CHINAKNOWLEDGE - a universal guide for China studies | HOME | About | Guestbook |
Encoding: Unicode (UTF-8) [Location: HOME > History > Non-Chinese peoples and neighboring states > Mohe]

Chinese History - Non-Chinese peoples and neighboring states
Mohe 靺鞨 (Korean: Malgal), Wuji 勿吉 or Yilou 挹婁

The Mohe are a people roaming the area of modern Manchuria (Heilongjiang province) from the 5th century CE until the 10th century. At the end of the 7th century they founded the kingdom of Bohai 渤海. Traditional Chinese historians identify the Mohe as the same people like the Sushen 肅慎, Yilou 挹婁, and Wuji 勿吉. During the Sui period 隋 the Wuji renamed themselves Mohe. Their most important tribes were the Sumo 粟末, Boduo 伯咄, Anchegu 安車骨, Funie 拂涅, Haoshi 號室, Heishui 黑水, and Baishan 白山, the Sumo being the southernmost tribe, the Heishui the northernmost; a chieftain was called damofumanduo 大莫弗瞞咄. Besides stockbreeding - especially pigs - they produced field crops like wheat and millet. They lived in houses with stamped floor. During the Tang Dynasty 唐 some Mohe chieftains presented their tribute to the Tang court and were installed as local governors with Chinese titles like regional inspector (cishi 刺使) or commander-in-chief (dudu 都督) for the Tang administration. While the Heishui chieftains acted as governors of the northeastern area command (Heishui dudufu 黑水都督府) during the first half of the 8th century, the southern Sumo tribe united with some nobles of the Korean Koguryŏ kingdom (Chinese: Gaogouli 高句麗) and founded the Bohai kingdom.

  © 2000 ff · Ulrich Theobald · Mail