Princess Xinyi was a princess of the Sui. She was married in 614 to Heshana Khan, the khan of the western Göktürks who had submitted to the Sui and lived at their court.[1] The Sui Shu names her for this marriage alone.[2]

Heshana had come to the Sui court in 611.[2] He followed the emperor Yang on his war against Goguryeo and received the title Heshana Khan, with rich gifts.[2] In the first month of the tenth year of Daye, 614, the emperor married him to the princess Xinyi.[1] With her he gave Heshana a thousand brocade robes and ten thousand bolts of coloured silk.[1] The Xin Tang Shu says only that Heshana was married to a woman of the imperial clan.[3] One modern account sets the title and the marriage together in 611.[4] The Sui Shu adds that the emperor meant to send Heshana back to his old lands, but the war in Liaodong left no time for it.[2]

Nothing more is recorded of the princess. Heshana followed the emperor on his journeys and went with Yuwen Huaji when the Sui fell. He was killed at Chang’an in 619.[5] What became of her is not said.

Name

The Sui Shu and the Bei Shi call her 信義公主, the princess Xinyi.[1] Her parents and her personal name are not given.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Sui Shu (Book of Sui), juan 84; Bei Shi (History of the Northern Dynasties), juan 99
  2. ^ a b c d Sui Shu (Book of Sui), juan 84
  3. ^ Xin Tangshu (New Book of Tang), juan 215
  4. ^ Yavuz 2025, p. 342
  5. ^ Sui Shu (Book of Sui), juan 84; Zizhi tongjian (Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance), juan 187

Sources

Literature

  • Emre-E. Yavuz, The Gokturk Empire: 2nd Edition (2025)

Related

What links here3

Persons
Heshana Khan
Battles & Events
Fall of Heshana Khan (611)
Institutions and Titles
Women among the Turkic Peoples

Cite this article

Yavuz, Emre-E. “Princess Xinyi.” Turkic Atlas, revised 7 November 2026. https://turkicatlas.org/persons/xinyi-princess/

Last revised: 7 November 2026