The lands in the western parts of China and beyond were sometimes referred to as the Xiyu (西域), which literally translated means 'western regions'. The western regions play a huge role in China's history, the Silk Road, as well as understanding the region of Sumeru and its relationship to Liyue and China.
In fact, to be even more direct, some may even equate the 'western regions' (Xiyu) with Sumeru itself.
The Han dynasty (汉朝) was the first large Chinese dynasty in written history that conquered the western regions (or at least established hegemony over the region). Whether there were dynasties before the Han that accomplished something similar, it has not been recorded in writing.
The Han dynasty is one of China's longest dynasties (200 bc to 200 ce), existing around the time of the Roman empire in the west. Moreover, the Han dynasty is the namesake of the Han Chinese people (汉族) as well as Chinese characters or Hanzi (汉字). The Han was foundational to China's modern culture, establishing the writing system as well as being an innovational powerhouse.
Throughout its existence, the Han dynasty would fight various wars with the northern Xiongnu (匈奴), a people who inhabited the north Eurasian steppe, spanning from Northeast Asia to as far as Central Asia and the Pamir mountains. In the west, the Xiongnu may also be known as the Huns, the very nomadic people who destroyed the Roman empire.
So what does the Han-Xiongnu relationship have anything to do with the west or Sumeru? It turns out that the competition between the Han and Xiongnu directly impacted the fate of the west, shaping the history of the region that serves as inspiration for Sumeru. The includes Central Asia, South Asia, and even as far as Europe and the Middle East.
Let's start with the closest regions impacted by the Han-Xiongnu battles: Central Asia and South Asia. During this time, there were various kingdoms inhabiting Central Asia and western China. These include people such as the Yuezhi / Rouzhi, Tocharians, Kangju, Wusun, Sogdians, Saka, Daxia, Dayuan, etc. Many of these people were related to Eastern Iranian groups (or 'Aryans') or even Greco-Bactrian kingdoms. In particular, Daxia and Dayuan were remnants of the Greek Hellenistic empire (as Alexander's campaigns reached as far east as Central Asia and the borders of India). So in ancient times, Central Asia had a fusion of Greek culture as well.
Eventually the Hellenistic empire split apart into several smaller states, and those at the more eastern boundaries of the Greek empire mixed more with the local culture such as the Scythian, Sogdian, and Saka (Sai) people living near Central Asia and western China.
During the reign of Liu Che, the Han dynasty rapidly expanded in all directions, conquering Jiaochi to the south (modern Vietnam), the Xiongnu to the north, and various kingdoms in the western regions, asserting hegemony in East, North, Central, and even South Asia.
Liu Che is considered one of China's greatest emperors (even one of the greatest emperors of all time in the entire world).
Some people like to say that the Tang dynasty was also quite big and powerful. It is true that the Tang was another Chinese golden age, and its territory was vast after annexing the Tujue. But the truth is, the Han dynasty achieved the exact same thing in terms of territorial conquests before the Tang. During Liu Che's reign, after defeating the Xiongnu, the Han dynasty territory basically matched the Tang dynasty territory at its height, including all the vassal kingdoms, encompassing a vast region from Northeast Asia to Central Asia.
So the Han dynasty deserves a lot more credit. It was a Chinese golden age just like the Tang dynasty. And it was one of the few Chinese dynasties in history that unified north and south China (Han, Tang, Yuan, Qing).
In the Battle of Mobei, the Han dynasty defeated the Xiongnu (around modern-day Mongolia). This is considered a turning point in the history of the Han dynasty and Xiongnu. Thereafter, the Xiongnu would never recover the strength they once had under the Modu Chanyu. The Xiongnu would split into smaller clans and would become vassals of the Han dynasty (e.g. the Southern Xiongnu). Eventually, some Xiongnu would either completely assimilate into Han Chinese culture, and others would flee west becoming various other nomadic tribes such as the Xionites, Hephthalites, Huns, and cause the collapse of the Roman empire and various empires in India.
The fact that the Han dynasty was able to defeat the Xiongnu / Huns, but that the Huns were able to cause the collapse of empires in the west and South Asia shows how powerful the Han dynasty was at the time.
The Xiongnu did not completely fade away in history. Even in Europe, there is a country named Hungary, taking its name after the Huns. As for whether the modern Hungarians are descended from these ancient Hunnic people is a subject of modern research. Nonetheless, the modern Hunagarian language has been identified as part of the Finno-Ugric language family, which is quite different from surrounding European (Aryan) languages and Turkic languages.
This sort of aligns with how the original Xiongnu language still remains to be classified. Scholars are unsure which family the Xiongnu language belonged to, with various hypotheses existing: Altaic, Nadene/Yeniseian/Jie/Ket, even Sinitic. It may even be the case that the Xiongnu spoke its own language isolate as North Asia is known to be the home for various different language groups.
And then there were the Xiongnu who chose to become Han Chinese and assimilate into China. It is in this sense that the Xiongnu can be considered as an ethnic minority (少数民族) of China, in the same sense that Mongols, Man, etc. are also ethnic minorities in China.
The various kingdoms in the western regions have been recorded in Chinese history by famous Han dynasty explorers such as Zhang Qian and Ban Chao. These explorers traveled to Central Asia and the borders of South Asia. They even made contact with the Roman Empire (probably via envoys in the Parthian empire of Persia). The ancient Chinese term for the Roman Empire was Daqin (大秦), which may refer to Syria, one of the eastern most points of the Roman Empire. The name Daqin contains the character Qin (秦), also the name of the Qin dynasty, the predecessor of the Han dynasty. Whether Daqin is just a transliteration of a Roman placename into Chinese or something that symbolizes a connection between Rome and the Qin dynasty is a question of modern research. It will just be mentioned that Han Chinese DNA has been found in the tombs of Roman soldiers in Britain. So perhaps somehow, through the steppe migrations, ancient Chinese moved with the nomads and landed in Rome.
The name for India during the Han dynasty was Shendu. During this time, there was a fusion of Greek, Persian, and Saka culture to India's north (in Central Asia). The culture of Central Asia during the Han dynasty was quite different from the Central Asia we know today. This time period was long before the Arabic Islamic wave, the Mongol-Turkic wave, and the Soviet Russia influence in Central Asia.
For example, during the Han dynasty, one of the main religions of Central Asia was Buddhism, which was even prevalent in Iran at the time, alongside Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism (and later Christianity) and other Greek cultures (from Alexander's empire). It is said that the various Central Asian kingdoms and merchants helped spread Buddhism between west China and north India during the time of the Han dynasty.
One such Central Asian kingdom was called Dayuan (大宛), which is thought to refer to Ionians.
Another group of people in this region were the Yuezhi / Rouzhi (月氏) and the Tocharians. There is debate on whether the original Yuezhi were more related to Han-Tibetan Qiang (羌) people or the Tocharians. But essentially, these people lived in western China and Central Asia. The Tocharians spoke a language that is linguistically related to Aryan languages, including Persian, Hindustani, and various European languages.
All these groups later became part of the Han dynasty and helped fight against the northern Xiongnu.
Then there were the Saka (Sai) and Sogdians, a group of Eastern Iranian people. The Sogdians were merchants who helped facilitate trade along the Silk Road between China, India, and Persia. They helped spread Buddhism between these various civilizations. Many became part of the Han dynasty, and they would later also become part of the Tang dynasty.
The Sogdians were probably related to an even more ancient group of Aryan nomads called the Scythians. The Scythians were people who migrated via the steppe into Europe and Persia. They probably originated from western and northern China, similar to the Xiongnu, Tocharians, etc.
The point is the further back in history one goes, the more one realizes how closely related China and the western regions were (India, Persia, even Europe). Even as far back as the Han dynasty and before, it can be clearly observed that many of the people who migrated into these western regions actually originated from China itself. Keeping this history in mind can help explain some of the connections between Liyue and Sumeru in Genshin Impact.
But perhaps more importantly, China and the west have a long shared history on the Silk Road, involving the movement and flow of goods, people, religions like Buddhism, and ideas. As is described in Buddhism, all things in the world are interconnected, and throughout history, China has always exerted a deep influence across the whole Eurasian continent.
After the collapse of the Han, the world was once more divided into warring states. Meanwhile in the west, the Huns, Alans, Yancai invaded Europe and North Africa (Roman Empire), while the Xionites, Kushan, etc. invaded India.
As for China itself, there was the three kingdoms period, as captured in the legendary classic Sanguozhi (三国志). This period of history, featuring giants such as Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and others, has so captured the public imagination that a novel was even written about it called the Romance of the Three Kingdoms (三国演义). These works of history and literature are the subject of endless conversations of scholarly analysis.
After the three kingdoms period rose the Jin (晋) dynasty. And after that there were several other successor states in China. The most important developments were: 1) the Xiongnu gradually assimilated into Han Chinese culture, 2) in the northern steppe, new tribes such as the Tiele, Dingling, Rouran, and eventually the Gokturks rose to power, 3) power became more centralized in mainland China.
As the saying goes, the empire long divided must unite. So what was that empire that eventually unified all the players in the Sinosphere?
This opens the second chapter in the history of China and the west. If the Han was the first great Chinese empire that expanded to and conquered the west, then the Tang is the second great Chinese empire to accomplish that. And this is where several Sumeru characters tie in, including Cyno, Alhaitham, and Dehya.
Cyno is a blend of the Tang, Turkic, Persian, Saka, and Arab syncretic influence that defined China during this time period. Alhaitham's relationship to Cyno involves the notion of successor states. While it does tie back to the Tang, it bears modern significance as well. This is due to the dual-nature of Alhaitham: his name also alludes to the very recent Qing dynasty. So Alhaitham can be tied to both the Tang and Qing dynasties based on different parts of his character design. As a consequence, Cyno can be tied to both the Tang in one aspect and a successor state to the Qing in another aspect.
To draw an analogy: the Tang is to the Sui what Cyno is to Alhaitham. A second analogy: if Alhaitham (Qing) is like a successor to Baizhu (Ming) then Cyno is like a successor to Alhaitham. As for what the second analogy really means is up to the modern people of the world the people currently making history. Even though Cyno and Alhaitham are ultimately Sumeru characters tied to the history of the Mesopotamia region, this connection to Chinese history does have some influence on how Chinese view these characters.
Like the Han, the Tang conquered Vietnam, the Korean peninsula, even extending influence to Japan, giving rise to the modern Japanese writing system. Much of the modern Korean demographics can be said to have been shaped by the Tang dynasty.
So how does this tie to Cyno and Raiden, two electro polearms in Genshin? First the fact that they share the same element and weapon could be a coincidence with no meaning. But suppose this was a deliberate choice.
One way to look at this is that the Tang (Cyno) had a great cultural influence on Japan (Inazuma, Raiden), introducing the Chinese writing system and culture into Japan. Some Japanese history maps even show parts of Japan being part of the Tang empire.
The second way to look at this is to compare two empires of Chinese history: the Mongol Empire (Genghis, Raiden) and the Tang dynasty (Cyno). The Mongol Empire simply conquered more territory than the Tang. However, the Mongol Empire did not last as long, whereas the Tang lasted 300 years and had an enduring influence to this day. One way this manifests itself in Raiden and Cyno's kits is that Raiden's burst lasts 7s with an 11s downtime, whereas Cyno's burst lasts 18s with almost no downtime.
The third way to view this is to compare two empires in world history: the Mongol Empire (Genghis, Raiden) and Alexander's Empire (Cyno). We are talking about the original Alexander of Greece, as opposed to later Alexanders (like those of European empires such as Russian tsars or Alexandrina of the British empire).
Some western historians like to claim that Alexander is one of the greatest conquerors in the west. And then Genghis is the greatest conqueror of the east. So how do the two compare? The Mongol Empire conquered more territory than the original Alexander of Greece, just like how the Mongols conquered more than the Tang. And Genshin perhaps makes this answer a bit clear based on their portrayals of Cyno and Raiden. But similar to the Tang, Alexander's empire had an enduring impact throughout the history of the west, as represented by how Cyno's burst lasts longer than Raiden's.
Raiden's burst is a gigantic nuke that happens as quick as lightning, whereas Cyno's burst is consistent damage over a long period of time. And this sort of does capture the effect of the Mongol empire versus the Tang or Alexander's empire.
But that is the original Alexander of Greece. Later Alexanders of European countries (Russia, Britain) would rule over empires that rivaled the Mongols in territory and reach, one example being Queen Alexandrina of the British Empire in the 1800s (also the first empress of British India).
But perhaps the crown jewel of all the Tang conquests were the Gokturks. This is perhaps learned in any Chinese history class, but essentially the Gokturks were a nomadic empire spanning northeast Asia to Central Asia and even East Europe. They split into the Eastern and Western Gokturks. The Tang dynasty conquered the East Gokturks and allied with them to defeat the West Gokturks as well. Some members of the royal Gokturk houses (Ashina) were taken back to the Tang capital to live as Chinese citizens. This conquest gave Tang China tremendous influence over Central Asia and even as far as Europe, politically, economically, and in military. Some remnants of the West Gokturks became the Khazar Jews that ruled over the Volga region.
As a result of the Tang's hegemony over the Silk Road, there was peaceful trade between China and the western regions, including India (Tianzhu). Buddhism flourished, and the monk Xuanzang made his legendary journey to the west to obtain scriptures from India. On the way, he encountered things such as the Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan.
The Tang was not the first to make such a conquest. The Han pursued a similar strategy when conquering the Huns. They split the Huns into the North and South Xiongnu. They took over the South Xiongnu and allied with them to vanquish the North Xiongnu.
Some modern strategists like to make an analogy, saying that the USA in Japan and South Korea is like the 'modern Xiongnu'. When people start applying analogies from the Han-Xiongnu era, then perhaps it does not take long for one to think of how the Tang-Gokturk interaction applies to modern times. But the point is that the military history of the Han and Tang can give some insights into modern geopolitics. Such things do not need to be spelled out directly, but it only takes a bit of imagination.
Some people like to envision the various empires in Chinese history as beautiful women. These include the Han, Tang, Mongol empire (Meng), and Qing dynasty. Some people have strong preferences, saying the Han is the most beautiful or that they love the Tang the most. They may say that she is the 'best waifu' or that she is very pretty, but I love that other lady more.
On the topic of Islam and this time period, one Arabic word that comes to mind is 'harem' (حَرِيمٌ). Perhaps it is helpful to treat these major dynasties equally and objectively. It can be dangerous when two of these try to gang up on the others out of jealousy. So there needs to be a balancing mechanism, oversight, or centralized power to keep certain chauvinistic attitudes in check without causing too much destruction to the system.
During the Tang, Persia was called Dashi (大食), which could refer to the Tajik people.
During the Han, Parthia was called Anxi (安息). Parthia was also called the Arsacid empire, so Anxi could refer to Arsacid, named after the empire's eponymous founder Arsaces I. Anxi could also refer to Antiochia in Margiana (also called Alexandria), now called Merv, a city in Turkmenistan along the Silk Road. Another theory is that Anxi could refer to Anshan, an ancient Elamite city of Persia.
Around the time of the Tang dynasty, there was another empire in the west that rose as well: the Islamic empires (Umayyad, Abbasid caliphate, etc.). The Abrahamic religion of Islam was founded. Led by the prophet Mohammed, the Arabs embarked on a conquest of much of North Africa, Spain (Al-Andalus), the Middle East, eventually reaching Persia and parts of Central Asia. Many Persian kings and people actually fled to Tang China to becomes Chinese citizens to escape the Arab conquests.
The Tang and Arab empires did interact within the Central Asia region in the Battle of Talas. Other than that, the Tang and Islamic caliphates enjoyed friendly relationships and trade along the Silk Road. The Tang even invited Arab and Persian mercenaries to help quell the An Lushan rebellion.
But even in the ensuing centuries, the relationship between the Islamic west and China would continue via the Turkic people. Over time, more Turkic people would migrate from China to the west, establishing various Islamic empires such as the Seljuk, Timurid, Mughal, and Ottoman empires. So just like how the Huns of Europe can trace their history back to the Han dynasty, so too can the various Turkic empires of the Middle East and India trace their history back to the Tang dynasty.
The Han and Tang dynasties are golden ages in Chinese history, but also empires that had tremendous influence on world history.
There is a theory that An Lushan (安禄山), the Sogdian-Turkic-Xianbei general of the Tang dynasty, had his named derived from Roxshan (Sogdian, related to Roxana, the wife of Alexander). An Lushan's original name may have been Aluoshan (阿犖山) or Yaluoshan (軋犖山), and his father may have had the surname Kang or An, indicating Sogdian origin. Kang came from the Sogdian kingdom Samarkand (康国), and An came from the Bukhara (安国) or Parthia (安息). There are other theories his father was Khithan or related to the Kumo Xi. An Lushan's mother was from the Gokturk Ashide clan, where Ashide (Turkic) is derived from Azhdaha (Persian).
But on the topic of Alexander's wife Roxana, perhaps one can propose a more direct theory that An Lushan's name is based on 'Alexander' of Greece via the Sogdian interaction in Central Asia. The A- became 安 (An) as 安 can be pronounced A depending on dialect (and 安 can be pronounced A in Japanese). The -lexander became Lushan.
Nowadays Alexander is written as 亚历山大 Yalishanda. Thinking about it a bit more, Alexander the Great of Greece predated the Tang dynasty by nearly 1000 years. And the name Alexander was famous long before the Li (李) surname was in China. Could it be that the rise of the Li family and the Tang dynasty in China is due to the great prestige of Alexander's name when he shook the world with his Hellenistic empire? Could it be that the Li family of China descends from the ancient Alexander when he embarked on his eastern military campaigns into Central Asia? After all, the poet Li Bai is said to have descended from Central Asians. Li Bai's great great... great grandfather may as well could have been Alexander when he set up satraps in the Greco-Bactrian kingdoms.
It could be that many non-Han people named Alexander chose to adopt the name Li when they assimilated into Tang China. Many foreigners across China's long history have adopted various different surnames when they assimilated into the Han Chinese culture. This meant that many polysyllabic names (such as Alexander) had to be simplified into a single syllable surname, so it could just be that Alexander, in the process of becoming Chinese, turned into the single syllable Li.
Perhaps Genshin's opinion, expressed via the character of Cyno, is that Alexander's empire and Tang China were equally great empires that had a tremendous impact on the world in their respective civilization spheres, with Alexander greatly influencing the west and the Tang greatly influencing the east.
But always remember: Alexander did it first, 1000 years before Li.
The Li family becomes more likeable when you starting viewing every Li as the descendant of Alexander.
Modern linguists have discored that an ancient group of people, called the Tocharians, have lived in west China around the Tarim basin. The Tocharians spoke a language related to the Aryan languages of the west. Their language was written in documents using the Brahmic script from 400-1200 ce. Farming appeared in the Tarim basin around 2000 bc. Tarim mummies dating to 1800 bc have been found, but it is unknown if they are connected to the Tocharian people. Moreover, it is unknown if the Afanasievo culture (3500-2500 bc) of Siberia or the Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC) of Central Asia have any connection either.
According to Chinese archaeology, north and west China used to be lush verdant lands that could be farmed, but over time, perhaps due to climate change, desertification, deforestation, war, or overuse of soil, these lands have turned into dry arid deserts in the past few thousand years. So ever since the Han dynasty, South China with its rivers and fertile soil has traditionally been an economic powerhouse and source of much agricultural produce for North China.
The term Tocharian is from Greek sources that described a group of people living in Bactra as 'Tocharians'. The people living in Bactria actually spoke a pretty different language from those in Tarim China, making the label 'Tocharian' a bit erroneous, but the term has stuck. It is unknown what the actual ethnic name of the Tarim people was, but they referred to themselves as Agni, Kuchi/Kucha, Kroran/Loulan (endonyms).
A Buddhist work in Old Turkic mentioned that the text was translated from Sanskrit via the 'Togri' language. Manichean texts also used the term 'Toghar' to refer to various lands within Xinjiang province of China (such as Kucha). The Greek Strabo used the term Tocharian to refer to a Scythian tribe from China that conquered the Greco-Bactrians. This could refer to the Yuezhi, which would found the Kushan empire of Central Asia and India. Indo-Aryan languages (Sanskrit, Old Persian, Saka) also used the term Tocharian / Tushara to refer to a land mentioned in the Mahabharata north of India inhabited by warriors / fierce barbarians. Tushara became the basis for the term Tukhara / Tukharistan / Tokharistan, referring to Bactria (a land conquered by the Han and Tang dynasties), as well as Takhar province (Afghanistan).
However, later it was discovered that the people of Tokharistan spoke Bactrian, an Eastern Iranian language, which is different from the language spoken in the Tarim basin. But the term Tocharian has remained to denote the Tarim languages, even if it is a bit of a misnomer.
The Tarim people did not refer to themselves as 'Tocharians', but rather Agni, Kuchi, Kroran, and some of these names appear in Sanskrit texts as well. These are the name of oasis states within Xinjiang China. Agni refers to Karasahr, also called Arsi or Yanqi (焉耆), an ancient Silk Road town in Xinjiang. Some Tocharian texts refer to their own language as Arsi, which could mean Agnean referring to Agni / Karasahr (or could also mean 'monk'). Indeed, an alternate name of the Tocharian language is Arśi-Kuči or Agnean-Kuchean.
Agni also means 'fire' in Sanskrit and is the name of the Vedic god in Hinduism / Buddhism. The god Agni is also called Aggi. However it is not known if the Agni / Yanqi of the Tarim basin is connected with the god Agni. It could be a coincidence in spelling or if not, the Tarim speakers could also be associated with the people of Agni.
Kucha (库车) was a Buddhist kingdom also in Xinjiang that existed from Han to Tang times. Kroran refers to the Loulan kingdom (楼兰), also ruled by the Han and Tang dynasties. So the Tarim people referred to themselves and their language based on names of cities in west China, not 'Tocharian'. Perhaps they should be referred to as Agni, Kucha, or Loulan people instead. For the rest of this article, we will refer to them as Tocharians mostly, but may sometimes use Agni/Kucha/Loulan people as synonyms.
Some scholars argue that the Yuezhi people of the Tarim basin migrated west, spoke/adopted Tocharian, and then migrated to Bactria, where they adopted the Bactrian language. As for the original language of the Yuezhi, some scholars believe it was a Qiangic language (part of Han-Tibetan family), before they adopted Tocharian. Another hypothesis is that the Qiangic (Han-Tibetan) languages and Tocharian are related, perhaps genetically, the implication being that Chinese and Aryan languages should belong to a single family (Sino-Aryan).
Some scholars argue that Yuezhi (月氏) is a transliteration of Yarki/Arki/Arsi, referring to the Arsi of the Tocharians.
Regardless the Yuezhi originated from China, were pushed out by the Xiongnu, migrated to Central Asia, defeated the Greco-Bactrians, founded the Kushan Empire that ruled over Central Asia and India. By the time of the Kushan empire, they may have adopted other languages such as Bactrian, Indo-Aryan, etc. and have mixed with other people of Central Asia to the point that the distinction between Tocharian and Yuezhi became blurred.
As for the Tocharians (Agni-Kucha people), they remained in China from the Han to the Tang and ultimately disappeared after the Tang, being displaced by Turkic peoples.
Another nomadic people living around this region of west China and Central Asia were the Wusun (乌孙). Some people reconstruct Wusun from Asmiraioi (mentioned in Ptolemy's Geography) or Issedones, people who lived in Central Asia. Others reconstruct Wusun from Sanskrit Asva (meaning horse) / Ashvin (referring to the twin gods in the Rigveda). Another theory reconstructs Wusun from 'Wuthan/Wudhan' (wd'n) an enemy of the Kangju. Wusun may have been cognate with Parthian wd'n meaning 'tent', and the Wusun language may have been related to Sogdian. But based on the above discussion about Yuezhi, if Wusun can be identified with Asva, perhaps it may be related to the Arsi / Agni of the Tocharians, meaning the Wusun could just be another group related to the Tocharians / Tarim people of Arsi.
Like the Yuezhi, Daxia, Dayuan, the Wusun were allies/vassals of the Han dynasty (part of the Han protectorate of Central Asia) and helped the Han defeat the Xiongnu. The Wusun were last mentioned by Chinese sources in the 400s. After that they were absorbed into the Rouran (Mongolic) or Hephthalites (White Huns). Both of these empires would be succeeded by the nomadic Gokturk empire, which itself would be conquered by the Tang dynasty.
Although Rouran looks like Loulan (suggesting a connection with the Tarim basin), Rouran seems to have a different etymological origin based in the Mongolic languages.
It is not surprising that a group like the Tocharians lived in west China, considering that even nowadays, there are many different ethnic groups living in west China, including the Tajiks.
But given that the Tocharian people originate from China, it is no stretch to consider them as a part of Chinese history and consider Tocharians as Chinese people.