戎과 胡의 列國史 試論 — 十六國과 北朝史의 새로운 이해 —

Abstract

To establish a new perspective on the history of three-hundred-year period following the collapse of the Western Jin Dynasty, this study re-examines the nature of the‘Hu (胡)’ peoples, who have traditionally been seen as the main actors of this era. First, it is confirmed that the conventional grouping of the ‘Five Hu(五胡)’, including the Xiongnu(匈奴), Xianbei(鮮卑), Jie(鞨), Di(氐), and Qiang(羌), was not an original description from the 4th century onwards but a fixed designation from a later period. To substantiate this, we have analyzed Jiang Tong(江統)'s ‘The proposal to move the Rong peoples out of the Central Plain(｢徙戎論｣),’ which shows that the main actors of the 4th century were not solely the traditional nomadic peoples called ‘Hu,’ but primarily the ‘Rong(戎)’— peoples who mainly engaged in herding in agro-pastoral zones and maintained close ties with the Chinese governments. This insight deconstructs the existing understanding of the ‘Five Hu’ and re-discovers the ‘Rong’, aiming for a new understanding that interweaves the ‘Hu’ and the ‘Han(漢)’ rather than viewing them in an overly simplistic dichotomy. In addition, to overcome discussions primarily focused on the unification and fragmentation of China, the new approach seeks to expand the spatial scope and explain Chinese history from the 4th century onward as being actively linked with Eurasia. This is because, unlike the past, China in the 4th century onwards did not exert overwhelming influence on its neighbors but was instead interconnected with and responsive to changes across Eurasia. This connection is seen not only in the Sixteen Kingdoms(十六國), a period where various forces were arrayed in parallel, but also in the subsequent period after the Northern Wei(北魏) unified North China, showing its synchronization with world history. As a premise for explaining this, the introduction of the ‘History of Rival States(列國史)’ perspective is suggested as an effective method for explaining the formation of the ‘Multi-State System(多極體制)’ in East Asia. By expanding the spatial stage to the surrounding world of East China and further into Eurasia, this perspective systematically assesses the awakening of the countries of East Asian world, which had previously been considered peripheral to China from the 4th century onward. Unlike previous discussions that emphasized the 'fusion' arising from the ‘conflict’ and ‘fusion’ dichotomy between ‘Hu’ and ‘Han’, this new approach focuses on the existence and distinct characteristics of the diverse ‘Rong’ groups, presenting a new perspective centered on the ‘coexistence of diversity.’ Although this preliminary study has limitations and may still face difficulties in fully explaining the character of this era, these novel attempts aim to provide a clue for redefining the character, which was conventionally understood simply as a ‘period of fragmentation.’