The Dongyi or Eastern Yi (Chinese: 東夷; pinyin: Dōngyí) was a collective term for ancient peoples found in Chinese records. The definition of Dongyi varied across the ages, but in most cases referred to inhabitants of eastern China, then later, the Korean peninsula and Japanese Archipelago. Dongyi refers to different group of people in different periods. As such, the name "Yí" 夷 was something of a catch-all and was applied to different groups over time.According to the earliest Chinese record, the Zuo Zhuan, the Shang dynasty was attacked by King Wu of Zhou while attacking the Dongyi and collapsed afterward.
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Dongyi in the context of Four Barbarians
"Four Barbarians" (Chinese: 四夷; pinyin: sìyí) was a term used by subjects of the Zhou and Han dynasties to refer to the four major people groups living outside the borders of Huaxia. Each was named for a cardinal direction: the Dongyi ("Eastern Barbarians"), Nanman ("Southern Barbarians"), Xirong ("Western Barbarians"), and Beidi ("Northern Barbarians"). Ultimately, the four barbarian groups either emigrated away from the Chinese heartland or were partly assimilated through sinicization into Chinese culture during later dynasties. After this early period, "barbarians" to the north and the west would often be designated as "Hu" (胡).
Dongyi in the context of Shanhai Pass
The Shanhai Pass (simplified Chinese: 山海关; traditional Chinese: 山海關; pinyin: Shānhǎi Guān; lit. 'Mountain Sea Pass') is a major fortified gateway at the eastern end of the Great Wall of China and one of its most crucial fortifications, as the pass commands the narrowest choke point in the strategic Liaoxi Corridor, an elongated coastal plain between the Yan Mountains foothills and the Bohai Sea, which is the only easily traversable landway between North and Northeast China. It is located in present-day Shanhaiguan District, Qinhuangdao, Hebei province, on the east bank of the Shi River, with defensive walls stretching from the Yan Mountains all the way to the shores of the Liaodong Bay.
Throughout Chinese history, garrisons around the pass served as frontline defensive outposts against raids and incursions into the North China Plain by various non-Sinitic ethnic groups from the Northeast (also known as Manchuria since the 19th century), including the Dongyi, Donghu (Xianbei and Wuhuan), Khitan and Jurchen (Manchus). The current Shanhai Pass was built during the early Ming dynasty as the easternmost fortification of the Ming Great Wall, and was extensively reinforced after Yongle Emperor moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing following the Jingnan campaign, making it the most important defensive barrier in all of China, as it shielded the heartland region around the imperial capital. The pass' strategic location dictated that without mounting a costly direct siege, the only way an invading army can get past the pass' defense was to circumvent it around the north through a few treacherously narrow mountain passes deep within the Yan Mountains, which would make it very difficult to maintain supply lines and thus any sizeable invasions. This defensive significance therefore earned the pass the famous nickname "Greatest Pass Under Heaven" (天下第一关).
Dongyi in the context of Liaodong Commandery
Liaodong Commandery (Chinese: 遼東郡) was a commandery in imperial China that existed from the Warring States period to the Northern dynasties. It was located in modern Liaoning, to the east of the Liao River.
The commandery was created by the state of Yan on its northern border during the Warring States period. In Western Han dynasty, It administered 18 counties, including Xiangping (襄平), Xinchang (新昌), Wulü (無慮), Wangping (望平), Fang (房), Houcheng (候城), Liaodui (遼隊), Liaoyang (遼陽), Xiandu (險瀆), Jujiu (居就), Gaoxian (高顯), Anshi (安市), Wuci (武次), Pingguo (平郭), Xi'anping (西安平), Wen (文), Fanhan (番汗), and Dashi (沓氏). In 2 AD, the population was 272,539, in 55,972 households. In Eastern Han, 11 counties remained, including Xiangping, Xinchang, Wulü, Wangping, Houcheng, Anshi, Pingguo, Xi'anshi, Wen, Fanhan and Dashi. In 140 AD, the population was 64,158 households. During the reign of Emperor Xian, management of Buyeo affairs was transferred from Xuantu Commandery to Liaodong. In the Cao Wei dynasty, Xiangping in Liaodong became the seat of an office known as the "Colonel of the Dongyi" (東夷校尉), which was in charge of the military and relationships with the local peoples. In early Western Jin, the territory became the Liaodong Principality (遼東國). In 280 AD, the commandery had 8 counties, and a population of 5,400 households. A number of new commanderies was established in the region throughout the Sixteen Kingdoms and Northern dynasties periods, and by the time of Northern Wei, Liaodong only consisted of 2 counties, namely Xiangping and Xinchang. It was eventually dissolved during Northern Qi.