Wuhuan (ethnic group)

Wuhuan (Chinese: 烏桓） Entry translated and edited from the 1999 edition of the Chinese 《辭海》

"A name of an ancient people. They were also called the Wu-wan 《烏丸》. They were an originally part of a nomadic tribe called the Dong-hu (東胡. During the end of the Qin Dynasty （秦 221 BCE- 206 BCE）and the beginning of the Han Dynasty (漢 206 BCE- 220 CE), the Dong-hu were defeated by the Xiongnu (Hsiung-nu 匈奴) peoples and one group of the Dong-hu settled near Wu-huan mountain (烏桓山) and thus acquired their name. Their lifestyle of that of nomadic herding and hunting and had a strong matriarchical society. Women particpated in the tanning of leather, sowing, and the making of leather shoes and there was a male smith industry that provided iron tools and weapons. Following the defeat of the Xiongnu in the reign of Emperor Wu of Han (漢武帝), the Wu-huan expanded to Shanggu (上谷), Yuyang (漁陽), Youbeiping（右北平), Liaoxi (遼西), and Liaodong (遼東). The Wu-huan were influenced greatly by the Han and eventually began developing agriculture. There were annual border markets held with the Han in Shanggu and Ningcheng（寧城). In the twelfth year of the Jian'an period (建安-207 CE), the general Cao Cao (曹操) moved about ten-thousand Wu-huan tribesmen to the central plains while some remained in the northeast (Manchuria), who too were eventually assimilated by other peoples."