Chanyu


Chanyu was the title used by the nomadic supreme rulers of Inner Asia for eight centuries and was superseded by the title "Khagan" in 402 CE. The title was used by the ruling Luandi clan of the Xiongnu during the Qin dynasty and Han dynasty. It was also used by the Chinese as a reference to Turkic leaders.

Etymology

According to Book of Han, "the Xiongnu called Heaven Chēnglí and they called a child gūtú. As for Chányú, it is a "vast great countenance"."
L. Rogers and Edwin G. Pulleyblank argue that 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 kwa-la dar-ɢwā, from four roots: *tɨŋgVr- "high", *kwala- "son, child", *tɨl "lower reaches of the Yenisei" or "north", and *qʌ̄j ~ *χʌ̄j "prince"; as a whole "Son of Heaven, Ruler of the North".

List of Xiongnu Chanyus

Northern Xiongnu (北匈奴)

Southern Xiongnu (南匈奴)

Da Chanyu (大單于)

Chanyu family trees