The Mohe, Malgal, or Mogher, or Mojie, were an

East Asian East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South ...

Tungusic people who lived primarily in the modern geographical region of

Northeast Asia Northeast Asia or Northeastern Asia is a geographical subregion of Asia; its northeastern landmass and islands are bounded by the Pacific Ocean. The term Northeast Asia was popularized during the 1930s by American historian and political scient ...

. The two most powerful Mohe groups were known as the

Heishui Mohe The Heishui Mohe (; mnc, Sahaliyan i Aiman or ), also known as the , rendered in English as Blackriver Mohe or Blackwater Mohe, were a tribe of Mohe people in Outer Manchuria along the Amur River () in what is now Russia's Khabarovsk Krai, Amur Ob ...

, located along the

Amur River The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeastern China ( Inner Manchuria). The Amur proper is long ...

, and the Sumo Mohe, named after the

Songhua River The Songhua or Sunghwa River (also Haixi or Xingal, russian: Сунгари ''Sungari'') is one of the primary rivers of China, and the longest tributary of the Amur. It flows about from the Changbai Mountains on the China–North Korea bord ...

. The Mohe constituted a major part of the population in the kingdom of

Balhae Balhae ( ko, 발해, zh, c=渤海, p=Bóhǎi, russian: Бохай, translit=Bokhay, ), also rendered as Bohai, was a multi-ethnic kingdom whose land extends to what is today Northeast China, the Korean Peninsula and the Russian Far East. It wa ...

in northeast Asia, which lasted from the late 7th century to early 10th century. After the fall of Balhae, few historical traces of the Mohe can be found, though they are considered to be the primary ethnic group from whom the

Jurchen people Jurchen (Manchu language, Manchu: ''Jušen'', ; zh, 女真, ''Nǚzhēn'', ) is a term used to collectively describe a number of East Asian people, East Asian Tungusic languages, Tungusic-speaking peoples, descended from the Donghu people. They ...

descended. The Heishui Mohe in particular are considered to be the direct ancestors of the Jurchens, from whom the 17th century

Manchu people The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...

and

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

founders originated.Huang, P.: "New Light on the origins of the Manchu," ''Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies'', vol. 50, no.1 (1990): 239-82. Retrieved from JSTOR database July 18, 2006. The Mohe practiced a sedentary agrarian lifestyle and were predominantly farmers who grew soybean, wheat, millet, and rice, supplemented by pig raising and hunting for meat. The Mohe were also known to have worn pig and dog skin coats.Gorelova 2002
pp. 13-4.

Name

The Chinese

exonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, o ...

''Mohe'' (靺鞨) is a graphic pejorative written with ''mo'' 靺 "socks; stockings" and ''he'' 鞨 "shoes". ''Mo'' (靺) (

Middle Chinese Middle Chinese (formerly known as Ancient Chinese) or the Qieyun system (QYS) is the historical variety of Chinese recorded in the ''Qieyun'', a rime dictionary first published in 601 and followed by several revised and expanded editions. The ...

: /muɑt̚/) is an adjective, a customary expression meaning "

barbarian A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less ...

" or Xiongnu. Before the Five dynasties period, it was recorded as "靺羯", such as on the Honglujing Stele. ''He'' 鞨 is ''gal'' (

''gat'' or /ɦɑt̚/), meaning "

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

" by Mohe/Malgal, Jie/Gal language. The Jie ruler

Shi Le Shi Le (274–17 August 333), courtesy name Shilong, formally Emperor Ming of (Later) Zhao, was the founding emperor of the Jie-led Later Zhao dynasty of China. At a young age he was sold as a slave by Jin officials, but he later helped start a ...

(石勒) takes the surname ''shi'' (石 "stone") from ''gal''. According to the History of Jin (Jin Shi), Shi Tumen ( 石土門) is the prince of the

, whose surname ''shi'' hints to a connection with the Mohe and Jie. The ethnonym of the Mohe bears a notable resemblance to that of the later historically attested *Motgit in

(;

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

: 물길 ulgil Japanese: もつきつ otsukitsu. The name of the Mohe also appears as "Maka" in "Shin-Maka" (Japanese 新靺鞨, しんまか) or "New Mohe," which is the name of a dance and the musical piece that accompanies it; the dance and song were introduced to the Japanese court during the

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara, Nara, Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remai ...

or around the beginning of the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese ...

from the

kingdom. In modern Japanese historical texts, the name of the Mohe is annotated with the "

kana The term may refer to a number of syllabaries used to write Japanese phonological units, morae. Such syllabaries include (1) the original kana, or , which were Chinese characters (kanji) used phonetically to transcribe Japanese, the most pr ...

" reading Makkatsu (まっかつ), which is probably a transliteration based on the standard Sino-Japanese readings of the Chinese characters used to transcribe the ethnonym of the Mohe.

Tribes

According to some records, there were seven/eight Mohe tribes :

Notable personalities

Prefecture Mohe chieftains

* Sumo Mohe ** Tudiji (突地稽

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese fo ...

: Tūdìjī,

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and Q ...

: Tulergi (''alien people''),

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The ...

: 돌지계), ca. 580-620 ** Li Jinhang (李謹行

: Lǐ Jǐnháng,

: 이근행), 619-683, Tudiji's son ** Dae Joyeong (大祚榮

: Dá Zuòróng,

: 대조영), ?-719 * Baishan Mohe ** Geolsa Biu (乞四比羽

: Qǐsì Bǐyǔ,

: 걸사비우) * Heisui Mohe ** A Tou (阿頭

: Ā Tóu,

: Uju (''head, chief''),

:아두) ** Tou Fu (陁弗

: Toú fú,

: 타불) ** Su Wugai (蘇勿蓋

: Sū Wùgài,

: Sotki (''crusian''),

: 소홀개) ** Gao Zhimen (高之門

: Gāo Zīemén,

: Hocihon mangga (''handsome and strong''),

: 고지문) ** Wusukemeng (烏素可蒙

: Wū sù kě méng,

: Osohon mangga (''small but strong''),

: 오소고몽) ** Nisuliji (倪屬利稽

:Ní shǔ lì jī,

: Nisurigi (''finger ring for archery''),

: 아속리계) * Funie Mohe ** Shiyimeng (失異夢

: Shī yì mèng,

: Silin mangga (''elite and strong''),

: 실이몽) ** Li Duozuo (李多祚

: Lǐ Duōzuò,

: 이다조) * Yuexi Mohe ** Wushikemeng (烏施可蒙

: Wū shī kě méng,

: Osohon mangga (''small but strong''),

: 오시가몽)

References

Citations

Bibliography

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