Shiyin

Biography

Accession and Investiture from North and South

Shiyin's father Shuluogan appears in both encyclopedic accounts, and his uncle Muliyan was his predecessor. The Book of Wei also calls Shiyin "a nephew of Muliyan", and the Book of Song calls him "a younger brother of Shiqian", both showing that he belonged to the ruling family of Tuyuhun. The introductions of one account and another list the start of his reign as 453 (30th year of the Yuanjia era, Liu Song), but the main text of one account says that he was installed immediately after Muliyan's death in 452, and the Book of Song records in the twenty-ninth year of Yuanjia that "Muyan died and Shiyin made himself ruler". Following the main value of that account, the information card and timeline use 453 while making clear the variant 452 in the histories and other accounts, and the accession must not be conflated with formal investiture by the Liu Song.

Shiyin was stationed at Fuluo River, and two accounts record that he built palaces and walled towns, used written documents and believed in Buddhism. The Book of Song also records that although the Tuyuhun moved with water and pasture, they generally governed from Muhe River; different place names and ways of life do not allow the conclusion that the whole population had settled by then. Shiyin sent envoys to the Liu Song and received the title king of Henan together with various generalships and governorships, and he also sent tribute to the Northern Wei and received the title king of Xiping and others. The titles conferred by the Northern and Southern Dynasties reflect recognition from several sides and diplomatic choices, and must not be misread as his having been a subject of a single court throughout his life.

War with the Northern Wei and Peace Overtures

In 460 (1st year of the Heping era, Northern Wei) the Northern Wei sent Tuoba Xincheng, prince of Yangping, and Li Hui, duke of Nanjun, in a two-pronged attack, and Shiyin withdrew to the Southern Mountains. Both encyclopedic accounts record that Tuyuhun lost large numbers of camels and horses, one giving two hundred thousand, figures of booty from a history or encyclopedic account that should not be used to compute his total forces. Envoys continued to pass between north and south afterwards, and the war did not immediately cost Tuyuhun its political autonomy.

In 470 (4th year of the Huangxing era, Northern Wei) the Northern Wei sent Zhangsun Guan with troops because Shiyin had not paid tribute on time. The Book of Wei records that Zhangsun Guan reached Mount Mantou, defeated Shiyin and burned his town, that Shiyin withdrew with a few cavalry, and that his cousin Douwulai and others came over to the Northern Wei. Shiyin later sent the assistant Kang Panlong to offer tribute and seek peace, and the Northern Wei at first refused and imprisoned his envoy. Tuyuhun also attacked Jiaohe, and the conflict continued. In 473 (3rd year of the Yanxing era, Northern Wei) the Northern Wei again sent Zhangsun Guan and Pi Huanxi to attack, and Shiyin sent his son to seek peace; the Book of Wei records that he apologised to the Northern Wei and asked to submit, and was permitted to do so. In 474 (4th year of the Yanxing era, Northern Wei) ...

Major Activities

Political and institutional context

The cached record places Shi Yin within the institutions and conflicts of Tuyuhun.

Source-based record

Personal Relations

• Relationships are recorded from the cached source text and should be read together with the related entries listed below.

Historical Assessment

The Book of Wei records Shiyin's activities mainly from the standpoint of Northern Wei campaigns and his tribute missions, while the Book of Song and the Book of Southern Qi stress Southern Dynasties investitures and embassies and the geography and customs of Tuyuhun. Read together, the three sets of material show that Shiyin did not deal with only one court but manoeuvred between military pressure, trade goods and titles. A page in another account summarises him as the twelfth king of Tuyuhun, and the ordinal can serve as a classification reference; what really characterises his reign are the verifiable, datable events: life in walled towns, fighting, the sending of his son and embassies to both courts. The dispute over 452 or 453 as the year of his accession is not used to construct two separate phases of rule.