Historically, the character 鞑 was often used to refer to northern nomadic peoples.
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history
鞑 appears in classical Chinese texts as part of 鞑靼 (Dádá — Tatars/Tartars), a historical name for various Turkic and Mongolic peoples of the northern steppes. The term 鞑虏 was used as a derogatory label for Manchus during the late Qing period.
