Editing Five Barbarians (section)

==Five Barbarians==
Since the later [[Han dynasty]], northern China was home to various ethnic groups from the north and west. These peoples were subjects of the Han, taking up agriculture and serving in the military force. While many of them retained their respective tribal identity, they also underwent various degrees of [[Sinicization]]. By the [[Jin dynasty (266–420)|Western Jin]] period, their population had grown substantially, becoming a cause for concern among a few officials within the imperial court as they began to revolt. There were calls to have the tribes relocated outside the borders, most notably by the minister [[Jiang Tong]] in his essay, ''Xi Rong Lun'' (徙戎論; Discussion on Relocating the Rong Tribe), but these proposals were disregarded. As central authority collapsed due to the [[War of the Eight Princes]], many of these "barbarians" rebelled alongside their Han Chinese compatriots in the [[Upheaval of the Five Barbarians]], although there were also those who initially fought on the side of Jin. Throughout the 4th century and early-5th century, several states were founded by the "Five Barbarians" in northern China and [[Sichuan]], collectively known as the [[Sixteen Kingdoms]].

=== Xiongnu ===
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Ruling over the steppes of East Asia, the Xiongnu empire was once a powerful adversary to the Han dynasty, but by the 1st century AD, their power had greatly declined due to defeats to the Han, internal power struggles and natural disasters. In 50 AD, a few years after the empire was split into two, the [[Southern Xiongnu]] branch became a vassal to the Han. The court of the chanyu was moved to [[Xihe Commandery]] in [[Bingzhou|Bing province]] while their people were resettled across the frontier commanderies within the [[Great Wall of China|Great Wall]]. The Southern Xiongnu served the Han by helping them to guard the northern borders, even assisting in destroying the rival [[Northern Xiongnu]]. However, tension was evident between the two sides. Being economically dependant on the Han and with the Han court interfering in their politics, the Southern Xiongnu would frequently rebel on the frontiers.<ref>di Cosmo 2004: 186</ref>

In 216, the warlord Cao Cao abolished the chanyu office and divided the Southern Xiongnu into Five Divisions around [[Taiyuan Commandery]].<ref>[[Fan Ye (historian)|Fan Ye]], "[[Book of Later Han]]" (Hou Han Shu), Ch. 79, f. 7b</ref><ref>and in Bichurin N.A., Collection of information on peoples in Central Asia in ancient times", vol. 1, Sankt Petersburg, 1851, pp. 146–147 (''In Russian'')</ref><ref>in Taskin B.S., ''"Materials on Sünnu history"'', Science, Moscow, 1973, pp. 95-96, 154 (''In Russian'')</ref> From this point onwards, the Xiongnu declined as a coherent identity, as the Five Divisions became dominated by the [[Chuge]] branch, while those excluded mixed with tribes from other ethnicities and were vaguely referred to as "[[Hu (people)|''hu'']]" and other terms for the non-Chinese. The "barbarian" tribes of Bing province underwent varying degrees of [[sinicization]]; many among the Five Divisions adopted "Liu" as their surname, claiming that their Xiongnu ancestors had married Han princesses through ''[[heqin]]'', and their nobility were even allowed to hold government offices under the [[Western Jin Dynasty|Western Jin dynasty]].<ref>Di Cosmo (2002), 192–193; Yü (1967), 9–10; Morton & Lewis (2005), 52</ref> Nonetheless, they continued to resent the ruling Chinese dynasties due to their lower status and privileges.

Though the Xiongnu were no longer a unified entity by the 4th-century, their descendants continued to invoke their ancestors as a form of legitimacy. In 304, at the height of the [[War of the Eight Princes]], [[Liu Yuan (Han-Zhao)|Liu Yuan]] of the Five Divisions rebelled and founded the [[Han-Zhao|Han-Zhao dynasty]]. He claimed direct descent from the Southern Xiongnu chanyus and, by extension, the Han princesses, as he portrayed his state as a restoration of the Han dynasty. The Tiefu tribe also descended from a member of the Southern Xiongnu imperial family, but had intermingled with the [[Xianbei]] and were pushed out from Bing to the [[Hetao]] region. When their member, [[Helian Bobo]] founded the [[Helian Xia|Helian Xia dynasty]] in 407, he began emphasising his Xiongnu lineage to claim descent from the [[Xia dynasty]], which the Xiongnu traditionally regarded as their ancestors.

=== Jie ===
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The [[Jie people|Jie]] were one of the many miscellaneous ''[[Hu (people)|hu]]'' tribes in [[Bingzhou|Bing province]]. The most famous Jie, [[Shi Le]], was a descendant of the Qiangqu tribe (羌渠) of the Southern Xiongnu. Their exact origins is still debated by modern scholars, as theories range from them originating from the [[Tocharians|Tocharian]] or [[Eastern Iranian people|Eastern Iranian]] people of [[Sogdia]] to the [[Yeniseian people]], but with no general consensus. When a great famine broke out in Bing province in 303, many of the Jie and other ''hu'' people were displaced before being captured and sold into slavery by the provincial inspector. The Jie and ''hu'' were thus scattered throughout [[Hebei]] and [[Shandong]].

Despite their seemingly small population, the Jie were thrusted into prominence by Shi Le, who founded the [[Later Zhao dynasty]] in 319. The Later Zhao dominated northern China for a majority of its existence before its demise in 351. Following [[Ran Min|Ran Min's]] culling order and the wars that followed the Later Zhao collapse, the Jie ceased to appear in records, though some key figures in later history may have descended from them.

=== Xianbei ===
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When the Xiongnu empire defeated them in the 3rd century BC, the [[Donghu people|Donghu]] people splintered into the [[Xianbei]] and [[Wuhuan]]. The Xianbei began occupying the [[Mongolian Plateau|Mongolian plateau]] in around 93 AD after the Northern Xiongnu were forced to the northwest by the Han dynasty. In the mid-2nd century, the chieftain, [[Tanshihuai]] unified the Xianbei and launched incessant raids on the Han's northern borders. Following his death, however, his descendants failed to maintain the support of the chieftains and his confederation fell apart. In the northeast, several Xianbei tribes near the border became Chinese vassals and were allowed to live within the [[Great Wall of China|Great Wall]] such as the [[Murong]] and [[Tuoba]] tribes after the defeat of the [[Wuhuan]] at the [[Battle of White Wolf Mountain]] in 207. Others migrated west to live around the [[Hexi Corridor]], with a branch of the Murong even subjugating the [[Qiang (historical people)|Qiang]] people of [[Qinghai]] and founding the [[Tuyuhun]].

At the height of the [[War of the Eight Princes|Jin princely civil wars]], the Inspector of [[Youzhou (ancient China)|You province]], [[Wang Jun (Pengzu)|Wang Jun]] allied himself with the local Xianbei and Wuhuan tribes, most notably the [[Duan tribe|Duan]]-Xianbei who was granted a dukedom in Liaoxi Commandery for their services. The Xianbei were a deciding factor in the civil wars, and when the [[Han-Zhao]] broke away from Jin, the Tuoba joined forces with Jin and were also given a dukedom in [[Dai Commandery]]. Meanwhile, the [[Murong]] in [[Liaodong Peninsula|Liaodong]], isolated from the conflicts of the Central Plains, expanded their influence in the region by providing refuge to fleeing Chinese officials and peasants. As the Jin were pushed out of northern China, however, the Xianbei distanced themselves from Jin and established full autonomy over their fiefdoms.

The Xianbei founded several states during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. The Murong were a prominent player during this period, as they founded the [[Former Yan]], [[Later Yan]], [[Western Yan]] and [[Southern Yan]] that ruled over the [[Zhongyuan|Central Plains]]. After the [[Battle of Fei River]], the Qifu and Tufa tribes in the Hexi founded the [[Western Qin]] and [[Southern Liang (Sixteen Kingdoms)|Southern Liang]], respectively, competing for control over the region among themselves and other rival claimants. Most importantly, the Tuoba of [[Dai (Sixteen Kingdoms)|Dai]] later founded the [[Northern Wei|Northern Wei dynasty]], which reunified the north in 439 and ushered China into the [[Northern and Southern dynasties|Northern and Southern dynasties period]].

=== Di ===
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The [[Di (Five Barbarians)|Di]] were a semi-nomadic people that resided in the western provinces of [[Gansu]], [[Shaanxi]] and [[Sichuan]]. In 111 BC, the [[Han dynasty]] expanded westwards and established [[Wudu, Longnan|Wudu Commandery]] where the Di mainly resided, causing them to spread out in northern and western China. The Di tribes became Han tributaries, and relations between the two were mostly stable until the fall of Han, when the Di began to frequently rebel. In 219, the warlord [[Cao Cao]] had 50,000 Di people relocated from Wudu commandery to [[Tianshui]] and [[Fufeng (region)|Fufeng]] commanderies to deter them from allying with his rival to the south, [[Liu Bei]].

The Di in the northwest continued to rebel during the [[Jin dynasty (266–420)|Western Jin dynasty]]. Between 296 and 299, [[Qi Wannian]], a Di chieftain, led the various non-Han groups in rebellion, devastating the [[Guanzhong]] region and displacing many of the population. The Di that fled south into the [[Hanzhong Basin|Hanzhong]] and [[Sichuan Basin|Sichuan]] basins founded the [[Chouchi]] and [[Cheng-Han]] regimes, although the Li clan that ruled the latter were more specifically referred to as [[Ba-Di]]. The Fu clan that remained behind later founded the [[Former Qin|Former Qin dynasty]], most notable for briefly unifying northern China under [[Fu Jian (337–385)|Fu Jiān]]. During the Qin collapse that followed the [[Battle of Fei River]], the Di general, [[Lü Guang]] founded the [[Later Liang (Sixteen Kingdoms)|Later Liang]] in [[Gansu]].

=== Qiang ===
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The term "Qiang" broadly referred to groups of western semi-nomadic people from [[Qinghai]] and [[Gansu]]. Since the Western Han period, many of the Qiang submitted to the Chinese court and were allowed to settle in the [[Guanzhong]] region and the watersheds of the [[Wei River|Wei]] and [[Jing River|Jing]] rivers, where they practiced agriculture and lived with [[Han Chinese]] settlers. The Qiang were not a unified entity, and their various tribes often fought among themselves. However, the Qiang also faced oppression by the local Han governors and officials, leading to frequent large-scale rebellions in the northwest that adversely affected the Han military and economy. The Qiang also fought as soldiers for the Han and later for the [[Cao Wei]] and [[Shu Han]] during the [[Three Kingdoms]] period.

The Qiang continued to participate in rebellions in the northwest against the [[Jin dynasty (266–420)|Western Jin dynasty]], but it would not be until after the Battle of Fei River that they established their first and only state of the [[Sixteen Kingdoms]] under the [[Later Qin|Later Qin dynasty]]. The second ruler of Later Qin, [[Yao Xing]], was a key proponent in the spread of [[Buddhism]] by making it his state religion and sponsoring the influential Buddhist translator, [[Kumārajīva]]. The Qiang also founded the minor polities of [[Dangchang Kingdom|Dangchang]] and [[Dengzhi]].