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147-409: It is not known when Hou Jing was born, but it was known that he was from Huaishuo Garrison (懷朔鎮) -- one of the garrisons that Northern Wei established on the northern border to defend against Rouran attacks. He appeared to be ethnically Chinese, but the matter of his ethnicity is not conclusive. When he was young, he was one of a group of friends who associated with Gao Huan , who often spent time in

294-502: A Chinese-style capital at Ye, Tuoba Gui sought to break the autonomy of the tribes. He reorganised the people into eight artificial tribes forcibly settled around the capital, which served as military units. He also removed the traditional tribal leaders. These reforms helped to change tribal loyalties and strengthen their loyalty to the dynasty. These tribes served as the Emperor's personal professional military caste which helped to sustain

441-548: A Hou rebellion. Hou declared a rebellion in summer 548, declaring that his intentions were to have the corrupt officials Zhu Yi, Xu Lin (徐麟), Lu Yan (陸驗), and Zhou Shizhen (周石珍) put to death. Emperor Wu commissioned his son Xiao Guan (蕭綸) the Prince of Shaoling to lead a four-pronged attack on Shouyang, believing that he could put out Hou's rebellion quickly. Meanwhile, Hou, with advice from his strategist Wang Wei , decided he should not wait for Xiao Guan to close in; instead, he made

588-571: A Rouran barbarian from the north!" In anger, her expression turned stern. In order to try to induce her to smile, Emperor Wenxuan crawled on the ground, but as he did, he flipped her bed over, causing her to fall and suffer an injury. Once he became sober, he greatly regretted his action, and he set a fire, intending to jump into it. Alarmed, she grabbed him and forced a smile, stating, "You were simply drunk." He still prostrated himself and ordered his father Gao Huan's distant cousin Gao Guiyan (高歸彥)

735-581: A Southern Qi prince, to become emperor of the puppet state. A southern expedition was led by Prince Yuan Cheng of Wei and Chen Bozhi, a former Qi general. Until spring 505, Xinyang and Hanzhong were fallen to the Northern Wei. In 505, Emperor Wu began the Liang offensive. A strong army was quickly amassed under the general Wei Rui and caught the Wei by surprise, calling it the strongest army they have seen from

882-571: A campaign and conquered the Northern Liang, hence unifying the north and bringing an end to the Sixteen Kingdoms period. War between Northern Wei and Han-ruled Liu Song dynasty broke out while the former had not yet unified northern China. Emperor Wu of Song while still a Jin dynasty general, had conquered both Southern Yan in 410 and Later Qin in 417, pushing Jin frontiers further north into Wei territories. He then usurped

1029-418: A concubine, after forcing her into an affair with him, so he summoned her husband Yuan Ang (元昂) to the palace and fired arrows at him, eventually killing him. Empress Li mourned greatly and offered to yield the empress title to her sister, and Empress Dowager Lou interceded against his taking her sister, and so Emperor Wenxuan did not do so. Another son of Empress Dowager Lou's, Gao Yan the Prince of Changshan,

1176-506: A fief by thousands of members of the Han Chinese aristocratic Zhaojun Li clan under the leader of a cadet leader of the clan, Li Xianfu. Clan loyalties were extensively utilized by local magnates. Li Xianfu was appointed as zongzhu (宗主) (clan chief) by the clan collectively in spite of him not inheriting the officer and rank of his father which went to his elder brother. Local level order was controlled by Li Xiangu and other magnates and

1323-473: A household: the first was open land for crop cultivation (40 mu ) for each adult male in the household, and half those amounts for adult females which was returnable after the recipient reached a specific advanced age or died. The second was the land to support textile production (10 or 20 mu, with the same gender distribution principle as open land) in one of two forms, namely, "mulberry lands" in silk-producing areas, and "hemp lands" in regions where sericulture

1470-494: A letter from Gao Cheng, proposing an exchange of Xiao Yuanming for Hou. When Emperor Wu, under advice from Zhu Yi —a key assistant to Emperor Wu whom Hou had bribed, hoping that he would discourage peace talks, but whose opinion was unchanged by Hou's bribes—wrote back, "If you return Xiao Yuanming in the morning, I will deliver Hou Jing in the evening," Hou was incensed. He wrote a harshly worded accusation to Emperor Wu, who responded with meek words that failed to persuade Hou against

1617-775: A long-lasting impact on later periods of Chinese history. The Jin dynasty had developed an alliance with the Tuoba against the Xiongnu state Han-Zhao . In 315, the Tuoba chief, Tuoba Yilu was granted the title of Prince of Dai . After his death, however, the Dai state stagnated, and with the Jin ejected from northern China, the Dai largely remained a partial ally and a partial tributary state to Later Zhao and Former Yan , finally falling to Former Qin in 376. After Former Qin's emperor Fu Jiān

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1764-638: A loyal Western Wei subject, secured four provinces that Hou was willing to give up control. Meanwhile, Emperor Wu of Liang was greatly pleased by Hou's surrender, and launched a major attack commanded by his nephew Xiao Yuanming the Marquess of Zhenyang, intending to relieve the pressure on Hou by opening another front to the east. Soon, Yuwen Tai demanded that Hou visit the Western Wei capital Chang'an to pay homage to Emperor Wen of Western Wei , to show his good faith. Hou refused, and he tried to persuade

1911-522: A marriage between a daughter of Rouran's Chiliantoubingdoufa Khan Yujiulü Anagui and Gao Cheng. Yujiulü Anagui refused, stating that it would only be sufficient if Gao Huan himself married her. Gao Huan himself initially refused, but Princess Lou, Gao Cheng, and the general Wei Jing all persuaded him otherwise, and he married Yujiulü Anagui's daughter, referring to her as the Princess Ruru (蠕蠕公主). To facilitate this marriage, Princess Lou moved out of

2058-571: A massive invasion. Although initially successful, the campaign turned into a disaster. The Wei lured the Liu Song to cross the Yellow River, and then flanked them, destroying the Eastern army. As the Liu Song armies retreated, Emperor Taiwu ordered his troop to move south. The provinces south of the Yellow River were devastated by the Wei army. Only Huatai, a fortified city, held out against

2205-419: A member of the imperial Yuan clan, emperor, thus dividing Northern Wei into Eastern Wei (under Gao's control) and Western Wei (under Yuwen's control). Hou Jing continued to serve under Gao Huan, and he became known as a brilliant tactician as well as a tough warrior even though, unlike many other generals at the time, he was not particularly skilled at horseriding, archery, or any other martial skills, and he

2352-447: A number of Western Wei generals to join him, but only Ren Yue (任約) did, with a minor army. The rest of the Western Wei forces withdrew their support from Hou and merely defended the provinces that Hou had given up. Meanwhile, Gao Cheng, pursuant to directions left him by Gao Huan, commissioned Murong Shaozong as the commander of his forces against Hou—a move that caught Hou by surprise, as he was still apprehensive of Murong's abilities and

2499-404: A rebellion. Meanwhile, Hou entered into secret negotiations with Emperor Wu's nephew Xiao Zhengde the Prince of Linhe, offering to make the ambitious Xiao Zhangde emperor, and Xiao Zhengde agreed to assist him. At the same time, despite warnings from Yang Yaren (whom Hou had tried to persuade to join in his plans) and Xiao Fan (蕭範) the Prince of Poyang, Emperor Wu failed to take precautions against

2646-501: A serious famine, and he ruled with the people with a heavy hand. In summer 550, Changsha fell to Wang, and Wang put Xiao Yu to death, putting Xiao Yu's domain directly under Xiao Yi's control. In fall 550, Hou sent Ren Yue to attack both Xiao Daxin and Xiao Fan's son Xiao Si (蕭嗣). Ren killed Xiao Si in battle, and Xiao Daxin, unable to resist, surrendered, allowing Hou to take his domain under control. Meanwhile, Xiao Guan, who had by now settled at Jiangxia (江夏, in modern Wuhan , Hubei ),

2793-427: A soldier and standing guard on Pingcheng's wall, she became so impressed by him that she, against customs of the times that women's marriages were to be arranged by parents, became resolved to marry him, sending her servant girls to Gao Huan to deliver messages and monetary gifts for her. Her parents therefore became forced to allow the marriage, and they were married. Lou Zhaojun was of Xianbei ethnicity while Gao Huan

2940-420: A spear and delivered his body to Jingkou. His body was then stuffed with salt and delivered to Jiankang. Wang Sengbian cut off the head and delivered it to Xiao Yi and cut off the hands and delivered them to Northern Qi. He then displayed the body publicly, and the public, including Emperor Jianwen's daughter and Hou's one-time wife, Princess Liyang, quickly cut off Hou's flesh and consumed it. In his biography in

3087-458: A speedy march toward the capital Jiankang , surprising Emperor Wu. In winter 548, he arrived at Jiankang and immediately put the capital under siege, quickly capturing the outer city with Xiao Zhengde's help and forcing the imperial troops to withdraw into the palace to defend it. However, with Yang Kan defending the palace, Hou could not quickly capture it. Soon, he declared Xiao Zhengde emperor, and he married Xiao Zhengde's daughter. Meanwhile, as

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3234-665: A split into the Eastern Wei and the Western Wei dynasties under the rule of the same imperial house in 534–535, which were soon replaced by the Northern Qi and the Northern Zhou dynasties respectively. While the rule of Tuoba clan ended in the mid-6th century CE, its important policies, in particular the political recentralization reforms under Empress Dowager Feng and ethnic integration under Emperor Xiaowen, had

3381-428: A surprise attack on Jiangxia, capturing it and seizing the general Bao Quan (鮑泉) and Xiao Yi's son Xiao Fangzhu (蕭方諸), eventually putting them to death in cruel manners. Xu's forces collapsed. Xu was forced to regroup at Baling (巴陵, in modern Yueyang , Hunan ), and Wang Sengbian took over command of Xiao Yi's forces there. Hou, instead of attacking Xiao Yi's headquarters at Jiangling directly, put Baling under siege but

3528-557: A trap. He did not heed the warning, and when Murong arrived at Pengcheng, Murong attacked him. The Liang troops were initially successful and quickly forced Eastern Wei forces to retreat, but Murong, anticipating this result, laid a trap, and when Liang troops gave chase, they became trapped and were crushed. Xiao Yuanming was captured. Having defeated Xiao Yuanming, Murong now turned his attention toward Hou, and he marched toward Chengfu (城父, in modern Bozhou , Anhui ), where Hou was. Hou retreated to Woyang (渦陽, in modern Bozhou as well), and

3675-421: A village and headed by one village elder (lizhang). Finally, over five villages, there was one ward elder (dangzhang). The three elders, appointed by the government, were responsible for detecting and re-registering population outside of state accounts, requisitioning corvee labor and taxes, and taking care of the poor and orphaned under their jurisdiction. This policy significantly bolstered the state's control over

3822-546: The History of the Southern Dynasties , Hou Jing was described as a man of short stature (shorter than 7 chi ) with short legs and a longer upper body, and he had high cheekbones and a wide forehead, his face was reddish with little facial hair, and he had a jackal-like voice. Hou Jing and his rebellion caused great damage to the Liang dynasty; about five years after his death, Liang general Chen Baxian overthrew

3969-787: The Hexi Corridor , led by the Juqu clan of Lushuihu ethnicity, submitted to Wei as a vassal after the Xia's demise. With the west pacified, Emperor Taiwu shifted his focus to the east by launching incessant attacks on the Chinese Northern Yan dynasty in Liaoning . After a large-scale invasion in 436, the Yan ruler, Feng Hong abandoned his territory to Wei as he fled to the neighbouring Goguryeo . Finally, in 439, Emperor Taiwu launched

4116-651: The Ordos and Guanzhong regions in the west. By the following year, the Wei had taken the Xia capital, Tongwancheng and a substantial portion of their territory. The Xia could no longer pose a threat to Wei, though they still managed to annex Wei's ally, the Western Qin dynasty in the Longxi . In 431, the last Xia emperor, Helian Ding was captured and handed over to Wei by the Tuyuhun . The Northern Liang dynasty in

4263-562: The Tiele tribes and held a large territory in the northern steppe. That same year, he declared himself Qiudoufa Khagan (丘豆伐可汗), and for the rest of Northern Wei's existence, the Rouran Khaganate was a recurring problem to the Wei on their northern borders. In 423, Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei ascended the throne with ambitions to reunify northern China. In 426, he began a war with the Xiongnu -led Hu Xia dynasty , which controlled

4410-639: The Western Yan in Shanxi . Wei continued hostilities even after Western Yan fell in 394, and in 395, the Later Yan emperor, Murong Chui , sent his Crown Prince, Murong Bao , with a massive army to lead a punitive expedition against Wei. However, at the Battle of Canhe Slope , Tuoba Gui inflicted the Later Yan army a heavy defeat. In 396, Murong Chui personally led another campaign against Wei, but though he

4557-587: The Xianbei Tuoba royal family in the 480s. More than fifty percent of Tuoba Xianbei princesses of the Northern Wei were married to southern Han Chinese men from the imperial families and aristocrats from southern China of the Southern dynasties who defected and moved north to join the Northern Wei. Some Han Chinese exiled royalty fled from southern China and defected to the Xianbei. Several daughters of

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4704-465: The de facto emperor, although Xiao Yi and Xiao Ji still both declined imperial titles by this point. The first action Hou Jing's troops, commanded by Xie Daren (謝答仁), took after he became emperor was to attack several generals to the east of Jiankang, who had risen against him in the last days of Emperor Jianwen's reign. In winter 551, Xie first captured Yuan Jun (元頵) and Li Zhan (李占), and then in spring 552 captured Liu Shenmao—who had initially given Hou

4851-440: The "equal-field landholding system", and the "three-elder system". In the new "equal-filed system" ( juntian zhi ) unveiled in 485, the state redistributed abandoned or uncultivated land to commoner subjects attached with obligations of tax duty in the forms of grain, cloth, and labor service. In principle, each household was entitled to lands proportional to its labor power. Specifically, two types of land with tenure were assigned to

4998-451: The 13 provinces that he commanded to Western Wei, but subsequently also surrendered to Liang. Both Western Wei and Liang sent troops to support him. Before Western Wei and Liang troops could arrive, Eastern Wei forces commanded by Han Gui (韓軌) surrounded him at Yingchuan (潁川, in modern Xuchang , Henan ). Western Wei forces commanded by Wang Sizheng (王思政) soon arrived, and Han withdrew. Wang, not believing that Hou actually intended to become

5145-615: The Buddha as wicked and as anti-stability and anti-family. Anti Buddhism was the position of Kou Qianzhi. There was no ban on the Celestial Masters despite the nonfullfilment of Cui Hao and Kou Qianzhi's agenda in their anti-Buddhist campaign. Cui Zhen's wife Han Farong was buried in a Datong located grave. To resist the threats posed by the Rourans , Northern Wei emperors started to embark on building its own Great Wall ,

5292-523: The Erzhus at this time, but was largely uninvolved in their campaign against Emperor Xiaozhuang, although he did aid Erzhu Zhao later in the year, after Emperor Xiaozhuang's death, in Erzhu Zhao's campaign against the general Gedouling Bufan (紇豆陵步番), who was loyal to Emperor Xiaozhuang. Under the instigation of the Erzhus, Emperor Jiemin of Northern Wei , whom the Erzhus had made emperor, created Gao Huan

5439-565: The Han Chinese Jin prince Sima Chuzhi ( 司馬楚之 ) as a refugee. A Northern Wei Princess married Sima Chuzhi, giving birth to Sima Jinlong ( 司馬金龍 ). Northern Liang Xiongnu King Juqu Mujian 's daughter married Sima Jinlong. The Northern Wei's Eight Noble Xianbei surnames ( 八大贵族 ) were the Buliugu (步六孤), Helai (賀賴), Dugu ( 獨孤 ), Helou (賀樓), Huniu (忽忸), Qiumu (丘穆), Gexi (紇奚), and Yuchi ( 尉遲 ). They adopted Chinese last names. Kongzi

5586-581: The Jin throne and created the Song dynasty. After hearing the death of the Song emperor Wu in 422, Wei's emperor Mingyuan broke off relations with Song and sent troops to invade its southern neighbor. His plan is to seize three major cities south of the Yellow River: Luoyang, Hulao, and Huatai. Sizhou (司州, central Henan) and Yanzhou (兗州, modern western Shandong) and most cities in Song's Qing Province (青州, modern central and eastern Shandong) fell to

5733-563: The Liang dynasty and established his Chen dynasty . Northern Wei 34°16′00″N 108°54′00″E  /  34.2667°N 108.9000°E  / 34.2667; 108.9000 Wei ( / w eɪ / ), known in historiography as the Northern Wei ( Chinese : 北魏 ; pinyin : Běi Wèi ), Tuoba Wei ( Chinese : 拓跋魏 ; pinyin : Tuòbá Wèi ), Yuan Wei ( Chinese : 元魏 ; pinyin : Yuán Wèi ) and Later Wei ( Chinese : 後魏 ; pinyin : Hòu Wèi ),

5880-434: The Liu Song emperor Emperor Ming, surrendered these territories to rival Northern Wei. Northern Wei forces quickly took up defense position against the attacking forces sent by Emperor Ming. With Liu Song forces unable to siege Pengcheng effectively, they were forced to withdraw in spring 467, making these populous provinces lost to the Northern Wei. In 479, Xiao Daocheng usurped the throne of Liu Song and became emperor of

6027-608: The Mingyuan Emperor. Kongzi was honored extensively by Tuoba Hong, the Xiaowen Emperor. A fief of 100 households and the rank of (崇聖侯) Marquis who worships the sage was bestowed upon a Confucius descendant, Yan Hui 's lineage had 2 of its scions and Confucius's lineage had 4 of its scions who had ranks bestowed on them in Shandong in 495 and a fief of ten households and rank of (崇聖大夫) Grandee who venerates

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6174-635: The Northern Wei Xianbei monarchs had to rely on them. The Northern Wei gave them title of governors officially in their fiefs. Lou Zhaojun Lou Zhaojun ( Chinese : 婁昭君 ; 501 – 20 May 562 ), formally Empress Ming (明皇后, literally "the understanding empress"), was an empress dowager of the Chinese Northern Qi dynasty. She was the wife of Gao Huan , the paramount general of Northern Wei and its branch successor state Eastern Wei , and during Gao Huan's lifetime

6321-491: The Northern Wei general Yuan Faseng (元法僧) surrendered the key city of Pengcheng (彭城, in modern Xuzhou, Jiangsu) to Liang. However, in summer 525, Emperor Wu's son Prince Xiao Zong (蕭綜), grew suspicions that he was actually the son of Southern Qi's emperor Xiao Baojuan (because his mother Consort Wu was formerly Xiao Baojuan's concubine and had given birth to him only seven months after she became Emperor Wu's concubine), surrendered Pengcheng to Northern Wei, ending Liang's advances in

6468-494: The Northern Wei state. Chinese influence accelerated during the capital's move to Luoyang in 494 and Emperor Xiaowen continued this by establishing a policy of systematic sinicization that was continued by his successors. Xianbei traditions were largely abandoned. The royal family took the sinicization a step further by changing their family name to Yuan. Marriages to Chinese families were encouraged. With this, Buddhist temples started appearing everywhere, displacing Taoism as

6615-466: The Northern Wei was internally unstable and allied with the stronger Xianbei-led Later Yan dynasty that ruled most of present-day Hebei and Liaoning . As Wei grew in power by subjugating neighbouring tribes such as the Tiefu and Rouran , their alliance came to an end in 391 when Tuoba Gui refused to send more tribute after Yan detained his brother at their capital, and the Wei re-aligned themselves with

6762-671: The Prince of Bohai, and Lady Lou thereafter carried the title the Princess of Bohai. In 531, seeing that the people were disappointed in the level of corruption shown by the Erzhus, he declared a rebellion against them, defeating them in 532 and deposing Emperor Jiemin, whom the Erzhus made emperor. He made Yuan Xiu the Prince of Pingyang emperor (as Emperor Xiaowu), and gave Princess Lou's oldest daughter to Emperor Xiaowu in marriage as his empress. Emperor Xiaowu, however, strained to free himself from Gao Huan, and their relationship soon deteriorated, as Emperor Xiaowu entered into alliances with

6909-432: The Prince of Changguang would try to seize the throne. Yang's associates Kezhuhun Tianhe (可朱渾天和) and Yan Zixian (燕子獻) were even considering killing the two princes and putting Grand Empress Dowager Lou under house arrest and transferring her authority to Emperor Fei's mother Empress Dowager Li. However, what they considered were leaked to Grand Empress Dowager Lou by Empress Dowager Li's lady in waiting Li Changyi (李昌儀), and

7056-560: The Prince of Pingqin to batter him severely with a staff—stating to Gao Guiyan that if Gao Guiyan could not cause him to bleed, he would kill Gao Guiyan. However, Empress Dowager Lou grabbed him and would not permit it to happen. He still insisted on being at least battered on his feet 50 times, and then still apologized profusely to her and swore to abstain from alcohol. However, 10 days later, he resumed drinking. In another incident involving Emperor Wenxuan's errant behavior, he had considered seizing his wife Empress Li Zu'e 's older sister as

7203-421: The Prince of Qinghe emperor (as Emperor Xiaojing), and Northern Wei was divided in two, Eastern Wei under Emperor Xiaojing and Western Wei under Emperor Xiaowu. Lou Zhaojun supported and assisted Gao Huan when he married more women, wanting to expand his power. An incident involving Gao Cheng soon threatened to undermine not only his position as Gao Huan's heir apparent but Princess Lou. In 535, Gao Cheng

7350-409: The Prince of Wei—intending to have him lay claim to the Northern Wei throne and, if successful, become a Liang vassal. He commissioned his general Chen Qingzhi (陳慶之) with an army to escort Yuan Hao back to Northern Wei. Despite the small size of Chen's army, he won battle after battle, and in spring 529, after Chen captured Suiyang (modern Shangqiu). Yuan Hao, with Emperor Wu's approve, proclaimed himself

7497-415: The Prince of Yuzhang emperor. Two months later, he put the former emperor to death. Meanwhile, Hou was preparing to take the throne. He had Xiao Dong bestow him the nine bestowments . 14 days later, he had Xiao Dong yield the throne to him, and he claimed the title of Emperor of Han—a title that was not recognized by the Liang provinces not under his control, which by this point had begun to view Xiao Yi as

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7644-747: The Qinhuai River (秦淮河, just south of Jiankang), and when Hou Jing himself attacked Chen, Chen defeated him as well. Against Wang Wei's advice to defend Jiankang, Hou Jing abandoned it and fled, commenting: Hou put his two young sons, born during the time he was at Jiankang, into saddle bags and drowned them, and then fled east, intending to join Xie's army to the east. Hou Jing's hopes of joining Xie Daren, however, were dashed when one of Wang Sengbian's subordinate generals, Hou Tian (侯瑱), intercepted him and defeated him again, causing his remaining guard troops to collapse. Hou Jing took his remaining boats and fled on

7791-475: The Southern dynasties in a hundred years. In spring 506, Wei Rui was able to capture Hefei . In fall 506, Wei Rui attacked the Northern Wei army stationed at Luokou for nearly a year without advancing. However, when Wei army gathered, Xiao Hong Prince of Linchuan, the Liang commander and younger brother of Emperor Wu, escaped in fear, causing his army to collapse without a battle. Northern Wei forces next attacked

7938-604: The Taihe period (477–499), Empress Dowager Feng and Emperor Xiaowen instituted sweeping reforms that deepened the dynasty's control over the local population in the Han hinterland. Emperor Xiaowen also introduced changes that eventually led to the dynasty moving its capital from Datong to Luoyang , in 494. The Tuoba adopted the surname Yuan (元) as a part of systematic sinicization . Many antiques and art works, both Taoist art and Buddhist art , from this period have survived. It

8085-496: The Wei army. The Liu Song general Tan Daoji commanded an army to try to save those cities and were able to hold Dongyang (東陽, in modern Qingzhou, Shandong), the capital of Qingzhou province. Northern Wei troops were eventually forced to withdraw after food supplies ran out. Wei forces also stalled in their siege of Hulao, defended by the capable Liu Song general Mao Dezu (毛德祖), but were meanwhile able to capture Luoyang and Xuchang (許昌, in modern Xuchang, Henan) in spring 423, cutting off

8232-623: The Wei. Wei troops retreated in January 451, however, the economic damage to the Song was immense. Emperor Wen made another attempt to conquer Northern Wei in 452, but failed again. On returning to the capital, he was assassinated by the heir apparent, Liu Shao. In 466, Liu Zixun waged an unsuccessful civil war against the Emperor Ming of Liu Song. The governors of Xu Province (徐州) and Yan Province (兗州, modern western Shandong), who earlier pleaded allegiance to Liu Zixun, in fear of reprisal from

8379-722: The Xianbei Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei were married to Han Chinese elites, the Liu Song royal Liu Hui 劉輝), married Princess Lanling (蘭陵公主) of the Northern Wei, Princess Huayang (華陽公主) to Sima Fei (司馬朏), a descendant of Jin dynasty (266–420) royalty, Emperor Xiaozhuang of Northern Wei 's sisters, the Shouyang Princess, was wedded to the Liang dynasty ruler Emperor Wu of Liang 's son Xiao Zong 蕭綜 . One of Emperor Xiaowu of Northern Wei 's sisters

8526-624: The Xianbei emperor. The Xianbei emperor also turned their own Xianbei nomad warriors into a hereditary military caste and extinguish their tribal loyalties. To the consternation of the Xianbei nobles, Han Chinese aristocrats started to be appointed to government positions by the Northern Wei emperors when the Central Plains population regrew in the middle of the 5th century. Han Chinese commoners started pledging their allegiance as buqu (部曲) (armed retainers) to elite Han Chinese aristocratic magnates in their wubao (塢堡) (fortified settlements) when

8673-610: The Yangtze River, throwing his two sons into the water to drown. He ordered that the boats head to Mengshan (蒙山), an island off the modern Shandong coast—apparently intending to return to the north. His guard Yang Kun (羊鵾, son of Yang Kan and brother of one of Hou's concubines), however, had other ideas, and while Hou was asleep, he ordered that the boats turn around and head toward Jingkou (京口, in modern Zhenjiang , Jiangsu ), by now again under Liang control. When Hou woke up, he tried to give contrary orders, but Yang killed him with

8820-650: The Yellow River. The two walls of Northern Wei formed the basis of the double-layered Xuanfu – Datong wall system that protected Beijing a thousand years later during the Ming dynasty. Local society in northern China was not governed by civil bureaucrats but by military clientage during the reign of the Northern Wei Xianbei emperors, with the local Han Chinese aristocratic families jointly ruling and controlling power with them. The Han Chinese aristocrat families ruled over their private fiefs (home jurisdictions) with large military authority and civil authority as entrusted to them by

8967-839: The advice on how to seize Shouyang. Hou put these generals to death in cruel manners—cutting off Yuan and Li's arms and feet and then demonstrating them to the public for more than a day until they died, and he made a rolling pin with sharp swords on it to cut Liu to pieces alive. He also executed Xiao Yi's son Xiao Fangzhu. Meanwhile, Xiao Yi's forces, commanded by Wang Sengbian and Chen Baxian, continued to advance toward Jiankang, and they quickly arrived in Jiankang's vicinity. Hou Jing initially ordered Hou Zijian, whom he sent against Wang, not to engage Wang and Chen on water, but after Wang pretended to be apprehensive, Hou Jing changed to order and allowed Hou Zijian to engage them on water, and Wang defeated him. Chen quickly set up advanced positions north of

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9114-638: The armies faced off against each other. Initially, Hou was successful, forcing Murong's army to flee, but Murong soon regrouped, and the armies' positions stalemated. By the end of 547, Hou's army had run out of food supplies, and one of the generals who first supported him, Sima Shiyun (司馬世雲), surrendered to Murong. In spring 548, Murong made a public announcement to Hou's troops that their families were still safe (Hou had informed them that their families had been slaughtered by Gao Cheng), and Hou's troops, believing Murong, abandoned him. Hou fled with 800 soldiers who were still loyal to him. Murong gave chase but gave up

9261-404: The borders, against both Eastern Wei and Western Wei, for several years. Early in Northern Wei history, the state inherited a number of traditions from its initial history as a Xianbei tribe, and some of the more unusual ones, from a traditional Chinese standpoint, were: As Sinicization of the Northern Wei state progressed, these customs and traditions were gradually abandoned. After building

9408-410: The chaotic Sixteen Kingdoms period, and strengthening imperial control over the rural landscape via reforms in 485. This was also a period of introduced foreign ideas, such as Buddhism , which became firmly established. The Northern Wei was referred to as "Plaited Barbarians" (索虜; suǒlǔ ) by writers of the Southern dynasties , who considered themselves the true upholders of Chinese culture. During

9555-648: The chase when Hou reminded him that he himself would be useless if Hou were destroyed. The Liang general Yang Yaren (羊鴉仁), who was holding Xuanhu (懸瓠, in modern Zhumadian , Henan ), abandoned Xuanhu. The provinces that Hou controlled were now all lost. Hou himself considered what his next action would be, and he, under advice from the Liang commander Liu Shenmao (劉神茂), ambushed and seized the Liang acting governor of Southern Yu Province (南豫州, modern central Anhui ), Wei An (韋黯), taking control of Southern Yu Province's capital city Shouyang (壽陽, in modern Lu'an , Anhui ). He sent an apology to Emperor Wu, and Emperor Wu, not having

9702-438: The comment to another friend of his and Gao Huan's, Sima Ziru (司馬子如), that he would remain loyal if Gao Huan were still alive, but that he could not serve together with the "Xianbei boy" (i.e., Gao Cheng) if Gao Huan died. (Gao Huan was ethnically Han, but was acculturated in the Xianbei ways.) In late 546, believing that Gao Huan was dead or near death, Hou began to prepare to rebel, and he did so in spring 547. He first surrendered

9849-466: The common people. The reforms of Empress Dowager Feng boosted agricultural production and tax receipts on a long-term basis, and broke the economic power of local aristocrats who sheltered residents under their control living in fortified villages that dotted the rural landscape of the North from taxation. The Northern Wei dynasty had doubled the registered population to more than 5 million households since

9996-470: The countryside, seeking to correct injustice. During the reign of Emperor Xiaoming , Northern Wei plunged into a state of civil war, with much of the state overrun by agrarian rebellions. Around this time, Hou joined the army of the Northern Wei general Erzhu Rong , and initially, he learned tactics from Erzhu's lieutenant Murong Shaozong (慕容紹宗), but soon, Murong found it necessary to consult Hou for his opinion on tactical matters. After Erzhu largely put down

10143-455: The courts in Datong played a great part in this process. He introduced Han Chinese administrative methods and penal codes in the Northern Wei state, as well as creating a Taoist theocracy that lasted until 450. The attraction of Han Chinese products, the royal court's taste for luxury, the prestige of Chinese culture at the time, and Taoism were all factors in the growing Chinese influence in

10290-575: The defeat, Hou offered to take the elite troops to launch a surprise attack on Yuwen, arguing that Yuwen would not be taking any precautions against such an attack and could be captured. However, when Gao consulted with his wife Lou Zhaojun , Princess Lou reminded him that if Hou actually captured Yuwen, he would not return (i.e., he would then try to take power himself). Gao therefore decided against Hou's plan. In 538, Hou recaptured several southern provinces that had defected to Western Wei in light of Eastern Wei's defeat at Shawan. He followed up by besieging

10437-473: The dynasty against any threats. After securing Xianbei hegemony in the hinterland of China, the North Wei regime, under the rule of Empress Dowager Feng (438-490; also known as Empress Dowager Wenming) implemented a package of reforms in 485-486 AD, greatly solidifying its fiscal foundations and strengthening state penetration to the local society. This reform introduced two far-reaching policies, namely,

10584-422: The east of Jiankang who were still resisting him, and by winter 549, Xiao Dalian and the other officials had fallen, allowing Hou to control most of modern Zhejiang . In spring 550, Hou married Emperor Jianwen's daughter Princess Liyang, and it was said that he loved her greatly. His relationship with Emperor Jianwen appeared to improve by this point. Due to the wars, the territory under Hou's control suffered from

10731-479: The emperor again being her son rather than grandson, she became known again simply as empress dowager. Emperor Xiaozhao was considered filially pious, and when once she became ill, he attended her for 40 days without resting. On another occasion, when she was suffering from unbearable chest pain, he inflicted pain on his own palms—then considered a way to transfer pain from her to him. In 561, Emperor Xiaozhao, fearful of astrological signs that appear to indicate that

10878-522: The emperor of Northern Wei. In summer 529, troops under Erzhu unable to stand up to Chen Qingzhi, forcing Emperor Xiaozhuang of Northern Wei to flee the capital Luoyang. After capturing Luoyang, Yuan Hao secretly wanted to rebel against Liang: when Chen Qingzhi requested Emperor Wu to send reinforcements, Yuan Hao sent Emperor Wu a submission advising against it, and Emperor Wu, believing Yuan Hao, did not send additional troops. Soon, Erzhu and Emperor Xiaozhuang counterattacked, and Luoyang fell. Yuan Hao fled and

11025-416: The emperor's unwillingness to advance past this line caused the destruction of the empire's ally, Xia , by the Wei. The emperor was to repeat this mistake as several northern states such as Northern Yan who had offered to ally with Liu Song against Wei were declined, eventually leading to Wei's unification of the North in 439. In 450, Emperor Wen attempted to destroy the Northern Wei by himself and launched

11172-411: The family's wealth was so drained that Lady Lou herself made boots personally out of horse skin. Eventually, though, Gao's talent impressed Erzhu, and he became one of Erzhu's key commanders in his campaigns, first to seize power at Luoyang in 528, then on his campaign to destroy the rebels and reunify the empire. Lady Lou's brother Lou Zhao (婁昭) eventually became a key commander under Gao Huan. Gao Huan

11319-530: The first since the Han dynasty. In 423, a defence line over 2,000 li (1,080 kilometres (670 mi)) long was built; its path roughly followed the old Zhao wall from Chicheng County in Hebei Province to Wuyuan County, Inner Mongolia . In 446, 100,000 men were put to work building an inner wall from Yanqing , passing south of the Wei capital Pingcheng , and ending up near Pingguan on the eastern bank of

11466-496: The former Emperor Fei would return to the throne, put him to death. When soon thereafter, Emperor Xiaozhao had a riding accident and suffered a severe injury, Empress Dowager Lou attended to him, but as she did, she asked where the Prince of Ji'nan was. When Emperor Xiaozhao was unable to answer, she angrily stated, "Is it not that you killed him? You did not listen to me, and you deserve to die." She walked out without returning. He died soon thereafter, after issuing an edict passing

11613-502: The fortress of Zhongli (鍾離, in modern Bengbu ), However, they were defeated by a Liang army commanded by Wei Rui and Cao Jingzong , effectively ending the war. After the Battle of Zhongli , there would continue to be border battles from time to time, but no large-scale war for years. In 524, while Northern Wei is plagued by agrarian rebellions to the north and west, Emperor Wu launched a number of attacks on Wei's southern territory. Liang forces largely met little resistance. In spring 525,

11760-487: The general Wang Sengbian , put Changsha under siege. Unable to lift the siege on Changsha and fearful that he would be Xiao Yi's next target, Xiao Cha surrendered to Western Wei , and Western Wei put Xiangyang under its protection and created Xiao Cha the Prince of Liang , intending to have him contend for Liang's throne. Xiao Yi entered peace with Western Wei, leaving Xiao Cha alone at the moment. Meanwhile, while Emperor Wu

11907-408: The governmental reports between Pingcheng and the new capital Luoyang . Once, when Gao Huan was severely battered, she cared for him all day and night and nursed him back to health. In 525, when large portions of Northern Wei territory was overrun by agrarian rebels, Gao Huan, taking his family (then apparently made up of Lady Lou, Gao Cheng, and their oldest daughter), joined the rebellion of one of

12054-643: The head monk of the Taiping Temple (太平寺). In late 534, Gao sent Hou to attack Heba Sheng (賀拔勝, Heba Yue's brother), who controlled the southern provinces at the time and was loosely allied with Yuwen Tai. Hou defeated Heba, forcing Heba to flee to the Liang Dynasty and taking those provinces for Eastern Wei. In 536, Gao put him in charge of the provinces south of the Yellow River , and from that point on, those provinces were under his command. In

12201-488: The heart to rebuke Hou after his defeat, made him the governor of Southern Yu Province without any punishment. Meanwhile, Gao Cheng started peace negotiations with Emperor Wu, offering to return Xiao Yuanming and intending to cause Hou to become apprehensive. Hou Jing opposed peace with Eastern Wei, worried that he would be betrayed if there was peace between the two states. Emperor Wu made a personal guarantee that he would not betray Hou—but Hou then tested Emperor Wu by forging

12348-573: The imperial family finally forced the Later Yan to evacuate to Liaoning, while a branch in the south founded the Southern Yan in 398 before escaping to Shandong . With a strong foothold on the Central Plains and the Yan state split into two, Northern Wei became a regional power in northeastern China, competing with the Qiang -led Later Qin dynasty to the west and the Eastern Jin dynasty to

12495-479: The important garrison of Hulao (虎牢, in modern Zhengzhou , Henan ), which he controlled, Hou was one of the generals who served under Gao both in besieging Hulao and in combating the Western Wei forces commanded by Yuwen that tried to relieve Hulao. The Western Wei forces were defeated and forced to withdraw, but even then Hulao did not fall, with Yuwen sending secret messengers to order its defender Wei Guang (魏光) to hold his position and await relief forces. Hou captured

12642-658: The incident, however, Gao Huan appeared to continue to honor Princess Lou and turn to her for advice. For example, in 537, in the aftermaths of Gao Huan's defeat against Yuwen Tai at Shawan (沙苑, in modern Weinan , Shaanxi ), the general Hou Jing suggested making an ambush against Yuwen's own camp; it was Princess Lou who advised Gao Huan against such action, noting that if Hou actually captured Yuwen, Hou would never return. In 539, Princess Lou's second daughter married Emperor Xiaojing as his empress. In fall 545, due to an alliance between Western Wei and Rouran to attack Eastern Wei, Gao Huan sued for peace with Rouran by requesting

12789-503: The independent generals Yuwen Tai , who controlled the western provinces, and Heba Sheng (賀拔勝), who controlled the southern provinces, against Gao Huan. In 534, when Emperor Xiaowu secretly prepared to attack Gao Huan, Gao Huan saw through his façade, and marched on Luoyang. Emperor Xiaowu fled to Yuwen Tai's territory, without taking Empress Gao with him. Gao Huan declared Yuan Shanjian , the son of Emperor Xiaowu's cousin Yuan Dan (元亶)

12936-503: The intercession of Gao Huan's friend Sima Ziru (司馬子如)—who first reminded Gao Huan Princess Lou's contributions to his success, as well as Lou Zhao's, and then forced the main witness to the affair, Lady Zheng's servant girl, to commit suicide—were Gao Cheng and Princess Lou able to remain in their positions. Still, Princess Lou and Gao Cheng submitted themselves to humiliating apologies to Gao Huan, where they knelt at each step as they approached Gao Huan after Gao Huan went to see them. After

13083-430: The labor so that he could encourage Gao Yan to end his hunger strike. Wang did so, and Gao Yan relented. In 558, Emperor Wenxuan died from a severe alcoholism-related illness. He was succeeded by his crown prince Gao Yin , who took the throne as Emperor Fei. Emperor Fei honored Empress Dowager Lou as grand empress dowager. Grand Empress Dowager Lou initially had considered trying to make Gao Yan emperor instead, but

13230-519: The lieutenant of the independent general Heba Yue (賀拔岳), to assassinate Heba, he sent Hou to try to seize Heba's troops, but on the way, Hou encountered Heba's assistant Yuwen Tai , who sternly warned him against trying, and Hou retreated, allowing Yuwen to take control of Heba's troops. This allowed Yuwen to take control of the western provinces of the state, and in 534, Emperor Xiaowu , whom Gao had made emperor in 532, seeking to slip out of Gao's control, fled to Yuwen's territory. Gao made Yuan Shanjian ,

13377-641: The local communities relied on the magnates to direct their defense after the 311 sack of Luoyang . Oaths were pledged in alliances between paramount commanders who joined their fortress villages together in leagues. The magnates retained the services and fealty of their thrall retainers after the fighting was over. Subject to the emperor was overtaken by the concept of village membership. Magnates had both unrelated bondsmen, private clients and fellow clan kinsmen in their armies. 50 to 60 square leagues of farmland in Hebei's southwest Taihang mountain foothills were taken as

13524-407: The major rebels, Du Luozhou (杜洛周), but subsequently became unimpressed with Du's behavior, and they fled from Du's camp and joined another rebel leader, Ge Rong (葛榮), but he eventually left Ge as well and joined the army of the Northern Wei general and Xiongnu tribal leader Erzhu Rong . Erzhu was initially unimpressed with Gao and did not give him great responsibilities; it was around this time that

13671-498: The mansion (and in gratitude, Gao Huan himself knelt down to Princess Lou to thank her), but Gao Huan and Princess Lou were not formally divorced, although, at Princess Lou's own request (arguing that the Princess Ruru would realize what was happening), Gao Huan did not visit her. In 547, Gao Huan died, and Gao Cheng took over as regent. Princess Lou thereafter carried the title of Princess Dowager of Bohai. In 549, Gao Cheng

13818-533: The messengers and, judging that it was more important to capture the garrison quickly, changed the messengers' message to "Withdraw from Hulao," and then allowed the messengers to reach Wei Guang. Wei Guang quickly withdrew from Hulao, which became again under Eastern Wei control. For this achievement, Hou was promoted to the honorific post of Sikong (司空). Despite the strong personal relationship between Gao Huan and Hou Jing, however, Hou had little respect for Gao's oldest son and heir apparent Gao Cheng , once making

13965-436: The new Southern Qi dynasty. Upon hearing the news, the Northern Wei emperor prepared to invade under the pretext of installing Liu Chang, son of Emperor Wen of Song who had been in exile in Wei since 465 AD. Wei troops began to attack Shouyang but could not take the city. The Southern Qi began to fortify their capital, Jiankang in order to prevent further Wei raids. Multiple sieges and skirmishes were fought until 481 but

14112-512: The northeast, although in summer 526, Shouyang fell to Liang troops after Emperor Wu successfully reemployed the damming strategy. For the next several years, Liang continued to make minor gains on the borders with Northern Wei. In 528, after a coup in Northern Wei, with the warlord Erzhu Rong overthrowing Empress Dowager Hu, a number of Northern Wei officials, including Yuan Yue, Yuan Yu, and Yuan Hao fled and surrendered territories they controlled to Liang. In winter 528, Emperor Wu created Yuan Hao

14259-541: The old Northern Wei capital, Luoyang , then defended by the Western Wei general Dugu Xin , precipitating a major battle in which both Eastern and Western Wei suffered major losses. In the end, however, the Western Wei troops, commanded by Yuwen, were forced to withdraw, and the Luoyang region was again controlled by Eastern Wei. In 543, when the Eastern Wei general Gao Zhongmi (高仲密) defected to Western Wei, along with

14406-404: The path of any Liu Song relief force for Hulao. In summer 423, Hulao fell. The campaign then ceased, with Northern Wei now in control of much of modern Henan and western Shandong. Emperor Wen of Song continued the northern campaigns of his father. In 430, under the able general Dao Yanzhi, Liu Song recovered the four cities of Luoyang, Hulao, Huatai and Qiao'ao south of the Yellow River. However,

14553-555: The provinces to the east and west, hearing of the cruelty of Hou's troops, largely initially resisted him. Around this time, the key Liang potentates who were still resisting included: Of these Liang potentates, the ones with the most military strength at their disposal were Xiao Yi and Xiao Ji. Xiao Ji, however, appeared content to secure his realm, particularly because Xiao Yi discouraged him from advancing east against Hou. Both Xiao Yi and Xiao Ji began to take on imperial trappings and exercised imperial authorities, although neither claimed

14700-547: The provinces west of the Yangtze River . However, Hou soon decided that peace would not be sustainable, and once the ceasefire had lasted sufficiently long for him to obtain additional food supplies, he reneged, accusing Emperor Wu of a number of faults, and putting the palace again under siege. Liu stood by, and the palace fell. Hou took control of Emperor Wu and Xiao Gang, issuing an edict in Emperor Wu's name ordering

14847-403: The provincial forces to disband. They did so, and Hou now had control of the capital region, although the provincial governors largely remained resistant to his orders. Hou deposed Xiao Zhengde back to the rank of Prince of Linhe and used Emperor Wu as token authority. After Jiankang fell to Hou Jing, the northeastern provinces, north of the Yangtze River, largely surrendered to Eastern Wei, while

14994-672: The provincial generals supported Liu Zhongli (柳仲禮) as their commander, preparing an assault on Hou's troops to lift the siege. In spring 549, Hou surprised them by attacking them first, killing the general Wei Can (韋粲). Liu engaged Hou, and both sides suffered heavy losses, with both Liu and Hou nearly dying in the battle. From that point on, Liu no longer displayed any interest in attacking Hou. Hou, with his food supplies dwindling, offered peace to Emperor Wu, who initially refused. However, Xiao Gang persuaded Emperor Wu to negotiate, and peace terms were negotiated where Hou would be allowed to return to Shouyang, and Emperor Wu would allow him to control

15141-654: The rebellions, Hou was made the governor of Ding Province (定州, roughly modern Baoding , Hebei ). After Erzhu was killed by Emperor Xiaozhuang in 530, and Emperor Xiaozhuang was in turn killed by Erzhu's relatives, members of the Erzhu clan controlled the imperial government. In 531, Gao rose against the Erzhus, and in 532, after Gao had defeated the Erzhus, Hou joined Gao, and Gao made him the governor of Ji Province (濟州, roughly modern Liaocheng , Shandong ). Soon, however, Gao appeared to recall Hou and make him one of his subcommanders. In 534, when Gao instigated Houmochen Yue (侯莫陳悅),

15288-538: The reforms. These institutional infrastructures erected by the Northern Wei state survived the fall of the dynasty and paved the way for China's eventual unification in 589 AD under the Sui dynasty. The Northern Wei used the previous dynasties' Nine-rank system as a way of assigning official positions to wealthy and prestigious Han Chinese families, according to hereditary rank. Officials were also given considerable autonomy, such as appointing subordinate officials. During

15435-422: The reign of Emperor Daowu (386–409), the total number of deported people from the regions east of Taihangshan (the former Later Yan territory) to Datong was estimated to be around 460,000. Deportations typically took place once a new piece of territory had been conquered. As the Northern Wei state grew, the emperors' desire for Han Chinese institutions and advisors grew. Cui Hao (381–450), an advisor at

15582-465: The reigns of two more of her own sons, Emperor Xiaozhao and Emperor Wucheng . Lou Zhaojun was born in 501, as the daughter of a rich merchant, Lou Gan (婁幹), and she grew up in Pingcheng (平城, in modern Datong , Shanxi ), the old capital of Northern Wei . In her youth, she was described to be intelligent and resolute, and when she saw Gao Huan, who was then too poor even to own a horse, serving as

15729-467: The sage was bestowed on Kong Sheng (孔乘) who was Confucius's scion in the 28th generation in 472 by Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei. An anti-Buddhist plan was concocted by the Celestial Masters under Kou Qianzhi along with Cui Hao under the Taiwu Emperor. The Celestial Masters of the north urged the persecution of Buddhists under the Taiwu Emperor in the Northern Wei, attacking Buddhism and

15876-446: The siege went on, Hou began to become cruel to the civilian population, permitting his army to pillage food from the people and causing large-scale starvation among the civilians. He further forced the civilians to conduct siege construction against the palace. His general Fan Taobang (范桃棒) secretly offered to defect to Liang, but Emperor Wu's crown prince Xiao Gang distrusted Fan and did not take up his offer; soon, Fan's correspondence

16023-547: The south for a time. In 398, Tuoba Gui relocated the capital to Pingcheng , and in 399, he elevated his title to Emperor of Wei. After Tuoba Gui was assassinated in 409, his son, Tuoba Si (Emperor Mingyuan of Northern Wei) took the throne and continued his father's efforts to consolidate their state. Earlier, among the tribes that the Wei had subjugated were the Rouran . In 394, a branch of them, led by Yujiulü Shelun rebelled and fled westward. By 402, Shelun had conquered many of

16170-425: The state religion. The temples were often created to appear extremely lavish and extravagant on the outside of the temples. Also from 460 onwards the emperors started erecting huge statues of the Buddha carved near their capital Pingcheng which declared the emperors as the representatives of the Buddha and the legitimate rulers of China. The Northern Wei started to arrange for Han Chinese elites to marry daughters of

16317-405: The throne at this point. Meanwhile, Xiao Yi, believing that his nephews Xiao Yu and Xiao Cha, who were technically his subordinates but not following his orders, would act against him in a coordinated manner, launched an attack on Xiao Yu. Xiao Cha tried to attack Jiangling to relieve the pressure on his brother, but could not, and Xiao Yi's army, while initially repelled by Xiao Yu, eventually, under

16464-538: The throne in summer 550) and was created the Prince of Liang as well. Later that year, Hou made Emperor Jianwen create him the Prince of Han. Additionally, Hou made Emperor Jianwen promote him to the position of "General of the Universe Past, Present, and Future, Commander of all Forces in the Six Directions" (宇宙大將軍、都督六合諸軍事). Emperor Jianwen was surprised and remarked, "How can a general's command be of

16611-411: The throne to Gao Zhan, who then took the throne as Emperor Wucheng. Empress Dowager Lou continued to be empress dowager. In summer 562, Empress Dowager Lou died. Emperor Wucheng was unwilling to change to white mourning clothes, and continued to wear his red robe, and he also continued to feast and play music, throwing the white mourning clothes away. When his trusted advisor He Shikai requested that

16758-441: The throne. When he initially reported this intention to Grand Empress Dowager Lou, she disagreed with it, as she believed that this would be seen as usurpation. However, she eventually agreed, and she issued an edict deposing Emperor Fei, creating him the Prince of Ji'nan instead, and making Gao Yan emperor (as Emperor Xiaozhao). She specifically instructed Emperor Xiaozhao, however, "Do not let anything happen to your nephew." With

16905-554: The two princes took preemptive action, ambushing Yang and his associates and forcing them into the palace. Yang and his associates were executed, and power fell into the hands of Gao Yan. (Despite Grand Empress Dowager Lou's opposition of Yang's plans, however, she realized that he was acting out of his loyalty to Emperor Fei, and she personally mourned him, and because before his death, one of Yang's eyes had been battered out of its socket, she made an eye of gold and pressed it into Yang's eyesocket.) Later that year, Gao Yan decided to take

17052-487: The universe?" Meanwhile, Ren continued to advance west, intending to attack Xiao Yi, but was repelled by Xiao Yi's general Xu Wensheng (徐文盛). Hou personally led troops to aid Ren, leaving Wang Wei in charge of Jiankang. While Hou was away from Jiankang, Emperor Wu's grandson Xiao Huili (蕭會理) the Prince of Nankang organized a plot to overthrow Wang Wei. The plot was discovered, and Wang Wei put Xiao Huili and his confederates to death. Wang Wei could not show that Emperor Jianwen

17199-544: The war was without any major campaign. A peace treaty was signed in 490 with the Emperor Wu . In 502, the Southern Qi general Xiao Yan toppled the emperor Xiao Baojuan after waging a three-year civil war against him. Xiao Yan enthroned in Jiankang to become Emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty . As early as 503 AD, the Northern Wei was hoping to restore the Southern Qi throne. Their plan was to install Xiao Baoyin ,

17346-456: The winter of that year, he was sent to raid Chuzhou (楚州). He had some initial success, killing its inspector (刺史) Huan He (桓和) on c. 9 December, and even wrote a letter to famed Liang general Chen Qingzhi , asking Chen to surrender. But, Hou was later defeated by Chen, and Chen's troops recovered the supplies which Hou's troops had abandoned during their retreat. In 537, when Gao launched a major attack on Western Wei, seeking to destroy it, Hou

17493-423: Was Chinese. In 521, she gave birth to a son, Gao Cheng . (She would eventually have six sons—Gao Cheng, Gao Yang , Gao Yan , Gao Zhan , Gao Yu (高淯), and Gao Ji (高濟)—and two daughters, the eventual empresses for Emperor Xiaowu of Northern Wei and Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei .) It was only after their marriage that Gao Huan could even afford a horse and was able to become an imperial messenger, delivering

17640-457: Was accused of crimes, and Grand Empress Dowager Lou took this opportunity to order that he be battered severely, and Gao Shi eventually died from his injuries. Meanwhile, the prime minister Yang Yin —a son-in-law of Grand Empress Dowager Lou, as he had married the former wife of Eastern Wei's Emperor Xiaojing after Emperor Wenxuan killed him around the new year 552—became suspicious that Gao Yan or another son of Grand Empress Dowager Lou, Gao Zhan

17787-453: Was already influential on the political scene. After Gao Huan's death, she continued to exert influence through the regency of her son Gao Cheng , and then as empress dowager after another son Gao Yang seized the throne from Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei and established Northern Qi (as Emperor Wenxuan). She continued to serve as grand empress dowager through the reigns of Gao Yang's son Emperor Fei , and then again as empress dowager during

17934-534: Was an imperial dynasty of China ruled by the Tuoba (Tabgach) clan of the Xianbei . The first of the Northern dynasties , it ruled northern China from 386 to 535 during the period of the Northern and Southern dynasties . Described as "part of an era of political turbulence and intense social and cultural change", the Northern Wei dynasty is particularly noted for unifying northern China in 439, bringing an end to

18081-487: Was defeated by Jin forces at the Battle of Fei River in his failed bid to unify China, the Former Qin state began to break apart. By 386, Tuoba Gui (Emperor Daowu of Northern Wei), the son (or grandson) of Tuoba Shiyiqian (the last Prince of Dai), reasserted Tuoba independence initially as the Prince of Dai. Later he changed his title to the Prince of Wei, and his state was therefore known as Northern Wei. At first,

18228-408: Was described as walking with a limp with short legs. Gao, however, knew of his abilities and honoured him appropriately. But Hou was arrogant, and he often compared two other key generals, Pan Le (潘樂) and Gao Aocao (高敖曹), to wild boars in their charges. He also often claimed that if Gao allowed him to lead an army south, he could easily capture Emperor Wu of Liang and make Emperor Wu, an avid Buddhist,

18375-425: Was discovered to have had an affair with Gao Huan's concubine Zheng Dache (鄭大車). Gao Huan was so angry that he caned Gao Cheng 100 times and put him under house arrest, and also refused to see Princess Lou. At that time, his favorite concubine was Erzhu Rong's daughter and Emperor Xiaozhuang's former empress Erzhu Ying'e , whose son Gao You (高浟) he now considered making heir apparent to replace Gao Cheng. Only at

18522-405: Was discovered, and Hou put him to death. Meanwhile, Yang Kan died, and Hou put even greater pressure on the palace defence. Around the new year 549, Xiao Guan's forces returned to Jiankang and tried to lift the siege. However, Hou engaged Xiao Guan and defeated him. Xiao Guan reorganized his troops and waited for reinforcement from the other provincial governors. The reinforcements soon arrived, and

18669-749: Was effectively under arrest, he still resisted Hou's will when it came to personnel decisions and other matters that Hou wanted him to issue edicts on. In response, Hou put Emperor Wu under even greater secure guard, and it was said that Emperor Wu's supplies dwindled. In the summer of 549, Emperor Wu died. (Some historians believe that Hou starved him to death.) Hou allowed Xiao Gang to take the throne (as Emperor Jianwen). Meanwhile, Xiao Zhengde, angry at Hou's betrayal of him, secretly communicated with Xiao Fan, but his letters were intercepted, and Hou put him to death. Xiao Fan tried to elicit Eastern Wei help against Hou, but even though he gave up Hefei to Eastern Wei, Eastern Wei did not actually launch troops to help him. He

18816-534: Was forced to advance west on the Yangtze. With Xiao Daxin's approval, he settled in Xiao Daxin's realm, but soon Xiao Fan and Xiao Daxin began to have disputes over the control of the territory, and Xiao Daxin stopped supplying Xiao Fan's troops. Xiao Fan died in anger and fear. At the same time, Hou was sending his generals Hou Zijian (侯子鑒) and Song Zixian (宋子仙) against Xiao Dalian and the other Liang officials to

18963-639: Was honoured in sacrifices as was Earth and Heaven by the northern dynasties of non-Han origin. Kongzi was honored by the Murong Wei Former Yan Xianbei leader. Kongzi was honored by the Di ruler Fu Jian (337–385) . Kongzi was honored in sacrifices by the Northern Wei Xianbei dynasty. Kongzi was honored by Yuoba Si, the Mingyuan emperor. Han dynasty emperors, Shang dynasty ruler Bigan, Emperor Yao and Emperor Shun were honored by Yuoba Si,

19110-447: Was in turn assassinated by his slave Lan Jing (蘭京), and Princess Dowager Lou's second son Gao Yang assumed the regency. In 550, despite Princess Lou's reservations, Gao Yang had Emperor Xiaojing yield the throne to him, ending Eastern Wei and starting Northern Qi (as its Emperor Wenxuan). He honored her as empress dowager . During the reign of Emperor Wenxuan—whom she had previously considered be unintelligent but whose reign initially

19257-856: Was in turn overthrown by Erzhu Rong's nephew Erzhu Zhao and cousin Erzhu Shilong. However, Yuan Yue realized that the Erzhus then became firmly in control of Luoyang and that he would be unable to defeat them, and so returned to Liang in winter 530. In 532, with Northern Wei again in civil war after the general Gao Huan rose against the Erzhus, Emperor Wu against sent an army to escort Yuan Yue back to Northern Wei, and subsequently, Gao Huan welcomed Yuan Yue, but then decided against making Yuan Yue emperor. Subsequently, Emperor Xiaowu of Northern Wei, whom Gao made emperor, had Yuan Yue executed. With Northern Wei divided into Eastern Wei and Western Wei in light of Emperor Xiaowu's flight, Emperor Wu initially continued to send his forces to make minor territorial gains on

19404-407: Was infeasible. Importantly, mulberry land was inheritable because of the long-term investment and care mulberry orchards required. Households possessing slaves and plow oxen were entitled to substantially larger allocations. The open land allocations would be doubled or tripled in areas where the land was less fertile or the population sparse. Sale of these land grants was forbidden, although subleasing

19551-493: Was initially successful, the Yan troops withdrew after he became deathly ill, and he soon died on his way back. Shortly after Murong Bao ascended the throne, Tuoba Gui began an invasion on Later Yan. During the invasion, Murong Bao decided to concentrate his forces in his capital and major cities, allowing the Wei forces to quickly overrun the Central Plains . A disastrous defeat at the Battle of Baisi and infighting among

19698-524: Was involved, but both Hou and Wang Wei became increasingly suspicious of Emperor Jianwen from this point on, and very few officials dared to visit the emperor. In spring 551, Western Wei put Ru'nan under siege, and after capturing it, put Xiao Guan to death. Meanwhile, Xu counterattacked against Ren, and Hou again led troops to reinforce Ren, this time carrying Emperor Jianwen's crown prince Xiao Daqi as hostage. Xu initially had success against Hou, but in summer 551, Hou surprised Xu by bypassing him and making

19845-497: Was killed in flight, and Chen's own army was destroyed, although Chen himself was able to flee back to Liang. In 530, Emperor Wu made another attempt to establish a vassal regime in Northern Wei by creating Yuan Yue the Prince of Wei, and commissioning Yuan Yue's uncle Fan Zun (范遵) with an army to escort Yuan Yue back to Northern Wei. Yuan Yue made some advances, particularly in light of the disturbance precipitated soon thereafter when Emperor Xiaozhuang ambushed and killed Erzhu Rong and

19992-662: Was married to Zhang Huan, a Han Chinese, according to the Book of Zhou (Zhoushu). His name is given as Zhang Xin in the Book of Northern Qi (Bei Qishu) and History of the Northern Dynasties (Beishi) which mention his marriage to a Xianbei princess of Wei. His personal name was changed due to a naming taboo on the emperor's name. He was the son of Zhang Qiong. When the Eastern Jin dynasty ended Northern Wei received

20139-466: Was one characterized by diligence—Empress Dowager Lou did not directly assert authority, but was fairly influential on her son, who was devoted to her. However, later in his reign, he began to act cruelly and bizarrely, apparently fueled by his alcoholism . In an incident during this period, angry at his alcoholism, she battered him with her staff, stating, "What kind of father begat this kind of son?" He responded irreverently: "I will marry this mother to

20286-584: Was one of the few officials who dared to speak to Emperor Wenxuan to try to get him to change his behavior. While at times Emperor Wenxuan would listen to Gao Yan's advice, in one instance he angrily battered Gao Yan such that Gao Yan suffered a serious injury. In anger, Gao Yan went on hunger strike, and when Empress Dowager Lou saw this, she went on hunger strike as well. Emperor Wenxuan, fearful of what might happen to both Gao Yan and Empress Dowager Lou, allowed Gao Yan's associate Wang Xi (王晞), whom Emperor Wenxuan had earlier ordered to forced labor, to be freed from

20433-539: Was permitted under some circumstances. Land allocations would be adjusted annually to account for changes in the composition of the household and its number of oxen. Another policy was the establishment of the three-elders system (sanzhang-zhi) in 486, which was designed to compile accurate population registers and to integrate village society into the state administration. In this system, five households were to make up one neighborhood (li), headed by one neighborhood elder (linzhang) while five neighborhoods were grouped into

20580-405: Was planning to attack Hou, but this drew Xiao Yi's ire—believing that Xiao Guan was intending to contend for the throne—and he sent Wang to attack Xiao Guan. Xiao Guan, not willing to engage Wang, abandoned Jiangxia and fled to Ru'nan (汝南, in modern Jingmen , Hubei ), where he entered into an alliance with Eastern Wei's successor state Northern Qi (with Gao Cheng's brother Gao Yang having seized

20727-485: Was prevented from doing so by officials loyal to Emperor Wenxuan's choice of his son Emperor Fei as crown prince. Still, she asserted more authority than she did during Emperor Wenxuan's reign. For example, she had long hated Gao Huan's son by his concubine Lady You, Gao Shi (高湜) the Prince of Gaoyang, as Gao Shi had received Emperor Wenxuan's favor by flattering him and had often been put in charge by Emperor Wenxuan of battering other imperial princes. In spring 560, Gao Shi

20874-491: Was said to also often consult Lady Lou herself for her views on important decisions. In 530, Emperor Xiaozhuang of Northern Wei , suspicious that Erzhu Rong would eventually seize the throne, ambushed him in the palace and killed him. Erzhu Rong's relatives, led by his cousin Erzhu Shilong and nephew Erzhu Zhao , rose against Emperor Xiaozhuang, defeating and killing him later in the year. Gao Huan did not break with

21021-489: Was spending too much time with Princess Liyang and ignoring important matters, tried to get him to change his ways, but this drew the princess' ire. Wang Wei, believing that Princess Liyang would eventually persuade Hou to harm him, instead advised Hou to remove Emperor Jianwen to show off his authority. Hou agreed, and in fall 551, he removed Emperor Jianwen and put the sons of Emperor Jianwen under his control, including Xiao Daqi, to death. He made Xiao Tong's grandson Xiao Dong

21168-663: Was surprised that Gao Cheng would make Murong his commanding general. At the same time, Xiao Yuanming arrived at Hanshan (含山), near the important city of Pengcheng (彭城, in modern Xuzhou , Jiangsu ), putting pressure on the city by damming the Si River (泗水) to cause it to flood against Pengcheng. However, against the advice of the senior general Yang Kan (羊侃), Xiao Yuanming did not quickly siege Pengcheng, but merely waited, pondering his next move. Hou cautioned him against Murong, and also informed him that if he defeated Eastern Wei troops, he should not chase them too hastily, lest he fall into

21315-545: Was the time of the construction of the Yungang Grottoes near Datong during the mid-to-late fifth century, and towards the latter part of the dynasty, the Longmen Grottoes outside the later capital city of Luoyang, in which more than 30,000 Buddhist images from the time of this dynasty have been found. Towards the end of the Northern Wei dynasty there was significant internal dissension, resulting in

21462-550: Was unable to capture it, and his food supplies began to run low. Soon, he was forced to withdraw, and his forces collapsed. Ren was captured, while Song Zixian and Ding He (丁和), both major generals as well, were killed. Hou fled back to Jiankang, and Xiao Yi retook control of Jiangxia. Soon, with Wang Sengbian aided by another general, Chen Baxian , Xunyang fell to Xiao Yi's forces as well. Hou began to believe that his days might be numbered, and he wanted to become emperor in his remaining days. Meanwhile, Wang Wei, who believed that Hou

21609-433: Was with him, and advised against advancing in a single large army, advocating dividing the army into two parts that would remain at a distance and support each other. Gao did not accept his advice, and was defeated by Yuwen Tai at the Battle of Shayuan (沙苑, in modern Weinan , Shaanxi ), suffering heavy losses — partly because Hou gave the poor tactical advice that Gao should not try to set fires against Yuwen's troops. After

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