Indeed, for the Central Plains dynasty, the Huns did live a "country life", but there was neither a palace castle nor a luxurious life, which could be described as shabby. But if you don't compare with the Central Plains Dynasty, the quality of life of Huns is actually good. Relying on the western regions controlled by them, the Huns can "levy the country and give it for money" and have considerable wealth. With the help of these wealth, Xiongnu can get a lot of materials in the commodity trade with Hanting, including all expenses such as food, clothing, housing and transportation. At the same time, with the more frequent and in-depth exchanges between the Western Han Dynasty and Xiongnu, Xiongnu also acquired many advanced manufacturing technologies, such as bronzes, ironware, gold and silver vessels, pottery and so on.
Therefore, it can be said that the life of Huns is far less miserable than most people think, and all expenses such as food, clothing, housing and transportation are relatively superior to those of other Asian countries except the Western Han Dynasty.
The first is "eating". In diet, Huns mainly eat meat, and the acquisition of meat mainly depends on "grazing" and "hunting". First, "animal husbandry". Huns, as nomadic people, besides fighting, grazing is the most important thing. Historical Records Biography of Xiongnu records: "There are many horses, cows and sheep, and their rare birds and animals are horses, mules, donkeys and horses." The Huns tend to raise horses, cattle and sheep, as well as some rare animals such as camels, donkeys and mules. At that time, the animal husbandry of Xiongnu was very developed. From the war between the Western Han Dynasty and Xiongnu, it can be seen that the Western Han Dynasty captured millions of cattle and sheep (for example, if Wei Qing went west and defeated Xiongnu, it would be "more than one million cattle and sheep"). At that time, most of the Huns' daily meat came from animal husbandry.
Then "hunting". For Huns, hunting is one of the most important sources of meat besides nomadism. As a nation on horseback, Huns are not only brave in fighting, but also brave in hunting. Historical records once said: "(Huns) can ride sheep and shoot birds and mice with bows;" Shoot young foxes and rabbits: they are used as food. ...............................................................................................................................................................
So for Huns, hunting is a routine and a part of daily life. Timely hunting can not only exercise the military ability of Huns, thus enhancing their fighting capacity, but also supplement their meat sources and avoid killing a large number of livestock. After all, the season suitable for hunting was only a few months at that time, so once hunting was no longer possible, the Huns had to rely on their own livestock to obtain meat, so if more livestock were left, there would be more chances for survival.
However, it should be noted that although Huns are nomadic people, their main hunting area is not in the Mongolian Plateau. At that time, the Mongolian plateau was dry and rainy, with sparse vegetation and extremely scarce wild animal species. The most wild animals are rodents such as gerbils and jerboa, which obviously have no edible value. At most, it is used to treat toothache for Huns, but it cannot be used as the main source of meat.
In fact, the hunting ground of Xiongnu was in Yinshan area, which is the mountain range in the middle of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. At that time, Yinshan area had humid climate, lush vegetation and large forest resources, so there were many kinds of wild animals living here, including foxes, wolves, tigers, leopards, black bears, wild horses, wild donkeys, rock sheep, argali, goats, antelopes, Tibetan sheep, antelopes, sika deer, red deer, elk, reindeer, roe deer, deer and so on.
Then after the Huns got the meat, they didn't eat as much as most people thought. On the contrary, in the handling of grain, the Huns were almost the same as the Central Plains Dynasty at that time. According to the bronze tripod (cook the meat or bronze container for meat) and copper pot (which can be directly placed on the support similar to a stove) unearthed from Xiongnu Tomb in Erdos, Inner Mongolia, China, it can be boiled and stewed next time.
Of course, although the Huns' staple food is meat, it is not without other foods. For example, in drinks, they will make animal milk into milk wine; As for dessert, they will make milk into cheese and cream; In terms of snacks, they will make animal milk into milk skins, souffles and so on.
In addition, although the Huns took animal husbandry as their main source of livelihood, it can be seen from historical records that the Huns also carried out some agricultural production activities at that time. For example, the biography of Xiongnu in Han Dynasty says: "After months of rain and snow, livestock died, people were infected with the disease, and crops were unfamiliar, so we can know that Xiongnu was then from Unfamiliar Crops. In addition, according to "A Biography of the Western Regions in the History of Han Dynasty": "When Zhao Di was in power, the Huns resumed riding four thousand people in the fields" (referring to the fact that during the reign of Zhao Di, the Huns sent four thousand cavalry to Che's country to grow grain), it can be known that some Huns were engaged in growing grain at that time.
So at that time, although the Huns mainly ate meat, they also began to eat food and became self-sufficient in food. In short, when it comes to eating, the Huns are not short of food, but they are very rich.
Followed by "wearing". Xiongnu's clothing is mostly processed fur. They will process the fur of hunted animals into leather, and then make it into leather clothes, leather pants, leather boots and so on. Of course, sometimes they twist animal hair into wool and then make all kinds of woolen clothes. Clothes made of fur are not as luxurious as those made of silk in the Central Plains, but they are very practical, durable, warm and cold-proof, very suitable for the cold natural environment in the northern desert, and can well resist the cold weather in the Mongolian Plateau.
In addition, some Xiongnu nobles will also embed the fur of wild animals such as foxes and minks into collars and cuffs, or make vests and cloaks to keep out the cold and keep warm. At that time, this warm-keeping product was made of foxes, minks and so on. Very precious, most of them are used by Huns as dowry or Korean tribute, and are regarded as treasures by all countries. For example, when the Han dynasty received such items, they were "foxes and foxes, which were collected and filled by the imperial court" and were treasured in the royal treasury.
At the same time, because Huns emphasize sturdiness and durability in clothing, their clothing styles are not as diverse as those in the Central Plains, such as robes, curtains, skirts and so on. Its clothing style is generally "pleating up and pleating down" and its coat is "pleated", which is different from that of the Central Plains, while the coat of Xiongnu is "left-handed", that is, the clothes are open to the left, and there are two styles: round neck and stand-up collar. At the same time, its jacket cuffs are narrower than those in the Central Plains, and there are fewer patterns and patterns. The lower garment is "squatting", with pleated pants and full-length sleeve socks, as well as bloomers with fat on the top and narrow on the bottom.
Generally speaking, because Huns live in cold, windy and dusty places with many mosquitoes, this warm and practical dressing style is accepted by most Huns. However, in the Western Han Dynasty, with the more and more frequent exchanges between the Xiongnu and the Central Plains Dynasty, the Han Dynasty opened a "closed market" to allow people of the two ethnic groups to trade, so some Xiongnu costumes began to undergo subtle changes, especially the Xiongnu nobles.
As the clothes made of silk from the Central Plains were introduced to Xiongnu through trade, those Xiongnu nobles became interested in this thin and gorgeous dress. As the saying goes, "Khan cooks well", and they gradually abandoned the traditional costumes of the Huns and replaced them with Hanfu made of silk. This can be seen from a large number of silk fabrics unearthed from Tomb No.2.. M6 Xiongnu aristocrat in Noyenula. At that time, Xiongnu nobles were proud of wearing silk clothes, and they used silk objects in succession, and compared the beauty of silk clothes with each other.
Of course, silk clothes are not suitable for the "military life" environment in which Huns live. As the saying goes, "It's not as complicated as Qiu Jian." Although silk clothes are gorgeous, they are not practical. For the Huns, who live by nomadic and hunting, it is just a flashy thing. Therefore, this kind of quality is doomed to be unable to fully flow in Xiongnu society and can only be used by a few Xiongnu nobles.
Then "live". Generally, Xiongnu herders live in a house called Qionglu, which is now a Mongolian yurt. It is made of wood and felt, with a central uplift and drooping around it, shaped like a sky, hence the name Qionglu. "Black Tatar" records: "There are two kinds of vaults: made by Yanjing, with Vitamin bone, just like the southern thinking, which can be rolled up, opened in front of you, like an umbrella bone, and opened on it, called a skylight. Both of them are made of felt and can be installed immediately. The grassland system is made of willows, and its diameter is determined by felt. It cannot be rolled up and carried on the car. " The main body of the vault is made of wood, the wall frame, skylight, rafters and doors are all made of wood, the top is arched, and the tent is made of felt.
At first glance, the vault is very small, but in fact, the internal use area is very large, that is, "the sparrow is small and has all the organs", and the living area, rest area and so on are all available. At the same time, due to the unique shape of the vault, its indoor air circulation and lighting conditions are also very good. Warm in winter and cool in summer, not afraid of wind and rain, convenient to build, dismantle and carry. Therefore, vault is very suitable for Huns who "follow the herd".
At the same time, it should be noted that although Huns are nomadic people, their habit is to "follow the herd." However, during the Qin and Han Dynasties, with the more frequent exchanges between the Huns and the Central Plains, the Huns began to be deeply influenced by the culture of the Central Plains, gradually learned the practice of living in the Central Plains, and began to build cities or palaces. Of course, most cities or palaces built by Huns are not for their own lives, but for other purposes.
There are palaces specially built for the upper-class Han people who come to kiss or surrender. For example, in the 1940s, the ruins of Abakan Han-style Palace discovered in Hakka Autonomous Province were built by the attendants of the Han Princess who married her that year (some scholars believe that it was built to house the general Li Ling of the Han Dynasty). There are cities integrating agriculture, handicrafts and military defense, such as Ibojia City, which was built in the 1990s and is located 65,438+06 kilometers southwest of Ulan-Ude. There are military forts temporarily built for "crossing wells, building cities, managing buildings and hiding valleys"; There are temple-like cities built for sacrifice, such as "Dragon City".
Of course, whether these cities were built by Huns or not, it can be seen from the appearance of these cities that Huns have mastered the construction technology of cities. In fact, it's true. Urban sites excavated today, such as Gao Wa Daobu, Telekindol bulykin, Burheidol bulykin, Ba Long Dolreo and so on. The decorative patterns and manufacturing methods of the building materials used are exactly the same as the common styles of central plains buildings in Qin and Han dynasties, and the Huns really mastered the construction of the city.
After that, it is "ok". As a nation that "migrates by weeds", the Huns inevitably have to make several large-scale migrations throughout the year, and this time the migration is often hundreds of miles away. If you just walk, it is absolutely impossible. Therefore, it is natural for Huns to travel by means of transportation, and like the Central Plains, Huns also ride and transport by vehicles. Although it is not clear when the Huns first used vehicles, at least in the Western Han Dynasty, the Huns also used vehicles at the same time.
Xiongnu vehicles are widely used, such as riding people, transporting, fencing herds, or hunting wild animals. At the same time, there are many kinds, mainly including transport vehicles, chariots and caravans. Among them, the caravan is the most frequently used vehicle in Huns, and there are many shapes such as double-horse single-axle vehicle, double-horse double-axle vehicle, single-axle double-wheel multi-spoke round vehicle, double-axle double-wheel multi-spoke caravan and so on. This is a vehicle with a carriage.
During the Western Han Dynasty, the output of Xiongnu vehicles was huge, and Sang Hongyang once described the prevalence of Xiongnu vehicles as "the cars are ringing with each other". At the same time, in the records of the Western Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu War, we often see that the Western Han Dynasty captured a large number of Xiongnu vehicles. For example, in 109, the Han army defeated Nandanyu and seized thousands of vehicles; 134, in the battle of the automobile market, the Han army seized more than a thousand vehicles from the northern Xiongnu. It can be seen from these records that the popularity of vehicles in Xiongnu is not worse than that in the Central Plains.
Finally, there is "material life". During the Western Han Dynasty, with the deepening of communication with the Central Plains, Huns began to pursue a "refined" life while solving the problem of food and clothing, and with the technical support of the Central Plains, their upper class really lived a life no different from that of the landlords in the Central Plains. First of all, in daily cold protection, Huns not only know how to make warm clothes with animal fur, but also make warm items such as felt tents, mats and carpets with sheep or camel fur. In order to ensure the practicality of these items, the Huns adopted a very complicated manufacturing process, and they had to go through many processes such as wet, hot and extrusion to make the felt. However, the felt made through such complicated steps is very practical and has good resilience, hygroscopicity, shock absorption and warmth retention.
At the same time, the felt made by Huns is not only practical, but also very beautiful. They will draw all kinds of exquisite patterns on the felt, or draw simple patterns such as stripes and vortex patterns, or draw more complicated patterns such as the two-headed monster, the eagle flapping deer and the bull fighting lion. According to a batch of colored tapestries unearthed from the tombs of Xiongnu nobles in Nuoyanwula, the Huns at that time also knew how to draw more exquisite patterns with pigments, and judging from the pattern sewing technology of this carpet, the Huns at this time have mastered manual techniques such as dyeing, jacquard, embroidery and plant pigment extraction, and can embroider almost the same exquisite embroidery as in the Central Plains.
Secondly, among the daily necessities, bronze wares made of copper are popular in Xiongnu. The bronze utensils used by ordinary people in the Central Plains, such as stoves, stoves, mirrors, bells, pots, three-legged incense burners, three-legged candlesticks, clocks, stoves, spoons, copper pots and so on, can be found in the homes of ordinary herdsmen in Xiongnu. Moreover, more importantly, most of these bronze vessels were not from the Central Plains, but were cast by the Huns themselves. For example, mining tools and smelting equipment were found in Dajing ancient copper mine site in linxi county (site of Xiongnu period). So at that time, the Huns had mastered the smelting of copper and the manufacture of bronzes.
In addition, as the most indispensable article in people's life in ancient Central Plains-pottery, Xiongnu was also widely used. Huns usually use pottery as containers and cookers. The pottery used by the early Huns was mainly argillaceous pottery, mostly made by hand, so it was rough and single in variety and color. However, in the Western Han Dynasty, with the influx of Central Plains technology, the Huns learned the fast wheel technology, and the varieties and colors of Xiongnu pottery began to enrich. At this time, pottery pots, bowls, Tao Ge, pots, pots, bowls, Tao Pan and other pottery appeared one after another, and their colors changed from single gray pottery to brown pottery, red pottery and black pottery.
At the same time, the bronze ware manufacturing technology of Xiongnu at that time was no different from that of the Central Plains, and it was by no means shoddy. At that time, archaeologists found that Huns used the advanced surface tin plating technology at that time to plate pure tin and lead-tin alloy on their surfaces, thus preventing bronzes from rusting. Therefore, judging from the technology adopted, the bronzes made by Huns are exactly the same as those made in the Central Plains.
Moreover, the Huns also have gold and silver objects used by wealthy families in the Central Plains. Most of the gold and silver vessels used by Huns are necklaces, earrings and waist ornaments, among which the necklaces are square metal beads and gold-inlaid mussels. Earrings include earrings, earrings, beads and so on. The belt is decorated with badges, belt buckles, etc. Because Huns advocate animals, these gold and silver objects are mostly shaped by animals such as horses, sheep, tigers, wolves and eagles, such as eagle-shaped gold crowns, tiger-ox bites, antelope-shaped gold ornaments, wolf-deer silver ornaments, tiger-bitten sheep silver collars and tiger-bird ornaments.
With the deepening of the communication between Xiongnu and the Western Han Dynasty, the manufacturing technology of Xiongnu's gold and silver wares was also superb. With the support of Western Han technology, Xiongnu mastered a series of advanced technologies for casting gold and silver vessels, such as gold plating, gold plating, tabletting, hammering, drilling, wire drawing and welding. With the support of these technologies, the gold and silver wares made by Huns themselves are more and more exquisite and varied. It can be said that the earliest gold and silver wares can be found in Xiongnu.
To sum up, in fact, at that time, the living conditions of Huns were not as bad as we thought. Although their quality of life can't be compared with that of the Central Plains Dynasty at this time, compared with other neighboring countries, such as western countries and southwestern countries, the Huns are already "developed countries" and their living standards are already very superior.
Of course, the quality of life of the Huns is not bad, but compared with the Central Plains Dynasty, there is still a long way to go. As the first country in the world at that time, the Central Plains Dynasty was really rich, with vast territory and abundant resources. So, as a Hun near the Central Plains, how can you not covet it? Everyone wants to live a better life, and the Huns at that time also had enough strength to resist the Central Plains dynasty, so the Huns inevitably fought a protracted Sino-Hungarian war with the Central Plains dynasty.