The Chuzhe, 處折水, is a river in the second origin story of the Göktürks, which the Zhou Shu sets in the state of Suo.[1] The wolf-born Yizhi Nishidu had four sons. One of them founded a state on the Chuzhe.[1] The story gives that state no name. By contrast, it names the state of Qigu between the Afu and the Jian.[1] The Bei Shi has the same sentence.[2] The eldest brother lived on a mountain, Jiansi Chuzheshi. Its name contains the same two characters, 處折.[1]
Some scholars identify the Chuzhe with the Yenisei.[3] Others narrow it to the middle Yenisei.[4] In the story the river marks the land of one of the four brothers. Its name returns in the name of the eldest brother’s mountain.
References
- ^ a b c d Zhou Shu (Book of Zhou), juan 50
- ^ Bei Shi (History of the Northern Dynasties), juan 99
- ^ Mau-tsai 1958, Turkish edition, p. 15
- ^ Golden 1992, p. 119
Sources
- Zhou Shu (Book of Zhou), juan 50
- Bei Shi (History of the Northern Dynasties), juan 99 (after Wei Shu, Zhou Shu and Sui Shu)
Literature
- Liu Mau-tsai, Çin Kaynaklarına Göre Doğu Türkleri (1958, Turkish edition)
- Peter B. Golden, An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples (1992)
What links here2
- Persons
- Yizhi Nishidu
- States
- Suo
Cite this article
Yavuz, Emre-E. “Chuzhe River.” Turkic Atlas, revised 8 November 2026. https://turkicatlas.org/places/chuzhe-river/
Last revised: 8 November 2026
