the turkic tribes 397Emperor Hsüan-tsung wrote a poem to commemorate the fall of the
Eastern Turkish empire (Chiu T’ang shu 194A:17a; Tzu-chih t’ung-chien
p.6863;Wen-hsien t’ung-k’ao 343:11a).
The Western Turks.
The qaghanate of the Western Turks came into existance in the early
580’s, when the Turkish empire split into an eastern and western
part. The western comprised at its height what now is Zungharia
and East and West Turkestan. The founder Ta-t’ou (Tardu), the Pu-
chia Qaghan, ruled with the aide of his grandson, the Ni-li Qaghan.
When the latter died in about 588, he was succeeded by his son, the
Ni-chüeh-ch’u-lo Qaghan or Ch’u-lo for short.^28 Ch’u-lo’s mother
was Chinese, the Lady Hsiang, who after Ni-li’s death married his
younger brother P’o-shih. Toward the end of the century, she and
her second husband visited Ch’ang-an. They remained there, pos-
sibly under duress (Sui shu 84:15a). With the disappearance of the
Pu-chia Qaghan in 603, Ch’u-lo became temporarily the sole ruler
of the Western Turkish empire.
On Mar.27, 591, Turkish envoys to the Sui court presented seven
precious bowls (Sui shu 2:7a).
In 592, Turkish envoys to the Sui court offered gifts (Pei shih 11:
21b).
Early in his reign (605-618), Emperor Yang of Sui sent the Inter-
nuncio Ts’ui Chün-su as envoy to Ch’u-lo. Chün-su’s account of the
meeting is as self-serving, fraudulent, and preposterous as so many
others. He claims that Ch’u-lo squatted when he received the “edict”
and was not willing to rise. Having been corrected by the Chinese
envoy he “was terrified, rose, wept, saluted twice, knelt, and accepted
the edict” (Sui shu 84:16a).
In 610, Yang sent an envoy to Ch’u-lo and “summoned” him to
meet him in the northwest. Ch’u-lo refused, which angered the emperor
(Sui shu 84:16b; T’ung-tien 199:44a; Wen-hsien t’ung-k’ao 344:11b).
Soon thereafter, an opportunity opened up for the Chinese to sow
discord among the Western Turks. Envoys from Ch’u-lo’s paternal
uncle She-kuei requested a marriage with a Chinese princess. At P’ei
(^28) He is not to be confused with the Eastern Turkish Ch’u-lo Qaghan (d.620).