it is not known when juqu wuhui was born. the first historical reference to him was in 437, by which time juqu mujian had made him the governor of jiuquan commandery (酒泉, roughly modern jiuquan, gansu). after the northern liang capital guzang (姑臧, in modern wuwei, gansu) was captured by northern wei forces, and juqu mujian was seized by emperor taiwu of northern wei, in 439, northern wei forces attacked remaining cities held by juqu clan holdouts, and juqu wuhui, after he was joined in jiuquan by his brother juqu yide (沮渠宜得), abandoned jiuquan and fled initially to jinchang (晉昌, in modern jiuquan as well) and then to dunhuang (敦煌, in modern dunhuang, gansu).