The Xiongnu finally had been driven back into their homeland by the Chinese in CE 48, but within ten years the Xianbei (or Hsien-pei in Wade-Giles) had moved (apparently from the north or northwest) into the region vacated by the Xiongnu.

The Xianbei are the northern branch of the Donghu (or Tung Hu, the Eastern Hu), a proto-Tungus group mentioned in Chinese histories as existing as early as the fourth century BC E.

The language of the Donghu, like that of the Xiongnu, is unknown to modern scholars.

The Donghu had been among the first peoples conquered by the Xiongnu.

Once the Xiongnu state weakens, however, the Donghu rebel.