Sima Qian (司馬遷) is the first to mention the Hoŋa in his monumental work, the Records of the Grand Scribe. There, he claims that the Hunnic progenitor, Chun-wei (淳維), hailed from the line of the Xia (夏) Dynasty. This is, of course, a dubious claim likely made with the intention of placing the Hoŋa within the purview of the Central States. The Sinicization of foreign groups within territories deemed to be Chinese is an enduring practice within Chinese regimes. When the Hoŋa are first mentioned, the North was said to be occupied by three groups, known as the: Xun-yu (葷粥), the Xian-yun (獫狁), and the Mountain Rong (山戎).

The Xunyu

Chun-wei was supposedly the son of Jie of Xia (夏桀), a ruthless tyrant blamed for the collapse of his empire. Following this loss, Chun-wei was said to have fled North. From there, he either joined or founded a tribe known as the Xun-yu (葷粥), a name considered by some commentaries to be another transcription of Chun-wei’s name. This tribe became enemies of the ancient Shang (商朝) or Yin (殷代) dynasty.

The Xianyun

The Xian-yun (獫狁), a tribe or confederation that was active during the Western Zhou (西周) (11th century to 771 B.C.E.), were possibly related to the people west of the Central States known as the Western Rong (西戎) and to the Xun-yu before them. They likely contributed to the ethnogenesis of the Hoŋa, if they were not one and the same already. However, unlike their supposed horse-riding descendants, the Xian-yun fought on horse-drawn chariots like their enemies in the Central States.

Mountain Rong

Unlike the Xian-yun, the Mountain Rong were likely a collection of mountain-dwelling tribes to the North of the Central States. They probably included a variety of Altaic speaking tribes such as the ancestors of the Turkic Bai-yang (白羊) tribe (one of the core Hunnic tribes) and the Mongolic-speaking Särbi (鮮卑). They were enemies of the Eastern Zhou (東周) (770 to 256 B.C.E.).