Re-examination of the relationship between Toñuquq and Yuanzhen: Also on the time and place when Qutlugh proclaimed Qaghan

Toñuquq was not from the Ashide tribe, but from the Xueyantuo tribe. Yuanzhen was from the Ashide tribe and was the cousin of Funian. Toñuquq and Yuanzhen were not the same person, and they joined Qutlugh on different date. Toñuquq’s joining marked the confluence of the Turks and the remnants of the Xueyantuo who rebelled against the Tang Dynasty. Yuanzhen joined later, but he had an older age and a higher status. Qutlugh became Qaghan in 681, not 682, and the location was Mount Zongcai in the northwest of Lanzhou, not Heisha City at the northern foot of Yinshan Mountains.