Concerning the "Bazhuguo 八柱国", lauded for their distinguished service to the Western Wei Dynasty, the end of chapter 16 of the Zhoushu 周書 mentions that these official posts were established in AD 550 (Datong 大統 16). Occupying the top position among the seven Zhuguo-dajianjun 柱国大将軍 other than the Northern Zhou's Wendi YuwenTai 文帝宇文泰 was the Tang imperial ancestor LiHu 李虎 ; however, the official posts of Taiwei 太尉, Shangshu-zuopushe 尚書左僕射, and Longyou-xingtai 隴右行臺 added here are in conflict with the actual bureaucratic system of the time, showing that they were added by later editors. The Western Wet modeled its bureaucracy after the Zhouli 周礼, rather than adopting the former Northern Wei system. The first step in the process, a framework for bureaucratic reform created in the fifth month of 548, abolished Sangong / Erda 三公・二大 in favor of the Liuqing 六卿 system. As a result, the position of Dajiangjun was relegated to a ranked status with no official duties. The post of Taiwei had probably already been abolished, since there is no mention of it as of 550. Furthermore, Shangshu-zuopushe was a much lower position than mentioned, and the existence of Longyou-xingtai cannot be corroborated for that era. Judging from the other posts, the author estimates that the actual position occupied by Lieu among all eight Zhuguo-dajiangjun was seventh, implying that the order was changed during the editing of the Zhoushu. The reordering of the generals can be explained by the fact that Lieu was the imperial ancestor of the Tang Dynasty and that the Zhoushu comes to us from the books selected for imperial perusal at the beginning of the Tang period. After all, it would have been politically incorrect to list the any ancestor of the present emperor second to another. The anomalous bureaucratic posts attributed to the Western Wei probably reflect the system in force at the time that the Zhoushu was edited at the beginning of the Tang period. Here is at least one example showing the necessity for careful critical review of both the narrative, especially concerning the Tang imperial ancestor, and the source materials cited in the Tang period imperial selections.

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Raising an army and founding T'ang Dynasty by Li Yuan (李淵) have been understood from the viewpoint of the group of Kuan-lung (関隴) rulers since Hsi-wei (西魏) period, through the analysis of the leading members of Li Yuan group by now. However, I should like to pay attention to the Pi-yeh-t'ou of Hsiung-nu in Ordus for the following reasons. (1)Preceeding the raise of his army, Li Yuan appointed his three sons as feudal lords of the far wesl lands, they are Lung-hsi (隴西), Tun-huang (敦煌), and Ku-tsang (姑臧). Soon after he entered Ch'ang-an (長安), he drew back these appointments, So these seemed to have been his strategic preparations to aim Ch'ang-an from Tai-yuan (太原). The clue to understand this relationship between Li Yuan and these three lands, is found in the genealogy of Tou (竇), Li Yuan's empress reported in "Genealogical Tree of Prime Ministers (宰相世系表)" in "Hsin T'anbg-shu (新唐書)". (2)Tou's original family name was He-tou-ling (〓豆陵), in "Genealogical Tree". This Tou was connected with famous Tou family in Han (漢) period, accordig to the legend of the founder of the T'o-pa tribe (拓抜部) known in the preface to "Wei-shu (魏書)". At this occasion, they invented the story that the father of Tou family of Han period came from the land of Lung-hsi, Tun-huang and Ku-tsang. As a result, we can assume the intervention by He-tou-ling family behind Li Yuan's feudal appointments of his three sons in these lands. (3)He-tou-ling family originated from the Pi-yeh-t'ou tribe of Hsiungnu and belonged to He-lien Hsia Dynasty (赫連夏国) originally. They lived nomadic life in the province of Pei-he (北河) even after the downfall of Hsia (夏) Dynasty and possessed enough power to revolt against Pei-wei (北魏) in the reign of Emperor Hsiao-wen (孝文). As the influence of Pei-wei decreased after the disturbance of Liu-chen (六鎮之乱), they spread widely over Ordus and He-hsi-t'ung-lang (河西通廊). Because of their great power, Kao Huan (高歓) and Yu-wen T'ai (宇文泰) even quarrelled over Pi-yeh-t'ou in the province of Ordus. (4)In the meantime, it is evident from many examples that the strategic point of North China in order to take possession of Ch'ang-an lies in Tai-yuan and Ling-chou (霊州). Therefore, Li Yuan obtained Ling-chou under control through the alliance with the Pi-yeh-t'ou, and He-hsi (河西) route by feudal appointments of his three sons in Lung-hsi, Tun-huang and Ku-tsang. He also controled Turk (突厥), the menacing power in the north, and Hsueh Chu (薛拳), the most powerful warlord in the west, and managed to build up a scheme to enter Ch'ang-an. During T'an period, Tou family's fame had no equal, because they had not only a genealogical relation to Kao-Tsu (高祖), but also they played important parts to found the dynasty. In the result of this discusson, it can be said that Hsiung-nu did not disappear simply after the downfall of He-lien Hsia Dynasty (赫連氏夏国) in the history, but they actually parti cipated in founding T'an Dynasty.

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