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{{Short description|Chinese historical exonym}}
{{Distinguish|Four Barbarians}}
{{History of China |BC = 1 }}
The '''Five Barbarians''', or '''Wu Hu''' ({{zh|c=五胡|p=Wǔ Hú}}), is a Chinese historical [[Exonym and endonym|exonym]] for five ancient non-[[Han Chinese|Han]] ''"[[Hu (people)|Hu]]"'' peoples who immigrated to northern China in the [[Eastern Han dynasty]], and then overthrew the [[Jin dynasty (265–420)|Western Jin dynasty]] and established [[Sixteen Kingdoms|their own kingdoms]] in the 4th–5th centuries.<ref name=Gernet>[https://books.google.com/books?id=jqb7L-pKCV8C&dq=%22five+barbarians%22&pg=PA186 ''A History of Chinese Civilization''], [[Jacques Gernet]], Cambridge University Press 1996 P.186-87</ref><ref name=Tanigawa>[https://books.google.com/books?id=_uWUnbWbq7QC&dq=%22five+barbarians%22&pg=PA120 Michio Tanigawa & Joshua Fogel, ''Medieval Chinese Society and the Local "community"'' University of California Press 1985] p. 120-21</ref><ref name="Van Der Veer">[https://books.google.com/books?id=slp8RTUn97AC&dq=%22five+barbarians%22&pg=PA200 Peter Van Der Veer, "III. Contexts of Cosmopolitanism" in Steven Vertovec, Robin Cohen eds., ''Conceiving Cosmopolitanism: Theory, Context and Practice'' Oxford University Press 2002] p. 200-01</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=zzEUAgAAQBAJ&dq=%22five+barbarians%22&pg=PA9 John W. Dardess, ''Governing China: 150-1850'' Hackett Publishing 2010] p. 9</ref> The peoples categorized as the Five Barbarians were:<ref name=Gernet/><ref name="Van Der Veer"/><ref name="urlThe Sixteen States of the Five Barbarian Peoples 五胡十六國 (www.chinaknowledge.de)">{{cite web |url=http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Division/shiliuguo.html |title=The Sixteen States of the Five Barbarian Peoples 五胡十六國 (www.chinaknowledge.de) }}</ref>
* [[Xiongnu]]
* [[Jie people|Jie]]
* [[Xianbei]]
* [[Qiang (historical people)|Qiang]]
* [[Di (Five Barbarians)|Di]]
Of these five tribal ethnic groups, the Xiongnu and Xianbei were [[nomadic people]]s from the northern [[steppe]]s. The ethnic identity of the Xiongnu is uncertain, but the Xianbei appear to have been [[Mongolic peoples|Mongolic]]. The Jie, another [[Pastoralism|pastoral]] people, may have been a branch of the Xiongnu, who may have been [[Yeniseian people|Yeniseian]] or [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]].<ref>Vovin, Alexander. "Did the Xiongnu speak a Yeniseian language?". Central Asiatic Journal 44/1 (2000), pp. 87-104.</ref><ref>Lewis, Mark Edward (2009). ''China between Empires: The Northern and Southern Dynasties''. Harvard University Press. p. 82-83.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lee |first=Joo-Yup |last2=Kuang |first2=Shuntu |date=2017-10-18 |title=A Comparative Analysis of Chinese Historical Sources and y-dna Studies with Regard to the Early and Medieval Turkic Peoples |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/inas/19/2/article-p197_197.xml |journal=Inner Asia |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=197–239 |doi=10.1163/22105018-12340089 |issn=2210-5018|doi-access=free }}</ref> The Di and Qiang were from the highlands of western China.<ref name="Gernet" /> The Qiang were predominantly herdsmen and spoke [[Tibeto-Burman languages|Sino-Tibetan (Tibeto-Burman) languages]], while the Di were farmers who may have spoken a Sino-Tibetan<ref name="Di People">(Chinese) [http://www.bswh.net/ReadNews.asp?NewsID=421&BigClassName=%B3%C9%B9%FB%D5%B9%CC%A8&SmallClassName=%D7%A8%D6%B0%C8%CB%D4%B1%C2%DB%CE%C4&SpecialID=45 段渝, 先秦巴蜀地区百濮和氐羌的来源] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180908054257/http://www.bswh.net/ReadNews.asp?NewsID=421&BigClassName=%B3%C9%B9%FB%D5%B9%CC%A8&SmallClassName=%D7%A8%D6%B0%C8%CB%D4%B1%C2%DB%CE%C4&SpecialID=45 |date=2018-09-08 }} 2006-11-30</ref> or [[Turkic language]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=UAAaAQAAIAAJ Guo Ji Zhongguo Yu Yan Xue Ping Lun], Volume 1, Issue 1, J. Benjamins 1996. page 7.</ref>

Although the term "Five Barbarians" is often used alongside the [[Sixteen Kingdoms]], there were in fact more than five relevant ethnic groups during the period, such as the [[Dingling]] and [[Wuhuan]]. [[Chinese kin|Patrilineally]], the ruling family of [[Cheng-Han]] descended from the [[Bandun Man]], also known as Cong (賨), but are referred to as [[Ba-Di]] as they mingled with the Di tribes. The Juqu clan of [[Northern Liang]], though often classed as Xiongnu, were of [[Lushuihu]] ethnicity, while [[Gao Yun (emperor)|Gao Yun]], who can either be interpreted as the last ruler of [[Later Yan]] or first ruler of [[Northern Yan]], was an ethnic [[Goguryeo]]. 

==Definition==
[[File:Distribution of the Five Barbarians.jpg|thumb|400x400px|Distribution of the Five Barbarians during the Western Jin dynasty.]]
Chronologicaly, the earliest usage of the phrase "Five Barbarians" or "Wu Hu" (五胡) comes from an edict written by the Empress Dowager, [[Chu Suanzi]], when she terminated her regency in favour for her son, [[Emperor Mu of Jin]] in 357. Her edict can be found in the ''[[Book of Jin]]'', which was compiled in 648 during the [[Tang dynasty]]. The lead editor of the record, [[Fang Xuanling]], also mentioned the "Five Barbarians" in his evaluation of [[Emperor Yuan of Jin]], but it is unclear which groups they were supposed to represent. Other expressions that generally refer to the non-Chinese groups during this period include the "[[Four Barbarians]] (四夷)" and "Six Barbarians (六夷)".

Additionally, the ''[[Spring and Autumn Annals of the Sixteen Kingdoms]]'' (501–522) also contains a quote in 385 by the [[Former Qin]] ruler, [[Fu Jian (337–385)|Fu Jian]], that uses the "Five Barbarians" terminology.<ref>(堅嗔目叱之曰：「小羌乃敢於逼天子，豈以傳國璽授汝羌乎！五胡次序，無汝羌名，違天不祥，其能久乎！璽已送晉，不可得也。」) ''Shiliuguo Chunqiu'', vol.4</ref> Modern historians like [[Chen Yinke]] and [[Zhou Yiliang]] believe that the "Five Barbarians" in this case was simply in reference to the "[[Wuxing (Chinese philosophy)#Dynastic transitions|Five Virtues of Beginning and End]]", a theoretical concept often invoked by Chinese dynasties to legitimize their reigns.<ref>[http://www.xjass.com/ls/content/2009-12/01/content_120382.htm “五胡”新释] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723133818/http://www.xjass.com/ls/content/2009-12/01/content_120382.htm |date=2011-07-23 }}</ref>

The Five Barbarians were only categorized during the 12th century in the [[Song dynasty|Southern Song]] dynasty, when the official, [[Hong Mai]] wrote an essay titled "''Wuhu Luanhua''" (五胡亂華; "[[Upheaval of the Five Barbarians]]") in his book, ''[[Rongzhai Suibi]]'' (容齋隨筆). Even so, he did not properly define the term, as the seven rulers he mentioned only accounted for four non-Han groups, namely the [[Xiongnu]], [[Jie people|Jie]], [[Xianbei]] and [[Di (Five Barbarians)|Di]]. A later Southern Song official, [[Wang Yinglin]] defined the Five Barbarians as "[[Liu Yuan (Han-Zhao)|Liu Yuan's]] Xiongnu, Shi Le's Jie, [[Murong]]-Xianbei, [[Fu Hong|Fu Hong's]] Di and [[Yao Chang|Yao Chang's]] [[Qiang (historical people)|Qiang]]." [[Hu Sanxing|Hu Sanxing's]] annotation of the [[Zizhi Tongjian]] affirms Wang Yinglin's view by listing the five as the Xiongnu, Jie, Xianbei, Di and Qiang, after which it became widely accepted.

They were a mix of tribes from various stocks, such as [[proto-Mongols|proto-Mongolic]], [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]], Tibetan and [[Yeniseian people|Yeniseian]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ILpGAQAAIAAJ Tang China: vision and splendour of golden age], by Edmund Capon. 1989, page 14.</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=4DVkAAAAMAAJ Renditions, Issues 15-18]. Centre for Translation Projects, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1981, page 82.</ref> Others divide them into two Turkic tribes, one [[Tungusic peoples|Tungusic]] tribe, and two Tibetan tribes,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=n3kdAAAAMAAJ China], by Pin-chia Kuo. Oxford University Press, 1970, page 36.</ref> and yet others into Tibetan and [[Altaic]] (proto-Mongolian and early Turkic).<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=UWvxBwAAQBAJ China: A Macro History], by Ray Huang. Routledge 2015. page.?</ref> While later historians determined that there were more than five, the Five Barbarians has become a collective term for all northern and western non-Han groups that lived during the [[Jin dynasty (266–420)]] and [[Sixteen Kingdoms]] period.

==Five Barbarians==
Since the later [[Han dynasty]], northern China was home to various ethnic groups from the north and west. These peoples were subjects of the Han, taking up agriculture and serving in the military force. While many of them retained their respective tribal identity, they also underwent various degrees of [[Sinicization]]. By the [[Jin dynasty (266–420)|Western Jin]] period, their population had grown substantially, becoming a cause for concern among a few officials within the imperial court as they began to revolt. There were calls to have the tribes relocated outside the borders, most notably by the minister [[Jiang Tong]] in his essay, ''Xi Rong Lun'' (徙戎論; Discussion on Relocating the Rong Tribe), but these proposals were disregarded. As central authority collapsed due to the [[War of the Eight Princes]], many of these "barbarians" rebelled alongside their Han Chinese compatriots in the [[Upheaval of the Five Barbarians]], although there were also those who initially fought on the side of Jin. Throughout the 4th century and early-5th century, several states were founded by the "Five Barbarians" in northern China and [[Sichuan]], collectively known as the [[Sixteen Kingdoms]].

=== Xiongnu ===
{{main|Xiongnu}}
Ruling over the steppes of East Asia, the Xiongnu empire was once a powerful adversary to the Han dynasty, but by the 1st century AD, their power had greatly declined due to defeats to the Han, internal power struggles and natural disasters. In 50 AD, a few years after the empire was split into two, the [[Southern Xiongnu]] branch became a vassal to the Han. The court of the chanyu was moved to [[Xihe Commandery]] in [[Bingzhou|Bing province]] while their people were resettled across the frontier commanderies within the [[Great Wall of China|Great Wall]]. The Southern Xiongnu served the Han by helping them to guard the northern borders, even assisting in destroying the rival [[Northern Xiongnu]]. However, tension was evident between the two sides. Being economically dependant on the Han and with the Han court interfering in their politics, the Southern Xiongnu would frequently rebel on the frontiers.<ref>di Cosmo 2004: 186</ref>

In 216, the warlord Cao Cao abolished the chanyu office and divided the Southern Xiongnu into Five Divisions around [[Taiyuan Commandery]].<ref>[[Fan Ye (historian)|Fan Ye]], "[[Book of Later Han]]" (Hou Han Shu), Ch. 79, f. 7b</ref><ref>and in Bichurin N.A., Collection of information on peoples in Central Asia in ancient times", vol. 1, Sankt Petersburg, 1851, pp. 146–147 (''In Russian'')</ref><ref>in Taskin B.S., ''"Materials on Sünnu history"'', Science, Moscow, 1973, pp. 95-96, 154 (''In Russian'')</ref> From this point onwards, the Xiongnu declined as a coherent identity, as the Five Divisions became dominated by the [[Chuge]] branch, while those excluded mixed with tribes from other ethnicities and were vaguely referred to as "[[Hu (people)|''hu'']]" and other terms for the non-Chinese. The "barbarian" tribes of Bing province underwent varying degrees of [[sinicization]]; many among the Five Divisions adopted "Liu" as their surname, claiming that their Xiongnu ancestors had married Han princesses through ''[[heqin]]'', and their nobility were even allowed to hold government offices under the [[Western Jin Dynasty|Western Jin dynasty]].<ref>Di Cosmo (2002), 192–193; Yü (1967), 9–10; Morton & Lewis (2005), 52</ref> Nonetheless, they continued to resent the ruling Chinese dynasties due to their lower status and privileges.

Though the Xiongnu were no longer a unified entity by the 4th-century, their descendants continued to invoke their ancestors as a form of legitimacy. In 304, at the height of the [[War of the Eight Princes]], [[Liu Yuan (Han-Zhao)|Liu Yuan]] of the Five Divisions rebelled and founded the [[Han-Zhao|Han-Zhao dynasty]]. He claimed direct descent from the Southern Xiongnu chanyus and, by extension, the Han princesses, as he portrayed his state as a restoration of the Han dynasty. The Tiefu tribe also descended from a member of the Southern Xiongnu imperial family, but had intermingled with the [[Xianbei]] and were pushed out from Bing to the [[Hetao]] region. When their member, [[Helian Bobo]] founded the [[Helian Xia|Helian Xia dynasty]] in 407, he began emphasising his Xiongnu lineage to claim descent from the [[Xia dynasty]], which the Xiongnu traditionally regarded as their ancestors.

=== Jie ===
{{main|Jie people}}

The [[Jie people|Jie]] were one of the many miscellaneous ''[[Hu (people)|hu]]'' tribes in [[Bingzhou|Bing province]]. The most famous Jie, [[Shi Le]], was a descendant of the Qiangqu tribe (羌渠) of the Southern Xiongnu. Their exact origins is still debated by modern scholars, as theories range from them originating from the [[Tocharians|Tocharian]] or [[Eastern Iranian people|Eastern Iranian]] people of [[Sogdia]] to the [[Yeniseian people]], but with no general consensus. When a great famine broke out in Bing province in 303, many of the Jie and other ''hu'' people were displaced before being captured and sold into slavery by the provincial inspector. The Jie and ''hu'' were thus scattered throughout [[Hebei]] and [[Shandong]].

Despite their seemingly small population, the Jie were thrusted into prominence by Shi Le, who founded the [[Later Zhao dynasty]] in 319. The Later Zhao dominated northern China for a majority of its existence before its demise in 351. Following [[Ran Min|Ran Min's]] culling order and the wars that followed the Later Zhao collapse, the Jie ceased to appear in records, though some key figures in later history may have descended from them.

=== Xianbei ===
{{main|Xianbei}}

When the Xiongnu empire defeated them in the 3rd century BC, the [[Donghu people|Donghu]] people splintered into the [[Xianbei]] and [[Wuhuan]]. The Xianbei began occupying the [[Mongolian Plateau|Mongolian plateau]] in around 93 AD after the Northern Xiongnu were forced to the northwest by the Han dynasty. In the mid-2nd century, the chieftain, [[Tanshihuai]] unified the Xianbei and launched incessant raids on the Han's northern borders. Following his death, however, his descendants failed to maintain the support of the chieftains and his confederation fell apart. In the northeast, several Xianbei tribes near the border became Chinese vassals and were allowed to live within the [[Great Wall of China|Great Wall]] such as the [[Murong]] and [[Tuoba]] tribes after the defeat of the [[Wuhuan]] at the [[Battle of White Wolf Mountain]] in 207. Others migrated west to live around the [[Hexi Corridor]], with a branch of the Murong even subjugating the [[Qiang (historical people)|Qiang]] people of [[Qinghai]] and founding the [[Tuyuhun]].

At the height of the [[War of the Eight Princes|Jin princely civil wars]], the Inspector of [[Youzhou (ancient China)|You province]], [[Wang Jun (Pengzu)|Wang Jun]] allied himself with the local Xianbei and Wuhuan tribes, most notably the [[Duan tribe|Duan]]-Xianbei who was granted a dukedom in Liaoxi Commandery for their services. The Xianbei were a deciding factor in the civil wars, and when the [[Han-Zhao]] broke away from Jin, the Tuoba joined forces with Jin and were also given a dukedom in [[Dai Commandery]]. Meanwhile, the [[Murong]] in [[Liaodong Peninsula|Liaodong]], isolated from the conflicts of the Central Plains, expanded their influence in the region by providing refuge to fleeing Chinese officials and peasants. As the Jin were pushed out of northern China, however, the Xianbei distanced themselves from Jin and established full autonomy over their fiefdoms.

The Xianbei founded several states during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. The Murong were a prominent player during this period, as they founded the [[Former Yan]], [[Later Yan]], [[Western Yan]] and [[Southern Yan]] that ruled over the [[Zhongyuan|Central Plains]]. After the [[Battle of Fei River]], the Qifu and Tufa tribes in the Hexi founded the [[Western Qin]] and [[Southern Liang (Sixteen Kingdoms)|Southern Liang]], respectively, competing for control over the region among themselves and other rival claimants. Most importantly, the Tuoba of [[Dai (Sixteen Kingdoms)|Dai]] later founded the [[Northern Wei|Northern Wei dynasty]], which reunified the north in 439 and ushered China into the [[Northern and Southern dynasties|Northern and Southern dynasties period]].

=== Di ===
{{main|Di (Five Barbarians)}}

The [[Di (Five Barbarians)|Di]] were a semi-nomadic people that resided in the western provinces of [[Gansu]], [[Shaanxi]] and [[Sichuan]]. In 111 BC, the [[Han dynasty]] expanded westwards and established [[Wudu, Longnan|Wudu Commandery]] where the Di mainly resided, causing them to spread out in northern and western China. The Di tribes became Han tributaries, and relations between the two were mostly stable until the fall of Han, when the Di began to frequently rebel. In 219, the warlord [[Cao Cao]] had 50,000 Di people relocated from Wudu commandery to [[Tianshui]] and [[Fufeng (region)|Fufeng]] commanderies to deter them from allying with his rival to the south, [[Liu Bei]].

The Di in the northwest continued to rebel during the [[Jin dynasty (266–420)|Western Jin dynasty]]. Between 296 and 299, [[Qi Wannian]], a Di chieftain, led the various non-Han groups in rebellion, devastating the [[Guanzhong]] region and displacing many of the population. The Di that fled south into the [[Hanzhong Basin|Hanzhong]] and [[Sichuan Basin|Sichuan]] basins founded the [[Chouchi]] and [[Cheng-Han]] regimes, although the Li clan that ruled the latter were more specifically referred to as [[Ba-Di]]. The Fu clan that remained behind later founded the [[Former Qin|Former Qin dynasty]], most notable for briefly unifying northern China under [[Fu Jian (337–385)|Fu Jiān]]. During the Qin collapse that followed the [[Battle of Fei River]], the Di general, [[Lü Guang]] founded the [[Later Liang (Sixteen Kingdoms)|Later Liang]] in [[Gansu]].

=== Qiang ===
{{main|Qiang (historical people)}}

The term "Qiang" broadly referred to groups of western semi-nomadic people from [[Qinghai]] and [[Gansu]]. Since the Western Han period, many of the Qiang submitted to the Chinese court and were allowed to settle in the [[Guanzhong]] region and the watersheds of the [[Wei River|Wei]] and [[Jing River|Jing]] rivers, where they practiced agriculture and lived with [[Han Chinese]] settlers. The Qiang were not a unified entity, and their various tribes often fought among themselves. However, the Qiang also faced oppression by the local Han governors and officials, leading to frequent large-scale rebellions in the northwest that adversely affected the Han military and economy. The Qiang also fought as soldiers for the Han and later for the [[Cao Wei]] and [[Shu Han]] during the [[Three Kingdoms]] period.

The Qiang continued to participate in rebellions in the northwest against the [[Jin dynasty (266–420)|Western Jin dynasty]], but it would not be until after the Battle of Fei River that they established their first and only state of the [[Sixteen Kingdoms]] under the [[Later Qin|Later Qin dynasty]]. The second ruler of Later Qin, [[Yao Xing]], was a key proponent in the spread of [[Buddhism]] by making it his state religion and sponsoring the influential Buddhist translator, [[Kumārajīva]]. The Qiang also founded the minor polities of [[Dangchang Kingdom|Dangchang]] and [[Dengzhi]].

== Other non-Han groups ==

=== Lushuihu ===
{{Main articles|Lushuihu}}
The Lushuihu (盧水胡; Lu River Barbarians) were an ethnic group that were distributed between [[Zhangye]] in modern-day [[Gansu]] and central [[Shaanxi|Shaaxi]]. Their origin is still debated by scholars today; "Lushuihu" may have just been a generic term for the [[Hu (people)|''hu'']] tribes that lived in northwestern China, but there is also a theory that they were descendants of the [[Yuezhi|Lesser Yuezhi]] that intermingled with the [[Qiang (historical people)|Qiang]] people. The Juqu clan of the Northern Liang dynasty were of Lushuihu ethnicity, but as their ancestors once served under the Xiongnu empire, they have been classified in more recent historiographies as "Xiongnu" to fit the Five Barbarians terminology.

=== Ba Cong ===
{{main|Bandun Man}}
The region of [[Ba (state)|Ba]] in eastern [[Sichuan]] was home to the [[Bandun Man]], who were also known as the Cong people (賨人) as their taxes were collected by the Han dynasty in the form of a money called ''cong'' (賨). Many of the Cong moved north to [[Hanzhong Basin|Hanzhong]] to become followers of the [[Way of the Five Pecks of Rice]], but after [[Cao Cao]] conquered the region in 215, they were resettled further north to [[Lueyang|Lüeyang Commandery]], where they mingled with the local Di people. These people became known as the Ba-Di, with Ba referring to their ancestral homeland. The Li clan of Ba-Di ethnicity later moved back to Sichuan during [[Qi Wannian|Qi Wannian's]] rebellion, where they founded the [[Cheng-Han]] dynasty in 304. Later, the Ba chieftain, [[Gou Quzhi]] led the Ba and other tribes in [[Guanzhong]] against the [[Han-Zhao|Han-Zhao dynasty]] in 320.

=== Dingling ===
{{main|Dingling}}
The Dingling were a nomadic people that originally lived south of [[Lake Baikal]] and were vassals of the Xiongnu empire. A branch of the Dingling migrated west and resided in [[Kangju]], becoming known as the Western Dingling, before moving into China. During the Sixteen Kingdoms period, the Zhai clan of the Western Dingling were one of the earliest groups to rebel against the [[Former Qin]] after their defeat at the [[Battle of Fei River]], and in 388, they founded the short-lived [[Zhai Wei|Zhai Wei dynasty]], which is not considered as one of the Sixteen Kingdoms. The Dingling that remained behind on the northern steppes were later known at the [[Dingling|Chile]], [[Gaoche]] or [[Tiele people]].

=== Goguryeo ===
{{main|Goguryeo}}
Goguryeo was one of the [[Three Kingdoms of Korea]] and a rival to the Murong-Xianbei during the [[Sixteen Kingdoms]] period. During its invasion of Goguryeo in 342, the Former Yan captured several members of the Goguryeo imperial family and resettled them in Qingshan (青山, in modern [[Jinzhou]], [[Liaoning]]). One of them, [[Gao Yun (emperor)|Gao Yun]], served the [[Later Yan|Later Yan dynasty]] and eventually overthrew the Murong. Historians either consider him to be the last ruler of Later Yan or the first ruler of [[Northern Yan]], though his successors were from the Feng clan of Han Chinese ethnicity. According to the ''Xi Rong Lun'', there were also several Goguryeo families living in [[Xingyang]] since the [[Cao Wei]] period following the [[Goguryeo–Wei War|Wei campaigns against Goguryeo]].

=== Wuhuan ===
{{main|Wuhuan}}
Much like the Xianbei, the [[Wuhuan]] was another group that splintered from the Donghu people. Since the 2nd century BC, the Han dynasty allowed them to settle in the northeastern commanderies of [[Shanggu Commandery|Shanggu]], [[Yuyang Commandery|Yuyang]], [[Youbeiping Commandery|Youbeiping]], [[Liaodong Commandery|Liaodong]] and [[Liaoxi Commandery|Liaoxi]] in exchange for their military services. During the fall of Han, the Wuhuan looked to establish their own dominion, but their power was broken after Cao Cao defeated them at the [[Battle of White Wolf Mountain]] in 207. Many of the Wuhuan were relocated further south in China, and they gradually lost their cultural identity as they assimilated with the Han Chinese and Xianbei that filled the power vacuum. The Wuhuan continued to appear during the Jin dynasty and Sixteen Kingdoms period, but their name had become a generic term for ''[[Hu (people)|hu]]'' tribes with Donghu backgrounds. They fought as auxiliaries for the Jin during the [[War of the Eight Princes]] and [[Upheaval of the Five Barbarians]], and there were several fortified settlements (塢堡; ''wubao'') in northern China that were led by the Wuhuan during the [[Later Yan|Later Yan dynasty]] period. 

==See also==
*[[History of China]]
**[[Han dynasty]]
**[[Three Kingdoms]]
**[[Jin dynasty (266–420)]]
**[[Sixteen Kingdoms]]
**[[Southern and Northern Dynasties]]
**[[Northern Wei Dynasty]]
*[[Shiliuguo Chunqiu]]
*[[List of past Chinese ethnic groups]]

==References==
<references/>
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{{Five Barbarians}}
{{Historical Non-Chinese peoples in China}}

[[Category:Five Barbarians| ]]
[[Category:Sixteen Kingdoms]]
[[Category:Three Kingdoms]]
[[Category:Ancient peoples of China]]
[[Category:Mongol peoples]]
[[Category:Jin dynasty (266–420)]]
[[Category:Wars involving Imperial China]]
[[Category:Barbarians]]