Kunlun slaves in the Tang Dynasty: Why did the Tang dynasty people show off their wealth as "slaves".

The prosperous age of ancient China was like the Tang Dynasty, when all nations came to celebrate and thousands of ethnic groups gathered. However, under the glory of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, it could not conceal the breathtaking human trade in the world at that time. However, in the prosperous market in Chang'an, what thrived at that time was not the black trade as we know it now, but the most popular slave in the Tang Dynasty-Kunlun slave

1. The source of Kunlun slave

The word "Kunlun" of Kunlun slave, It does not refer to Kunlun Mountain. In our impression, the group of "Kunlun slaves" only comes from the old Ge in the hit drama "The Twelve Hours of Chang'an". So, as the main "commodity" of population trade in the Tang Dynasty, what is the origin of Kunlun slaves?

First of all, "Kunlun" is not a place name, but a transliterated word. It comes from "Qurum" in Turkic language, and the meaning is "black soot". Therefore, the combination of "Kunlun" and "slave" refers to dark-skinned slaves, which are somewhat reminiscent of the notorious black trade.

However, Kunlun slaves are indeed not black Africans. Their real origin is the brown race from Southeast Asia and South Asia. Because Indians in South Asia and some indigenous people in Southeast Asia are indeed darker than the Chinese, so in contrast, there is a saying that "Kunlun" is used to refer to these slaves.

Compared with blacks, Kunlun slaves are smaller and thinner. They belong to the Nigrito race of Southeast Asia and South Asia. The height of men is generally under 150 cm, and the height of women is under 142 cm. However, this race also looks better than the appearance of blacks. Their hair is curly, their lips are slightly thicker, their faces are wider, and their body proportions are very even. As a result, Kunlun slaves, as a group smaller than the Huaxia nationality, were naturally welcomed in the Tang Dynasty.

In addition, it is possible that Kunlun slaves inherited the physical characteristics of the black race, their endurance is full, and they are particularly good at swimming and diving. Their thinking is also very simple, they are often able to obey the buyer's orders and resolutely implement the orders issued by the owner. Even if they were spurred by the "master", they did not complain. Therefore, it is no wonder that Kunlun slaves were very popular in the Tang Dynasty. They were simply the ideal "slaves" in the old society!

2. Kunlun slave trade

Perhaps it is precisely because of the weakness of the "Kunlun people" that this ethnic group is bullied by other ethnic groups, and they are sold into slavery. At that time, the Kunlun slave trade was almost all over the world, and almost all coastal cities could buy them. Fortunately, as a major customer in this market, our Tang Dynasty did not personally participate in this infamous population trade, so at most, it left a narrative to encourage the atmosphere.

At that time, there were two main ways for Kunlun slaves to enter the Tang Dynasty: the tribute of Southeast Asian and South Asian countries; and the private black slave trade. Those Kunlun slaves who were sent to the court following the tribute mainly served the royal family and nobles, and some were left behind in the Tang Dynasty by foreign envoys who were visited by the pilgrimage. But what is truly tragic is those Kunlun slaves who fell into the hands of civilian traffickers.

Since the Tang Dynasty maintained close ties with the Western world, there was an endless stream of ships traveling between the Tang Dynasty and the Arab world. Therefore, those Arab businessmen who came to China to do business would often drop in some Kunlun people to enter the Chinese market. .

Some of the Kunlun people who were brought into China by the Arabs were coaxed to West Asia by the Arabs, and then were taken on board merchant ships inexplicably, and since then embarked on the road of slavery. Of course, there were also black Africans who were looted by Westerners from Africa, and these people were sent to the Tang market that yearned for Kunlun slaves in such a vague way.

If you are lucky, you may meet a good buyer and go to the owner’s house and become a small slave. If you are not lucky, you will even be affected by the war and eventually die on the battlefield.

3. Kunlun slaves in the Tang Dynasty

Actually, the Kunlun slaves' activities in China predate the Tang Dynasty and finally the Song and Yuan dynasties. Its span can be said to run through the entire Medieval period of Chinese history. It's just that people's admiration for Kunlun slaves was no better than that of the Tang Dynasty's dignitaries. The good qualities of

Kunlun slaves are their most famous "selling point". In "The Twelfth Hour in Chang'an," Military Attaché Yao once teased Zhang Xiaojing about Kunlun slaves, saying that they were very honest and docile and let themThey will do it too. However, when they saw Ge Lao, they were naturally shocked. After all, Ge Lao's image is more like a vicious slave owner than the average Kunlun slave.

Not much gossip. The people of the Tang dynasty just fancy Kunlun slaves' character and bought them home as writer slaves, acting as slaves for chores. As for those female Kunlun people, they are mainly responsible for washing clothes and cooking.

However, although the Kunlun slave trade was prosperous, the number of Kunlun slaves entering the Tang Dynasty market was small. For example, the Kunlun slaves who were paid tribute as tribute had only 2 to 4 people almost every time, and the number was far from matching the demand. As for the Kunlun slaves sold by the people, they were carried out because of war, looting, swindling and abduction, so they were naturally "hard to find a slave." The Tang Dynasty's vision of Kunlun slaves was far beyond Chang'an. Kunlun slaves had become a "commodity" for prominent people to show off their wealth throughout the country.

However, after all, the prosperous Tang Dynasty was only for a while, when the prosperity fell, wherever the war went, these Kunlun slaves had a more tragic ending.

In the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, Kunlun slaves were scattered around the world, and some were taken into the army to serve as "shields." At that time, when the generals of the Liang Dynasty were fighting with the Hou Zhou army, due to the strong combat strength of the soldiers of the Hou Zhou Dynasty, the general Liang Chao often took a group of Kunlun slaves to walk in front of the army to "shield arrows" in order to reduce the burden of the Liang army soldiers. casualties.

There was a precedent for the same thing as early as the Sui Dynasty: when the Sui general Chen Leng attacked the island country in Southeast Asia, he once arrested some Kunlun people as slaves and asked them to do laundry, cook, and chores in the army. However, during the war, Chen Leng put them in front of the team, so that the aboriginal attacks were first buffered by Kunlun Slaves... These shocking stories of

all illustrate the misery of Kunlun Slaves as "slaves". We are always awake not to indulge in the lives of others. After the Song and Yuan dynasties, China ushered in sea bans and seclusion in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. What makes people helpless is that, on the contrary, this national policy that hurts China finally ended the Kunlun slave's life as a slave.

Reference materials:

1, "A Brief Talk on Kunlun Slaves" (Zhao Jun)

2, "A Brief Discussion on Monk Slaves and Kunlun Slaves-Black Slaves in the Tang, Song, and Yuan Dynasties" (Xiao Zhongchun, Su Hong)