Pei Ziye
Pei Ziye was a Chinese historian of the southern Liang dynasty; he lived through the Liu [Song dynasty|Liu Song] and Southern Qi dynasties. He was the grandson of another historian, Pei Yin, a son of the famous historian Pei Songzhi.
Childhood
Pei Ziye's mother Lady Wei died when he was born, and he was brought up by his grandmother Lady Yin. When Pei was nine, Lady Yin died; in his sorrow, Pei cried until he had blood in his tears.Theory on origin of the [Hephthalites]
Pei Ziye is, among other things, known for making a mistaken conjecture about the origin of the Hephthalites, who just sent an embassy at the Chinese court of the Liang dynasty in 516 CE, saying that they may be descendants of the Jushi based on a false etymology. This account appears in Pei Ziye's biography in Liangshu :In effect, many foreign embassies visited the Chinese court at that time, and particularly three Hephthalite ambassadors are known, who visited in 516–520 CE, and are described in the Portraits of Periodical Offering.
The Emperor then ordered Pei Ziye to write an illustrated account of foreign embassies, Fangguoshitu, which may have been the basis for the original Portraits of Periodical Offering of Liang, and the Hephthalites account of the Liangshu, and this account again mentioned Pei Ziye's wrong conjectural etymology.