What is the origin of Kunlun slaves that make the Tang nobles fondle admiringly?

Anyone who has seen The Longest Day in Chang 'an probably knows that a man in black appeared in the TV series, and this man in black is Ge Lao, the owner of Chang 'an underground city. The Longest Day in Chang 'an describes Chang 'an in Tang Dynasty. Chang 'an in the Tang Dynasty was already an international metropolis at that time, and many foreigners gathered here to do business. It is not surprising that black people appear in TV dramas. Perhaps many people don't know that blacks were called "Kunlun" in ancient times, while blacks sold as slaves were called "Kunlun slaves". The question is, why do people in the Tang Dynasty like "Kunlun slaves"? Do the "Kunlun slaves" really make the nobles fondle admiringly? In order to find the answer, let's start with the history of "Kunlun slaves".

Ge Lao, the owner of the underground city

The history of "Kunlun slaves", where did they come from? "Kunlun slave" is named after the ancient "Kunlun State", which is the general name of Indo-China Peninsula and Nanyang Islands today, not "Kunlun Mountain". Some scholars have studied that "Kunlun slaves" appeared in ancient books from Han Dynasty to Song Dynasty. By looking up ancient books, the word "Kunlun" was found in the Book of Jin. What do these two words mean?

According to the Book of Jin? Xiao zong's biography of Thailand records: "When I got it later, I was an imperial secretary. In the weaving workshop, it is long and dark, and the palace people call it Kunlun. " Li Lingrong, the mother of Sima Yao, Emperor Xiaowu of Jin Dynasty, was called "Kunlun (black)" when she was a maid-in-waiting. Therefore, some scholars suspect that Li Taihou is a black woman. Of course, there is another possibility. Li Taihou looks like a black woman. When she was a maid-in-waiting in the harem, she was not favored by others, so many people used "Kunlun slave" to laugh at her appearance. However, it is also possible that Li Taihou is a half-breed. ) In short, the Book of Jin used "Kunlun" to describe Li Taihou (Li Lingrong), indicating that there were already "Kunlun slaves" at that time.

Kunlun slave

In the Book of Songs written by Shen Yue in the Southern Dynasties, it was recorded: "Another Kunlun slave was taken captive and a hundred officials were beaten with sticks." Emperor Wu of Song Wudi once prized Kunlun slaves and imprisoned them in the palace as thugs. Anyone who doesn't listen to him orders the slaves in Kunlun to beat his officials with sticks. At that time, many ministers were beaten by black people, which made people panic. According to Song Shu's records, the men in black actually appeared in the imperial court and became the trusted ministers around the emperor. It can be seen that blacks were popular in the Central Plains during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. In the Tang Dynasty, there were more "Kunlun slaves".

In New Tang Book? "The Biography of Nanman" contains: "In the eighth year of Yuanhe (8 13), monks, slaves, five-colored parrots and birds were offered." Tang Xianzong Yuanhe eight years, four monks and four slaves, plus rare birds. The word "monk and girl" in New Tang Book is a transliteration of Persian (zangī Ι), which means indigenous black people in South China Sea countries or black people on the east coast of Africa. There is no need to use "Kunlun slaves" here, probably because they are not sure whether these two blacks are Southeast Asians or Africans, so they are called "monks and women".

According to "Old Tang Book", "From the south, everyone has curly hair and black body, and the common name is Kunlun." According to the Book of Old Tang Dynasty, the blacks were in the south of Lin Yi, and the blacks here were collectively called "Kunlun". And "Lin Yi" is located in Southeast Asia, which is Hue area in southern Vietnam today. It is said that "Lin Yi" was a place where the black trade in ancient Southeast Asia was concentrated, and many black people were trafficked to China from here.

In addition to Southeast Asian countries paying tribute to China, in the Arab Empire of Central Asia in the early Northern Song Dynasty, there were also records of paying tribute to the Northern Song Dynasty as "Kunlun slaves": "In the second year of Taiping and the second year of Xingguo (AD 977), Dashi (Arab Empire) sent envoys such as Pusina, deputy envoy Maha and judge Rop, and their followers were called Kunlun slaves." According to Tang Shu and Song Shi, all slaves in Kunlun came from tribute. The "Kunlun slaves" paid tribute by the Arab Empire were sold from Africa by businessmen of the Arab Empire.

Trafficked black people

Jin Yong's doyen once wrote an article to interpret Pei Qi's Kunlun Slave, in which he explained that the Kunlun slaves in the Tang Dynasty came from India because Tang Xuanzang had contacts with India. Moreover, it is entirely possible for these people to cross Kunlun Mountain and come to the Tang Dynasty. From the description in Kunlun Slave, Kunlun Slave Workshop sells medicine in Luoyang, much like Indians today. Not to mention that ancient Africans did not sell medicines, even Africans now estimate that they rarely sell medicines.

According to historical records, there are two kinds of blacks in China. One is Africans who paid tribute (or were sold by merchants) from the Arab Empire in Central Asia, and were called "monk slaves" at that time. Another kind of black people who pay tribute to China from Southeast Asian countries (selling pirates) are called "Kunlun slaves". There is also a saying that the monks and slaves in Tang Shu and Song Shi are all from the east coast of Africa, but it is impossible to determine where they come from. Therefore, in the history books, there are two different records of "monk slave" and "Kunlun slave".

Why were Kunlun slaves so popular in the Tang Dynasty? Pei Kun, a writer in the Tang Dynasty, wrote Legend, in which there are two legendary novels, one is called Nie Yinniang and the other is Kunlun Slave. Many people have probably seen the movie Nie Yinniang, but they don't know much about Kunlun Slave. Ancient blacks were written into Tang legends by writers of the Tang Dynasty, which is absolutely rare in the history of China literature. It can be concluded that "Kunlun slaves" were very popular in the Tang Dynasty. Why did "Kunlun slaves" get popular in the Tang Dynasty?

Kunlun slave

Qu Dajun, a beginner in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, explained in his book Yue Xin Yu: "The South China Sea is full of mysterious countries, and the west is half black." In the Tang Dynasty, aristocrats were popular in buying men in black to look after their homes. They were called "ghost slaves" and "men in black". Absolutely amazing, negative 100 kg. Sex is pure, not escaping migration, and lust is unreasonable, also called barbarism. There is also a black man who can enter the water, called "Kunlun slave". In the Tang Dynasty, there were many animals in your family, including the commander of Nanhai. He often rode Kunlun slaves for pottery, and he was brave and good at floating in the water.

According to the records of Xinyu, Guangdong, Kunlun slaves are strong, can carry hundreds of pounds and can dive and swim. Therefore, it is reasonable for Song Wudi Emperor Wu of Song to leave it as a bodyguard. And these black people are honest and don't run away easily. Although they have a strong desire, they don't understand the language at that time, just like savages. The nobles in the Tang Dynasty bought these men in black not only to do heavy work, but also to escape, so they were deeply loved by the nobles in the Tang Dynasty.

In addition, there is a plot in the TV series "Da Gong Ming Ci", which shows the love of people in the Tang Dynasty for "Kunlun slaves" at that time. Princess Taiping and Webster went out shopping and met a mask vendor in the street. Princess Taiping was curious to see a mask as black as the bottom of a pot and asked the mask vendor. The stall owner replied: "This is called Kunlun slave mask. Wang Shijie, the Great Pirate, has just sold back a batch of Kunlun slaves from the other side of the sea. They are as strong as cattle, but they are gentle and hardworking. When I arrived in Chang 'an, I was divided up by nobles and giants. Now it is the most fashionable thing for a noble young master to take two Kunlun slave bodyguards to the streets! "

Black slaves

Judging from this plot, there were Kunlun slaves in the Tang Dynasty, which shows that the director is still very attentive. The economy of the Tang Dynasty was prosperous. At that time, Chang 'an and Luoyang had become national metropolises. Many foreigners went to the Tang Dynasty to do business, so buying and selling handmaiden was also very popular. He said in the "General History of China": "For example, in the first year of Dazu after the Tang Dynasty, it was forbidden to raise Turkish handmaiden in northern counties; In the first year of Changqing, Mu Zong, the imperial edict prohibited Dengdeng, Laizhou and Yuanhai, connived at pirates and plundered Silla as a handmaiden. It can be seen that both land and sea are selling foreigners. Black people in the south, China called it Kunlun. In the novels of the Tang Dynasty, there are many records of Kunlun slaves, which are more similar to Europeans selling black slaves. "

It can be seen that the phenomenon of buying and selling blacks was extremely common in the Tang Dynasty. As the small and medium-sized vendors in "Da Gong Ming Ci" said, Kunlun slaves were strong and gentle, sold by pirates to the Tang Dynasty, and then carved up by nobles. It would be great if I could take two Kunlun slaves as bodyguards. As you can imagine, the slaves in Kunlun are so big that they can not only do heavy work, but also buy aristocratic children who they take with them as bodyguards.

So in the Tang Dynasty at that time, if there were several Kunlun slaves at home, it was not only a symbol of fashion, but also a symbol of status. It is for these reasons that the nobles in the Tang Dynasty couldn't put it down.