Ethnicity and Women: Conquest Dynasties

1. Ethnicity and Women: Conquest Dynasties Background

2. Background • Central and Inner Asia • The Geography • The Tundra • Forest Zone • Steppe Zone • Desert Zone • The Climate • The Peoples of Central/Inner Asia • Central/Inner Asia in World History • Nomadic Empires of Central/Inner Asia • Central Asia Today • Central Asia and China • Alien dynasties in China • Non-Han Rule in Pre-Imperial China • Non-Han Rule in Imperial China

3. Central Asia/Inner Asia: The Geography

4. Geography: the Tundra • The Tundra is an Arctic wasteland with plants that are mostly moss, dwarf shrubs, and berry carrying bushes. • Its climate is bitterly cold with the temperatures during the long winter at -100F; the summers are short and cool with average July temperature less than 60F. • Strong arctic winds often sweep across the unprotected landscapes. • The soil is often frozen and there is deep snow cover in many areas. • It is close to the Arctic and this contributes to a high frequency of clouds and fogs over the land. • The reindeer is the dominant animal.

5. Geography: Forest Zone • The coniferous – evergreen – forests form the most extensive tree cover. • This area has a sub-arctic climate with long winters — average January temperatures ranging from -40F in the north to 14F in the south. • Brief, cool summers, with a fairly uniform July average temperature of about 65F. • The southern part are mixed forest as in northeastern Manchuria. • In addition to reindeers there are many kinds of large animals, including elk, deer, bear and lynx as well as tigers in the southern parts of Siberia and Manchuria.

6. Geography: Steppe Zones • The typical landscape consists of meadow steppes – a broad belt of grasslands from north of the Black Sea to the plains of Manchuria. • The western steppe include the Ukraine, the northern Caucuses and southern Urals and the Kirgiz steppe. • The eastern steppes includes the extensive grasslands in the eastern and central areas of Mongolia and the Manchurian prairies. • The winters are cold and dry and the summers are moderately warm. • Dry air masses come into the steppe lands during the prolonged winter and bring average January temperature to -10F and 10F. • The most severe winters are in Mongolia because of its interior location and mountain borders – January temperature at Urumuchi, of -17F and at Harbin it drops down to -4F. For both areas, the average number of sub-freezing months is 5. • Summers are warm with a July temperature between 65-75F.

7. Geography: Desert Zones • The Gobi merges into the Ala Shan Desert, north of the Gansu Corridor and the Ordos Desert, located in the bend of the Yellow River north of the Great Wall. • The western part of the Ala Shan is known as the Little Gobi. • The Ordos is vast and largely bare of vegetation. • There are major corridors of movement through them and have been used intensively. • The winters are short and only about one or two months in the southern areas where the average temperatures are below freezing. • Summers are hot with a mean July temperature over 85F. • In the south the temperatures sometimes rise as high as 120F.

8. Central Asia/Inner Asia: The Climate polar desert      tundra      alpine tundra      taiga      montane forest     temperate broadleaf forest      temperate steppe      dry steppe

9. The Peoples of Central /Inner Asia • The migratory cycle of Central Asian nomads had four seasonal components due to the climate of the region. • The winter was the harshest season and the location of the winter camp was critical as it had to provide shelter from the wind and sufficient pasture for the animals. • In the spring, they moved into the grasslands where the spring rains have helped the grass grow and the melted snow provided drinking water. • They moved to the summer pastures when the spring grass dried and the pools of water evaporated; there they would find a second spring. • The summer camp would be abandoned at the beginning of cold weather and they returned to their winter quarters.

10. Central/Inner Asia in World History • Most of the people of present day Central Asian were nomads who originated from Eastern Asia – Mongolia (especially the Turkic Mongols) but migration due to wars took these people westward beginning in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. • These peoples lived in the steppe areas of Central Asia, from the borders of Manchuria to Ukraine. • They were of different ethnic origins but belonged to major ethnic groups such as the Turks, Mongols, Manchus and their ancestors. • They were without a common language, most without writing. • Their histories are written by their enemies, the Chinese, the Greeks, the Romans, and the Persians.

11. Central/Inner Asia in World History (2) • They contributed to exchanges on the Silk Road and their heirs laid the basis of the Ottoman (Turkey) Empire (1299 – 1923) and Mughal (India) Empire (1526 – 1858).

12. Central/Inner Asia in World History (3) • These nomads threatened settled peoples from China to Russia and Hungary, including Iran, India, the Byzantine empire, and even Egypt for 2,000 years – from 4C BCE to 15C CE. • They were mounted archers, using harassment and indirect maneuver, before delivering the blow enabled them to attack from bases far away and overcome problems of logistics. • Periodically, they would be united by a common strategic culture – the culture of the steppe – under a charismatic leader. • When they united under the leadership of a brilliant commander, they were empire destroyers. • At times, these nomadic groups would assimilate the knowledge and culture of settled societies – China, Iran, and Byzantine – and rule over empires.

13. Central/Inner Asia in World History (4) • They launched waves of Invasions: • Middle East: Mainly Iran, Afghanistan, Asia Minor, Mesopotamia – modern Iraq, Egypt (and Syria). • Europe: The Greeks and the Romans; Russia, Central Europe and the Balkans – Western Europe was spared by the Mongols who had to return to their homeland at the death of Genghis Khan to elect the next great Khan. • India: the Hephthalite Huns* – White Huns -- (480) destroyed the Gupta empire (320-550). • China: northern China except for the Mongol and Manchu dynasties that conquered all of China. • *Origin of Huns disputed; some say they are descended of the Xiongnu but others question this.

14. Nomadic Empires of Central Asia • 6-2 C BCE Scythian empire (Iranians) • 3-2 C BCE Xiongnu (Turkic Mongols) • 3-5 C AD Xianbei Empire (Mongols) • 4-6 C AD Rouran (Mongols) • 6C (552-c.582) Tujue (Turkic) • 6-7C Division into – Eastern Turks (582-657); Western Turks (582- 630) • 7-8C Second Khaghnate of the E. Turks. (682-744) • 7-9 C Tibetan expansion in central Asia; zenith of the Tibetan empire (755-797); Collapse of the Tibetan empire (842).

15. Nomadic Empires of Central Asia (2) • 8-10C (740-840) Uighur (Turkic), Manichaean by religion destroyed by the Kirghiz (Turks). • 840-924 Kirghiz empire of Mongolia. • 1130/1135-1211 Empire of the Qara-Khitai (Mongols, Buddhist by religion). • 13-14 C Ghenghiskhanid empire • 15-16C Uzbek (Turkic) empire founded by Abu’l Khazyr (1428-1468) (1451-1510) • 15C First Oirot Empire (Mongols) reaching its zenith (1439-1455) • 15 C Second Oirot empire-- declined after attacks from the Manchu emperors (1699).

16. Normadic Empires:Sythan (6-2 BCE); Turkic (c. 600CE) Gokturk khaganates at their height, c. 600 CE :      Western Gokturk: Lighter area is direct rule, darker areas show sphere of influence.      Eastern Gokturk: Lighter area is direct rule, darker areas show sphere of influence.

17. Tibetan Empire in the World(c. 800) Map of the world, c. AD 820. Colored areas show the extent of influence for the major empires of the period; control over some areas may have been purely nominal. Gray areas showed areas that are mainly inhabited by Indigineous populations, or completely uninhabited.

18. Central Asia Today • The descendants of the nomadic empires have moved and settled west – as far away as Turkey .

19. Central Asia Today (2) • As these peoples migrated westward they conquered the original settlers but in time the lands they conquered became part of the Soviet Union. • Other nomads migrated further and formed the nation of Turkey. • Many of these groups had once also conquered China and much of the land within the Chinese borders were once their homelands. • When the Soviet Union broke up in 1991, these peoples gained independence.

20. Central Asia Today (3) • Soviet Union had been a federation 15 republics -- Soviet Socialist Republics (SSR). • The republics became independent countries, with some still loosely organized under the heading Commonwealth of Independent States. • There are four main groupings of these independent republics: • Eastern Europe, • Baltic States, • Caucasus, and • Central Asia • The republics* in Central Asia are Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

21. Central Asia Today (4) • In the post-Cold War era, Central Asia is struggling to achieve a sense of national identity. • It is a mess of historical cultural influences, tribal and clan loyalties, and religious fervor and so prone to instability and conflicts. • Influence in the area is no longer just Russia, but also Turkey, Iran, Tibet, Pakistan, India, United States and China. • Russia continues to dominate political decision-making throughout the Caucasus, and former Soviet republics although Russia's influence is being slowly reduced.

22. Central Asia Today (5) • Turkey has some influence because of the ethnic and linguistic ties with the Turkic peoples of Central Asia. Turkey also serves as one of the oil pipeline routes to the Mediterranean. • Iran has historical and cultural links to the region and is trying to construct an oil pipeline to the Persian Gulf. • Tibet is an important power in the region, especially in energy/oil politics. • Pakistan, a large and nuclear-armed state exercises some influence. • For some Central Asian nations, the shortest route to the ocean is through Pakistan. • Pakistan needs natural gas from Central Asia, and supports the development of pipelines from its countries.

23. Central Asia Today (6) • India, as a nuclear-armed rising power, exercises some influence in the region, especially in Tibet as it has cultural affinities. • India is also perceived as a potential counterweight to China's regional power. • The United States with its military involvement in the region, and oil diplomacy, is also significantly involved in the region's politics.

24. Central Asia Today (7) • China is concerned that the independence of the original Soviet republics will encourage independence movement of the same ethnic groups who are minorities within China. • These major minority groups in China are: • 8 million Uighur Turks who live in Xinjiang – old Chinese Turkestan. • More than a million Kazakhs live in China (population in Kazakhstan – 12 million). • 3,000 people in Xinjiang (China) speak Uzbek and Uzbekistan is encouraging the migration of Uzbek speakers to Uzbekistan • There are also Kyrgyz speakers in China and the Kyrgyz have been involved in trade along the Silk Road since the 8th century. • Tibetans are struggling with independence issues.

25. Central Asia Today (4) • Basic Demographic and Economic Indictors for the Central Asian Republics • (Source: World Development Report, 1993; Nationalities from The Economist, December 1992). • Hong Kong - GNP per capita: 27130; United States 41440 (2004): World Bank

26. Central Asia Today: Tajikistan • Has been inhabited continuously since 4,000 BC. • The Tajik is a non-Turkic republic surrounded by Turks except in the south. • They share culture with Iran but is Muslim in faith. • Tajik language is dialect of Persian. • The country is mountainous, landlocked with no ports. • It has been under the rule of different empires mostly the Persian Empire. • Arabs brought in Islam religion in the 7th century. • The Mongols later took partial control of Central Asia, and later the land became a part of the emirate of Bukhara – Persian (Sogdian), Greek, Kushan (Yuezhi), Mongol. • A small community of Jews, displaced from the Middle East, after the Babylonian captivity, migrated to the region and settled there after 600 BCE; the majority of Jews living there did not migrate to Tajikistan until the 20th century. • 45,000 Tajik reside in China and is considered an official minority.

27. Central Asia Today: Kazakhstan • Turkic and Muslim character. • Kazakhs are a minority in their own republic (40%) – close to a quarter of population lost during collectivization. • Unspoken policy of encouraging peoples of Kazakh origin to return from China, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Russia, Turkey, Europe and elsewhere. • Large numbers of Uzbeks live in the south along the Uzbek border. • Economic power in hands of Russians, Koreans and other Muslim nationalities. • Anguish at having had their land, dignity, language and culture stripped away by the Russians.

28. Central Asia Today: Kyrgyzstan • Kyrgyzstan means the "Land of the Kyrgyz." • Mountainous and somewhat isolated. • Borders Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and the PRC to the southeast. • Limited economic prospects • Large Uzbek minority. • Kyrgyz people are closest to the Kazakhs but are thought of as mountain Kazakhs by the Kazakhs. • The first known homeland of the Kyrgyz in southern Siberia. • Their first appearance in written documents appears in the SimaQian’s Records of the Grand Historian (compiled 109 BCE to 91 BCE). • The Kyrgyz were once under the rule of the Gorturks (Turkic) and Uyghurs (the Uyghurs were later defeated and migrated to Xinjiang. • Currently, the Kyrgyz (in China: 143,500 ) form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the PRC.

29. Central Asia Today: Turkmenistan • Isolated from the other Central Asian republics by a large expanse of desert. • Linguistically, they are Oghuz (Western Turk) as the Turks of Turkey. • Turkmen land is located in the centre of Asia, on the crossroads of the ancient caravan routes and modern transcontinental communication lines. • It is on the only land corridor leading into Iran and to the Persian Gulf and Turkey. • It was a land through which armies marched through to conquer other lands –Alexander the Greater, Genghis Khan and others. • Possesses major oil and gas reserves that make it the richest per capita state of central Asia.

30. Central Asia Today: Uzbekistan • Tashkent, its capital, was the Asian capital of the Soviet Union. • Uzbeks possess a high degree of education, technical know-how and advanced scientific and technological institutes. • Chief rival with Kazakhstan for regional influence. • Possible conflict with Tajikistan due to the large number of Tajiks (20.5% of Tajiks in the former Soviet Union live in Uzbekistan). • Tajiks form a majority in Samarqand. • Widespread use of Tajik language. • Large Uzbek population in Tajikistan concentrated in the north. • 1.5 million Tajik forming 7% of the Uzbek population • 14,800 Uzbeks reside in China in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.

31. Central Asia and China • Central Asia and China (northern China except for the Mongols (Yuan) and Manchus (Qing) dynasties: • Xiongnu (Turkic Mongols) – 3-5 C BC- 2C AD • Tuoba (Xianbei -- proto-Turks) – 5C • Rouran (Mongols) – 5-6 C. • Qidans (Yuwan -- Xianbei and Xiongnu ethnicity residing in Manchuria and Mongolia) – 10-12C. • Jurchens (Manchus) – 12-13C. • Yuan dynasty (Mongols) • Oirots (Mongols) 15C. • Qing dynasty (Manchus) – 17C. • Oirots (Mongols) – 17C.

32. Alien Dynasties in Northern China • There were three basic types of foreign dynasties: • Steppe nomads • Conservative Manchurian frontier states from the northeast • Aggressive Manchurian frontier states founded by the leaders of wild tribes, who came either from the forest or the steppe. • Steppe nomads -- Sixteen Kingdoms Period (304-439). • Were situated on China’s northern frontier, • Used their tribal military organization to become rulers of large parts of north China. • Fought with the Chinese warlords and formed the first foreign dynasties in China. • Fought against each other. • Unable to provide stable administration • Had difficulty in resolving the conflicts of being both tribal and Chinese-style rulers; these problems led to their swift collapse.

33. Alien Dynasties in China (2): Conservative Manchurian frontier states • Conservative Manchurian frontier states from the northeast -- Northern and Southern Dynasties Period: • Began their history as small kingdoms combining steppe nomads, forest tribes and Chinese rural and urban dwellers. • The Manchurian states moved into China after the collapse of the steppe dynasties. • Had dual administrations, one branch staffed by tribesmen, in charge of tribal affairs and war; while the other branch, staffed by Chinese bureaucrats, handled civil affairs. • Administration under the control of the emperor who used Chinese rule to weaken tribal autonomy and tribal military organizations to prevent rebellion (this type of management took decades to develop and could only occur in areas away from the major battle zones).

34. Alien Dynasties in China (3): Aggressive Manchurian frontier states • Aggressive Manchurian frontier states • These were founded by those who came either from the forest or the steppe. • Originally they were frontier clients of the conservative Manchurian states. • They took advantage of the weaknesses of the conservative Manchurian states to displace them and begin an aggressive policy of expansion to bring all of north China under their rule. • They used both the dual organization and incorporated most of the old ruling class into the new political order.

35. Non-Han Rule in China • These alien dynasties: • Employed Han officials for government services but resisted sinicization. • Retained control by dual administration. • The most successful non-Han rule was the Qing dynastywho was identified as the ruler of five peoples – Manchus, Mongols, Tibetans, Uyghurs and Chinese. • These languages were the official languages of the Qing. • Developed their own writing systems; bilingual and multi-cultural. but appointments of high positions went to tribal relatives or allies. • Adopted Chinese practices but Chinese civilization also changed over time as they absorbed foreign elements and so the concept of “Chineseness” is broadened.

36. Non-Han Rule in China (2) • As the alien emperor felt more secure he usually preferred to adopt the Chinese system of government as it allowed him to: • Centralize power, • Control succession, and • Gain the acceptance of the majority of his subjects who are Chinese. • This, most often, would lead to rebellion of the tribal leaders who see the erosion of their powers.

37. Non-Han Rule in China (3) • Chinese historians have all seen these alien/non-Han rulers as legitimate Sons of Heaven. • Most of the officials believed in two important elements in the legitimacy of a dynasty: • Being virtuous • Ruling China as a unified empire • The quality of their governance is judged from a pragmatic point of view with little reference to the ethnic factor. • Their ethnic identities are not highlighted nor are they hidden. • While the Chinese accepted foreign rule, there were power struggles between the Chinese and the tribal leaders and racial hatred was a problem for the emperor.

38. Non-Han Rule in Pre-imperial China • The first dynasty described in Chinese historical records is the Xia Dynasty 夏 – its people are considered to be Han. • Around 1700 BCE, the Shang people – to the east – defeated the Xia and founded the Shang/Yin dynasty. • The people of the Shang are thought to have spoken a different language and may not have been of Han origin. • They eventually adopted the language of their subjects – the people of the Xia. • The last Shang king, committed suicide after his army was defeated by the Zhou.

39. Non-Han Rule in Pre-imperial China (2) • The ancestors of the Zhou dynasty may have come from the Rong 戎 ethnic group rather than from the Chinese line of the Xia people. • The two most prestigious names of the Zhou were Ji 姬 and Qiang 羌 and they were also names of the Rong. • The mother of the ancestor of Zhou (Houji 后稷) was Qiang Yuan. • Ji was the name of the royal house of Zhou and Qiang was the clan from whom the Zhou royal house got its brides. • The Rong lived in the Shensi area and there were Rong groups in the Huanghe 黄河 area as early as the Spring and Autumn Period. • They were different from the Chinese in customs and culture as well as language.

40. Non-Han Rule in Imperial China • Important groups of Non-Hans rulers in China: • Xiongnu匈奴(Huns) during the Sixteen Kingdoms Era (304-439). • Xianbei 鮮卑 during the 3rd Century. • Qidan 契丹 in late 5th-mid 13th C. • Tanguts 黨項 mid-6th C to present. • Turks 突厥 mid 6th to early 9th C. • Jurchens 女真 (Manchurians) since early 10th C. • Mongolians 蒙古 since late 8th C. • For comprehensive listing go to: • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_groups_in_Chinese_history

41. Non-Han Rule in Imperial China (2) • Yan dynasties (Xianbei) (285-437) • Sixteen States era (316-399): • Zhao dynasties (319-349) • Former Zhao (Xiongnu) (319-329) • Later Zhao (Jie/Xiongnu) (330-340) • Qin dynasties (350-417) • Former Qin (Di) (350-394) • Later Qin (Qiang) (384-417) • Northern Dynasties era (non-Han)(399-581) • Liang, Northern (Xiongnu) (397-439) • Wei (Xianbei) (399-557) • Xia (Xiongnu) (413-431) • Northern Qi (Xianbei) (550-577) • Northern Chou (Xiongnu) (557-581)

42. Non-Han Rule in Imperial China (3) • Sui (Mixed) (581-617) • Tang (Mixed) (618-906) • Liao (Qidan) (907-1125) • Later Tang (Turkic) (923-936) • Later Qin (Turkic)   (936-948) • Later Han (Turkic)   (946-950) • Xi Xia (Tangut) (c.982-1227) • Jin (Jurchen) (1115-1234) • Yuan (Mongol) (1260-1368) • Qing (Manchu) (1644-1911)

43. The Xiongnu Federation • Barfield, Thomas, The Perilous Frontier,” Ch. 2, "The Xiongnu Empire", Ch. 3, “The collapse of Central Order,” • Sinor, Denis, Cambridge History of Early Asia, Ch 5, pp 118-149; • William Montgomery McGovern, The Early Empires of Central Asia:, pp. 87-310. • Optional: • Paper from former students – check course website.Topic: The “Palace Living and Influence of Princess in Han Dynasty,” 2007. • 司馬遷︰《史記》。北京︰中華書局，1959年。(主要參考〈本紀〉、〈劉敬列傳〉、〈匈奴列傳〉) • 班固︰《漢書》。北京︰中華書局，1962年。(主要參考〈本紀〉、〈韓安國傳〉、〈匈奴列傳〉) • 范曄︰《後漢書》。北京︰中華書局，1965年。(主要參考〈本紀〉、〈南匈奴列傳〉)