The Shatuo, or the Shatuo Turks (; also transcribed as Sha-t'o, Sanskrit
Sart[Zuev Yu.A., ''"Horse Tamgas from Vassal Princedoms (Translation of Chinese composition "Tanghuyao" of 8-10th centuries)"'', Kazakh SSR Academy of Sciences, Alma-Ata, I960, p. 127 (In Russian)]) were a
Turkic tribe that heavily influenced northern Chinese politics from the late ninth century through the tenth century. They are noted for founding three,
Later Tang,
Later Jin, and
Later Han, of the five dynasties and one,
Northern Han, of the ten kingdoms during the
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period
The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen conc ...
. The Northern Han would later be conquered by the
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...
. After which, they mostly disappeared as an ethnic group and assimilated into the Han Chinese ethnicity.
Origins
Chuyue
The Shatuo tribe were descended mainly from the
Western Turkic Chuyue tribe,
who in turn belonged to a group of four
Chuy tribes, collectively known as
Yueban.
The Yueban state survived to the end of the 480s when its independence was destroyed by the
Tiele people. After the fall of the state, the people of Yueban formed four tribes - Chuyue, Chumi, Chumuhun and Chuban. These tribes became major players in the later
First Turkic Khaganate and thereafter. The Chuyue and Chumi did not belong to the dominant Onoq (Ten Arrows) Union, while Chumukun and
Chuban did.
Tiele
Other sources claim the Shatuo originated from the Tiele. The epitaph of Shatuo
Li Keyong, a late-Tang military commissioner (
jiedushi
The ''jiedushi'' (), or jiedu, was a title for regional military governors in China which was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of ''jiedushi'' has been translated as "military commissioner", "legate ...
), states that his clan's progenitor was "Yidu, Lord of the Xueyantuo state, an unrivaled general" (益度、薛延陀國君、無敵將軍),
Xueyantuo
The Xueyantuo were an ancient Tiele tribe and khaganate in Northeast Asia who were at one point vassals of the Göktürks, later aligning with the Tang dynasty against the Eastern Göktürks.
Names Xue
''Xue'' 薛 appeared earlier as ' ...
was a Tiele tribe. Other Chinese chroniclers traced the Shatuo's origins to a Tiele chief named *''Bayar'' (拔也 ''Baye'') ~ *''Bayïrku'' (拔也古 ''Bayegu'')
The Song historian
Ouyang Xiu rejected the Bayïrku origin of Shatuo; he pointed out that the Bayïrku were contemporaries, not primordial ancestors, of the Shatuo's reigning clan Zhuxie, and that this Western Turkic kin-group adopted Shatuo as their tribal name and Zhuxie as surname after their chief Jinzhong (盡忠; lit. "Loyal to the Utmost") had moved into
Beiting Protectorate
The Beiting Protectorate-General, initially the Beiting Protectorate, was a Chinese protectorate established by the Tang dynasty in 702 to control the Beiting region north of Gaochang in contemporary Xinjiang. Wu Zetian set up the Beiting ...
, in
Tang Dezong's time (r. 780 - 804).
Shatuo
The Chuyue tribe members who remained in the
Western Turkic Kaganate, under Onoq leadership, occupied territory east of the lake
Barkul, and were called, in Chinese, ''Shatuo'' (literally "sandy slope" or "gravel sands", i.e. desert). Shatuoji is also the name of a desert in northern
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwes ...
.
The Shatuo consisted of three sub-tribes:
Chuyue (處月),
Suoge
Saqal () was a Turgesh Qaghan. According toYuri Zuev, he was a Manichaeist so that his name was possibly derived from Manichean theonym ''Sakla'' which means " Creator of the World". Other reconstructions are Saqal and Soq.
Early reign
Suog ...
(娑葛), and ''Anqing'' (安慶), the last of whom were of
Sogdian origins.
The Shatuo participated in suppressing many uprisings on behalf of the Tang dynasty, which granted their leaders various titles and rewards. After a defeat of the Chuy by Tibetans in 808, the Chuy Shatuo branch asked China for protection, and moved into Inner China. After aiding in the suppression of the
Huang Chao uprising in 875–883, and establishing three out of five short-lived dynasties during the
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period
The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen conc ...
(907-960), their number in China fell down to between 50 and 100 thousand, ruling a Chinese population of about 50 million people.
A detailed analysis of the term ''Shatuo'' (Sanskrit ''Sart'') is given by Chjan Si-man. Their social and economic life was studied by W. Eberhard. In "Tanghuyao" the Shato
tamga is depicted as
Shatuo nobles established the
Later Tang dynasty of China (923-956). During the
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...
period the Shatuo fell under the
Chagatai Khanate, and after its demise remained in its remnant in
Zhetysu and northern
Tian Shan
The Tian Shan,, , otk, 𐰴𐰣 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃, , tr, Tanrı Dağı, mn, Тэнгэр уул, , ug, تەڭرىتاغ, , , kk, Тәңіртауы / Алатау, , , ky, Теңир-Тоо / Ала-Тоо, , , uz, Tyan-Shan / Tangritog‘ ...
.
The Shatuo received tribute from the
Tatar
The Tatars ()[Tatar]
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different people from north of the Ordos in 966, while they were vassals of the
Khitan Emperor.
History
Early Shatuo (7-8th century)
The early Shatuo were originally called the Turks of Shatuo circuit (lit. Shatuo Turks/Shatuo ''Tujue''). Occasional references were made to the three tribes of the Shatuo: Shatuo, Anqing, and Yinge. The Shatuo population was never large but their warriors had a reputation for being brave and aggressive as well as proficient in siege warfare and archery. They participated in
Emperor Taizong of Tang's
campaigns against
Goryeo
Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificat ...
in the 640s and performed with distinction despite their ultimate failure. At the same time the Shatuo also came into conflict with neighboring tribes, leading them to further depend on the Tang dynasty for support. In 702, Shatuo Jinshan, ancestor of the future late Tang warlord
Li Keyong, started sending tribute to the Tang court. In 714, Jinshan was invited to
Chang'an
Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin ...
where
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (; 8 September 685 – 3 May 762), personal name Li Longji, was the seventh emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, reigning from 712 to 756 CE. His reign of 44 years was the longest during the Tang dynasty. In the early ...
hosted a banquet for him. During the
An Lushan rebellion
The An Lushan Rebellion was an uprising against the Tang dynasty of China towards the mid-point of the dynasty (from 755 to 763), with an attempt to replace it with the Yan dynasty. The rebellion was originally led by An Lushan, a general off ...
in the 750s, the Shatuo provided significant military aid to the Tang alongside the
Uyghur Khaganate. Yao Runeng (姚如能) mentioned in the 9th-century ''Deeds of
An Lushan'', two separate tribes ''Shatuo'' 沙陀 and ''Zhuye'' (朱耶) ~ ''Zhuxie'' 朱邪, among the non-Chinese tribes in the He and Long regions under
Turko-
Khotanese loyalist superintendent
Geshu Han (哥舒翰, d. 757).
Tang subjects (9th century)
In 809, the Tang resettled several Shatuo tribes in Hedong (modern northern
Shanxi), also called Jin based on the region's ancient name. The Shatuo there were semi-pastoralists who traded in horse, sheep, and cattle. However their way of life gradually changed over the 9th century as they became more settled and intermarried with border people and the Han Chinese. Their population also increased. In the early 9th century, reports of 6,000-7,000 Shatuo tents point toward a population of just 30,000 people, including women and children. By the end of the 9th century, the Shatuo had 50,000-60,000 male warriors.
In 821, Zhuye Zhiyi, the great-grandfather of
Li Keyong, led a failed attack on the rebellious
jiedushi
The ''jiedushi'' (), or jiedu, was a title for regional military governors in China which was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of ''jiedushi'' has been translated as "military commissioner", "legate ...
circuit of
Chengde
Chengde, formerly known as Jehol and Rehe, is a prefecture-level city in Hebei province, situated about 225 km northeast of Beijing. It is best known as the site of the Mountain Resort, a vast imperial garden and palace formerly used by ...
.
The Shatuo ruling family started using Zhuye as their surname. Zhuye Chixin (d. 888) abandoned it after he was bestowed the name
Li Guochang by the Tang emperor for his role in the suppression of
Pang Xun's rebel general, Wang Hongli, in 869. Guochang later upset the Tang court by slaying the governor of
Datong, Duan Wenchu, in 872. In 880, tensions came to a head when Guochang's forces suffered a defeat to Tang mercenaries, costing him a loss of 17,000 men. This led the Shatuo to turn north to their "Tartar" friends for support.
Li Keyong
The son of
Li Guochang,
Li Keyong, was a very capable warrior. He was said to be capable of "hitting twin flying ducks from a reclining position" and was called the "Dragon with a Single Eye" because he had an eye that was noticeably larger than the other. He led Shatuo forces to defeat
Huang Chao, who had
rebelled against the Tang and taken
Chang'an
Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin ...
in 881. The Shatuo victory in 883 forced Huang Chao to retreat from Chang'an. The then 28-year old Keyong, in charge of the Shatuo after his father's retirement, celebrated in Chang'an the following year. According to
Sima Guang, "Keyong’s contribution to the suppression of Huang Chao was arguably second to none." Despite arguably saving the Tang dynasty, the Shatuo sacked Chang'an in 885. Keyong was appointed prefect of
Daizhou and governor of
Yanmen
Yanmen Pass, also known by its Chinese name Yanmenguan and as Xixingguan, is a mountain pass which includes three fortified gatehouses along the Great Wall of China. The area was a strategic choke point in ancient and medieval China, contro ...
. From there, he expanded his territory to
Jinyang,
Zezhou, and Liaozhou. In 890, the Shatuo took
Zhaoyi.
Jinyang became the Shatuo capital. It was strategically located between two hills more akin to mountains, rising as high as a thousand meters. Combined with craters and dry riverbeds, the location made attacks from the southeast and northwest hazardous. In the west, the
Yellow River made any maneuver costly in time and materiel. Jinyang itself was a fortress city with a wall spanning 20 km with sufficient provisions to last a year. It was seen as "the northern door to the empire" at the time.
Five Dynasties
The Tang dynasty fell in 907 and was replaced by the
Later Liang. The Shatuo had their own principality
Jin (Later Tang precursor) under the Tang dynasty, in the area now known as
Shanxi, which was granted to them as a fief in 883 by the Tang emperors, and survived the fall of the Tang dynasty in 907. The Tang dynasty emperor's had granted the Shatuo Zhuye chieftain Li Keyong the imperial surname of Li and title Prince of Jin, adopting him into the imperial family. They had tense relations with the Later Liang, and cultivated good relations with the emerging
Khitan power to the north.
Later Tang
The son of Li Keyong,
Li Cunxu, succeeded in destroying the Later Liang in 923, declaring himself the emperor of the “Restored Tang”, officially known as the
Later Tang, using the fact that his family was granted the imperial Li surname of the Tang dynasty and a princely title to declare themselves legitimate Tang dynasty emperors. In line with claims of restoring the Tang, Li moved the capital from
Kaifeng
Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the Nort ...
back to
Luoyang
Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyan ...
, where it had been during the Tang dynasty. The Later Tang controlled more territory than the Later Liang, including the
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
area, the surrounding
Sixteen Prefectures , Shanxi and
Shaanxi Province
Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), ...
.
This was the first of three short-lived Shatuo dynasties. The last Later Tang Emperor was a Han Chinese,
Li Congke, originally surnamed Wang, who was adopted by the Shatuo Later Tang Emperor
Li Siyuan, granted the imperial surname Li and made the Prince of Lu.
Later Jin
The Later Tang was brought to an end in 936 when Shi Jingtang (posthumously known as
Gaozu of Later Jin), also a Shatuo, successfully rebelled against the
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive v ...
Later Tang emperor
Li Congke and established the
Later Jin dynasty. Shi moved the capital back to
Kaifeng
Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the Nort ...
, then called Bian. The Later Jin controlled essentially the same territory as the Later Tang except the strategic
Sixteen Prefectures area, which had been ceded to the expanding
Liao Empire established by the Khitans.
Later historians would denigrate the Later Jin as a
puppet regime of the powerful Liao to the north. When Shi's successor did defy the Liao, a Khitan invasion resulted in the end of the dynasty in 946.
Later Han and Northern Han
The death of the Khitan emperor on his return from the raid on the Later Jin left a power vacuum that was filled by
Liu Zhiyuan, another Shatuo who founded the
Later Han in 947. The capital was at Bian (Kaifeng) and the state held the same territories as its predecessor. Liu died after a single year of reign and was succeeded by his teenage son, in turn unable to reign for more than two years, when this very short-lived dynasty was ended by the
Later Zhou. The remnants of the Later Han returned to the traditional Shatuo Turk stronghold of Shanxi and established the
Northern Han Kingdom. The Last Northern Han Emperor,
Liu Jiyuan was originally surnamed He but was adopted by his maternal grandfather, the Northern Han Emperor
Liu Chong and granted the imperial surname Liu. Liu Jiyuan granted the imperial surname to the Han Chinese general
Yang Ye
Yang Ye (楊業) or Yang Jiye (楊繼業)According to he changed his name directly from Liu Jiye to Yang Ye in 979, changing both the surname and the given name. If this is to be believed, the name Yang Jiye is technically incorrect, but shows ...
and adopted him as a brother. Under the protection of the Khitan
Liao dynasty
The Liao dynasty (; Khitan: ''Mos Jælud''; ), also known as the Khitan Empire (Khitan: ''Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur''), officially the Great Liao (), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 916 and 1125, ruled by the Yelü ...
, the tiny kingdom survived until 979 when it was finally incorporated into the
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...
.
Song dynasty
By 960, most of the ethnic-Shatuo members had assimilated with
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive v ...
.
Shatuo Turks that remained on the
steppe
In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes.
Steppe biomes may include:
* the montane grasslands and shrublands biome
* the temperate gras ...
s were eventually absorbed into various
Mongolic or
Turkic tribes. From the 10th to 13th centuries, Shatuo remnants possibly joined
Mongolic-speaking Tatar confederation in the territory of the modern
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million ...
, and became known as
Ongud or White Tatars branch of the
Tatars
The Tatars ()[Tatar]
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different Turki ...
.
[Paulillo, Mauricio. "White Tatars: The Problem of the Öngũt conversion to Jingjiao and the Uighur Connection" in ''From the Oxus River to the Chinese Shores: Studies on East Syriac Christianity in China and Central Asia (orientalia - patristica - oecumenica)'' Ed. Tang, Winkler. (2013) pp. 237-252]
Physical appearance
Contemporary records of the Shatuo describes some Shatuo men as having deep set eyes and whiskers as well as lithe bodies and a light complexion. Centuries later, the
Mongols
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...
referred to the descendants of the Shatuo as "White Tartars."
Religion
The early Shatuo seem to have practiced some aspects of
Manichaeism
Manichaeism (;
in New Persian ; ) is a former major religionR. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 founded in the 3rd century AD by the Parthian prophet Mani (A ...
alongside their reverence for spirits and divination. They also believed in a "Heavenly God" or "Sky God" like other nomadic peoples. The Shatuo were also influenced by
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
in their sculptural artworks.
Surnames of Shatuo
*
Li (李)
*Zhuye (朱耶) ~ Zhuxie (朱邪)
*
Zhu (朱)
*Sha-Jin (沙金)
*
Sha (沙)*
*
Liu
/ ( or ) is an East Asian surname. pinyin: in Mandarin Chinese, in Cantonese. It is the family name of the Han dynasty emperors. The character originally meant 'kill', but is now used only as a surname. It is listed 252nd in the classic text ...
(刘)*
See also
*
History of China
The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the ''Book of Documents'' (early chapter ...
References
Sources
* Chavannes, Édouard (1900), ''Documents sur les Tou-kiue (Turcs) occidentaux.'' Paris, Librairie d’Amérique et d’Orient. Reprint: Taipei. Cheng Wen Publishing Co. 1969.
* Findley, Carter Vaughn, ''The Turks in World History''. Oxford University Press, (2005). ; 0-19-517726-6 (pbk.)
* Mote, F.W.: Imperial China: 900–1800, Harvard University Press, 1999
* Zuev Yu.A., ''"Se-Yanto Kaganate And Kimeks (Türkic ethnogeography of the Central Asia in the middle of 7th century)"'', Shygys, 2004, No 1, pp. 11–21, No 2, pp. 3–26, Oriental Studies Institute, Almaty (''In Russian'')
*
Chinaknowledge5 DYNASTIES & 10 STATES*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shatuo
Turkic peoples of Asia
Ancient peoples of China
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms
Jin (Later Tang precursor)
Later Han (Five Dynasties)
Later Jin (Five Dynasties)
Later Tang
Xueyantuo
Extinct Turkic peoples
Tribes of the Göktürks