Tiele people

Part of a series on the
History of Central Asia
Ancient
Scythia Dingling/Tiele Saka Kangju Huns
Middle Ages
Sogdians 200s–1000s Hephthalites 440s–710 Göktürks 552–745 Karluks 665–744 Kimek Khanate 743–1220 Oghuz Yabgu State 750–1055 Kara-Khanid Khanate 840–1212 Qara Khitai 1124–1218 Mongol Empire 1206–1368 Golden Horde 1240s–1446
Colonization period
Russian Turkestan 1867–1918
Great game period
History of Central Asia XIX a.d.–
Topics
Sports
v t

The Tiele (Chinese: 鐵勒; pinyin: Tiělè, Turkic *Tegreg "[People of the] Carts"^[2]), also transliterated as Dili (Chinese: 狄歷), Chile (Chinese: 敕勒), Zhile (Chinese: 直勒), Tele (Chinese: 特勒), also named Gaoche or Gaoju (Chinese: 高車, "High Carts"),^[3][4][5] were a tribal confederation of Turkic ethnic origins^[6] living to the north of China and in Central Asia, emerging after the disintegration of the confederacy of the Xiongnu.^[7] Chinese sources associate them with the earlier Dingling (Chinese: 丁零).^[8][9][10]

Chile and Gaoche[]

The name "Chile" and "Gaoche" first appear in Chinese records during the campaigns of Former Yan and Dai in 357 and 363 respectively. However, the protagonists were also addressed as "Dingling" in the records of the Southern Dynasties.^[11] The name Gaoche ("high cart") was a nickname given by the Chinese.^[12][13]

Book of Jin, compiled by Fang Xuanling et al., listed Chile as the fifth of 19 Southern Xiongnu tribes (種).^[14][15] By the time of the Rouran domination, the Gaoche comprised six tribes (種) ^[16] and twelve clans (姓).^[17][18][19]

The Gaoche are probably remnants of the ancient Red Di. Initially they had been called Dili. Northerners take them as Chile. Chinese take them as Gaoche Dingling. Their language, in brief, and Xiongnu [language] are the same yet occasionally there are small differences. Or one may say that they [Gaoche] are the junior relatives^[20] of the Xiongnu in former times.

The Gaoche migrate in search of grass and water. They dress in skins and eat meat. Their cattle and sheep are just like those of the Rouran, but the wheel of their carts are high and have very many spokes.

— Weishu, 103

The predecessors of Huihe were Xiongnu. Because, customarily, they ride high-wheeled carts. They were also called Gaoche during the Yuan Wei times, or also called Chile, mistakenly rendered as Tiele.

— Xin Tangshu, 232

One group known as the Eastern Gaoche (东部高车) probably dwelled from the Onon River to Lake Baikal (巳尼陂). However, their relationship with the rest of the Gaoche and its tribal components is unclear.^[21]

Mythological Origin[]

The Book of Wei preserved the Gaoche's origin myth

Folklore said that the Xiongnu chanyu had two daughters, whose visages were so beautiful that their country's folks took them as goddesses. The chanyu said: 'I have two daughters like these, how can they be men's matches? Surely they must be wed to heavenly beings'. Then, in his country's uninhabited northern land, he built a high tower, and placed his two daughters on top, praying: 'May Heaven behold and retrieve them!' Three years passed, their mother wished to retrieve them, the chanyu said: 'You may not. [My prayer] has not yet thoroughly pierced [the heavenly beings'] ears.' After one more year, then there came a hoary wolf who, days and nights, guarded the tower, and yowled and howled; he also dug a den at the base of tower, and would not leave for a while. The little daughter said: 'My father lodged me in this place, wishing to wed me to heavenly beings; and now the wolf is come; or rather, this is a godly thing, an emissary from Heaven of course. I will descend and approach him'. Her elder sister, immensely frightened, said: "This is an animal. Do not disgrace father and mother [because of him]!" The little sister heeded not [the elder sister]; she descended, became the wolf's wife, and bore children; later on [their children] eventually multiplied so much they became a nation. That's why these people are good at drawing out and singing aloud long songs/love to draw out and sing aloud long songs, for those songs are like a wolf's howl.

— Weishu, 103

Rouran Domination[]

In 391 the Rouran chief, Heduohan (曷多汗) was killed by the Tuoba Northern Wei. Heduohan's brother Shelun raided several tribal dependencies of the Tuoba in retaliation, but reportedly suffered a serious defeat in 399, and was forced to flee westward. Here Shelun defeated the Hulu (斛律) tribe and subjugated them. With the aid of a Hulu named Chiluohou (叱洛侯), Shelun conquered most of the Gaoche tribes and proclaimed himself Kaghan of the Rouran on March 11, 402. Many Gaoche, such as Chiluohou, were promoted to establish better control.^[22][23]

During the reign of Shelun and his successor Datan, the Rouran pushed as far as the Issyk Kul, where they defeated the Wusun and drove them to the south. In the east they raided the Northern Wei before they were defeated on June 16, 429.^[24][25] Afterwards, as many as 1.5 million Gaoche were said to have been captured and settled to areas adjacent to the capital Pingcheng in the south.

After this settlement they were called the Western Chile (西部敕勒), including a section of the Ordos Desert south of the Yellow River known as the Hexi Chile (河西敕勒), the Eastern Chile (东部敕勒), between Wuzhou (武周) and the capital suburbs, and the Northern Chile (北部敕勒), to the north and around the borders.

The greater part of the latter two possibly fled back to the steppe and were not heard of after 524 and 445 respectively. The Western Chile (mainly the Hulu and Tiele related to Fufuluo's Qifuli (泣伏利) clan) being caused by a horse race， by which south and north were eventually assimilated.^[26]

With the loss of numerous subjects and vital resources, the Rouran went into a temporary decline. However, in 460 they launched new campaigns in the west, destroying the remnant of Northern Liang. During a campaign against Khotan in 470, the king wrote in his supplicatory letter to the Toba Emperor that all of the statelets in the west had submitted to the Rouran. In 472, Yucheng attacked Northern Wei across the western border. By the time of his death in 485, Yucheng had restored the Kaghanate to a status even more powerful than the times of Datan.

During these wars, a southwestern Gaoche tribal group known as the Fufuluo united twelve clans and rebelled, but were defeated by the Rouran. They escaped and established a state northwest of Gaochang in 487. From then on, little is known about the rest of the Gaoche until the Göktürks.

Fufuluo[]

The Fufuluo (副伏罗) were a Gaoche tribe of twelve clans, dwelling close to the Gaochang kingdom (likely by the Tuin River of the Govi-Altai range. Early on a Fufuluo clan known as the Yizhan (which had lived there since the mid 2nd century) allied with the Touba.^[27] In 481, the Fufuluo began to interfere with the Gaochang and deposed one of their kings. The Fufuluo were then subjugated by the Rouran Khaganate.^[28]

After the death of the Rouran ruler Yucheng in 485 CE, his belligerent son Dulun fought more wars against the Touba Northern Wei.^[28]

After a disagreement, A-Fuzhiluo betrayed him, and in 487, together with his younger cousin Qiongqi (穷奇), they managed their clans of over 100,000 yurts to escape from the pursuing armies, led by Dulun and his uncle Nagai by defeating them.

After they settled, he founded a statelet (also known as the A-Fuzhiluo kingdom) under the title of Ulu Beglik (候娄匐勒, based on an interpretation of Shiratori Kurakichi and Pulleyblank). Like the later Qibi and Xueyantuo in 605, the Fufuluo divided their rule between north and south at Dzungaria.^[13][29]

The Fufuluo allied with the Northern Wei in 490 and fought against the Rouran until 541 when they were dispersed by them.^[30]

Shortly after the death of Dulun in 492, several important cities on the eastern route were taken by Fufuluo, separating the Rouran from the west. With the elimination of Rouran influence, the Hephthalites, kindred steppe nomads, for the first time extended their domain as far as Karashahr, where Qiongqi was killed and his son Mietu (弥俄突) was taken hostage^{[citation needed]}.

After 507, the Hephthalites uninterruptedly sent eighteen embassies with gifts (朝献/朝贡) to the Chinese courts (twelve to Northern Wei, three to Liang Dynasty, two to Western Wei and one to Northern Zhou), as opposed to only one in 456.^[31] Like Peroz I and his son Kavadh I earlier in the west, the Hephthalites helped Mietu. He returned to his realm and (跋利延), the successor of A-Fuzhiluo, was overthrown by his tribesmen, while shortly paying tribute to the Touba. In 508, Yujiulü Futu attacked the Fufuluo and gained a victory, but was killed by Mietu on his course back. Later in 516, l, son of Futu, defeated Mietu, and in reprisal had him towed to death by a horse. The Fufuluo went for several years into exile under the refuge of the Hephthalites. In 520, Chounu was repulsed by his younger brother Yifu (伊匐) who restored the realm. After his defeat, Chounu returned to the east, where he was killed in a coup in which the ruling clan of Yujiulu (郁久闾) was split into two factions. In 521, the Fufuluo penetrated into the Rouran territory, but were finally repulsed by 524. Thereafter, the Fufuluo suffered a series of defeats from Anagui before being annihilated in 541. During the final decade, they helped the Eastern Wei to fight the Western Wei in a civil war. After defeat, the nobility surrendered to them.^[32]

Rulers of Gaoche[]

Tiele[]

Lineage of the Tiele

Emergence of the Tiele[]

The term Tiele appeared in Chinese literature from the 6th Century to 8th Century, and most scholars agree that Tiele is simply different Chinese characters used to describe the same Turkic word as Chile, although some scholars disagree on what the specific original Turkic word may be: Tölöš ~ Töliš, Türk, or Tegreg ~ Tägräg.^[33] The name "Tiele" was first interpreted as "Tölis" by Édouard Chavannes and Vilhelm Thomsen, but this was pointed out as inaccurate in 1937 by Cen Zhongmian, as Tölis applied to the Turkic title of official (突利失 Tulishi) in the east that also came to be attached to the Xueyantuo qaghan.^[34] Some scholars (Haneda, Onogawa, Geng, etc.) proposed that Tiele, Dili, Dingling, Chile, Tele, & Tujue all transliterated underlying Türk; however, Golden proposed that Dili, Dingling, Chile, Tele, & Tiele transliterated Tegrek while Tujue transliterated Türküt, plural of Türk.^[35] The appelation Türük (Old Turkic: