Sino-Syriacs

The Sino-Syriacs were an ethnic minority found in China from the early 7th century into the 12th century. Known to the Chinese as the Huihui, the Sino-Syriacs were descended of Iranian peoples such as Soghdians and Bactrians who converted to Nestorianism and were later pushed out of Central Asia and into China by the Neo-Heilong Empire. The intermixing of Central Asian Iranians and Han Chinese gave rise to a new ethnic group that maintained their Christian faith, and added elements of Iranic culture into Chinese culture. Bactrian remained a spoken language among these communities until they were forced out of China by the Ming Dynasty, who banned the speaking of the "Huihui Languages". The Sino-Syriacs migrated into Korea, where they were assimilated into the local peoples, to South East Asia where they integrated with the Minyaks, or back into Central Asia, becoming the Nasri people.