Pei Ziye

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 (Volume 30):

The Emperor then ordered Pei Ziye to write an illustrated account of foreign embassies, Fangguoshitu (方國使圖), which may have been the basis for the original Portraits of Periodical Offering of Liang, and the Hephthalites account of the Liangshu (Volume 54), and this account again mentioned Pei Ziye's wrong conjectural etymology. Summary of Song Another of Pei Ziye's achievements was his distillation of Shen Yue's Book of Song (《宋书》) into a more succinct version, Summary of Song (《宋略》); after reading Summary of Song, Shen was recorded to have said, "This is a standard which I cannot reach."

Ancestors Pei Ziye is a member of the Pei clan of Hedong (河东裴氏). His father is Pei Zhaoming (裴昭明; 460 - 502 ), son of Pei Yin, son of Pei Songzhi. Pei Songzhi's father is Pei Gui (裴圭), son of Pei Mei (裴昧). Pei Mei's great-grandfather is Pei Kang (裴康). Pei Kang, along with his older brother Pei Li (裴黎), and younger brothers Pei Kai (裴楷; father of Pei Xian) and Pei Chuo (裴绰) were famous during their time and were known as the "4 Peis".

Through Pei Songzhi's mother Lady Yu, Pei Ziye was also a descendant of the Jin regent Yu Liang.