Du Yi Hou

Biography

Succession and Exchanges with North and South

The "Account of Tuyuhun" in the Book of Wei records that Shiyin died in 481 (5th year of the Taihe era, Northern Wei) and that "his son Duyihou was installed". Duyihou at once sent the attendant official Shizhen to pay tribute to the Northern Wei and submitted a memorial announcing that he had inherited the position of leader. The main texts of another account and a further account also place this succession in 481; their information cards or summaries give 482 as the start of his rule without explaining the difference of one year, so the text takes 481, for which there is an event, as primary.

The Southern Qi appointed Duyihou general pacifying the west, protector of the Qiang, governor of the two provinces of Qin and He and king of Henan. Both other accounts record his relations with the Southern Qi, and one further records that in 485 (3rd year of the Yongming era, Southern Qi) he was promoted to the title of general of chariots and cavalry. These titles show the Southern Qi's recognition of his position; they cannot directly show that he actually administered the listed provinces according to the Southern Qi's internal provincial system.

Conflict with Dangchang and Duyihou's Succession

The Book of Wei records that Duyihou sent troops against Dangchang. Emperor Xiaowen of Wei issued an edict reproving him and ordering him to mend his ways, and demanded the return of the people he had seized. Duyihou complied and returned them, with both encyclopedic accounts adding property as well. The standard history gives no definite Gregorian year for this campaign, so it is not forced onto the timeline at 485, nor is it asserted that the two sides never clashed again afterwards.

Both encyclopedic accounts say that as a youth Duyihou was fond of astronomy and once asked the Liu Song court for books on celestial phenomena without receiving them. This shows his interest in Chinese books, but the claim in another account that Tuyuhun learning in his time reached a "new height" is a modern generalisation without comparable institutional and documentary evidence. In 490 (8th year of the Yongming era, Southern Qi) Duyihou died and his son Fulianchou succeeded him.

Major Activities

Political and institutional context

The cached record places Du Yi Hou within the institutions and conflicts of Tuyuhun.

Source-based record

His investitures and dealings can be grouped by kind: he succeeded after Shiyin's death in 481 (fifth year of the Taihe era, Northern Wei) and at once sent the attendant official Shizhen to pay tribute to the Northern Wei with a memorial announcing his succession; the Southern Qi appointed him general pacifying the west, protector of the Qiang, governor of the two provinces of Qin and He and king of Henan, and in 485 (third year of the Yongming era, Southern Qi) advanced him to general of chariots and cavalry; he later sent troops against Dangchang, and Emperor Xiaowen of Wei issued an edict reproving him and demanding the return of the people he had seized, which he complied with. The standard history gives no definite Gregorian year for the campaign, so it is not forced onto the timeline at 485.

His relations with the two courts appear on the Northern Wei side as tribute missions and imperial reproof, and on the Southern Qi side as titles and promotions, the two running side by side and showing that a Tuyuhun leader in the period of confrontation had to keep up a standing with both courts at once. During his time the centre of Tuyuhun activity remained in the upper Yellow River region east of Qinghai Lake, and after his death in 490 (fourteenth year of the Taihe era; eighth year of the Yongming era) his son Fulianchou succeeded him, relations between Tuyuhun and the two dynasties thereafter centring on Fulianchou.

The two-way investitures and reproofs of his reign became a typical sample of how Northern and Southern Dynasties sources record Tuyuhun's relations with both courts.

His relations with the two courts appear on the Northern Wei side as tribute missions and imperial reproof, and on the Southern Qi side as titles and promotions, the two running side by side and showing that a Tuyuhun leader in the period of confrontation had to keep up a standing with both courts at once. During his time the centre of Tuyuhun activity remained in the upper Yellow River region east of Qinghai Lake, and after his death in 490 (fourteenth year of the Taihe era; eighth year of the Yongming era) his son Fulianchou succeeded him, relations with the two dynasties thereafter centring on Fulianchou. That the standard histories give no exact year for the Dangchang campaign also shows the different emphases of the northern and southern sources: the north records military action and reproof, the south records titles and investiture, and the two supplement without replacing each other.

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 chiefly Duyihou's tribute missions to the Northern Wei, the war with Dangchang and his compliance with the edict to return what he had taken, and provides no systematic appraisal of his rule. The descriptions in both encyclopedic accounts of his fondness for astronomy and his study of Chinese culture can serve as concrete evidence of cultural contact, but they are not enough to conclude that Tuyuhun society as a whole reached a definite stage of cultural development during his reign.