ANALYSIS OF HUIHE, HUAMEN AND HUIHUI ON THE ORIGIN OF THE HUI ETHNIC GROUP

Ding Mingjun and Ma Hao

ABSTRACT

In the mid-Tang dynasty, the An-Shi Rebellion (安史之乱) broke out, and the Tang dynasty borrowed the troops from Huihe (回纥, Uyghur) and Dashi (大食, Arab or Tajik) to put down the rebellion for three times. After the war, Huihe and Dashi soldiers mostly stayed in China and were called Huamen (花门) in literati poems and local historical documents after the Tang dynasty. With the historical evolution, the ethnic boundaries of Huamen also changed constantly. In the Tang dynasty, they mostly referred to Huihe and Dashi people living in the inland areas; in the Yuan dynasty, they also referred to Huihui (回回); in the Qing dynasty, they also were pointed to the Hui people in Shaanxi, Gansu and Xinjiang. Through the name change of Huihe, Huamen and Huihui, we can see the process of Huihe pronunciation turning to Huihui. Thus Huihe is also the main branch of the early Hui ethnic group in history.