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The Nine Tribes of Confucius

Slide Confucius once professed a wish to live among the ‘nine tribes’, suggesting that his gentlemanly presence would soon transform the uncultivated societies into a model of virtue. 子欲居九夷。或曰:“陋,如之何?”子曰:“君子居之,何陋之有?” The Nine Tribes referred to people living in the north of modern China and the Korean Peninsula. The list below enumerates the tribes according to the Book of Later Han (後漢書), a much later 5th century work compiled from ancient historical records. 9 Tribes Confucius of

Intro 畎夷 Quanyi ( 畎夷). The ancient Chinese dictionary Erya (爾雅) identifies this tribe with the Xuantu 玄菟 in the Liaodong peninsula. Quan Yi

Intro 於夷 Yuyi ( 於夷). The ancient Chinese dictionary Erya (爾雅) identifies this tribe with the Lelang 樂浪 in the Korean peninsula. Yu Yi

Intro 方夷 Fangyi ( 方夷). The ancient Chinese dictionary Erya (爾雅) identifies this tribe with the Gaoli (高驪) in the Korean peninsula. Fang Yi

Intro 黄夷 Huangyi ( 黃夷). The ancient Chinese dictionary Erya (爾雅) identifies this tribe with the Manshi (滿飾). Huang Yi

Intro 白夷 Baiyi (白夷). The ancient Chinese dictionary Erya (爾雅) identifies this tribe with the the Fuyu (鳧臾). Bai Yi

Intro 赤夷 Chiyi (赤夷). The ancient Chinese dictionary Erya (爾雅) identifies this tribe with the Suojia (索家). Chi Yi

Intro 玄夷 Xuanyi (玄夷). The ancient Chinese dictionary Erya (爾雅) identifies this tribe with Dongshu (東屬). Xuan Yi

Intro 风夷 Fengyi ( 風夷). The ancient Chinese dictionary Erya (爾雅) identifies this tribe with the Waren (倭人). Feng Yi

Intro 阳夷 Yangyi ( 陽夷). The ancient Chinese dictionary Erya (爾雅) identifies this tribe with the Tianbi (天鄙). Yang Yi

Sources and Further Reading

Rhys Mumford2022-04-13T06:15:25+00:00

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