Yuezhi - Gesshi

The name of an ethnic group active in ancient Central Asia. From the end of the Spring and Autumn Period to the end of the Warring States Period, they dominated the western half of the Mongolian Plateau, and shared a border with the Donghu people in the east in the area of ​​Inner Mongolia. At the end of the Qin Dynasty, Maodun Chanyu, a Xiongnu who had been held hostage by the Yuezhi, escaped from the Yuezhi and returned home. He led the Xiongnu people in an attack on the Yuezhi, pushing them westward, and then in the fourth year of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty (176 BC), he invaded the Yuezhi and conquered the Tarim Basin, the countries and peoples north of the Tianshan Mountains, and the surrounding areas, including Loulan, Wusun, and Hujie, which were under their control. It was probably at this time that the main force of the Yuezhi (the Great Yuezhi) moved north of the Tianshan Mountains toward Ili. At this time, some of the Yuezhi remained in the mid-mountain areas of Gansu and Qinghai provinces, and in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, where they were called the Little Yuezhi, and lived and assimilated with the Qiang people. After that, the main force of the Yuezhi (the Great Yuezhi) was attacked by the Xiongnu again, and it is thought that they moved to the northern part of present-day Afghanistan and defeated the Bactrian Kingdom. Among the peoples who were said to have destroyed the Bactrian Kingdom by Strabo, namely the Asii (or Asiani), Pasiani, Tochari, and Sakarauli (or Sakaraucae), it is said that the Asii or Tokari were Yuezhi, but this is not clear. Around 129 BC, Zhang Qian went to Bactria and made contact with the Yuezhi, so the Yuezhi's migration to Bactria must have been before that. From then until the Tang Dynasty, the ancient Bactrian region and the peoples based there were called the Yuezhi by the Chinese. Around the time of Christ, the Yuezhi were replaced by the Kushan (Guishao) people.

[Kazuo Eno]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

古代中央アジアに活躍した民族名。中国の春秋時代の末から戦国時代の末にかけてモンゴル高原の西半を支配し、東方の東胡(とうこ)民族と内モンゴル方面で境を接していた。秦(しん)末、月氏の人質となっていた匈奴(きょうど)の冒頓単于(ぼくとつぜんう)は月氏から逃れて帰り、匈奴民族を率いて月氏を討ち、これを西方に圧迫し、さらに漢の文帝の4年（前176）ごろ月氏を大征伐してその支配下にあった楼蘭(ろうらん)、烏孫(うそん)、呼掲(こけい)など、タリム盆地、天山山脈以北およびその周辺の諸国・諸民族を征服した。月氏の主力（大月氏）が天山山脈の北方イリ方面に移動したのは、おそらくこのときのことであろう。このとき、月氏の一部は甘粛(かんしゅく)、青海両省の中間山脈地帯から黄河の上流域に残存して小月氏とよばれ、羌(きょう)民族と混住同化した。その後月氏の主力（大月氏）はふたたび匈奴に攻撃され、今日のアフガニスタンの北部に移動してバクトリア王国を倒したと考えられる。ストラボンにバクトリア王国を滅ぼした民族として伝えられているアシイ（AsiiまたはAsiani）、パシアニPasiani、トカリTochari、サカラウリSakarauliまたはSacaraucaeのうち、アシイあるいはトカリが月氏であろうともいわれているが、明らかでない。紀元前129年ごろ、張騫(ちょうけん)はバクトリアに赴いて月氏に接触しているので、月氏のバクトリア移動はそれ以前のことである。その後唐代に至るまで、いにしえのバクトリアの地域およびそこを根拠とした民族は中国人から月氏とよばれた。紀元前後、月氏はクシャン（貴霜）民族にかわられた。

［榎　一雄］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例