The movement of the Chinese from west to east and their expansion from Central China to the north-east and south is the history of this part of Asia. On the other hand the opposition of the northern ethnical groups, the dispersion of these aborigenes and their respective decline represent the history of these groups.
According to the archeological and ethnographical evidences it might be supposed that this part of Asia some four or five thousand years ago was populated by Tungus, Turko-Mongols and Palaeoasiatic groups. The southern part of the second region and whole of the third region were occupied by the Tungus and Turko-Mongols, the ethnical differentiation of which must be referred to prehistoric times. The Tungus groups were probably living to the east and south-east of the Turko-Mongols. All the rest of this part was populated by Palaeoasiatic groups and in addition the whole of the Amur River basin was Palaeoasiatic area. The archeological evidences resulting from my excavations in 1916 and the archeological evidences from the Ussuri River basin, Sakhalien Island, Kamchatka and the lower course of the Amur River, supply materials, which show that the cultural state of the population of these regions was similar. The people lived in underground houses, like some palaeoasiatic groups of the present time, they used the bow and arrows with heads of stone or bone, they practised at one time the ceramic arts and had domesticated animals, — the dog, the pig and, may be, the reindeer. The principal occupations of this population were fishing, hunting and also the searching for nutritive roots. They did not know iron and brass [13].
The Tungus and Turko-Mongols of the Yellow River basin and Mongolia were in a stoneage culture, but the lack of archeological evidence does not allow me to describe the details of their culture. Meanwhile some ethnographical evidence leads me to suppose, that some ethnical groups used Ceramic utensils and knew agriculture.
The original Chinese area at that time was confined to a territory west of these ethnical groups; the question of the original Chinese site, I leave open. For my present study it is not important to be precise as to whether they came from the far western region or were in this territory since the Old Stone Age.
The advances of the Chinese on the east along the yellow River, and from this valley, to the north-east and south, and the pushing back of the Tungus from their original territory eastward and northward were the first important changes preceding the final fixation of the ethnical elements. It can be supposed that the vanguard of the Tungus came through Manchuria to the banks of the Amur River in the second millenium B. C. or, may be, sooner and there pushed out the Palaeoasiatic ethnical groups. They adopted from the Northern Palaeoasiatics the reindeer, the sledge, some utensils and so on, and migrated northward and westward, into Siberia, then almost free from population. In this cold northern country they forgot the ceramic arts but conserved their open coat which is clearly of southern origin, the bow and arrow of the southern type and so on, Their activity led them into the open area of the present Siberia and they pushed the Paleoasiatics to the borders of their former area. The Tungus folk-lore offers some evidence regarding these migrations from the south-east to the western region of their present territory. At the present time this territory lies from the Yenisei River up to the Pacific coast and from the Arctic Ocean down to Mongolia and Southern Manchuria,
The second group of Tungus stopped on the southern affluents of the Amur River. They adapted to their culture same palaeoasiatic elements and used underground houses at the rime when the Chinese chronicles of the Han Dynasty were written. The breeding of the pig, hunting and fishing, and the culture of «five kinds of cereals» became their principal occupations. These Tungus, the ancestors of the Manchus, formed an independent state in the valley of the Sungari River and pushed out some Palaeoasiatics, who organized their own small state within the limits of the present Maritime Government and Northern Korea. Little by little these later Tungus spread their influence over the isolated Tungus and Palaeoasiatic groups and founded a power within the limits of Manchuria, the Ussuri River basin, and, perhaps, Korea Doubtless the Manchus fell under the influence of their neighbours, — the Mongols, Palaeoasiatics and the later Chinese immigrants. As regards the language, the Manchu, or southern branch of the Tungus linguistic family, in comparison with the proper Tungus, is much less developed from the point of view of grammar and is under the influence of other non-Tungus tongues.
The second important ethnical movement is connected with the success and failure of Turkic and Mongol ethnical groups. The first struggle between the Turko-Mongols and Chinese resulted in the failure of the Turks and this was the immediate cause of the Turkic-Mongol movement northward and westward, who then pushed out some Turkic and Tungus tribes. Those went northward and occupied the valley of the middle course of the Lena River. During this migration they lost the horse and, may be, cattle also but conserved the sheep. Then, in the centre of the Tungus area there is now living a tribe of southern nomadic origin speaking the Turkic dialect or to say better a dialect especially influenced by Turkic tongue — the Yakuts — who differ absolutely from surrounding peoples. The Manchus opposed the Mongol movement from which arose a series of wars. Since a lasting Mongol control of Manchuria was not secured by colonization, the Mongols have been losing their influence over the Manchus. In fact, the history of Manchuria consists in the alternate successes and failures of the struggles among the Mongols, Manchus, other Tungus groups and Palaeoasiatics.
Meanwhile the Chinese civilization, in the growth and spread of its influence over native tribes, created a strong power, which also took part in the racial and ethnical struggle. The control of Korea and Manchuria was the inevitable national objective of the Chinese policy. Many times they took the power but could not keep it and finally lost the control of their own country. Successively the Tungus and Mongol powers controlled China. Now, however, some of these tribes live peacefully together in Manchuria and Mongolia. For example, the Dahurs, who were probably tne founders of the Liao Dynasty (in Manchuria, Mongolia and Northern China), are living now in small villages among the Chinese and Manchus in Manchuria and among the Mongols in Hulum-Buir.
In the XVII century there appeared a now ethnical factor in this part of Asia. The Russian invasion into the northern region caused great disturbance among the Dahurs who lived in the Aighun district after their political downfall in the XII century; and the Manchu Government was compelled to send military forces to the Amur River. This was not a purely military expedition, but an organized movement to colonize the region with the Manchus who were then organized on a military basis. Such was the accidental origin of the Manchu agricultural colony on the banks of the Amur River. The Russian invasion was not stopped but progressed slowly from Transbaikal into Amurland and Manchuria. In the XVIII century it spread over Transbaikalia, in the XIXth over Amurland and Ussuriland; and in the XXth century it spread over Manchuria and Mongolia. The Manchu Dynasty paid no heed to this migration and finally lost its influence over Northern China. Then because it has no roots in Southern China, it lost its power once insignificant European pressure was exerted.
In spite of this periodical failure of the Chinese to control Manchuria and Mongolia they spread their influence and became the masters of the ethnical situation among the populations of the northern region. By the end of the XIX century their colonies were so large that the Chinese did not need to marry the natives for lack of Chinese women. Meanwhile the Chinese of Manchuria have become so amalgamated with Manchus and other ethnical groups that now it is almost impossble to distinguish the Chinese elements. In the Aighun district they were even incorporated in the Manchu military organization with all the special rights conferred thereupon. Thus the Manchus came to represent a very limited portion of the local population and little by little became only a small oasis among the Chinese immigrants.
At the present time the ethnographical distribution can be represented as follow:
The first region is occupied by the Tungus groups of the first Tungus migration except a limited area in the middle course of the Amur River, which is occupied by the Dahurs of uncertain origin but speaking now the Mongolian dialect, the Manchus and some Chinese. The country at the mouth of the Amur River is populated by the Palaeoasiatics — Gilyaks.
The second region is occupied by the Mongols and Mongolzed Tungus in the western part and by the Mongolized Tungus and Manchus, also partly the Dahurs in the eastern part.
The third region is occupied by the Manchus and other Tungus groups of southern branch and the Chinese in the northern part and by Chinese in the southern part.
The fourth region is occupied exclusively by the Koreans, the probable descendants of paaeoasiatic tribes, influenced by Tungus and Chinese.
Finally, the Russians movement in Manchuria met the Chinese migration and almost stopped it at the southern limit of the first region. Thus at the present time the influence of Chinese and Russian migrations is spreading over the insignificant native population, excepting the Koreans who are under the Japanese political and anthropological influence. The Russian migration is culturally effective because of its military forces and new technical knowledge while the Chinese migration is effective because of its adaptability to the local conditions and its quantity.
The general movement of peoples may be thus
summarized: First, the movement of the Chinese east, and northward provoked the
first Tungus migration and the removal of the Palaeoasiatics into Korea and the
coasts of Asia. Second, the movement of the Chinese northward provoked the
first migration of the Mongols westward, northward and eastward, causing the
movement of the Huns into Europe, the migration of a Turkic group northward and
a second migration of the Tungus (Manchus). Third, The slow spread of the
Chinese was stopped by the later Russians but the sinification of the Manchus
is almost accomplished by this time.
13. I think that brass may have been known in the southern part of this area before the Chinese entered.