Persia, located to the west of the Duhu River in Sulincheng, also known in ancient times as Tiaozhi. Their king is called Kusahe. The capital covers an area of about ten miles in diameter. They have a formidable army of over 20,000 soldiers who fight mounted on elephants. In this country, there is no death penalty. Those who commit crimes may have their hands or feet amputated, their property confiscated, their beards shaved off, or wear a sign around their neck to distinguish them. Every person from the age of three is required to pay a tax of four coins. They practice the custom of marrying their sisters. When a person dies, their body is placed on a mountain, and their family must mourn for a month. The king wears a golden crown, sits on a throne made of golden lions, applies gold powder to his beard, wears brocade robes, and adorns himself with jewelry.
They produce excellent horses, large donkeys, lions, white elephants, large bird eggs, pearls, pori (a type of gemstone), shoupo (a type of gemstone), coral, glass, agate, crystal, sese (a type of gemstone), huluoji (a type of gemstone), luteng (a type of gemstone), huoqi (a type of gemstone), diamonds, gold, silver, jinyushi (a type of ore), copper, bintie (a type of steel), tin, brocade, fine cloth, qushu (a type of blanket), tushu (a type of blanket), huna (a type of fabric), yuenobu (a type of fabric), sandalwood, fabric woven with gold thread, red deer skin, cinnabar, mercury, aloeswood, tulips, suhe incense, green sandalwood, and various other spices, pepper, bibo (a type of spice), honey, semihoney (a type of sugar), jujubes, fuzi (a type of medicinal herb), helile (a type of fruit), wushizi (a type of fruit), green vitriol, and realgar. The Turks are unable to conquer them and can only exert symbolic control. Persia often sends envoys to pay tribute to the dynasty of the Central Plains.
If you head west from Persia for several hundred miles, you'll reach the sea; heading east for over four thousand miles brings you to the Kingdom of Mu; heading northwest for four thousand five hundred miles leads to Byzantium; and heading east for a staggering eleven thousand seven hundred miles takes you to Gua Prefecture. Emperor Yang of Sui sent Li Yu, a Yunqiwei officer, to establish diplomatic relations with Persia, and later dispatched others to accompany Li Yu in presenting various tributes.
Cao Country, north of Congling, was called Jibin Country during the Han Dynasty. This place may sound unfamiliar now, but it was essentially the Jibin Country during the Han Dynasty.
Their king, surnamed Zhaowu, style name Shunda, was a relative of the King of Kang Country. The capital city was surrounded by walls about four li in circumference, and the military consisted of over ten thousand troops. The laws of this country were strict - anyone caught committing murder or theft faced the death penalty! However, their customs were quite peculiar, especially their superstitions about various chaotic gods.
On Congling Mountain, there stood a temple dedicated to Shuntian God, boasting grand roofs adorned with gold, silver, and bronze, and the floor paved with silver! Every day, there were at least a thousand people going to worship. In front of the temple, there was a fish spine with a hole in the middle, that you could ride a horse through - how amazing is that! The king wore a crown shaped like a goldfish head and sat on a throne made of gold horses, quite magnificent.
This place produced rice, millet, beans, wheat, elephants, horses, a type of cattle called Fengniu, as well as gold, silver, bintie (a type of high-quality steel), carpets, cinnabar, indigo, frankincense, sandalwood, and other spices, including honey, semi-honey (possibly a honey product), black salt, asafoetida, myrrh, and white aconite. From Cao Country to the north to Fanyan was seven hundred miles; to the east to Jue Country was six hundred miles; and to the northeast to Gua Prefecture was a staggering six thousand six hundred miles! During the reign of Daye in the Sui Dynasty, they even dispatched envoys to present tributes, bringing many valuable goods.
It is said that over two thousand li northwest of Shu County, there is a vassal state, which was part of the southwestern Yi territories during the Han Dynasty. There is a tribe called Jialiang Yi located to the east of the vassal state. They govern themselves and have customs similar to those of the vassal state, but their language is somewhat different and lacks uniformity. They do not have surnames at all. The king of this vassal state is named Yi Zeng. The vassal state is eight hundred li long from north to south and fifteen hundred li long from southeast to northwest. There are no city walls; instead, the people live near river valleys and mountains. They have a strong sense of vengeance, which leads them to build "stone nests" from piled stones for protection against enemies. These "stone nests" are over ten zhang tall, with the shortest being five or six zhang, each layer is one zhang high and separated by wooden beams. The base is square and only three to four steps wide, narrowing to two to three steps wide at the top, resembling a pagoda. There is a small door on the bottom layer, and one must close it at night to keep out thieves. There are more than twenty thousand households in the whole country, all obedient to the king. The Jialiang Yi people listen to their chieftain, where severe crimes are punished by beheading and minor ones by a fine of a cow. They are all agile and skilled swordsmen. They wear armor made of lacquered leather, with bows six feet long and strings made of bamboo. They practice marrying multiple wives and even sisters-in-law, and if a brother dies, the surviving brother will marry the sister-in-law. They enjoy singing and dancing, using drums, reed instruments, and flutes. When someone dies, they do not wear specific mourning attire. The body is laid on a high bed, cleaned, dressed, covered with lacquered armor, and then animal skins. Descendants do not cry; instead, they don armor and dance with swords, shouting, "My father was taken by ghosts, I will avenge and kill the ghost!" Other relatives cry three times before stopping. Women must cover their faces while crying. Upon someone's death, they slaughter cows, and relatives and friends bring pork and wine to eat and drink together, then bury the deceased. Ten years after someone’s death, a grand funeral is held, inviting many relatives and friends and sacrificing dozens of horses. They also establish ancestral shrines for ancestor worship. They wear round leather hats that resemble bowls, some with veils on the hats. Most of their clothing is made from fur, and their shoes are boots crafted from whole cowhide. They wear iron chains around their necks and iron bracelets on their hands. The king and chieftains don gold jewelry, featuring a gold flower pendant on their chests, measuring three inches in diameter. This region has high terrain, a cool climate, and experiences more wind and less rain. The land is well-suited for growing wheat and barley. Gold and silver can be found in the mountains, and there is an abundance of white pheasants. The river is home to a type of excellent fish that grows up to four feet long with very fine scales.
Next is a more detailed description of the lives and customs of the people of the Affiliated State, including their clothing, funeral customs, and social structure. The unique "stone nest" architecture in which they live reflects their unique way of life and focus on safety. Their social customs are also quite different from those of the Central Plains region, such as the practice of marrying multiple wives and sisters-in-law, as well as unique funeral ceremonies. These details showcase the vibrant culture and way of life of the ancient southwestern Yi region.
In the year 608 AD, in the fourth year of the Daye era under Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, their king sent eight people to the court as tribute.
The following year, he sent his student Yilin with sixty people from the Jialiang Yi tribe to present tribute. They wanted to offer good horses, but because the road was treacherous and impassable, they requested that a mountain road be opened for future tributes. Emperor Yang of Sui thought it was too much trouble and did not agree.
There is a river in the Jialiang Yi tribe's area, about sixty to seventy zhang wide; on the side of the Affiliated State, there is also a river more than a hundred zhang wide, both flowing south, and they use animal skins to make boats to cross the river.
To the south of the Affiliated State is a tribe known as the Baoyuan Yi, whose customs are similar to those of the Jialiang Yi tribe. To the west of the Affiliated State is a country of women. In the northeast of the Affiliated State, there are continuous and undulating mountain ranges extending to the Dangxiang region. In the mountains, there are Qiang tribes everywhere, such as Daxiaozuofeng, Xiwai, Geyan, Baigou, Xiangren, Wangzu, Lintai, Chunsang, Lidou, Misang, Biyao, Dahua, Bailan, Chilimotu, Nao, Dangmi, Qubu, Sangwu, Qiandiao. These tribes all reside in deep mountain valleys, lacking a central authority. Their customs are similar to those of the Dangxiang people, some being affiliated with the Tuyuhun jurisdiction, and some being affiliated with the Affiliated State. During the Daye reign of the Sui Dynasty, these tribes all came to the court to present tribute. In order to manage these areas, the Sui Dynasty established several road supervisors on the southwestern border to oversee them from a distance.
In historical records, it is said that since ancient times, to open up remote areas and establish connections with foreign lands, there must be ambitious emperors and loyal subjects ready to serve the nation. Zhang Qian had previously opened the route to the Western Regions, and Ban Chao later joined the military to continue the expansion of the Western Regions. They either used treasures to make connections or used swords to intimidate, risking their lives to seek short-term gains, all because the emperor valued the reputation of opening up the borders and the subjects were willing to sacrifice for the country. Therefore, what those in power favor, more people below will surely follow.
Emperor Yang of Sui liked to carry out large-scale, lavish projects, surpassing the scale of the Qin and Han dynasties. Pei Ju presented the "Record of the Western Regions" to align with his ambitions. So Emperor Yang of Sui personally led a large army out of Yumen Pass, established Yiwu, Qie-Mo, and other areas, causing immense suffering for the common people. Even if the northern nomadic tribes did not invade, reports of victories against the eastern tribes would come in. Emperor Yang of Sui would definitely continue to build guard posts at Luntai and fortresses at Wulei, seeking the treasures of Da Qin and bringing back the eggs of the Tiao Zhi bird. With such back-and-forth transportation, how could the nation bear such a burden?
The wise emperors of ancient times governed over a territory of about five thousand li, focusing on governing the Central Plains and not squandering energy on distant territories. Were their prestige not strong enough, or their virtues not widely recognized? No, they simply did not want to burden the populace and squander resources on governing remote regions, or harm national interests for useless reasons. Therefore, the Qin Dynasty set up defenses in the Wuling Mountains, and the Han Dynasty used troops on the three borders, leading to widespread death or a drastic population decline. The Sui Dynasty, relying on its strength, suffered great losses in Qinghai. All of this was because the rulers had lost their way, leading to the suffering of the common people.
If Emperor Yang of Sui could give serious thought to the idea of "pacifying the border areas," turn down the proposals to expand the territories, return those prized horses, and not ask for tribute from the Bai wolves, then the seven Rong tribes and nine Yi tribes from the Western Regions would come to pay tribute as expected. Even without a victory in the Liaodong battle, the tragedy in Jiangdu might have been avoided!
