Northeast History (1): One of the three major indigenous peoples in Northeast China, where did the Donghu nationality get its name?

In the rich and beautiful land of the Northeast, the ancestors of the Chinese nation worked, lived and reproduced very early. In the pre-Qin period, there were three indigenous peoples in the Northeast, and Donghu was the most powerful one. So, how did the name of Donghu come from?

Donghu people

In ancient China, the northeast was vast and sparsely populated. In this vibrant land, the Northeast natives live happily by fishing and hunting. Later, due to changes in ethnic groups, three ethnic groups, Donghu, Sushen, and Yiqiu gradually formed. To tell the history of the Northeast, we must start with the indigenous people of the Northeast. Today, we will talk about how the name of the Donghu people came from.

Northeastern people have always been sturdy, and the Northeast indigenous people dating back to the pre-Qin period are even more sturdy. Donghu is one of the representatives. We all know that the Huns are very good at war and have fought with the Han Dynasty for hundreds of years. However, for a period of time, the Huns were in the eyes of the Donghu as a small ant, vulnerable to a blow. During the holidays, the Huns would give gifts to the Donghu.

Actually, the Donghu people originally had no name. In that savage era, the aboriginals of the Northeast bravely fought against nature, only knowing the names of relatives, or cats or dogs, but not the names of ethnic groups.

However, when a classic Chinese book appeared, this indigenous people in Northeast had a name!

Yi Zhou Shu

This work is "Yi Zhou Shu".

Many people don't know about this book. This work is a compilation of ancient Chinese historical documents. The narrative starts with Zhou Wen and King Wu, and goes down to the King of Ling and King in the late Spring and Autumn Period. The original name is "Book of Zhou", and after Sui and Tang Dynasties, it is also called "Book of Zhou." However, part of the content and thoughts of this book are contrary to Confucian moral theory. Ancient Chinese dynasties relied on Confucianism, so scholars did not pay much attention to this work until the Qing Dynasty. However, in the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, this work was edited into the "Si Ku Quan Shu", and it could be studied by later generations.

mentioned "East Hu Huang Feng, Shan Rong Rong Shu" in "Yi Zhou Shu · Wang Hui Chapter". This is the first time that the name "Donghu" has gone into history. Since then, the word Donghu has been endless, frequently seen in various historical works. For example, "Book of Jin" records that Murongxian, who was once named as "the governor of Xianbei" in the Jin Dynasty, "is also a native of Xianbei in Jicheng, Changli. The descendants of the Xiong clan first lived in Beiyi, and the name was Donghu." There is a bear. Clan is the Huangdi tribe. The "Historical Records: The Biography of the Xiongnu" records that Donghu has had frequent contacts with the Yan and Zhao states in the Central Plains since historical records.

So, why is it called Donghu? Let’s look at the historical background of the Book of Yi Zhou. This book records events from the Zhou Wenwang period to the Eastern Zhou Dynasty King Zhoujing. During the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the Huns called themselves Hu. At that time, the people of the Central Plains moved to the east of the Huns (Hu). The tribes are all called "Donghu". The northeast is on the east side of the Mongolian Plateau, so the author of "Yi Zhou Shu" wrote into the book what people called Donghu at that time.

Since then, some works have assisted this. For example, the Biography of the Xiongnu in Shiji and Cihai both clearly stated that Donghu was “named because it lived east of the Xiongnu (Hu)”. In fact, Donghu appeared very early in history, but because "Yi Zhou Shu" was written in the Warring States Period, the author would adopt the name of the time when writing, so it was called Dong Hu.

Tungusic people

arrived in modern times, scholars have a new interpretation of the origin of the name Donghu, some scholars believe that Donghu is a person who tells stories. The pronunciation of

Donghu is the same as the ancient Altaic word (Mongolian-Tungus) Toung-gu(s). The correct pronunciation is "Tonggu(s)", that is, "Donghu" is the word "Tonggu(s)" Different writing. In the ancient Altai Mongolian, t, d; h, g are often indistinguishable and interchangeable. Therefore, it is possible that "Tonggu" was pronounced "Donghu". "Tong" in "Tong Gu" means willow bushes, "Gu" means river, and the literal translation of "Tong Gu" means "willow river" or "a river full of willow trees on the bank", plus the suffix that expresses most parts of speech. After "s", it evolved into the ethnic name of the ethnic group living by the river-"Tungus". As a ethnic name, it means the ethnic group living on the banks of the river with willow trees, or it can be understood as "people living in the Liuhe River Basin" ". In fact, Donghu originally referred to the ethnic group living in the Liuhe River Basin in the upper reaches of the Liaohe River. It was given this title before the Xiongnu moved eastward. This title should be what they call themselves.Called "the man who lives by the Liuhe".

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The Tunguska ethnic group is basically a fishing and hunting ethnic group. It was actually called the Ewenki people by the Yakuts. They lived in northeastern China and the Russian Far East, as well as the Tunguska River in Central Siberia. Their language is similar to the Manchu language in the Northeast, so this language group is called the Manchu-Tungus language group.

So, is Donghu a Tungusic? There is no conclusive historical data to support this view. However, among the indigenous peoples in the Northeast, the Donghu ethnic group was the first to rise. They are very bloody and dare to challenge authority. So, in the history of Northeast China, how did Donghu rise up and how did it perish?