The Hunno-Chinese Wars ( 202 BC – approximately 181 AD, with interruptions) – a series of military conflicts between the Hunnish and Han China and the allies of the opposing sides.
The result was the destruction of the Hunnish state, which was one of the reasons for the Great Migration.
Legends about the origin of the Hun. Legendary period 3000 year BC. – 1046 BC.
The Hunno-Chinese wars are part of the many thousands of years of confrontation between China and the surrounding “barbarous” peoples. The origins of this conflict go into deep antiquity. In the III — II millennium B.C. in the valley of the Yellow River, the process of formation of the ancient Chinese state took place. According to Chinese legends, it was the time of the mythical rulers and the semi-legendary Xia dynasty. The ancestors of the Chinese were fighting against the surrounding nations, such as the Juns. Including the northern Hun (Yu) tribe, against which the campaign was undertaken. Around 1600 B.C. (According to the outdated version in 1766 BC.) The Xia dynasty was overthrown and the Shan dynasty came to power. Shui Wei, the son of Jie, the last king from the Xia dynasty, fled to the northern steppes, where the northern barbarians “hu” lived. Legend has it that the descendants of Shui Wei and his subjects mingled with the Hanyun and Hunyu tribes on the northern outskirts of Gobi, thus the ancestors of the Huns appeared. The data of paleoanthropology indicate that at this time, on the southern edge of the Gobi, there was indeed a mixture of the European short-headed type with the Mongoloid narrow-faced, Chinese. So, during this period, the formation of ancient China and the transfer of proto-Huns through the Gobi Desert took place.
Formation of the Hun 1600 B.C. – 822 B.C.
This period of Hun history is almost not reflected in Chinese sources, since the Huns lived on the northern outskirts of the Gobi and information about them did not reach China.
Judging by anthropological finds, proto-Huns are mixed with Caucasians, possibly Dinlin. By the XIII century B.C. there is a registration of the tribal system of the Hun. There is no information about conflicts with Shan, on the contrary, a lot of bronze articles from Shan China have been found in the Hunnic graves. The Huns have preserved some traditions of the art of the Shan era, forgotten in China itself. For example, the Hunnic sacrificial vessel found on the Catalan Fields is similar to the Hunnu sacrificial vessels, the style of which goes back to the “ u ” vessels.
The Huns strengthened and began to spread their influence to other tribes. In the northwest they advanced to the Hami oasis, in the southwest to Lake Lobnor, in the north to the Dinlin, in the south to Hebei. In the east, the Huns bordered on Dunhu, the ancestors of the Mongols. According to the data of archeology, it is impossible to judge how the relations of the Huns with the surrounding nations developed. But, at least, one can distinguish the circle of archaeological cultures and peoples with which the Huns came into contact: Siberian tribes in the north (Boma and others), Dinlins (Tagar culture) in the northwest, Indo-Europeans in the southwest ( Yuezhi and close to them tribes), Dunhu in the east. In the south, the Huns’ neighbors were jun, whose identity is unknown, since they disappeared completely by the middle of the 1st millennium, remnants mixed with different nations; it is likely that the tangut of Amdo was due to the mixing of the wives and Tibetans. The Chinese described the уuns as red-haired people of high stature and with bright eyes, living in the mountains by the tribal system.
Hunnu clashes with Zhou in the 820s B.C.
The first historically authentic conflict between China and the Huns is described in one of the songs of Shi Jing. In July 823 B.C. the Huns unexpectedly invaded China and captured the cities: Qiao, Hu, Hao, Fen. Xuan-wang (827-782 B.C.) gathered an army, including chariots of war, and defeated the Huns.
It is not known how serious this conflict was. The rulers of the Zhou generally fought with the roons and destroyed the poorly organized tribes in turn. As a result, the Joons were partly destroyed, partly mixed with the Chinese and other peoples, and some remained in the area of Lake Kukunor. During this period, archaeologists have noted the existence of a culture of plate graves, which is considered to be Early Hunnish, although it did not belong only to the Huns.
Hunnu Wars with Zhao and Qin 822 BC – 201 BC
In the VIII century B.C. Zhou’s home weakened and centralized power in China finally disappeared. The power of Chou Wan has been preserved only in a small domain around the town of Loi. Mighty princely houses were raised. Feudal possessions enlarged, became kingdoms and entered into battle with each other. The Period of the Fighting States began .
The victories over the Juns led to the fact that the Chinese kingdoms began to border on nomads: the Hun and Dunhu. In particular danger was the kingdom of Zhao. In 307 B.C. Wuling-wang, King Zhao, builds the Yaimen fortress and the defensive wall at the foot of the Yinshan mountains (north of Ordos) . In the kingdom of Yang, the commander Qin Kai is building a defensive wall. The defensive walls do not save the kingdom from Hun invasions. Slow chariots were not suitable for counteracting the Huns’ horse archers, so light cavalry began to appear in the kingdoms.
Tactics of the Huns was in lightning raids and robbery of unfortified settlements. The Huns could not endure clashes with the Chinese army, as they fought without armor and were vulnerable in close combat. A talented commander from Zhao Li Mu surrounded the army of the Hunnic Shanyu and destroyed it.
The unifier of China, Qin Shihuangi, drove the Huns away from their borders and, in order to secure the power forever, ordered the Great Wall to be built.
Hunnu suffered losses in the west in battles with the Yuezhi, in the east they broke away Dunhu, in the south the Qin army drove the Huns away from Ordos. At this time, the Hunn ruler was Shanyu Touman.