162-510: Emperor Yang of Sui (隋煬帝, 569 – 11 April 618), personal name Yang Guang ( 楊廣 ), alternative name Ying ( 英 ), Xianbei name Amo ( 阿摩 ), was the second emperor of the Sui dynasty of China. Emperor Yang's original name was Yang Ying, but he was renamed by his father Emperor Wen , after consulting with oracles, to Yang Guang. Yang Guang was made the Prince of Jin after Emperor Wen established
324-818: A Murong Xianbei cemetery in Lamadong, Liaoning , China ca. 300 AD. They were determined to be carriers of the maternal haplogroups J1b1 , D (three samples), F1a (three samples), M , B, B5b , C (three samples) and G2a . These haplogroups are common among East Asians and some Siberians. The maternal haplogroups of the Murong Xianbei were noticeably different from those of the Huns and Tuoba Xianbei. Tujue The Göktürks , Türks , Celestial Turks or Blue Turks ( Old Turkic : 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰜:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣 , romanized: Türük Bodun ; Chinese : 突厥 ; pinyin : Tūjué ; Wade–Giles : T'u-chüeh ) were
486-641: A North-East Asian origin of the royal Ashina family and the Göktürk Khaganate . However, the Ashina did not show close genetic affinity with central-steppe Türks and early medieval Türks, who exhibit a high (but variable) degree of West Eurasian ancestry, which indicates that there was genetic sub-structure within the Türkic empire. For example, the ancestry of early medieval Turks was derived from Ancient Northeast Asians for about 62% of their genome, while
648-607: A Turkic people in medieval Inner Asia . The Göktürks, under the leadership of Bumin Qaghan (d. 552) and his sons, succeeded the Rouran Khaganate as the main power in the region and established the First Turkic Khaganate , one of several nomadic dynasties that would shape the future geolocation, culture, and dominant beliefs of Turkic peoples . The common name "Göktürk" emerged from the misreading of
810-489: A daughter of his vassal Emperor Ming of Western Liang ( Xiao Kui ) to be Yang Guang's wife and princess. It was said that Yang Guang loved and respected her. In 584, after some Sui military and diplomatic victories, Tujue 's Shabolüe Khan Ashina Shetu submitted to Sui. Yang Guang suggested to Emperor Wen that he rejected Ashina Shetu's overture and launch a major attack on Tujue, but Emperor Wen refused. In 585, with Ashina Shetu under attack from one of his subordinate khans,
972-598: A base of operations, but on the way was again defeated, and he had his brother Yang Jishan ( 楊積善 ) kill him, to avoid capture. At Emperor Yang's orders, the officials Fan Zigai ( 樊子蓋 ) and Pei Yun ( 裴蘊 ) carried out mass-scale reprisals, executing a large number of people who had followed Yang Xuangan. Around the new year 614, by Emperor Yang's orders, Yang Jishan and Yang Xuangan's strategist Wei Fusi ( 韋福嗣 ) were publicly executed in exceedingly cruel manners—the officials all fired arrows at them, and then they were further drawn and quartered , and then their bodies were burned and
1134-481: A clansman of Emperor Yang). Emperor Yang agreed. Also in 609, Emperor Yang, jealous of the literary talent of the official Xue Daoheng ( 薛道衡 ), he falsely accused Xue of defaming the emperor and had Xue strangled. By this time, it was said that Emperor Yang's lifestyle had become particularly wasteful, and that he no longer felt bound by moral principles. In 610, Emperor Yang visited Jiangdu again, and this time elevated Jiangdu's importance so that it effectively became
1296-534: A coherent plan as to whether to try to challenge Emperor Yang for the control of the entire empire, or just the region north of the Yellow River . After some initial successes, Yang Liang's offenses stalled. Emperor Yang sent Yang Su against him, and Yang Su proceeded quickly to Yang Liang's headquarters at Bing Province, capturing Xiao and forcing Yang Liang to surrender. Emperor Yang did not execute Yang Liang, but reduced him to commoner rank and imprisoned him for
1458-533: A daughter of a clansman, whom he created the Princess Huarong, to Qu Boya ( 麴伯雅 ) (the king of Gaochang ) in marriage In spring 613, Emperor Yang again ordered that soldiers be gathered at Zhuo Commandery, as he prepared a second campaign against Goguryeo. He also selected the most elite of the soldiers into a specialized corps, the Xiaoguo Army (驍果, meaning, "the strong and brave"). Thereafter,
1620-643: A deep friendship with Heruo Bi, and there had been rumors that the Xiaos would rise again, the superstitious Emperor Yang also removed Xiao Cong from his post. Qimin visited Yangdi at Yulin. Also in 607, at the instigation of Pei Ju , Emperor Yang reopened relations with Xiyu states. In spring 608, Emperor Yang conscripted over a million men to construct the Yongji Canal ( 永濟渠 ), from the Yellow River to Zhuo Commandery (涿郡, roughly modern Beijing ). It
1782-688: A direct contact with the Han dynasty, residing to the north of the Wuhuan. In the first century BC, the Xianbei began actively engaging in the struggle between the Han and Xiongnu, culminating in the Xianbei replacing the Xiongnu on the Mongolian Plateau in 93 AD. In the mid-2nd century, the chieftain, Tanshihuai unified the Xianbei and waged war against the Han dynasty. His confederation threatened
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#17327648722801944-534: A force of 3,000 Xiongnu but could not take the Southern Xiongnu capital due to disease among the horses of their Xianbei allies. The Xianbei under Qizhijian raided Han territory four times from 121 to 138. In 145, the Xianbei raided Dai Commandery . Around the mid-2nd century, a chieftain, Tanshihuai , unified the Xianbei tribes and established an imperial court at Mount Danhan (彈汗山; in present-day Shangdu County , Inner Mongolia ). Under Tanshihuai,
2106-670: A forest, stones form a cairn, arrows form a quiver, and drops of water form a lake. A genetic study published in Nature in May 2018 examined the remains of four elite Türk soldiers buried between ca. 300 AD and 700 AD. 50% of the samples of Y-DNA belonged to the West Eurasian haplogroup R1 , while the other 50% belonged to East Eurasian haplogroups Q and O . The extracted samples of mtDNA belonged mainly to East Eurasian haplogroups C4b1 , A14 and A15c , while one specimen carried
2268-603: A fruit) 'just fully ripe'; (of a human being) 'in the prime of life, young, and vigorous'". Hakan Aydemir (2022) also contends that Türk originally did not mean "strong, powerful" but "gathered; united, allied, confederated" and was derived from Pre- Proto-Turkic verb * türü "heap up, collect, gather, assemble". The name as used by the Göktürks only applied to themselves, the Göktürk khanates, and their subjects. The Göktürks did not consider other Turkic speaking groups such as
2430-555: A hostage, as Tuyuhun's new khan, but the Tuyuhun people would not accept him, and Murong Shun was forced back to Sui territory. Emperor Yang also received 27 rulers of Xiyu kingdoms in an audience at Zhangye (張掖, in modern Zhangye , Gansu ). Later in the year, Ashina Rangan died, and was succeeded by his son Shibi Khan Ashina Duojishi. Pursuant to Tujue customs, Ashina Duojishi requested permission from Emperor Yang to marry Ashina Rangan's wife Princess Yicheng ( 義成公主 ) (the daughter of
2592-463: A lack of direct evidence, believed to be a murder ordered by Yang Guang (see below). Yang Guang, after sending Yang Yue to kill Yang Yong, announced Emperor Wen's death and took the throne as Emperor Yang. An immediate challenge that Emperor Yang faced was a rebellion by his brother Yang Liang, then the commandant at Bing Province, who was encouraged by the generals Wang Kui ( 王頍 ) and Xiao Mohe . Yang Liang received support from 19 provinces, but lacked
2754-781: A large number of men to build the Tongji Canal ( 通濟渠 ), connecting Luoyang with the Yellow River and connecting the Yellow River with the Huai River , as well as to rebuild the Han Canal ( 邗溝 ), connecting the Huai River and the Yangtze River. The two canals, which would eventually become parts of the Grand Canal of China , were said to be constructed within five months, but at substantial cost of life—40% to 50% of
2916-560: A member of their tribe based on their character and abilities. Even as they established their states on the Central Plains and adopted the Chinese hereditary system, influential brothers, uncles and cousins of the Xianbei rulers often posed as rival claimants to the throne. Art of the Xianbei portrayed their nomadic lifestyle and consisted primarily of metalwork and figurines. The style and subjects of Xianbei art were influenced by
3078-587: A multilingual, multi-ethnic confederation consisting of mainly Proto-Mongols (who spoke either pre-Proto-Mongolic, or Para-Mongolic languages ), and, to a minor degree, Tungusic and Turkic peoples. They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into the Wuhuan and Xianbei when they were defeated by the Xiongnu at the end of the third century BC. Following the split, the Xianbei people did not have
3240-585: A murder ordered by Yang Guang, he ascended the Sui throne. Emperor Yang, ruling from 604 to 618, committed to several large construction projects, most notably the completion of the Grand Canal , and the reconstruction of the Great Wall . He also ordered several military expeditions that brought Sui to its greatest territorial extent, one of which, the conquest of Champa , resulted in the death of thousands of Sui soldiers from malaria . These expeditions, along with
3402-865: A number of Yang Jian's associates, but he did not depose Yang Jian, although from this point on Yang Jian did not exert much influence on the political scene. In 608 as well, Pei Ju persuaded the Tiele tribes to attack Tuyuhun , forcing Tuyuhun's Busabuo Khan Murong Fuyun to flee. Murong Fuyun initially considered submitting to Sui, and Emperor Yang sent Yuwen with an army to welcome him. However, when Murong Fuyun changed his mind, Yuwen attacked him and seized much of Tuyuhun's people. When Murong Fuyun fled further, Emperor Yang had his forces seize Tuyuhun's territory, establishing four commanderies, to be populated with exiles. In spring 609, Ashina Rangan made another visit to Emperor Yang, and Emperor Yang again rewarded him with much treasure. Also in spring 609, Emperor Yang ordered
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#17327648722803564-691: A number of conscripted soldiers deserted and became agrarian rebels. Also in 611, angry that Western Tujue's khan Ashina Daman, while nominally submissive, had refused to visit him, Emperor Yang had Pei Ju persuade Ashina Daman's subordinate khan Ashina Shegui ( 阿史那射匱 ) to rebel against Ashina Daman, promising to give him a Sui princess in marriage. Ashina Shegui thus rebelled against Ashina Daman, forcing Ashina Daman to flee, first to Gaochang , then to Sui. Emperor Yang accepted Ashina Daman's submission, and thereafter divided his people into three groups, while leaving Ashina Daman as titularly khan, although he never allowed Ashina Daman to return to his people. By 612,
3726-451: A redistribution of the farming land throughout the empire. Later in spring 609, Emperor Yang conducted a tour of the newly conquered Tuyuhun territory, and sent several generals to chase down Murong Fuyun. The Sui forces engaged Murong Fuyun's remaining forces, with mixed success, but Murong Fuyun was forced to flee to Dangxiang tribes. Emperor Yang tried to impose Murong Fuyun's son Murong Shun , whom Murong Fuyun had earlier sent to Sui as
3888-464: A series of disastrous campaigns against Goguryeo , left the empire bankrupt and the populace in revolt. With northern China in turmoil, Emperor Yang spent his last days in Jiangdu (江都, in modern Yangzhou , Jiangsu ), where he was eventually strangled in a coup led by his general Yuwen Huaji . Despite his accomplishments, Emperor Yang is generally considered by traditional historians to be one of
4050-524: A step further by decreeing the change of Xianbei names to Han names , even changing their own family name from Tuoba to Yuan. Xiaowen also moved the capital to Luoyang in the Chinese heartlands away from Pingcheng near the northern frontiers. While the population in Luoyang were open to accepting the policies, the population near the old capital were more conservative and held on to their Xianbei culture. Marriages to Han elite families were encouraged, and
4212-417: A third capital. When Emperor Yang was visiting Ashina Rangan in 607, a messenger from Goguryeo 's King King Yeong-yang to Ashina Rangan happened to be present, and Ashina Rangan introduced him to Emperor Yang. Emperor Yang ordered King Yeong-yang to come visit him, offering to reward him if he did so and to punish him if he did not do so. King Yeong-yang did not respond, and by 611, Emperor Yang, insulted by
4374-523: A tour of the northern provinces with the Empress Xiao and much of the imperial court. Shibi Khan , angered that the imperial advisor Pei Ju had promised a princess to his brother Ashina Chiji ( 阿史那叱吉 ) and had executed his close advisor Shishu Huxi ( 史蜀胡悉 ) under false pretenses, launched a surprise attack on Yanmen Commandery . In accordance with Turkish customs, Princess Yicheng had married him as her husband's successor; having been well treated by
4536-420: A variety of influences, and ultimately, the Xianbei were known for emphasizing unique nomadic motifs in artistic advancements such as leaf headdresses, crouching and geometricized animals depictions, animal pendant necklaces, and metal openwork . The leaf headdresses were very characteristic of Xianbei culture, and they are found especially in Murong Xianbei tombs. Their corresponding ornamental style also links
4698-601: Is 8 generations prior. Three of the Türkic-affiliated males carried the paternal haplogroups J2a and J1a , two carried haplogroup C-F3830 , and one carried R1a-Z93 . The analyzed maternal haplogroups were identified as D4 , D2 , B4 , C4 , H1 and U7 . A 2023 study published in the Journal of Systematics and Evolution analyzed the DNA of Empress Ashina (551–582), a royal Göktürk and immediate descendant of
4860-452: Is also possible that the Xianbei spoke more than one language. However, there are no remaining works written in Xianbei, which are thought to have been written using Chinese characters . Only a few words remain, such as 啊干 'elder brother'. According to Du, et al. (2024), some historians believe that the Xianbei could have had "exotic" features such as high nose bridges, blond hair and thick beards. However, other scholars have suggested
5022-544: Is associated with celestial realms ). This is consistent with "the cult of heavenly ordained rule" which was a recurrent element of Altaic political culture and as such may have been imbibed by the Göktürks from their predecessors in Mongolia. "Blue" is traditionally associated with the East as it used in the cardinal system of central Asia, thus meaning "Turks of the East". The name of the ruling Ashina clan may derive from
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5184-488: Is widely believed that Yang Guang also continued to scheme to secure his status as the crown prince. Such commonly believed tales include the following: By 602, his brother, Yang Xiu the Prince of Shu, who, was commandant of Yi Province (roughly modern Chengdu , Sichuan ), and had great resources at his disposal. Yang Guang collected evidence of Yang Xiu's wrongdoing, particularly wastefulness, and had Yang Su submit them to Emperor Wen. Emperor Wen summoned Yang Xiu back to
5346-496: Is worn on top of the head and resembles a tree or animal with many leaf pendants, and the rare "Blossoming Vine" (huaman), which consists of "gold strips interwoven with wires with leaves." Leaf headdresses were made with hammered gold and decorated by punching out designs and hanging the leaf pendants with wire. The exact origin, use, and wear of these headdresses is still being investigated and determined. However, headdresses similar to those later also existed and were worn by women in
5508-601: The Book of Zhou and History of the Northern Dynasties , the Ashina clan was a component of the Xiongnu confederation, specifically, the Northern Xiongnu tribes or southern Xiongnu "who settled along the northern Chinese frontier", according to Edwin G. Pulleyblank . However, this view is contested. Göktürks were also posited as having originated from an obscure Suo state (索國) ( MC : * sâk ) which
5670-495: The Datou Khan Ashina Dianjue, Emperor Wen in fact sent Yang Guang to aid Ashina Shetu. In 588, Emperor Wen moved Yang Guang's headquarters to Shouchun (壽春, in modern Lu'an , Anhui ), and made him the commandant there as well as the head the branch of the executive bureau established there. In winter 588, Emperor Wen launched a major attack on the rival Chen dynasty . Yang Guang, his brother Yang Jun , and
5832-787: The Di -led Former Qin dynasty before it fell apart not long after its defeat in the Battle of Fei River by the Eastern Jin. In the wake of the Former Qin's collapse, the Tuoba formed the Northern Wei dynasty and eventually reunited northern China, ushering China into the Northern and Southern dynasties period. The Northern dynasties , all of which were either led or heavily influenced by
5994-795: The Former Yan (337–370), Later Yan (384–407) and Southern Yan (398–410), as well as the Western Yan (384–394; not listed among the Sixteen Kingdoms). The Murong dominated the northeast and at one point vied to unify China, but fell short due to family infighting, corruption and weak rulers. Meanwhile, in Gansu , the Qifu established the Western Qin (385–431) while the Tufa established
6156-533: The Han dynasty , the Xianbei began occupying the Mongolian Plateau , absorbing 100,000 Xiongnu tribes and increasing their strength. In 109, the Wuhuan and Xianbei attacked Wuyuan Commandery and defeated local Han forces. The Southern Xiongnu chanyu Wanshishizhudi rebelled against the Han and attacked the Emissary Geng Chong but failed to oust him. Han forces under Geng Kui retaliated and defeated
6318-664: The Khotanese Saka term for "deep blue", āššɪna . According to the American Heritage Dictionary , the word Türk meant "strong" in Old Turkic; though Gerhard Doerfer supports this theory, Gerard Clauson points out that "the word Türk is never used in the generalized sense of 'strong'" and that the noun Türk originally meant "'the culminating point of maturity' (of a fruit, human being, etc.), but more often used as an [adjective] meaning (of
6480-524: The Northern Wei dynasty (386–535), becoming the first of the Northern dynasties (386–581). The Northern Wei grew in power after they defeated and supplanted the Later Yan on the Central Plains . In 439, they conquered the last of the Sixteen Kingdoms , thereby unifying the north and completing the transition into the Northern and Southern dynasties period . The Northern Wei unification
6642-885: The Old-Turkic migration-term 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰜 Türük / Törük , which means 'created, born'. They were known in Middle Chinese historical sources as the Tūjué ( Chinese : 突 厥 ; reconstructed in Middle Chinese as romanized: * dwət-kuɑt > tɦut-kyat ). The ethnonym was also recorded in various other Middle Asian languages, such as Sogdian * Türkit ~ Türküt , tr'wkt , trwkt , turkt > trwkc , trukč ; Khotanese Saka Ttūrka / Ttrūka , Rouran to̤ro̤x / türǖg , Korean 돌궐 / Dolgwol , and Old Tibetan Drugu . According to Chinese sources, Tūjué meant " combat helmet " ( Chinese : 兜 鍪 ; pinyin : Dōumóu ; Wade–Giles : Tou -mou ), reportedly because
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6804-911: The Oroqen people . A genetic study published in the Russian Journal of Genetics in April 2014 examined the mtDNA of 17 Tuoba Xianbei buried at the Shangdu Dongdajing cemetery in Inner Mongolia, China. The 17 samples of mtDNA extracted belonged to haplogroups D4 (four samples), D5 (three samples), C (five samples), A (three samples), G and B. A genetic study published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology in November 2007 examined 17 individuals buried at
6966-710: The Qimin Khan Ashina Rangan, whom Sui supported, from Ashina Dianjue's attack. By 600, Yang Guang's older brother Yang Yong had lost the favors of Emperor Wen and Empress Dugu—over his wastefulness (which displeased Emperor Wen) and his having many concubines (which displeased Empress Dugu). Yang Guang, by contrast, pretended to be frugal and loving only Princess Xiao. (It was written that Yang Guang did have concubines, but he pretended that he did not, and that he forced his concubines to have abortions if they became pregnant.) Yang Guang further inflamed Empress Dugu by informing her that she believed that Yang Yong
7128-509: The Sixteen Kingdoms in northern China. The Murong of Liaodong were the most notable clan of this period. Having adopted the Jin governing system and customs, they rose to prominence during the fall of Western Jin by providing refuge and cooperating closely with the Chinese exiles, eventually establishing Xianbei rule over the Central Plains after they defeated the Ran Wei in 352. They founded
7290-569: The Southern Liang (397–414). The Tuoba retained their fiefdom of Dai (310–376), which was elevated to a kingdom in 315, before they were eventually conquered by the Di -led Former Qin dynasty . With the fall of Dai, northern China was briefly unified under the Qin, but as they rapidly collapsed following a disastrous defeat at the Battle of Fei River in 383, the Tuoba restored their state as
7452-664: The Tang dynasty (618–907). Both Sui and Tang were founded by families who identified with their Han Chinese heritage, and were backed by an alliance of Chinese and Xianbei nobles from the Northern Zhou who sought to protect their common interest. Through these political establishments, the Xianbei who entered China were largely merged with the Chinese, examples such as the wife of Emperor Gaozu of Tang , Duchess Dou and Emperor Taizong of Tang 's wife, Empress Zhangsun , both have Xianbei ancestries, while those who remained behind in
7614-738: The Tiele confederation , likewise Xiongnu-associated, by ancestral lineage. However, Lee and Kuang (2017) state that Chinese sources do not describe the Ashina-led Göktürks s descending from the Dingling or belonging to the Tiele confederation. Chinese sources linked the Hu on their northern borders to the Xiongnu just as Graeco-Roman historiographers called the Pannonian Avars , Huns and Hungarians “ Scythians ". Such archaizing
7776-779: The Tuoba tribe settled in the abandoned city of Shengle , north of the Yin Mountains . To the east of them, the Yuwen tribe settled between the Luan River and Liucheng , while the Murong tribe were allowed to move deeper into Liaodong . The Duan tribe was founded in Liaoxi within the Great Wall by a Xianbei ex-slave along with a group of exiles. In the west, an offshoot of the Murong moved into northern Qinghai and mixed with
7938-442: The Turks were under attack from the north and relief troops from Luoyang and the other commanderies began arriving, so the khan lifted the siege. With the danger passed and credit muddled, Emperor Yang followed the advice of Su and Yuwen to renege on most of his promises: he did not return to the capital Chang'an, but went to Luoyang instead; he continued to prepare a campaign against Goguryeo; he did not bestow any monetary rewards on
8100-494: The Uyghurs , Tiele , and Kyrgyz to be Türks. In the Orkhon inscriptions , the Toquz Oghuz and the Yenisei Kyrgyz are not referred to as Türks. Similarly, the Uyghurs called themselves Uyghurs and used Türk exclusively for the Göktürks, whom they portrayed as enemy aliens in their royal inscriptions. The Khazars may have kept the Göktürk tradition alive by claiming descent from the Ashina. When tribal leaders built their khanates, ruling over assorted tribes and tribal unions,
8262-411: The Western Jin dynasty during the War of the Eight Princes and the Upheaval of the Five Barbarians before eventually distancing themselves and declaring their autonomy as the Jin was pushed to the south. During the Sixteen Kingdoms period, the Xianbei founded several short-lived states in the north and established themselves on the Central Plains . The Xianbei were at one point all subjected to
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#17327648722808424-482: The Wuhuan at the Battle of White Wolf Mountain in 207, Budugen, Fuluohan, Kebineng and others paid tribute to him. In 218, Fuluohan met with the Wuhuan chieftain Nengchendi to form an alliance, but Nengchendi double crossed him and called in Kebineng, who killed Fuluohan. Budugen went to the court of Cao Wei in 224 to ask for assistance against Kebineng, but he eventually betrayed them and allied with Kebineng in 233. Kebineng killed Budugen soon afterwards. Kebineng
8586-446: The Ashina may have spoken originally, they and those they ruled would all speak Turkic, in a variety of dialects, and create, in a broadly defined sense, a common culture. The Göktürks reached their peak in the late 6th century and began to invade the Sui dynasty of China . However, the war ended due to the division of Turkic nobles and their civil war for the throne of Khagan. With the support of Emperor Wen of Sui , Yami Qaghan won
8748-424: The Central Plains and give pushback on the Wei's sinicization policies. The Northern Qi was ruled by the Gao clan, a Xianbeified Han Chinese family who relied on the Xianbei elites and favoured their traditions. Meanwhile, the Northern Zhou was ruled by the Yuwen clan of Xianbei ethnicity. Ruling over a predominantly Chinese population, the military reforms of the Western Wei and Northern Zhou saw an attempt to revive
8910-461: The Chanyu Protectorate ( 單于大都護府 ), declared Ashina Nishufu as qaghan and revolted against the Tang dynasty. In 680, Pei Xingjian defeated Ashina Nishufu and his army. Ashina Nishufu was killed by his men. Ashide Wenfu made Ashina Funian a qaghan and again revolted against the Tang dynasty. Ashide Wenfu and Ashina Funian surrendered to Pei Xingjian. On 5 December 681, 54 Göktürks, including Ashide Wenfu and Ashina Funian, were publicly executed in
9072-797: The Chen general Xiao Mohe , Jiankang fell, and the Chen emperor Chen Shubao was captured. Yang Guang, apparently fascinated by Chen Shubao's favorite concubine Consort Zhang Lihua , sent Gao Jiong's son Gao Dehong ( 高德弘 ) to order Gao Jiong to hold Consort Zhang. Instead, Gao Jiong, comparing Consort Zhang to Daji (the wicked wife of King Zhou of Shang ), beheaded her. Yang Guang thereafter resented Gao greatly, stating sarcastically, "It has been said, 'You should repay every good deed done to you.' I will repay Duke Gao later." By Yang Guang's orders, several of Chen Shubao's favorite officials, who were considered reasons for Chen's downfall, including Shi Wenqing ( 施文慶 ), Shen Keqing ( 沈客卿 ), Yang Huilang ( 陽慧朗 ), Xu Xi ( 徐析 ), and Ji Huijing ( 暨慧景 ), were executed. It
9234-666: The Crown Prince became ill while visiting Luoyang, and soon died. Emperor Yang would not create another crown prince for the rest of his reign, creating Yang Zhao's sons Yang Tan ( 楊倓 ), Yang Tong , and Yang You imperial princes, while initially apparently tacitly considering his second son, Yang Jian the Prince of Qi (note different character than Emperor Wen) the de facto successor, leaving Yang Jian in charge of Luoyang whenever he would be away from Luoyang. Yang Su, whom Emperor Yang pretended to respect but actually feared, also died in summer 606. Also in 606, Emperor Yang ordered that two massive food storages—the Luokou Storage ( 洛口倉 ) and
9396-461: The Duke of Sui, and Yang Jian's wife Duchess Dugu Qieluo ; his maternal grandfather was Dugu Xin , a prominent military general and official. He was his parents' second son, after Yang Yong , and he had at least one older sister, Yang Lihua , who became the wife of Emperor Wu's crown prince Yuwen Yun (the later Emperor Xuan) in 573. He was considered handsome and intelligent in his youth, and of Yang Jian's and Duchess Dugu's sons, they favored him
9558-424: The East Eurasian ancestry was related to Ancient Northeast Asians . The authors also observed that the Western Steppe Herder ancestry in the Türks was largely inherited from male ancestors, which also corresponds with the marked increase of paternal haplogroups such as R and J during the Türkic period in Mongolia. Admixture between East and West Eurasian ancestors of the Türkic samples was dated to 500 AD, which
9720-439: The Eastern Han Chinese pronunciation of 鮮卑 is /sian pie/, and he does not reconstruct syllables ending in -r for this stage. He reconstructed the Later Han pronunciation of 室韋 as /śit wui/. On the one hand, *Särpi may be linked to the Mongolic root *ser ~ *sir which means "crest, bristle, sticking out, projecting, etc." (cf. Khalkha сэрвэн serven ), possibly referring to the Xianbei's horses (semantically analogous with
9882-432: The Eastern Market of Chang'an . In 682, Ilterish Qaghan and Tonyukuk revolted and occupied Heisha Castle (northwest of present-day Hohhot , Inner Mongolia ) with the remnants of Ashina Funian's men. The restored Göktürk Khaganate intervened in the war between Tang and Khitan tribes. However, after the death of Bilge Qaghan, the Göktürks could no longer subjugate other Turk tribes in the grasslands. In 744, allied with
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#173276487228010044-425: The Eurasian steppe during the Türkic period, resulting in admixture. A 2020 study analyzed genetic data from 7 early medieval Türk skeletal remains from Turkic Khaganate burial sites in Mongolia. The authors described the Türk samples as highly diverse, carrying on average 40% West Eurasian, and 60% East Eurasian ancestry. West Eurasian ancestry in the Türks combined Sarmatian -related and BMAC ancestry, while
10206-429: The Five Barbarians . For their services, the Duan and Tuoba were granted the duchies of Liaoxi and Dai , respectively. However, for varying reasons, most of the Xianbei eventually withdrew from the conflict, allowing the remnants of Jin to be quickly overwhelmed. Mass number of Chinese officers, soldiers and civilians fled south to join the Eastern Jin or north to join the Xianbei duchies. The Xianbei founded several of
10368-424: The Goguryeo forts and cities were able to withstand Sui forces and thus there was not much chance of Manchuria being successfully conquered. Emperor Yang, however, made a new plan to keep the Goguryeo forts at bay while sending another army, alongside the navy. to siege the Goguryeo capital. The navy arrived first and with a haste order, the navy attacked the capital but were defeated by ambush. The navy then waited for
10530-406: The Göktürks. The Göktürk rulers originated from the Ashina clan , who were first attested to in 439. The Book of Sui reports that in that year, on 18 October, the Tuoba ruler Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei overthrew Juqu Mujian of the Northern Liang in eastern Gansu , whence 500 Ashina families fled northwest to the Rouran Khaganate in the vicinity of Gaochang . According to
10692-412: The Han's northern borders for many years, but quickly disintegrated following his death in 181 AD. After suffering several defeats by the end of the Three Kingdoms period , the Xianbei migrated south and settled in close proximity to Han society and submitted as vassals to the Chinese dynasties. As one of the so-called " Five Barbarians " that settled in northern China, the Xianbei fought as auxiliaries for
10854-424: The Huiluo Storage ( 回洛倉 ) – be constructed near Luoyang. In spring 607, Ashina Rangan visited Emperor Yang at Luoyang. Also in spring 607, at the instigation of Yuwen Shu, Emperor Yang had Yang Yong's eight sons put to death. In summer 607, Emperor Yang abolished provinces and changed them to commanderies. At the same time, he reorganized his father's governmental system of having five main bureaus, keeping four of
11016-410: The Northern Wei dynasty, and ultimately led to the creation of the Yungang Grottoes . The Xianbei are thought to have spoken Mongolic or Para-Mongolic languages, with early and substantial Turkic influences, as Claus Schönig asserts: The Xianbei derived from the context of the Donghu , who are likely to have contained the linguistic ancestors of the Mongols . Later branches and descendants of
11178-460: The Northern Wei started to arrange for Han Chinese elites to marry daughters of the Xianbei Tuoba royal family in the 480s. More than fifty percent of Tuoba Xianbei princesses of the Northern Wei were married to southern Han Chinese men from the imperial families and aristocrats from southern China of the Southern dynasties who defected and moved north to join the Northern Wei. Some Han Chinese exiled royalty fled from southern China and defected to
11340-405: The Shouyang Princess was wedded to the Liang dynasty ruler Emperor Wu of Liang 's son Xiao Zong (蕭綜). After the Six Frontier Towns Rebellion and the events that followed, the Northern Wei split into Eastern Wei (534–550) and Western Wei (535–556) before becoming the Northern Qi (550–577) and Northern Zhou (557–581) respectively. The chaos allowed the Xianbei frontier nobility to enter
11502-433: The Sui dynasty in 581. In 588, he was granted command of the five armies that invaded the Chen dynasty in southern China and was widely praised for the success of this campaign. These military achievements, as well as his machinations against his older brother Yang Yong , led to him becoming crown prince in 600. After the death of his father in 604, generally considered, though unproven, by most traditional historians to be
11664-870: The Tang dynasty, the Uyghur Khaganate defeated the last Göktürk Khaganate and controlled the Mongolian Plateau. The Ashina tribe of the Göktürks ruled the First Turkic Khaganate , which then split into the Eastern Turkic Khaganate and the Western Turkic Khaganate , and later the Second Turkic Khaganate , controlling much of Central Asia and the Mongolian Plateau between 552 and 745. The rulers were named " Khagan " (Qaghan). Their religion
11826-898: The Turkic ethnonym Yabaqu < Yapağu 'matted hair or wool', later 'a matted-haired animal, i.e. a colt') On the other hand, the Book of the Later Han and the Book of Wei stated that before becoming an ethnonym, Xianbei had been a toponym, referring to the Great Xianbei mountains (大鮮卑山), which is now identified as the Greater Khingan range ( simplified Chinese : 大兴安岭 ; traditional Chinese : 大興安嶺 ; pinyin : Dà Xīng'ān Lǐng ). Shimunek (2018) reconstructs * serbi for Xiānbēi and * širwi for 室韋 Shìwéi < MC *ɕiɪt̚-ɦʉi . Warring States period 's Chinese literature contains early mentions of Xianbei, as in
11988-563: The West Eurasian haplogroup H2a . The authors suggested that central Asian nomadic populations may have been Turkicized by an East Asian minority elite, resulting in a small but detectable increase in East Asian ancestry. However, these authors also found that Türkic period individuals were extremely genetically diverse, with some individuals being of complete West Eurasian descent. To explain this diversity of ancestry, they propose that there were also incoming West Eurasians moving eastward on
12150-489: The Xianbei are the same as the Wuhuan ". The first significant contact the Xianbei had with the Han dynasty was in 41 and 45, when they joined the Wuhuan and Xiongnu in raiding Han territory. In 49, the governor Ji Tong convinced the Xianbei chieftain Pianhe to turn on the Xiongnu with rewards for each Xiongnu head they collected. In 54, Yuchouben and Mantou of the Xianbei paid tribute to Emperor Guangwu of Han . In 58,
12312-682: The Xianbei attacked the Wusun in the west and repelled the Dingling from the north and Buyeo from the east. He divided the Xianbei empire into three sections, each governed by an appointed chieftain. Tanshihuai of the Xianbei divided his territory into three sections: the eastern, the middle and the western. From the You Beiping to the Liao River , connecting the Fuyu and Mo to the east, it
12474-482: The Xianbei chieftain Pianhe attacked and killed Xinzhiben, a Wuhuan leader causing trouble in Yuyang Commandery . In 85, the Xianbei secured an alliance with the Dingling and Southern Xiongnu . In 87, the Xianbei attacked the Xiongnu chanyu Youliu and killed him. They flayed him and his followers and took the skins back as trophies. In 93, as the Northern Xiongnu were forced to the northwest by
12636-539: The Xianbei include the Tabghach and Khitan , who seem to have been linguistically Para-Mongolic. [...] Opinions differ widely as to what the linguistic impact of the Xianbei period was. Some scholars (like Clauson) have preferred to regard the Xianbei and Tabghach (Tuoba) as Turks, with the implication that the entire layer of early Turkic borrowings in Mongolic would have been received from the Xianbei, rather than from
12798-569: The Xianbei of the northeast, primarily the Duan , were brought in to fight in the civil wars of the Jin princes and played a deciding factor in the wars. When the Xiongnu in Shanxi rebelled and founded the Han-Zhao dynasty , the Tuoba offered their assistance to Jin to fight the rebels. The Jin were heavily reliant on the Xianbei's military force as they gradually lost the north during the upheaval of
12960-532: The Xianbei run their state, but eventually the Xianbei became Sinophiles and promoted Buddhism. The beginning of this conversion is evidenced by the Buddha imagery that emerges in Xianbei art. For instance, the included Buddha imprinted leaf headdress perfectly represents the Xianbei conversion and Buddhist synthesis since it combines both the traditional nomadic Xianbei leaf headdress with the new imagery of Buddha. This Xianbei religious conversion continued to develop in
13122-480: The Xianbei to Bactria. These gold hat ornaments represented trees and antlers and, in Chinese, they are referred to as buyao ("step sway") since the thin metal leaves move when the wearer moves. Sun Guoping first uncovered this type of artifact, and defined three main styles: "Blossoming Tree" (huashu), which is mounted on the front of a cap near the forehead and has one or more branches with hanging leaves that are circle or droplet shaped, "Blossoming Top" (dinghua), which
13284-594: The Xianbei warrior culture, which includes reverting the sinicized names of the Northern Wei and rewarding Han Chinese officers with Xianbei names. The Prime Minister of Northern Zhou, Yang Jian , later had these names restored back to Han names. In 581, Yang Jian founded the Sui dynasty (581–618) and unified China in 589 after absorbing the Chen dynasty (557–589). When the Sui came to an end amidst peasant rebellions and renegade troops, his cousin, Li Yuan , founded
13446-407: The Xianbei was animal husbandry combined with agricultural practice. They were the first to develop the khanate system, in which formation of social classes deepened, and developments also occurred in their literacy, arts and culture. They used a zodiac calendar and favoured song and music. Tengrism and subsequently Buddhism were the main religions among the Xianbei people. After they abandoned
13608-409: The Xianbei, opposed and promoted sinicization at one point or another but trended towards the latter and had merged with the general Chinese population by the Tang dynasty . The Northern Wei also arranged for ethnic Han elites to marry daughters of the Tuoba imperial clan in the 480s. More than fifty percent of Tuoba Xianbei princesses of the Northern Wei were married to southern Han men from
13770-458: The Xianbei. Historian Edward H. Schafer believes many of the Xianbei were blondes, but others such as Charles Holcombe think it is "likely that the bulk of the Xianbei were not visibly very different in appearance from the general population of northeastern Asia." Chinese anthropologist Zhu Hong and Zhang Quan-chao studied Xianbei crania from several sites of Inner Mongolia and noticed that anthropological features of studied Xianbei crania show that
13932-605: The Xianbei. Several daughters of the Xianbei Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei were married to Han Chinese elites, the Liu Song royal Liu Hui (劉輝), married Princess Lanling (蘭陵公主) of the Northern Wei, Princess Huayang (華陽公主) to Sima Fei (司馬朏), a descendant of Jin dynasty (266–420) royalty, Princess Jinan (濟南公主) to Lu Daoqian (盧道虔), Princess Nanyang (南陽長公主) to Xiao Baoyin (蕭寶寅), a member of Southern Qi royalty. Emperor Xiaozhuang of Northern Wei's sister
14094-442: The Xianbei. They were defeated and returned with only one-tenth of their original forces. A memorial made that year records that the Xianbei had taken all the lands previously held by the Xiongnu and their warriors numbered 100,000. Han deserters who sought refuge in their lands served as their advisers and refined metals as well as wrought iron came into their possession. Their weapons were sharper and their horses faster than those of
14256-405: The Xiaoguo Army became his own personal guards. In response to the conscription order, even more men deserted and joined the agrarian rebels, throwing the northern central part of the empire into a state of confusion. With the officials on command having little military training, the rebels went largely unchecked. One notable exception was general Zhang Xutuo ( 張須陀 ), who was able to defeat some of
14418-399: The Xiongnu. Another memorial submitted in 185 states that the Xianbei were making raids on Han settlements nearly every year. Despite the constant raids, the loose Xianbei confederacy lacked the organization of the Xiongnu empire, and they were struggling to sustain their growing population. Tanshihuai died in 181 and was succeeded by his son, Helian, but he lacked his father's abilities and
14580-474: The Xiongnu. However, since the Mongolic (or Para-Mongolic) identity of the Xianbei is increasingly obvious in the light of recent progress in Khitan studies, it is more reasonable to assume (with Doerfer) that the flow of linguistic influence from Turkic into Mongolic was at least partly reversed during the Xianbei period, yielding the first identifiable layer of Mongolic (or Para-Mongolic) loanwords in Turkic. It
14742-553: The actual capital, and he left his oldest son, Yang Zhao the Prince of Jin, in charge of Chang'an. He conscripted several hundred thousands of young men to dig a lengthy trench to surround the Luoyang region, intending that it serve as a defense perimeter. He also ordered that women and servants be exempted from head taxes , and that men would only be considered adults (i.e., subject to conscription) when they turn 21. In spring 605, Emperor Yang created his wife Crown Princess Xiao empress , and Yang Zhao as crown prince. He also abolished
14904-453: The appearance of the Xianbei was not dramatically different from modern East Asians. A genetic analysis of Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou revealed that he had an East Asian appearance, consistent with the hypothesis that the Xianbei were primarily of East Asian appearance. Yellow hair in Chinese sources could have meant brown rather than blonde and described other people such as the Jie rather than
15066-658: The ashes scattered. Around the same time, there were also rebellions south of the Yangtze River, and Emperor Yang sent the official Wang Shichong against the rebels. Wang was able to suppress the rebellions, for the most part, and thereafter began to rise in prominence at Emperor Yang's court. Meanwhile, Emperor Yang ordered that rebels' possessions could be confiscated at will. The local officials, however, used this as an excuse to execute and confiscate properties of those they did not like. In spring 614, Emperor Yang again proposed another campaign against Goguryeo. Although his officials did not approve, none dared to oppose him. Many of
15228-442: The back of hammered metal sheets. The nomadic traditions of the Xianbei inspired them to portray horses in their artwork. The horse played a large role in the existence of the Xianbei as a nomadic people, and in one tomb, a horse skull lay atop Xianbei bells, buckles, ornaments, a saddle, and one gilded bronze stirrup. The Xianbei not only created art for their horses, but they also made art to depict horses. Another recurring motif
15390-400: The backgrounds were decorated with openwork or mountainous landscapes, which harks back to the Xianbei nomadic lifestyle. With repeated animal imagery, an openwork background, and a rectangular frame, the included image of the three deer plaque is a paradigm of the Xianbei art style. Concave plaque backings imply that plaques were made using lost-wax casting , or raised designs were impressed on
15552-494: The border commanderies and claimed many lives. Though the Han was able to repel them at times, they were concerned that they would not be able to subdue Tanshihuai. The Han attempted to appease him by offering him the title of King, but Tanshihuai rejected them and continued to harass their borders. In 177, Xia Yu , Tian Yan and the Southern Xiongnu Chanyu , Tute Ruoshi Zhujiu led a force of 30,000 against
15714-548: The capital and had Yang Su investigate, and both Yang Guang and Yang Su further manufactured evidence against Yang Xiu. Emperor Wen reduced Yang Xiu to commoner rank and put him under house arrest. Also in 602, Empress Dugu died. It was said that Yang Guang pretended to mourn greatly, refusing most foods, but in private continued to dine normally. In 604, while Emperor Wen was at his vacation palace Renshou Palace (仁壽宮, in modern Baoji , Shaanxi ), he fell ill and then died—a death, however, that traditional historians, while admitting
15876-541: The collapse of the Sui dynasty , the conflicts between the Göktürks and Tang finally broke out when Tang was gradually reunifying China proper . The Göktürks began to attack and raid the northern border of the Tang Empire and once marched their main force of 100,000 soldiers to Chang'an , the capital of Tang. The emperor Taizong of the Tang, in spite of the limited resources at his disposal, managed to turn them back. Later, Taizong sent his troops to Mongolia and defeated
16038-464: The collected people identified themselves politically with the leadership. Turk became the designation for all subjects of the Turk empires. Nonetheless, subordinate tribes and tribal unions retained their original names, identities, and social structures. Memory of the Göktürks and the Ashina had faded by the turn of the millennium. The Karakhanids , Qocho Uyghurs, and Seljuks did not claim descent from
16200-458: The competition. However, the Göktürk empire was divided to Eastern and Western empires. Weakened by the civil war, Yami Qaghan declared allegiance to the Sui dynasty. When Sui began to decline, Shibi Khagan began to assault its territory and even surrounded Emperor Yang of Sui in Siege of Yanmen (615 AD) with 100,000 cavalry troops. After the collapse of the Sui dynasty, the Göktürks intervened in
16362-433: The courts. Another key form of Xianbei art is animal iconography, which was implemented primarily in metalwork. The Xianbei stylistically portrayed crouching animals in geometricized, abstracted, repeated forms, and distinguished their culture and art by depicting animal predation and same-animal combat. Typically, sheep, deer, and horses were illustrated. The artifacts, usually plaques or pendants, were made from metal, and
16524-399: The deceased in afterlife processions and guard their tomb. Furthermore, the figurine clothing specifies the according social statuses: higher-ranking Xianbei wore long-sleeved robes with a straight neck shirt underneath, while lower-ranking Xianbei wore trousers and belted tunics. Xianbei Buddhist influences were derived from interactions with Han culture. The Han bureaucrats initially helped
16686-792: The early Turk population was rather heterogeneous and many of the names of Turk rulers, including the two founding members, are not even Turkic. This is supported by evidence from the Orkhon inscriptions , which include several non-Turkic lexemes, possibly representing Uralic or Yeniseian words. Peter Benjamin Golden points out that the khaghans of the Turkic Khaganate, the Ashina, who were of an undetermined ethnic origin, adopted Iranian and Tokharian (or non- Altaic ) titles. German Turkologist W.-E. Scharlipp points out that many common terms in Turkic are Iranian in origin. Whatever language
16848-502: The empire, going to Jiangdu—the capital of Yang Province , where he had been commandant previously—on an imperial ship that was said to be sufficiently large and luxurious to serve as floating palaces. Also in 605, when Khitan tribes attacked Ying Province (營州, roughly modern Zhaoyang , Liaoning ), Emperor Yang had the official Wei Yunqi ( 韋雲起 ) requisition Tujue troops under Ashina Rangan to attack Khitan. The Khitan forces were caught by surprise and defeated. In summer 606, Yang Zhao
17010-455: The empress during an earlier visit, though, she sent a secret warning of his plans to the emperor and his wife. The imperial train sought refuge at the commandery seat in present-day Daixian , Shanxi , which Shibi Khan and his army put under siege on 11 September. It was said that Emperor Yang became so fearful that he cried all day long while holding onto his youngest son Yang Gao , the Prince of Zhao. Yuwen Shu suggested that Emperor Yang take
17172-471: The ensuing Chinese civil wars, providing support to the northeastern rebel Liu Heita against the rising Tang in 622 and 623. Liu enjoyed a long string of success but was finally routed by Li Shimin and other Tang generals and executed. The Tang dynasty was then established. Although the Göktürk Khaganate once provided support to the Tang dynasty in the early period of the civil war during
17334-555: The first Khagans, whose remains were recovered from a mausoleum in Xianyang , China . The authors determined that Empress Ashina belonged to the North-East Asian mtDNA haplogroup F1d . Approximately 96-98% of her autosomal ancestry was of Ancient Northeast Asian origin, while roughly 2-4% was of West Eurasian origin, indicating ancient admixture, and no Chinese ("Yellow River") admixture. The results are consistent with
17496-534: The frigid north and migrated into Northern China , they gradually abandoned nomadic lifestyle and were sinicized and assimilated with the Han Chinese . Emperor Xiaowen of the Xianbei-led state of Northern Wei in northern China, eventually decreed the changes of Xianbei names to Han names . Prior to Tanshihuai, the Xianbei did not have a hereditary system , and their chieftains were chosen by electing
17658-516: The frontier by Cao Zhang . In 220, he acknowledged Cao Pi as emperor of Cao Wei. Eventually, he turned on the Wei for frustrating his advances on Suli. Kebineng conducted raids on Cao Wei before he was killed in 235, after which his confederacy disintegrated. Many of the Xianbei tribes migrated south and settled on the borders of the Wei-Jin dynasties, where they often offered their submission. In 258,
17820-472: The garrison or its reinforcements; and he was sparing in the promotion of the officers involved. When Fan and Xiao Yu reminded him of the promises, Emperor Yang rebuked Fan and demoted Xiao Yu. Emperor Yang only appeared to begin to be concerned about rebels when, at the lunar new year imperial gathering in 616, 20 odd commanderies' messengers did not arrive—either because they had fallen into rebel hands, or because their messengers were intercepted or killed on
17982-530: The general Yang Su were in command of the three main prongs of the operation, with Yang Guang in command of the eastern prong as well as the overall operation. The key official Gao Jiong served as Yang Guang's assistant. In spring 589, the generals Han Qinhu ( 韓擒虎 ) and Heruo Bi ( 賀若弼 ), both under Yang Guang, crossed the Yangtze River and approached the Chen capital Jiankang . Soon, after Heruo defeated
18144-666: The imperial families and aristocrats from southern China of the Southern dynasties who defected and moved north to join the Northern Wei. Paul Pelliot tentatively reconstructs the Eastern Han Chinese pronunciation of 鮮卑 as */serbi/, from * Särpi , after noting that Chinese scribes used 鮮 to transcribe Middle Persian sēr ( lion ) and 卑 to transcribe foreign syllable /pi/; for instance, Sanskrit गोपी gopī "milkmaid, cowherdess" became Middle Chinese 瞿卑 ( ɡɨo-piᴇ ) (> Mand. qúbēi ). According to Schuessler, however,
18306-476: The lack of response, prepared a campaign against Goguryeo. With Sui appearing to be in its prime, both governmental officials and the people were initially in support of a campaign to conquer Goguryeo. In spring 611, Emperor Yang went to Zhuo Commandery and announced the campaign against Goguryeo. Several hundred men were conscripted, and it was said that even before they could get to Zhuo Commandery, disease and fatigue had already caused much loss of life. In response,
18468-605: The land army to arrive. The supply of food had also been greatly delayed and many Sui soldiers died of famine. Then the Goguryeo General Eulji Meundeok rallied Goguryeo forces, and constantly harassed them with ambushes and feigned retreats. The Sui army had come to the Salsu River, but Eulji and the Goguryeo forces were waiting in ambush. A dam was made at the Salsu River to make the river seem it
18630-531: The main bureaus—the executive bureau (尚書省, Shangshu Sheng ), the examination bureau (門下省, Menxia Sheng ), the legislative bureau (內史省, Neishi Sheng ), the Palace Library – while abolishing the eunuch bureau and replacing it with the palace bureau (殿內省, Diannei Sheng ). He established three additional independent agencies and five independent departments. He also organized the imperial army into 16 corps. He abolished three levels of noble titles—the counts,
18792-463: The main force of Göktürk army in Battle of Yinshan four years later and captured Illig Qaghan in 630 AD. With the submission of the Turkic tribes, the Tang conquered the Mongolian Plateau . From then on, the Eastern Turks were subjugated to China. After a vigorous court debate, Emperor Taizong decided to pardon the Göktürk nobles and offered them positions as imperial guards. However,
18954-504: The men employed. Emperor Yang also ordered that some 40 secondary palaces be built around the empire, so that he could visit the various provinces, arguing that he needed to do so to see the conditions of the empire so that he could govern effectively. In fall 605, after the completion of the Tongji and Han Canals, Emperor Yang carried out the first of 11 (counting military campaigns) tours that he would eventually undertake of various parts of
19116-475: The most elite guards and try to fight out of the siege, but Su Wei and Fan Zigai opposed this. Empress Xiao's brother Xiao Yu suggested seeking further help from Princess Yicheng, and Emperor Yang did so. Meanwhile, at Yu Shiji 's advice, Emperor Yang also personally visited the soldiers defending the city, raising morale by promising to end the campaigns against Goguryeo and to reward them with honors and treasure. Princess Yicheng falsely informed Shibi Khan that
19278-540: The most. Sometime during Northern Zhou , on account of Yang Jian's achievements, he was created the Duke of Yanmen . In 580, Yang Jian seized power as regent after Emperor Xuan's death. In 581, he had Emperor Xuan's son (by the concubine Zhu Manyue ), Emperor Jing , yield the throne to him, ending Northern Zhou and establishing the Sui dynasty as its Emperor Wen. Emperor Wen created Yang Yong crown prince and created his other sons imperial princes. Yang Guang thus received
19440-724: The native Qiang people , becoming Tuyuhun . The Qifu tribe settled near the Longxi basin , while a branch of the Tuoba, the Tufa tribe, roamed the Hexi corridor . In 270, the Tufa chieftain, Tufa Shujineng , led the various ethnic tribes in the northwest in a rebellion against the Jin dynasty in Qin and Liang provinces but was defeated in 279 by Ma Long . During the War of the Eight Princes ,
19602-671: The northern grassland evolved into tribes of the Rouran and Khitan . In the West, the Xianbei kingdom of Tuyuhun remained independent until it was defeated by the Tibetan Empire in 670. After the fall of the kingdom, the Xianbei people underwent a diaspora over a vast territory that stretched from the northwest into central and eastern parts of China. Murong Nuohebo led the Tuyuhun people eastward into central China, where they settled in modern Yinchuan , Ningxia. The economic base of
19764-627: The offender with lightning. The many secondary powers – sometimes named deities, sometimes spirits or simply said to be sacred, and almost always associated with Tengri – were the Earth, the Mountain, Water, the Springs, and the Rivers; the possessors of all objects, particularly of the land and the waters of the nation; trees, cosmic axes, and sources of life; fire, the symbol of the family and alterego of
19926-478: The offices of military commandants. He, at this time, trusted Empress Xiao's brother Xiao Cong the Duke of Ju ( Western Liang 's last emperor) and made him, as well as many of her other relatives, important officials, creating him the greater title of Duke of Liang. Starting in 605, Emperor Yang also started a massive number of construction projects—including the building of the imperial palace at Luoyang, described to be particularly luxurious. Further, he conscripted
20088-560: The palace first, and Emperor Wen bestowed on Yang Guang decorated wagons, horses, clothing, and jade. Afterwards, Yang Jun was given the Yang Province (then moved to modern Yangzhou , Jiangsu ) commandant post, and Yang Guang was returned to Bing Province. In 590, Emperor Wen swapped the defense posts of Yang Jun and Yang Guang, returning Yang Guang to Yang Province. In 594, Yang Guang urged Emperor Wen to offer sacrifices to Mount Tai —a traditional ceremony for emperors, but one that
20250-572: The poem " The Great Summons " ( Chinese : 大招 ; pinyin : Dà zhāo ) in the anthology Verses of Chu and possibly the chapter "Discourses of Jin 8" in Discourses of the States . When the Donghu "Eastern Barbarians" were defeated by Modu Chanyu around 208 BC, the Donghu splintered into the Xianbei and Wuhuan. According to the Book of the Later Han , "the language and culture of
20412-457: The population of the Turkic empire. This shows that the Ashina lineage had a dominating contribution on Mongolic and Tungusic speakers but limited contribution on Turkic-speaking populations. According to the authors, these findings "once again validates a cultural diffusion model over a demic diffusion model for the spread of Turkic languages" and refutes "the western Eurasian origin and multiple origin hypotheses" in favor of an East Asian origin for
20574-478: The proposition was ended by a plan for the assassination of the emperor. On 19 May 639 Ashina Jiesheshuai and his tribesmen directly assaulted Emperor Taizong of Tang at Jiucheng Palace ( 九 成 宮 , in present-day Linyou County , Baoji , Shaanxi ). However, they did not succeed and fled to the north, but were caught by pursuers near the Wei River and were killed. Ashina Hexiangu was exiled to Lingbiao . After
20736-871: The racial type is closely related to the modern East-Asians, and some physical characteristics of those skulls are closer to modern Mongols, Manchu and Han Chinese . A genetic study published in The FEBS Journal in October 2006 examined the mtDNA of 21 Tuoba Xianbei buried at the Qilang Mountain Cemetery in Inner Mongolia , China. The 21 samples of mtDNA extracted belonged to haplogroups O (9 samples), D (7 samples), C (5 samples), B (2 samples) and A . These haplogroups are characteristic of Northeast Asians. Among modern populations they were found to be most closely related to
20898-499: The rebels, Emperor Yang had Su falsely accused of crimes and initially was poised to execute him, but instead demoted him to commoner rank. Xianbei The Xianbei ( / ʃ j ɛ n ˈ b eɪ / ; simplified Chinese : 鲜卑 ; traditional Chinese : 鮮卑 ; pinyin : Xiānbēi ) were an ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia , Inner Mongolia , and Northeastern China . The Xianbei were strongly suggested to be
21060-466: The rebels, but even he was not able to succeed in suppressing them. In summer 613, Emperor Yang crossed the Liao River again and put Manchuria under siege. However, at this time, news arrived that Yang Su's son Yang Xuangan had rebelled near Luoyang. With the people disaffected by the Goguryeo campaigns, Yang Xuangan received much popular support and threatened Luoyang. Emperor Yang, in fear, lifted
21222-443: The remaining 38% was derived from West Eurasians ( BMAC and Afanasievo ), with the admixture occurring around the year 500 CE. The Ashina was found to share genetic affinities to post-Iron Age Tungusic and Mongolic pastoralists, and was genetically closer to East Asians, while having heterogeneous relationships towards various Turkic-speaking groups in central Asia, suggesting genetic heterogeneity and multiple sources of origin for
21384-407: The rest of his life. In winter 604, believing in the words of the sorcerer Zhangchou Taiyi ( 章仇太翼 ) that the geography of Chang'an was not conducive to his health, Emperor Yang went to Luoyang , designating it as the eastern capital, and would rarely return to Chang'an thereafter. He ordered that major construction projects be carried out at Luoyang, commensurate with the necessities of having it as
21546-648: The royal Ashina family. Two Türk remains (GD1-1 and GD2-4) excavated from present-day eastern Mongolia analysed in a 2024 paper, were found to display only little to no West Eurasian ancestry. One of the Türk remains (GD1-1) was derived entirely from an Ancient Northeast Asian source (represented by SlabGrave1 or Khovsgol_LBA and Xianbei_Mogushan_IA), while the other Türk remain (GD2-4) displayed an "admixed profile" deriving c. 48−50% ancestry from Ancient Northeast Asians, c. 47% ancestry from an ancestry maximised in Han Chinese (represented by Han_2000BP), and 3−5% ancestry from
21708-410: The senior officials Gao Jiong, Yuwen Bi ( 宇文弼 ), and Heruo Bi privately expressed disapproval, Emperor Yang discovered their criticism and put all of them to death, while removing Su Wei , who also discouraged him from giving excessive rewards to Ashina Rangan, from his post. (Traditional historians attribute Gao's death to Gao's refusal to keep Chen Shubao's Consort Zhang alive in 589.) As Xiao Cong had
21870-706: The shaman; the stars, particularly the sun and the moon, the Pleiades, and Venus, whose image changes over time; Umay , the great goddess who is none other than the goddess of the earth and placenta; the threshold and the doorjamb; personifications of Time, the Road, Desire, etc.; heroes and ancestors embodied in the banner, in tablets with inscriptions, and in idols; and spirits wandering or fixed in Penates or in all kinds of holy objects. These and other powers have an uneven force which increases as objects accumulate, as trees form
22032-463: The shape of the Altai Mountains , where they lived, was similar to a combat helmet. Róna-Tas (1991) pointed to a Khotanese-Saka word, tturakä "lid", semantically stretchable to "helmet", as a possible source for this folk etymology, yet Golden thinks this connection requires more data. Göktürk is sometimes interpreted as either "Celestial Turk" or "Blue Turk" (i.e. because sky blue
22194-419: The siege on Liaodong and also ordered the southern offensive to be terminated, returning to Zhuo Commandery while sending Yuwen and Qutu Tong ( 屈突通 ) south to aid Luoyang. The general in charge of defending Chang'an, Wei Wensheng ( 衛文昇 ), also came to Luoyang's aid. Together, these forces outnumbered Yang Xuangan's and dealt him several defeats. Yang Xuangan decided to try to advance west to capture Chang'an as
22356-632: The situation was deteriorating for the welfare of the Sui state at large. In spring 615, believing in accusations by Yuwen Shu that the official Li Hun ( 李渾 ) was intending to carry out a coup to replace Emperor Yang with his nephew Li Min (李敏, son-in-law of Emperor Yang's sister Yang Lihua the Princess Leping) and worried about prophecies that someone named Li would become the next emperor, Emperor Yang had Li Hun, Li Min, and their clansmen executed, and further poisoned Yang Lihua's daughter Yuwen Eying ( 宇文娥英 ). Later in 615, Emperor Yang carried out
22518-461: The soldiers had been gathered at Zhuo Commandery, and Emperor Yang launched his attack, attacking a number of cities in Goguryeo territory, but targeting mainly at the important city of Liaodong (遼東, in modern Liaoyang , Liaoning ) and Goguryeo's capital Pyongyang . However, contrary to the desires of the generals, Emperor Yang ordered that their tactical decisions must first be submitted to and approved by him before they could be carried out. Thus all
22680-464: The soldiers ordered to report to Zhuo Commandery deserted. Emperor Yang tried to stop desertions by executing those who deserted, but still could not stem the tide of desertions. Goguryeo forces had also been constantly ambushing the Sui army and the Sui supply line. Goguryeo offered peace, for Goguryeo had also been exhausted. Goguryeo also returned Yang Xuangan's associate Husi Zheng ( 斛斯政 ), who had fled to Goguryeo after his association with Yang Xuangan
22842-747: The sun rises, to the Son of Heaven where the sun sets, may good health be with you." Displeased by what he saw as insolence, he ordered that in the future, "insolent" letters from other states not be submitted to him. Also in 608, initially over disputes over women (Yang Jian's having taken a concubine that Emperor Yang himself wanted) and hunting (Yang Jian's guards having been much more successful than Emperor Yang's guards at hunting), Emperor Yang's relationship with Yang Jian began to deteriorate. He ordered investigations into Yang Jian's violation of laws, and discovered that Yang Jian had used witchcraft to curse Yang Zhao's three sons. In anger, Emperor Yang executed and exiled
23004-466: The title of Prince of Jin. Also in 581, Emperor Wen made Yang Guang the commandant at Bing Province (并州, roughly modern Taiyuan , Shanxi ), in charge of the provinces north of the Yellow River . In 582, Emperor Wen set up a branch of the executive bureau of his government (尚書省, Shangshu Sheng ) at Bing Province and made Yang Guang its head. He made the official Wang Shao ( 王韶 ) the deputy head and had him assist Yang Guang. Later in 582, Emperor Wen took
23166-458: The unsuccessful raid of Ashina Jiesheshuai , on 13 August 639 Taizong installed Qilibi Khan and ordered the settled Turkic people to follow him north of the Yellow River to settle between the Great Wall of China and the Gobi Desert . However, many Göktürk generals still remained loyal in service to the Tang Empire. In 679, Ashide Wenfu and Ashide Fengzhi, who were Turkic leaders of
23328-425: The viscounts, and the barons—keeping only the princes, the dukes, and the marquesses. Also in summer 607, Emperor Yang embarked on a tour of the northern provinces, building an imperial highway from Chang'an to Jinyang (晉陽, the capital of Bing Province). He then personally visited the imperial tent of Ashina Rangan, whose display of submission and loyalty caused Emperor Yang to bestow much honor and wealth on him. When
23490-485: The way. Only then did Emperor Yang begin talking about suppressing the rebels. Apparently beginning to consider the idea of evacuating to south of the Yangtze River, he ordered that a major palace be built at Piling Commandery (毗陵, roughly modern Changzhou , Jiangsu ), and that another palace be built in Kuaiji Commandery . However, he did not like to hear news about rebels, and when Su expressed concerns about
23652-408: The word "Kök" meaning Ashina , the endonym of the ruling clan of the historical ethnic group which was attested as [𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰜] Error: {{Langx}}: invalid parameter: |labels= ( help ) [𐰚𐰇𐰜:𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰜] Error: {{Langx}}: invalid parameter: |labels= ( help ) , or Old Turkic : 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰚 , romanized: Türk . It is generally accepted that the name Türk is ultimately derived from
23814-437: The worst tyrants in Chinese history and the reason for the Sui dynasty's relatively short rule. His failed campaigns against Goguryeo, and the conscriptions levied to man them, coupled with increased taxation to finance these wars, and civil unrest as a result of this taxation, ultimately led to the downfall of the dynasty. Yang Guang was born in 569, during the reign of Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou . His parents were Yang Jian ,
23976-651: Was a common literary topos, implying similar geographic origins and nomadic lifestyle but not direct filiation. As part of the heterogeneous Rouran Khaganate , the Turks lived for generations north of the Altai Mountains , where they 'engaged in metal working for the Rouran'. According to Denis Sinor , the rise to power of the Ashina clan represented an 'internal revolution' in the Rouran Khaganate rather than an external conquest. According to Charles Holcombe,
24138-763: Was determined to kill him eventually. Empress Yang thus resolved to remove Yang Yong. Yang Guang further had his associate Yuwen Shu persuade Yang Su's brother Yang Yue ( 楊約 ) that, because Yang Su's relationship with Yang Yong was not good, that their family would be in peril should Yang Yong succeed Emperor Wen. Finally, Yang Guang also had Yang Yong's associate Ji Wei ( 姬威 ) accuse Yang Yong of plotting treason. Emperor Wen had Yang Su investigate, and Yang Guang and Yang Su manufactured evidence against Yang Yong. Emperor Wen deposed Yang Yong and replaced him with Yang Guang on 13 December 600, putting Yang Yong under house arrest under Yang Guang's watch. Yang Guang later prevented Yang Yong from all attempts of seeing his parents again. It
24300-565: Was discovered. Lai initially opposed ending the campaign, but did finally withdraw after ordered by Emperor Yuan. Emperor Yang executed Husi using the same kind of cruelty that he employed against Yang Jishan and Wei Fusi, but afterwards, when he again summoned Goguryeo's King Yeong-yang to meet him, King Yeong-yang again ignored him. Emperor Yang declared a fourth campaign against Goguryeo—but he never actually launched it. Meanwhile, agrarian rebellions continued to rise. While generals such as Zhang Xutuo and Wang Sichong enjoyed victories here and there,
24462-407: Was from a minor Xianbei tribe. He rose to power west of Dai Commandery by taking in a number of Chinese refugees, who helped him drill his soldiers and make weapons. After the defeat of the Wuhuan in 207, he also sent tribute to Cao Cao, and even provided assistance against the rebel Tian Yin. In 218 he allied himself to the Wuhuan rebel Nengchendi but they were heavily defeated and forced back across
24624-712: Was killed in a raid on Beidi during the last years of Emperor Ling of Han . Helian's son, Qianman was too young at the time of his father's death, so the chieftains elected his nephew, Kuitou, to succeed him. Once Qianman came of age, however, he challenged his cousin to succession, destroying the last vestiges of unity among the Xianbei. By the Jian'an era (196–220), the Xianbei had split into many different groups, most notably with Kuitou ruling in Inner Mongolia , Kebineng in northern Shanxi , and Suli and Mijia in northern Liaodong . Following his death, Kuitou's brothers Budugen and Fuluohan succeeded him. After Cao Cao defeated
24786-497: Was long-lasting and brought a period of relative peace to the north in the wake of the chaotic Sixteen Kingdoms period. The Xianbei had naturally been in the process of sinicization since they first entered the Chinese interior, but this process became systemic during the late Northern Wei period. Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei established a policy of systematic sinicization that was continued by his successors and largely abandoned Xianbei traditions. The royal family took sinicization
24948-501: Was polytheistic. The great god was the sky god, Tengri , who dispensed the viaticum for the journey of life (qut) and fortune (ulug) and watched over the cosmic order and the political and social order. People prayed to him and sacrificed to him a white horse as the offering. The khagan, who came from him and derived his authority from him, was raised on a felt saddle to meet him. Tengri issued decrees, brought pressure to bear on human beings, and enforced capital punishment, often by striking
25110-465: Was rarely carried out. Emperor Wen rejected the elaborate traditional ceremonies, but did carry out a reduced ceremony at Mount Tai. In spring 600, with Ashina Dianjue, who had by now become Tujue's khan, attacking the borders, Emperor Wen sent Yang Guang, Yang Su the Duke of Yue, Yang Guang's brother Yang Liang the Prince of Han, and Shi Wansui ( 史萬歲 ) the Duke of Taiping, against Tujue, and they were largely successful against Ashina Dianjue, protecting
25272-440: Was said that the people praised Yang Guang for his actions. Chen Shubao and his own clan members, however, were treated with kindness, and at Yang Guang's request, Chen Shubao sent letters to Chen generals who had not yet surrendered to persuade them to do so, and they largely did. Later that year, Yang Guang's forces escorted them to the capital Chang'an . At the ceremony to present Chen Shubao to Emperor Wen, Yang Guang marched into
25434-688: Was said that there were not enough men, and he started conscripting women as well. In 608, after persuasion by the Sui official Cui Junsu ( 崔君肅 ), the Western Tujue khan (Ashina Rangan's western rival), the Heshana Khan Ashina Daman, whose mother was Han , submitted to Sui as a vassal. However, also in 608, Emperor Yang received a letter claiming to be from the Emperor of Japan, Duolisibigu (多利思比孤, now commonly believed to be Prince Shōtoku ), stating, "The Son of Heaven where
25596-470: Was shallow. When the Sui army was in the middle of the River, the dam was opened and many Sui soldiers drowned. Out of the 305,000 men that entered the river, only 2,700 soldiers escaped death. Thus the Sui army, or what was left of it, retreated back to Sui. This war had, however, resulted in devastating losses for the Sui in terms of soldiers, money and support from the people. In winter 612, Emperor Yang gave
25758-625: Was situated north of the Xiongnu and had been founded by the Sakas or Xianbei . According to the Book of Sui and the Tongdian , they were "mixed Hu (barbarians)" ( 雜胡 ) from Pingliang (平涼), now in Gansu , Northwest China . Pointing to the Ashina's association with the Northern tribes of the Xiongnu , some researchers (e.g. Duan, Lung, etc.) proposed that Göktürks belonged in particular to
25920-515: Was the eastern section. There were more than twenty counties. The darens (chiefs) (of this section) were called Mijia 彌加, Queji 闕機, Suli 素利 and Huaitou 槐頭. From the You Beiping to Shanggu to the west, it was the middle section. There were more than ten counties. The darens of this section were called Kezui 柯最, Queju 闕居, Murong 慕容, et al. From Shanggu to Dunhuang, connecting the Wusun to the west, it
26082-465: Was the western section. There were more than twenty counties. The darens (of this section) were called Zhijian Luoluo 置鞬落羅, Rilü Tuiyan 曰律推演, Yanliyou 宴荔游, et al. These chiefs were all subordinate to Tanshihuai. Throughout his reign, Tanshihuai aggressively raided the Han dynasty's northern borders, with his first recorded raid being in 156. In 166, he even allied with the Southern Xiongnu and Wuhuan to attack Shaanxi and Gansu . These raids devastated
26244-578: Was the winged horse. It has been suggested by archaeologist Su Bai that this symbol was a "heavenly beast in the shape of a horse" because of its prominence in Xianbei mythology. This symbol is thought to have guided an early Xianbei southern migration, and is a recurring image in many Xianbei art forms. Xianbei figurines help to portray the people of the society by representing pastimes, depicting specialized clothing, and implying various beliefs. Most figurines have been recovered from Xianbei tombs, so they are primarily military and musical figures meant to serve
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