The Kumo Xi (Xu Elina-Qian, p.296b), also known as the Tatabi, were a Mongolic

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 grasslan ...

people located in current

Northeast China Northeast China or Northeastern China () is a geographical region of China, which is often referred to as "Manchuria" or "Inner Manchuria" by surrounding countries and the West. It usually corresponds specifically to the three provinces east of ...

from 207 CE to 907 CE. After the death of their ancestor

Tadun Tadun (died 207) was a leader of the Wuhuan tribes during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was an ally of the warlord Yuan Shao and Yuan Shao's son and successor Yuan Shang. Life Tadun was a younger relative of the Wuhuan chieftain Qiuli ...

in 207, they were no longer called

Wuhuan The Wuhuan (, <

Eastern Han Chinese

: *''ʔɑ-ɣuɑn'', <

but joined the Khitan Xianbei in submitting to the

Yuwen The Yuwen ( < Eastern Han Chinese: *''wa^B-mun'' <

Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were a Proto-Mongolic ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into t ...

. Their history is widely linked to the more famous Khitan.Xu Elina-Qian, pp.268-271 During their history, the Kumo Xi engaged in conflict with numerous Chinese dynasties and with the Khitan tribes, eventually suffering a series of disastrous defeats to Chinese armies and coming under the domination of the Khitans. In 907, the Kumo Xi were completely assimilated into the Khitan-led

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 Yel� ...

of China.

Etymology

Omeljan Pritsak Omeljan Yosypovych Pritsak ( uk, Омелян Йосипович Пріцак; 7 April 1919, Luka, Sambir County, West Ukrainian People's Republic – 29 May 2006, Boston) was the first Mykhailo Hrushevsky Professor of Ukrainian History at Har ...

reconstructs the ethnonym underlying

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 ...

*''kʰuo^H-mɑk̚-ɦei'' as ''qu(o)mâġ-ġay''. The first element ''qu(o)mâġ'' is from *''quo'' "yellowish" plus denominal suffix *''-mAk'', cognate with Mongolian ''qumaġ'' "fine sands" and with

Turkic Turkic may refer to: * anything related to the country of Turkey * Turkic languages, a language family of at least thirty-five documented languages ** Turkic alphabets (disambiguation) ** Turkish language, the most widely spoken Turkic language * ...

''qumaq'' and ''qum''.Golden, P.B. (2003) "Cumanica II: The Ölberli (Ölperli): The Fortunes and Misfortunes of an Inner Asian Nomadic Clan" in ''Nomads and their neighbours in the Russian Steppe'' note. 49 p. 16-17 of 5-29 As for *''ɦei'', Christopher Atwood (2010) proposed that it reflects an ''i''-suffixed form of OC 胡 *gâ > '' hú''. Further, ''gâ'' is etymologically uncertain:

Peter Benjamin Golden Peter Benjamin Golden (born 1941) is an American historian who is Professor Emeritus of History, Turkish and Middle Eastern Studies at Rutgers University. He has written many books and articles on Turkic and Central Asian Studies, such as ''An i ...

(2003) proposes several Mongolic etymologies: ''ɣai'' "trouble, misfortune, misery", ''χai'' "interjection of grief", ''χai'' "to seek", ''χai'' "to hew", albeit none compelling. Pritsak proposes that the ''qu(o)mâġ-ġay'' comprised two

Proto-Mongolic Proto-Mongolic is the hypothetical ancestor language of the modern Mongolic languages. It is very close to the Middle Mongol language, the language spoken at the time of Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire. Most features of modern Mongolic language ...

groups: the ''Qu(o)mâġ'', whom he linked to the Kimek and the Qun/

Cumans The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian exonym ), were a Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confederation. After the Mongol invasion (1237), many so ...

(whose ethnonym possibly meant "yellow") and the ''Qay'' proper. However, Golden thinks that ''qu(o)mâġ-ġay'' simply means "desert Qay" or "sand Qay", referring to their earlier habitat. As for the exonym ''Tatabï'' given to Kumo Xi by

Göktürks The Göktürks, Celestial Turks or Blue Turks ( otk, 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰰:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, Türük Bodun; ; ) were a nomadic confederation of Turkic peoples in medieval Inner Asia. The Göktürks, under the leadership of Bumin Qaghan (d. 552) a ...

Yury Zuev Yuri Alexeyevich Zuev or Zuyev (russian: Юрий Алексеевич Зуев; 8 December 1932 – 5 December 2006) was a Russian-born Kazakh sinologist and turkologist. Biography Zuev was born in the Siberian city of Tümen in a white- ...

(2002) compares ''Tatabï'' to

Avestan Avestan (), or historically Zend, is an umbrella term for two Old Iranian languages: Old Avestan (spoken in the 2nd millennium BCE) and Younger Avestan (spoken in the 1st millennium BCE). They are known only from their conjoined use as the scri ...

''tata apo'' and proposes an etymology from

Iranic The Iranian peoples or Iranic peoples are a diverse grouping of Indo-European peoples who are identified by their usage of the Iranian languages and other cultural similarities. The Proto-Iranians are believed to have emerged as a separate ...

*''tata-api'' "falling waters", after having noted that the name of a Xī-(奚)-associated tribe ''Bái-Xí'' 白霫 (< MC *''bˠæk̚-ziɪp̚'') literally meant "white downpour/torrent" in

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of v ...

, and that the Xī (奚) and Xí (霫) occupied the same area, Zhongjing (中京).

Origin

The Kumo Xi were descendants of the

Wuhuan The Wuhuan (, <

Eastern Han Chinese

: *''ʔɑ-ɣuɑn'', <

. The ''

Book of the Later Han The ''Book of the Later Han'', also known as the ''History of the Later Han'' and by its Chinese name ''Hou Hanshu'' (), is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the history of the Han dynasty from 6 to 189 CE, a period known as the Lat ...

'' records that “the language and culture of the

are the same as the Wuhuan”. Along with the Xianbei, the Wuhuan formed part of the

proto-Mongolic Proto-Mongolic is the hypothetical ancestor language of the modern Mongolic languages. It is very close to the Middle Mongol language, the language spoken at the time of Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire. Most features of modern Mongolic language ...

Donghu confederation in the 4th century BC. The

Weishu The ''Book of Wei'', also known by its Chinese name as the ''Wei Shu'', is a classic Chinese historical text compiled by Wei Shou from 551 to 554, and is an important text describing the history of the Northern Wei and Eastern Wei from 386 t ...

(Description of the Khitan, Vol. 1000, 2221) records that the Kumo Xi and Khitans (descendants of the Xianbei) spoke the same language. The ''

Book of Wei The ''Book of Wei'', also known by its Chinese name as the ''Wei Shu'', is a classic Chinese historical text compiled by Wei Shou from 551 to 554, and is an important text describing the history of the Northern Wei and Eastern Wei from 386 to ...

'' (Description of the Khitan, Vol. 100, 2223) records : The ''

Book of Sui The ''Book of Sui'' (''Suí Shū'') is the official history of the Sui dynasty. It ranks among the official Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written by Yan Shigu, Kong Yingda, and Zhangsun Wuji, with Wei Zheng as the lead au ...

'' records: The '' New Book of Tang'' records:

History

In 388 AD, the Kumo Xi and Khitans fought with the Xianbei Northern Wei dynasty. The conflict severely weakened the Kumo Xi while the Khitans were not as badly affected, resulting in their split into separate polities. By the early Tang period (around the 7th century AD), the (now named) Xi had become subordinate to the Khitans. After the Khitans'

Li-Sun Rebellion , conventional_long_name = Khitan / Liao , common_name = Khitan, Liao dynasty, Qara Khitai , , status = , status_text = , empire = Liao dynasty , government_type = Monarchy , , event_st ...

(696-697) and revolt of

Ketuyu Ketuyu (; died 734) was a Khitan military chief, notable for his Ketuyu rebellion.Xu Elina-Qian, p.245-248 Despite the presence of a khagan, he de facto controlled Khitan politics. His power made the Khitan khagan jealous, and he then defended hims ...

(730-734), the Xi regained their position of dominance. The Xi then entered a golden age, lasting from approximately 755 to 847. During this period the Xi were friendly with

An Lushan An Lushan (; 20th day of the 1st month 19 February 703 – 29 January 757) was a general in the Tang dynasty and is primarily known for instigating the An Lushan Rebellion. An Lushan was of Sogdian and Göktürk origin,Yang, Zhijiu, "An Lush ...

, and supported An in his

An Shi 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 ...

(756-763), plundering Han territories frequently within this period. This aggressive policy seems to have consumed Xi forces, especially weakening their demographic vitality, allowing the less aggressive Khitans to dominate them. Xi raids into China provoked successive heavy responses from the Tang, resulting in battles in the 760s and in 795 that were disastrous for the Xi. After 795, the Xi became a tributary people to the Tang. The

Uyghur Empire The Uyghur Khaganate (also Uyghur Empire or Uighur Khaganate, self defined as Toquz-Oghuz country; otk, 𐱃𐰆𐰴𐰕:𐰆𐰍𐰕:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, Toquz Oγuz budun, Tang-era names, with modern Hanyu Pinyin: or ) was a Turkic empire that e ...

(744-840) collapsed in the 840's. When the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...

simultaneously displayed signs of division, the Xi rose in rebellion in 847, and were subsequently and disastrously defeated by

Zhang Zhongwu Zhang Zhongwu () (died 849'' Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 248.), formally Prince Zhuang of Lanling () (per the ''Old Book of Tang'Old Book of Tang'', vol. 180.) or Duke Zhuang of Lanling () (per the ''New Book of Tang'New Book of Tang'', vol. 212 ...

, the frontier commander of

Lulong Lulong County, formerly Yongping, is a county of Qinhuangdao City, in northeastern Hebei Province, China. Administrative divisions The county administers 6 towns and 6 townships. Towns: *Lulong (), Panzhuang (), Yanheying (), Shuangwang ( ...

. The Xi were never able to recover from their defeat in 847. In the late ninth century AD the Khitans rose to eventually absorb the remnants of Xi people, and established the

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 Yel� ...

in 907.

Cultural heritage

It is believed that the '' Xiqin'', a bowed, stringed instrument that is the ancestor of the Chinese ''

Erhu The ''erhu'' (; ) is a Chinese two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a ''Southern Fiddle'', and is sometimes known in the Western world as the ''Chinese violin'' or a ''Chinese two- ...

'', the Mongolian ''

Khuuchir The khuuchir is a bowed musical instrument of Mongolia. Formerly, the nomads mainly used the snake skin violin or horsetail violin. The Chinese call it "the Mongol instrument" or " ''huk'in'' or ''huqin''".Morin khuur The ''morin khuur'' ( mn, морин хуур, morin khuur), also known as the horsehead fiddle, is a traditional Mongolian bowed stringed instrument. It is one of the most important musical instruments of the Mongol people, and is considered ...

'', was derived from a Xi instrument. Хуучир mongol.undesten.mn

Notes

References