China Chinese ethnics

Wuhuan Wikipedia

The Wuhuan (乌桓) were a nomadic people who inhabited northern China, in what is now the provinces of Hebei, Liaoning, Shanxi, the municipality of Beijing and the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia.

They were active throughout the latter half of the Han Dynasty, often incorporated into the regular military forces of the Han armies. Unlike most major non-Chinese peoples on the frontiers of the Chinese empire, the Wuhuan were relatively cooperative with the imperial court. Around the fall of the dynasty in the 190s, however, the Wuhuan joined in many of the rebellions and internal wars of the Chinese. In the 200s, the "Wuhuan of the three commaderies", the tribes closest to the Chinese, supported Yuan Shao, the major warlord north of the Yellow River. In 207, Cao Cao led a forced march deep into Wuhuan territory and decisively defeated them at Mount Bolang. Many Wuhuan horsemen joined him and became known as the "greatest cavalry under heaven". Although various Wuhuan leaders led sporadic revolts throughout the third century, by the fourth century they had largely been displaced by the Xianbei.


Wuhuan (Chinese: 烏桓）
Entry translated and edited from the 1999 edition of the Chinese 《辭海》

"A name of an ancient people in what is now China. They were also called the Wu-wan 《烏丸》. They were an originally part of a nomadic tribe called the Donghu (東胡. During the end of the Qin Dynasty （秦 221 BCE- 206 BCE）and the beginning of the Han Dynasty (漢 206 BCE- 220 CE), the Dong-hu were defeated by the Xiongnu (Hsiung-nu 匈奴) peoples and one group of the Dong-hu settled near Wu-huan mountain (烏桓山) and thus acquired their name. Their lifestyle of that of nomadic herding and hunting and had a strong matriarchical |matriarchy society. Women particpated in the tanning of leather, sowing, and the making of leather shoes and there was a male smith industry that provided iron tools and weapons. Following the defeat of the Xiongnu in the reign of Emperor Wu of Han|Han Wudi(漢武帝), the Wu-huan expanded to Shanggu(上谷), Yuyang(漁陽), Youbeiping（右北平), Liaoxi (遼西), and Liaodong(遼東). The Wu-huan were influenced greatly by the Han and eventually began developing agriculture. There were annual frontier markets held with the Han in Shanggu and Ningcheng Ningcheng（寧城). In the twelfth year of the Jian'an period (建安-207 CE), the general Cao Cao (曹操) moved about ten-thousand Wu-huan tribesmen to the central plains while some remained in the northeast (Manchuria), who too were eventually assimilated by other peoples."

辭海, published by 上海辭海書出版社 1999

Category:Mongol peoples

Last Modified:   2005-04-13