A Research On Tangut In Yuan Dynasty

"Tangut" is the most common appellation to the Xixia adherents in Mongolian-Yuan dynasty.It’s no longer refer to the major nationality of Xixia kingdom,but has already become the name of a political community that cover all the Tangut,Han,Xianbei,Shatuo,Uighur,Jurchen,Sartuul,tibet who lived in Xixia,before 1227.Under the rule of the Yuan dynasty,Tangut people moved to all parts of the country by various chance,as joined the army,been an official or seek for knowledge.In north China,their main immigrant areas were North China Plain,On the other hand,in south China,their main immigrant areas were the lower reaches of the Yangtze River,Huainan area and Southeast Coast.However,Ningxia plain and Hexi Corridor were the main origin of these immigrants.In the early of Yuan dynasty,most Tangut people get the chance to be an official by inherited their family’s military post or belge selection.In the late of Yuan dynasty,more and more Tangut people through the imperial examination to get their official position.Although they had occupied an important position in secretariat,censorate or privy Council,but they never formed any powerful family that could influence the political situation.Benefit form their rich experiences of ruling various nationality according to their customs,the Tangut people created a series of institution to safeguard the unity of the multi-ethnic country.There have been many changes manifested in Tangut’s name,marriage and family concepts,since they leaved their homeland.They used family name which the emperor given them,change it by themselves,or even abandon their surname.Sometimes they respectively used Mongolian name and Chinese name at the different occasions.In terms of Intermarriage,the male Tangut tend to married with an Chinese wife,but the female tend to married with an Mongolian husband.These interracial marriages were more happened in late Yuan dynasty.Influenced by Chinese culture,some Tangut Women choose preserve chastity after the death of her husband.In the Tangut’s family concept,there were four important things:whole family living together,care for elders,educate children and follow the family etiquettes.Monks and scholars are the most favored,Among all Tangut people,who belonging to the varied household register.To the Tangut scholar,Wu Cheng and his Neo-Confucianism were most favorable in Yuan dynasty.And when they accept these Confucian orthodoxy,they became to enthusiastic on promote the development of Confucian-Education in local society.Meanwhile,the conception of loyalty had rooted in Tangut scholar’s mind,and urge them make the political choice that to be loyal to the Yuan Dynasty Emperor in late Yuan and Early Ming Period.Some behaviors indicate that Tangut scholars were believed in Buddhism,such as making friends with monks,participated in the restoration of temples,printed Xixia Buddhist scriptures and wrote calligraphy for the temples.It means the "religious integration" of Confucian,Buddhism,and Taoism had influence them.But Islam and Christianity can hardly spread among them.Since the middle and late Yuan Dynasty,The Tangut families who immigrated to the Central Plains and south of the Yangtze River,always tend to be traced back to the Han family ancestors when they need to constructing the pedigree of pre Xixia period.The previous local identity of have been replaced by these consanguinity identity,and it eventually destroyed the Self-identity which could distinguish between Han and Tangut.Further more,since Ming dynasty establish,it makes that Tangut people no longer as a political privilege group.All the ties broken means that community would eventually disintegrated,and it caused that Tangut completed the historical process of national integration in Ming dynasty.