The Jian, 劍水, is a river of the second origin story of the Göktürks, which the Zhou Shu sets in the state of Suo.[1] Of the four sons of the wolf-born Yizhi Nishidu, one founded a state between the Afu and the Jian. It was called Qigu.[1] The name Qigu is understood as one of the Chinese spellings of the Kirghiz.[2] The Bei Shi gives the passage in the same words.[3]
Two views place the river on the Yenisei. One identifies the Jian with the Ulug-Khem on the southern edge of Tannu Tuva, the upper course of the Yenisei.[2] A second takes it to be the Kem, which is the Yenisei, and makes the Afu the Abakan.[4] The first view also places the mountain of the eldest brother, Jiansi Chuzheshi, to the west of the Jian.[2] On either view the story sets the Qigu, a state founded by a brother of the Göktürks’ ancestor, by the Yenisei.
References
- ^ a b Zhou Shu (Book of Zhou), juan 50
- ^ a b c Mau-tsai 1958, Turkish edition, p. 15
- ^ Bei Shi (History of the Northern Dynasties), juan 99
- ^ 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 here6
- Persons
- Yizhi Nishidu
- States
- Suo
- Conflicts
- Mukan's Eastern and Northern Wars
- Places
- Afu River · Chuzhe River · Mount Jiansi Chuzheshi
Cite this article
Yavuz, Emre-E. “Jian River.” Turkic Atlas, revised 8 November 2026. https://turkicatlas.org/places/jian-river/
Last revised: 8 November 2026
