Wusun

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The Wusun (烏孫) were a nomadic tribe who, according to the Chinese histories, originally lived to the northwest of China near the Yuezhi people but fled circa 176 BCE to the region of the Ili river and (lake) Issyk Kul and formed a powerful force there after being defeated by the Xiongnu where they remained for at least five centuries. The last reference to the Wusun in the historical sources is in 436 CE, when a Chinese envoy was sent to their country and the Wusun reciprocated.

Anthropology and archeology

According to Chinese archaeologists the excavated skeletal remains of the presumed Wusun people are short-headed Europoid of the Central Asian, Transoxanian type.

Wusun women were first described by Jiao Yanshou as "ugly and dark colored people with deep eye sockets, who probably resembled Indians, as suggested from the skin complexion. The Wusun was also described later in the Chinese historical annals as having "green [or blue] eyes and red beard [or hair], and are like a macaque. (This commentary was added by Yan Shigu in the 7th century to Hanshu, in which he describes the racial characteristics of the Wusun of his time), i.e., of Caucasoid appearance, though no actual description of the Yuezhi was given. As shown, the above Chinese sources contain derogatory comments about the Wusun.

History

At the beginning of what is known about the history of the Wusun, they lived near the Yuezhi people. According to Zhang Qian, the Yuezhi were defeated by the rising Xiongnu empire and fled westward. En route they drove away the Sai (which is presumed to be the Chinese name for Saka). Earlier to this event, they overran the Wusun, and the Wusun ruler (kunmo), Nandoumi, lost his life. His infant son, Liejiaomi, was left in the wild, then miraculously saved from hunger by sucking from a she-wolf. The Xiongnu ruler (chanyu) was impressed and adopted the child. When the child grew up the chanyu gave him command in the west and as an act of revenge, the Wusun attack the Yuezhi, who had taken refuge in the Ili Valley. The Yuezhi were crushed completely and fled further west to Ferghana, and finally settled in Bactria. The Wusun took over the Ili Valley and then expanded to occupy a large area and tried to keep away from the Xiongnu. They were said to number 630,000 with 188,000 men capable of bearing arms and so became a powerful force in Central Asia (Hanshu, ch.61 & 96).

When the Han empire began their counter-offensive against the Xiongnu, the Wusun, after getting series of threats from them, had become a bitter enemy of the Xiongnu. So the Wusun were won over to the Chinese side in a martial alliance, sealed by a political marriage. After Han retreat from Central Asia, not much was recorded about the Wusun anymore. They were pressured by the Rouran, and may have migrated to the Congling Mountains (Pamir Mountains) in the 5th century (Weishu, ch.102). From the 6th century onward the former habitat of the Wusun formed a part of the western empire of the Göktürks. After this event the Wusun seem to disappear from history, though their name was last mentioned on an offering to the court of Liao Dynasty on September 22, 938 (Liaoshi, ch.4).

Culture and characteristics

According to the Shiji (c.123) and the Hanshu (c.96), a daughter from the Han prince, Liu Jian, was sent to the ruler (kunmo or kunmi) of the Wusun between 110 BCE and 105 BCE. She describes them as nomads who lived in felt tents, ate raw meat and drank fermented mare's milk.

On the other hand, the Wusun were notable for their harmony towards neighbours, even though they were constantly raided by the Xiongnu and Kangju. In 71 BCE, a Chinese envoy cooperated with the Wusun and lent an army of 50,000 to attack the Xiongnu for them, which ended in a great victory. However, a dispute took place soon after the death of their ruler, Nimi, in 53 BCE; the Wusun were divided into two kingdoms, under a little kunmi and greater kunmi, both of whom recognised Chinese supremacy and remained faithful vassals. In 2 CE, Wang Mang issued a list of four regulations to the allied Xiongnu that the entry onto their territory of any hostages of vassals, i.e. Wusun, Wuhuan and the statelets of Western Regions, would not be tolerated; the Xiongnu obeyed.

Language and etymology

It is possible the Wusun spoke a Turkic language. The Chinese name Wusun 烏孫 literally means, wu = 'crow', 'raven' + sun = 'grandson'. Through the legend of an infant son, left in the wild, miraculously saved from hunger by sucking from a she-wolf, and being fed meat by ravens the Wusun shared a similar ancestor myth (Asena) with the ruling Ashina clan of the Göktürks, so they might be a Turkic people. There was a Wusun king called Fu-li, and the Chinese scholar Han Rulin suggested a likeness to Turkic "bori = wolf".

The ancient Chinese pronunciation of "Wusun" is though to have been *o-sən, *uo-sen or ?ah-swē depending on the authors, suggesting that they may have been the Asii of Geographica.

On the other hand, it is recorded that there were elements of the Sai [Saka] and Great Yuezhi peoples among the Wusun, since they probably formed a confederation of tribes. They may have spoken a Tocharian or an Iranian-based language.

Wusun and Issedones connection

There are theories that the Wusun may have been identical with the people described by Herodotus (IV.16-25) and in Ptolemy's Geography as Issedones. The exact location of their country in Central Asia is unknown; the Issedones are "placed by some in Western Siberia and by others in Chinese Turkestan," according to E. D. Phillips.

Notes

References

Bartold W.W., "Four studies in history of Central Asia", Leiden, E. J. Brill, 1962
Hill, John E. 2003. "Annotated Translation of the Chapter on the Western Regions according to the Hou Hanshu." 2nd Draft Edition.
Hill, John E. 2004. The Peoples of the West from the Weilue 魏略 by Yu Huan 魚豢: A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 CE (sic.). Draft annotated English translation.
Mallory, J.P. and Mair, Victor H. The Tarim Mummies: Ancient China and the Mystery of the Earliest Peoples from the West. Thames & Hudson. London 2000. ISBN 0-500-05101-1.
Stein, Aurel M. 1921. Serindia: Detailed report of explorations in Central Asia and westernmost China, 5 vols. London & Oxford. Clarendon Press. Reprint: Delhi. Motilal Banarsidass. 1980.
Gardiner-Garden, J.R., Chang-Ch'ien and Central Asian Ethnography in: Papers of Far Eastern History 33 (March 1986) p. 23-79. (Australian National University Institute of Advanced Studies Department of Far Eastern History (Canberra) ISSN 0048-2870, a survey of theories of etnic affiliations and identification of the Wusun and the Yuezhi.
Liankai, Chen (1999). Outlines on China's Ethnicities. Beijing: China Financial and Economic Publishing House. ISBN 7-5005-4301-8.
Wang Mingzhe et al (1983). Research on Wusun. Urumqi: Xinjiang People's Press.

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