820, party item "Qiang"

That night, Murong Tianshui returned to the official office, found history books, and began to conduct detailed research on the surrounding tribes. This time, he was determined to understand the tribal peoples of the Western Desert thoroughly, so as to discover the subtle relationship between them and use them to unite them.

As for Tuyuhun, Murong Tianshui already has a deep understanding of this mixed nation-state. What he saw next was the nomadic civilization of the Qiang people.

In Chinese historical books, "Qiang" or "Xiqiang" has a broader meaning, and the Eastern Han philologist Xu Shen wrote in "Shuowen Yangbu": "Qiang, Xirong shepherds also. from men, from sheep; Sheep also sound. "Customs and Customs" also recorded: "Qiang, Ding Xirong is also a lowly person, and the Lord shepherds sheep." Therefore, the word "Qiang" comes from sheep and people, because it is a number. "The activities of the Qiang people were recorded in oracle bone inscriptions and gold inscriptions as early as the Shang and Zhou dynasties. The Qiang people are also one of the important sources of the Chinese ethnic group in the Yellow River Valley. By the time of the Han Dynasty, the Qiang people had increased their power and activities, especially in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and the Qiang people's rebellion often made the Eastern Han Dynasty overwhelmed. The Qiang often joined forces with the Xiongnu (i.e., the Hu people) to cut off the Silk Road trade between the Han Dynasty and the Western Regions and Central Asia, hindering the smooth flow of trade routes. For this reason, the two Han dynasties sent troops to the Western Regions and worked hard to manage at the same time, they also waged wars against the Qiang people many times, and set up four counties in Hexi to block the communication between Qiang and Hu, and this situation of mutual competition lasted for a long time. The operation and management of the Western Han Dynasty in the Western Regions was very successful, and the Silk Road has been unimpeded, but the Eastern Han Dynasty was relatively severe, and there was the so-called "three absolute and three links". After the uprising and suppression of the Western Qiang people in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, a large part of them settled in the Gansu region, and some later established political powers, such as the Later Qin (Yao) regime established by the Southern Anqiang. The other part moved west and south to create their own civilization on the Tibetan Plateau. Therefore, in the Chinese language, there is a saying that Qiang is Tibetan, from the basic composition of the ethnic composition and cultural features, it is said that Tubo is Qiang, this statement has a certain truth, and the Xiangxiong people and the Subi people are also related to the Western Qiang people or directly the Qiang people. Most of the Qiang states that will be discussed below were later added to the "Tubo people" and "Tubo culture", which determined the basic characteristics of the Tubo civilization.

The Dangxiang people are a branch of the Xiqiang people, and the Xiqiang people have been active in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau for a long time. However, the rise of the party in the Sui and Tang dynasties was related to the activities of Tangchang and Deng Zhierqiang, so the "Old Tang Book" said that the party Xiang Qiang was in the land of the ancient analysis branch (Qinghai River Meander), and the Han Xiqiang was also a different species. After the Wei and Jin dynasties, the Western Qiang was weak, or subject to China (Central Plains), or channeled into the mountains and wilderness. Since the Zhou clan destroyed Chang and Deng Zhi, the party began to become stronger. Danchang Qiang is active in the area of Qiangshui (Bailongjiang) in Longxi, Gansu Province, and the customs are all indigenous and there are houses. Its house is covered with woven yaks and wool. There are no laws and regulations in the country, and there is no servitude. It is only when the battle takes place that they meet and reunite. Usually, they don't interact with each other. They are all dressed in brown clothes, and they feed yaks, sheep, and pigs. Fathers and sons, uncles, and brothers who have died are married to stepmothers, uncles, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, etc. There is no writing, but Hou grass and trees are prosperous and withered to remember the year. Once every three years, they gather to kill cattle and sheep to sacrifice to the gods. In the fourth year of Baoding of the Northern Zhou Dynasty (564), it was defeated by the general Tian Hong of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and later set up Danzhou here. Deng Zhiqiang was active in the upper reaches of the Baishui River and the Min River between Jinchuan and Ganjian, with its center in Nanping County, northwest Sichuan Province. Legend has it that because Deng Ai, the general of Shu during the Three Kingdoms, was here, he was named "Deng Zhi". In the Tang Dynasty, Jiaochuan County (Songpan, Sichuan) was in the south, Tonghua County (Tonghua, Lixian County, Sichuan) was in the north, Jiaochuan, Linyi (Songpan, Maowenjian), Tongchang (west of Wenxian County, Gansu) and so on were all its places. Its customs and habits are the same as those of Tangchangqiang. They all belong to Tuyuhun.

At the end of the Western Wei Dynasty, Deng Zhiqiang was pacified, and Ningzhou was established, which was later changed to Dengzhou. With the exception of a number of people who settled in inland prefectures and counties, the vast majority of the people were included in the rising party members. "Sui Shu Dangxiang Biography" said that Dangxiang is connected to Lintao (Minxian County, Gansu) and Xiping (Xining, Qinghai) in the east, and Yehu (Turkic) in the west, thousands of miles from north to south, in the valley. In the Tang Dynasty, the understanding of its scope was clearer: as for Songzhou (Songpan, Sichuan) in the east, it was bordered by the Turks (Yehu) in the west, Qiang such as Chung Sang and Misang in the south, and Tuyuhun in the north, which stretched for 3,000 li. The southwest stretches for thousands of miles and is connected with the vassal country, and there are many tribes without "Dajun Chang" such as Xiaozuofeng, Xiwei, Ge Yan, Baigou, Xiangren, Wangzu, Lintai, Chungsang, Lidou, Misang, Wuyao, Daxia, Bailan, Qili Motu, Na'e, Dangmi, Qubu, Sangwu, Qianjie, etc., and their customs are slightly the same as those of the party, or they belong to Tuyuhun, or they belong to the vassal country.

Dangxiang is a relatively loose tribal alliance organization, "Old Tang Book: Dangxiang Biography" said: "Each surname of its species is a tribe, and a small tribe is among the surnames; The big ones are more than 10,000 rides, and the small ones are thousands of rides, which are not unified. "There are mainly eight larger tribal groups, namely the Xifeng clan, the Fei Ting clan, the Xiang Li clan, the Pochao clan, the Ye Ci clan (also known as the Yelu clan, the Ye Li clan), the Fang (rhino) dang clan, the Mi Bao clan, and the Tuoba clan, among which the Tuoba clan is the most powerful. In addition, there are also the Black Dangxiang and the Snow Mountain Dangxiang, the former lives in the area of Heyuan County (Xinghai, Qinghai), and the latter is surnamed Pochou, which is named because it lives under the Snow Mountain (Dajishi Mountain). Dangxiang people are mainly engaged in animal husbandry, "Old Tang Dynasty Book, Dangxiang Biography" said that it "does not know the crops, the soil has no grains", the climate is windy and cold, the grass begins to grow in May, the frost and snow fall in August, the living environment is relatively sinister, people feed on yaks, horses, donkeys and sheep. With animal husbandry as the industry, the dwelling is impermanent, and the water and grass are followed. The common people are all indigenous, and they live in buildings. Its house is covered with yak tail and wool, which changes once a year, and is a relatively fixed place to live and graze. There is a habit of drinking, "ask for barley in other worlds, and brew it as wine." "Both men and women are clothed in fur and brown, and they are still clothed with large felt. The party members are vulgar and martial, there is no legal enslavement, and they do not engage in industry, so they are good at stealing and robbing each other. Revenge is especially important, if the enemy does not get it, it must be unkempt and stomped on vegetable food, and the enemy must be killed and then return to normal. People gather every three years to kill cattle and sheep to sacrifice to the gods. In terms of marriage, it is no different from Tangchangqiang. In the eyes of the people of the Central Plains, "the wives and their mothers, uncles, sisters-in-law, and children's wives are obscene and indecent, and they are the worst among the people." "But if you don't marry the same surname, you die of old age, your children and grandchildren don't cry, and if you die less, you will be said to be in vain, and it is sad. Its musical instruments include pipa, horizontal blowing, percussion and so on.

The party has close transportation and cultural ties with its neighbors. Most of the militant and militant party members have fought wars with the surrounding areas. "The Book of Sui: The Biography of the Female Country" said that the female country "has a lot of salt, and Heng will sell salt to Tianzhu, and its profits are several times." There are also wars with Tianzhu and the party. "Naturally, the women's country is here to maintain its core position in the salt trade, and the party is probably also here to pursue this profit." Bustling, all for profit. "The plundering of the Central Plains Dynasty was particularly frequent, and it often joined forces with Tuyuhun to plunder.

Both the Northern Zhou and Sui dynasties waged wars against the party to defeat the harassment. In January of the fourth year of Gaozu Wude of the Tang Dynasty (621), Dangxiang and Tuyuhun jointly attacked Tao (Lintan, Gansu) and Min (Minxian, Gansu). Tuyuhun and the party members occupied the top of the mountain, and they were like bets. Qizhou Thorn Shi Chai Shao, who came to Minzhou to ask for help, sent someone to play the huqin pipa, so that the two women danced against each other, and the party and Tuyuhun people who were intoxicated by music and beautiful women forgot to attack, and were finally defeated by the Tang army that secretly entered. This is simply a "beauty trick", "hiding from the sky and crossing the sea", and "secretly crossing Chen Cang". High! High! It's really high! However, the party members played a very important role as an intermediary in the commercial and cultural exchanges between the Central Plains and the states of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.