Xiutu

Xiutu (Chinese: 休屠王; pinyin: Xiūtú Wáng, also rendered as Hsiu-tu, lit. "The king who puts an end to massacres") was a king in the Hexi corridor of the Gansu region, west of Wuwei, during the 2nd century BCE. "Xiutu" (休屠) is also an early Chinese transliteration for the name of the Buddha.^[1]^[2]

According to the Shiji and the Book of Han, King Xiutu, together with King Hunye, was a vassal of the Xiongnu under their ruler Yizhixie (伊稚邪 126–114 BCE), and was antagonistic with the Han dynasty.^[3]^[4]

King Xiutu, considered as "Hu" (胡, barbarian) by the Han,^[5] was positioned between the Xiongnu tribes of the Mongolian steppes to the north, the Han to the east, the Saka to the northwest, the Tocharians to the west, and the Southern Qiang (南羌, Nanqiang) to the south.

Although a vassal, Xiutu was probably not himself a Xiongnu: it is actually reported that his territory was occupied by the Xiongnu as they were pushed westward by the Han.^[6]

^ Cite error: The named reference DNW was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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^ Liu, Jinbao (25 March 2022). The General Theory of Dunhuang Studies. Springer Nature. p. 9. ISBN 978-981-16-9073-0.
^ Hanshu (28.2) says: “自武威以西,本匈奴昆邪王休屠王地,” meaning: “West of Wuwei, there was the Xiongnu king Hunye (and) the king Xiutu.”
^ His son Jin Midi was said to be a Hu: 貴戚多竊怨，曰：「陛下妄得一胡兒，反貴重之！」上聞，愈厚焉。in Ford, Randolph B. (23 April 2020). Rome, China, and the Barbarians: Ethnographic Traditions and the Transformation of Empires. Cambridge University Press. p. 124, note 96. ISBN 978-1-108-59660-2.
^ The Hanshu yin yi (漢書音義) says: "The place where the Xiongnus worshipped Heaven was originally at the foot of Mt. Ganquan (Ganquan xia 甘泉下), in Yunyang district (雲陽). After the Qin (秦) took their land, they moved westward to King Xiutu. Xiutu possessed the anthropomorphic golden statue for worshipping Heaven." (匈奴祭天处本在雲陽甘泉山下、秦奪其地、後徙之休屠王右地、故休屠有祭天金人、象. 祭天人也。)

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[LJ9-3] Liu, Jinbao (25 March 2022). The General Theory of Dunhuang Studies. Springer Nature. p. 9. ISBN 978-981-16-9073-0.

[4] Hanshu (28.2) says: “自武威以西,本匈奴昆邪王休屠王地,” meaning: “West of Wuwei, there was the Xiongnu king Hunye (and) the king Xiutu.”

[5] His son Jin Midi was said to be a Hu: 貴戚多竊怨，曰：「陛下妄得一胡兒，反貴重之！」上聞，愈厚焉。in Ford, Randolph B. (23 April 2020). Rome, China, and the Barbarians: Ethnographic Traditions and the Transformation of Empires. Cambridge University Press. p. 124, note 96. ISBN 978-1-108-59660-2.

[6] The Hanshu yin yi (漢書音義) says: "The place where the Xiongnus worshipped Heaven was originally at the foot of Mt. Ganquan (Ganquan xia 甘泉下), in Yunyang district (雲陽). After the Qin (秦) took their land, they moved westward to King Xiutu. Xiutu possessed the anthropomorphic golden statue for worshipping Heaven." (匈奴祭天处本在雲陽甘泉山下、秦奪其地、後徙之休屠王右地、故休屠有祭天金人、象. 祭天人也。)

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