History of the Rouran, Part 1
[From Weishu 103]
The Ruanruan are descendants of the Eastern Hu, their family name is Yujiulü. Starting with the end of Shenyuan [219 – 277], a plundering horsemen got one slave. When they began to have equal respect, he had forgotten his original family and personal name. His master courtesy named him Mugulü. “Mugulü” is bald-headed [?]. Mugulü and Yujiulü sound similar to each other. For that reasons his descendant sons and grandsons used it as the clan name.
Since Mugulü was strong, he was released from slavery to be a horseman trooper. In the time of Emperor Mu [308 – 316], he was convicted of being late and was to be beheaded. He absconded to hide in among the broad desert and mountain valleys, he collected and gathered escaped runaways, and got more than a hundred people. They depended on the Chuntulin section.
Mugulü died. His son Cheluhui was galant and sturdy, and started to have a section multitude. They titled themselves Rouran, and served subservient to the state. Later, Shizu [Taowu of Wei, r. 423 - 452] considered them to have no knowledge, and in shape akin to insects, for that reason he changed their title to be Ruanruan. When Cheluhui had become a section leader, he yearly offered as tribute horses and livestock, and sable and na豽 [=silver fox?] skins. In the winter they then moved to cross south of the desert. In summer they then turned back to live north of the desert.
[Pinyin mù-gǔ-lǘ 木骨閭 = MC muwk-kwot-ljo.
Pinyin yù-jiǔ-lǘ郁久閭 = MC 'jut-kjuwX-ljo.
The otherwise unattested Chuntulin純突鄰 is apparently an error for Hetulin紇突鄰.
Pinyin róurán 柔然 = MC nyuw-nyen
Pinyin ruǎnruǎn 蠕蠕 = MC nywen-nywen
Pinyin ruìruì 芮芮 = MC nywejH-nywejH (name used in the southern histories Songshu and Qishu]
Cheluhui died, his son Tunugui was established. Tunugui died, his son Bati was established. Bati died, his son Disuyuan was established. Disuyuan died, his section divided to become two. Disuyuan's oldest son Pihouba continued his father living at the eastern border. His second son Yunheti separated to live at the western border.
When Zhaocheng expired [376], Yunheti adhered to Weichen and was disloyal to us. In the middle of Dengguo [386 – 395] chastised him. The Ruanruan moving section escaped and ran. Pursued them, caught up south of the Great Wastes beneath Chuang Mountain, greatly routing them, and captured half their section.
Pihouba and the section leader Wuji each gathered the remaining groups to escape and run. Dispatched Zhangsun Song and Zhangsun Fei to pursue to them, and cross the wastes. Song arrived at the Pingwang Stream, greatly routed Wuji, seized him and behead him for display. Fei arrived at Zhuoye Mountain. He caught up with Pihouba. Ba and the entire group requested to surrender. He apprehended Yunheti's son Heduohan, and Heduohan's older brothers Jieguizhi, Shelun, Hulü and others, and also several hundred of their lineage and partisans, and divided and allotted the various sections. Yunheti escaped west, and wanted to revert to Weichen. Taizu pursued him and arrived at Bana Mountain. Yunheti then surrendered, and Taizu consoled and comforted like in the past.
9th Year [394 AD], Heduohan and Shelun led the section multitudes to abandon their father and run west. Zhangsun Fei and light cavalry pursued them. He arrived at Shang commandery's Bana Mountain, beheaded Heduohan, and fully exterminated his multitudes.
Shelun with several hundred people fled to Pihouba. Pihouba settled them in the southern outskirts, at a distance of 500 li from his courtyard, and ordered his four sons to oversee them. Then Shelun led his personal supporters to arrest Pihouba's four sons and rebel, he assaulted Pihouba. The various sons gathered the remaining multitudes, and absconded to rely on the Gaoche's Hulü section.
Shelun was malefic, cunning, and was adaptive and changeable. For the remainder of the month he therefore released Pihouba, and return his various sons, wishing to assemble and then annihilate them. He secretly raised troops to assault Pihouba, and killed Pihouba. His sons Qiba, Wujie and others, 15 people, reverted to Taizu.
When Shelun had killed Pihouba, he feared the kingly host would chastise him. He therefore plundered Wuyuan using to the west the various sections, and to the north crossed the Great Desert. Taizu used Ba and Jie as General who Calms the Distant and Marquis of Ping.
Shelun was friendly and close with Yao Xing. Taizu dispatched the General of Talented Officials, He Tu, to assault the Chufu and Suguyan sections. Shelun dispatched cavalry aid the Suguyan. Tu confronted, struck, and routed them. Shelun escaped far away north of the desert, and invaded the Gaoche, and deeply entered their territory. Thereupon he combined the various sections, the fell power was increasingly bestirred.
He migrated north to the Ruoluo River, and started to set up army laws. A thousand people became an Army, [each] Army set up a general, one person. A hundred people became a Pennant, [each] Pennant set up a leader, one person. On those who were the first to climb he bestowed using the captive and seized. To those who withdrew or were cowardly, he used stones to strike their heads and kill them. Sometimes when approaching the time [?] he lashed and whipped. They had no written records. The generals and leaders used goat dung to more or less count the number of troops. Later they somewhat learned to carve wood as records.
To their north-west were the remaining kinds of the Xiongnu. The state was particularly rich and strong. The section leader was named Bayeji. He raised troops and struck Shelun. Shelun confronted him in battle at the Egen He, and greatly routed him. Afterwards they were completely annexed by Shelun.
[He?] announced [himself] to be strong and prosperous. He followed the water and grass to rear and shepherd. To his west were the lands of Yanqi, to the east were the lands of Chaoxian, to the north [they] crossed the sand desert, coming in the end to the wide ocean, to the south he overlooked the great wastes. He regularly was assembling their courtyards to the north of Dunhuang and Zhangye.
The small states all suffered his robbing and plundering, [they were] bridled and haltered to adhere to him. Hence he titled himself Qiudoufa Kehan [可汗 = MC khaek-hanH]. Qiudoufa is similar to the Wei saying the Driving Carriage Beginning to Extend. Kehan is similar ot the Wei saying August Emperor. The custom of the Ruanruan is that lord and the great subjects follow their acts and ability to precisely be designations and claims. With regards to the Central States establishing posthumous titles, afterwards of [someone] has died, they do not then posthumously designate.
Taizu spoke to the Masters of Writing Cui Xuanbo, saying:
The people of the Ruanruan formerly came to shout and be coarse and noisy, always coming to plundering and robbing. Driving the cow to run and escape, the chasing ox follows it. When the cow hides and is not able to be in front, people of different sections have learned from it accordingly the ox is with it [?]. The Ruanruan say: “If their mother are still not able to act, then so much more the child!” At the end of it they do not change, and thereupon are captured by the enemy.
Now Shelun is studying the Central States, establishing laws, setting up battle columns, in the end he will succeed as a border injury. The School of the Way say that when a sagely person is born, a great bandit will rise. This is the proof.
5th Year of Tianxing [402 AD], Shelun heard that Taizu campaigned against Yao Xing. He thereupon violated the frontier, and entered Canhe Slope. To the south he arrived at Chai Mountain and the northern marshes of Shanwu. At the time dispatched the King of Changshan, Zun, using 10 000 cavalry to pursue him, but he did not catch up.
In the middle of Tianci [404 – 409], Shelun's cousins Yuedai, Dana, and others planned to kill Shelun and then establish Dana. They were revealed, and Dana and others came in flight. Used Dana as General of the Best of the Army and Marquis of Xiping, Yuedai as Colonel of Picked Cavalry and Count of Yiyang.
3rd Year [406 AD], Summer, Shelun robbed the border.
1st Year of Yongxing [409 AD], Winter, he again violated the frontier.
2nd Year [410 AD], Taizong chastised him. Shelun escaped and fled, and died on the road. His son Duba was young of years, and unable to manage the multitudes. The section groups established Shelun's younger brother Hulü. He was titled the Aikugai Kehan. The Wei say Manners and Matter are Beautiful and Excellent. Hulü to the north annexed the state of Heshuyegu, to the east he routed the Pilichen's section groups.
3rd Year [411 AD], Hulü's relative Yuehouduochuqian and others, several hundred people, came to surrender. Hulü feared in awe, and defended himself. He did not dare go south and invade, and the northern border was calm and quiet.
1st Year of Shenrui [414 AD], he was friendly and close with Feng Ba. Ba requested for Hulü's daughter to be [his] wife, and wanted to make a marriage exchange. Hulü's oldest brother's son Buluzhen spoke to Hulü, saying:
The daughter is young for far-away marriages, troubled thoughts gives birth to illness. We can dispatch the daughters of the great subjects Shuli, Wudiyan and others as the bride's companions.
Hulü did not allow it. Buluzhen set out, and spoke to Shuli and others, saying:
Hulü wishes to order your daughters to be bride's companions, and go far away to that other state.
[He and] Li thereupon together joined on a plan. They ordered brave soldiers at night to approach Hulü's yurt. They waited until he set out and seized him. He, the daughter and all the court ladies [were sent] to Helong. Then they established Buluzhen.
