The ancestors of the Tujia Nationality have a direct relationship with the ancient Ba people. However, there are currently different opinions on its origin. One theory is that it is part of the bird barbarians who moved from Guizhou to Xiangxi in ancient times; the other is that it is the descendant of the craftsmen who moved from Jiangxi to Xiangxi from the late Tang Dynasty to the early Five Dynasties (around 910). Historical records refer to the Tujia people in western Hunan and Hubei as "Turen", "Tumin", etc. In the late Qing Dynasty, local chronicles began to use the name "Tujia".
Historically, the feudal lord economy has developed to a certain extent since the Five Dynasties (907-979). It was not until the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty (1723-1735) that the feudal lord economy gradually transitioned to the landlord economy. Before the founding of New China, the social economy was in the stage of feudal landlord economic development. After the founding of New China, social reforms were implemented and 2 autonomous prefectures were established jointly with the Miao people.
More than 2,000 years ago, they settled in what is now western Hunan and western Hubei. Together with other ethnic minorities, they were called "Wuling Man" or "Wuxi Man". After the Song Dynasty, the Tujia people were individually called "Tuding", "Tumin", etc. After the founding of New China, it was officially named Tujia according to the wishes of the Tujia people.
As for the origin of the Tujia people, there have been many disputes among historians, but most scholars believe that the Tujia people are descendants of the ancient Ba people. They generally believe that the period from 400 to 600 BC was the most prosperous period for the Ba people’s land, Bazi Kingdom (today’s Chongqing City), but by 316 BC, Bazi Kingdom was destroyed by Qin. During the period before and after the fall of the Bazi Kingdom, the Ba people began to migrate eastward from the Chongqing area. Starting from 1300 AD, the residents in this area were gradually collectively referred to as "Tujia".
Arguments for the evolution of the Ba people into the Tujia people:
1. The names of the Ba people and the Tujia people have the same pronunciation. The Tujia people call themselves "Bizka", where "Bizka" is the name itself, and "Ka" is equal to "tribe" or "family". The ancient and medieval Ba people also had the syllable "Bi" in their self-proclaimed names. For example, in terms of place names, the areas where the Ba people once traveled include: Baidacheng and Baiyitan in Hunan, Baijietong and Beijia in Hubei. Ping, Baiji Mountain, Baizi Mountain, Baiji Mountain, Biji County in Guizhou, Baijie and Baizhi Mountain in Chongqing, as well as some place names with "雳" or "bie" such as "閴县", etc. In terms of names, surnames, and clan names, in the areas or histories where the Ba people have been active, there are: Peishi, "Banzi" and Banshi, "Fuyi", Bizuqi, Biji, Naishi, etc.
2. Both the Ba people and the Tujia people live in an environment with many tigers and both worship the White Tiger God. The southwest and central-south regions where the Ba people and Tujia people lived have been an environment with many tigers since ancient times. This is reflected in the ancient books "The Classic of Mountains and Seas", "Hanshu", "Huayang Guozhi", "Nanqi Shu" and "Manshu" , "Tan Yuan", "Hu Hui" and other ancient books can be found everywhere.
The Ba people claim to be descendants of the White Tiger and worship the White Tiger God. "Book of the Later Han Dynasty: Biography of Nanman and Southwest Yi" says: "After Lin Jun died, his soul turned into a white tiger. Ba Shi used tigers to drink human blood, so he used people to worship him." "Huayang Guozhi" records that the "banyan barbarians" in the early Han Dynasty ” Also known as “White Tiger Returns to Yi”. The stele named by Fanchang and Zhang Xiang of the Eastern Han Dynasty lists two "White Tiger Yi Kings" named Ziwei and Xiejie. After entering the Jin Dynasty, the "banyan barbarians" were also known as "gonggongtouhuzi". At the end of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, some of the Ba people along the Yangtze River in eastern Hubei claimed to belong to the "Human" tribe. Volume 10 of Fan Chuo's "Manshu" says: "There is a large clan in Bazhong, who is the queen of Linjun... The Ba clan worships its ancestors by beating drums and offering sacrifices, and is also the queen of the White Tiger." It can be seen that from the early Western Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, Ba clan People may call themselves "White Tiger Barbarians", "Huzi" or "Human".
3. The Ba people and Tujia people have the same vocabulary in their languages. This is: the tiger is called "Li" and the fish is called "Yuyu". Both the Ba people and the Tujia people have the word "Li" for tigers. The Ba people's word for fish "禅酅" is similar to the similar name used by the Tujia people today.
4. The surnames of the Ba people and the Tujia people are the same. According to the "Shiben" and "Huayang Guozhi·Ba Zhi", Linjun's Ba has five surnames, while Banyan's Ba has seven surnames. The study of Ba people's surnames is an important part related to their origin, evolution and integration, so scholars have always paid more attention to it. In his works, Mr. Pan Guangdan made a detailed examination of the development and whereabouts of the five and seven surnames of the Ba people. Regarding the first five surnames, he said: Ba, as a surname, does not seem to have been passed down in the Ba people's area, except for Lin Jun's own surname Ba, who was named Wuxiang, and there was a Ba Manzi during the Warring States Period. In the Han area, there are some people with the surname Ba - Fan. Some place names with the character Fan, such as Fankou, Fancheng, etc., may be related to the Fan surname of the Ba people; what can be mentioned together with the Fan family is Fan and Fan. There is no documentation of people who directly take the surname "竫", but there are many examples of surnames that have the same or similar pronunciation and image, such as Qin, Tan, Tan, etc., and they are all more or less similar to "禫". It is related to the Ba people and their descendants Tujia people. Xiang, it is said, later evolved into the Tujia surname Xiang. Zheng, it also exists among the Tujia people today.