A RESEARCH FOR THE YI QU NATIONALITY

Yi Qu, a minority nationality different from Hua Xia in the Warring States, was continually at war with the state of Qin and was destroyed by the state of Qin. The relationship among Emperor Zhaoxiang and Empress Dowager Xuan and Yi Qu was complicated. There are so many controversies over different opinions on the nationality attribution. Some think of it as Rong; some others think of it as Di; still some others think of it as Qiang. However, Rong, Di and Qiang are nothing but the general terms for different races. Besides, that Yi Qu belongs to Qiang is lack of ground of arguments. Yi Qu in itself is the national appellation, which was called all by themselves, like Xiongnu, Xianbei (Sienpi), which is not only the name a of a state but also the name of a nationality, and which became the name of a clan. The region of Yi Qu included most parts of Shanxi, Gansu and Ningxia. And yet the capital of Yi Qu and their movable district was mainly in Bidi prefecture, that is, the northwest of Ning County, Gansu.