Modern Descendants
The ancestries of the Mongols can be traced back to a branch of the Xianbei called the Mengwu Shiwei.
Today the "Monguor" as known in the West and as “Tu Zu” in China may have descended from the Xianbei who were led by Tuyuhun Khan to migrate westward and establish the Tuyuhun Kingdom (284-670) in the third century and Western Xia (1038–1227) through the thirteenth century. Today they are primarily distributed in Qinghai and Gansu Province, and speak an Altaic Mongolic language. The multi-ethnic environment and relative distant distribution in the northwest, detached from the political centers of China, have enabled them to preserve their language and culture until the present times.
The Xibe or "Xi Bo" people also believed themselves to be descendants of the Xianbei, with considerable controversies that have attributed their origins to the Jurchens, the Elunchun, and the Xianbei. Since they were historically referred to as "Suolun people" and spoke Tungus rather than Mongolic language, they may have derived their origins from one or more fractions of the Xianbei or other ethnic groups subjugated by the Xianbei. While most of the Xianbei went south and westward to establish different empires, they remained behind in Manchuria until subjugated by the Jurchens who moved southward from the Tungus Plains in Eastern Russia.
Read more about this topic: Xianbei
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