The Xiele and Rouran

Author: Zhou Weizhou
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features: From the late 4th to the mid-6th century, the ethnic groups active in the northern and southern deserts and the vast northwestern regions of China, following the Xiongnu and Xianbei, were primarily the Tiele and Rouran. These ancient ethnic groups not only had a significant impact on northern China and Central Asia but were also part of the historically formed Chinese nation. Their history is also a part of China's history. Therefore, studying their history has become an unavoidable task for Chinese historians. However, regarding these two ancient ethnic groups, apart from some brief records in Chinese historical documents, other sources (including archaeological findings and foreign materials) are scarce. This has posed great difficulties for historical research on them. To date, domestic research on them remains very weak and even far behind the study of ancient ethnic groups like the Xiongnu, Xianbei, and Turks. This situation should not persist for long. The Tiele and Rouran were primarily active from the late 4th to the mid-6th century, precisely during China's period of fragmentation and division under the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Northern and Southern Dynasties. In the south, there were successive regimes such as Eastern Jin, Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen; in the north, there were the Sixteen Kingdoms, Northern Wei, Eastern and Western Wei, Northern Qi, and Northern Zhou. Most of these northern regimes were established by ethnic brothers such as the Xianbei, Xiongnu, Jiehu, Di, and Qiang. During this period, the Tiele and Rouran also established their own regimes. In 388, the Tiele (Dingling), who had long settled in the Yellow River basin, established the state of "Wei" in what is now Huai County, Henan, known as "Dai Wei," which existed for about four years before being destroyed by Later Yan in 392. In 487, the Tiele (Gaoche) subordinate chief Aftal, who was ruled by the Rouran in the northern desert, broke away from the Rouran and migrated westward to the northern part of Xinjiang's Altai Mountains, establishing the "Gaoche State" (also known as "Aftal State" or "Aftaluo State"), which lasted for fifty-four years before being destroyed by the Rouran. After breaking free from the rule of Northern Wei in 402, the Rouran established a powerful regime in the northern desert. At its peak, their territory extended north to Lake Baikal, west to northern Xinjiang, east to the west of Korea, and south to the Gobi Desert, bordering Northern Wei. The Rouran regime existed for about one and a half centuries before being destroyed by the Turkic tribes they had enslaved. The nature of the regimes established by the Tiele and Rouran was entirely the same as that of other separatist regimes during this period, all products of China's temporary fragmentation. Since the Qin Dynasty, China has gradually developed into a unified multi-ethnic feudal state. During the formation and development of this state, short-term fragmentation leading to the emergence of local or separatist regimes of ethnic minorities was a common phenomenon. The states established by the Tiele, such as "Dai Wei" and the "Gaoche State," and the regime established by the Rouran in the northern desert were all separatist regimes that emerged during the temporary fragmentation of China's unified multi-ethnic state. They not only had certain subordinate relationships with the inland regimes in terms of politics but also had inseparable ties in economics and culture. The emergence of this situation was an inevitable result of historical development since the Qin and Han dynasties. Eventually, as this situation evolved, it inevitably led to the unification of the Sui and Tang dynasties. Therefore, studying the interdependent and mutually influential relationships between the Tiele, Rouran, and the inland regions has great significance. This is one of the main issues this book attempts to explore.
The origin, migration, and intermingling of ancient ethnic groups in China are crucial issues in the study of ethnic history. The Tiele and Rouran are ancient ethnic groups in Chinese history. Historical documents allow their origins and early activities to be traced back to the 5th–4th centuries BCE. For the next seven or eight centuries, we can find traces of their activities in the literature. By the late 4th to the mid-6th century, they were actively engaged in the vast northern regions of the Yellow River, including the Mongolian grasslands, closely interacting with the Han, Xianbei, Xiongnu, and various ethnic groups of Central Asia. Hundreds of thousands of Tiele and Rouran people in the northern desert migrated to the southern desert or inland due to wars between ethnic rulers or other reasons. Under the oppression and exploitation of northern regimes, they repeatedly launched struggles against oppression, leaving a glorious chapter in history. At the same time, a large portion of them lived intermingled with the Han or Sinicized Xianbei in the inland regions and eventually merged into the Han ethnic group. The Tiele and Rouran and the regimes they established also had a significant impact on northwest China and Central Asia. In the late 5th century, the Tiele in the northern desert migrated to northern Xinjiang and established a regime, temporarily controlling areas such as Gaochang, Yanqi, and Shanshan, causing the local population to migrate. This can be considered one of the earlier instances of Turkic-speaking ethnic groups (Tiele) entering northwest China. The large number of Tiele people who settled in the southern desert and inland regions not only actively participated in the political struggles of the time but also, together with other ethnic groups, developed the southern desert region, rapidly advancing the pastoral economy there. As for the Rouran, due to the long duration and strong power of their regime, their influence on northern China and Central Asia was even greater. The Rouran regime inherited the political, economic, and cultural traditions of the northern desert since the Xiongnu and Xianbei and absorbed advanced culture from the central plains, advancing the historical development of the northern desert region by one step. Some political institutions of the Rouran were later adopted by the Turks who rose in northwest China and Central Asia. The spread of Buddhist culture in the Mongolian grasslands is said to have begun in the era of the Rouran. The Rouran's attacks and oppression against the Uyghurs (Gaoche), Usuns, and Dianqiang who originally lived in northwest China and Central Asia forced them to migrate southward or westward, with their influence reaching as far as Central Asia and Eastern Europe. In addition, based on existing materials, the author offers some preliminary views on the politics, economy, ideology, and social systems of the Tiele and Rouran.