Explore the life of Huns in Han Dynasty! Did you really invade the Han Dynasty because you were too poor?

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In many people's impression, although the Huns are strong, the quality of life seems to be not good. In 2000, it was recorded that the Huns living in the northern barbarian land "migrated from aquatic plants instead of farming in cities". Since the king's rule, they have eaten bacon, worn furs and fetters. They have no fixed place, let alone a city.

In fact, for the Central Plains dynasty, the Huns really lived a "peasant" life, neither a palace castle nor a royal family, nor a luxury. However, if not compared with the Central Plains Dynasty, the quality of life of Huns is not bad. Relying on the western regions controlled by Xiongnu, they can "pay taxes to all countries and get rich at will" and have considerable wealth. With the help of these wealth, the Huns obtained a lot of materials in the commodity trade with the Han Dynasty, including all expenses such as food, clothing, housing and transportation. At the same time, with the increasingly frequent and in-depth exchanges between the Western Han Dynasty and Xiongnu, Xiongnu acquired many advanced manufacturing technologies, such as bronzes, ironware, gold and silver vessels, pottery and so on.

Therefore, it can be said that the life of Huns is far less bitter and cold than most people think, and the expenses of food, clothing, housing and transportation are relatively superior to those of other Asian countries except the Western Han Dynasty.

The first is "eating". In terms of diet, Huns mainly eat meat, but in order to get meat, they mainly rely on "grazing" and "hunting". First of all, as a nomadic people, grazing is the most important thing for Huns besides fighting. According to historical records, "there are many horses, cows and sheep among their livestock." Their strange animals are squatting donkeys, scorpions and scorpions. Huns migrated by aquatic plants, mainly grazing horses, cattle and sheep, but also grazing some rare animals, such as camels, donkeys and mules. At that time, the animal husbandry of Xiongnu was very developed, which can be seen from the war between the Western Han Dynasty and Xiongnu. The Western Han Dynasty easily captured millions of cattle and sheep. At that time, most of the Huns' daily meat came from animal husbandry.

Then "hunting". For Huns, hunting is the most important source of meat besides nomadism. As a nation on horseback, Huns are not only brave in fighting, but also brave in hunting. Once said: "children can ride horses and shoot birds and mice with bows;" When the fox and rabbit are short, they shoot: eat it as a meal. It is vulgar, and hunting animals is a wide means of making a living. "When the Huns were young, they rode sheep to shoot birds and mice. When they are young, they can shoot foxes and rabbits. As an adult, you can shoot large sculptures directly by riding a horse and drawing a bow.

So for Huns, hunting is a part of their daily life. Hunting in time can not only exercise the Huns' military ability and enhance their combat effectiveness, but also supplement their meat sources, thus avoiding mass slaughter of livestock. After all, the hunting season was only a few months at that time, so if the Huns couldn't hunt any more, they had to rely on their own livestock to get meat, so if they left more livestock, they would have more chances to survive.

However, it should be noted that although Huns are nomadic people, their main hunting area is not in the Mongolian Plateau. At that time, the Mongolian plateau was dry and rainy, with few vegetation and few wild animals. The most wild animals are rodents, such as gerbils and jerboa, which obviously have no edible value. At best, it provided the Huns with abundant food, but it could not be used as the main source of meat.

In fact, the hunting ground of Xiongnu was in Yinshan area at that time, and now it is the central mountain range of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. At that time, Yinshan Mountain had a humid climate, lush vegetation and rich forest resources, and was inhabited by many kinds of wild animals, including foxes, wolves, tigers, leopards, black bears, wild horses, wild donkeys, rock sheep, Pan Yang, goats, antelopes, Tibetan sheep, antelopes, sika deer, red deer, elk, reindeer and roe deer.

Then after the Huns got the meat, they didn't "eat its hair and drink its blood" as most people thought. On the contrary, when it comes to eating and drinking, the Huns at that time were almost the same as the Central Plains Dynasty. According to the bronze tripod and copper pot unearthed from Xiongnu Tomb in Erdos, Inner Mongolia, China, they can be directly placed on a shelf similar to a stove and then cooked with the next fire.

Of course, although the Huns' staple food is meat, it is not without other foods. For example, in drinks, they make milk into milk wine; As dessert, they will make animal milk into cheese and cream; For snacks, they will make animal milk into milk skins, milk cakes and so on.

In addition, although the Huns took animal husbandry as their main source of livelihood, it can be seen from historical records that the Huns also carried out some agricultural production activities at that time. For example, the biography of Xiongnu in Han Dynasty said: "In a few months, there will be rain and snow, animals will die, people will get sick and crops will be unfamiliar. I'm afraid I'll stand in the temple and give it to two teachers. " From the "unfamiliar food crops", we can see the Huns at that time. In addition, according to "Historical Records", "When Zhao Di was in office, the Huns resumed 4000 riding fields, which shows that some Huns were engaged in grain cultivation at that time.

So the Huns at that time began to eat food. Although they mainly rely on meat, they are self-sufficient in food. In a word, as far as diet is concerned, Xiongnu's food is not scarce, but abundant.

The second is "wearing". Xiongnu clothes are mostly processed fur products. They process the fur of hunted animals into leather, and then make it into leather clothes, leather pants, leather boots and so on. Of course, sometimes they twist animal hair into wool and then make all kinds of wool clothes. Fur clothes are not as luxurious as Zhongyuan silk clothes, but they are practical, durable, warm and cold-proof. They are very suitable for the cold natural environment in the northern desert and can well resist the cold weather in the Mongolian Plateau.

In addition, some Xiongnu nobles put furs of wild animals such as foxes and minks on collars and cuffs, or made vests and cloaks to keep warm. At that time, this kind of warm-keeping product made of foxes and minks was very rare. Mainly used by Huns to pay dowry or tribute, it is regarded as a treasure by all countries. For example, when the Han dynasty received such items, they were "foxes collected by the imperial court" and were collected in the royal library.

At the same time, because Huns pay attention to the durability of clothing, their clothing styles are not as diverse as those in the Central Plains, such as robes, gowns and skirts. The style of clothes is usually "pleating up and pleating down", which is different from Zhongyuan coat from skirt to right armpit. Xiongnu's coat is "left water", that is to say, clothes open to the left, round neck and horizontal collar. At the same time, the cuffs of the coat are narrower than those of the Central Plains, and there are almost no decorations and patterns; The bottom coat is "tweed", pleated trousers connect shoe covers and socks, and bloomers are large and narrow with the bottom.

Generally speaking, because Huns live in cold places, where there are many sandstorms and mosquitoes, this warm and practical clothing style is accepted by most Huns. However, in the Western Han Dynasty, with the frequent exchanges between the Xiongnu and the Central Plains Dynasty, the Han Dynasty opened a "closed city" for trade between the two ethnic groups. As a result, some costumes of Xiongnu began to undergo subtle changes, especially the costumes of Xiongnu nobles.

As silk clothing was introduced to Xiongnu from the Central Plains through trade, those Xiongnu nobles became interested in this light and gorgeous clothing. They gradually abandoned the traditional Xiongnu costumes and switched to Hanfu made of silk. This can be seen from a large number of silk fabrics unearthed from the tombs of Xiongnu nobles. The M6 of Nura. At that time, Xiongnu nobles were proud of wearing silk clothes and silk articles, and they would compare with each other on whether silk clothes were exquisite or not.

Of course, silk clothes are not suitable for the Huns' "military career". As the saying goes, "it's better to win the Han than to stab the grass, and kindness is better than clothes." Although silk clothes are gorgeous, they are not practical. For the nomads and hunters of the Huns, they are all flashy things. Therefore, this quality is doomed to be unable to fully circulate in Xiongnu society and can only be used by a few Xiongnu nobles.

Then there is "life". Generally speaking, the house where Xiongnu herdsmen live is called "poor road", which is the Mongolian yurt where Mongols live now. It is made of wood and felt, with a raised center and drooping sides. It is shaped like the sky, hence the name Qiong Yao. There are two kinds of Qiong Yao: those made in Yanjing and those made of vitamin bones, which can be rolled up, with the front opening like an umbrella bone and the top opening called a skylight. They are all made of felt and can be installed immediately. The grassland system takes the willow group as a hard circle, and its diameter is determined by the felt lattice, so it cannot be rolled up and transported by car. " The main body of Qionglai is made of wood. Wall frames, skylights, rafters and doors are all made of wood, and the top is arched, which feels like a tent.

Qiong Yao looks small at first glance, but in fact, it has a large internal use area, which means that "the sparrow is small and has all the organs", with living areas and rest areas. At the same time, due to the unique shape of Qionglai, its indoor air circulation is equal to zero, and the lighting conditions are also very good. Warm in winter and cool in summer, not afraid of wind and rain, easy to build, easy to disassemble and easy to carry. So Qionglai is very suitable for "conformity" Xiongnu.

At the same time, it should be noted that although Huns are nomadic, their habit is "conformity". However, during the Qin and Han dynasties, with the frequent exchanges between the Huns and the Central Plains, the Huns began to be deeply influenced by the Central Plains culture, gradually learned to live in the Central Plains cities, and began to build cities or palaces. Of course, most cities or palaces built by Huns are not for their own lives, but for other purposes.

This palace was built for the Han elite who supported or surrendered. For example, in the 1940s, the ruins of Abakan Han style palace were discovered in Hakka autonomous province, which was built to accommodate pro-Han princesses. Some cities integrating agriculture, handicrafts and military defense were built for the Han army and those who came to settle down and surrender. In the 1990s, the ancient city of Iboja was discovered in the southwest of Ulan-Ude 16 km; There is a temporary military fortress here, which is used to "drill wells, build cities, manage buildings and hide valleys"; Some temple-like cities are built for sacrifice, such as "Dragon City".

Of course, whether these cities were built by Huns or not, it can be seen from the appearance of these cities that Huns have mastered the technology of urban construction. It's actually true. Judging from the urban sites excavated today, such as Gaowadaobu, King Telekin dobler, King Burhei dobler and Baron Doreo, the decoration and manufacturing methods of the building materials used are exactly the same as those of the Central Plains buildings in Qin and Han Dynasties, and the Huns really mastered urban construction.

Then there is "OK". As a nation of "migrating aquatic plants", the Huns will inevitably migrate several times a year on a large scale, and this time they will go to 100 miles away. It is absolutely impossible if it is purely on foot. Therefore, Huns can't travel without the help of transportation. The Huns, like the Central Plains, also used vehicles as riding vehicles. Although it is not clear when the Huns first used vehicles, at least in the Western Han Dynasty, the Huns also used vehicles.

Xiongnu vehicles are widely used, such as riding people, transporting, fencing herd or hunting wild animals. At the same time, there are many kinds of vehicles, including vehicles, chariots and caravans. Caravan is the most commonly used means of transportation for Huns, including double-horse single-axle car, double-horse double-axle car, single-axle double-wheel multi-spoke shuttle car, double-axle double-wheel multi-spoke caravan and so on.

During the Western Han Dynasty, the Huns produced a large number of vehicles. Sang Hongyang once described the popularity of Xiongnu vehicles as "Hu people's vehicles followed closely". At the same time, in the war records between the Western Han Dynasty and Xiongnu, we often see that the Western Han Dynasty seized a large number of Xiongnu vehicles. For example, in 109, the Han army defeated Nandanyu and seized thousands of cars; 1934 In the battle of firewood and fire, the Han army seized more than 0/000 vehicles from the northern Xiongnu. It can be seen from these records that the popularity of vehicles in Xiongnu is not worse than that in the Central Plains.

Finally, "material life". During the Western Han Dynasty, with the deepening of communication with the Central Plains, Huns began to pursue a "refined" life while solving the problem of food and clothing. With the support of Zhongyuan science and technology, the upper class really lives like a landlord in the Central Plains. First of all, in daily cold protection, Huns not only know how to make warm clothes with animal fur, but also use sheep or camel fur as warm items, such as felt tents, mats, carpets and so on. In order to ensure the practicability of these products, Xiongnu adopted a very complicated manufacturing process, which can produce felt through wet, hot and extrusion steps. However, the felt made through such complicated steps is very practical and has good resilience, hygroscopicity, shock absorption and warmth retention.

At the same time, the felt made by Huns is not only practical, but also very beautiful. They will draw all kinds of exquisite patterns on the wool felt, or simple patterns, such as stripes and eddies, or more complex patterns, such as the two-headed monster, the eagle flapping deer and the bullfighting lion. According to a batch of colorful curtains unearthed from the tomb of Xiongnu nobles in Nuoyangwula, the Huns at that time also knew how to draw more beautiful patterns with pigments. Judging from the sewing technology of this carpet, Huns have mastered manual techniques such as dyeing, jacquard, embroidery and plant pigment extraction. Can embroider almost as exquisite embroidery as the Central Plains.

Secondly, in daily necessities, bronzes are very popular among Huns, such as stoves, stoves, mirrors, clocks, pots, three-legged incense burners, three-legged candlesticks, clocks, stoves, spoons, copper pots and so on. Alpacas used by Central Plains people can be found every day in the homes of ordinary herdsmen in Xiongnu. In addition, more importantly, most of these bronze household appliances are not from the Central Plains, but made by the Huns themselves. For example, mining tools and smelting equipment were found in the Dajing ancient copper mine site in linxi county. So at that time, the Huns had mastered the smelting of copper and the manufacture of bronzes.

In addition, Xiongnu, as the most indispensable pottery in people's life in ancient Central Plains, was also widely used. Huns usually use pottery as containers and cookers. The early pottery used by Huns was mainly clay, with rough texture and single variety and color. However, in the Western Han Dynasty, with the influx of Central Plains technology, the Huns learned the fast wheel technology, and the varieties and colors of Xiongnu pottery began to be rich. At this time, pottery pots, bowls, Tao Ge, vases, pots, bowls, Tao Pan and other pottery appeared one after another, and their colors developed from a single gray pottery to brown pottery, red pottery and black pottery.

At the same time, the bronze ware manufacturing technology of Xiongnu at that time was the same as that of the Central Plains, and it was never inferior. Archaeologists found that Xiongnu used the advanced surface tin plating technology at that time, and plated pure tin and lead-tin alloy on its surface to prevent bronze ware from rusting. As can be seen from the technology adopted, there is absolutely no difference between the bronzes made by Xiongnu and those made in the Central Plains.

In addition, the Huns also had gold and silver products used by wealthy families in the Central Plains. Most of the gold and silver products used by Huns are ornaments, earrings and waist ornaments, among which the ornaments are decorated with square metal beads and Phnom Penh clams; Earrings are decorated with earrings, earrings, beads and so on. The belt is decorated with decorative cards and buckles. Because Xiongnu worships animals, these gold and silver products are mostly shaped by animals such as horses, sheep, tigers, wolves and eagles, such as eagle-shaped gold crowns, tiger-ox bites, antelope-shaped gold ornaments, wolf-deer silver ornaments, tiger-sheep silver collars and tiger-birds ornaments.

With the deepening of the communication between Xiongnu and the Western Han Dynasty, the manufacturing technology of Xiongnu's gold and silver wares was also superb. With the support of Western Han technology, Xiongnu mastered a series of advanced technologies such as gold plating, gold plating, tabletting, hammering, drilling, wire drawing and welding. With the support of these technologies, the gold and silver vessels made by Xiongnu became more and more exquisite and diverse. It can be said that primitive gold and silver vessels can be found in Xiongnu.

In a word, the living conditions of Huns are not as bad as we thought. Although their quality of life is not as good as that of the Central Plains Dynasty, compared with other neighboring countries, such as the Western Regions and the Yi nationality countries in southwest China, the Huns are already "developed countries" and their living standards are already superior.

Of course, the quality of life of Huns is not bad, but compared with the Central Plains Dynasty, there is still a certain distance. As the largest country in the world at that time, the Central Plains Dynasty was very rich, with vast territory and abundant resources. So, as a Hun near the Central Plains, how can you not covet it? Everyone wants a better life. In addition, the Huns at that time had enough strength to resist the Central Plains Dynasty, so it was inevitable that the Huns and the Central Plains Dynasty would fight a protracted war.