五胡十六國時期 河西地域의 文化 多樣性 재조명

Abstract

In the Sixteen Kingdoms of Wu Hu (五胡 “Five Barbaric Tribes,” 304-439) Period several powers including Han Chinese and Wu Hu developed as separate political regimes in the area of Hexi aside from Central China, which was experiencing political turbulence. Hexi was located where it allowed brisk cultural exchange of the East and the West. Several ethnic groups dwelt together and the natural environment allowed both farming and nomadism. The discourse on the Hexi culture has been perceived as a combination of several cultures and ethnic groups. However, the influx of several small powers hindered unification of the region by one dominant power; and rather, diverse political regimes and ethnic cultures coexisted composing a mosaic structure. Analyzing cultural diversity of Hexi, I scrutinize cultural, political, and economic characteristics of each power of the Hexi region. By doing so, I argue that the geographical advantages and emerging political powers led Hexi region to an economic unit developing distinct culture from others. Each regime had different characteristics shown through its travel route, important locales, and political ideology. Such regimes as the Western Liang, the Southern Liang, and the Later Liang among a number of small powers stood out taking advantages of the downfall of the Later Liang (後涼). On the one hand, due to sharp conflicts between powers, each power could not survive for long time, and the short lives of powers allowed cultural diversity and co-existence of different ethnic groups. On the other hand, however, despite each power's distinct cultural characteristics, frequent encroachment between each other, emigration policy, and blurred territorial boundaries also resulted a hodgepodge of diverse cultures. In fact, the Hexi region was a focal point of foreign trade due to its geographical advantages. Powers in the Hexi region developed mainly based on castle-cities (a city inside a castle) to continue its regime. Political philosophies such as Confucianism, indigenous belief, and Buddhism played the most significant role. By looking at political characteristics, economic circumstances, and cultural structure, I prove the Hexi region as a distinct and independent region where embraced co-existing diverse cultures.