Kua Lv

Biography

Accession, the Title of Khan and the Eastern Wei Marriage Alliance

The Book of Wei and the History of the Northern Dynasties state that after Fulianchou died his son Kualü succeeded him and "was the first to style himself khan". Both books also record that he resided at Fuqi City but normally lived in felt tents, moving with water and pasture. Fuqi City may therefore be called his centre of rule, but the existence of a walled city should not be read as long-term settled palace life. Another account places his accession around 535, while the main text of a further account says he began to rule in 541; the surviving sources do not make it possible to decide what starting year each relied on, so the text gives approximate dates.

The Eastern Wei sought to win Kualü over; he sent envoys and gave a younger female cousin of his into the Eastern Wei palace, and the Eastern Wei married Princess Guangle to Kualü. The Book of Wei clearly records the exchange of envoys and the marriage, after which tribute missions continued. Which particular tribute mission produced which political effect cannot be matched to any direct conclusion in the two standard histories, so no inference is drawn from this about the degree of Tuyuhun's subordination to the Eastern Wei.

Wars and Later Years

In 553 (2nd year of the Feidi era, Western Wei) Kualü sent envoys to the Western Wei; afterwards the Western Wei and the Turks attacked Tuyuhun together and the two cities of Hezhen and Shudun fell. After the Northern Zhou was founded, border clashes with Tuyuhun continued. In 576 (5th year of the Jiande era, Northern Zhou) the Northern Zhou crown prince Yuwen Yun raided as far as Fuqi City and Kualü fled. Two accounts record these wars, but Kualü continued to rule after them, and the temporary loss of a city must not be taken as the immediate collapse of the polity.

In 581 (1st year of the Kaihuang era, Sui) the Sui dynasty was founded and Tuyuhun forces attacked Hongzhou, Liangzhou and other places, while the Sui general Yuan Xie and others counter-attacked. Afterwards the two sides both fought and exchanged envoys. Another account says that after the Sui conquered Chen in 589 Kualü sought friendly relations, and a further account records this as well; this shows some adjustment in relations in his later years, but it does not prove that the frontier had become permanently peaceful.

Kualü's arrangements for the succession were also unstable. Both encyclopedic accounts record that he deposed and killed a crown prince and installed others such as Ewang He; the surviving material does not fully agree on the identity, order and exact dates of each crown prince, so cases that cannot be cross-checked are not listed in detail. Kualü died in 591 and Shifu succeeded him.

Major Activities

Political and institutional context

The cached record places Kua Lv within the institutions and conflicts of Sui.

Source-based record

His dealings with the Eastern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Zhou and Sui can be divided into stages: accession and assumption of the khanal title; the Eastern Wei's overtures and the marriage alliance; the embassy to the Western Wei in 553 and the subsequent attack by the Western Wei with the Turks; the Northern Zhou crown prince's raid to Fuqi City in 576; the fighting and embassies after the founding of the Sui in 581; the friendly overtures after the Sui conquest of Chen in 589; and his death in 591, when Shifu succeeded him. His arrangements for the succession were also unstable: both sources record that he deposed and killed a crown prince and installed others such as Ewang He, but the surviving material does not fully agree on the identity, order and exact dates of each crown prince, so cases that cannot be cross-checked are not listed in detail.

His relations with the Sui were adjusted in his later years: after the Sui was founded in 581 the two sides both fought and exchanged envoys, and after the Sui conquest of Chen in 589 he sought friendly relations, though the frontier did not become permanently quiet; when he died in 591 his son Shifu succeeded him and at once sent envoys declaring himself a vassal of the Sui, opening a new stage in relations between Tuyuhun and the Sui. The alternation of marriage alliances, embassies and fighting during his reign shows that Tuyuhun had to adjust its position repeatedly among the Eastern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Zhou and Sui in the later Northern and Southern Dynasties.

His assumption of the khanal title and the establishment at Fuqi City gave Tuyuhun a more settled political title and centre of rule.

His relations with the Sui were adjusted in his later years: after the Sui was founded in 581 the two sides both fought and exchanged envoys, and after the Sui conquest of Chen in 589 he sought friendly relations, though the frontier did not become permanently quiet; when he died in 591 his son Shifu succeeded him and at once sent envoys declaring himself a vassal of the Sui, opening a new stage in Tuyuhun-Sui relations. The alternation of marriage alliances, embassies and fighting during his reign shows that Tuyuhun had to adjust its position repeatedly among the Eastern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Zhou and Sui in the later Northern and Southern Dynasties; his assumption of the khanal title and the establishment at Fuqi City gave the polity a more settled title and centre of rule. The offices recorded in the two histories, princes, dukes, vice directors, secretariat officials, bureau directors and generals, are the source for the general picture of Tuyuhun institutions, though not every post should be attributed to Kualü personally.

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 and the History of the Northern Dynasties concentrate on Kualü's assumption of the title of khan, Fuqi City, his official system and local customs, and so provide material for observing the political structure of Tuyuhun. The summaries of Tuyuhun customs in the two books reflect the standpoint of Northern Dynasties historians and should not all be taken as Kualü's personal conduct. The judgement that his long reign saw many wars and disputes over the succession is supported by events; as for effects such as control of trade routes or economic prosperity, the two encyclopedic accounts and the sources available here do not establish a clear causal link.