thumb|Reconstruction of a [[Xiongnu chief warrior, 2nd century BC – 1st century AD, by archaeologist A.N. Podushkin. Central State Museum of Kazakhstan.]]
Chanyu () or Shanyu (), short for Chengli Gutu Chanyu (), was the title used by the supreme rulers of Inner Asian nomads for eight centuries until superseded by the title "Khagan" in 402 AD. The title was most famously used by the ruling Luandi clan of the Xiongnu during the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) and Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD). It was later also used infrequently by the Chinese as a reference to Tujue leaders.
Etymology
thumb|"Chanyu from Heaven" Tiles, [[Inner Mongolia Museum]]
According to the Book of Han, "the Xiongnu called the Heaven (天) Chēnglí (撐犁) and they called a child (子) gūtú (孤塗). As for Chányú (單于), it is a "vast [and] great appearance" (廣大之貌).".
L. Rogers and Edwin G. Pulleyblank argue that the title chanyu may be equivalent to the later attested title tarkhan, suggesting that the Chinese pronunciation was originally dān-ĥwāĥ, an approximation for *darxan. Linguist Alexander Vovin tentatively proposes a Yeniseian etymology for 撐犁孤塗單于, in Old Chinese pronunciation *treng-ri k<sup>w</sup>a-la dar-ɢ<sup>w</sup>ā, from four roots: **tɨŋgɨr- "heaven", *k<sup>w</sup>ala- "son, child", *dar "lower reaches of the Yenisei" or "north", and *qʌ̄j ~ *χʌ̄j "prince"; as a whole "Son of Heaven, Ruler of the North".
Bailey derives from Proto-Iranian *tark- "to speak, command", from Proto-Indo-European *telkʷ-. He also compares a Saka title with the same semantic shift. Compare also Khotanese ttarkana and Ossetian tærxon.
Dybo derives from a Turkic root meaning "vast as the sky", and compares Old Uyghur *tarḳan- and tarḳar-. The Old Uyghur tarḳan- listed in her work is not found in Wilkens (2021), and Caferoğlu (1968) glosses tarḳan- as "to feel embarrassed, to get tired of, to worry". tarḳar-, meanwhile, is glossed by both as "to expel, to distance oneself from something; to destroy, to expunge".
List of Xiongnu chanyus
{| class="wikitable"
!Title
!Reconstructed Han period's late Old Chinese and Later Han Chinese pronunciations
!Personal Name
!Reign
|-
|Touman (頭曼單于/头曼单于)
|*do-mɑnᴬ<!--What language is this?? Old Chinese (220 B.C.E.): *do-mɑnᴬ. is this IPA?? It is based on IPA & used by Axel Schuessler to represent LHC's sounds-->
|
|220–209 BC
|-
|Modu Chanyu (冒頓單于/冒顿单于)
|*mouᴴ-tuən/mək-tuən < *mûh-tûn/mə̂k-tûn
|
|209–174 BC
|-
|Laoshang Chanyu (老上單于/老上单于)
|*lou<sup>B</sup>-dźaŋ<sup>C</sup>
|Jiyu (稽鬻)
|174–161 BC
|-
|Junchen Chanyu (軍臣單于/军臣单于)
|*kun-gin
|
|161–126 BC
|-
|Yizhixie Chanyu (伊稚斜單于/伊稚斜单于)
|*ʔi-ḍiᴴ-ja
|
|126–114 BC
|-
|Wuwei Chanyu (烏維/乌维)
|*ʔɑ-wi
|
|114–105 BC
|-
|Er Chanyu (兒單于/儿单于)
|*ńe
|Wushilu (烏師廬/乌师庐)
|105–102/101 BC
|-
|Xulihu Chanyu (呴犛湖/呴犁湖) / Goulihu (句犁湖)
|*hɨo-li-gɑ / *ko-li-ga
|
|102/101–101/100 BC
|-
|Qiedihou (且鞮侯)
|*tsiɑ-te-go
|
|101/100–96 BC
|-
|Hulugu Chanyu (狐鹿姑單于/狐鹿姑单于)
|*ɣuɑ-lok-kɑ
|
|96–85 BC
|-
|Huyandi Chanyu (壺衍鞮單于/壺衍鞮单于)
|*ɣɑ-jan<sup>B/H</sup>-te
|
|85–68 BC
|-
|Xulüquanqu Chanyu (虛閭權渠單于/虚闾权渠单于)
|*hɨɑ-liɑ-gyan-gɨɑ
|
|68–60 BC
|-
|Woyanqudi Chanyu (握衍朐鞮單于/握衍朐鞮单于)
|*ʔɔk-jan<sup>B/H</sup>-hɨo-te
|Tuqitang (屠耆堂/ 屠耆堂)
|60–58 BC
|-
|Huhanye Chanyu (呼韓邪單于/呼韩邪单于)
|*hɑ-gɑn-ja
|Jihoushan in Hànshū; Pulleyblank reconstructs 若鞮's Early Middle Chinese pronunciation as *njak-tei & instead compares this to Tocharian A ñäkci or Toch. B ñäkc(i)ye "godly, heavenly"單于/复株累若鞮单于)
|*ńak-te
|Diaotaomogao (彫陶莫皋/雕陶莫皋)<br>(囊知牙斯)
|8 BC – 13 AD
|-
|Wulei Chanyu
|Yuanhai (元海)
|304–?
|-
|Liu Cong (劉聰)
|Han-Zhao state, a.k.a. Emperor Zhaowu (昭武)
|Xuanming (玄明)
|310–?
|-
|Liu Can (劉粲)
|Han-Zhao state, a.k.a. Emperor Yin (隱)
|Shiguang (士光)
|?–?
|-
|Liu Yin (劉胤)
|Han-Zhao state imperial prince
|Yisun (義孫)
|325–?
|-
|Helian Bobo
(赫連勃勃)
|Founder of the Helian Xia state, a.k.a. Emperor Wulie (武烈)
|Qujie (屈孑)
|407–?
|}
Chanyu family trees
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See also
- Shan Yu
- Mulan
- Khan
References
Further reading
- Yap, Joseph P. (2019). The Western Regions, Xiongnu and Han, from the Shiji, Hanshu and Hou Hanshu. .