東晉南朝史籍有零星關於溪族的記載，向來並不被留意。自從周一良、陳寅恪對此族加以考證，並認為東晉名將陶侃、大詩人陶淵明出於漢族之後，學界關於溪族的研究紛紛而出。儘管如此，由於史料殘闕，關於溪族的族群內涵，至今仍模糊不清。 一般認定有關溪族的幾項特色，仔細思索並不能把所謂的溪族描繪清楚。倒是由漢族即所謂五溪蠻的說法加以追蹤，發現魏晉南北朝時期的蠻，本身就是一個非常含糊的概念，其內涵包括許多非漢族的不同族類，蠻只是對當時長江流域各非漢族群的泛稱，五溪蠻則是對五溪地區各非漢族群的泛稱。因此，所謂的漢族，未必是一個概念明確的特定族群，而只能把溪族理解為當時非漢族群“蠻”的一部分。 依據史料，陶侃曾被當時人罵為“溪狗”，陶侃身上應當保有某些異族的色彩，而不被“中華人士”視為同類。但陶侃並非遠離漢族社會聚族而居，而是已漸融入漢族社會。陶侃出身或與溪族有關，但其建功立業多憑個人才華，未見有漢族勢力之奧援。 陶氏家族到陶侃的曾孫陶淵明時代，幾乎已經不見任何異族色彩了。依據血綠，可以說陶淵明出自南方漢族，但當時漢人不以異族視之，陶淵明內必深處雖潛藏著自我族群的意識，但對外並不承認自己是溪族。至此，可以說溪族出身的陶淵明已漢化融入漢族社會了。

In the historical records of the Wei-chin Southern Dynasty, there are fragmentary accounts about the Hsi, yet they have seldom been noticed. Since Zhou Yiliang and Chen Yinque, who further investigated this ethnic group, considered the famous general Tao Kan of the Eastern Chin and the great poet Tao Yuanming to be the descendents of the Hsi, studies regarding the Hsi have multiplied in the academic circle. However, owing to the insufficiency of historical materials, the characteristics of the tribe have still remained vague. Some traits commonly adopted to depict the Hsi in effect could not clearly characterize the so-called Hsi tribe. Yet if we follow the perspective that the Hsi was the so-called Wu Hsi Man, we will find that the concept of the Man itself in the Wei-chin Southern and Northern Dynasties was rather vague, since it was a collective name for the non-Han tribes along the Yangtze River, while Wu Hsi Man a general name for the non-Han tribes in the Wu Hsi area. As a result, the so-called Hsi might not refer to a specific tribe with a clear definition. We could only understand the term, the Hsi, as a part of the non-Han tribe, ”Man.” According to historical materials, Tao Kan was teased as ”Hsi dog” at his time. There must be certain exotic characters in Tao Kan that could not be identified by the ”Chinese people.” Nonetheless, Tao Kan did not isolate himself from the Han society; instead, he attempted to gradually blend himself into the Han. The origin of Tao Kan might be related to the Hsi, yet his achievements mainly came from personal talents rather than from the support of the Hsi. Till Tao Kan's great grandson, Tao Yuanming, there was little trace of exotic characteristics in the Tao clan. According to kinship, we may say that Tao Yuanming came from the southern Hsi, yet he was not treated as a different race by the Han people. On the other hand, although Tao Yuanmong still had a strong consciousness of his own tribe, he did not admit in the public that he was a Hsi. Thus, we may say that Tao Yuanming, the descendents of the Hsi, had integrated himself with the Han society.