The
Dingling (??) were an ancient
Siberian people. They originally lived on the bank of the
Lena River in the area west of
Lake Baikal, gradually moving southward to Mongolia and northern China. They were subsequently part of the
Xiongnu Empire.
[1][2]Around the 3rd century they were assimilated into the Tiele (??, also named Gaoche (??) or Chile (??)), who gradually expanded westward into Central Asia.
Although the words Dingling, Gaoche, Chile and Tiele are often used interchangeably, this usage is erroneous as pointed out by modern academia.
The Dingling were a warlike group of hunters, fishers, and gatherers of the southern Siberian mountain taiga region from Lake Baikal to northern Mongolia. Chinese records do not mention the physical appearance of the Dingling, and their name appears rarely.[3][4][5]
