetic evidence of the Di can be found in a minority of people in Sichuan.

氐，是古代中國西北部少數民族之一，主要活動於今陝西、甘肅、四川三省的交界地區。

氐族的起源歷來說法不一。一說氐族與羌族同源。不過幾年前曾有說法，指屬於藏族（古代的吐蕃人）一支的白馬藏人，此民系認為自己的方言和標準的藏語實在差異甚大，連習俗跟典型的藏族有很大的不同，應該不屬於藏族而是古代氐族的直系後裔，但是此說部分的民族學家並不接受。

2000年以後的分子人類學研究發現，白馬藏族的男性Y染色體中攜帶D1-M15單倍群的佔壓倒多數。此種單倍群(D1-M15)南方和北方的漢族中幾乎完全沒有；同時藏族的此種基因大約佔一半左右，另外一半和漢族有相同父系基因。英文維基百科條目：Haplogroup D1 (Y-DNA)但以上基於分子遺傳學的發現並沒有為氐人的起源和演化提供任何直接證據。

春秋戰國時始以氐為族名，居於中國西北部。漢朝至三國期間，氐族曾兩度大遷徙，至關中一帶居住。其時還有如羌族的少數民族遷入關中。惠帝時代，氐人曾與晉相戰兩年餘，到十六國時晉室南下，氐人便在北方建立前秦、後涼、仇池等政權。

隨著長居於中國日久，在唐朝時代，一部分氐族人與吐蕃人相融合，而其餘氐族則與漢族或其他民族相融合。

 

 

Usun

烏孫

The first authentic record in the Chinese annals about proto-Hunnish tribes belongs to the 7-4th centuries BC about "generation Ushi" in Andin and Pinlian (modern Pinlian and Guüan in the PRC), between Lu-hun and Kuyan Hun tribes. The transcription of Ushi means "raven generation", semantically identical with U-sun - "raven descendants". The presence of a raven as clan totem among the ancient Usuns is beyond doubt. In the Usun legends, the ancestors of Usuns were a raven and a wolf. This fact is reflected in the Usun-Ashina (Oshin) tamga with an image of raven.

The first historical records about Usuns (Uysyn; 烏孫) already name them as separate and distinct tribe of the Huns (匈奴 Xiongnu, Hsiung-nu, etc), living in the territory of the modern Gansu province of the PRC, in the valley of the Ushui-he (Raven-river) river. It is not clear if the river was named after the name of the Usun tribe, or the other way around. Early in their known history, Usuns migrated in three stages, lasting near two hundred years. The first exodus from Shaanxi to Tsilyan-shan ca 410 BC was forced by military intervention of As-Tochar coalition (Yuezhi 月氏), who moved into the area vacated by Hunno-Usun tribes. In the interim period between 410 and 177 BC, Usuns with the Huns were vassals of the Yuezhi As-Tochar coalition. The second migration ca. 178 BC, connected with a campagn of Maodun (Mode)-Shanyu's Western Tuki (prince) against Yuezhi, was a reconquest by Usuns of their Sichen homeland. The third migration ca. 160 BC was a deliberate displacement by the Usuns of the defeated Ases-Tochars from their temporary stop-over in the Jeti-su. In 160 BCE, after a death of the Hun's supreme shanyu Laoshan (173-161), Usuns separated from the Hun Empire, migrated to the region of the Ili river and lake Issyk Kul, established their independence, and formed a powerful state in the Jeti-su area. Chinese historical annals offer a demographic description of the Usuns at that time, naming a very considerable for that time number of 630,000 people, and 120,000 families

According to Chinese archaeologists the excavated skeletal remains of the presumed Wusun people are short-headed Europoid type of the Central Asian, Transoxanian type.

Wusun women were first described in a Western Han dynasty book of divination, the Jiaoshi Yilin, as "ugly and dark colored people with deep eye sockets," who probably resembled Indians, as suggested from the reported skin complexion. However, a very brief pejorative quote from an ancient book of divination is hardly a reliable source for determining ethnic characteristics.

The Wusun were described later in the Chinese historical annals as having "green [or blue] eyes and red beard [or hair], and are like a macaque." (This commentary was added by Yan Shigu in the 7th century to the Hanshu).

 

 

Yuezhi

The Yuezhi or Rouzhi (月支; also 月氏), also known as the Da Yuezhi or Da Rouzhi (大月支, "Great Yuezhi"), were an ancient Central Asian people.

They are believed by most scholars to have been an Indo-European people, and may have been the same as or closely related to the Tocharians (Τοχάριοι) of Classical sources. They were originally settled in the arid grasslands of the eastern Tarim Basin area, in what is today Xinjiang and western Gansu, in China, before they migrated to Transoxiana, Bactria and then northern South Asia, where they formed the Kushan Empire.

The first known reference to the Yuezhi was made in 645 BC by the Chinese politician Guan Zhong in his Guanzi 管子(Guanzi Essays: 73: 78: 80: 81). The dates of the most common version of this book are disputed however, and it may date to as late as 1st century BC. The book described the Yuzhi 禺氏, or Niuzhi 牛氏, as a people from the north-west who supplied jade to the Chinese from the nearby mountains of Yuzhi 禺氏 at Gansu. The supply of jade from the Tarim Basin from ancient times is indeed well documented archaeologically: "It is well known that ancient Chinese rulers had a strong attachment to jade. All of the jade items excavated from the tomb of Fuhao (婦好墓) of the Shang dynasty, more than 750 pieces, were from Khotan in modern Xinjiang. As early as the mid-first millennium BCE the Yuezhi engaged in the jade trade, of which the major consumers were the rulers of agricultural China." (Liu (2001), pp. 267-268). The suffix "Di" or "Zhi" (氐) was generally used to describe the Di people, "Western barbarians", in Han Dynasty-era Chinese annals.

月氏（讀作「越知」yuèzhī，或「肉知」rouzhi）為公元前3世紀至公元1世紀一個民族名稱。早期以游牧為生，住在北亞，並經常與匈奴發生衝突，其後西遷至中亞。這時，月支開始發展，慢慢具有國家的雛型。由於大月氏位處於絲綢之路，控制著東西貿易，使它慢慢變得強大。到後來被匈奴攻擊，一分為二：西遷至伊犁的，被稱為大月氏；南遷至今日中國甘肅及青海一帶的，被稱為小月氏。

關於月氏/月支的來源，中外史學家看法頗不一致。據中國學者王國維考證，月氏即《逸周書·王會解》中的「禺氐」，《穆天子傳》中的「禺知」或「禺氏」。歐洲學者也在西方古文獻中搜求相當於月氏的記錄，異說不下六、七種。關於月氏的族屬，中國古籍如《魏略》稱其為羌，《舊唐書》稱其為戎。近百餘年來，學術界更加異說紛紜：有藏族說、突厥說、印歐語系說、波斯說等。由於他們沒有文字，而且月氏本身的記錄亦不齊全，現時我們要了解他們，只能透過中國史書裡的片面記錄。而我們從中國史書裡所知道的，月氏居於約當今甘肅省蘭州以西直到敦煌的河西走廊一帶。大約遠在戰國初期，月氏便在這一帶過著游牧生活。

由於當時的甘肅和青海為匈奴所管治，這一班居住在匈奴人中間的月氏人，漸漸地與匈奴本族融入，被稱為匈奴別部盧水胡。其中沮渠家族推後涼漢官段業為主，在現甘肅地區建立北涼。後沮渠蒙遜殺段業，自立為北涼主。後被鮮卑人拓跋氏北魏所滅。

 

 

Qin State

Qin (秦) (778 BC-207 BC) was a Chinese feudal state that existed during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods of Chinese history. It emerged as one of the dominant superpowers of the Seven Warring States by the 3rd century BC and eventually united China under its rule in 221 BC, after which it is referred to as the Qin Dynasty.

Legendary Origins and founding of Qin: According to the 2nd century BC historical text Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian, the Qin state traced its origin to Zhuanxu, one of the Five Emperors in ancient times. Dafei, an ancestor of the royal clan of Qin, helped Yu the Great in educating the people on flood control techniques, and was granted the family name of "Ying" (嬴) by Shun.

During the Xia and Shang dynasties, the Ying clan split into two branches:

• an occidental one, who lived in Quanqiu (犬丘; near present-day Tianshui on the upper valley of the Wei River
• an oriental one, who lived east of the Yellow River and became the ancestors of the rulers of the Zhao state

The occidental Ying clan was first ennobled in the beginning of the 9th century BC. Feizi of Qin served King Xiao of Zhou as a royal horse trainer and breeder, and was rewarded for his efforts with a fief in Quanqiu (present-day Tianshui, Gansu province) and a marriage to a princess. Feizi's territory was named "Qin" and was surrounded by lands belonging to the minority Rong people. Qin was frequently attacked by the Rong in the 9th century BC as relations between the Rong and the Western Zhou Dynasty worsened.

In 771 BC, Marquess of Shen formed an alliance with the Zeng state and Quanrong nomads, and they attacked and conquered the Western Zhou capital city of Haojing (鎬京; near present-day Xi'an, Shaanxi province). Xiang of Qin led his troops to protect King Ping of Zhou as the king led his men on an eastward retreat to Luoyang, where the new capital city of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty was established. In recognition of Xiang's efforts, King Ping promoted him to the rank of a Bo (伯; equivalent of a count), the third rank of nobility after Gong (公; Duke) and Hou (侯; Marquis) and promised that all the former lands of Zhou that were captured by the Rong people would become part of Qin's territories if Qin succeeded in retaking them. The future generations of the Qin rulers were encouraged by this promise, and they launched several military campaigns on the Rong, eventually expanding their territories to beyond the original lands lost by the Western Zhou Dynasty.

 

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Yellow River

The Yellow River or Huang He / Hwang Ho (黃河; Mongolian: Hatan Gol, Queen river) is the second-longest river in China (after the Yangtze River) and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of 5,464 kilometers (3,395 mi). Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through through Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Shandong, and empties into the Bohai Sea. The mouth of the Yellow River is located at Dongying, Shandong.

The provinces of Hebei and Henan derive their names from the Huang He. Their names mean respectively "north of the (Yellow) River" and "south of the (Yellow) River".

Major cities located along the Yellow River include, starting from the source, Lanzhou, Wuhai, Baotou, Kaifeng, Luoyang, Zhengzhou, and Jinan.

The Yellow River is called "the cradle of Chinese civilization", as its basin is the birthplace of the northern Chinese civilizations and was the most prosperous region in early Chinese history. But frequent devastating flooding largely due to the elevated river bed in its lower course, has also earned it the unenviable name "China's Sorrow".

Early Chinese literature refers to the Yellow River simply as He (河), the word that has come to mean simply "river" in modern language. The first appearance of the name "Yellow River" (黃河) is in the Book of Han (漢書) written in the Western Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 9). The name "Yellow River" describes the perennial ochre-yellow colour of the muddy water in the lower course of the river. The yellow color comes from loess suspended in the water.

Sometimes the Yellow River is poetically called the "Muddy Flow" (濁流). The Chinese idiom "when the Yellow River flows clear" is used to refer to an event that will never happen and is similar to the English expression "when pigs fly".

In Qinghai, its Tibetan name is "river of the peacock"

 

 

Loess Plateau

The Loess Plateau (黃土高原), also known as the Huangtu Plateau, is a plateau that covers an area of some 640,000 km² in the upper and middle of China's Yellow River and China proper . Loess is the name for the silty sediment that has been deposited by wind storms on the plateau over the ages. Loess is a highly erosion-prone soil that is susceptible to the forces of wind and water; in fact, the soil of this region has been called the "most highly erodible soil on earth". The Loess Plateau and its dusty soil cover almost all of Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces, the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and parts of others.

History of the Loess Plateau: In ancient times, some of the earliest recorded mention of this area is from travel along the Northern Silk Road. In the last part of the first millennium BC, after the explorer Zhang Qian's return to China, the Han Dynasty pushed the Xiongnu back and trade and cultural exchange flourished along the Northern Silk Road through the southern Loess Plateau. Goods moving by caravan to the west included gold, rubies, jade, textiles, coral, ivory and art works. In the opposite direction moved bronze weapons, furs, ceramics and cinnamon bark.

Historically the Loess Plateau has provided simple yet insulated shelter from the cold winter and hot summer in the region, as homes called yaodong (窰洞) were often carved into the loess soil; in medieval times of china people stayed here to grow rice; some families still live in this kind of shelter in modern times. During the Shaanxi Earthquake, nearly a million people were killed as a result of collapsing loess caves. The yaodongs that are best-known to the world are perhaps those in Yan'an where the Communist Party led by Mao Zedong headquartered in 1930s. When Edgar Snow, the author of Red Star Over China, visited Mao and his party, he lived in a yaodong which is warm in winter and cool in summer.

 

 

Lanzhou

Lanzhou (蘭州; Lanchow) is the capital of Gansu province in northwestern China.

History: Originally in the territory of the Western Qiang peoples, Lanzhou became part of the territory of Qin in the 6th century BC.

In 81 BC, under the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), it became the seat of Jincheng county (Xian) and later of Jincheng commandery (jun), the county being renamed Yunwu. The city used to be called the Golden City, and since at least the first millennium BC it was a major link on the ancient Northern Silk Road, and also an important historic Yellow River crossing site. To protect the city, the Great Wall of China was extended as far as Yumen.

After the fall of the Han Dynasty, Lanzhou became the capital of a succession of tribal states. Mixed with different cultural heritages, the area at present-day Gansu province, from the 5th to the 11th century, became a center for Buddhist study. In the 4th century it was briefly the capital of the independent state of Earlier Liang. The Northern Wei dynasty (386–534) reestablished Jincheng commandery, renaming the county Zicheng. Under the Sui Dynasty (581–618) the city became the seat of Lanzhou prefecture for the first time, retaining this name under the Tang Dynasty (618–907). In 763 the area was overrun by the Tibetans and was then recovered by the Tang in 843. Later it fell into the hands of the Western Xia Dynasty (which flourished in Qinghai from the 11th to 13th century) and was subsequently recovered by the Song Dynasty (960–1126) in 1041. The name Lanzhou was reestablished, and the county renamed Lanzhuan.

After 1127 it fell into the hands of the Jin Dynasty, and after 1235 it came into the possession of the Mongols.

Under the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) the prefecture was demoted to a county and placed under the administration of Lintao superior prefecture, but in 1477 Lanzhou was reestablished as a political unit.

The city acquired its current name in 1656, during the Qing Dynasty. When Gansu became a separate province in 1666, Lanzhou became its capital.

In 1739 the seat of Lintao was transferred to Lanzhou, which was later made a superior prefecture called Lanzhou.

Lanzhou was badly damaged during the rising of the Gansu Muslims in 1864–1875. In the 1920s and 1930s it became a center of Soviet influence in northwestern China. During the Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) Lanzhou, linked with Xi'an by highway in 1935, became the terminus of the 3,200 km (2,000 mile) Chinese-Soviet highway, used as a route for Soviet supplies destined for the Xi'an area. This highway remained the primary traffic route of northwestern China until the completion of the railway from Lanzhou to Urumqi, Xinjiang. During the war Lanzhou was heavily bombed by the Japanese.

The city is the seat of a currently vacant Roman Catholic diocese and was previously the center of a vicariate apostolic (Vicariate Apostolic of Northern Kan-Su).

Geography: Lanzhou is situated on the upper course of the Yellow River, where the river emerges from the mountains. It has been a center since early times, being at the southern end of the route leading via the Hexi Corridor across Central Asia. It also commands the approaches to the ancient capital area of Chang'an (modern Xi'an) in Shaanxi province from both the west and the northwest, as well as from the area of Qinghai Lake via the upper waters of the Yellow River and its tributaries

 

 

Dunhuang

Dunhuang (敦煌; 'Blazing Beacon') is a city (pop. 187,578 (2000)) in Jiuquan, Gansu province, China. It was a major stop on the ancient Silk Road. It was also known at times as Shachou, or 'City of Sands'.

It is situated in an rich oasis containing Crescent Lake and Mingsha Shan (鸣沙山), "Echoing-Sand Mountain". Mingsha Shan is so named for the sound of the wind whipping off the dunes, the singing sand phenomenon.

It commands a very strategic position at the crossroads of the ancient Southern Silk Route and the main road leading from India via Lhasa to Mongolia and Southern Siberia, as well as controlling the entrance to the narrow Hexi Corridor which led straight to the heart of the north Chinese plains and the ancient capitals of Chang'an and Luoyang.

History: Following the Chinese victory over the Xiongnu in 121 BC, the Chinese built fortifications at Dunhuang and sent settlers there. Dunhuang Commandery was probably established in 104 BC, or shortly thereafter.

"The Great Wall was extended to Dunhuang, and a line of fortified beacon towers stretched westwards into the desert. By the second century AD Dunhuang had a population of more than 76,000 and was a key supply base for caravans that passed through the city: those setting out for the arduous trek across the desert loaded up with water and food supplies, and others arriving from the west gratefully looked upon the mirage-like sight of Dunhuang’s walls, which signified safety and comfort. Dunhuang prospered on the heavy flow of traffic. The first Buddhist caves in the Dunhuang area were hewn in 353."

In later centuries, during the Han and Tang dynasties, it was a major point of communication between ancient China and Central Asia. Located in the western end of the Hexi Corridor near the historic junction of the Northern and Southern Silk Roads, it was a town of military importance. Although its name is mentioned as part of the homeland of the Yuezhi or "Rouzhi" (月氏) in the Shiji (史記), this mention has also been identified with an unrelated toponym, Dunhong.

Early Buddhist monks arrived at Dunhuang via the ancient Northern Silk Road, the northernmost route of about 2,600 kilometres (1,600 mi) in length, which connected the ancient Chinese capital of Xi'an westward over the Wushao Ling Pass to Wuwei and on to Kashgar. For centuries, Buddhist monks at Dunhuang collected scriptures from the West, and many pilgrims passed through the area, painting murals inside the Mogao Caves or "Caves of a Thousand Buddhas." A small number of Christian artifacts have also been found in the caves (see Jesus Sutras), testimony to the wide variety of people who made their way along the Silk Road.

Today, the site is an important tourist attraction and the subject of an ongoing archaeological project. A large number of manuscripts and artifacts retrieved at Dunhuang have been digitized and made publicly available via the International Dunhuang Project. The expansion of the Kumtag Desert, which is resulting from longstanding overgrazing of surrounding lands, has reached the edges of the city.

Climate: Dunhuang, being surrounded by high mountains, has an arid, continental climate. The annual average temperature is 9.3 °C (48.7 °F), but ranges from 24.7 °C (76.5 °F) in July to −9.3 °C (15 °F) in January. Dunhuang is extremely hot in summer and bitterly cold in winter. Precipitation occurs only in trace amounts and quickly evaporates.

 

 

The travel of Zhang Qian to the West, Mogao caves, 618-712 AD

 

 

Hexi Corridor

Hexi Corridor or Gansu Corridor (河西走廊) refers to the historical route in Gansu province of China. As part of the Northern Silk Road running northwest from the bank of the Yellow River, it used to be the most important passage from North China to Xinjiang and Central Asia for traders and the military.

Geography: The Hexi Corridor is a long, narrow passage stretching for some 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) from the steep Wushaolin hillside near the modern city of Lanzhou to the Jade Gate at the border of Gansu and Xinjiang. There are many fertile oases along the path. A strikingly inhospitable environment surrounds them: the vast expanse of the Gobi desert, the snow-capped Qilian Mountains to the south, the Beishan mountainous area, and the Alashan Plateau to the north. Geologically, the Hexi Corridor belongs to a Cenozoic foreland basin system on the northeast margin of the Tibetan Plateau.

The ancient trackway formerly passed through Haidong, Xining and the environs of Juyan Lake, serving an effective area of about 215,000 km2 (83,000 sq mi). It was an area where mountain and desert limited caravan traffic to a narrow trackway, where relatively small fortifications could control passing traffic.

There are several major cities along the Hexi Corridor. In western Gansu Province is Dunhuang, then Zhangye in the center, then Wuwei and finally Lanzhou in the southeast. In the past, Dunhuang was part of the area known as the Western Regions. South of Gansu Province, in the middle just over the provincial boundary, lies the city of Xining, the capital of Qinghai Province. Xining was the chief commercial hub of the Hexi Corridor.

The Jiyaguyan fort guards the western entrance to China. It's located in Jiayuguan pass at the narrowest point of the Hexi Corridor, some 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) southwest of the city of Jiayuguan. The Jiyaguyan fort is the first fortification of Great Wall of China in the west.

History: As early as the first millennium BC silk goods began appearing in Siberia, having traveled over the Northern branch of Silk Road, including the Hexi Corridor segment.

At the end of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), the Yuezhi tribe overcame previous settlers, the Wusun and Qiang tribes, occupying the entire Hexi Corridor. Later, Northern Xiongnu tribal armies vanquished the Yuezhi and established dominance here during the early Han Dynasty.

Han Dynasty: In 121 BC, Han forces expelled the Xiongnu from Hexi Corridor and even Lop Nur, when Xiongnu's King Hunye surrendered to Huo Qubing in 121 BC. The Han acquired a territory stretching from the Hexi Corridor to Lop Nur, thus cutting the Xiongnu off from their Qiang allies. Again, Han forces repelled a joint Xiongnu-Qiang invasion of this northwestern territory in 111 BC. After 111 BC, new outposts were established, four of them in the Hexi Corridor, namely Jiuquan, Zhangye, Dunhuang, and Guzang (Wuwei).

From roughly 115–60 BC, Han forces fought the Xiongnu over control of the oasis city-states in the Tarim Basin. Han was eventually victorious and established the Protectorate of the Western Regions in 60 BC, which dealt with the region's defense and foreign affairs.

During the turbulent reign of Wang Mang, Han lost control over the Tarim Basin, which was conquered by the Xiongnu in 63 AD, and used as a base to invade the Hexi Corridor. Dou Gu defeated the Xiongnu again at the Battle of Yiwulu in 73 AD, evicting them from Turpan and chasing them as far as Lake Barkol before establishing a garrison at Hami.

After the new Protector General of the Western Regions Chen Mu was killed in 75 AD by allies of the Xiongnu in Karasahr and Kucha, the garrison at Hami was withdrawn. At the Battle of Ikh Bayan in 89 AD, Dou Xian defeated the Xiongnu shanyu who then retreated into the Altai Mountains.

Tang Dynasty: The Tang Empire fought with the Tibetan Empire for control of areas in Inner and Central Asia. There was a long string of conflicts with Tibet over territories in the Tarim Basin between 670–692 AD.

In 763 the Tibetans even captured the capital of China, Chang'an, for fifteen days during the An Shi Rebellion. In fact, it was during this rebellion that the Tang withdrew its western garrisons stationed in what is now Gansu and Qinghai Provinces, which the Tibetans then occupied along with the territory of what is now Xinjiang. Hostilities between the Tang and Tibet continued until they signed a formal peace treaty in 821. The terms of this treaty—including the fixed borders between the two countries—are recorded in a bilingual inscription on a stone pillar outside the Jokhang temple in Lhasa.

Xia Dynasty: The Western Xia Dynasty, known also as the Tangut Empire, was established in the 11th century by Tangut tribes. Western Xia controlled from 1038 AD up to 1227 AD the areas in what are now the northwestern Chinese provinces of Gansu, Shaanxi, and Ningxia.

Yuan Dynasty: The Mongol Empire's expansion to south , known as Mongol-Jin Dynasty War, was started around 1207 by Genghis Khan and continued after his death in 1227 AD by Ögedei Khan. The Jin Dynasty fell in 1234 AD, with help from Song Dynasty.

In addition to the Mongol-Jin War, Ögedei crushed the Eastern Xia Dynasty in 1233, pacifying southern Manchuria.

The Yuan Dynasty, or Great Yuan Empire, was both the continuation of the Mongol Empire and the Mongol founded historical state in Mongolia and China, lasting officially from 1271 AD to 1368 AD.

 

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The Silk Road

The Silk Road, or Silk Route, is a series of trade and cultural transmission routes that were central to cultural interaction through regions of the Asian continent connecting East and West by linking traders, merchants, pilgrims, monks, soldiers, nomads and urban dwellers from China to the Mediterranean Sea during various periods of time. The trade route was initiated around 114 BC by the Han Dynasty (114 BC), although earlier trade across the continents had already existed. Geographically, The Silk Road or Silk Route is an interconnected series of ancient trade routes connecting Chang'an (today's Xi'an) in China, with Asia Minor and the Mediterranean, extending over 8,000 km (5,000 miles) on land and sea. Trade on the Silk Road was a significant factor in the development of the great civilizations of China, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, Indian subcontinent, and Rome, and helped to lay the foundations for the modern world.

As it extends westwards from the commercial centers of North China, the continental Silk Road divides into north and south routes to avoid the Tibetan Plateau.

The Northern Route travels northwest through the Chinese province of Gansu, and splits into three further routes, two of them passing north and south of the Taklamakan Desert (through modern day Kyrgyzstan and Xinjiang) to rejoin at Kashgar; and the other going north of the Tien Shan mountains through Turfan, Talgar and Almaty (in what is now southeast Kazakhstan).

All routes join up at Kokand in the Fergana Valley, and the roads continue west across the Karakum Desert towards Merv, joining the northern route briefly.

One of these routes turns northwest along the Amu Darya (river) including Bukhara and Samarkand the center of Silk Road trade to the Aral Sea, through ancient civilizations under the present site of Astrakhan, and on to the Crimean peninsula. From there it crosses the Black Sea, Marmara Sea and the Balkans to Venice; another crosses the Caspian Sea and across the Caucasus to the Black Sea in Georgia, thence to Constantinople.

Marco Polo: The Venetian explorer Marco Polo became one of the first Europeans to travel the Silk Road to China, and his tales, documented in Il Milione, opened Western eyes to some of the customs of the Far East. He was not the first to bring back stories, but he was one of the widest-read.

 

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Jesus Sutras

The Jesus Sutras are early Chinese language manuscripts of Christian teachings. They are connected with the 7th century mission of Alopen, a Nestorian bishop from Persia.

The sutras date from between 635 AD, the year of Alopen's arrival in China, and 1005, the date of the sealing of the Mogao Cave, near Dunhuang, in which they were found. Four of the sutras are said to be located in private collections in Japan, while one is in Paris. Their language and content reflect varying levels of interaction with Chinese culture, including use of Buddhist and Taoist terminology.

List of Sutras: The following list gives some approximate English titles for the various writings. Scholars are still debating the best translation for many of the terms. Until a good modern edition appears, P. Saeki remains the most convenient source for the Chinese texts.

Doctrinal Sutras

1. Sutra on Almsgiving of the World-Honored One, Part Three (一神(天)論(世尊布施論第三).
2. Sutra on the Oneness of Heaven (一天論第一).
3. Sutra on the Origin of Origins (大秦景教宣元本經). An inscribed pillar discovered in Luoyang in 2006 supplements the incomplete version from Dunhuang.
4. Sutra of Hearing the Messiah (序聽迷詩所經)

Liturgical Sutras

1. Da Qin Hymn of Perfection of the Three Majesties (大秦景教三威蒙度贊).
2. The Sutra of Ultimate and Mysterious Happiness.(志玄安樂經)
3. Let Us Praise (大秦景教大聖通真歸法贊). This text is suspected of being a modern forgery.

* Church of the East in China

The Jesus Sutras: Rediscovering the Lost Scrolls of Taoist Christianity by Martin Palmer

 

 

 

Jesus on the Silkroad: Essays on Christianity in China, Mongolia, and Asia Minor by Dale A. Johnson

 

 

 

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Li Bai

Li Bai or Li Po or Li Bo (李白) (701 – 762) was a Chinese poet. He was part of the group of Chinese scholars called the "Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup" in a poem by fellow poet Du Fu. Li Bai is often regarded, along with Du Fu, as one of the two greatest poets in China's literary history. Approximately 1,100 of his poems remain today. The first translations in a Western language were published in 1862 by Marquis d'Hervey de Saint-Denys in his Poésies de l'Époque des Thang. The English-speaking world was introduced to Li Bai's works by a Herbert Allen Giles publication History of Chinese Literature (1901) and through the liberal, but poetically influential, translations of Japanese versions of his poems made by Ezra Pound.

Li Bai is best known for the extravagant imagination and striking Taoist imagery in his poetry, as well as for his great love for liquor. Like Du Fu, he spent much of his life travelling, although in his case it was because his wealth allowed him to, rather than because his poverty forced him. He is said, famously but untruly, to have drowned in the Yangtze River, having fallen from his boat while drunkenly trying to embrace the reflection of the moon.

Map of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Chengdu

Some believe that Li Bai's birthplace is Chu, Kazakhstan while another candidate is Suiye (碎葉城) in Central Asia (near modern-day Tokmok, Kyrgyzstan). However, his family had originally dwelt in what is now southeastern Gansu, and later moved to Jiangyou, near modern Chengdu in Sichuan province, when he was five years old.

At the time of the An Lushan Rebellion he became involved in a subsidiary revolt against the Emperor, although the extent to which this was voluntary is unclear. The failure of the rebellion resulted in his exile to Yelang. He was pardoned before the exile journey was complete.

One of Li Bai's most famous poems is Drinking Alone by Moonlight (月下獨酌), which is a good example of some of the most famous aspects of his poetry -- a very spontaneous poem, full of natural imagery and anthropomorphism. Li Bai actually wrote several poems with the same title; Arthur Waley's version of the most famous reads:

 

月下獨酌 . Drinking Alone by Moonlight

花間一壺酒。 A cup of wine, under the flowering trees;

獨酌無相親。 I drink alone, for no friend is near.

舉杯邀明月。 Raising my cup I beckon the bright moon,

對影成三人。 For her, with my shadow, will make three men.

月既不解飲。 The moon, alas, is no drinker of wine;

影徒隨我身。 Listless, my shadow creeps about at my side.

暫伴月將影。 Yet with the moon as friend and the shadow as slave

行樂須及春。 I must make merry before the Spring is spent.

我歌月徘徊。 To the songs I sing the moon flickers her beams;

我舞影零亂。 In the dance I weave my shadow tangles and breaks.

醒時同交歡。 While we were sober, three shared the fun;

醉後各分散。 Now we are drunk, each goes his way.

永結無情遊。 May we long share our odd, inanimate feast,

相期邈雲漢。 And meet at last on the Cloudy River of the sky.

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白嘉莉

 

Songs

• 藍色的街車
• 溫情滿人間
• 一曲相思情難了
• 今夜台北沒有你
• 人兒幾時歸

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