A Brief History of the Tujia — Origins and Early Development of the Tujia (IV)
IV. The Ba People Who Settled in the Hunan-Hubei-Chongqing-Guizhou Border Region: After Qin conquered Ba, the Ba people's power declined sharply, and some were forced to migrate. During the Chu-Han War, Liu Bang, founder of Han, used the brave and battle-hardened Ba people to pacify the Three Qin; after the war, some were sent back and others settled in the Shangluo area. In the 23rd year of the Jianwu reign of Eastern Han (47 CE), Ba people such as Lei Qian of the "Nanjun Lushan Man" rebelled...
This article has been compiled from historical materials on 'Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network' (33519.com · Specialty Foods / Cuisine / Customs section). Prices, business hours, administrative divisions, and statistical data mentioned in the text may already be outdated. Before traveling, please refer to the latest announcements from merchants, scenic areas, and local competent authorities; the parts involving folk legends and folk customs are local historical and cultural anecdotes, provided for cultural reference.
IV. The Ba People Who Settled in the Hunan-Hubei-Chongqing-Guizhou Border Region
After Qin conquered Ba, the power of the Ba people declined sharply, and some were forced to migrate. During the Chu-Han Contention, Liu Bang, Emperor Gaozu of Han, once used the brave and battle-hardened Ba people to pacify the Three Qin, and after the war, some were sent back while others were resettled in the Shangluo region. In the 23rd year of the Jianwu era of the Eastern Han (47 AD), the "Lushan Man" of Nan Commandery, Lei Qian and other Ba people, rebelled against the rule of the Eastern Han dynasty. The Eastern Han dynasty sent Liu Shang to lead troops to suppress them and relocated more than seven thousand people to the Jiangxia area of Hubei (the seat of the Eastern Han commandery was southeast of present-day Yunmeng County), where they were called the "Mianzhong Man." In the 13th year of the Yongyuan era of the Eastern Han (101 AD), the "Wu Man" (of present-day Wushan), Xu Sheng and others, again rose in rebellion, and this group of Ba people was also forced to migrate to Jiangxia. By the time of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Ba people in the Jiangxia area had developed rapidly and gradually spread to northeastern Hubei and southeastern Henan, where they were called the "Jingyongzhou Man," "Yuzhou Man," and "Wushui Man." However, through long historical development, the Ba people who during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods were scattered and active across a vast territory, as well as those who later migrated to Jiangxia and northeastern Hubei and southeastern Henan, mostly merged into the Han ethnicity, with a small portion merging with other neighboring ethnic groups. Only the Ba people who settled in the border region of Hunan, Hubei, Chongqing, and Guizhou were the ancestors of the Tujia people.
After Qin conquered Ba, the Ba people who settled in the adjacent region of Hunan, Hubei, Chongqing, and Guizhou, although they experienced successive dynastic changes and wars and upheavals, basically did not undergo major migrations and lived relatively stably in this region, multiplying and continuing without interruption. Archaeological discoveries and a large number of historical documents fully prove that the ancestors of the Tujia people were the Ba people who settled on the border of Hunan, Hubei, Chongqing, and Guizhou.
1. The Ba people worshipped the tiger as their deity. Before and after the founding of New China, in the present-day Tujia areas and their neighboring regions, a large number of Ba cultural relics featuring tiger ornaments as their main characteristic were discovered, among which were the Ba people's military music tiger-nuo chunyu. During the Qi Jianyuan era (479-482 AD), at the residence of Tian Jian in Fuling Commandery (present-day Youyang and Qianjiang area) where the Badan lived, a chunyu was once obtained, and the local people regarded it as a sacred object and worshipped it. The Song dynasty's "Xuanhe Bogu Tushuo" records nineteen chunyu, among which seven were tiger chunyu, the largest weighing 51 jin and the smallest 7 jin. However, the discovery locations were not recorded. In the 14th year of the Chunxi era of the Song (1187 AD), in an ancient trench on Wuli Mountain beside the tomb of King Nan of Zhou in Cili County, one tiger-nuo chunyu was discovered. In the 3rd year of the Shaoxing era (1133 AD), a tiger chunyu weighing 35 jin was discovered in Changyang County. In the 9th year of the Jiaqing era of the Qing (1804 AD), Shinan Prefecture discovered "two tiger chunyu, large and small, the large one weighing over fifty jin and the small one over twenty jin, with shapes and designs completely matching the (Xuanhe) Tushuo." Between 1804 and 1921, "near Shinan and Changyang, these chunyu were repeatedly obtained, which is quite puzzling." After the founding of New China, at the foot of Wuluo Mountain in Changyang County, a few li west along the south bank of the Qing River, one complete tiger chunyu was unearthed. Over ten tiger chunyu were unearthed in Wufeng, Badong, Jianshi, Enshi, Lichuan, and other counties. In Longshan, Baojing, Huayuan, Luxi, Cili, Shimen, and other counties, 27 chunyu were discovered, among which 22 were tiger-nuo chunyu, with 2 each of snake-nuo and horse-nuo, and 1 with an unclear nuo. Recently, large numbers of Ba cultural relics have been unearthed in Sangzhi, Baojing, Jishou, and other counties, among which there were also tiger chunyu. In addition to tiger chunyu, there were also bronze ge, bronze swords, bronze yue, and other artifacts, most decorated with tiger patterns. The large number of artifacts with tiger ornaments unearthed in western Hunan and western Hubei have been determined by archaeologists to be Ba relics from the Warring States period to the early Western Han, consistent in shape, decoration, and style with Ba relics unearthed at Xiaotianxi in Fuling, Chongqing, Dongshunba in Ba County, Sichuan, and Baolunyuan in Guangyuan County. This is by no means a historical coincidence. The tiger-ornamented artifacts with typical Ba cultural characteristics, concentratedly unearthed in the border region of Hunan, Hubei, Chongqing, and Guizhou, are precisely the historical testimony of the Ba people's settlement and activities.
2. The Ba people's custom of emphasizing sacrifices continued for a very long time. During the Wanli era of the Ming dynasty, when the Yongshun tusi performed sacrifices, "they also killed people and presented their heads in the temple.... It is heard that beyond the Chu borders, the native officials of Baojing, Shizhu, Youyang, and others all did the same." Although this account lacks further historical evidence, it should be said to be a surviving custom of the Ba people. The Tujia people historically also had beliefs in both revering the white tiger and driving away the white tiger, because their ancestors believed there were two kinds of white tiger deities: one was the "sitting-hall white tiger," which was a good deity, and every household had to have a white tiger hall to worship it and seek its protection; the other was the "passing-hall white tiger," which was an evil deity, and if it ran into a household and passed through its hall, one had to invite a tu teacher to that home to drive away the passing-hall white tiger. These two diametrically opposed white tiger deities are both related to the original tiger-worshipping beliefs of the Ba people who settled here. During the Sui and Tang periods, the "Man" people who settled on the border of Hunan, Hubei, Chongqing, and Guizhou still relatively completely preserved their own language and customs. The "Suishu: Dili Zhi" says that in the various commanderies of "Nan Commandery, Yiling... Yuanling, Qingjiang..., many are mixed with Manzuo; those who live with the Xia people are no different from the various Hua. Those who dwell secluded in mountain valleys have unintelligible languages and entirely different preferences and dwellings, quite similar to the customs of Bayu." Certain cultures and customs of the Ba people continued over the long term and endured, and even before the founding of New China, the Tujia people's preserved tiaosang, baishou, zhuzhici, as well as their emphasis on ancestral sacrifices and reverence for ghosts and spirits, all have an inherited relationship with the Ba people.
3. In Tujia areas, quite a few place names related to "Ba" are still preserved to this day. Changyang and Badong both built their cities beside Ba Mountain. Two li south of the Shinan Prefecture guard city was "Bagong Stream; it is said that south of the commandery there is the Bagong Tomb, where the Great Shan King of the former Ba state was buried for generations, and it is also called Bagong Mountain." Even now, the Enshi region still has ancient place names such as Baxi Ba, Bayong, and Baxi, and Changyang County has Bashan River, Bawang Tuo, Baye Mountain, and others. Although the Ba language has long disappeared, clues can still be found in individual vocabulary items. In the Kuixia region during the Han dynasty, a large number of Ba people lived, and Yang Xiong spent part of his youth there. In his "Fangyan," he said: "Between Hu, Chen, Wei, Song, and Chu, it is sometimes called 'Lifu'; between Jiang, Huai, and Nanchu, it is called 'Li'er.'" In present-day Tujia language, the tiger is called "Li," the male tiger "Liba," and the female tiger "Liniiga." The Han people recorded "Liba" as "Lifu" and "Liniiga" as "Limu." "Lihu Slope" in Hefeng Prefecture should be a mixed Ba-Han place name. This kind of linguistic mixing is still relatively common in Shizhou. Wang Xiangzhi of the Southern Song, in his "Yudi Jisheng," said: "Although the land of Shi is mixed with Yi settlements and somewhat closer to Hua customs, those who are natives are Man-Yi, and Ba and Han languages are mixed."
4. From Tian Qiang of the "Wuxi Yi" at the end of the Western Han, to the late Ming and early Qing, the leaders of the Tian, Xiang, Qin, Ran, Peng, and other clans, who were active in the border region of Hunan, Hubei, Chongqing, and Guizhou and were called "Man" or "Yi," continued without interruption and appear in the historical records of every dynasty. Although these clan leaders appeared at different times in history and their power waxed and waned with changes, they always multiplied and lived in this region and, through long development, became powerful great clans. The surnames Tian, Xiang, Qin, Ran, and Peng are precisely the major surnames with large populations among today's Tujia people. This is not an accidental coincidence, but the inevitable result of historical development.
In summary, it can be seen that the Tujia people were gradually formed into a single ethnic group through the long-term development of the Ba people who settled in the border region of the four provinces and municipalities of Hunan, Hubei, Chongqing, and Guizhou. However, in the course of their development, the Tujia also merged with some other neighboring ethnic groups, including a small number of Han Chinese and members of other ethnic minorities who migrated in.
Research on the origins of the Tujia people inevitably involves the ethnic affiliation of Peng Shichou, who rose to power in western Hunan during the late Tang and Five Dynasties, established a separatist regime, continued for generations, and founded over eight hundred years of hereditary native-official and tusi rule. It is generally believed that Peng Shichou was the son of Peng Jian, a Han Chinese who migrated from Ji'an Prefecture in Jiangxi. The main basis for this is the "Yongshun Xuanwei Si Zhi" written by Peng Shiqi, the Yongshun xuanwei shi during the Zhengde era of the Ming dynasty. However, in the surviving fragmentary edition of that book, the section on Peng Shichou's father and the many generations below him has already been lost and cannot be verified. When Peng Shiqi built the ancestral hall, Liu Jian composed for him In the text Shizhongtang Ming, it says:"In the late Tang dynasty, chaos arose and the people were troubled. There was one named Jian, who was the Cishi of Chenzhou. The clan members supported him and wished to establish his son. The matter was reported to the court, and the court deliberations complied with the intention. From then on, his descendants held official posts in that region."It clearly states that Peng Jian was their founding ancestor. Volume 6 of the Guangxu "Longshan County Gazetteer" puts it even more specifically:"The Tujia family genealogy records: their ancestor was the Zhiman chief Wu Zhuchong,……Because the Peng clan of Jishui County, Jiangxi, was brought in to assist, the Peng clan won people's hearts through personal favors and gradually grew stronger. By the time of Peng Cheng, they plotted to drive out Zhuchong, and Zhuchong was defeated and fled to Mengdong. Cheng again led the masses to attack him, so he hid on Luota Mountain. At that time, Xiang Bolin, the younger brother of the native official of Manshui Department (now under Laifeng County, Hubei), was at odds with his own flesh and blood and submitted to Cheng. The city ordered Bolin to attack Wu Zhuchong, and Zhuchong died trapped in a cave on Luota Mountain. Cheng rewarded the Xiang clan with the land of Luota, and the remaining territory returned to the city.……There was also a person named Rebachong, who became sworn brothers with Wuzhuchong,……Later, it was also annexed by Jian. The city submitted to allegiance during the Liang Kaiping era and was appointed as the Cishi of Xizhou. His son Yanxi (also known as Shichou) served as the Jingbian Du Zhihui Shi and guarded the post of Cishi of Xizhou."Based on the above materials, it is unreliable to prove that the Peng clan was originally Han Chinese.
As for the authenticity of Peng Shichou's ancestry in the Peng clan genealogy preface, doubts were raised long ago. In the Qianlong "Yongshun Fu Zhi: Zaji," regarding the "Baojing Si Jiacheng" tracing the Peng clan's ancestors back to Peng Fu, a jinshi of the Tang Emperor Yizong's reign, it says: "The theory of Peng Fu... descendants exaggerated their ancestors, and it is probably not sufficient as evidence." Professor Tan Qixiang wrote that Peng Shichou was of "barbarian blood," and that he and Peng Gan and Peng Jian "are as unrelated as wind, ox, and horse, and are absolutely without any relationship."
A large amount of historical material proves that Peng Shichou was not a Han Chinese but a "native" of Xizhou. From the "Fu Xizhou Tongzhu Ji" concluded between Peng Shichou and Ma Xifan during the Five Dynasties, it can be seen that before Peng Shichou, the Peng clan's power in Xizhou was already strong, and there was no lack of those who self-appointed or inherited the post of prefectural governor. Among the nineteen people whose names appear in the "Fu Xizhou Tongzhu Ji," eight were of the Peng clan, and among them, two, Peng Yuntao and Peng Shizuo, held the title "former Xizhou zhujunshi shou Xizhou cishi." It can be seen that the one who served as Xizhou cishi before Peng Shichou was not Peng Jian. "Zizhi Tongjian," volume 289, records: "The Man chief Peng Shigao surrendered to Chu, and the Chu people disliked his roughness and bluntness," clearly pointing out that Peng Shichou's son Peng Shisong (should be Shigao) was of an ethnic minority. "Jiu Wudai Shi," volume 133, directly calls Peng Shichou the "Xizhou Dong Man." Lu You of the Southern Song, in "Nan Tang Shu: Peng Shijian Zhuan," said, "Shigao's family background is unknown." If Peng Jian was indeed Peng Shigao's grandfather, once served as Chenzhou cishi, and was also a prominent clan of Jiangxi at the time, why would Peng Shigao forget his ancestors? "Not knowing his family background" seems difficult to understand. When the Qing scholar Wang Shizhen discussed the "Fu Xizhou Tongzhu Ji" in his commentary, after narrating the relationship between Peng Shigao and Ma Xichong based on Lu You's "Nan Tang Shu," he said: "If so, then although the Peng clan were Xi Man, they were loyal ministers of the Ma clan." "Song Shi: Xi'nan Xidong Zhuman Shang" says: "The greatest of the Beijiang Man chiefs was the Peng clan, who for generations held Xizhou." In the historical records of the Yuan-Ming transition, there are countless references to the Peng clan as "Man."
Moreover, from the Peng clan genealogy it can be seen that Peng Shichou's descendants had names taken from the Tujia language. The Yongshun Si line passed to the seventh generation, where there was the name Peng Fushichong; the Baojing Si line passed to the twenty-second generation, after which there were names such as Peng Yaohabi (also known as Yao Situ), Peng Maiguzhong, Peng Dachongkeyi, and Peng Nanmuchu (or Wu). In the Tujia language, "chief is called chong, also song, also zhong, also cong." Clearly these names are in the Tujia language. These materials all directly or indirectly prove that the Peng clan's ancestors were "natives," not Han Chinese.
Did Peng Jian enter Hunan and serve as Chenzhou cishi? Among historical records, only the "Chu Ji" says: "In the fourth year of Kaiping, Wu Ao Pian besieged Chishi, and Chenzhou cishi Peng Jian mobilized his troops to attack him; he was captured and refused to submit, and his whole household was killed." But "Zizhi Tongjian," volume 267, records the exact opposite: "In the sixth month of the fourth year of Kaiping of Liang,... Wu naval commander Ao Pian besieged Peng Jian's younger brother Jian at Chishi in Jizhou, and Chu troops rescued Jian, captured Pian, and brought him back." This is the same as what is recorded in "Shiguo Chunqiu: Wu Shijia." Other histories concerning the Five Dynasties all lack any record of Peng Jian having served as Chenzhou cishi. Therefore, the statement in the "Chu Ji" that Peng Jian was Chenzhou cishi in the fourth year of Kaiping is unreliable. Peng Jian was besieged by Wu troops at Chishi in Jizhou, Jiangxi; how could he go to Chenzhou in Hunan, a thousand li away, to serve as cishi? This too is difficult to explain.
When Peng Shilin compiled the genealogy, he traced his ancestry back to Peng Jian. The main reason was that, under long-term ethnic oppression, in order to avoid ethnic discrimination, elevate his family's status, and benefit his family's hereditary rule, he attached himself to a historically prominent clan and made it his founding ancestor. This phenomenon is also not lacking in the extant genealogies of other Tujia surnames.