Guifang

Guifang
鬼方

Anthropomorphic axe, bronze, excavated in the tomb of Heibo (潶伯), a military noble in charge of protecting the northern frontier, at Baicaopo, Lingtai County, Western Zhou period (1045–771 BCE). Gansu Museum. This is considered as a possible Chinese depiction of a Xianyun or Guifang.^[1]

Respective areas of the Shang ( ) and Guifang

Guifang (Chinese: 鬼方; Wade–Giles: Kuei-fang; lit. 'Demon Territory'^[2]) was an ancient ethnonym for a northern people that fought against the Shang dynasty (1600–1046 BCE). Chinese historical tradition used various names, at different periods, for northern tribes such as Guifang, Rong, Di,^[3] Xunyu, Xianyun, or Xiongnu peoples.^[4]^[5] This Chinese exonym combines gui (鬼 "ghost, spirit, devil") and fang (方 "side, border, country, region"), a suffix referring to "non-Shang or enemy countries that existed in and beyond the borders of the Shang polity."^[6]

^ "灵台白草坡西周墓葬里的青铜王国". www.kaogu.net.cn. The Institute of Archaeology (CASS Chinese Academy of Social Sciences). Archived from the original on 2019-09-16. Retrieved 2023-11-06. There is research on the ethnic image of the northern nomadic people of the Altaic language family. It may be that this is the image of the Xianyun tribe that once posed a serious military threat to the northern border of the Zhou Dynasty. They were called "Ghost people" (Guifang) because they looked different from the Chinese. 有考证系阿尔泰语系的北方游牧民族人种形象。可能是曾经对周朝北方边境构成严重军事威胁的猃狁部族，因相貌异于华夏，被称作"鬼方"。
^ Creel, Herrlee G. (1970). The Origins of Statecraft in China. The University of Chicago Press. p. 232.
^ Old Text Bamboo Annals. "Wu Yi" quote: "三十五年，周王季伐西落鬼戎，俘二十翟王。"
^ Book of Jin "Vol. 97, section Northern Di" quote: "匈奴之類，總謂之北狄。…… 夏曰：薰鬻，殷曰鬼方，周曰獫狁，漢曰匈奴。"
^ Taskin V.S., "Materials on history of nomadic tribes in China 3rd-5th cc", Issue 3 "Mujuns", "Science", Moscow, 1992, p.10, ISBN 5-02-016746-0
^ Loewe M. and Shaughnessy E.L., eds., The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 B.C., New York, Cambridge, 1999, ISBN 978-0-521-47030-8, p. 269.

[1] "灵台白草坡西周墓葬里的青铜王国". www.kaogu.net.cn. The Institute of Archaeology (CASS Chinese Academy of Social Sciences). Archived from the original on 2019-09-16. Retrieved 2023-11-06. There is research on the ethnic image of the northern nomadic people of the Altaic language family. It may be that this is the image of the Xianyun tribe that once posed a serious military threat to the northern border of the Zhou Dynasty. They were called "Ghost people" (Guifang) because they looked different from the Chinese. 有考证系阿尔泰语系的北方游牧民族人种形象。可能是曾经对周朝北方边境构成严重军事威胁的猃狁部族，因相貌异于华夏，被称作"鬼方"。

[2] Creel, Herrlee G. (1970). The Origins of Statecraft in China. The University of Chicago Press. p. 232.

[old-bamboo-3] Old Text Bamboo Annals. "Wu Yi" quote: "三十五年，周王季伐西落鬼戎，俘二十翟王。"

[4] Book of Jin "Vol. 97, section Northern Di" quote: "匈奴之類，總謂之北狄。…… 夏曰：薰鬻，殷曰鬼方，周曰獫狁，漢曰匈奴。"

[5] Taskin V.S., "Materials on history of nomadic tribes in China 3rd-5th cc", Issue 3 "Mujuns", "Science", Moscow, 1992, p.10, ISBN 5-02-016746-0

[6] Loewe M. and Shaughnessy E.L., eds., The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 B.C., New York, Cambridge, 1999, ISBN 978-0-521-47030-8, p. 269.

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