A collective term for miscellaneous Non-Chinese tribes during the Han 漢 and Jin 晉 Dynasties dwelling in the areas of modern Gansu and Qinghai, with two types, the Western Jie 西羯, and the Jie-Hu 羯胡. The ethnological relation to other peoples is less than clear, the Jie are told to be descendants of the "Skythic" Yuezhi 月支 people or a sideline of the Xiongnu 匈奴. During the Three Kingdoms period (Sanguo) 三國 and the begin of Western Jin (Xijin) 西晉, Non-Chinese tribes immigrated in to Chinese territory in the areas of modern Gansu, Shaanxi and northern Sichuan, among them the Lijie 力羯, Qiangqu 羌渠, and Jie-Hu 羯胡. According to the historical sources, their appearance was rather caucasian, and there were many believers of Manicheism (xianjiao 祅教) among them. Scattered among Chinese villages, the Jie worked as farmers and in times of suffering had to engage themselves as tenant farmers. Chinese magnates seemed to treat them very badly and caused rebellions lead by Jie chieftians, like Shi Le 石勒 who founded the Later Zhao empire (Houzhao) 後趙. Until the Sui Dynasty 隋 the Jie had merged with the Chinese population.