Cao Ye's historical record.

As the largest consumer market and commodity distribution center in Chang 'an in Tang Dynasty, the main force of Chang 'an Xicheng was Hu merchants. They set up shops, sit in business for profit, and businessmen rush around to supply. Generally, there are people who live in Chang 'an, get married and have children, and there are many "Tuhu", that is, the second or third generation of immigrants with Hu descent. Among the beauties "Hu Ji" in Chang 'an Restaurant, there may be a conference girl named Cao. In addition, there are many Hu artists in the Royal Pear Garden. A woman surnamed Cao who entered the palace as a musician may be chosen as the emperor's concubine. However, if Cao Ye Naji was born in a happy Hu family in Chang 'an, she generally would not use the Sogdian name "Ye Na". Tang Xuanzong had 29 daughters and 30 sons. Among the recorded empresses, 20 were Liu Huafei, Zhao, Qian Fei, Wu Huifei and Liu Jieyu, and some concubines were lost, the most surprising of which was "Cao Ye Naji". The book of the New Tang Dynasty The Legend of the Emperor and Princess only contains: "Shou An Gongzhu was born in Naji, Cao Ye."

Ge said: "For a long time, there was no doubt that there was no textual research on the biological mother of Shou An Gongzhu. However, with the gradual deepening of the study on the history of cultural exchanges between the East and the West on the Silk Road, the close relationship between the Sogdians in Central Asia and ancient China has become increasingly important. "

During the Wei, Jin, Sui and Tang Dynasties, "Ji" was used to address young and beautiful women, and it was a title representing women's identity. "Yena" is a foreign word, and the surname "Cao" is a common surname used by the Sogdians born in Cao State in Central Asia when they changed their Chinese surnames into China. Is "Cao Ye Na" the Cao State in Central Asia?

It is understood that Cao Guo is a country in the Sogdian region of Central Asia, which spans Tajikistan and Uzbekistan today. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, people in Sogdian area were generally named after the country in China, such as "Nine surnames of Zhaowu". Cao Shi, like Mi's, Shi's, Kang's and An's, is one of the most common surnames of the Sioux people who enter or live in China.

Ge said that Dunhuang and Turpan documents revealed rich surname information, which greatly expanded the study of Cao's surname by later generations. The documents unearthed in Turpan recorded the names of Sogdians such as Cao, Zhou and others, and the Shishi in Xishan, Guilin was named Anye in the third year of Tang Jinglong (709).

That: Hu is in Central Asia?

As the pioneer of the "golden age", Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty owned "there are other maids in the court, and there are 3,000 rare beauties". One of them, Cao Yena, was once a concubine obsessed by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. So, as a foreign women, how did she come to China and have the opportunity to get close to Tang Dynasty? According to the clues of historical documents and the in-depth study of Sogdian culture in China by scholars at home and abroad in recent years, there are three main possibilities for the origin of women in Central Asia:

1 human servant for sale

First of all, it comes from the sale of Hu Gongnv on the Silk Road. In the Tang Dynasty, both Qiuci and Yutian owned women's shops, and Xizhou inherited the handmaiden trading market left by Gaochang, especially the handmaiden trading among the conference semifinals. Ge said that at that time, the price of handmaiden in Chang 'an, the capital of Beijing, was quite high, 250 silks per person, while that in Xizhou was only 40 silks, and Chang 'an was six times as high as that in Xizhou, which stimulated tourists from the Central Plains to buy handmaiden and bring them to Guanzhong and Jianghuai areas.

2 "Born and raised"

Secondly, it is the Sogdian women in the Sogdian Hutu settlement in Chang 'an. Hu, the nine surnames of Central Asia, moved to Chang 'an, especially the Hu people who traveled along the Silk Road, often used Chang 'an as a hub or destination for trade transit. Later, most of them stayed in Chang 'an.

3 tribute

Third, it is the "Ren Hu Daughter" or "Hu Xuan Daughter" paid by the Sogdians in Central Asia. Hu, the ninth surname of Zhaowu in Central Asia, often made formal contacts with the Tang Dynasty by means of "tribute" and "gift", with a considerable number and variety.