ABSTRACT

The Tabas were a prominent clan of the Xianbei people who played an important role in China's reunification. In the second century the Tabas and other Xianbei groups had started their migration from Manchuria. During the early stage of empire building, the Tabas, as a minority group not sufficiently advanced in culture, concentrated on extending their agricultural base with captured manpower. In the capital district the Tabas organized themselves into eight departments to supervise the agricultural workers, the farm units being state owned and state operated. According to Chinese historians, when the Tabas arrived on China's northern frontier in the late third century, the tribe had just evolved from a primitive communal society. The Chinese authorized the Tabas to settle in today's Shanxi, on a belt of land about 100 miles inside the Great Wall. Chinese writers emphasizes China's cultural influence, induced the tribesmen to follow the civilized manners and moves of the Middle Kingdom.