The Nan Shi is the history of the four southern dynasties, Song, Qi, Liang and Chen, from 420 to 589. Li Yanshou completed it in 659, as the companion of his Bei Shi on the north. It abridges the dynastic histories of the south. For the Rouran it follows the Nan Qi Shu and the Liang Shu.[1]
The Rouran
Chapter 79 calls the Rouran a separate branch of the Xiongnu. They took the old land of the Wei after the Wei moved south.[1] They had no walled towns. They moved in search of water and grazing and lived in yurts. They plaited their hair and wore brocade robes with narrow sleeves, narrow trousers and high boots. Their country was so cold that ice drifted on the rivers in the seventh month.[1] The chapter repeats the embassy of Wang Hongfan and the memorial of the chief minister, whom it calls Xing Jizhiluohui. It adds that in the Yongming era the Dingling broke the Rouran, who became a small state and moved south.[1]
What the Nan Shi adds is the embassies to the Liang. In 515 the Rouran sent horses and sable furs, and in 520 local products. After that they sent an embassy every few years. The last it records came in 541, with one horse and one jin of gold.[1] In the same chapter the Hephthalites appear as a small state subject to the Rouran while the Wei still had their capital at Dai.[1]
Weather magic
The chapter closes its account with a practice. The Rouran, it says, could sacrifice to Heaven by their arts and bring down wind and snow. Before them the sun shone, and behind them the ground turned to mud and flood. As a result, no one could pursue them when they lost a battle.[1] When they tried it in China, it did not rain. They explained that the country was too warm.[1]
References
Sources
- Nan Shi, juan 79 (after Song Shu, Nan Qi Shu and Liang Shu)
Cite this article
Yavuz, Emre-E. “Nan Shi.” Turkic Atlas, revised 28 October 2026. https://turkicatlas.org/sources/nan-shi/
Last revised: 28 October 2026
