Hsiung-nu

English

Etymology

From Mandarin 匈奴 (Xiōngnú), Wade–Giles romanization: Hsiung¹-nu².

Noun

Hsiung-nu pl (plural only)

1. Alternative form of Xiongnu
   • 1964, William Samolin, East Turkistan to the Twelfth Century‎^[1], The Hague: Mouton & Co, page 27:

     During this period the Hsiung-nu were weak and failed to assert their power in the region. The more powerful states, Shan-shan (75) in the Lop region, So-ch'e (76) (Yarqand) and Yü-t'ien (77) (Khotan) had begun to absorb their lesser neighbors.

   • 1970, René Grousset, translated by Naomi Walford, The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia‎^[2], New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 127:

     The founder of the Han dynasty, the emperor Kao-ti, hastened to the scene, drove back the Hsiung-nu, but was then blockaded by them on the Paiteng plateau near Pingcheng, in the present-day district of Tatung, on the frontiers of Shansi.

   • 1979, Yasushi Inoue, “Lou-lan”, in Edward Seidensticker, transl., Lou-lan and Other Stories‎^[3], Kodansha International, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 14:

     The men of Lou-Ian thought that they would not again see the Hsiung-nu. They had heard that the Han had routed the nomads and they were not beyond believing the rumors. They had been told by travelers that there were Han stations at Chiu-ch'üan and Tun-huang, once Hsiung-nu strongholds, that the Great Wall had been extended to Chiu-ch'üan, that to the west of Tun-huang there were numerous beacon towers and strong points, among them the Jade Gate and the Yang Barrier, and that communication routes between Han China and the Western Marches had been secured.

   • 1979, Anthony François Paulus Hulsewé, China in Central Asia: The Early Stage: 125 BC - AD 23, page 61:

     There are instances in which a state accepted a princess both from Han and from the Hsiung-nu, and "once Lou-lan had surrendered and presented tributary gifts [to the Han emperor], the Hsiung-nu heard of those events and sent out troups to attack [Lou-lan]. Whereupon [the king of] Lou-lan sent one son as a hostage to the Hsiung-nu and and one as hostage to Han."

   • 2001, George Fetherling, “CHING K'o”, in The Book of Assassins‎^[4], Edison, NJ: Castle Books, published 2006, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 98:

     The remaining major kingdoms (Han, Ch'u, Chao, Yen and Ch'i) searched for a means to stop the aggressive Ch'in, who appeared to have more in common with the Hsiung-nu than with the Chinese.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Hsiung-nu.

Further reading

• “Hsiung-nu”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.