Northern Wei
Wei, known in historiography as the Northern Wei, Tuoba Wei, Yuan Wei and Later Wei, was an imperial dynasty of China ruled by the Tuoba clan of the Xianbei. The first of the Northern dynasties, it ruled northern China from 386 to 535 AD 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 AD, bringing an end to the chaotic Sixteen Kingdoms period, and strengthening imperial control over the rural landscape via reforms in 485 AD. 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" by writers of the Southern dynasties, who considered themselves the true upholders of Chinese culture.
During the Taihe period, 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 AD. The Tuoba adopted the surname Yuan as a part of systematic sinicization.
Many antiques and art works, both Taoist art and Buddhist art, from this period have survived. It was the time of the construction of the Yungang Grottoes near Datong during the mid-to-late 5th 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 a split into the Eastern Wei and the Western Wei dynasties under the rule of the same imperial house in 534–535 AD, 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 AD, its important policies, in particular the political recentralization reforms under Empress Dowager Feng and ethnic integration under Emperor Xiaowen, had a long-lasting impact on later periods of Chinese history.
Founding and unification of Northern China
Background
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 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, the son of Tuoba Shiyiqian, 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.
The ethnic origin of the Northern Wei Dynasty is a subject of scholarly debate. Although the Tuoba founders of the dynasty are traditionally classified as part of the Xianbei confederation, linguistic evidence and some historians suggest a Turkic background.
The 11th-century Turkic scholar Mahmud al-Kashgari also includes the Tabghach within the Turkic tribal geography.
However, the dominant view in modern historiography is that the Northern Wei was a multi-ethnic entity that rapidly underwent Sinicization. Consequently, the dynasty is often analyzed as a 'Northern Dynasty' synthesis, blending Chinese and nomadic traditions, rather than being strictly defined by an ethnic category.
The historian Chen Yinke asserted that the institutional and aristocratic origins of the subsequent Sui and Tang dynasties were deeply rooted in the multi-ethnic legacy of the earlier Northern Dynasties, particularly the Tuoba Wei.
War with Later Yan
At first, 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 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 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 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 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 took the throne and continued his father's efforts to consolidate their state.
Unification of the north under Emperor Taiwu
In 423, Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei ascended the throne with ambitions to reunify northern China. In 426, he began a war with the Tiefu-led Helian Xia dynasty, which controlled 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 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 a campaign and conquered the Northern Liang, hence unifying the north and bringing an end to the Sixteen Kingdoms period.
Wars with the Southern dynasties
War with Liu Song
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 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 and Yanzhou and most cities in Song's Qing Province fell to the Wei army. The Liu Song general Tan Daoji commanded an army to try to save those cities and were able to hold Dongyang, 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, but were meanwhile able to capture Luoyang and Xuchang in spring 423, cutting off 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, 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 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 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 and Yan Province, who earlier pleaded allegiance to Liu Zixun, in fear of reprisal from 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.