Chinese funerary statuette (Mingqi) of a young foreign man 3rd C. CE

September 05, 2023

Chinese funerary statuette (Mingqi) of a young foreign man 3rd C. CE

"However, the Jie (羯), ‘a separate branch of the Xiongnu (匈奴別部)’, who founded the Later Zhao Dynasty (319–351 ad), appear to have possessed West Eurasian physiognomy, that is, ‘deep-set eyes’, ‘high nose bridges’ and ‘heavy facial hair’. The Jinshu relates that when the Later Zhao Dynasty was overthrown, the Han Chinese rebel leader Ran Min massacred about 200,000 Jie, or those with ‘high nose bridges’ and ‘heavy beard (高鼻多須)’ (Jinshu 107.2792). Moreover, the Jinshu records the following conversation between a Jie notable and a Han Chinese official:

Sun Zhen, the chamberlain (詹事) of the crown prince, asked the minister (侍中) Cui Yue, ‘I suffer from eye diseases. What is the remedy for it?’ Yue, who had always been informal towards Zhen, teased him saying, ‘if [you] urinate in the middle [of the eye], it will be cured’. ‘How can you urinate in the eye?’ Zhen asked. ‘Your eyes are dented. You can urinate in the middle’, Yue said. Zhen harboured hatred and reported this to [Crown Prince] [Shi] Xuan (石宣). Xuan was the most ‘barbarian (hu 胡)’-looking among the princes. His eyes were deep. Hearing this, he became very angry. He killed Yue and his son."

-Joo-Yup Lee and Shuntu Kuang