Dynasties of ChinaNorthern and Southern DynastiesNorthern Wei Dynasty
Dengguo and others · Reign 386—409
After the collapse of the former Qin Dynasty, he revived the Dai state and established the Northern Wei Dynasty. He defeated Later Yan and captured Hebei, making Pingcheng the capital and laying the foundation of the Northern Dynasty.
Tuoba Gui is the grandson of Tuoba Shiyijian, leader of the Tuoba Tribe of Xianbei and acting king. His father Tuoba Gui died before he was born. The Qin Dynasty was destroyed in 376 years ago, and when he was young, he followed his mother He family to attach themselves to the Dugu tribe and the Helan tribe. After the Battle of Feishui in 383, the former Qin Dynasty collapsed. In 386, he summoned his old troops in Niuchuan to take the throne. Soon he was renamed King of Wei and rebuilt the regime with Shengle as the center.
After that, he conquered the Tiefu tribe in the west, defeated Houyan Crown Prince Murong Bao in Shenhebei in 395, and captured the capital of Houyan, Zhongshan, in 397, and captured most of Hebei. In 398, he moved the capital to Pingcheng and became the emperor. He appointed Cui Hong and other Han scholars to formulate official systems and laws, relocated people to cultivate fields, dispersed tribes and settled them in separate territories, promoting the transformation of the Tuoba tribe from a nomadic tribal alliance to a Central Plains-style dynasty.
In his later years, he took cold food powder, became jealous and violent, and repeatedly killed ministers and clan members. Before naming his eldest son Tuoba Si as his heir in 409, he ordered the death of his biological mother Liu Guiren in accordance with the rule of "a son dies before his mother dies." In the same year, his second son Tuoba Shao went to the palace at night to kill his father because his mother, Mrs. He, was convicted and was about to die. Emperor Daowu died at the age of thirty-nine.
Tuoba Gui restored the country as a young man in the chaos of the collapse of the former Qin Dynasty. In more than ten years, he defeated Later Yan and dominated the north. He appointed Han scholars to establish an official system and promote settled farming, which laid the foundation for the unification of the north in the Northern Wei Dynasty and the later Hanization. However, in his later years, he was suspicious and bloodthirsty, and instituted the cruel system of "the son is dearer than the mother," and he eventually died at the hands of his own children. The bloody tradition of the palace continued for several generations.
PoliticsThe fall of the country
The former Qin Fu Jian sent troops to attack Dai, and King Tuoba Shiyiqian of Dai was defeated. The tribes of Dai were led by Liu Kuren of Dugu tribe and Liu Weichen of Tiefu tribe. Tuoba Gui, who is only six years old, lives with his mother in Dugubu.
PoliticsUshikawa takes the throne
After the Battle of Feishui, the former Qin Dynasty collapsed. Tuoba Gui, with the support of his uncle's family, the Helan tribe and others, gathered his old tribe in Niuchuan, took the throne, and ascended the country with the title of emperor. In April of the same year, he was renamed King of Wei, and the Northern Wei Dynasty began.
MilitaryDefeat the Tiefu tribe
He led his army to defeat the feuding Tiefu tribe. Liu Weichen was killed by his subordinates after he fled. Tuoba Gui collected all his tribe and livestock. Wei Chen's son Liu Bobo defected to the Later Qin Dynasty and later established Hu Xia and changed his surname to Helian.
MilitaryParticipate in the Battle of Hebei
Later Yan Crown Prince Murong Bao led an army to attack Wei. Tuoba Gui intercepted the Yan envoy and spread the news that Yan Lord Murong Chui was dead. The Yan army was shaken and retreated. The Wei army pursued them to Shenhepi and defeated them, trapping and killing 40,000 to 50,000 surrendered soldiers.
MilitaryJiantianzi Banner and Expedition to the South
Murong Chui personally conquered Pingcheng. When passing through Shenhebei, he saw mountains of corpses of the Yan army. He fell ill and died on the way home. Tuoba Gui immediately changed the name of the Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, established the emperor's banner, and led an army of more than 400,000 to attack Houyan in the south and seize Bingzhou.
MilitaryConquer Zhongshan
After the siege of Yandu City in Zhongshan, Murong Bao abandoned the city and went north to Longcheng. Zhongshan fell in October, and the Northern Wei Dynasty controlled most of the area north of the Yellow River. Later Yan could only retreat to a corner of western Liaoning.
PoliticsDecided to make Pingcheng the capital and proclaimed himself emperor
In June, it was agreed that the name of the country would be Wei. In July, the capital was moved to Pingcheng and palaces, ancestral temples and communities were built. In December, he became emperor and changed his name to Yuan Tianxing.
Lasting legacyPingcheng is now Datong, Shanxi, and served as the capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty for nearly a hundred years. Relics such as palaces and Mingtangs of the Northern Wei Dynasty have been excavated in Datong city.
SocietyMigration plan, oral teaching of farmland
Moved 360,000 officials and people from the six states of Shandong, as well as Tuhe, Gaoli and other miscellaneous barbarians, and more than 100,000 workers and craftsmen to the Pingcheng area, and distributed them to cattle for farming, and planned to grant land to the capital to enrich the capital.
PoliticsMake regulations
Deng Yuan was ordered to establish the official system, Wang De was ordered to edict, Dong Mi was to write the rituals of suburban temples, and Chao Chong was to build the armillary sphere. Cui Hong, the Minister of Civil Affairs, took the overall decision and established the Central Plains-style court based on the Wei and Jin systems.
SocietyDispersed tribes
Disband the tribal organizations affiliated to various tribes, order them to settle in separate territories, and are not allowed to move at will. Tribal leaders are listed with the common people in the household registration system. There are different historical records on the specific time of this move. One theory is that it began during the Dengguo period.
CultureAdd more students
An edict was issued to appoint doctors for each of the Five Classics, and the number of Imperial College students was increased to 3,000 in order to cultivate talents familiar with the classics and laws. Confucianism began to establish its status in the Northern Wei court.
MilitaryBeipao Gaoche
He personally led a large army to conquer the Gaoche tribes in the north and won a complete victory. He captured hundreds of thousands of people, horses, cattle, and sheep. He also used the captured Gaoche people to build the Pingcheng Deer Garden.
MilitaryBattle of Chaibi
Later Qin Yao Xing sent his younger brother Yao Ping to attack Wei, and Tuoba Gui besieged him in Chaibi (today's Xiangfen area, Shanxi). Yao Xing personally led the reinforcements but could not relieve the siege. Yao Ping drowned and died, and the rest of the troops were captured.
PoliticsZigui's mother died
In order to prevent his mother from taking over the throne, Emperor Daowu followed the example of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty who killed Lady Gou Yi, and ordered the death of his biological mother Liu Guiren before naming his eldest son Tuoba Si as his heir. From then on, "the child is honored by his mother's death" became a common practice in the Northern Wei Dynasty, which lasted for nearly a hundred years.
PoliticsGod-given change
In his later years, he took cold food and powder, and became moody and many ministers were executed. In October, the second son King Tuoba Shao of Qinghe led his men into the palace at night to kill his father because his mother, Mrs. He, was about to be executed. Tuoba Si then returned to Beijing to quell the rebellion and ascended the throne.
His courtesy name is Xuan Bo, and he was born in the Cui family of Qinghe. He advocated using "Wei" as the country's name, and oversaw the establishment of the Northern Wei Dynasty's official system, laws, and court rituals. He was a Han advisor whom Emperor Daowu relied heavily on. His son Cui Hao was an important minister of Emperor Taiwu.
Emperor Daowu's cousin, he fought with him for many years and made outstanding contributions in the battle to conquer Hou Yan. In his later years, he fled because of Emperor Daowu's suspicion and was hunted down and sentenced to death.
A famous general of the former Yan clan, he restored the country after the collapse of the former Qin and established the Later Yan. In 396, he personally conquered the Northern Wei Dynasty and captured Pingcheng. When passing through Shenhebei, he saw mountains of corpses of the Yan army. He fell ill with grief and anger and died on the way back.
Murong Chui's son, as Crown Prince, led the army to attack Wei and was defeated in Shenhebei. After he ascended the throne, his capital Zhongshan was besieged by the Northern Wei Dynasty. He abandoned the city and went north to Longcheng. In 398, he was killed by his relative Lan Han.
The daughter of the leader of the Dugu tribe, Liu Juan, gave birth to Tuoba Si. In 409, Tuoba Si would be established as the heir. She was sentenced to death in accordance with the rule of "the son is noble and the mother is dead". After Emperor Mingyuan ascended the throne, he was honored as Queen Xuanmu.