According to Pengling Wang, his name might be cognate with Middle Mongol Nogai (in Mongolian script:ᠨᠣᠬᠠᠢ; Khalkha:нохой nohoj), meaning "dog".
[2] He fought against Gaoche ruler Afuzhiluo (阿伏至羅) who together with his younger cousin Qiongqi (穷奇), they managed their clans of over 100,000 yurts to escape from the pursuing armies, led by Doulun and Nagai in 487.
[3] In 492, he seized the position of khagan from his nephew Yujiulü Doulun thanks to a successful coup d'état by nobles.
He later asked for physicians, craftsmans and artisans from Southern Qi emperor Wu, which was denied.
He directly drove Woye Town (now northeast of Urad Front Banner, Inner Mongolia), Huaiyu Town (now southwest of Guyang County, Inner Mongolia) and went to Dai Commandery and Heng Commandery, however he was eventually stopped by Wei general Yuan Huai (源怀).