Jie (ethnic group)
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Bold textThe Jie (Chinese: 羯, pinyin: Jié, Wade-Giles: Chieh, it literally meant wethers or castrated male sheep.) were a member tribe of the Xiongnu confederation during the 3rd and 4th centuries AD.
Anthopologically they belonged to caucasoid racial stock and were probably related to modern Pamir Tajiks. In the period 350-352, general Ran Min ordered the complete extermination of this tribe, and due to their distinct racial features (full beards, deep-set eyes and high noses) large numbers were killed. However, the Jie continue to appear occasionally in history over the next 200 years. Erzhu Rong and Hou Jing, two famous warlords of the Northern Dynasties, were identified as Qihu 契胡 and Jiehu 羯胡 respectively, and scholars have suggested that they were Jie.
Some historians conjecture the Jie to be a medieval tribe related to modern Kets living in the Ob-Yenisey tributary. Others link the Jie with the Sogdians, and suggest that the Shi 石 family of Jie who ruled the Later Zhao state originated from the Sogdian statelet of Tashkent, which was later also known as Shi 石. An Lushan, the infamous Tang rebel general, had a Sogdian stepfather and was called a Jiehu 羯胡. Yet others trace the Jie to those Yuezhi or Tocharians who had remained in Sogdiana.
See also: List of past Chinese ethnic groups