Journal of Chinese National Community Studies, 2024
In the early historical periods of the Eurasian continent, the sun played a vital role in human s... more In the early historical periods of the Eurasian continent, the sun played a vital role in human survival and became an object of widespread worship. Along the Silk Road, solar worship was highly prominent, often symbolized by bronze, gold, and deer as material representations of the sun. Many peoples along the Silk Road referred to their sacred mountains as "Sun Mountains" and called themselves "descendants of the sun." This paper explores in depth several early Chinese core concepts such as Ji Jin (sacred bronze), Qilin (mythical unicorn), Kunlun (sacred mountain), and Huaxia (civilizational identity), conducting a comparative linguistic analysis along the Silk Road. It argues that the etymological roots of these terms are all closely tied to the idea of the sun.
As Indian Buddhism entered China during the Eastern Han period, Indian medicine also made its way... more As Indian Buddhism entered China during the Eastern Han period, Indian medicine also made its way in. Against this broader background, the many similarities between Hua Tuo's medical practice and Indian medicine are hardly coincidental. Through analysis and comparison of transcriptional materials in Buddhist scriptures from the late Han to the Three Kingdoms period, it can be argued that "Hua Tuo" is in fact a phonetic equivalent of the Sanskrit word vaidya, meaning "physician." This supports the view that there was a close relationship between Hua Tuo and the Indian medical tradition.
Through comparative linguistic analysis with medical vocabulary from Western regions, the authors... more Through comparative linguistic analysis with medical vocabulary from Western regions, the authors argue that the term Bianque (扁鹊) corresponds to bhishag (physician) in Indo-Iranian languages. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the early concept of "wind" (a pathogenic factor) was originally expressed with the character 痹, as found in The Classic of Roots and Herbs, and this aligns with vāt-("wind") in Indo-Iranian languages. The character 达 in the Zuo Zhuan (左传) can mean "needle," corresponding to dar or dal ("needle") in Indo-Aryan languages. These comparisons suggest that ancient Chinese medicine was influenced by medical systems from the Western regions, particularly Indian medicine.
To the east of the Han Empire lived the Yue people, to the south the Chu, to the west lay India a... more To the east of the Han Empire lived the Yue people, to the south the Chu, to the west lay India and the Western Regions, and to the north the Xiongnu. The Gaze of the Han Empire takes the neighboring peoples of the Han Empire as an entry point and, from the four cardinal directions—east, south, west, and north—offers an in-depth examination of the Han Empire’s complexity and multidimensionality, as well as its interactions and mutual influences with surrounding civilizations.
A distinctive feature of this book is its treatment of language itself as an archaeological material. It delves into the linguistic contact and cultural exchange implied by newly emergent words during the Han period. From the perspective of linguistic archaeology, the languages surrounding the Han Empire may have included Altaic, Indo-European, Afroasiatic (Semitic-Hamitic), South Asian, and Austronesian families. By investigating the linguistic and cultural interactions between the Han and its neighbors, the book aims to present a richly diverse image of the empire.
What sets the Han Empire apart is that its rulers came from the Chu people—a dynasty led by southerners. Through an analysis of Liu Bang’s use of kinship terms, the book notes that he referred to his father as “gong” (公), a term that reflects a key feature of South Asian languages. This suggests that the Chu language may have been closely related to South Asian or Austronesian languages. Many newly coined Han words—such as “Yue people” (越人) as an ethnic term, “jun” (君) as a feminine name suffix, “yin” (吟) as a poetic genre, “dudu” (都督) as a title, and religious terms like “yangling” (阳灵) and “andu” (安都)—appear to be linked to the languages and cultures of South Asia.
For the Han Empire, the Xiongnu represented an unavoidable and crucial presence. From a broader perspective, the Han-Xiongnu relationship can be viewed as a kind of early North-South Dynastic opposition. In many ways, the level of understanding of the Xiongnu determines the upper limit of Han Empire studies. Yet the origins of the Xiongnu royal family remain a mystery, which has hindered a fuller explanation of many Han phenomena.
Traditionally, the Xiongnu language has been attributed to the Altaic or Iranian families. However, this view struggles to account for many Xiongnu words—especially kinship terms—recorded in Records of the Grand Historian and the Book of Han. Kinship terms are core vocabulary in any language, generally stable and slow to change. Through extensive comparative analysis of languages along the Silk Road, this book finds that Xiongnu kinship terms such as gutŭ (孤塗), yànzhī (阏氏), and jūcì (居次) correspond closely with terms in Dravidian and Afroasiatic languages. Given that Dravidian languages are thought to have diverged from Afroasiatic roots, this book proposes that the Xiongnu royal lineage may have originated from Semitic-speaking peoples of the Near East.
This hypothesis provides a new framework for interpreting the sudden appearance of numerous Han-period words such as pili (霹雳, "thunderclap"), lao (酪, "curdled milk"), tian (甜, "sweet"), and tihu (醍醐, "clarified butter"), all of which have possible correspondences in Afroasiatic languages. Using linguistic archaeology as a point of entry, the book further uncovers links between new Han artistic motifs and Near Eastern traditions. For instance, the wange (挽歌, "dirge") is a funerary tradition of Near Eastern origin that appeared abruptly in Han China, often titled “Haoli” (蒿里), which is shown to be a transliteration of the Afroasiatic term qabra (“grave, burial”). Similarly, the emergence of hexagonal patterns and sphinx-like figures in Han art finds parallels in the Near East.
The connections between Han China and India were primarily established through Buddhism and medicine. By analyzing the names of legendary physicians Bian Que and Hua Tuo, this book identifies Bian Que (with Old Chinese bassag) as corresponding to the Sanskrit bhishag (“doctor”), and Hua Tuo as linked to vaidya (“physician”). Furthermore, by examining terms such as bi (痹, "numbness/paralysis"), the Five Animal Frolics (五禽戏), and mafeisan (麻沸散, "anesthetic powder"), the book reveals extensive exchanges between Chinese and Indian medical traditions.
Importantly, the scope of this book is not limited to tracing foreign words in the Han Empire. All exchange is bidirectional. The book also explores how early Chinese concepts—such as solar worship and the naming of sacred stones—may have influenced major civilizations across Eurasia.
In short, this book reconstructs the global historical significance of the Han Empire from multiple dimensions—political, artistic, medical, and geographical. Through archaeology and linguistic inquiry, it explores topics such as the Xiongnu language, the Chu language of the Han, the Queen Mother of the West, Mount Buzhou, Bian Que and Hua Tuo, the origins of the dirge and the jueju (quatrain), and the Yue people. The reader is led into a multilingual world as imagined by Han elites, gradually unveiling the worldview they inhabited and revealing a dynamic, multi-layered Han Empire from the perspective of global history.
The origin of the plural marker "men" (们) in Modern Chinese remains unresolved. This study identi... more The origin of the plural marker "men" (们) in Modern Chinese remains unresolved. This study identifies plural markers such as -me, -mi, -mu, -wu, -min in Sanskrit, Indo-Aryan, and Dravidian languages of India, which correspond closely to Chinese forms like "弭", "伟", "每", "懑", and "们" that emerged suddenly since the Middle Chinese period. In light of the historical context in which large numbers of Indian Buddhist monks entered China during the Tang dynasty, this paper argues that the m- (and later w-) initial plural markers in Chinese likely originated from contact with Indian languages.
The linguistic affiliation of the Xiongnu language has long been a subject of debate. Previous st... more The linguistic affiliation of the Xiongnu language has long been a subject of debate. Previous studies have often relied on fragmented references in historical texts, but the lack of systematic vocabulary has hindered consensus. Considering that kinship terms tend to exhibit relatively consistent patterns, this paper investigates the core kinship terms such as gutŭ (“孤塗”), yànzhī (“阏氏”), and jūcì (“居次”) to determine the linguistic classification of the Xiongnu language. The study proposes that Xiongnu shows systematic correspondences with Dravidian and Afroasiatic (Hamito-Semitic) languages. Based on these shared kinship terms, it suggests a genealogical relationship and hypothesizes that during the eastward migration of Afroasiatic-speaking peoples, one branch moved southward into Pakistan and India, becoming the Dravidian-speaking populations, while another continued eastward into northern China, becoming the Xiongnu.
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Papers by Xiaofeng Ye
A distinctive feature of this book is its treatment of language itself as an archaeological material. It delves into the linguistic contact and cultural exchange implied by newly emergent words during the Han period. From the perspective of linguistic archaeology, the languages surrounding the Han Empire may have included Altaic, Indo-European, Afroasiatic (Semitic-Hamitic), South Asian, and Austronesian families. By investigating the linguistic and cultural interactions between the Han and its neighbors, the book aims to present a richly diverse image of the empire.
What sets the Han Empire apart is that its rulers came from the Chu people—a dynasty led by southerners. Through an analysis of Liu Bang’s use of kinship terms, the book notes that he referred to his father as “gong” (公), a term that reflects a key feature of South Asian languages. This suggests that the Chu language may have been closely related to South Asian or Austronesian languages. Many newly coined Han words—such as “Yue people” (越人) as an ethnic term, “jun” (君) as a feminine name suffix, “yin” (吟) as a poetic genre, “dudu” (都督) as a title, and religious terms like “yangling” (阳灵) and “andu” (安都)—appear to be linked to the languages and cultures of South Asia.
For the Han Empire, the Xiongnu represented an unavoidable and crucial presence. From a broader perspective, the Han-Xiongnu relationship can be viewed as a kind of early North-South Dynastic opposition. In many ways, the level of understanding of the Xiongnu determines the upper limit of Han Empire studies. Yet the origins of the Xiongnu royal family remain a mystery, which has hindered a fuller explanation of many Han phenomena.
Traditionally, the Xiongnu language has been attributed to the Altaic or Iranian families. However, this view struggles to account for many Xiongnu words—especially kinship terms—recorded in Records of the Grand Historian and the Book of Han. Kinship terms are core vocabulary in any language, generally stable and slow to change. Through extensive comparative analysis of languages along the Silk Road, this book finds that Xiongnu kinship terms such as gutŭ (孤塗), yànzhī (阏氏), and jūcì (居次) correspond closely with terms in Dravidian and Afroasiatic languages. Given that Dravidian languages are thought to have diverged from Afroasiatic roots, this book proposes that the Xiongnu royal lineage may have originated from Semitic-speaking peoples of the Near East.
This hypothesis provides a new framework for interpreting the sudden appearance of numerous Han-period words such as pili (霹雳, "thunderclap"), lao (酪, "curdled milk"), tian (甜, "sweet"), and tihu (醍醐, "clarified butter"), all of which have possible correspondences in Afroasiatic languages. Using linguistic archaeology as a point of entry, the book further uncovers links between new Han artistic motifs and Near Eastern traditions. For instance, the wange (挽歌, "dirge") is a funerary tradition of Near Eastern origin that appeared abruptly in Han China, often titled “Haoli” (蒿里), which is shown to be a transliteration of the Afroasiatic term qabra (“grave, burial”). Similarly, the emergence of hexagonal patterns and sphinx-like figures in Han art finds parallels in the Near East.
The connections between Han China and India were primarily established through Buddhism and medicine. By analyzing the names of legendary physicians Bian Que and Hua Tuo, this book identifies Bian Que (with Old Chinese bassag) as corresponding to the Sanskrit bhishag (“doctor”), and Hua Tuo as linked to vaidya (“physician”). Furthermore, by examining terms such as bi (痹, "numbness/paralysis"), the Five Animal Frolics (五禽戏), and mafeisan (麻沸散, "anesthetic powder"), the book reveals extensive exchanges between Chinese and Indian medical traditions.
Importantly, the scope of this book is not limited to tracing foreign words in the Han Empire. All exchange is bidirectional. The book also explores how early Chinese concepts—such as solar worship and the naming of sacred stones—may have influenced major civilizations across Eurasia.
In short, this book reconstructs the global historical significance of the Han Empire from multiple dimensions—political, artistic, medical, and geographical. Through archaeology and linguistic inquiry, it explores topics such as the Xiongnu language, the Chu language of the Han, the Queen Mother of the West, Mount Buzhou, Bian Que and Hua Tuo, the origins of the dirge and the jueju (quatrain), and the Yue people. The reader is led into a multilingual world as imagined by Han elites, gradually unveiling the worldview they inhabited and revealing a dynamic, multi-layered Han Empire from the perspective of global history.