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68-568: The Classical Chinese name Chinese : 東 胡 literally means "Eastern Barbarians". The term Dōnghú contrasts with the term Xīhú meaning "Western barbarians" ( Chinese : 西胡 , meaning "non-Chinese peoples in the west" and Five Barbarians 五胡 ( Wǔ Hú ) "five northern nomadic tribes involved in the Uprising of the Five Barbarians (304–316 CE)". Hill (2009:59) translates Xīhú as "Western Hu" and notes: The term hu 胡

136-504: A pro-drop language : its syntax often allows either subjects or objects to be dropped when their reference is understood. Additionally, words are generally not restricted to use as certain parts of speech : many characters may function as either a noun, verb, or adjective. There is no general copula in Classical Chinese akin to how 是 ( shì ) is used in modern Standard Chinese. Characters that can sometimes function as

204-418: A system of honorifics . Many final and interrogative particles are found in Classical Chinese. Beyond differences in grammar and vocabulary, Classical Chinese can be distinguished by its literary qualities: an effort to maintain parallelism and rhythm is typical, even in prose works. Works also make extensive use of literary techniques such as allusion, which contributes to the language's brevity. Prior to

272-429: A copula in specific circumstances include 為 ( wéi ; 'make', 'do') when indicating temporary circumstances, and 曰 ( yuē ; 'say') when used in the sense of 'to be called'. Classical Chinese has more pronouns compared to the modern vernacular. In particular, whereas modern Standard Chinese has one character generally used as a first-person pronoun, Classical Chinese has several—many of which are used as part of

340-661: A foreign ethnonym * ga , which was borrowed into Old Chinese as 胡 * gâ (> hú ), while an i -suffixed derivative of * ga underlies two Middle Chinese transcriptions: namely, The etymology of ethnonym * ga (> 胡 OC * gâ > Ch. hú ) is unknown. As for * ga' s possibly derivation Qay : Golden (2003) proposes several Mongolic etymologies: ɣai "trouble, misfortune, misery", χai "interjection of grief", χai "to seek", χai "to hew", albeit none compelling. Some dictionaries and scholars (e.g. Jean-Pierre Abel-Rémusat ) confuse Dōnghú 東胡 with Tungusic peoples , Tonggu 通古. Russian Mongolist Lydia Viktorova states that: This

408-617: A high frequency among Mongols . Genetic data support a close genetic relationship between the Donghu, the ancient Jinggouzi people, and the Xianbei . The closest modern extant people to the historical Donghu are the Oroqen people of Northern China. Classical Chinese Classical Chinese is the language in which the classics of Chinese literature were written, from c.  the 5th century BCE . For millennia thereafter,

476-406: A negative or disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism , hostility , or disregard. Sometimes, a term is regarded as pejorative in some social or ethnic groups but not in others or may be originally pejorative but later adopt a non-pejorative sense (or vice versa ) in some or all contexts. The word pejorative

544-666: A powerful state under the leadership of their elected Khan , Tanshihuai. The Book of Jin , published in 648, linked the Donghu and their Xianbei descendants to the Youxiong lineage (有熊氏), associated with the Yellow Emperor and possibly named after the Yellow Emperor's "hereditary principality". However, many non- Han Chinese rulers were claimed to be the Yellow Emperor's descendants, for individual and national prestige. Chinese historian Yu Ying-shih describes

612-408: A single concept, leaping from word to word in a phenomenon known as the euphemism treadmill , for example as in the successive pejoration of the terms bog-house , privy-house , latrine , water closet , toilet , bathroom , and restroom (US English). When a term begins as pejorative and eventually is adopted in a non-pejorative sense, this is called melioration or amelioration . One example

680-639: A specific group or tribe, which the records allow us to identify as early steppe nomads. The Hu were the source of the introduction of cavalry in China." Pulleyblank cites Paul Pelliot that the Donghu, Xianbei, and Wuhuan were "proto-Mongols". The Eastern Hu, mentioned in the Shih-chi along with the Woods Hu and the Lou-fan as barbarians to the north of Chao in the fourth century B.C., appear again as one of

748-1003: A specific proto-Mongolian people, now differentiated as the Eastern Hu 東胡, from whom the Xianbei 鮮卑 and the Wuhuan 烏桓 later emerged. The Dōnghú later divided into the Wuhuan in the Yan Mountains and Xianbei in the Greater Khingan Range : the Wuhuan are ancestors of the Kumo Xi , while the Xianbei are ancestors of the Khitan and the Mongols . Another people of Donghu descent were the Rouran ( Proto-Mongolic tribe). In

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816-888: A wide territory. Their fragmentation, however, could be turned, when the need arose, into a superior form of political organization (a "state"). This explains why hu appears often preceded by a qualifier that we may take for a specific ethnic group, as with the Lin Hu and the Tung Hu. Whether or not it had originally been an ethnonym, such a designation had been lost by the Warring States period . In modern Standard Chinese usage hú has lost its original meaning although it still appears in words like èrhú 二胡 (lit. "two foreign") "Chinese two-string fiddle", hútáo 胡桃 ("foreign peach") " walnut ", and húluóbō 胡萝卜 ("foreign radish") " carrot ". The modern pronunciation Dōnghú differs from

884-491: Is derived from a Late Latin past participle stem of peiorare , meaning "to make worse", from peior "worse". In historical linguistics , the process of an inoffensive word becoming pejorative is a form of semantic drift known as pejoration . An example of pejoration is the shift in meaning of the word silly from meaning that a person was happy and fortunate to meaning that they are foolish and unsophisticated. The process of pejoration can repeat itself around

952-462: Is due to the insufficient amount of materials and partly due to the mistakes made. For example, the phonetic identification of the ancient people of the Donghu (Eastern Hu) with the Tungus, made at the beginning of the 19th century by Abel-Rémusat only on the principle of sound similarity between Donghu and Tungus. This led to the fact that for a long time all the descendants of the Donghu were considered

1020-838: Is far more common in Chinese languages than in English: for example, each of the following words had a distinct Old Chinese pronunciation, but are now perfectly homophones with a pronunciation of yì [î] in Standard Chinese: The poem Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den was composed during the 1930s by the linguist Yuen Ren Chao to demonstrate this: it contains only words pronounced shi [ʂɻ̩] with various tones in modern Standard Chinese. The poem underlines how language had become impractical for modern speakers: when spoken aloud, Literary Chinese

1088-568: Is largely incomprehensible. However, the poem is perfectly comprehensible when read, and also uses homophones that were present even in Old Chinese. Romanizations have been devised to provide distinct spellings for Literary Chinese words, together with pronunciation rules for various modern varieties. The earliest was the Romanisation Interdialectique by French missionaries Henri Lamasse  [ fr ] of

1156-597: Is not read with a reconstructed Old Chinese pronunciation; instead, it is read with the pronunciations as categorized and listed in a rime dictionary originally based upon the Middle Chinese pronunciation in Luoyang between the 2nd and 4th centuries. Over time, each dynasty updated and modified the official rime dictionary: by the time of the Yuan and Ming dynasties , its phonology reflected that of early Mandarin. As

1224-596: Is now Beijing ), defeated the Donghu after having gained the esteem of the Donghu and learning their battle tactics. In 273 BC (26th year of King Huiwen ) Zhao defeated the Donghu. In 265 BC Li Mu of the Zhao state, one of the four most prominent generals of the Warring States period, defeated the Donghu after stopping a major Xiongnu invasion. By the time of the rule of the Xiongnu Chanyu Touman (c. 220 BCE to 209 BCE), "the Donghu were very powerful and

1292-492: Is the shift in meaning of the word nice from meaning a person was foolish to meaning that a person is pleasant. When performed deliberately, it is described as reclamation or reappropriation . Examples of a word that has been reclaimed by portions of the community that it targets is queer , faggot and dyke which began being re-appropriated as a positive descriptor in the early 1990s by activist groups. However, due to its history and – in some regions – continued use as

1360-594: The American Journal of Physical Anthropology in August 2018 detected the paternal haplogroup C2b1a1b among the Xianbei and Rouran . This lineage has also been found among remains associated with the Donghu people. The authors of the study suggested that haplogroup C2b1a1b was an important lineage among the Donghu, and that the Rouran were paternally descended from the Xianbei and Donghu. Haplogroup C2b1a1b has

1428-532: The Book of Han (111 CE) is the oldest extant bibliography of Classical Chinese, compiled c.  90 CE ; only 6% of its 653 listed works are known to exist in a complete form, with another 6% existing only in fragments. Compared to written vernacular Chinese, Classical Chinese is terse and compact in its style, and uses some different vocabulary. Classical Chinese rarely uses words two or more characters in length. Classical Chinese can be described as

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1496-723: The Huáxià 華 夏 "Chinese" and the Yì 夷 "barbarians, non-Chinese, foreigner": this is referred to as the Huá–Yì distinction . Many names besides Hu originally had pejorative "barbarian" meanings, for instance Nanman 南蠻 ("southern barbarians") and Beidi 北狄 ("northern barbarians"). Edwin G. Pulleyblank explains: At the dawn of history we find the Chinese, self-identified by such terms as Hsia and Hua, surrounded and interspersed by other peoples with whom they were frequently in conflict and whom they typically looked down upon as inferior beings in

1564-721: The Di barbarians and drove them into the region west of the Yellow River between the Yun and Luo rivers; there they were known as the Red Di and the White Di. Shortly afterwards, Duke Mu of Qin, having obtained the services of You Yu, succeeded in getting the eight barbarian tribes of the west to submit to his authority. Thus at this time there lived in the region west of Long the Mianzhu,

1632-534: The Old Chinese pronunciation, which roughly dates from the Warring States period (476–221 BCE) when Donghu was first recorded. Old Chinese reconstructions of Dōnghú include * Tûngɣâg , * Tungg'o , * Tewnggaɣ , * Tongga , and * Tôŋgâ > * Toŋgɑ . William H. Baxter and Laurent Sagart (2014) reconstruct the Old Chinese ancestor of 胡 Hú as *[g]ˤa. Recently, Christopher Atwood reconstructs

1700-518: The Old Chinese words in the Classical lexicon, many cognates can still be found. There is no universal agreement on the definition of "Classical Chinese". At its core, the term refers to the language used by the classics of Chinese literature roughly from the 5th century BCE to the end of the Han dynasty (202 BCE – 220 CE). The form of Chinese used in works written before

1768-486: The Paris Foreign Missions Society and Ernest Jasmin, based on Middle Chinese, followed by linguist Wang Li 's Wényán luómǎzì based on Old Chinese in 1940, and then by Chao's General Chinese romanization in 1975. However, none of these systems have seen extensive use. Pejorative A pejorative word, phrase, slur , or derogatory term is a word or grammatical form expressing

1836-590: The Saka people further West. The Donghu were ethnically related to the Xianbei , Jinggouzi and Rouran , which are described as either Proto-Mongols or Para-Mongols. While often being referred as tribal confederation, they may rather be an only loosely united group of nomadic tribes "that occupied territories between the Mongolian steppes and the Great Xing'an Mountains of China". A genetic study published in

1904-552: The Upper Xiajiadian culture , characterized by the practice of agriculture and animal husbandry supplemented by handicrafts and bronze art. Through the use of cavalry and bronze weaponry in warfare, the Donghu apparently dominated over the Xiongnu on their west. Although "Upper Xiajiadian" is indeed frequently attributed to the Donghu, such attribution remains uncertain given the lack of details in Chinese sources about what

1972-667: The Yuezhi were likewise flourishing." When the Xiongnu crown prince Modu Chanyu killed his father Touman (in 209 BCE) and took the title of Chanyu, the Donghu thought that Modu feared them, and they started to ask for tribute from the Xiongnu, his best horses and even a consort of Modu's. Modu conceded. Not satisfied with this they asked for some of the Xiongnu territories. This enraged Modu who attacked and soundly defeated them, killing their ruler, taking his subjects prisoner, and seizing their livestock, before turning west to attack and defeat

2040-545: The imperial examination system required the candidate to compose poetry in the shi genre, pronunciation in non-Mandarin speaking parts of China such as Zhejiang , Guangdong and Fujian is either based on everyday speech, such as in Standard Cantonese , or is based on a special set of pronunciations borrowed from Classical Chinese, such as in Southern Min . In practice, all varieties of Chinese combine

2108-415: The written Chinese used in these works was imitated and iterated upon by scholars in a form now called Literary Chinese , which was used for almost all formal writing in China until the early 20th century. Each written character corresponds to a single spoken syllable, and almost always to a single independent word. As a result, the characteristic style of the language is comparatively terse. Starting in

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2176-609: The 2nd century CE, use of Literary Chinese spread to the countries surrounding China, including Vietnam , Korea , Japan , and the Ryukyu Islands , where it represented the only known form of writing. Literary Chinese was adopted as the language of civil administration in these countries, creating what is known as the Sinosphere . Each additionally developed systems of readings and annotations that enabled non-Chinese speakers to interpret Literary Chinese texts in terms of

2244-591: The 4th century BCE, like the Five Classics , is distinct from that found in later works. The term "pre-Classical Chinese" is used to distinguish this earlier form from Classical Chinese proper, as it did not inspire later imitation to a comparable degree despite the works' equal importance in the canon. After the Han dynasty, the divergence of spoken language from the literary form became increasingly apparent. The term "Literary Chinese" has been coined to refer to

2312-440: The Donghu exactly were, beyond a name ( Donghu , Eastern Hu , ie "Eastern mounted nomads") and the account of their destruction by the Xiongnu . The (ca. 109–91 BCE) Shiji section on Xiongnu history first records the Donghu during the era of Duke Wen of Jin (r. 697–628 BCE) and Duke Mu of Qin (r. ca. 659–621 BCE). At this time Qin and Jin were the most powerful states in China. Duke Wen of Jin expelled

2380-723: The Donghu. The Tung-hu peoples were probably a tribal federation founded by a number of nomadic peoples, including the Wu-huan and Hsien-pi. After its conquest of the Hsiung-nu, the federation apparently ceased to exist. Throughout the Han period, no trace can be found of activities of the Tung-hu as a political entity. Di Cosmo says the Chinese considered the Hu 胡 as "a new type of foreigner", and believes, "This term, whatever its origin, soon came to indicate an 'anthropological type' rather than

2448-445: The Five Barbarians, or "Five Hu", were the Xiongnu , Jie , Xianbei , Di , and Qiang . Of these five ethnic groups, the Xiongnu and Xianbei were nomadic peoples from the northern steppes . The ethnic identity of the Xiongnu is uncertain, but the Xianbei appear to have been Mongolic. The Jie , another pastoral people, may have been a branch of the Xiongnu, who may have been Yeniseian or Indo-Scythian . The Di and Qiang were from

2516-798: The Hunrong, and the Diyuan tribes. North of Mts. Qi and Liang and the Jing and Qi rivers lived the Yiqu, Dali, Wuzhi, and Quyuan tribes. North of Jin were the Linhu (Forest Barbarians) and the Loufan, while north of Yan lived the Donghu (Eastern Barbarians) and Shanrong (Mountain Barbarians), each of them with their own chieftains. From time to time they would have gatherings of a hundred or so men, but no one tribe

2584-510: The Japanese readings of Literary Chinese, is part of the high school curriculum in Japan. Japan is the only country that maintains the tradition of creating Literary Chinese poetry based on Tang-era tone patterns . Chinese characters are not phonetic and rarely reflect later sound changes in words. Efforts to reconstruct Old Chinese pronunciation began relatively recently. Literary Chinese

2652-439: The Wu-huan to the south. By the end of the first century B.C. these more specific names had supplanted the older generic term. Pulleyblank also writes that although there is now archaeological evidence of the spread of pastoral nomadism based on horse riding from Central Asia into Mongolia and farther east in the first half of the first millennium B.C.E., as far as we have evidence it did not impinge on Chinese consciousness until

2720-471: The Yuezhi (c. 177 BCE). This caused disintegration in the Donghu federation. Thereafter, the Wuhuan moved to Mt. Wuhuan and engaged in continuous warfare with the Xiongnu on the west and China on the south. As they came to be worn out from the lengthy battles, the Xianbei preserved their strengths by moving northward to Mt. Xianbei. When the Han dynasty vassal king Lu Wan defected to the Xiongnu in 195 BC he

2788-414: The ancestors of the Tungus." This "chance similarity in modern pronunciation", writes Pulleyblank, "led to the once widely held assumption that the Eastern Hu were Tungusic in language. This is a vulgar error with no real foundation." Among the northern ethnic groups, the Donghu was the earliest to evolve into a state of civilization and first developed bronze technology. Their culture was associated with

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2856-772: The extremely laconic style. Presently, pure Literary Chinese is occasionally used in formal or ceremonial contexts. For example, the National Anthem of the Republic of China is in Literary Chinese. Buddhist texts in Literary Chinese are still preserved from the time they were composed or translated from Sanskrit. In practice there is a socially accepted continuum between vernacular and Literary Chinese. For example, most official notices and formal letters use stock literary expressions within vernacular prose. Personal use of Classical phrases depends on factors such as

2924-528: The first peoples whom the Hsiung-nu conquered in establishing their empire. Toward the end of the Former Han, as the Hsiung-nu empire was weakening through internal dissension, the Eastern Hu became rebellious. From then on they played an increasingly prominent role in Chinese frontier strategy as a force to play off against the Hsiung-nu. Two major divisions are distinguished, the Hsien-pei to the north and

2992-512: The highlands of western China. The Qiang were predominantly herdsmen and spoke Sino-Tibetan (Tibeto-Burman) languages , while the Di were farmers who may have spoken a Sino-Tibetan or Turkic language . The traditional explanation, going back to the second-century Han dynasty scholar Cui Hao 崔浩 is that the Donghu were originally located "east of the Xiongnu " who were one of the "Five Barbarians" ( Hú ). Modern Chinese apologetics suggests that "Donghu"

3060-632: The historical literary use of Latin in Europe, that of Arabic in Persia , or that of Sanskrit in South and Southeast Asia. However, unlike these examples, written Chinese uses a logography of Chinese characters that are not directly tied to their pronunciation. This lack of a fixed correspondence between writing and reading created a situation where later readings of Classical Chinese texts were able to diverge much further from their originals than occurred in

3128-541: The historical records of all non- Qin states to be burned, along with any literature associated with the Hundred Schools of Thought . The imperial library was destroyed upon the dynasty's collapse in 206 BCE, resulting in a potentially greater loss. Even works from the Classical period that have survived are not known to exist in their original forms, and are attested only in manuscripts copied centuries after their original composition. The " Yiwenzhi " section of

3196-476: The kanji represents a native word such as the reading of 行 in 行く ( iku ) or the reading of both characters in " Osaka " ( 大阪 ), as well as a system that aids Japanese speakers with a Classical word order. As pronunciation in modern varieties is different from Old Chinese as well as other historical forms such as Middle Chinese , characters that once rhymed may not any longer, or vice versa. Poetry and other rhyme-based writing thus becomes less coherent than

3264-412: The later forms of written Chinese in conscious imitation of the classics, with sinologists generally emphasizing distinctions such as the gradual addition of new vocabulary and the erosion of certain points of Classical grammar as their functions were forgotten. Literary Chinese was used in almost all formal and personal writing in China from the end of the Han dynasty until the early 20th century, when it

3332-565: The laws of Taiwan are still written in a subset of Literary Chinese. As a result, it is necessary for modern Taiwanese lawyers to learn at least a subset of the literary language. Many works of literature in Classical and Literary Chinese have been highly influential in Chinese culture, such as the canon of Tang poetry . However, even with knowledge of its grammar and vocabulary, works in Literary Chinese can be difficult for native vernacular speakers to understand, due to its frequent allusions and references to other historical literature, as well as

3400-520: The literary revolution in China that began with the 1919 May Fourth Movement , prominent examples of vernacular Chinese literature include the 18th-century novel Dream of the Red Chamber . Most government documents in the Republic of China were written in Literary Chinese until reforms spearheaded by President Yen Chia-kan in the 1970s to shift to written vernacular Chinese. However, most of

3468-676: The local vernacular. While not static throughout its history, its evolution has traditionally been guided by a conservative impulse: many later changes in the varieties of Chinese are not reflected in the literary form. Due to millennia of this evolution, Literary Chinese is only partially intelligible when read or spoken aloud for someone only familiar with modern vernacular forms. Literary Chinese has largely been replaced by written vernacular Chinese among Chinese speakers; speakers of non-Chinese languages have similarly abandoned Literary Chinese in favour of their own local vernaculars. Although varieties of Chinese have diverged in various directions from

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3536-444: The north and west of China. (2009:453) In 307 BCE, the 胡 Hú proper, encompassing both the eastern Dōnghú (東胡, "Eastern Hu") and the western Linhu (林胡, "Forest Hu"), were mentioned as a non-Chinese people who were neighbors of Zhao and skilled at mounted archery (a military tactic which King Wuling of Zhao would later adopt). However, the term Hu can also refer to a variety of different races and different ethnic groups. It

3604-411: The northward push of the state of Zhao 趙 to the edge of the steppe in present Shanxi province shortly before the end of the fifth century B.C.E. brought them into contact with a new type of horse-riding “barbarian” that they called Hu 胡. … In Han times the term Hu was applied to steppe nomads in general but especially to the Xiongnu who had become the dominant power in the steppe. Earlier it had referred to

3672-546: The original reading must have been. However, some modern Chinese varieties have certain phonological characteristics that are closer to the older pronunciations than others, as shown by the preservation of certain rhyme structures. Another particular characteristic of Literary Chinese is its present homophony . Reading Classical texts with character pronunciations from modern languages results in many homophonous characters that originally had distinct Old Chinese pronunciations, but have since merged to varying degrees. This phenomenon

3740-533: The other literary traditions, adding a unique dimension to the study of Literary Chinese. Literary Chinese was adopted in Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. The Oxford Handbook of Classical Chinese Literature states that this adoption came mainly from diplomatic and cultural ties with China, while conquest, colonization, and migration played smaller roles. Unlike Latin and Sanskrit, historical Chinese language theory consisted almost exclusively of lexicography , as opposed to

3808-466: The past, scholars such as Fan Zuoguai and Han Feimu also mistakenly thought that Jurchens (ancestors of the Manchus ) descended from the Donghu. In 1980, Russian scholar Lydia Leonidovna Viktorova criticized the 19th century phonetic identification of the ancient people of the Donghu (Eastern Hu) with the Tungus. A genetic study published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology detected

3876-407: The paternal haplogroup C2b1a1b among the Xianbei and Rouran . This lineage has also been found among the Donghu. Haplogroup C2b1a1b has a high frequency among Mongols . The ethnic composition of the Donghu people remains unclear. It is suggested that the majority was of Mongolic and Tungusic origins, and that they stood in contact with other Steppe nomadic entities, such as the Xiongnu and

3944-469: The same way the Hellenes looked down on the barbaroi and, indeed, as human we-groups have always looked down on their neighbors. The historian Nicola di Cosmo concludes: We can thus reasonably say that, by the end of the fourth century B.C., the term "Hu" applied to various ethnic groups (tribes, groups of tribes, and even states) speaking different languages and generally found living scattered across

4012-412: The school curriculum is taught primarily by presenting a literary work and including a vernacular gloss that explains the meaning of phrases. The examinations usually require the student to read a paragraph in Literary Chinese and then explain its meaning in the vernacular. Contemporary use of Literary Chinese in Japan is mainly in the field of education and the study of literature. Learning kanbun ,

4080-515: The study of grammar and syntax. Such approaches largely arrived with Europeans beginning in the 17th century. Christian missionaries later coined the term 文理 ( wénlǐ ; 'principles of literature', 'bookish language') to describe Classical Chinese; this term never became widely used among domestic speakers. According to the traditional " burning of books and burying of scholars " account, in 213 BCE Qin Shi Huang ordered

4148-445: The subject matter and the level of education of the writer. Excepting professional scholars and enthusiasts, most modern writers cannot easily write in Literary Chinese. Even so, most Chinese people with at least a middle school education are able to read basic Literary Chinese, because this ability is part of the Chinese middle school and high school curricula, and is a component of the college entrance examination. Literary Chinese in

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4216-676: The two extremes of pronunciation: that according to a prescribed system, versus that based on everyday speech. Mandarin and Cantonese, for example, also have words that are pronounced one way in colloquial usage and another way when used in Literary Chinese or in specialized terms coming from Literary Chinese, though the system is not as extensive as that of Min or Wu . Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese readers of Literary Chinese each use distinct systems of pronunciation specific to their own languages. Japanese speakers have readings of Chinese origin called on'yomi for many words, such as for "ginko" ( 銀行 ) or "Tokyo" ( 東京 ), but use kun'yomi when

4284-458: Was a transcription of an endonym and did not literally mean "Eastern Barbarian". The usual English translation of Dōnghú is "Eastern Barbarians" (e.g., Watson, di Cosmo, Pulleyblank, and Yu), and the partial translation "Eastern Hu" is occasionally used (Pulleyblank). Note that "Eastern Barbarians" is also a translation for Dōngyì 東夷, which refers to "ancient peoples in eastern China, Korea, Japan, etc." Chinese Sinocentrism differentiates

4352-518: Was capable of unifying the others under a single rule. In 307 BC King Wuling of Zhao (born 356 BC, reigned 325-299 BC), a contemporary of Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), instituted a military reform called "Hu clothes, Cavalry archery" after having been repeatedly harassed earlier in his reign by Donghu horse-archers. In 300 BCE Qin Kai , a general taken hostage from the state of Yan (whose capital "Ji"

4420-428: Was created King of Donghu (東胡王) by the Xiongnu. This Kingdom of Donghu fiefdom lasted until 144 BC when Lu Wan's grandson Lu Tazhi defected back to the Han dynasty. The Wuhuan (southern Donghu) inhabitants of the fiefdom continued as vassals of the Xiongnu until 121 BC. Gradually the name Donghu stopped being used. In the 1st century, the Xianbei (northern Donghu) defeated the Wuhuan and northern Xiongnu, and developed into

4488-499: Was largely replaced by written vernacular Chinese . A distinct, narrower definition of the Classical period begins with the life of Confucius (551–479 BCE) and ends with the founding of the Qin dynasty in 221 BCE. The adoption of Chinese literary culture in the Sinosphere amid the existence of various regional vernaculars is an example of diglossia . The coexistence of Literary Chinese and native languages throughout China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam can be compared to

4556-486: Was used by Han Chinese to describe anyone who is not of ethnic Han Chinese descent and were considered barbarians: for example, Sima Qian also used Hu to call the Xiongnu , who were then ruled by Touman chanyu , once expelled by Qin general Meng Tian north from the Ordos Loop , yet able to regain their territory following the Qin Empire's collapse. All Hu workmen were famed for their skills at making bows and carts even without specialization. The peoples categorized as

4624-406: Was used to denote non- Han Chinese populations. It is, rather unsatisfactorily, commonly translated as 'barbarian'. While sometimes it was used in this general way to describe people of non-Han descent, and carried the same negative overtones of the English term, this was not always the case. Most frequently, it was used to denote people, usually of Caucasoid or partial Caucasoid appearance, living to

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