Five Barbarians

The Five Barbarians, or Wu Hu (Chinese: 五胡; pinyin: Wǔ Hú), is a Chinese historical exonym for five ancient non-Han "Hu" peoples who immigrated to northern China in the Eastern Han dynasty, and then overthrew the Western Jin dynasty and established their own kingdoms in the 4th–5th centuries. The peoples categorized as the Five Barbarians were the Xiongnu, Jie, Xianbei, Qiang and Di. Out of the five tribal ethnic groups, the Xiongnu, Jie and Xianbei were nomadic peoples from the northern steppes. The Di and Qiang were from the highlands of western China. The Qiang were predominantly herdsmen, while the Di were farmers. While these people's ethnic identity is uncertain, theories and research suggest that they may have Turkic, Proto-Mongolic, Tibeto-Burman or Tungusic origins. Although the term "Five Barbarians" is often used alongside the Sixteen Kingdoms, there were in fact more than five relevant non-Han groups during the period, such as the Dingling and Wuhuan. Patrilineally, the ruling family of Cheng-Han descended from the Bandun Man, also known as Cong (賨), but are referred to as Ba-Di as they mingled with the Di tribes. The Juqu clan of Northern Liang, though often classed as Xiongnu, were of Lushuihu ethnicity, while Gao Yun, who can either be interpreted as the last ruler of Later Yan or first ruler of Northern Yan, was an ethnic Goguryeo.