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127-649: The temple was first constructed in the early 5th century, during the Northern and Southern dynasties (420–581). The temple is named after the Haibao Pagoda ( 海宝塔 ), also known as "Hebao Pagoda" ( 赫宝塔 ) and "Heibao Pagoda" ( 黑宝塔 ). According to the local county annals, the pagoda was restored by Helian Bobo (381–425) and the Emperor Wulie of Xia Kingdom (407–431). The temple had been subjected to two earthquakes in 1712 and 1778, during

254-430: A lance more effectively ( cataphracts had used lances since antiquity), though the cantled saddle did. The invention of the stirrup occurred relatively late in history, considering that horses were domesticated in approximately 4000 BC, and the earliest known saddle-like equipment were fringed cloths or pads with breast pads and cruppers used by Assyrian cavalry around 700 BC. The earliest hard foot support

381-416: A blow with a weapon that more fully employed the weight and momentum of horse and rider. Among other advantages, stirrups provided greater balance and support to the rider, which allowed the knight to use a sword more efficiently without falling, especially against infantry adversaries. Contrary to common modern belief, however, it has been asserted that stirrups actually did not enable the horseman to use

508-462: A brief interlude from 552 to 555), they are sometimes grouped together with Eastern Wu and Eastern Jin under the historiographic term "the Six Dynasties ". The rulers of these short-lived dynasties were generals who seized and then held power for several decades but were unable to securely pass power of rule onto their heirs to continue their dynasty successfully. Emperor Wu of Liang (502–549)

635-448: A ceasefire and peace. However, Hou thought that peace was unsustainable, so he broke the ceasefire and captured the palace, leading to the slaughter of the nearby populace. Emperor Wu was starved to death and after the short puppet reigns of crown prince Xiao Gang and Xiao Dong, Hou seized power and established the Han dynasty. In spite of conquering Jiankang, Hou essentially only controlled

762-511: A curved metal hook hanging from the saddle to support the foot. Two Kushan artifacts from the 1st century A.D portray a stirrup, however no further evidence of the Kushan stirrup has been found. Some credit the nomadic Central Asian group known as the Sarmatians with developing the first stirrups. The invention of the solid saddle tree allowed development of the true stirrup as it

889-508: A diplomatic faux pas, he incited the anger of Yuwen Tai, the leading general of Western Wei, which resulted in him being deposed and dying. Western Wei set up the puppet state of Western Liang with capital at Jiangling. Northern Qi also had designs on the Liang throne and sent an expedition under the banner of a cousin of Emperor Yuan. Chen Baxian and Wang Sengbian set up the last surviving son of Emperor Yuan, Xiao Fangzhi , as Liang ruler, but he

1016-474: A fall in their social status, causing widespread desertion of troops. Faced with shortage of troops, Eastern Jin generals were often sent on campaigns to capture non-Han indigenous peoples in the south to draft them into the military. The Eastern Jin dynasty fell not because of external invasion, however, but because Liu Yu (Emperor Wu of Liu Song) seized the throne from the Emperor Gong of Jin and founded

1143-704: A formidable general to the great delight of the Northern Wei. Thus, they were unable to capitalize when Northern Wei suffered the Wuqi Incident . Starting in 445, Northern Wei, taking advantage of Liu Song's weakness, made major incursions in the lands between the Yangtze and the Huai (modern Shandong, Hebei, and Henan) and devastating six provinces. Emperor Wen lamented that if Tan were still alive, he would have prevented Northern Wei advances. From then on, Liu Song

1270-419: A mistake when a former garrison officer organized another rebellion in the years 526–527. The underlying cause of these wars was the growing rift between the governing aristocracy which was increasingly adopting Han-style sedentary policies and lifestyles and their nomadic tribal armies who continued to preserve the old steppe way of life. The Northern Wei court was betrayed by one of their own generals, who had

1397-526: A monk, but each time he was persuaded to return by extravagant court donations to Buddhism. Furthermore, since Buddhists and Daoists were exempt from taxation, nearly half of the population fraudulently named themselves as such, badly damaging state finances. Imperial clansmen and officials were also greedy and wasteful. Emperor Wu was willing to accept generals who defected from Northern Wei. So when Northern Wei suffered major revolts in their northern garrison towns , he sent his general Chen Qingzhi to support

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1524-419: A new and highly specialized way." Other scholars dispute this assertion, suggesting that stirrups may provide little advantage in shock warfare , but are useful primarily in allowing a rider to lean farther to the left and right on the saddle while fighting, and simply reduce the risk of falling off. Therefore, it is argued, they are not the reason for the switch from infantry to cavalry in medieval armies, nor

1651-671: A new conception referring to the two as distinct 'Northern' and Southern' parallels, using unique local customs to distinguish themselves and compete for legitimacy. It was during the Northern and Southern dynasties period that the earliest recorded mass migration of ethnic Han to southern China (south of the Yangtze River ) took place. This sinicisation helped to develop the region from its previous state of being inhabited by isolated communities separated by vast uncolonized wilderness and other non-Han ethnic groups. During this period,

1778-402: A peace offering. Despite Emperor Wu's assurances, Hou decided to rebel in the name of Xiao Dong , the grandson of the former crown prince Xiao Tong who died in 531 and was removed from crown prince because of conflicts with his father. Hou surprised Emperor Liang by besieging the Liang capital at Jiankang. Attempts by Liang forces to break the siege failed, and Emperor Wu was forced to negotiate

1905-461: A policy of strict social distinction between them and their Han subjects. Ethnic Han were drafted into the bureaucracy, employed as officials to collect taxes, etc. However, the Han were kept out of many higher positions of power. They also represented the minority of the populace where centers of power were located. Widespread social and cultural transformation in northern China came with Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei (reigned 471–499), whose father

2032-528: A relatively stable formation. After a 249 coup by Sima Yi , the Sima family essentially controlled Cao Wei and the conquest of Shu Han by Cao Wei rapidly followed. Following a failed coup by the ruling Cao family against the Sima family, the final Cao ruler abdicated. Sima Yan (Emperor Wu of Jin) then founded the Western Jin dynasty and the conquest of Eastern Wu by Western Jin occurred in 280, ending

2159-562: A saddled horse with hanging objects. Smith suggests they are pendant cloths, while Thayer suggests that, considering the fact that the Parthians were famous for their mounted archery, the objects are stirrups, but adds that it is difficult to imagine why the Romans would never have adopted the technology. In Asia, early solid-treed saddles were made of felt that covered a wooden frame. These designs date to approximately 200 BC. One of

2286-642: Is a mounting stirrup, only placed on one side of the horse, and too short for riding. The earliest reliable representation of a full-length, double-sided riding stirrup was also unearthed from a Jin tomb, this time near Nanjing , dating to the Eastern Jin period, 322 AD. The earliest extant double stirrups were discovered in the tomb of a Northern Yan noble, Feng Sufu, who died in 415 AD. These stirrups were made with mulberry wood gilded with bronze and iron plates. References to stirrups appeared in Chinese texts by

2413-508: Is an iron rod from the loop to the footplate near the heel to prevent the foot from slipping out. The footplates are occasionally perforated to let water drain out when crossing rivers, and these types are called suiba abumi . There are stirrups with holes in the front forming sockets for a lance or banner . In the 6th century AD and later, earlier wooden and composite stirrups were replaced with cast iron versions in East Asia. By

2540-414: Is known today. Without a solid tree, the rider's weight in the stirrups creates abnormal pressure points that make the horse's back sore. Modern thermography studies on "treeless" and flexible-tree saddle designs have found that there is considerable friction across the center line of a horse's back. A coin of Quintus Labienus , who was in service of Parthia, minted circa 39 BC depicts on its reverse

2667-573: Is made of jade . The eleven story, 53.9-metre (177 ft) tall, dodecagon -based, Haibao Pagoda ( 海宝塔 ) is made of brick and stone , also known as the Northern Pagoda ( 北塔 ). It is built on a square brick base, each side measuring 19.7-metre (65 ft) long and 5.7-metre (19 ft) high. It is composed of a pagoda base, a dense-eave body, and a thatsa. Northern and Southern dynasties The Northern and Southern dynasties ( Chinese : 南北朝 ; pinyin : Nán běi cháo )

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2794-626: The Former Qin , the defeat of the Former Qin at the Battle of Fei River resulted in the collapse of the Former Qin. The grandson of the last prince of Dai Tuoba Shiyiqian , Tuoba Gui restored the fortunes of the Tuoba clan, renaming his state Wei (now known as Northern Wei) with its capital at Shengle (near modern Hohhot ). Under the rule of Emperors Daowu (Tuoba Gui), Mingyuan , and Taiwu ,

2921-730: The Liu Song dynasty , which officially began the Northern and Southern dynasties period. The Northern dynasties began in 439 when the Northern Wei conquered the Northern Liang to unite northern China and ended in 589 when the Sui dynasty extinguished the Chen dynasty . It can be divided into three time periods: Northern Wei ; Eastern and Western Weis ; Northern Qi and Northern Zhou . The Northern, Eastern, and Western Wei along with

3048-511: The Northern Zhou dynasty (557–580). The Northern Qi inherited the primary recruiting grounds of the Northern Wei army; previously, five out of six Northern Wei military officers came from the eastern territories, particularly the local armed forts of Han military families and steppe tribes who had settled in these areas. The members of these military families, both men and women, were often expert riders and archers. Like its predecessor

3175-579: The Rouran threat to his northern flank, he engaged in a war to unite northern China. With the fall of the Northern Liang in 439, Emperor Taiwu united northern China, ending the Sixteen Kingdoms period and beginning the Northern and Southern dynasties period with their southern rivals, the Liu Song. Even though it was a time of great military strength for the Northern Wei, Rouran harassment from

3302-505: The Rouran , Goguryeo , Tuyuhun and smaller local powers to defeat the Northern Wei, the North and South were forced into tacitly acknowledging their equal status, for example, by granting each other the highest positions as the most esteemed envoys. As the Wei Shu and Song Shu testify, there was a shift from imperial rhetoric denouncing the other side as illegitimate barbarians, towards

3429-510: The Three Disasters of Wu . At this late stage in his life, Emperor Taiwu meted out cruel punishments, which led to his death in 452 at the hands of the eunuch Zong Ai . His death sparked off turmoil that only ended with the ascension of Emperor Wencheng later that same year. Wang Yu  [ zh ] , an ethnic Qiang court eunuch and the favourite of Empress Dowager Wenming, patronized Buddhism lavishly. He constructed Cave 9–10,

3556-706: The 8th century in Vendel grave III in Sweden. The second principal type in Northern Europe has, as its most characteristic feature, a pronounced rectangular suspension loop set in the same plane as the bow, as found amongst the Hungarian examples, and is predominantly centered in Denmark and England during the later 10th and 11th centuries. A variant of this type, called the north European stirrup, has been dated to

3683-719: The Avar-style stirrups were not as widely adopted in western Europe. Stirrups do not appear in the Merovingian and Italo-Lombard milieu in large numbers, nor as frequently as within the Carpathian Basin . Most other stirrups found in Germany that date to the 7th century do not resemble the iron Avar style commonly found in burial assemblages from Hungary and neighboring regions. Instead, hanging mounts occasionally found in burial assemblages in southern Germany suggest

3810-553: The Chen dynasty. Chen Shubao relied on the natural barrier of the Yangtze River and continued as always with his festive and licentious activities. The next year, Sui forces captured the Chen capital of Jiankang. Chen Shubao and his favorite concubine Zhang Lihua attempted to hide in a well but eventually were captured by Sui forces, thus ending the Chen dynasty. After the failure of the Liu Song's efforts to form an alliance with

3937-468: The Eastern Jin attempted to draft the dependents of the great families, the court was quickly overthrown. However, with the fall of the Eastern Jin in 420, the balance of power shifted in favour the central government. The subsequent Liu Song, Qi, Liang and Chen dynasties were ruled by military leaders from lowly social backgrounds. They gradually stripped the powerful clans of military power, authority and wealth. The emperors stationed regional armies around

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4064-418: The Eastern Jin court. In order to gain popularity to take the throne he led expeditions against the Sixteen Kingdoms, capturing Shandong , Henan and, briefly, Guanzhong by 416. He gave up Guanzhong to try to take the throne. Because he believed in a prophecy saying there would be one more emperor after Emperor An , he deposed the former and, soon afterwards, his replacement, Emperor Gong in 420, ending

4191-435: The Eastern Jin dynasty. Even after crowning himself Emperor Wu, Liu Yu remained frugal. However, he did not care for education and trusted unsavory people. He felt that the nobility had too much power, so he tended to appoint the lower classes to government positions and gave military power to imperial kinsmen. Ironically, because the imperial kinsmen stabilized their military power and wished to gain political power, Emperor Wu

4318-630: The Golden Torque, depicts a horse rider with a foot in a stirrup-like hook connected by a chain. It is one of the oldest known depictions of a stirrup-like device. A vase found in Ukraine appears to depict a stirrup, however scholars disagree as they find the saddle too flat for a saddle tree. Riders in Central and Southern Asia during the last century B.C. and the first century A.D. seem to have used toe loops and "hook stirrups," which featured

4445-513: The Han language (if under the age of thirty), converting Xianbei family names to one-character Han surnames, and encouraging high-ranking Xianbei and Han families to intermarry. Emperor Xiaowen also moved the capital city from Pingcheng to one of China's old imperial sites, Luoyang , which had been the capital during the earlier Eastern Han and Western Jin dynasties. The new capital at Luoyang was revived and transformed, with roughly 150,000 Xianbei and other northern warriors moved from north to south by

4572-459: The Huai River. Northern Zhou instead took advantage of Northern Qi's weakness and following their defeat of Northern Qi, in 577, they sent troops to the territories south of the Huai River, where they decisively defeated the Chen dynasty forces. The Chen dynasty was in imminent danger. In a stroke of fortune, Northern Zhou's Emperor Wu suddenly died and his general Yang Jian attempted to take

4699-632: The Later Yan capital of Pingcheng (modern-day Datong). That same year he declared himself Emperor Daowu. Due to Emperor Daowu's cruelty, he was killed by his son Tuoba Shao, but crown prince Tuoba Si managed to defeat Tuoba Shao and took the throne as Emperor Mingyuan. Though he managed to conquer Liu Song 's province of Henan, he died soon afterward. Emperor Mingyuan's son Tuoba Tao took the throne as Emperor Taiwu. Due to Emperor Taiwu's energetic efforts, Northern Wei's strength greatly increased, allowing them to repeatedly attack Liu Song. After dealing with

4826-629: The Ning of Qinzhou, the Li of Guizhou-Tengzhou and the Chen of Shuangzhou. These families functioned both as cheftains to the natives and bureaucrats to the court. Liu Song founder Liu Yu was originally a leader of the Army of the Northern Garrison ( Chinese : 北府軍 ) that notably won the Battle of Fei River in 383. In 404, he helped suppress Huan Xuan 's rebellion, leading to his dominance over

4953-624: The Northern Wei court launched the sinicization movement. Northern gentry were therefore highly militarized as compared to their refined southern counterparts, and this distinction persisted well into the Sui and Tang dynasties centuries later. In the Sixteen Kingdoms period, the Tuoba family of the Xianbei were the rulers of the state of Dai (Sixteen Kingdoms) . Although it was conquered by

5080-486: The Northern Wei military forces dominated the Liu Song forces, they took heavy casualties. The Northern Wei forces plundered numerous households before returning north. At this point, followers of the Buddhist Gai Wu ( 蓋吳 ) rebelled. After pacifying this rebellion, Emperor Taiwu, under the advice of his Daoist prime minister Cui Hao , proscribed Buddhism — the first of the persecutions of Chinese Buddhism known as

5207-508: The Northern Wei progressively expanded. The establishment of the early Northern Wei state and the economy were also greatly indebted to the father-son pair of Cui Hong and Cui Hao . Tuoba Gui engaged in numerous conflicts with the Later Yan that ended favorably for the Northern Wei after they received help from Zhang Gun that allowed them to destroy the Later Yan army at the Battle of Canhe Slope . Following this victory, Tuoba Gui conquered

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5334-487: The Northern Wei, content to protect his borders. This period of peace was known as Yongming Administration . He also used government secretaries appointed with provincial governors and members of the imperial clan to monitor them. The short reigns of Emperor Wu's grandsons, Xiao Zhaoye and Xiao Zhaowen (his first son predeceased him), were dominated by Xiao Luan, Emperor's Wu's first cousin. He killed them in turn and crowned himself as Emperor Ming of Southern Qi . Using

5461-679: The Northern Zhou were established by the Xianbei people while the Northern Qi was established by a Xianbei-influenced ethnic Han. In the north, local ethnic Han gentry clans responded to the chaos by constructing fortified villages. Clans would then carve de facto fiefs out of these highly cohesive family-based self-defense communities. Lesser peasant families would work for the dominant clan as tenants or serfs. The chaos also led these Han gentry families to avoid government service, before

5588-495: The Prince of Xiangdong, whom he called the "Prince of Pigs" for his obesity, eventually assassinated him and became Emperor Ming . Emperor Ming began his reign by killing all the descendants of Emperor Xiaowu, and his suspicious nature resulted in the loss of the provinces north of the Huai River, which were only briefly regained in the other Southern dynasties. Emperor Ming's young son became Emperor Houfei . The political situation

5715-515: The Scandinavian settlers of the 9th century but are more likely related to later Viking raids led by Cnut the Great and others during the reign of King Aethelred (978–1013). In what today is France, Charles Martel distributed seized lands to his retainers on condition that they serve him by fighting in the new manner, which some attribute to his recognizing the military potentialities of

5842-671: The Shouyang Princess was wedded to Emperor Wu of Liang 's son Xiao Zong  [ zh ] . According to the Book of Zhou , Emperor Xiaowu of Northern Wei 's sister was married to the ethnic Han Zhang Huan, son of Zhang Qiong. When the Eastern Jin dynasty ended, Northern Wei received the Jin prince Sima Chuzhi  [ zh ] as a refugee, and he married a Northern Wei Princess. Their son Sima Jinlong in turn married Northern Liang Xiongnu King Juqu Mujian 's daughter. In

5969-716: The Three Kingdoms period and reuniting China proper. The Western Jin dynasty was severely weakened due to the War of the Eight Princes from 291 to 306. During the reigns of Emperor Huai of Jin and Emperor Min of Jin , the empire was put into grave danger by the uprising of northern non-Han peoples collectively known as the Five Barbarians . Numerous nomadic tribal groups had been forcibly resettled in northern and northwestern China during previous centuries. When

6096-500: The Western Wei, the Northern Zhou reacted against sinicization by trying to revive Xianbei warrior culture: reviving Xianbei tunics, trousers and boots, reverting sinicized surnames into Xianbei names and even giving Han officers Xianbei surnames. This "tribalization" policy was intended to convert large numbers of Han Chinese army recruits into "Xianbei" who would pay for their own equipment in exchange for tax exemptions. The policy

6223-492: The Xianbei Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei married Han elites: the Liu Song royal Liu Hui ( 刘辉 ), 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 royalty, Princess Jinan ( 濟南公主 ) to Lu Daoqian ( 盧道虔 ), Princess Nanyang ( 南阳长公主 ) to Xiao Baoyin , a member of Southern Qi royalty. Emperor Xiaozhuang of Northern Wei 's sister

6350-487: The Xiao ( 蕭 ) family from Lanling ( 蘭陵 , in modern Cangshan County , Shandong ). Because Emperor Gao had a low social standing, he earned the disdain of nobility. His style of governance was similar to the early style of the Liu Song dynasty and was very economical. He died in the fourth year of his reign and his heir, who was only 13 years younger than him, succeeded him as Emperor Wu of Southern Qi . Emperor Wu made peace with

6477-581: The archeological record, "suggesting that one or more of the early forms have parallel development with those in Hungary, rather than being derived solely from the latter region". "In Scandinavia two major types of stirrups are discerned, and from these, by the development and fusion of different elements, some almost certainly of central European origin, most other types were evolved." The first main type, Scandinavian type I, appears to owe little to Hungarian forms. The earliest variety of this type can be dated to

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6604-522: The aristocrats of the remnants of the Chin [Jin] ruling house fled to the Nanking [Nanjing] area early in the 4th century, the south contained perhaps a tenth of the population of China. There were centers of Chinese culture and administration, but around most of these lay vast uncolonized areas into which Chinese settlers were slow to move". Stirrup A stirrup is a light frame or ring that holds

6731-544: The arts would continue for centuries at Dunhuang and is now one of China's greatest tourist attractions. In the year 523, a revolt of several military garrisons broke out, the Rebellion of the Six Garrisons ( Liu Zhen ). The revolt was caused by a food shortage far north of Luoyang. After the rebels force was suppressed, the government had 200,000 surrendered garrison rebels deployed to Hebei, which proved later to be

6858-546: The banner of Xiao Baojuan's brother who was declared Emperor He of Southern Qi . Xiao Baojuan was killed by one of his generals during the siege of his capital at Jiankang, and after a short puppet reign by Emperor He, Xiao Yan overthrew the Southern Qi and established the Liang dynasty. Emperor Wu was economical, worked hard at governing, and cared for the common people. His early reign was known as Reign of Tianjian . The Liang dynasty's military strength gradually surpassed

6985-513: The birth of feudalism and its subsequent spread into Northern Italy , Spain , Germany and into the Slavic territories to the stirrup: "Few inventions have been so simple as the stirrup, but few have had so catalytic an influence on history. The requirements of the new mode of warfare which it made possible found expression in a new form of western European society dominated by an aristocracy of warriors endowed with land so that they might fight in

7112-464: The country selling their services to the warring princes and plundering the populace. These upheavals devastated the south which eased the fall of the south to the Sui dynasty. Under the later waning leadership of the Chen dynasty, the southern Chinese were unable to resist the military power amassed in the north by Yang Jian, who declared himself Emperor Wen of Sui and invaded the south. Aboriginal chiefs played an important active role in adapting to

7239-529: The country under the command of their imperial relatives, recruited officers from humble backgrounds and appointed low-ranking officials to monitor the powerful elites occupying the top government posts. The southern aristocracy declined with the rise of the Indian Ocean trade in the mid 5th century, which led to the court revenues shifting to trade and the disappearance of the caste by the Chen dynasty. As landowning aristocrats were unable to convert cash from

7366-424: The death of Emperor Wen, his son, the weak-willed Chen Bozong, took power and became Emperor Fei of Chen . His uncle, Chen Xu, after essentially controlling the country through his short reign, eventually deposed him and took power as Emperor Xuan of Chen . At that time, the Northern Zhou intended to conquer Northern Qi and thus invited the Chen dynasty to help. Emperor Xuan agreed to help because he wanted to recover

7493-674: The dominant Chinese structure, rather than being forcibly subjugated. For instance, the aboriginal chief Lady Xian who married the Liang court's governor Feng Bao, helped to extend the dynasties' authority while preserving autonomy and local culture. Lady Xian and Feng Bao played a critical role in assisting Chen Baxian's rise, and in stabilising the region between the Liang, Chen, and Sui dynasties. The court acknowledged her authority by awarding her with official titles and emblems of power. There were many other local chieftains of mixed origins between Guangzhou and modern Vietnam that displayed mixed traits of both aboriginal and sinicized culture, such as

7620-536: The dynasty, known in historiography as the Eastern Jin dynasty . Cementing their power in the south, the Eastern Jin established Jiankang on the existing site of Jianye (now Nanjing ) as their new capital. In the north, the Five Barbarians established numerous short-lived dynasties, leading to the period known as the Sixteen Kingdoms in historiography. Eventually, the Northern Wei dynasty conquered

7747-528: The earliest foot supports consisted of riders placing their feet under a girth or using a simple toe loop appearing in India by the 2nd century BC. Later, a single foot support was used as a mounting aid, and paired stirrups appeared after the invention of the treed saddle . The stirrup was invented in the Chinese Jin dynasty during the 4th century, was in common use throughout China by the 5th century, and

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7874-749: The earliest solid-treed saddles in the west was first used by the Romans as early as the 1st century BC, but this design did not have stirrups either. The Wenwu journal (1981) speculated that stirrups may have been used in China as early as the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD) based on representations of horses believed to date to the Eastern Han period (25–220 AD). Two plaques depict horses with squares between their belly and base line, which has been speculated to represent stirrups. However in 1984, Yang Hong remarked in

8001-503: The empress dowager and the young emperor thrown into the Yellow River while establishing his own puppet ruler to maintain authority. As conflict swelled in the north between successive leaders, Gao Huan took control of the east and Luoyang (holding Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei as a puppet ruler) by 534, while his rival Yuwen Tai took control of the west and the traditional Chinese capital of Chang'an by 535. The Western regime

8128-553: The end of the 4th century. Stirrups have also been found in Goguryeo tombs dating to the 4th and 5th centuries AD, but these do not contain any specific date. The stirrup appears to have been in widespread use across China by 477 AD. The appearance of the stirrup in China coincided with the rise of heavily armoured cavalry in the region. Dated to 357 AD, the tomb of Dong Shou shows fully armoured riders as well as horses. References to "iron cavalry" and "iron horse" began to appear at

8255-765: The first actual specimens of stirrups that can be dated precisely and with confidence are from a southern Manchurian burial of 415. However, stirrups have also been found in several other tombs in North China and Manchuria that are most likely of fourth century date. Most of these early Northeast Asian stirrups were oval in shape and made from iron, sometimes solid and sometimes applied over a wooden core, and this form would remain in use for many centuries thereafter. The earliest stirrups in Japan were unearthed from 5th century tombs. They were flat bottomed rings of metal-covered wood. Cup-shaped stirrups ( tsubo abumi ) that enclosed

8382-470: The foot of a rider, attached to the saddle by a strap , often called a stirrup leather . Stirrups are usually paired and are used to aid in mounting and as a support while using a riding animal (usually a horse or other equine , such as a mule ). They greatly increase the rider's ability to stay in the saddle and control the mount , increasing the animal's usefulness to humans in areas such as communication, transportation, and warfare. In antiquity,

8509-399: The founding elites of the Sui and Tang dynasties. Hence, they tended to have a flexible approach to steppe nomads, viewing them as possible partners rather than intrinsic enemies. The Jin were succeeded by a series of short-lived dynasties: Liu Song (420–479), Southern Qi (479–502), Liang (502–557) and Chen (557–589). As all of these dynasties had their capital at Jiankang (except for

8636-411: The front half of the rider's foot replaced the earlier design. During the Nara period , the base of the stirrup which supported the rider's sole was elongated past the toe cup. This half-tongued style of stirrup ( hanshita abumi ) remained in use until the late Heian period when the fukuro abumi or musashi abumi replaced it. It had a base that extended the full length of the rider's foot and

8763-513: The government secretaries, he slaughtered all the sons of Emperors Gao and Wu. Emperor Ming soon became very ill and started following Daoism, changing his whole wardrobe to red. He also passed an edict making officials try to find whitebait (銀魚). He died in 498 and was succeeded by his son Xiao Baojuan , who killed high officials and governors at whim, sparking many revolts. The final revolt in 501 started after Xiao Baojuan killed his prime minister Xiao Yi, leading his brother Xiao Yan to revolt under

8890-415: The horse's back and lead to soreness. This is especially noticeable with inexpensive bareback pads that add stirrups by means of a strap across the horse's back with a stirrup at each end. Stirrups used on English saddles are usually made of metal. Though called "irons," they are no longer made of iron, as a rule, but instead stainless steel is the alloy of choice, due to its strength, though when weight

9017-506: The imperial clan, one of which saw him slaughter the inhabitants of Guangling . The following ballad gives an idea of those times: Emperor Xiaowu died naturally in 464 and was succeeded by his son, who became Emperor Qianfei . Emperor Qianfei proved to be similar to his father, engaging in both kin-slaughter and incest. In a scandalous move, because his sister complained about how it was unfair that men were allowed 10,000 concubines, he gave her 30 handsome young men as lovers. His uncle Liu Yu,

9144-500: The late 19th century. It is not known why the Japanese developed this unique style of stirrup. These had a distinctive swanlike shape, curved up and backward at the front so as to bring the loop for the leather strap over the instep and achieve a correct balance. Most of the surviving specimens from this period are made entirely of iron, inlaid with designs of silver or other materials, and covered with lacquer . In some examples there

9271-742: The late 6th or early 7th century AD, primarily due to invaders from Central Asia , such as the Avars , stirrups began spreading across Asia to Europe from China. The iron pear-shaped form of stirrups, the ancestor of medieval European types, has been found in Europe in 7th century Avar graves in Hungary . A total of 111 specimens of early Avar-age, apple shaped, cast-iron stirrups with elongated suspension loop and flat, slightly inward bent tread had been excavated from 55 burial sites in Hungary and surrounding regions by 2005. The first European literary reference to

9398-517: The later stirrup known as the "foot stirrup" seen in China during the 5th century AD. It is speculated that they may have spread to China and were the precursors of the "foot stirrup". A pair of first century BC double bent iron bars, approximately 17 cm in length with curvature at each end, excavated from a grave near Junapani in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh , have been postulated as either full foot stirrups or bridle bits . A 4th century BC golden artifact from Crimea, known as

9525-425: The lost territories south of the Huai River. In 573, he sent general Wu Mingche to assist the effort; in two years, he managed to recover he lost territories south of the Huai River. At the time, Northern Qi was in a precarious situation with little military strength and Emperor Xuan could have taken advantage of the opportunity to entirely defeat Northern Qi. However, he only wanted to protect his territories south of

9652-525: The mid- Qing dynasty (618–907). In the early Republic period (1912–1949), it was called "Haibao Chan Temple" ( 海宝禅院 ). In March 1961, it was listed among the " Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Ningxia " by the State Council of China . In October 1963, the then Vice-President Dong Biwu visited the temple. In the 1960s, Deng Xiaoping visited the temple. In 1983,

9779-566: The most highly decorated of the Yungang Grottoes , and had a temple constructed in 488 at Lirun, Fengyi (modern day Chengcheng), which was his birthplace according to the Booke of Wei. Wang Yu may have been castrated during the suppression of a 446 Qiang rebellion since the Northern Wei would castrate rebel tribes' young elite. In the first half of the Northern Wei dynasty , the Xianbei steppe tribesmen who dominated northern China kept

9906-419: The most significant inventions in the history of warfare , prior to gunpowder . As a tool allowing expanded use of horses in warfare , the stirrup is often called the third revolutionary step in equipment, after the chariot and the saddle . The basic tactics of mounted warfare were significantly altered by the stirrup. A rider supported by stirrups was less likely to fall off while fighting, and could deliver

10033-567: The nearby areas. The rest of the Liang dynasty lands were under the control of members of the imperial clan. Their squabbling amongst themselves weakened their efforts to defeat Hou. In the end, Xiao Yi with the aid of his generals Wang Sengbian and Chen Baxian defeated Hou, crowning himself Emperor Yuan of Liang . His brother Xiao Ji based in Sichuan was still a major threat. Emperor Yuan asked for assistance from Western Wei to defeat Xiao Ji, but after subduing Xiao Ji, they kept Sichuan. Due to

10160-432: The north forced them to divert their focus from their southern expeditions. After uniting the north, Emperor Taiwu also conquered the powerful Shanshan kingdom and subjugated the other kingdoms of Xiyu ( Western Regions ). In 450, Emperor Taiwu once again attacked the Liu Song and reached Guabu (瓜步, in modern Nanjing, Jiangsu), threatening to cross the river to attack Jiankang, the Liu Song capital. Though up to this point,

10287-620: The period include the mathematician and astronomer Zu Chongzhi (429–500), and astronomer Tao Hongjing . After the collapse of a unified China proper under the Eastern Han dynasty in 220 due in large part to the Yellow Turban and the Five Pecks of Rice rebellions, China eventually coalesced into the Three Kingdoms . Of these, Cao Wei was the strongest, followed by Eastern Wu and Shu Han , but they were initially in

10414-515: The period was called the Reign of Yuanjia ( Chinese : 元嘉之治 ). In 430, Emperor Wen started a number of northern expeditions against Northern Wei. These were ineffective because of insufficient preparations and excessive micromanagement of his generals, increasingly weakening the dynasty. Because of his jealousy of Tan Daoji , a noted leader of the Army of the Northern Garrison, he deprived himself of

10541-582: The pretender Yuan Hao . Despite the fact that Chen was only given 7,000 troops, he still managed to defeat army after army and even captured Luoyang, the capital of Northern Wei. Ultimately, Chen was insufficiently supplied and was defeated by troops ten times his size. After the Northern Wei split into Eastern and Western Wei, Emperor Wu granted asylum to rebel Eastern Wei commander Hou Jing , sending him on Northern Expeditions against Eastern Wei. After some initial successes, Liang forces were decisively defeated. Rumors abounded that Emperor Wu intended to give Hou as

10668-435: The primary power brokers in the Eastern Jin. With the greatly increased importance of proving one's pedigree to receive privileges, there was a rise in compiling of genealogy records, and the great families moved to legally outlaw intermarriage with common families. The lower class Northern migrants were forced to become "guests" (dependents) of the great families who established private guard forces with their new retainers. When

10795-424: The produce of their estates, the resurgence of trade and the money-based economy forced them to break up and sell their lands to the burgeoning merchant class. Influential merchants increasingly occupied political offices, displacing the old aristocrats. On the other hand, the economic developments also drove peasants, unable to cope with inflation or to pay taxes in cash, to become mercenary soldiers, wandering through

10922-443: The reason for the emergence of feudalism. For the comfort of the horse, all stirrups require that the saddle itself be properly designed. The solid tree of the saddle distributes the weight of the rider over a greater surface area of the horse's back, reducing pressure on any one area. If a saddle is made without a solid tree, without careful engineering, the rider's weight in the stirrups and leathers can create pressure points on

11049-617: The region of Wu (a region near modern-day Shanghai). At that time, due to the Hou Jing rebellion, the Qiao and Wu clans were greatly weakened, and many independent regimes emerged. Emperor Wu could not pacify all the independent regimes, so he adopted conciliatory measures. After the sudden death of Emperor Wu, his nephew Chen Qian took power as Emperor Wen of Chen . After the fall of Liang, the general Wang Lin had established an independent kingdom based in modern-day Hunan and Hubei provinces and

11176-434: The rest of the northern states in 439 and unified northern China. Although the Eastern Jin and successive southern dynasties were well-defended from the northern dynasties by their placement of naval fleets along the Yangtze, they suffered various problems related to the creation and maintenance of military strength. The court's designation of specific households for military service through the tuntian system eventually led to

11303-420: The right and left sides of the toe cup were removed. The open sides were designed to prevent the rider from catching a foot in the stirrup and being dragged. The military version ( shitanaga abumi ) of this stirrup was in use by the middle Heian period . It was thinner, had a deeper toe pocket, and a longer and flatter foot shelf. This stirrup stayed in use until European style-stirrup rings were reintroduced in

11430-513: The rise and usurpation of the Sima family who established the Jin dynasty; subsequent leaders were similarly unable to bring the other great families in line. The Jin dynasty's flight south greatly exacerbated the weakness of the central government, and the great families who accompanied the Emperor in his flight, along with the most wealthy clans of earlier settlers along the Zhejiang coast, were

11557-448: The saddle tree, strongly suggesting the existence of paired stirrups. Radiocarbon dating of a strap made with horse hide gives a date of 267–535 cal AD. The earliest known paired stirrups first appeared in China during the Jin dynasty by the early 4th century AD. A funerary figurine depicting a stirrup dated 302 AD was unearthed from a Western Jin tomb near Changsha . The stirrup depicted

11684-716: The saddles should be two iron steps [ skala ], a lasso with a thong". Dennis notes that the lack of specific Greek word for stirrup evidences their novelty to the Byzantines, who are supposed to have adopted these from their bitter enemy the Avars, and subsequently passed them on to their future enemies, the Arabs. An early 7th-century date is secured for most Hungarian finds of stirrups with elongated suspension loops, though some of these must even be dated to before 600. Literary and archaeological evidence taken together may indicate that

11811-499: The same journal that the horses had no saddles and therefore the squares were only ornaments. Excavations at Khukh Nuur in northern Mongolia discovered a single iron stirrup in a cave burial. Radiocarbon dating of the human bone associated with this stirrup produced a date of 243–405 cal AD. Another cave burial at Urd Ulaan Uneet in Khovd Province was discovered with a saddle that had bilateral straps attached midway through

11938-399: The same time and instances of captured horse armour in numbers as high as 5,000 and 10,000 are recorded. In addition to the stirrups, Feng Sufu's tomb also contained iron plates for lamellar armour. Armoured heavy cavalry would dominate Chinese warfare from the 4th century AD to the early Tang dynasty when the military transitioned to light cavalry. A. von Le Coo's theory on the invention of

12065-459: The second half of the 10th century in Sweden, found at the boat-burial cemetery at Valsgärde . In Denmark from the 920s to the 980s, during the reign of the Jelling kings, many leading Danes were buried with military honors and equipped with stirrups, bits and spurs, in what are called cavalry-graves, found mostly in north Jutland . Into England, it is argued, stirrups were not introduced by

12192-519: The south went from being nearly a frontier to being on a path to the thriving, urbanized, sinicized region that it became in later centuries. In his book Buddhism in Chinese History , Arthur F. Wright points out this fact by stating: "When we speak of the area of the Yangtze valley and below in the period of disunion, we must banish from our minds the picture of the densely populated, intensively cultivated South China of recent centuries. When

12319-458: The spread of Mahayana Buddhism and Taoism . The period saw large-scale migration of Han people to lands south of the Yangtze . The period came to an end with the unification of China proper by Emperor Wen of the Sui dynasty . During this period, the process of sinicization accelerated among the non-Han ethnicities in the north and among the indigenous peoples in the south. This process

12446-472: The stirrup is that it was a contraption created by either mounted people who wanted to make riding less tiring, or those unused to riding to gain the necessary skills to match their adversaries. The very earliest Chinese representation of a stirrup comes from a tomb figurine from South China dating to 302 AD, but this is a single stirrup that must have been used only for mounting the horse. The earliest figurine with two stirrups probably dates from about 322, and

12573-518: The stirrup may be in the Strategikon , traditionally ascribed to the Roman emperor Maurice , and therefore written sometime between 575 and 628, but this is widely disputed, and others place the work in the eighth or ninth century. Maurice's manual notes the appropriate equipping of imperial cavalry: "the saddles should have large and thick clothes; the bridles should be of good quality; attached to

12700-770: The stirrup was in common military use in South-Central Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean by the latter half of the 6th century, with the Roman Empire having them in use by the year 600. By the 8th century stirrups began to be adopted more widely by Europeans. The earliest stirrups of western Europe, those of Budenheim and Regensburg , were either brought from the Avar Khaganate as booty or gifts, or were local imitations of stirrups in use at that time among Avar warriors. However,

12827-547: The stirrup. Later, Charlemagne ordered his poorer vassals to pool their resources and provide a mounted and armed knight, though the system proved unworkable, and instead the system of distributing land to vassals based on a knight's service was developed. Accounts of the Empire of Mali mention the use of stirrups and saddles in the cavalry. Stirrups resulted in the creation and innovation of new tactics, such as mass charges with thrusting spear and swords. Some scholars credit

12954-489: The strength of the Northern Wei, who suffered internal strife due to their policy of sinicization . In 503, the Northern Wei invaded but were defeated at Zhongli (modern Bengbu ). Emperor Wu supported the Northern Expeditions but did not aggressively take advantage of his victory in 516 at Shouyang due to heavy casualties. Given the excessive kin-slaughter in the Liu Song and Southern Qi dynasties, Emperor Wu

13081-633: The temple was categorized as a National Key Buddhist Temple in Han Chinese Area by the State Council of China. The entire complex faces the west and has an exquisite layout in the order of the Hall of Shanmen , Hall of Four Heavenly Kings , Mahavira Hall , Hall of Skanda, and Hall of Jade Buddha. The Hall of Shanmen is a gable and hip roof building. Under the eaves is a plaque with the Chinese characters " 海寶塔寺 " written by Zhao Puchu ,

13208-520: The temples of Sanchi , Mathura and the Bhaja caves dating back between the 1st and 2nd century BC feature horsemen riding with elaborate saddles with toes slipped under girths. Archaeologist John Marshall described the Sanchi relief as "the earliest example by some five centuries of the use of stirrups in any part of the world". This type of foot support has been called the "toe stirrup" in contrast to

13335-617: The then president of the Buddhist Association of China . The Mahavira Hall in the main hall in the temple which houses the statues of the Three-Life Buddha. The statues of Eighteen Arhats are enshrined on the left and right side of the hall. The Hall of Jade Buddha is the hall where the statue of Shakyamuni is enshrined. The statue was carved in the Burmese style. The 1.5-metre (4 ft 11 in) statue

13462-441: The throne. This stopped the southern advance of the northern troops. The respite was short though, as after Yang Jian defeated his rival General Yuchi Jiong , he usurped the throne from Emperor Jing of Northern Zhou and established the Sui dynasty , crowning himself Emperor Wen of Sui . He proceeded to invade the south to reunify China. Emperor Xuan had just died and his incompetent son Chen Shubao (Houzhu of Chen) took power. He

13589-547: The use of wooden stirrups. The scarcity of early-medieval stirrup finds in western Europe was noted by Bernard Bachrach : "Out of 704 eighth century male burials excavated in Germany until [ sic ] 1967, only 13 had stirrups." The earliest stirrups in the Baltic region are replicas of those in existence in Germany during the 7th century. In Northern Europe and Britain the metamorphosis of earlier wood, rope and leather forms of stirrups to metal forms can be seen in

13716-524: The warring princes heavily drafted these tribes into the military, they mutinied and exploited the civil wars to seize power. Their armies almost destroyed the dynasty in the Disaster of Yongjia of 311, when the Five Barbarians sacked Luoyang . Chang'an met a similar fate in 316. However, a scion of the imperial house, Sima Rui (Emperor Yuan of Jin) fled south of the Huai River and reestablished

13843-589: The year 495 to serve in the capital. Within a couple of decades, the population rose to about half a million residents and was famed for being home to over a thousand Buddhist temples. Defectors from the south, such as Wang Su of the prestigious Langye Wang family, were largely accommodated and felt at home with the establishment of their own Wu quarter in Luoyang (this quarter of the city was home to over three thousand families). They were even served tea (by this time gaining popularity in southern China) at court instead of

13970-462: The year 523, Prince Dongyang of the Northern Wei was sent to Dunhuang to serve as its governor for a term of fifteen years. With Buddhism gaining mainstream acceptance in Chinese society, Prince Dongyang and local wealthy families set out to establish a monumental project in honor of Buddhism, carving and decorating Cave 285 of the Mogao Caves with beautiful statues and murals. Such promotion of

14097-488: The yogurt drinks commonly found in the north. Beginning in the 480s, the Northern Wei arranged for Han elites to marry daughters of the Xianbei Tuoba imperial family. More than fifty per cent of Tuoba Xianbei princesses of the Northern Wei were married to southern Han men from the imperial families and aristocrats of the southern dynasties, who defected and moved north to join the Northern Wei. Several daughters of

14224-469: Was a Xianbei, but whose mother was Han. Although of the Tuoba Clan from the Xianbei tribe, Emperor Xiaowen asserted his dual Xianbei-Han identity, renaming his own clan "Yuan" ( 元 ). In the year 493 Emperor Xiaowen instituted a new sinification program that had the Xianbei elites conform to many Han standards. These social reforms included donning Han clothing (banning Xianbei clothing at court), learning

14351-531: Was a decadent ruler who had lost the Mandate of Heaven , the Sui Dynasty was able to effectively conquer the south. After this conquest, the whole of China entered a new golden age of reunification under the centralization of the short-lived Sui dynasty and the succeeding Tang dynasty (618–907). The core elite of the Northern dynasties, mixed-culture, and mixed-ethnicity military clans, would later also form

14478-416: Was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty . It is sometimes considered as the latter part of a longer period known as the Six Dynasties (220–589). The period featured civil war and political chaos, but was also a time of flourishing arts and culture, advancement in technology, and

14605-475: Was a toe loop that held the big toe and was used in India late in the second century BC, though it may have appeared as early as 500 BC. This ancient foot support consisted of a looped rope for the big toe which was at the bottom of a saddle made of fibre or leather. Such a configuration was suitable for the warm climate of south and central India where people used to ride horses barefoot. Buddhist carvings in

14732-473: Was afraid they would have thoughts of usurping the throne. Thus, he also frequently killed his kinsmen. After the death of Emperor Wu, his son Emperor Shao ruled briefly before being judged incompetent and killed by government officials led by Xu Xianzhi , replacing him with Emperor Wen , a different son, who soon killed the officials who supported him. Emperor Wen's reign was a period of relative political stability because of his frugality and good government;

14859-508: Was also accompanied by the increasing popularity of Buddhism in both northern and southern China and Daoism gaining influence as well, with two essential Daoist canons written during this period. Notable technological advances occurred during this period. The invention of the stirrup during the earlier Jin dynasty (266–420) helped spur the development of heavy cavalry as a combat standard. Historians also note advances in medicine, astronomy , mathematics , and cartography . Intellectuals of

14986-597: Was dominated by the sinicized nobles and their Han bureaucrats while the Eastern regime was controlled by the traditional steppe tribes. Eventually, Gao Huan's son Gao Yang forced the Eastern Wei emperor to abdicate in favor of his claim to the throne, establishing the Northern Qi dynasty (551–577). Afterward, Yuwen Tai's son Yuwen Jue seized the throne of power from Emperor Gong of Western Wei , establishing

15113-411: Was highly successful in boosting the state's military strength. The Northern Zhou dynasty was able to defeat and conquer Northern Qi in 577, reunifying the north. However, this success was short-lived, as the Northern Zhou was overthrown in 581 by Yang Jian, who became Emperor Wen of Sui . With greater military power and morale, along with convincing propaganda that the Chen dynasty ruler Chen Shubao

15240-451: Was in a weakened state. Emperor Wen was assassinated by Crown Prince Shao and Second Prince Jun in 453 after planning to punish them for witchcraft. However, they were both defeated by Third Prince Jun, who become Emperor Xiaowu . proved to be licentious and cruel, supposedly committing incest with the daughters of an uncle who had helped him gain the throne; his rivals also claimed he had incest with his mother. This led to two rebellions by

15367-551: Was licentious and wasteful, resulting in chaos and corruption in the government; many officials heavily exploited the people, causing great suffering. In planning to defeat the Chen dynasty, Emperor Wen of Sui took the suggestion of his general Gao Jiong and waited until the South were harvesting their crops to entirely burn the farmland, crippling the strength of the Chen dynasty. In 588, Emperor Wen of Sui sent his son Yang Guang (who would become Emperor Yang of Sui ) to finally vanquish

15494-493: Was not given the imperial title. After some defeats to the forces of Northern Qi, Wang Sengbian allowed their pretender, Xiao Yuanming to establish himself as Emperor Min of Liang. However, Chen Baxian was displeased with the arrangements, and in a surprise move killed Wang and deposed Emperor Min in favor of Xiao Fangzhi who became Emperor Jing of Liang. After a short reign, Chen deposed Emperor Jing and took power himself as Emperor Wu of Chen in 557. Emperor Wu of Chen came from

15621-475: Was now starting to cause trouble. Wang Lin allied with Northern Zhou and Northern Qi to conquer the Chen capital at Jiankang. Emperor Wen first defeated the combined forces of Northern Qi and Wang Lin before preventing the forces of Northern Zhou from entering the South at Yueyang . Furthermore, through Emperor Wen's extensive efforts at good governance, the economic situation of the South was greatly improved, restoring his kingdom's national strength. Following

15748-408: Was spread across Eurasia to Europe through the nomadic peoples of Central Eurasia by the 7th or 8th century. The English word "stirrup" stems from Old English stirap, stigrap , Middle English stirop, styrope , i.e. a mounting or climbing-rope. Compare Old English stīgan "to ascend" and rap "rope, cord". The stirrup, which gives greater stability to a rider, has been described as one of

15875-456: Was the most notable ruler of his age, being a patron of the arts and of Buddhism. The Southern dynasties, except for the last Chen dynasty, were strongly dominated by the shijia , the great families, who monopolized political power until the mid-6th century. This class was created by Cao Cao during the late Han dynasty when he attempted to consolidate his power by building an endogenous military caste of professional soldiers. His policy led to

16002-522: Was very lenient to imperial clansmen, not even investigating them when they committed crimes. The Liang reached a cultural peak because he was very learned, supported scholars, and encouraged the flourishing education system. An avid poet, Emperor Wu was fond of gathering many literary talents at court, and even held poetry competitions with prizes of gold or silk for those considered the best. In his later years, however, sycophants surrounded him. Three times he dedicated his life to Buddhism and tried to become

16129-415: Was volatile. General Xiao Daocheng slowly gained power and eventually deposed Emperor Houfei in favor of his brother, who became Emperor Shun . After defeating the rival general Shen Youzhi , Xiao forced Emperor Shun to yield the throne and crowned himself Emperor Gao of Southern Qi , thus ending the Liu Song dynasty. Though distantly related, the Southern Qi and the following Liang dynasty were members of

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