Turkic prince and the first foreigner to be a general in the Tang army
Shi Danai (second to left from bottom-right) as represented in Qing era dice game board.
Shi Danai (史大奈), also known by his former name Ashina Danai (阿史那大奈), was a Turkic prince and the first foreigner to be a
general in the Tang army. He was probably the eldest son of
Chuluo Qaghan.
He later joined
Emperor Gaozu of Tang in his campaign against the
Sui dynasty's region of
Guanzhong in 617.[2] His 500-strong Turkic cavalry was instrumental in defeating Sui general Sang Xianhe (桑显和) during the Battle of Yinma Spring from an attack on his rear,[3] for which he was rewarded with the honorific title Grand Master for Splendid Happiness[4] (
Chinese: 光祿大夫;
pinyin: Guānglù Dàfū).[5] He was bestowed a Chinese surname
Shi (史) after Li Yuan entered
Chang'an same year. Following the establishment of the
Tang dynasty, he participated in battles against
Xue Ju,
Wang Shichong,
Dou Jiande and
Liu Heita under the command of
Emperor Taizong.
Later life
He retired in the
early reign of Emperor Taizong and was appointed Right Wuwei General of the Tang army. He was also granted governorship of
Fengzhou and named Duke Dou (竇国公) by Taizong with 300 people assigned to his household. He died in 638 and was buried in the
Zhao Mausoleum.[6]
Family
He had two sons. Shi Renbiao (史仁表) married Princess Pu'an (普安公主), the eighth daughter of
Taizong of Tang. The other was Shi Renji (史仁基).
In literature and media
Text on his death stele was found in Dunhuang Manuscript S.2078, part of a student writing practice sample.[7]
Shi Danai is a character in Tale of Tang (说唐), a
Qing era novel.
^Pan, Yihong (1997). Son of Heaven and Heavenly Qaghan: Sui-Tang China and its Neighbors. Studies on East Asia. Vol. 20. East Asian Studies Press. p. 169.
doi:
10.25710/vs3m-gw59.
^朱振宏; Chu, Chen-hung (2015).
"史大奈生平事蹟研究" [A Study of Shi Danai]. Journal of History of Taiwan Normal University. 無 (54): 1–44.
doi:
10.6243/BHR.2015.054.001 – via DSpace.