Shi Fu

Biography

The "Account of Tuyuhun" in the History of the Northern Dynasties records that Kualü died in 591 (11th year of the Kaihuang era, Sui) and that his son Shifu succeeded him. Shifu sent his brother's son Wusu with a memorial declaring himself a vassal of the Sui and presented local products. He also proposed sending his daughter into the Sui palace, which Emperor Wen refused for fear that other states would cite the precedent and make the same request. That same year the Sui court sent the minister of justice Yuwen Bi to visit Tuyuhun, and envoys continued to pass between the two sides.

In 596 (16th year of the Kaihuang era, Sui) Emperor Wen married a princess of the imperial clan, Princess Guanghua, to Shifu in order to strengthen relations by marriage. Shifu asked that the princess be addressed as "Heavenly Queen", which Emperor Wen did not permit. Another account infers from this that Shifu "revealed his ambitions", but the sources record only the request and the refusal, which is not enough to establish his private motives.

In 597 (17th year of the Kaihuang era, Sui) unrest broke out within Tuyuhun and Shifu was killed by his own people. His younger brother Fuyun became the new leader and, following Tuyuhun custom, married Princess Guanghua in succession. The surviving encyclopedic accounts and the History of the Northern Dynasties contain very little about independent military activity by Shifu, and no campaigns should be invented to fill out the record.

Name, Lineage and Relations with the Sui Court

Shifu, also written Murong Shifu, was a son of Kualü and the nineteenth ruler of the Tuyuhun khanate. When Kualü died in 591 he came to the throne as khan and at once sent his brother's son Wusu with a memorial declaring himself a vassal of the Sui and presenting local products; in the same year he asked to send his daughter into the Sui palace, which Emperor Wen refused for fear that other states would cite the precedent and make the same request, and the emperor sent the minister of justice Yuwen Bi to visit Tuyuhun, envoys continuing to pass between the two sides. In 596 Emperor Wen married a princess of the imperial clan, Princess Guanghua, to Shifu and sent Liu Jianzhi, concurrently a regular attendant of the mounted escort, to escort her to Tuyuhun; Shifu memorialised asking that the princess be addressed as "Heavenly Queen", which Emperor Wen did not permit. One account infers from this that Shifu "revealed his ambitions", but the sources record only the request and the refusal, which is not enough to establish his private motives. The position of Princess Guanghua in Tuyuhun ceremonial and the exact course of the Sui escort and investiture are known mainly from Sui sources and later compilations on Tuyuhun. In 597 unrest broke out in Tuyuhun, Shifu was killed and his younger brother Fuyun succeeded him as khan, marrying Princess Guanghua in accordance with Tuyuhun custom. The surviving encyclopedic accounts and the History of the Northern Dynasties contain very little on independent military activity by Shifu, whose rule lasted less than ten years, and any assessment must stay within what the surviving material shows.

Major Activities

Political and institutional context

The cached record places Shi Fu within the institutions and conflicts of Sui.

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 History of the Northern Dynasties records Shifu mainly in connection with diplomacy and marriage relations with the Sui and leaves too little material to judge the whole of his rule. Subjective readings of the "Heavenly Queen" request in another account do not count as established fact. Shifu's short reign and his eventual murder show that power within Tuyuhun was unstable at the time, but the specific causes of the internal strife must still be left within the limits of the available sources.