Xiongnu history (1)

For most people in China, when the word "Asian" is mentioned, it is easy to think of the "orthodox" image of the yellow race. They are of medium height, short stature, sparse hair, light yellow skin, slender eyes, inconspicuous brow bones and straight but not tall noses. This is a typical image of Northeast Asians, mainly distributed in northern China, Korea and Japan. We think this is a "pure" yellow race. The history and culture of Asia are mainly their history and culture. They created Asia and gave it the meaning of "Asia". Other Asians are mixed-race physically and culturally. West Asians cross with Indo-Europeans, while South Asians cross with Negros. We can easily associate this orthodox Asian with a long history and cultural origin, intensive agriculture and gentle and implicit personality. They are not fit and muscular, and although there may be many individual types of tall bodies, they are usually not stout. No matter in history, culture, social life or physique, they are too slender and seem to be too influenced by a precocious civilization. There seems to be a feminine feature in the visual image of Asia. It should be said that this is an incomplete or inaccurate impression. The slender and feminine characteristics of Asians may come from the continental climate and its agricultural production mode. In fact, the real North Asians are nomads, and they have never been "Asians" who are gentle and subtle, too civilized and a little feminine like us. They are an aggressive, provocative and bloody people. Although they have not developed excellent agricultural culture, their wisdom is no less than ours. Ordinary westerners and western anthropologists define the representatives of Asians as Mongols, which makes us so-called "orthodox" Asians somewhat puzzled. We wouldn't be surprised if we knew something about western history. You know, the nomadic people on the grassland in North Asia left a deep impression on them, saying that they will never forget it too much. The Mongols they mentioned, whether in the pre-civilization period or in the recorded historical period, migrated to the west on a large scale, or simply invaded and swept away. North Asians are good at exploring and have been widely distributed in Eurasia since the early days of human civilization. The Lapps in Western Europe and the Eskimos in the Arctic, as well as the Finnish-Ugric language family, Hungary and Bulgaria in Central Europe, Turkey at the turn of Europe and Asia, and the Mongolian faces and cultural characteristics of Russians are all the results of their activities. Judging from the recorded history, the grassland nationalities in North Asia have invaded the west four times. The first time was the Xiongnu's westward migration; The second and third times marked the beginning of the history of Hungary and Bulgaria respectively; The fourth expedition was a Mongolian expedition. In this case, the first time and the fourth time are directly or indirectly related to China. The most unforgettable nightmare for Europeans is that Mongols conquer the world. We in China are no strangers to the Mongolian campaign in the13rd century. Genghis Khan's ambition led to the Yuan Dynasty being inserted into the chronology of China's history, which was a huge empire unique in human history and spanning Eurasia. The advanced military technology and science of the Han people make the Mongolian expedition unstoppable, and their military advantage over westerners is no less than that of the United States in the Gulf War against Iraq. Although their civilization enlightenment was later than that of us Han people, the Mongols did not lack wisdom. Genghis Khan was never a careless hero who only knew how to shoot an eagle with a bow. This is the first time that Mongols have applied the idea of systems engineering to war. We can imagine that such a huge exploration plan would be impossible without the idea of systematic engineering. Reliable logistics support system, unique engineering troops commanded by the Han people at that time, advanced military tools and communication means, careful battle plan, their natural courage and arrogance, and monotonous and backward material enjoyment enabled them to gallop across Eurasia like a hurricane. This is a real Mongolian hurricane, and it is still a "yellow disaster" for westerners. Despite the huge scale of Mongolian conquest, I think that among the Asian yellow race who marched westward into Europe, the westward migration of Huns was the most tragic and poetic, with immeasurable historical significance. Whether westerners are willing to accept this view or not, in fact, Xiongnu contributed to a turning point in the development of European history. They pushed the Germanic Man Zi people in the jungle onto the historical stage, and together with the latter ended the era of the Romans. The history of the empire disappeared, the pluralistic feudal state politics began, and the main division pattern of a European country that has lasted almost to this day was formed. Attila, the Hun King, was unanimously called "the whip of God" by Romans and Germans, expressing the fear and helplessness of Europe. However, don't forget that it was the Huns who waved the first whip of the European historical chariot, which is a veritable whip of God. Xiongnu established a huge empire in Europe, but their empire was short-lived. Their historical fate in Europe seems to be only a turning point in history. When this turning point was completed, their empire collapsed, and even the whole nation was digested in the history and culture of Europe and no longer appeared. The story of Huns who emigrated to Europe is very dramatic. This nation ended itself at the most glorious moment in its life, leaving an unforgettable legend. In western vocabulary, Huns are synonymous with extremely fierce people. During World War II, Hitler's German soldiers were called Huns. However, people still admire and cherish Attila's heroism in the land once ruled by Huns. Until now, Attila is still the name used by boys in Hungary and Turkey, and some even claim to be descendants of Attila. The Huns left another thing for Europe. The following year, Attila attacked akira after failing to conquer Gaul (the only failure in his life). Some farmers and fishermen (called Venetians) came to a swamp-filled peninsula along the Adriatic Sea to escape the war. After hundreds of years of operation, they established one of the most beautiful and developed city-states in Europe, which became the Republic of Venice. We in China are no strangers to Huns. They are a northern nomadic people living on the Mongolian plateau, also known as conference semifinals in history. They have been traced since the recorded chronicles. In the Yin and Shang Dynasties, they were once called Ghost Fang, Dog Rong and so on. The ancients in China thought that they were descendants of China people like us, descendants of Xia people who were driven to the north by Yin people. According to Historical Records Biography of Xiongnu, "Xiongnu is also a Miao descendant of its ancestor Xia Hou". "Shan Hai Jing Huang Da Bei Jing" says: Quan Rong and Xia are of the same clan, both from the Yellow Emperor. From the Spring and Autumn Period to the Eastern Han Dynasty, and even to the Five Hus and Sixteen Kingdoms period, the Huns constantly harassed the South. In the 24th year of Guangwu Jianwu in the Eastern Han Dynasty (48 BC), about 5,000 Huns split up and joined the Han Dynasty. They are called the Southern Xiongnu. Most of the Huns left behind, that is, the northern Huns, were defeated by the Eastern Han Empire in 89 AD. In order to maintain the integrity of the nation, these Xiongnu people who moved westward struggled for more than 200 years on the prairie around the Caspian Sea to find a new home. In the second half of the 4th century (AD 360), their power suddenly broke out. Under the leadership of a king named Balambier, the Huns entered the territory of the Aran people. Aran is a powerful kingdom between Volga River and Don River, belonging to Turkic nomadic people. Huns defeated Alan's allies along the Don River, killed King Alan, and took Alan's army as their allies through treaty bondage and military threats. The Huns then began to move westward, and their next conquest was ostrogoths. Since then, the most brilliant scene of this nation has begun. I don't deny that I personally like this history very much. When I first learned about Attila's great achievements, I was fascinated by these Huns. Their historical role, their dramatic fate, their outstanding military and diplomatic talents, and their influence in the western world as a true oriental country-precisely, the descendants of China people-deeply attracted me. It should be said that they aroused an emotion in me. If this emotion can be conveyed to readers, then I will feel very satisfied. This article will tell some stories about Huns in Europe. When the Huns entered Europe, they had left their traditional homes for more than 200 years. Before that, there were few records about them except China's history books, especially the history of their migration from northern China to the west. Generally speaking, we can know that the Northern Xiongnu passed through Kangju, Dawan, Shanshan and other western countries on the way to the Western Expedition. These countries were conquered and enslaved by Huns in the past, so they did not welcome them to cross the border, but took revenge when they were down and out. Therefore, the Huns had to continue to move westward to find a new home for survival, during which they stayed in Central Asia for about 200 years. When they left for the last time, the Huns left the old and the weak in the local area, and chose Xiongxiong to continue the Western Expedition. Some European historians think that they have achieved little in culture. They are just a nomadic people living on horseback with unusual military talents. According to the Roman historian Masrinas, they are a group of barbarians who don't know how to use fire, enjoy delicious food and eat the meat of any animals and grass roots. This obviously contains considerable distortion and misunderstanding. The social organization of Xiongnu is the military tribal alliance. They are good at fighting and have strong operational mobility. They are good at riding and shooting, pretending to retreat to lure the enemy, and then outflanking. They can judge the number of enemies according to the smoke from horses running in the distance. People think they invented some harnesses, such as pedals for riding. Some people think that due to long-distance migration, they have experienced many regions and nationalities, so their physique has changed greatly. However, according to the description of Attila's image in western ancient history books, we can see that it has typical characteristics of yellow race. We can imagine that the Huns recruited some other races as their allies on the way to the west. In two or three hundred years, these foreigners and Huns had different degrees of mixed blood. Later Huns actually mixed a variety of different components, but they recognized themselves as Huns in national cultural characteristics and national psychology. After the Huns defeated the Alans, they were temporarily placed in the Don River grassland. To the west of Xiongnu League, there are two Germanic tribal alliances: one is the Eastern Gothic Alliance from the west of Dnieper River to the east of Dnieper River, and the other is the Western Gothic Alliance from the west of Dnieper River to Carpathian Mountain. In the southwest of the Visigoth League, it is the territory of the Roman Empire. After the Roman Empire conquered Gaul, it was mainly adjacent to the Germans in the north. At first, the Romans expanded and plundered the Germanic areas. After the third century, the empire was declining, the frontier defense was lax, and various Germanic barbarians were constantly eroding and infiltrating. At that time, the situation was somewhat similar to that of China's "Five Wild Flowers" in the same period. These Germanic barbarian tribes later launched an all-round attack on the Roman Empire and eventually became the conquerors of the Empire. In the Roman Empire, Germans were called barbarians because of their backward culture. At that time, Germans lived in the forest. They basically hunt for a living, wear animal skins, eat animal meat, live in huts, have no language and have a rude attitude. They never take a bath, and they smell terrible. Civilized people are afraid to avoid them when they see them. At that time, the Romans cursed: "Don't let me meet Teutonic people." Teutonic people are tall, fair-skinned, with blond hair and extremely strong bodies. Children grow up outdoors like animals, and women often do heavy manual labor. Germanic tribal organization is a primitive military tribal alliance, and its leader is also the highest military officer. Teutonic tribes have been at war for many years, and all men are soldiers. Their horses are short and are mainly used for riding rather than fighting. As soon as they met the enemy, they jumped off their horses and fought with daggers. At this time, their horses will stand very quietly. Compared with the Huns, the living conditions of the Germans are much better. They have forests and land suitable for farming, while the Huns have long lived in the northern prairie with bad weather conditions. In 375 AD, the Huns, led by their old king Balambal, began to attack the territory of ostrogoths on a large scale, thus opening the prelude to the great national migration that lasted for more than 200 years in medieval European history. Ostrogoths has never seen a battle on horseback, never seen such a swift offensive. Under the overwhelming attack of Huns, King Donggot committed suicide because he couldn't keep his home, and his subjects fled westward like water until they reached the Danube. In order to find a new living space, these frightened Germanic Man Zi attacked the Visigoth tribes passing by, uprooted them and drove them farther west. Visigoths attacked the neighboring Germanic tribes when they fled, which made the fear spread to Vandals, Suweihui, Burgundy, Alamany, Franks and Saxons. It's like a chain reaction. The invasion of Xiongnu drove away almost all the Germanic tribes. There is no doubt that the military capability of the Huns surpassed that of all the Germanic barbarians and Romans at that time. Roman historians have a vivid description of this. Huns always make chaotic shouts when fighting. Sometimes they line up in a list of rules, but most of the time they fight irregularly. Xiongnu's fighting mobility is unusual. Sometimes they suddenly spread out, and sometimes they quickly gather together to form a loose array. They will run like lightning on the vilen and fly over the enemy's camp at lightning speed, so that the enemy will be attacked before they get a rest. Huns' excellent riding and shooting skills enabled them to fight from a long distance. In close combat, they don't care about their own safety at all, but when the enemy tries to avoid their swords, they will throw a net to trap the enemy and make him unable to move. Under the pressure of Huns, all these Germans fled to the west in order to settle in the Roman Empire and seek asylum. The Visigoths later crossed the Danube and took refuge in Thrace with the permission of the Roman emperor Vallance. The number of visigoths who came to take refuge was huge, and the Roman officials in charge of counting the number simply couldn't count it. After counting to 200,000, they lost control. The influx of so many Visigoths was undoubtedly an uneasy factor in the Roman Empire. But the Roman officials in charge of these visigoths made a big mistake. They took the opportunity to treat and insult these Germanic Man Zi people at will, and finally forced them to rise up and resist. In 378 AD, the Visigoths defeated the Roman army at Adria Castle near Constantinople, and the Emperor Varan himself was killed. Later, the Roman general Dior reluctantly suppressed the uprising at the price of allowing visigoths to live in the western Balkans as allies. Dior West later became the Emperor of Rome. Before his death, he divided Rome into two parts and bequeathed it to his two sons. In this way, from 395 AD, two independent things appeared, the Roman Empire. The capital of West Rome is still Rome, and the capital of East Rome is Constantinople (the Roman Empire was overthrown in 285 AD, but reunified by Constantine the Great in 3 12). Teutonic people are savage and unwilling to be lonely in Man Zi, and they are also real soldiers. Like the Huns, as backward barbarians, they know little about the enjoyment of life except drinking. Therefore, compared with Rome, they can gain high combat effectiveness at a small cost. After being driven out of the forest, the Germans could no longer live as they used to, but became real robbers and conquerors. They roamed the territory of the Roman Empire, especially the Visigoths and Vandals. Visigoths have been fighting in Gaul, Italy and Spain. In 396 AD, Visigoth King alaric captured Athens and looted it. Visigoths invaded Italy in 40 1 year, and burned and plundered Rome in 4 10/year, which made this holy city fall for the first time. The Vandals attacked Rome again in 455, plundering and destroying it, and the losses were extremely heavy. This is the name of the destructive behavior that destroys the achievements of civilization. In just a few decades, some Germanic kingdoms were established in the empire. The visigoths occupied and founded in Spain in 4 16. The Franks occupied Gaul in April18 and established the Frankish Kingdom. Wang Daren entered North Africa in 429, occupied and established its capital in Carthage in 439. In these Germanic expeditions, Huns rarely participated in them and played a prominent role. After the first heavy blow to Europe, they stayed along the Danube River and established the Xiongnu Empire in Central Europe centered on the Great Hungarian Plain (then known as Pannonia). During this period, ostrogoths was forced to join the Huns' alliance, which strengthened his strength. They also fought against the Romans with the visigoths. In 395, they crossed the Danube and had fun fighting the Romans. They also participated in the battle to capture Rome in 4 10. But for fifty years, they basically occupied the position of Roman allies. In return, since 420, the Eastern Roman Empire has provided them with a certain salary every year. In 432, when Dior I was in power, the power of Huns was greatly enhanced, so that Attila Roas (also known as Ruggieras) forced East Rome to pay a large membership fee every year, which in essence became a tribute. This embarrassing relationship lasted until the Huns repeatedly threatened to directly interfere in the internal affairs of the empire. The decisive rise of Xiongnu forces was after Attila (406-453) ascended the throne and became the king of Xiongnu Empire. In 433 AD, Attila, 27, and his brother Boleda inherited the imperial throne from his uncle Roas. In 436, Attila mercilessly murdered his brother and went to the empire alone. Compared with his predecessor, Attila is more ambitious, aggressive and extremely intelligent. Attila is an extremely prominent role in history. Attila's Xiongnu Empire is the last chapter of Xiongnu history, and it is also the most brilliant chapter. He humiliated the Romans, made the Germans lose confidence, and possessed such great power that he and his Xiongnu soldiers were called "the scourge of God". There are some derogatory records about Attila himself in western history books, but they are still vivid and concrete. Attila fought bravely when he was young, but after he ascended the throne, he relied more on his mind than martial arts to complete his conquest of the north. He has great ambition and superb political and diplomatic skills. He is cunning and cruel. As Attila, Attila's gait and manners show a kind of conceit, thinking that his own strength can be the pride of all mankind. According to legend, he once claimed to have the sword of the god of war, so when his subordinates meet him, if they look straight at him, they must back off at the same time, otherwise they will burn their eyes. He has a habit of rolling his eyes violently, as if he likes to appreciate the fear of people who are scared by him. Attila advocates simplicity in life, but she can tolerate the luxury of her subordinates. His subjects are in awe of him. When he goes out to inspect, everyone who sees him will yell at him to show his obedience. In and out of the palace, he will be greeted by a canopy, and every banquet will have a hymn specially written for him. He even had a private secretary from the Romans. Attila's appearance seems pleasing. According to records, he is short and fat, with broad shoulders, a huge head on a short and thick neck, thick black hair and sparse beard, a flat nose and sharp black eyes. Although this description seems a little disrespectful, there is no doubt that it must be the image of an oriental. This shows that after more than 300 years of westward migration, Huns have not lost their original physical characteristics by hybrids of other nationalities. We don't know much about the social life of Huns in Attila era, but we can still see scales and claws from some legends. Once, an official of the Eastern Rome and his entourage went to the Xiongnu Empire. They were lucky enough to meet Attila and other Xiongnu generals, and even attended a feast hosted by Attila. From his long talk about this experience, we can learn some folk customs, diplomacy and politics at that time. These Roman officials encountered heavy rains and floods on their way, but they were able to escape with the help of the Huns in the nearby village. Huns welcomed them into the village to keep warm, treated them with delicious food and arranged for them to have a rest. Not only that, as part of their goodwill, Huns also sent beautiful girls to rest with their guests. It can be seen that the Huns, as a culturally backward nation at that time, had savage customs and simple and kind folk customs. In terms of material life such as food, clothing, housing and transportation, Huns are generally rich. They have delicious food and wine, and beautiful hairstyles; The nobles were well dressed and even had huge bathrooms. But they only have villages and no cities. Attila's palace is just a wooden structure, surrounded by wooden stakes and decorated with minarets at the top. Because of the vast territory involved in many years of campaigns, the ethnic composition of Xiongnu tribes is very complicated, and Xiongnu, Gothic and Latin, or a mixture of these languages, can all pass here. Once, officials from East Rome met and talked with a Greek at the site of Artie Palace. The Greek was once a prisoner, but later he was freed because of his bravery in fighting, and married a Xiongnu woman and became a guest of the nobility. Interestingly, the Greeks compared and evaluated the Xiongnu Empire and the Roman Empire. He said he liked living with these savages. When there is no war, life here is quite quiet and rich. On the other hand, Rome should be responsible for the disasters caused by many wars.