378 the turkic tribes
presented 3000 horses, and Emperor Yang responded with 12,000
pieces of silk.^5 The emperor decreed that when Ch’i-min greeted
him he did not have to mention his name and that his position in
court should be in front of that of the feudal lords. On Aug.2, Ch’i-
min “presented a memorial” in which he asked “permission” for the
Turks to adopt Chinese clothing. Yang ordered a court discussion,
in which the high dignitaries proposed that this be approved. The
emperor rejected the advice and informed Ch’i-min that barbarians
and Chinese had different customs and that a change of clothing was
unnecessary. All the Turks had to do was to be good-hearted, filial,
and obedient. A banquet was given for Ch’i-min and thousands of his
tribe, and 2000 items of gifts were distributed among them, to each in
accordance with his rank. Among the gifts to Ch’i-min were chariots,
horses, fifes, and banners, and one golden jar each for him and the
qatun. On Sep.2, the day of Yang’s departure, the imperial chariot
passed through the Turkish camp. Ch’i-min awaited it. The emperor
entered his tent. Ch’i-min “knelt”, raised a goblet, and wished him
long life. This was followed by a banquet given by the qaghan, and
gifts were exchanged. Meanwhile, the empress called on the qatun
in her tent. On Sep.9, Ch’i-min returned by “imperial orders” to his
homeland (Sui shu 3:9b, 10b, 11a; 84:12a-14a; Pei shih 99:14b-16a;
Wen-hsien t’ung-k’ao 343:6b).
This account raises a number of questions, as does the one of 599.
It is obviously adapted to put the Chinese side in the best possible
light. The instruction on protocol was for Chinese consumption and
would hardly have been communicated to the qaghan. He would not
have addressed the emperor in the manner of a Chinese official, and
he could not have been treated as an inferior to the Chinese high
nobility. The emperor therefore decreed what was self-evident. Ch’i-
min would naturally not have “presented a memorial”. The request
to adopt Chinese clothing is sheer nonsense. If the Turks had wished
to do so, no one could have prevented them, and they needed no
“permission”. Ch’i-min would under no circumstances have “knelt”
before the emperor. He was on good terms with the Chinese and had
reason to be grateful to them. But he was the qaghan of the Eastern
Turks, with no challenger in sight. Had there been a rival, he could
conceivably have humbled himself, but that was not the case. Ch’i-min
(^5) Pei shih says 13,000 pieces.