Research and Exploration Studies on the Hu-Image Figurines of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty Chengyong Ge



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232

Research and Exploration

Studies on the Hu-Image Figurines 

of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty



Chengyong Ge

Distinguished Professor, School of History,  

Capital Normal University

T

he Hu people of the Yuan Dynasty 

were 

Semu, meaning they came from 

various ethnic groups: from Central 

Asia of the Western Frontier Region, 

from Persia, from Arabia and from Europe. Through-

out the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, they both benefited 

from ethnic politics and suffered from ethnic con-

flicts. In recent years, new results of academic re-

search on the 



Semu have been presented continu-

ously.


[1]

 However, most of these results are from 

studies on historical literature and the traditional 

classics; rarely have results been supplemented by 

studies based on unearthed archaeological artifacts. 

Even more rarely have results been supplemented 

by a thorough analysis of Yuan Dynasty Hu-image 

figurines, more and more of which have been un-

earthed lately. This paper attempts to fill in the gap 

by complementing and validating historical research 

with information drawn from the study of artifacts 

and images, offering indispensable evidence to the 

academic community.

The term 



Semu has appeared frequently in lit-

erature since the early Tang Dynasty, when it meant 

“miscellaneous items” and was used as an adjective 

describing various other types of category.

[2]

 In the 


Song Dynasty, 

Semu became a proper noun referring 

to so-called “uncommon individuals” with peculiar, 

hybrid surnames. In the Kublai Khan era of the Yuan 

Dynasty, 



Semu became a proper name for all foreign 

ethnic groups, including Europeans, extending be-

yond its initial reference to ethnic groups of Central 

Asia of the Western Frontier Regions, and was used 

very commonly. Tao Zongyi listed 31 types of 

Semu 

in his 


Notes While Resting from Farm Work [Chuogeng 

lu 辍耕录],

[3]


 but they were all alien Hu barbarians 

in the eyes of the Han Chinese.

The term 

Semu, because of the product of the 

Han Chinese perception of the world and of foreign 

races, fell within the range of concepts and vocabulary 

of the Han Chinese people and their language. How-

ever, some hold a different view of the term’s origin,

[4]


 

Chinese Cultural Relics No. 1-2, 2015. Copyright East View Press. All rights reserved. 

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233

believing that, at the time of ethnic categorization, 



Semu and the Mongolian term qari irgen shared the 

same semantic range. Those who hold this view main-

tain that 

-qari was a suffix appended to the names of all 

members of non-Mongol ethnic groups; this is held 

to prove that the Chinese term 

Semu is a translation 

of the Mongolian term 



qari. However, so far there is 

no historical evidence in translations directly between 

Mongolian and Chinese that the term 

qari was treated 

as equivalent to 



Semu in even a broad sense. 

We can learn from Yuan Dynasty literature that 

when identifying other ethnic groups using the suf-

fix 


-qari, the Mongols often added the term Huihui

For example, we read that “Uygurs and 



Huihui Semu 

officials can serve as Overseers [



Daluhuachi 达鲁花

] of Branch Secretariats [



Xingsheng 行省], Branch 

Bureaus of Military Affairs [



Xingyuan 行院] and 

Branch Censorates [



Xingtai 行台] of the various 

Routes [


Lu 路, a provincial level administrative gov-

ernment during the Yuan Dynasty – 



Trans.]” in the 

“Ministry of War” chapter



 of Laws and Statutes of the 

Yuan Dynasty [Yuan Dianzhang – Bingbu 元典章•兵

]. We also read of “various 



Huihui Semu people” 

in the 


Collection of Statues of the Office of Censorate 

[

Xiantai tongji 宪台通纪]. The term Huihui first ap-

peared during the Northern Song Dynasty, at that 

time referring to 



Huihe [i.e., ancient Uygur] people 

of the Western Frontier Region. However, it basi-

cally referred to all Islamic believers of the Western 

Frontier Region during the Yuan Dynasty. This is 

an important reference for us in understanding the 

scope of references to the 



Semu

Yuan Dynasty rulers divided their subjects into 

four ethnic castes, including the Mongols, 

Semu, Han 

Chinese, and 



Mangi [southern barbarians], and es-

tablished regulations and policies for appointing 

and promoting officials, prohibitions and penalties, 

compulsive services and taxations, etc., based on the 

four-division ethnic caste system. It was the basic idea 

of Yuan Dynasty rulers to exercise effective rule by 

taking advantage of ethnic differences. Mongols and 

Semu were often classified into one status, while Han 

Chinese and 



Mangi were classified into another sta-

tus. Since the Mongol army had conquered the West-

ern Frontier Region earlier, they considered the 

Semu 

their own “compatriots”; and since they occupied the 

Central Plains later, they considered Han Chinese 

and 


Mangi “foreigners” or “outsiders.” In addition, 

in the Western Frontier Region, Ariq Qaya, Ye Xian 

Ding, Mung Suz and other Uygur generals who had 

been loyal officials of Kublai Khan, as well as individu-

als talented in financial management, had formed a 

clique. Thus, the status of the 



Semu became higher 

than that of Han Chinese. However, with the internal 

integration of Mongol tribes and continuing territo-

rial expansion of the Mongol Empire, the statuses 

of the non-Mongol castes were often blurred. 

Semu 

who belonged to the second highest caste might fall 

into lower castes if they lacked hereditary privilege. 

Not all 


Semu had a prestigious status. They came 

from countries and tribes of the Western Frontier Re-

gion and Central Asia. Although some among them 

who belonged to the upper class could get into the 

second highest caste of the Mongol system, due to dif-

ferences in occupation and status, etc., many 



Semu fell 

into lower castes after entering the Central Plains with 

the invading army. Some of them served on support 

staffs or as officers of the Overseers of Tribal Com-

mand [

Wanghu fu 万户府, a type of agency created 

to administer southwestern aboriginal groups during 

the Yuan Dynasty – 

Trans.] and other local civil or 

military officials. Most lower rank local county police 

officer posts were filled by young 

Semu,

[5]


 and some 

Semu even became domestic slaves. If Semu commit-

ted crimes such as adultery, theft, fraud, forcing good 

women into prostitution, etc., they could certainly be 

sentenced for punishment and be despised by others. 

Slave trade was especially prevalent in the Western 

Frontier Region and in Central Asia. Uygur Contract 

Documents of the Yuan Dynasty unearthed in Tur-

pan, Xianjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 1953, 

recorded that a Uygur woman by the name of Qutluq 

Hu-Image Figurines of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty

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Chinese Cultural Relics  » Issue Number 1-2, 2015

was sold as a domestic slave to the Teti Mieli broth-

ers; and another young Uygur man by the name of 

Bīntung was sold to someone with the Han Chinese 

name “Dasheng Dutong” as his foster son. Judging 

from several contracts for the sale of domestic slaves, 

they mostly engaged in domestic services, and were 

attendant members of the new master’s household 

whose ownership was transferable.

[6]


 

After Kublai Khan established the Yuan Dynasty, 

Mongol nobles gradually migrated from the nomadic 

steppe to the Central Plains of the Han Chinese re-

gion. Han Chinese bureaucrats from northern China 

who were recruited, as well those who voluntarily 

pledged allegiance to the royal court of the Mongol 

Yuan Dynasty, also received promotions. Some of 

these newly ascended aristocrats began to employ 

Semu on their staffs or acquire Semu as domestic 

slaves. Status based on ethnic identity gave way to 

status based on social class. Especially among Han 

Chinese bureaucratic families that performed meri-

torious military services to the Mongol Yuan Empire, 

many had originally been significant landlords,

[7]

 

having massive numbers of domestic slaves in a strict 



hierarchical system. The practice of using 

Semu as 

domestic slaves 

emerged, and 

Figure 1: 

Black pottery figurines of the Yuan Dynasty



Figure 3: 

Frowning Hu-image 

standing figurine (detail)

Figure 2: 

Frowning Hu-image 

standing figurine (detail)

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235

Hu-Image Figurines of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty

the barriers of social class replaced the barriers of the 

ethnic caste system. Hu-image figurines unearthed 

from tombs reflect the intention of the people of that 

time to emphasize the differences between higher 

and lower rankings in social classes under the ethnic 

caste system by displaying the lower social class and 

ethnic identities of their 

Semu domestic slaves. 

II

The author intends to offer some physical 

examples to draw the attention and discussion of 

scholars, albeit with incomplete statistics, to pottery 

Hu-image figurines unearthed from Yuan Dynasty 

tombs in Shaanxi, Shandong and Henan provinces 

and other areas. 

(A) Frowning Hu-Image Standing 

Figurines

There are two Hu-image standing figurines 

among the black pottery figurines of the Yuan Dy-

nasty confiscated by the Artifact Protection Inves-

tigation and Enforcement Squad of Xi’an City. One 

of them seems to be a weapon-bearing warrior or 

guard figurine, standing with legs splayed. The other 

Hu-image figurine wears the cross-cornered fold-

ing hat of a clerk, with a long square-opening robe 

over a small cross-collared undergarment; its sash is 

belted and fists clenched. Each figurine has deep-set 

eyes, a straight nose, frowning eyebrows, open eyes, 

a pinched mouth, beard and hideous expression (

Fig-

ures 1-3

).

[8]



 The craftsmen might have inherited the 

traditional sculpture Hu-image face with “deep eye-

brows as if frowning in melancholic autumn,” intend-

ed to highlight the distinctive ethnic characteristics in 

contrast to other humble and gentle servant figurines. 

(B) Hu-Image Low-Level Petty Clerk 

Figurine

There is a Yuan Dynasty black pottery Hu-image 

figurine in the collection of the Shaanxi History Mu-

seum. It has deep-set eyes, a high nose, braided hair 

behind, full beard, a long cross-collared right-closing 

robe, boots on its feet and both hands on its chest. 

Some believe it may be an attendant leading a horse or 

camel.


[9]

 However, that is simply the continuation of 

a theme that inspired the Hu horse-leading figurines 

of the Tang Dynasty. This particular Hu figurine more 

closely resembles the typical attendant image, and 

so should be a depiction of a petty clerk (



Figure 4

). 


(C) Hu-Image Figurine Riding  

a Camel and Drumming 

A noteworthy discovery was made when the Hu-

image figurine riding a camel and drumming

 was un-

earthed from the He family tombs dated to the fourth 

year of the Taiding reign period of the Yuan Dynasty 

(1327 CE) in Huxian County, Shaanxi Province in 



Figure 4: 

Hu-image low-level petty clerk figurine

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236

Chinese Cultural Relics  » Issue Number 1-2, 2015

1978. The Hu figurine wears a peaked cap and has 

deep-set eyes, a high nose and full beard, and is rid-

ing a camel with drumsticks in hands raised to beat a 

drum. He should be a member of an honor guard to 

clear the road for his master during processions (



Fig-

ures 5

 and 


6

). 


Huihui music played by Yuan Dynasty 

Semu musicians was once very popular in the royal 

court and in the homes of the nobility. Highly skilled 

Uygur musicians who were proficient in music were 

especially appreciated by high-ranking officials and 

dignitaries. Therefore, this Hu-image figurine riding 

a camel and drumming vividly demonstrates one of 

the likely occupations of the 

Semu from the Western 

Frontier Region after they entered central China.

[10]

 

(D) Hu-Image Clerk Figurine Holding  



a Document

A black pottery Hu-image figurine was un-

earthed at Zhudian neighborhood in Ji'nan City, 

Shandong Province in 1954. The Hu figurine has 

thick facial hair, deep-set eyes, a high nose and a typi-

cal Western Frontier Region turban wrapped over 

his head. He wears a long robe, is holding a docu-

ment, and is in a walking posture, as if in a hurry to 

present the document to his master. This figurine 

demonstrates highly dynamic motion and is an ar-

tistic masterpiece among the black pottery figurine 

artworks of the Yuan Dynasty (



Figures 7

 and 


8

).

[11]



 

(E) Hu-Image Figurine Leading  

a Horse 

The Hu-image figurine leading a horse in the 

collection of the Shaanxi History Museum has deep-

set eyes, a high nose, a bald head, a long neck and 

thin beard, with one hand grabbing his horse’s reins 

and the other pulling the reins in a way indicating 

that he is leading a horse.

[12]


 The Hu figurine wears 

a robe, with a leather apron below his chest, a thick 

belt around his waist, and boots with laces on his feet, 

and seems to be a skilled groom (



Figure 9

). 


Figure 5: 

Hu-image figurine riding a camel and 

drumming

Figure 6: 

Hu-image figurine riding a camel and 

drumming

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237

Hu-Image Figurines of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty



Figure 7: 

Hu-image clerk figurine 

holding a document

Figure 10: 

Hu-image attendant figurine in standing 

salutation (front view)

Figure 11: 

Hu-image attendant figurine in standing 

salutation (back view)

Figure 8: 

Hu-image clerk figurine 

holding a document

Figure 9: 

Hu-image figurine leading 

a horse 

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Chinese Cultural Relics  » Issue Number 1-2, 2015

Figure 12: 

Hu-image figurine leading a camel  

(side view)

Figure 14: 

Hu-image figurines leading camels (back view)



Figure 13: 

Hu-image figurine leading a camel  

(front view)

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239

Hu-Image Figurines of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty



(F) Hu-Image Attendant Figurine  

in Standing Salutation

A Hu-image attendant figurine in standing 

salutation was acquired by the Hohhot Aibo Yunji 

Museum. This Hu-image figurine holds both hands 

to his chest in salutation and waits for his master in 

procession (



Figures 10

 and 


11

).

[13]



 It is worth not-

ing that the Hu-image figurine wears a typical Arab 

long turban, tightly wrapped around the top of his 

head. The Hu-image figurine has a neatly trimmed 

beard, thick eyebrows and long thick braids pulled 

behind his head. It is hard to determine whether the 

figurine depicts an ethnic Arab or member of some 

other ethnic group found at the time in the Western 

Frontier Region. In any case, it is a young man with 

sparkling eyes. 



(G) Hu-Image Figurines Leading 

Camels

Two Hu-image figurines leading camels were 

unearthed in the Liu Yuanzhen husband-and-wife 

joint tomb dated to the sixth year of the Dade reign 

period of the Yuan Dynasty (1302 CE) at the lineage 

cemetery of Liu Heima of the Yuan Dynasty at Xia-

dian Village of Weiqu Neighborhood in Chang’an 

District of Xi’an City in August 2009 (



Figures 12-

14

).

[14]



 Each figurine has deep-set eyes, a high nose 

and thick bushy facial hair, and is wearing long hair 

braids rolled up into a top bun, and wears a large 

brimmed boli hat (a hat like a cymbal). They stand 

tall and calm in long right-closing robes. The camels 

they are leading have rug saddles on their backs. 



(H) Turbaned Hu-Image Figurine 

Leading a Camel

A Hu-image figurine leading a camel was un-

earthed in a Yuan Dynasty tomb at Mengcun Village, 

Qujiang Neighborhood in Xi’an City in 2002. The 

Hu-image figurine has a long turban wrapped on his 

head, thick convex eyebrows, deep-set eyes, a high 

nose, wide mouth and thick beard, and is wearing 

a long cross-collared and tight-sleeved robe and a 

knotted-sash belt around the waist. His right fist is 

raised to his chest in a posture indicating he is pulling 

reins to lead a camel. He looks like an older 

Semu 

individual from the Western Frontier Region (



Fig-

ure 15

).

[15]



 

In addition, Hu-image figurines of the Yuan 

Dynasty were unearthed in tombs of Duan Jirong 

and his wife, Lady Liu, dated to the third year of the 

Zhiyuan reign period (1266 CE) at Qujiangchi Lake 

in Xi’an City in 1956; a Hu-image figurine riding 

a camel was unearthed in a Yuan Dynasty tomb at 

Shapo Village in Xi’an City in 1964;

[16]

 there were 



Hu-image figurines among a batch of Yuan Dy-

nasty pottery figurines unearthed in Jiaozuo City 

in 1973;

[17]


 Hu-image figurines were unearthed in 

the Yuan Dynasty tomb at Hutou Mao neighbor-

hood, Yan’an City in 1987;

[18]


 and there were also 

Hu-image figurines among the pottery figurines un-

earthed in Yuan Dynasty tombs in Hebei Province 

(

Figure 16

). A Hu-image stone-carving statue of the 

Yuan Dynasty was also discovered in the scenic area 

of Kongtong Mountain near Pingliang City, Gansu 

Province. Although all the Hu-image figurines have 

customary Mongol hair braids and hair bun styles 

and wear large-brimmed Mongol hats modified from 

Hu hats, which were very popular during the Yuan 

Dynasty, as well as long robes, their facial features 

differ markedly from the chubby round faces of the 

Mongols. Judging from these artistic images, the sta-

tus and social ranks of those depicted are not very 

high.


Hu-image figurines unearthed from Yuan Dy-

nasty tombs are obviously inferior to the Hu-image 

figurines of the Sui and Tang dynasties in terms of 

artistic design and refinement in production. How-

ever, their concise realism and accurate proportions 

continue some of the artistic pottery design methods 

of the Sui and Tang dynasties. Although Mongols are 

characterized by their nomadic horseback culture, 

the tomb figurine customs of the Central Plains were 

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Chinese Cultural Relics  » Issue Number 1-2, 2015

adopted in the tombs of the Han Chinese nobility. 

The emergence of Hu-image figurines has prompted 

us to reflect further on the different plights of 



Semu 

in society at that time and changes to the hierarchical 

ethnic caste system.

After the Mongol occupation of the Central 

Plains, 

Semu collaboratively stationed themselves 

around camps across the country. They followed 

the Mongol troops, fighting or hunting, trampling 

crops, capturing civilians as their domestic slaves 

at will, forcefully demanding food and wine from 

civilians, fully displaying power and prestige while 

riding alongside the powerful Mongols. The 

Semu 

groups dispersed across the country did not reach 

the necessary critical mass to form a separate com-

munity; formation of such a community was also 

prevented by the disparity between upper and lower 

Semu classes, as well as by the continued increase in 

intermarriage among 



Semu and Han Chinese.

[19]


 In 

what became a popular fashion at the time, many 



Figure 15: 

Turbaned Hu-image figurine leading a camel



Figure 16: 

Hu-image figurines

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241

Hu-Image Figurines of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty



Semu “fell in love with Han Chinese culture and 

customs” after entering the Central Plains, giving 

themselves Chinese names and even adopting the 

Han Chinese funeral practices. 

However, the numbers of 

Semu immigrants 

were massive, their internal social classes increas-

ingly stratified, and the gap between the privileged 

and the average working people became very great. 

According to records in 

The History of the Yuan 

Dynasty [Yuan Shi 元史], 1,050 families of Wod-

uan (斡端, Khotan) and Keshihe’er (可失合儿, 

Kashgar) artisans established military agricultural 

colonies in Gansu and Shaanxi areas; 700 families 

of 


Qirqisud (乞儿吉思, Kyrgyzstan) established 

a military agricultural colony in Hesihe [present-

day Yongning Town, Xiongyue County, Gaizhou 

City, Liaoning Province – 



Trans.]; Uygur people 

established a military agricultural colony in Nan-

yang Superior Prefecture [present-day Nanyang 

City, Henan Province – 



Trans.]; Qarluq soldiers 

established a military agricultural colony in Xiang-

yang Town [present-day Xiangyang City, Hubei 

Province – 



Trans.]; and many other Semu, such as 

ethnic Kipchak, Qanqli and Russian people, engaged 

in agricultural production in the Central Plains. Many 

of them also engaged in the handicraft, commerce and 

mining trades, and many served as domestic labor-

ers, domestic slaves, musicians and fortune tellers.

[20]

 

Especially noteworthy, the “Skilled Talents of the 



Western Frontier Region” served as master sculptors 

and artists. For example, the grandfather of Liu Yuan-

zhen was the Han Chinese Hereditary Marquis Liu 

Bolin of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty. Liu Yuanzhen 

was the eldest son of Liu Heima, who was the head 

of 30,000 households of Han Chinese military fami-

lies established by Ögedei Khan, Emperor Taizong 

of the Yuan Dynasty. Therefore, the emergence of 

Hu-image figurines during the Yuan Dynasty was 

not accidental, but a reflection of the social and his-

torical background, and of the hierarchical status in 

aristocratic funeral practice.



III

Why do various Hu-image figurines appear in 

Yuan Dynasty tombs in the Central Plains area? 

Were the Hu-image figurines an indication that those 

depicted served in such roles as low-level petty clerks, 

translators, interpreters and government entourages, 

or as private artists in residence and domestic slaves

etc.? Given the background of an ethnically diverse 

country, understanding conditions of coexistence 

of ethnic groups in the remote historical past is un-

doubtedly a very complex task and one worthy of 

continued exploration. 

We know that after suffering through the chaos 

of the late Tang Dynasty wars, and then being torn 

by the war between the Song and Jin dynasties, as 

well as being trampled by the great Mongol armies, 

areas from Hebei, Henan to Shaanxi Guanzhong 

area suffered repeated destruction, which was de-

scribed as leading to “ ‘deserted cities and ghost 

towns everywhere’ during the time of transition 

between the Song and Yuan dynasties.” After Oge-

dei Khan took the throne in 1229 CE, he militarized 

the civilians, established Han Chinese armies, ini-

tially with 30,000 households and later increasing to 

70,000 households. The Han Chinese officials who 

surrendered to the Mongols were made hereditary 

marquises. Prominent hereditary marquises, such as 

Liu Heima of Datong, Liang Ying of Taiyuan, Zhang 

Rong of Ji'nan, Shi Tianze of Zhending, Yan Shi 

of Dongping, Zhang Rou of Baoding, Wang Zhen 

of Daming, and Di Shun of Zhongshan, were very 

famous at the time. They not only had the privilege 

of “dividing people and lands,” but also had the 

power of “investiture or appointing officials, with 

complete power over people’s life and property,” 

so that “all local government officials served at their 

pleasure” and “subordinated officials were treated 

as their slaves.”

[21]

 

After Kublai was sent to control northern China 



by the command of Möngke Khan, he restored Han 

Chinese laws in the Hebei, Henan, Shandong and 

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242

Chinese Cultural Relics  » Issue Number 1-2, 2015

Shaanxi areas, and reestablished stability in those 

areas. In order to fight the Song Dynasty army, it 

was determined that the Henan area would be the 

Mongol army’s base for an offensive against the area 

of Xiangyang and Fancheng towns, while the Guan-

zhong area would serve as a base camp for attack-

ing the Sichuan area. Han officials around the great 

Mongol Khans played significant roles in devising 

strategies.

[22] 

In the Mongol campaign to conquer the Song 



Dynasty in 1259, almost all of the deployed troops 

were Han Chinese armies; the main force was the 

army of Zhang Rou of Mancheng in the Hebei area. 

In fact, it was the Han Chinese in the north attacking 

the Han Chinese in the south, and the Mongols were 

not the main force at all. After Han Chinese mili-

tary officers and generals, who had perfect control 

in commanding the troops, won meritorious victory

they were awarded positions, titles and farmlands, 

given slaves, and enjoyed all honor and glory. This 

inspired many Han and Mangi Chinese to adopt 

Mongol names, posing as Mongols to seek official 

positions, and seeking to use lower-level 

Semu as 

servants, gaining glory for their households. 

In the past, some scholars did not pay enough 

attention to the fact that when the Mongol army re-

turned triumphant and migrated back east, many 

immigrant ethnic groups from the Western Frontier 

Area, Central Asia, West Asia and Eastern Europe 

were brought back along with them, including the 



Semu of Kipchak, Qanqli, Alans (aka Alani, Aorsoi, 

or Alanorsi), Russians, Arabs and Persians. Zhao Yi 

of the Qing Dynasty once pointed out that during 

the Yuan Dynasty, Mongols and 



Semu spread spo-

radically across the country, mixing with the Han 

Chinese without any restrictions, thus becoming 

widely distributed in the Central Plains and south 

of the Yangtze River.

[23] 


In 

Western and Central Asians 

in China under the Mongols: Their Transformation into 

Chinese, Yuan Chen verified the ethnic and tribal 

origins of 132 



Semu, most of whom should have been 

lower class 



Semu. They formed working communities 

and made livings with their expertise.

[24] 

It is worth noting that many 



Semu were mer-

chants and were called “



Ortaq” (aka Wotuo in 

Chinese). Early in the Mongol Empire era, these 

merchants from the Western Frontier Region and 

Central Asia gathered around the courts of Mongol 

Khans and various princes, collecting gold and sil-

ver jewelry, managing property and assets, assisting 

commercial management, making profit through 

investment in lambs or through official monetary 

manipulation, and gained the appreciation of the 

Mongol nobility in a very short time. The two parties 

formed a special political and economic relationship, 

and were seen as an “elite clique” that dominated 

politics and power. After the founding of the Yuan 

Dynasty, Hu merchants of the Western Frontier Re-

gion continued to play an important role, utilizing 

their expertise in trade, and the Yuan Dynasty even 

established ad hoc agencies such as “Supervisorate-

in-chief of 



Ortaq” [Wotuo Zonguan fu 斡脱总管府] 

and “Office of Monetary Supervision” [



Quan fu si 泉

府司

], and let these businessmen serve as treasurers 



for financial management. Some rich and powerful 

families even had their own full-time merchants (



Or-

taq) from the Western Frontier Region serving as 

subordinate staff in their profitable government of-

fices.

[25] 


The 

History of the Yuan Dynasty and the Laws 

and Statutes of the Yuan Dynasty mentions numerous 

times that “Hu merchants” paid tribute to the Yuan 

Royal Court in the form of “rare and precious trea-

sures, prized belts and horses of the Western Frontier 

Region.” The famous “Hu merchant” Shihabal-Din 

(aka Shab-ad-din), who entered the Yuan Empire 

from the Southern Song Empire, focused exclusive-

ly on collecting rare merchandise. The famous Hu 

merchant Ding Kui of Quanzhou conducted trade 

between Suzhou and Quanzhou, providing luxury 

goods from the West for senior bureaucrats of the 

ruling group of the Yuan Dynasty.

[26] 

However, the 



general impression the Han Chinese had of 

Semu 

Chinese Cultural Relics No. 1-2, 2015. Copyright East View Press. All rights reserved. 

www.eastviewpress.com/Journals/CulturalRelics.aspx



243

Hu-Image Figurines of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty

merchants was that they were cunning and greedy, 

and that they were stealing the nation’s wealth. This 

was bound to form some conflicting stereotypical 

images between Hu and Han Chinese at the time. 

The author believes that the emergence of pot-

tery Hu-image figurines in Yuan Dynasty tombs was 

a realistic portrayal of the time. It showed that the 

Yuan Dynasty nobility as well as the senior Han Chi-

nese officials who surrendered to the Mongol Yuan 

Dynasty intended to demonstrate their powerful elite 

status. To accomplish this, pottery Hu-image figu-

rines, as well as other figurines in the tombs, would 

need to be placed in proper positions: either in front 

of procession vehicles or in honor guard ceremonies. 

Their images and designs were not simply repetitions 

or random productions, but signify the visual culture 

of a specific era. 

The territory of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty was 

larger than the territory of the Sui and Tang dynas-

ties. Various ethnic migrations and mixed commu-

nities were very common. Based on the analyses 

of some scholars, about 300,000 or 400,000 



Semu 

migrated into the Central Plains.

[27] 

“There, Hu 



woman could sing in Han Chinese, while Han Chi-

nese women could also play 



Huqin (a kind of spike 

fiddle).”

[28]

 Yet the 



Semu, as the traditional Hu in the 

eyes of the Han Chinese, in addition to leaving their 

cultural heritage, such as Islamic culture (

Huihui

and Christianity (



Yelikewen 也里可温: Nestorian 

Christianity, Syriac: 



arkagun), also left Hu-image 

figurines in the tombs of the Central Plains region. 

Images of foreign ethnic groups became a funerary 

custom of the Han Chinese. Leaving us unique evi-

dence in the form of physical imagery, such figurines 

complement our knowledge and understanding of 

our history. This evidence not only reveals the physi-

cal appearance of assimilated 



Semu of the Western 

Frontier Region by the Chinese, but also shows what 

ideological influence the Hu people had upon the 

social lives of the Central Plains region. 



References Cited

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者对元代色目人研究综述

 (Review of the Studies on the Semu of the Yuan Dynasty by Chinese Scholars in 

the Past Decade). Xiyu yanjiu 西域研究 (Studies of the Western Frontier Region) No. 1. 

[2]

   Zhangsun, Wuji et al. (compilers; Tang Dynasty). 1983 (reprint). Tanglü shuyi 唐律疏义 (Commentary and 

Explanation of the Tang Code), collated by Junwen Liu. Zhonghua Book Company. Vol 13, “Household and 

Marriage Law,” Article 13 contains the term “Semu (色目).

 

Qian, Yi (Northern Song Dynasty). 1922 (reprint). Nanbu xinshu 南部新书 (New Book of the South). Hanfen 



Lou Bookstore, Shanghai. The following is recorded in Vol. C: “Since the Dazhong reign period [of the Tang 

Dynasty], when the Ministry of Rites [Li bu 礼部] would release results of the imperial examinations, there 

would be a couple of winners with peculiar family names; they would be referred to as ‘Semu ren’ (色目

).” In reality, this actually referred to those foreigners coming to take the imperial examination of the Tang 



Dynasty. 

[3]

   Tao, Zongyi (Yuan Dynasty). 2004 (reprint). “Shizu” 氏族 (Clans). In Chuogeng lu 辍耕录 (Notes While 

Resting from Farm Work), Ch. 1. Zhonghua Book Company. It lists 31 different ethnic groups of Semu in the 

Yuan Dynasty, among which five are repetitions, and two of these five should be Mongols. There were also six 

not seen in other documents, including Russians, Byzantines, Nepalese, etc. 

[4]

   Hu, Xiaopeng. 2013. “Yuan dai ‘Semu ren’ yu erdeng ren zhi” 元代 “色目人”与二等人制 (“Semu” People and 

the Two Categories of the Caste System of the Yuan Dynasty). In Xibei Shida xuebao (Shehui kexue ban) 西北

师大学报 (社会科学版)

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[5]

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Documents). Wenwu 文物 (Cultural Relics) No. 6. For reinterpretations and translations by Shimin Geng, see: 

Chinese Cultural Relics No. 1-2, 2015. Copyright East View Press. All rights reserved. 

www.eastviewpress.com/Journals/CulturalRelics.aspx



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Chinese Cultural Relics  » Issue Number 1-2, 2015

 

Geng, Shimin. 1978. “Liangjian Huihu wen qiyue de kaoshi” 两件回鹘文契约的考释 (Philological Research of 



Two Ancient Uygur Contract Documents). Zhongyang Minzu Xueyuan xuebao 中央民族学院学报 (Journal of 

Central Institute for Nationalities) No 2. 



[7]

   Dao, Hezhi. 1978. “Guanyu Jin mo Yuan chu de Hanren dizhu wuzhuang wenti” 关于金末元初的汉人地主武

装问题

 (On the Militia of the Han Chinese Landlords at the End of the Jin Dynasty and Beginning of the Yuan 



Dynasty). Nei Menggu daxue xuebao 内蒙古大学学报 (Journal of Inner Mongolia University) No. 1. 

[8]

   State Administration of Cultural Heritage et al. 2011. Zhongzhi chengcheng, Leiting chu ji - 2010 nian quan guo 



zhongdian diqu daji wenwu fanzui chengguo jingcui 众志成城 雷霆出击——2010年全国重点地区打击文物

犯罪成果精粹


 (Cracking Down Hard with Full Force and Determination – the Best of the Results from the 

Confiscations in the Nationwide Campaign of Cracking Down on Crimes of Antiquities Trafficking in Key Areas 

in 2010), pp. 223, 224, 226. Cultural Relics Press. 

[9]

   The Shaanxi History Museum. 2011. Shaanxi Lishi Bowuguan Xin Rucang Wenwu Jingcui 陕西历史博物馆新入

藏文物精粹

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[10]

   Cultural Relics Management Committee of Xianyang Prefecture. 1979. “Shaanxi Huxian He shi mu chutu 

daliang Yuan dai yong” 陕西户县贺氏墓出土大量元代俑 (Large Number of Figurines of the Yuan Dynasty 

Unearthed from He Family Tomb in Huxian County, Shaanxi Province). Wenwu 文物 (Cultural Relics) No. 4, 

Photo 6:2. 

 

This Hu-image Figurine Riding a Camel and Drumming was exhibited at the Grand Opening Ceremony of Xi’an 



Museum; the photo was taken by the author on site. 

[11]

   The black pottery Hu-image figurine unearthed at Zhudian neighborhood in Ji'nan City, Shandong Province, in 

1954 was exhibited at Shandong Museum. Photo provided by Dong Li. 

[12]

   The Semu figurine of the Yuan Dynasty in the collection of Shaanxi History Museum was unearthed from the 

Tomb of Yelü Shichang dated to the third year of the Taiding Reign Period of the Yuan Dynasty (1326 CE) at 

Weiqu Neighborhood of Chang’an District of Xi’an City in 1950. 



[13]

   The author visited and photographed the Hu-image figurine at an exhibition of black pottery figurines 

unearthed from Yuan Dynasty tombs acquired by the Hohhot Aibo Yunji Museum. 

[14]

  State Administration of Cultural Heritage. 2010. 2009 Zhongguo zhongyao kaogu faxian 2009中国重要考古

发现

 (Major Archaeological Discoveries of China in 2009), p. 179. Cultural Relics Press. 



 

Led by Jugang Li of the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, the author conducted a field visit at the 

lineage cemetery of the Liu Heima family of the Yuan Dynasty at Xiadian Village in Chang’an District of Xi’an 

City and took these photos on site in 2009. For a report on this tomb and a photo of the Hu-image figurine 

leading a camel.

[15]

   Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology. 2006. “Xi’an shi Qujiang xiang Mengcun Yuanmu qingli jianbao” 

西安市曲江乡孟村元墓清理简报

 (Summary Report of the Excavations at the Yuan Dynasty Tomb at 

Mengcun Village, Qujiang Township in Xi’an City). Kaogu yu wenwu 考古与文物 (Archaeology and Cultural 

Relics) No. 2. 



[16]

   The Semu image figurine riding on a camel unearthed from the Yuan Dynasty tomb at Shapo Village in the 

eastern suburbs of Xi’an City is now in the collection of Shaanxi History Museum. See: 

 

Yang, Jie. 2013. “Shaanxi diqu chutu Meng Yuan taoyong leixing fenxi” 陕西地区出土蒙元陶俑类型分析 



(Analysis on the Typology of the Pottery Figurines of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty Unearthed in Shaanxi Area). 

Wenbo 文博 (Relics and Museology) No. 5. 

 

Li, Jugang and Jie Yang. 2011. “Shaanxi diqu Meng Yuan muzang de faxian yu yanjiu” 陕西地区蒙元墓葬的发



现与研究

 (The Discoveries and Researches on the Mongol Yuan Dynasty Tombs in Shaanxi Area). Shaanxi Lishi 



Bowuguan Guankan 陕西历史博物馆馆刊 (Journal of Shaanxi History Museum) No. 18. 

[17]

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文物精粹展

 (The Exhibitions of the Best of the Historical Artifacts of the Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties), p. 53. 



 

Henan Museum. 2005. Henan gudai taoxu yishu 河南古代陶塑艺术 (Henan Ancient Pottery Sculpture 

Art). Elephant Press. On pp. 326-328, musician and dancing figurines of the Yuan Dynasty [unearthed] at 

Xifengfeng Village in Jiaozuo City are included. However, Hu-image figurines were, regretfully, not published. 



[18]

   Yan’an Municipal Bureau of Culture Heritage et al. 1990. “Yan’an Hutou Mao Yuan dai muzang qingli jianbao” 

延安虎头峁元代墓葬清理简报

 (Summary Report of the Excavations at the Yuan Dynasty Tomb at Hutou 

Mao in Yan’an City). Wenbo 文博 (Relics and Museology) No. 2. 

Chinese Cultural Relics No. 1-2, 2015. Copyright East View Press. All rights reserved. 

www.eastviewpress.com/Journals/CulturalRelics.aspx



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[19]

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关系

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Meng Yuan shi ji minzu shi lunji 蒙元史暨民族史论集 (Anthology of the History of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, 

as well as the Ethnic History). Social Sciences Academic Press. 



[20]

  Kuang, Yuche. 1984. “Yuan dai Semu ren dui Zhongguo jingji he wenhua de gongxian” 元代色目人对中国经

济和文化的贡献

 (Contributions to Chinese Economy and Culture by the Semu People of the Yuan Dynasty). 



In Yuan shi lunji 元史论集 (Anthology of the History of the Yuan Dynasty). People’s Publishing House. 

[21]

   Lian, Song et al. (Ming Dynasty). 1976 (reprint). Yuan Shi 元史 (The History of the Yuan Dynasty). Zhonghua 

Book Company. 

 

The privileges of the Han Chinese hereditary marquises were recorded in chapter 126, “Lian Xixian zhuan” 



廉希宪传

 (Biography of Lian Xixian); chapter 147, “Shi Ji zhuan” 史辑传 (Biography of Shi Ji); chapter 148, 

“Yan Jizhong zhuan” 严忠济传 (Biography of Yan Zhongji); and chapter 159, “Song Zizhen zhuan” 宋子贞传 

(Biography of Song Zizhen).



[22]

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(Northern Empire Domestically and China by the Outside World – Study on the Mongol Yuan Dynasty), part 1, 

p. 134. Zhonghua Book Company. 



[23]

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and Semu People Can Settle at Will). In Gai Yu Cong kao 陔余丛考 (A Collection of Miscellaneous Notes), 

p. 291. Hebei People’s Publishing House. 



[24]

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the Mongols: Their Transformation into Chinese), p. 131. Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House. 

[25]

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Merchants during the Yuan Dynasty). In Yuan shi luncong 元史论丛 (Anthology of the History of the Yuan 

Dynasty) No. 6. China Social Sciences Press. 



[26]

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史迹的价值

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Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties). Xiamen Daxue xuebao 厦门大学学报 (Journal of Xiamen University) No. 1. 

[27]

  Xiao, Qiqing. 2007. Nei bei Guo er wai Zhong guo: Meng Yuan shi yanjiu 内北国而外中国——蒙元史研究 

(Northern Empire Domestically and China by the Outside World – Study on the Mongol Yuan Dynasty), 

part 2, p. 465. Zhonghua Book Company. 



[28]

  Dai, Liang (Yuan Dynasty). 1987 (reprint). “Jiuling shanfang ji” 九靈山房集 (Collected Works from the 

Mountain Villa of Nine Divinities). In Yuanshi xuan erji 元诗选•二集 (Second Collection of Selected Yuan 

Poems). Zhonghua Book Company. 



Wenwu (Cultural Relics) Editor: Xia Wang

Translated by Garry Guan, Managing Editor, Chinese Cultural Relics; Independent Scholar, Atlanta, Georgia, United 

States

This article was originally published in Wenwu (Cultural Relics) No. 10, 2014, pp. 57-65.



Chinese Cultural Relics No. 1-2, 2015. Copyright East View Press. All rights reserved. 

www.eastviewpress.com/Journals/CulturalRelics.aspx



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