388 the turkic tribes
Ssu-li-pi did not control much more than the area of present Sui-
yüan. On Feb.28, 641, he requested that, when the Turks were raided
by the Hsüeh-yen-t’o, he could seek refuge inside the border fortifica-
tions. This was approved (Tzu-chih t’ung-chien p.6165). In 643, T’ai-tsung
agreed to that Ssu-li-pi and his followers could move to the Ning-hsia
Oasis and northwestern Shensi (Wen-hsien t’ung-k’ao 343:8b-9a). This
followed logically from T’ai-tsung’s decision to settle large numbers
of Eastern Turks in northern Chinese frontier areas.
In 645, Ssu-li-pi participated with Turkish horsemen in T’ai-tsung’s
attack on Koguryo. He was wounded by an arrow and died in 646 in
Ch’ang-an. T’ai-tsung conferred on him the posthumous title of Master
of Writing of the Ministry of Arms and Military Governor and ordered
that a stele be set up in his memory (Wen-hsien t’ung-k’ao 343:9a).
The Eastern Turkish tribes north of the Gobi had not recognized
Ssu-li-pi and had not submitted to China. After the defeat of Hsieh-li,
they elected an A-shih-na clansman as qaghan. This man called him-
self the Yi-chu-chü-pi Qaghan or Chü-pi for short. He was not strong
enough to withstand the Hsüeh-yen-t’o and had to accept a tributary
status. Since he had a great following, the Hsüeh-yen-t’o wished to kill
him. He succeeded in evading them. A son of his went as envoy to the
T’ang court and was received in audience by T’ai-tsung in the 11th
month (December) of 647.^15 Chü-pi offered to call on the emperor in
person, whereupon T’ai-tsung sent a general to escort him. But Chü-
pi never arrived, to the anger of the emperor. Ssu-ma Kuang records
bitterly that Chü-pi was good at making promises but never had any
intention to come (Chiu T’ang shu 194A:9a; Ts’e-fu yüan-kuei p.5024;
Tzu-chih t’ung-chien p.6250; Wen-hsien t’ung-k’ao 343:9a).
In the 10th month (Oct./Nov.) of 648, Chü-pi’s son-in-law Chü-lo-
po arrived as his envoy at to the T’ang court. He was detained there
(Tzu-chih t’ung-chien p.6262). In 649, the Chinese attacked Chü-pi,
while the Uighurs and other tribes turned against him; he fled, was
captured in 650, and brought to Ch’ang-an. Emperor Kao-tsung,
who had ascended the throne on July 10, 649, scolded him but then
appointed him General of the Martial Guards of the Left (Chiu T’ang
shu 194A:9a; T’ung-tien 198:41b-42a; Tzu-chih t’ung-chien pp.6265-6266,
6271;Wen-hsien t’ung-k’ao 343:9a).
(^15) Another son had at an unspecified time been sent to the T’ang court and had
been appointed General of the Garrison Guards of the Left (Chiu T’ang shu 194A:9a;
Wen-hsien t’ung-k’ao 343:9a).