Yuwen Tai


Yuwen Tai , nickname Heita, formally Duke Wen of Anding, later further posthumously honored by Northern Zhou initially as Prince Wen then as Emperor Wen with the temple name Taizu, was the de facto ruler and paramount general of the Xianbei-led Chinese Western Wei dynasty, a branch successor state of the Northern Wei. In 534, Emperor Xiaowu of Northern Wei, seeking to assert power independent of the paramount general Gao Huan, fled to Yuwen's domain; when Gao subsequently proclaimed Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei emperor, a split of Northern Wei was effected, and when Yuwen subsequently poisoned Emperor Xiaowu to death around the new year 535 and declared his cousin Yuan Baoju emperor, the split was formalized, with the part under Gao's and Emperor Xiaojing's control known as Eastern Wei and the part under Yuwen's and Emperor Wen's control known as Western Wei. For the rest of his life, Yuwen endeavored to make Western Wei, then much weaker than its eastern counterpart, a strong state, and after his death, his son Yuwen Jue seized the throne from Emperor Gong of Western Wei, establishing the Northern Zhou dynasty.

Early career

Yuwen Tai was born in 505, and was a descendant of the last chieftain of the Xianbei Yuwen tribe Yuwen Yidougui, whose tribe was destroyed by Murong Huang, the founding ruler of Former Yan. Yuwen Yidougui's descendants served as generals during Former Yan and its successor state Later Yan. Later, when Emperor Daowu of Northern Wei defeated the Later Yan emperor Murong Bao, Yuwen Tai's great-great-grandfather Yuwen Ling surrendered to Northern Wei, and was relocated to Wuchuan. Yuwen Tai's father Yuwen Gong was known for his ability in battle. In 524, with Northern Wei's northern provinces overrun by agrarian rebels, Wuchuan was being held by one of the major rebels, Poliuhan Baling. Yuwen Gong and another local leader, Heba Duba, ambushed Poliuhan's general Wei Kegu and killed Wei, temporarily restoring order. It was probably at this time that Yuwen Tai met and befriended Heba Duba's son Heba Yue. Sometime after this incident, Yuwen Gong and his sons fled to Zhongshan, and were forced to join the army of another rebel general, Xianyu Xiuli. Yuwen Gong died in a battle between Xianyu's troops and Northern Wei troops, but Yuwen Tai continued to serve in Xianyu's troops. After Xianyu was killed by his general Yuan Hongye in 526, another Xianyu general, Ge Rong, in turn killed Yuan and took over Xianyu's troops, and Yuwen continued to serve Ge. However, he saw that Ge was not a competent leader and considered fleeing with his brothers, but before he could carry out his plans, Ge was defeated by the Northern Wei general Erzhu Rong in 528, and Erzhu forcibly moved Ge's troops to his power base at Jinyang. Suspicious of the Yuwen brothers, Erzhu killed Yuwen Tai's older brother Yuwen Luosheng, but Yuwen Tai pleaded his case with Erzhu and was spared.
In 529, the Northern Wei prince Yuan Hao, under support from the Liang dynasty, attacked Emperor Xiaozhuang and seized the capital Luoyang, declaring himself emperor. Emperor Xiaozhuang fled north of the Yellow River, and Erzhu advanced south to aid him, sending Heba Yue, who was then serving under Erzhu, to lead his forward troops. Heba made Yuwen Tai his assistant, and later on, after Erzhu defeated Yuan Hao, allowing Emperor Xiaozhuang to return to Luoyang, Yuwen was created the Viscount of Ningdu.
In 530, Erzhu Rong sent his nephew Erzhu Tianguang, with Heba and Houmochen Yue as assistants, to attack the rebel general Moqi Chounu, who then occupied the western provinces. Yuwen continued to serve under Heba. After Erzhu Tianguang defeated Moqi, Yuwen, who contributed in the campaign, was made the governor of Yuan Province, and he was said to have ruled the province with such kindness and faith that the people of the province proclaimed, "Had we had Governor Yuwen as our governor earlier, how would we have joined the rebellion?"
Late in 530, apprehensive that Erzhu Rong would eventually seize the throne, Emperor Xiaozhuang ambushed him and killed him in the palace. Subsequently, Erzhu Rong's clan members, led by his nephew Erzhu Zhao and cousin Erzhu Shilong, defeated and killed Emperor Xiaozhuang, first making Yuan Ye the Prince of Changguang emperor, and then further replaced Yuan Ye with Emperor Jiemin. In 531, the general Gao Huan rebelled against the Erzhus. Erzhu Tianguang was initially not particularly interested in aiding his Erzhu clan members, but felt compelled to, and he departed Chang'an to head east. While Erzhu Tianguang was away, Yuwen advised Heba to rise against the Erzhus, and Heba did, defeating Erzhu Tianguang's brother Erzhu Xianshou, whom Yuwen subsequently captured, dividing control of the territory with Houmochen. By 532, Gao had defeated the Erzhus and seized power, deposing Emperor Jiemin and making Emperor Xiaowu emperor instead. When Gao subsequently tried to intimidate Heba into giving up his territory and reporting to Luoyang, but under the advice of Xue Xiaotong, Heba refused. He made Yuwen his lieutenant, and consulted him on most important matters. In 533, Yuwen volunteered to serve as messenger to Gao in order to observe Gao's abilities, and Heba agreed. When Gao met Yuwen, Gao was impressed by the answers Yuwen had to his questions and wanted to detain Yuwen, but Yuwen left Gao's domain before Gao could seize him. Subsequently, Heba sent Yuwen to confer with Emperor Xiaowu, who was not happy about Gao's hold on power, and Emperor Xiaowu and Heba were able to enter into a secret alliance against Gao. Heba made Yuwen the governor of the key Xia Province.

Taking control over western provinces

By this point, Heba Yue, in alliance with Houmochen Yue, controlled almost all of the western provinces. However, one provincial governor, Cao Ni, the governor of Ling Province, was aligned with Gao Huan and refused to follow Heba's orders. Heba Yue sent his assistant Zhao Gui to Xia Province to request Yuwen's opinions, and Yuwen, believing that Houmochen was unreliable, advised against an attack on Cao and suggested instead that Houmochen be attacked. Heba refused—not realizing that by this point, Gao's messengers had persuaded Houmochen to act against him. Heba and Houmochen rendezvoused at Gaoping, and then headed north against Cao—but as they advanced, Houmochen tricked Heba into coming to his camp for discussions, and then had his son-in-law Yuan Hongjing assassinate Heba. Initially, Heba's army was surprised and intimidated, but Houmochen, instead of taking over Heba's army, panicked and fled to Shuiluo, while Heba's army, without a central commander, withdrew to Pingliang. After some internal discussions, the army commanders decided to offer the command to Yuwen Tai, and they sent Du Shuozhou to Xia Province to summon Yuwen Tai. Yuwen agreed, and Du and he quickly headed back toward Heba's army.
Emperor Xiaowu, hearing of Heba's death, sent Yuan Pi to summon both Yuwen and Houmochen to Luoyang. Houmochen outright refused, and Yuwen persuaded Emperor Xiaowu to allow him to remain in command. Emperor Xiaowu agreed. Yuwen next sent a letter to Houmochen to rebuke him, and when Houmochen did not answer, prepared to launch an attack on Houmochen. He advanced quickly on Shuiluo, and Houmochen withdrew to Lüeyang, and then to Shanggui. He then further withdrew from Shanggui, and Shanggui surrendered to Yuwen. He decided to try to flee to Cao's territory, but on the way, believing that Yuwen's forces were close, committed suicide.

Alliance with Emperor Xiaowu

Gao Huan made an overture of alliance to Yuwen Tai, but Yuwen refused, instead arresting Gao's messengers and delivering them to Emperor Xiaowu. Emperor Xiaowu authorized him to take over Heba's authorities in the west and created him the Duke of Lüeyang.
Meanwhile, Emperor Xiaowu prepared for an attack on Gao, but meanwhile claimed to Gao that he was preparing to attack Yuwen and Heba Yue's brother Heba Sheng, who controlled the southern provinces. Gao saw through Emperor Xiaowu's trick, and in summer 534, he instead advanced south toward Luoyang. Emperor Xiaowu's associate Wang Sizheng, believing that imperial forces would not be able to withstand an attack from Gao, suggested fleeing to Yuwen's domain—despite his own reservations about Yuwen's intentions. Emperor Xiaowu agreed, but at the same time summoned Heba Sheng. However, Heba Sheng did not arrive at Luoyang, while Yuwen sent forces east, commanded by Li Xian, to welcome Emperor Xiaowu. In fall 534, before Gao's forces arrived, Emperor Xiaowu fled west, meeting Li on the way. Li escorted Emperor Xiaowu back to Yuwen's headquarters at Chang'an, and Emperor Xiaowu reestablished the imperial government there. He made Yuwen his commander in chief, and married his sister Princess Pingyi to Yuwen.
After Gao entered Luoyang, he sent messengers to request Emperor Xiaowu to return to Luoyang. When Emperor Xiaowu ignored his request, Gao made his distant nephew, Yuan Shanjian, emperor, dividing Northern Wei into two, with Eastern Wei recognizing Emperor Xiaojing, and Western Wei recognizing Emperor Xiaowu.
Yuwen's relationship with Emperor Xiaowu, however, soon deteriorated. Emperor Xiaowu had engaged in incestuous relationships with three of his cousins, at least one of whom, Yuan Mingyue the Princess Pingyuan, followed him to Chang'an. Yuwen disapproved of the relationship, and he persuaded the imperial princes to arrest Yuan Mingyue and put her to death. Emperor Xiaowu became angry, and he often showed his displeasure by tightening his bow or by pounding his table in the palace. Around the new year 535, Yuwen poisoned him to death and made his cousin Yuan Baoju the Prince of Nanyang emperor.

During Emperor Wen's reign

Western Wei was, initially, the smaller and the weaker of the two successor states of Northern Wei, and early in its existence, there were questions on whether it would survive at all. Yuwen Tai spent much of his effort on preserving existence of Western Wei against repeated attacks led by Gao Huan. He also gradually began to show a trend of following both ancient Chinese customs, as largely encapsulated by the governmental structures of the Zhou dynasty, and restoring Xianbei customs that had largely been abolished by Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei. In this, he was assisted by the official Su Chuo. He also worked on earning the respect of other officials and generals, including Emperor Xiaowu's confidant Wang Sizheng and Pei Xia, both of whom had initially been suspicious of Yuwen and yet later became important and faithful generals serving under him.
In spring 537, Gao Huan and his generals Dou Tai and Gao Aocao launched a major attack on Western Wei. Yuwen, correctly judging that Gao Huan was trying to draw Yuwen toward him while allowing Dou to penetrate Western Wei defenses, announced that he was going to lead a withdraw to modern eastern Gansu but instead made a surprise attack on Dou's army at Xiaoguan, crushing Dou's forces. Dou committed suicide in shame. Gao Huan and Gao Aocao were forced to withdraw. In fall 537, Yuwen led an attack on Eastern Wei and captured Hengnong. With Western Wei's capital region Guanzhong suffering from a famine, Yuwen remained in Hengnong to collect food from the area, but then heard that Gao Huan was again launching another attack from the northeast, forcing him to return to the Guanzhong region. The forces engaged at the Battle of Shayuan, after Gao rejected advice from his general Hulü Qiangju to directly attack the Western Wei capital Chang'an. Despite Eastern Wei's numerical superiority, Yuwen's forces crushed Gao's forces, and Gao was forced to withdraw. In winter 537, the Western Wei general Dugu Xin captured the former Northern Wei capital Luoyang, and several other nearby provinces also surrendered to Western Wei.
In spring 538, in order to create an alliance with Rouran, Yuwen first had Emperor Wen bestow the title of Princess Huazheng to Yuan Yi, the daughter of a member of the imperial clan, to marry her to Yujiulü Tahan, the brother of Rouran's Chiliantoubingdoufa Khan Yujiulü Anagui. But Yuwen, believing that to be insufficient, requested Emperor Wen divorce his wife Empress Yifu and marry Yujiulü Anagui's daughter. Emperor Wen was forced to agree, and he deposed Empress Yifu, ordering her to become a Buddhist nun, and married Yujiulü Anagui's daughter as empress.
By summer 538, however, Eastern Wei generals Hou Jing and Gao Aocao had surrounded Luoyang. Yuwen and Emperor Wen proceeded to Luoyang to try to lift the siege. When Yuwen arrived, Hou and Gao initially lifted the siege on Luoyang, but when Yuwen chased after them, his horse was shot by an arrow, and he fell off his horse and was nearly captured, but both he and his general Li Mu pretended to be common soldiers and were able to escape. Once Yuwen returned to Western Wei camp, Western Wei forces again attacked and killed Gao. Later that day, however, an Eastern Wei counterattack inflicted major losses on Western Wei forces, forcing Yuwen to withdraw and rendezvous with Emperor Wen at Hengnong. Meanwhile, however, Eastern Wei captives in Chang'an heard of the Western Wei defeat and rebelled within the city, led by the general Zhao Qingque, forcing the official Zhou Huida, who had been left in charge of Chang'an, to flee the city with the crown prince Yuan Qin. Under the advice of Lu Tong, Yuwen quickly returned west and defeated Zhao, suppressing his rebellion. Around this time, Yuwen also started setting up his headquarters at Hua Province, not far from Chang'an but maintaining some distance from the capital, incorporate many talented officials and generals into his staff. He further established a night school for the junior officers and officials in his administration at Hua Province.
In 541, under Su's suggestion, Yuwen had Emperor Wen issue an edict outlining six principles of government, intending to reduce corruption and wastefulness and strengthen the economy:
  1. Qingxinsi -- ordering the officials to clean their hearts and not desire many things.
  2. Dunjiaohua -- instituting a regime of moral education.
  3. Jindili -- the concept of encouraging agriculture and maximizing the utility of the land.
  4. Zhuoxianliang -- finding capable individuals to promote, regardless of their family backgrounds.
  5. Xuyusong -- forbidding torture and instituting the concept that it would be preferable to let the guilty go than to punish an innocent.
  6. Junfuyi -- the concept that tax and labor burdens must be fair, and that powerful families may not avoid them.
Yuwen ordered that all of the officials of the state must study the six principles and further be able to balance budgets, at the pain of being relieved from their offices.
In spring 543, the Eastern Wei official Gao Zhongmi, the governor of North Yu Province, angry that Gao Huan's son Gao Cheng had tried to rape his second wife, and in a dispute with Gao Cheng's assistant Cui Xian over his having divorced Cui's sister, rebelled and surrendered his headquarters of Hulao to Western Wei. Yuwen personally led troops to try to save Gao Zhongmi. At Luoyang, however, he was defeated by the Eastern Wei general Peng Le and was nearly captured, only managing to elude capture by throwing gold at Peng to bribe him and persuade him that if he captured Yuwen, he would be no longer be any use to Gao Huan. The next day, a Western Wei counterattack in turn almost killed Gao Huan, but was ultimately unsuccessful. Yuwen was forced to withdraw, but against advice from Feng Zihui and Chen Yuankang, Gao Huan failed to chase Yuwen and allowed him to escape. The defeat was considered so major that Yuwen offered to have his rank reduced, but Emperor Wen did not accept the request.
In 545, Yuwen, seeing that one of Rouran's vassals, Tujue, was growing in strength, sent a messenger, Annuo Pantuo to Tujue to greet its chief Ashina Tumen, to try to establish friendly relations.
In 546, Gao Huan launched another major attack on Western Wei, putting Yubi under siege, intending to draw Western Wei forces to try to save Yubi, but Yuwen took no reaction to it, instead leaving Yubi's defense to the general Wei Xiaokuan. Wei ably defended Yubi, draining the strength of the Eastern Wei forces, and as Gao grew ill, Eastern Wei forces were forced to withdraw with major losses.
Later in 546, Su died. Yuwen mourned him greatly, and personally attended Su's burial, crying bitterly.
In spring 547, the Eastern Wei general Hou Jing, who was in charge of Eastern Wei provinces south of the Yellow River, believing that Gao Huan had died and not willing to submit to Gao Cheng, surrendered the provinces initially to Western Wei and then to Liang. Yuwen conferred honorary titles on Hou, but was initially unwilling to send relief troops. With Wang Sizheng advocating taking four provinces that Hou offered in exchange for aid, however, Yuwen sent Li Bi and Zhao Gui to assist Wang, initially forcing Eastern Wei forces attacking Hou to withdraw. Soon, however, Western Wei generals and Hou began to suspect each other, and after Yuwen ordered Hou to proceed to Chang'an to greet Emperor Wen and Hou refused, the sides officially broke, and the Western Wei generals held onto the four provinces without rendering further aid to Hou, who from that point on depended solely on Liang aid.
In summer 548, Yuwen and Yuan Qin the Crown Prince carried out a tour of Western Wei's border provinces, but upon hearing that Emperor Wen was ill, cut their tour short and returned to Chang'an. However, when they did, Emperor Wen had already been healed, and Yuwen thereafter returned to his headquarters at Hua Province.
Around the same time, the Eastern Wei general Gao Yue launched an attack on Yingchuan, one of the major cities that Western Wei took from Hou. Wang, defending Yingchuan, initially repelled Eastern Wei's attacks, but with Eastern Wei diverting Wei River to flood Yingchuan, it was in the danger of falling. Yuwen sent Zhao to try to lift the siege, but Zhao was impeded by the water and was unable to proceed to Yingchuan. A counterattack by Wang, however, killed Murong Shaozong and Liu Fengsheng, temporarily relieving the pressure on Yingchuan. Gao Cheng himself reinforced Gao Yue's army, and by summer 549 captured Yingchuan, taking Wang captive. With Yingchuan having fallen, Yuwen ordered a general withdrawal from the area, and the provinces taken from Hou were retaken by Eastern Wei.
Meanwhile, with Hou having rebelled against Liang's Emperor Wu in 548 and captured the Liang capital Jiankang in 549, Liang was in disarray, with Hou and the various imperial princes and governors fighting for control. By winter 549, one of the Liang princes, Xiao Cha the Prince of Yueyang, fearing an attack from his uncle Xiao Yi the Prince of Xiangdong, surrendered his domain around the city Xiangyang to Western Wei, requesting protection. Yuwen sent the general Yang Zhong to aid Xiao Cha, and after Yang defeated and captured Xiao Yi's general Liu Zhongli in spring 550, Western Wei made peace with Xiao Yi, setting the borders in such a way to put Xiao Cha under Western Wei's protection. Yuwen created Xiao Cha the title "Prince of Liang," preparing to have him claim the Liang throne as Western Wei's vassal.
In summer 550, Gao Cheng's brother Gao Yang, who had controlled the Eastern Wei government after Gao Cheng's death in 549, forced Eastern Wei's Emperor Xiaojing to yield the throne to him, ending Eastern Wei and starting Northern Qi. In response, Yuwen launched a major attack on the newly established Northern Qi, reaching Jian Province. However, Gao Yang himself led a strong army to defend against Yuwen's attack, and Yuwen, upon hearing that Gao Yang's army was well-run, made the comment, "Alas, Gao Huan is not dead." Meanwhile, due to rains, the livestock that Western Wei forces relied on were dying in large numbers, and so Yuwen was forced to retreat. While there appeared to be few casualties, Northern Qi was in turn able to make minor border gains in light of Yuwen's withdrawal.
Around the new year 550, another son of Liang's Emperor Wu, Xiao Guan the Prince of Shaoling, attempted to recapture Anlu, which Yang had earlier captured from Xiao Yi. Yuwen sent Yang to relieve Anlu, and Yang not only did so, but proceeded to siege Xiao Guan's headquarters at Ru'nan, capturing it and then executing Xiao Guan.
It is known that at some point in Emperor Wen's reign, the emperor entrusted Yuwen to foster the crown prince Yuan Qin. Yuan Qin was 7 at that time. Later he
would arrange a marriage between his eldest daughter Empress Yuwen, and Yuan Qin.
In spring 551, Emperor Wen died, and Yuan Qin succeeded him.