N.Ya.Bichurin divided the eyewitness account on Tele in the Chinese annals into two parts, Part 1 Section 5 gives a general picture of Tele tribes early history from the Chinese perspective. Because the Chinese annals are the only source about the history of the Tele before the emergence of the Türgesh Kaganate, our knowledge of the early period in the history of the Tele are almost exclusively from the Chinese annals. The prologue introduces a reader to the ethnic, geographical, and dynastic situation in N.Bichurin's synopsis, and then follow extracts from the annals, literal in places.

Uigurs and Seyanto were main Tele tribes, and N.Bichurin follows terminology of the annals, using the Chinese form of the name of Uigurs as a synonym with Tele, which, on one hand is not too far from a full picture, but on the other hand demands a preliminary knowledge about a real situation. For example, the Tele union (Juz)  called by N.Bichurin with Chinese "Gaogui", after their exit from the Jujan confederation was headed by a coalition of Uigurs and Seyanto who were leaders of two separate independent federations of Tele tribes. N.Bichurin also does not note that individual tribes of the confederation appear in the annals as developed ethnosocial tribes, whose forming happened long before the Tele migration to the northern side of Gobi. A majority of the Chinese terminology used by N.Bichurin has already been deciphered or reconstructed. The question of the language of Uigurs, Tele, Huns, and Tabgaches had been investigated, and their Turkic-speaking has been proved. Because N.Bichurin projected the current location of the peoples into the past, in relation to the ancient Turkic tribes of Huns, Tele, and Uigurs, N.Bichurin's term "Mongol" means "nomadic tribe"; but in the ethnological and linguistic comparisons, N.Bichurin's term "Mongol" applies in its contemporary linguistic and ethnic sense. In the confusing and confused Chinese terminology, N.Bichurin uncovered a logical order, and traced individual expressions to their geographical and temporal sources, compiling in the end a clear picture for the variety of the names for the Tele people, predicated by the term's diffused origins and linguistic and semantic peculiarities.

From the Chinese descriptions we can conclude that the Hun's dynastic clan was Uiguro-Hunnic, or Tele-Hunnic; they were the Hun's tribe papas and Tele/Uigur tribe mamas, the tribes of Huns and Tele/Uigurs were permanent mutual conjugal partners, a custom retained among Türkic peoples up to the present time, and a major tool in scientific research. The Hun/Uigur conjugal union ascends to the time well before their appearance in the Chinese annals, and the looks of the dynastic Huns and Uigurs was sufficiently blended after centuries, if not a millennium, of confined cross-breeding. The scions descending from other tribes, though held to be princes by blood, could not legitimately pretend to the supreme throne, and could come to power only as winning rebels. In the west, this situation continued in the Rus Kaganate until 13th c.; in the east, it kept decimating the Mongol empire well into the 17th c. The Türkic-linguality of the numerous Tele tribes, and of the Uigurs and Oguz Türks in particular, is unquestionable; the appearance of the Dinlin/Chidi/Tele tribes is clearly described as primarily Caucasoid; in today's lingo it is called Paleo-Siberian. The original linguality of the Hun tribe, allowing for a presumption that they were not simply a branch of Tele, can't be determined for lack of evidence material; however, their positively greater Mongoloidness, estimated from biological studies as reaching 89%, lends itself to a conclusion that even within the Tele confederation, the Huns were an incorporated alien tribe, of Northern East-Asian origin, and as such they leave no room for Indo-Iranian linguistical speculations of neophyte scholars like late J.Harmatta. It is well known that the original Indo-Iranians were and are of non-Mongoloid brunette stock, did not blend with Mongoloid tribes before the 13th c. AD, and did not blend with Türkic tribes before ca. 5-3rd c. BC on the outside. The Chinese ethnological description in the N.Bichurin's extractions describes nearly exclusive Türkic traditions, echoed many times over by other historical sources: permanent conjugal pairing, levirate, food of meat and kumiss, gender equality, burial rites, lateral succession, confederate state, precursor of rodeo (and polo,  Tr. čögän/čoɣan), linguistic and genetical kinship, cult of Tengri deity, role of shaman priests in religious rites, wolf progenitor, and many more, all and each one of them totally incompatible with the shared traits of the Indo-Iranian cultures.

* * *.

The posting's notes and explanations, added to the text of the author and not noted specially, are shown blue in parentheses (), grammatic clarifications in angular brackets <>. Page numbers are shown at the beginning of the page in blue, with associated PDF file page number. To avoid font conflicts, the Russian original is presented in modern orthography. The dates highlighted by N.Bichurin are shown in front of the respective sentense. Additional subtitles are shown in blue. The copyright to the 1851 publication expired long ago, the publication is in the public domain.

246 (302 PDF)

SECTION 5

HOIHU

Hoihu is a folk name for people previously known under a name Dili (Tele), and then Gaogui.
247 (303 PDF)

Word Hoihu in Mongolian (Turkic) language is articulated in pronunciation of southern Mongols Hoihor, and in articulation of northern Oikhor. Turkistanians write this word correctly: but because their letter vav is articulated as o and u, the word Oikhor, by particulars of their language, changed to Uihur (Uigur).

The name of the House of Oikhor (Uigur) came late to history. It showed up already after their crossing northward the Great sandy steppe: but there is no doubt in that, that this House long before its name arrival in history existed in its allied peoples, and acted as a member of the union, under a common folk name of Teles, or Gaogyuans. The Chinese history tells that the House of Oikhor (Uigur) descends from the Huns on the female side: hence there is no doubt and in that that the founder of the House of Oikhor (Uigur) was a son of the daughter or a niece of a Hun's khan, given in marriage for a ruling prince, who belonged to the Dili (Tele) people union, and this circumstance should be attributed to the beginning of the 2nd century before Christ, when the Huns completely ruled Mongolia.

During a period called in Chinese history Chjan-go, the northern limits of present Chinese provinces Shansi (Shaanxi/Shanxi) and Gansu did not belong to China, and were occupied by various nomadic peoples. At that time the Mongolian (Turkic) tribe occupied the lands and areas Tsin-yan-fu and Sui-de-chjeu district in the provinces Gansu and Shansi.

Chi-di in Chinese language means: red northern nomadic. During great changes that followed in China in the last half of the 3rd century BC, Red nomadic were displaced to the steppe, where they already under a folk name Dili occupied the space from Ordos to the west, and spoke in Hunnish, i.e. common Mongolian (Turkic) language with little change in dialects.

248 (304 PDF)

338 In 338 AD they submitted to Toba (Tabgach) House: but at the very end of the 4th centuries they left to the northern side of the sandy steppe, and there instead of previous name Dili (Tele) accepted the name Gao-gui. These words in simple folk articulation are pronounced Gao-che and are Chinese; in translation high cart. In the history of T'han dynasty the Dilians (Tele) used ordinarily arbas, or one-axle on high wheels, hence at the Yuan -wei dynasty they were called Gao-gui. Very probably that Gao-gui was a folk name given to Dilians (Tele) from the northern Chinese; because this name is found only in the history of northern Courts: but in this same history sometimes instead of Gaogui is used another folk name Chile, wrongly transformed by the historians of the southern China to T'he-le, our Tele.

Already after crossing to the northern side of Great sandy steppe  the Oikhor (Uigur)(Uigur) divided into fifteen sovereign Houses, descending from the same root. They occupied a long strip of land from the Argun westward to the Tarbagatai ridge.

Gaogyuans are descendants of the ancient Chi-di  generations ¹. In the beginning they were called Dili, already in the north they were dubbed Gaoguian Dinlins. Their language is similar with Hunnu, but with a small difference. The some people say that ancestors of the Gaogui House descend from a grandson from a daughter from the House of Hunnu (Huns). The story goes, that the Hunnu Shanyu sired two daughters of extreme beauty. The nobles held them as goddesses. Shanyu said: can I give out such daughters to marry people? I shall give them to the Sky. And so north from the capital in an uninhabited place was built a tall mansion, and, having lodged both his daughters there, <he> said: I ask the Sky to accept them.

1) See in Gan-mu for year 191. Chi-di are Chinese words; their meaning is Red Mongols (i.e. Red Nomadic). During spring and autumn period they occupied lands in  San-si (Shaanxi 陕西/Shanxi 山西) province Lu-an-fu area
249 (305 PDF)

After three years <their> mother itched to take them <back>. Shanyu told her: impossible: the time has not come yet. A year after that one old wolf began guarding the tower day and night, howling: and <he> has dug a den under the tower, and did not leave from it. A younger daughter said: our parent lodged us here, wishing to give oblation to the Sky; and now came a wolf; may be his arrival is a happy omen. She just wanted to descend to him, as her senior sister said with overwhelming fright: it is an animal: do not disgrace the parents. The younger sister did not listen to her, <she> descended to the wolf, married him, and bore a son. Their descendants multiplied and organized a state: therefore people there love long songs, or howl like wolves ¹.

They did not have a sole supreme ruler; each clan had its sovereign or an elder. By the nature <they> are rough and ferocious. Relatives live in consent. When in a raid <they> encounter danger,  <they> together help each other. In battles <they> do not line in rows; the head separates ² to wallop; suddenly attack, suddenly retreat; cannot fight continuously. In marriages for a great honour hold bulls and horses to use for concord gifts. Having given a word, immediately conclude the marriage. Groom's relatives make tabor (circle of carts) of carts around horses, and allow each relative of the bride to choose any horse, and skilfully saddling <them>, to ride on it from the tabor.

1) Mongols also now sing songs lingeringly and with plaintive voices, exactly like howling.
2) I. e. with a sharp wedge.
250 (306 PDF)

The owners of horses stand outside the tabor camp; and frighten horses with clapping hands. <That who> outride sitting on horse keeps it; and <that who> fall from the horse chooses another <horse>. When everyone received <a horse>, the ritual ends. <They> do not have bread, do not make wine. On the day of wedding groom and bride serve  mare koumiss and hot meat, chopped in pieces. The host treats the visitors. No order in sitting places is observed; <they> sit in crowds in front of yurta on the grass, drink and eat all day; also remain for the night ¹. On the next day, as the bride is to go to her father, the groom's relatives again drive to her house a herd of horses, and ² <guests> choose the best of them. Her parents and brothers, though <they are> grudging, do not say a word. <They> intensely do not like to marry widows (levirate law), and are sorry for them. On domesticated cattle generally mark labels (tamgas); and though in a field <a horse> would join another's  <herd> , nobody would take it. In household life <they are> not tidy. <They> love thunder strikes: With each thunder strike <they> make scream, and shoot into the ; then leave that place, and disperse. Next year in the autumn, as horses fatten, <they> again gather in the place of thunder strike; bury (slaughter?) a ram, and light a lantern with a knife; a she-shaman reads prayers, like in the Middle state in repelling misfortune. Crowds of men on riding horses make many circles around that place; then a man takes a bunch of willow or aspen branches, sets  <them> with a trunk up, and pours koumiss over. A woman, wrapping mutton bones in a hide, puts it on her head, and curls hair in circle into locks and lets loose, which makes a kind of a diadem.

1) Mongols also now feast the same way.
2) Relatives.
251 (307 PDF)

The dead are brought to the excavated tomb, <they> lay corpse in the middle, with strung bows in hands, sword on a belt, with a spear in armpit, <looking> like alive; but the tomb is not filled. If someone dies from thunder strike or from epidemic sickness, <they> pray about happiness. If it all ends safely, to bring gratitude to spirits <they> slaughter a multitude of different cattle, and burn their bones; then <they> circle the place on horses; sometimes <they> canter up to few hundred circles. For this assembly converge men and women indiscriminate of age. Those who have it all sound at home, sing songs, dance, play musical instruments; and the families from whom a death stole somebody, cry from sorrow, sheding tears.

They shuttle from place to place, depending on bounty of grass and water. <They> dress in leather, eat meat. The horned and other domestic cattle is identical with Jujanian; only their carts are on high wheels with many spokes. The ancestors of Gaogyuans had twelve clans ¹ as this:

1. Lifuli,
2. Tulu,
3. Ichjan,
4. Dalyan,
5. Kuhe,
6. Dabo,
7. Alun,
8. Moyun,
9. Syfyn,
10. Fufulo,
11. Kiyuan,
12. Üngupei.

487 Previously, the generation Fufulo was subjugated by Jujans. During Deulun time, Jujans came to disagreements, and the reigning generation dispersed. Fufulo's Afuchjilo with his cousin Tsunki lead the army, and Gaogui people reached above 100,000 yurts (ca. 420,000+ people). In the eleventh summer of Thai-ho rule, 487, Deulun ² initiated to attack the limits of China.

1) In Ch. named. In China each name constitutes a faily lasting generation with numerous branches by only male line
2) In Gan-mu from he is called Fuduguan. 497.
252 (308 PDF)

Afuchjilo convincingly adviced against it, but Deulun did not listen. Afuchjilo, in anger, left with his people to the west, and seceded from him ¹. Wnen the vanguard generation on came to northwest, he declared himself an independent sovereign. The nobles conferred him with a name Heuleu-Fule, which in the language of House of Wei means: Great son of Sky. ² (State and tribal language of Toba/Tabgach was Türkic; Toba Wei population was poly-ethnic, including poly-ethnic Chinese population. "Heuleu-Fule" is not Türkic, and may be a transription of one of local languages - Translator's Note)  Tsunki received a name Heunei, which in the language of House of Wei means: hereditary sovereign (not Türkic - Translator's Note). These two people lived with great consent, they divided aimak (province), and everyone ruled his half. Afuchjilo lived on the northern, and Tsunki lived on the southern side (of the mountain ridge).

490 Deulun came with an army for suppression; Afuchfilo defeated him; then Deulun with his army left back to the east. In the fourtieth year (of the reign?, четвертоенадесять), 490, Afuchjilo sent Shanhuyuechje to the capital to present two arrows in tribute and commissioned him to report: "Jujan is an ill-intentioned vassal of the Son of Sky; I adviced against, but he did not listen to me; and therefore I, having seceded, came there, and myself declared myself a ruler. I should, for pleasure to the Son of Sky, destroy Jujan by weapons." Siao-vyn-di disbelieved him, and sent envoy Üydi to spy a state of affairs. Afuchjilo and Tsunki sent with Üydi envoy Bogai, and with him presented the Court with a tribute of local goods. Also was directed to send with Üydi to Gaogyuans a court dignitary ³ Ketszuhun Chanshe-no, and supply everyone (Tele ruler) with one embroidered outer attire with lining, and a hundred pieces of different silk fabrics.

1) That is Oikhor (Uigur) migration from upper Syalenga (Selenga)west to the Irtysh. See hist. Abul-kazi-khan. P. 2. Ch. 7. pages 122 and on.
2) Missing note
3) Great emperor.
4) Yuav-vai San-ki Shi-lan.
253 (309 PDF)

Subsequently the Idanians (Idan = Ch. version of Abdaly = Ephtalite) killed Tsunki, and took in captivity his sons and grandsons, specifically: Mivotu and others. His people was ruined: some submitted to the (Tabgach) House of Wei, the others gave up to Jujans. It was directed to send the commander ¹ Myn Wei to accept those who submitted and to settle them near fortress Gao-p'hin-chjen. After Afuchjilo a (Tele) sovereign was Baliyan. After one year Idan (Ephtalites) declared a war on Gaogyuans to force them to accept Mivotu. Baliyan wass killed and Mivotu become a (Tele) sovereign. As soon as Mivotu occupied the throne, he sent envoy to the Court with tribute; then also sent as gift a bar of gold, a bar of silver, two golden staffs, seven horses and ten camels. It was directed to the envoy Muyun-yuan to bring to Mivotu 60 pieces of different silk fabrics. Syuan-vu said in a decree: "Having occupied the country beyond the remote sands, you sufficiently displayed loyalty: seeing your diligence to the throne, by this I declare my imperial goodwill. Jujans, Idanians (Ephtalites) and Togonians (Tuyuhun, a western Syanbi state) only contacted by the road through Gao-chan (Turfan), an only point of their contact. Now, the Gao-chan has submitted, and an envoy sent was for acceptance. For Jujans the road is cut off, and adversary connetions cannot be made. Dispersed small crowds sometimes make attacks, and detain imperial messengers. This crime is beyond pardon". Soon after that, Mivotu gave a battle to Jujan sovereign Futu ² (Tarhan Khan?) on northern side of lake Phu-lei-hai, and, in defeat, fled more than 300 li to the west. Futu settled in Ivu in northern mountains.

1) Suan-wei Gan-gun Üi-lin-gan.
2) In Gan-mu: Tahan-khan, 508.
254 (310 PDF)

Before that, Kui Gya, a ruler in Gao-chan (Turfan), in a report asked the northern Court relocate him within the limits of China. Suan-vu sent Myn Wei to accept him and bring him to Ivu. The Jujans, seeing the armies of commander Myn Wei, got scared and retreated. Mivotu, having received a news that they flee from a fright, caught up with them and completely defeated them, killed Futu, on northern side of lake Phu-lej-haj, cut off his hair (sculped him) and sent it to Myn Wei; also sent to the Court with envoy five excellent horses, gold, silver, sables and different local products. It was directed with the answer to send prince ¹ Üi-lyan, and in reciprocate to grant him: a full set of musical instruments, 80 musicians, ten pieces of crimson and 60 pieces of multi-coloured silk fabrics. Mivotu sent to the Court an envoy ² with tribute of local products.

516 In the beginning of the Ming-di reign, 516, Mivotu gave a battle with Jujan sovereign Cheunu ³, and was taken prisoner. Cheunu has tied his both legs to a back of a nag and killed by quaking; varnished his skull with lacquer, 516, and used it instead of drinking cup (an ethnologic marker). The people of Mivotu aimak (province) left to Idan (Ephtalites). After several years, Idan (Ephtalites) received news that Ifu, Mivotu younger brother, came back to his horde. As soon as Ifu returned to the horde <he> sent to the Court an envoy with a congratulatory letter. It was directed to send an envoy Gugyai with others to give recognition to Ifu as a Gaogui sovereign ⁴.

1) Dun-chen-tsjy.
2) Mohekui Fynvuin Chihechjen. It is a set of Chinese sounds comprising Mongolian (i. e. Tele, i.e. Türkic) words; but exact division of the words is unknown.
3) In Gan-mu: Fuba-khan.
4) With titles: Chjen-si Gan-gun, Si-hai-gun, Khai-go-gun, Gao-gui-van (Gao-gui-van = Gao-gui-Wan = Gao-gui-King).
255 (311 PDF)

Ifu again completely defeated Jujans ¹, and Jujan sovereign Polomyn fled to Lyan-chjeu ².

522 During the reign of Chjen-guan, 522, Ifu sent to the Court an envoy with tribute, and on that occasion asked to give him koljasochku, covered cinnabar laquer, long tail with double coverlet and a pad, one umbrella and one fan, dark parasols with curved staff, five fans of red laquer, kettle drum and a pipe or a horn ³. It was directed to give. Ifu gave a battle with Jujans, and come back defeated: then his younger brother Yuegui killed him and took the throne.

534-537 During the reign of T'hyan-p'hin, 534-537, Yuegui was defeated by Jujans, and Bidi, a son of Ifu, killed Yuegui, and took the throne.

540 During the reign of Hin-ho, 540, Bidi was defeated by Jujans. Kuibin, a son of Yuegui, fled from Jujans to the eastern (Tabgach) House of Wei. Tsi Shen-vu ⁴, wishing to attract remote foreigners, suggested to the sovereign to invest Kuibin with a honor of Gaogui sovereign, and give him titles ⁵. But Kuibin soon died of illness.

1) In Gan-mu in 521.
2) Present Gansu Province.
3) All these objects were used at ceremonial appearances <and> corteges.
4) Prince Gao-huan.
5) An-bei Gan-gun, Sy-chjeu Tsy-shy.
256 (312 PDF)