the turkic tribes 399as king of Kuei-yi commandery. In the 4th month (May/June) of 619,
he offered big pearls to Kao-tsu which the emperor rejected with
the remark that pearls are useless (T’ung-tien 199:44b; Ts’e-fu yüan-kuei
p.5023;Tzu-chih t’ung-chien p.5829; Wen-hsien t’ung-k’ao 344:11b).
In the 8th month (Sep./Oct.) of 619, envoys of Eastern Turks
requested that Ch’u-lo be killed. The court officials took the view that
the state should not be risked for the life of one man. To avoid future
trouble, Ch’u-lo should be killed. Li Shih-min, the future Emperor
T’ai-tsung, argued that it was not right to kill a man who had attached
himself to China. But Kao-tsu, then as always, was unable to stand
up to the Eastern Turks. He summoned Ch’u-lo to the palace and
drank wine with him. Ch’u-lo was then taken to the Secretariat of
the Palace Writers, where he was handed over to the Eastern Turkish
envoys and murdered. After T’ai-tsung had ascended the throne of
Sep.3, 626, he had Ch’u-lo reburied according to proper ritual (Sui
shu 84:18a; Chiu T’ang shu 194B:1b; T’ang hui-yao 94:9b; T’ung-tien 199:
44b;Tzu-chih t’ung-chien p.5865; Wen-hsien t’ung-k’ao 344:11b).
From 611, with Ch’u-lo out of the way, She-kuei was the unchal-
lenged qaghan of the Western Turks. He died in 618 and was suc-
ceeded by a younger brother, the T’ung-yeh-hu Qaghan (Ton-yabghu
Qaghan) (T’ung-tien 199:44b; Wen-hsien t’ung-k’ao 344:11b).
On July 28,^31 619, envoys from T’ung-yeh-hu to the T’ang court
offered gifts (Chiu T’ang shu 1:6a; Ts’e-fu yüan-kuei p.5023; Tzu-chih
t’ung-chien p.5859).
In the 1st month (Feb./Mar.) of 620, envoys from T’ung-yeh-hu
presented ostrich eggs.^32 In the 3rd month (Apr./May), his envoys
again offered gifts. In the 4th month (May/June), his envoys requested
a marriage. Kao-tsu agreed because he wished to form an alliance
with the Western Turks against the Eastern Turks (Chiu T’ang shu 1:
6a; 194B:2a; Ts’e-fu yüan-kuei p.5023; Tzu-chih t’ung-chien p.5995;Wen-
hsien t’ung-k’ao 344:11b).
In the 3rd month (Mar./Apr.) of 621, envoys from T’ung-yeh-hu
offered gifts. In the 4th month (May/June) of 622, they presented a
lion skin, in the 8th month (Sep./Oct.) of that year fine horses, in the
4th month (May/June) of 623 gifts, in the 3rd month (April) of 626
(^31) Correcting yi-yu to chi-yu.
(^32) Chiu T’ang shu 1:6a says ostriches.