Dynasties of ChinaNorthern and Southern DynastiesNorthern Wei Dynasty
Shiguang and others · Reign 423—452
The heroic lord who conquered the South and the North and unified the North worshiped Taoism and destroyed Buddhism. In his later years, he punished Cui Hao and drank horses from the Yangtze River, and was eventually killed by the eunuchs.
Tuoba Tao, also known as Buddha Li, is the eldest son of Emperor Mingyuan. His biological mother Du Guibi died young and he was raised by his nanny Dou. In 422, he was appointed Crown Prince to supervise the country. He ascended the throne the following year at the age of sixteen. He was brave and good at fighting. He went to the battle line in every battle and defeated Rouran successively. He conquered the Hu Xia capital Tongwan. He also destroyed Beiyan in 436 and Beiliang in 439, ending the division of the north since the Sixteen Kingdoms.
He reused Cui Hao and recruited northern nobles such as Lu Xuan and Gao Yun to serve as officials. Under the influence of Kou Qianzhi, he believed in Taoism and became the true king of Taiping in the Yuan Dynasty. In 446, he took advantage of the opportunity to suppress Gai Wu's righteousness and issued an edict to exterminate Buddha, burned scriptures and statues, and killed monks. He was the first among the "Three Martial Arts and One Sect" to exterminate Buddha. In 450, he killed Cui Hao, who was majoring in national history, and implicated his in-laws on the grounds of "bringing evil to the country". In the same year, he counterattacked Liu Song's Northern Expedition and invaded Guabu on the north bank of the Yangtze River.
In his later years, he became more and more suspicious. The eunuch Zong Ai had a grudge against Crown Prince Tuoba Huang's subordinates and framed the East Palace. Crown Prince died of fear. In 452, Zong Ai was worried about being convicted, so he killed Emperor Taiwu, and also killed Tuoba Yu, the Nanking An who he supported. It was not until October of the same year that he was killed by ministers Yuan He, Lu Li and others. Tuoba Jun, son of Tuoba Huang, came to the throne as Emperor Wencheng.
Tuoba Tao was the monarch with the most military talent in the Northern Wei Dynasty. In more than ten years, he wiped out the northern countries and severely damaged Rouran. He established the territorial structure of the Northern Wei Dynasty for more than a hundred years. He also absorbed Han gentry and managed the Western Regions, promoting the unification and exchange of the north. However, he was fierce and easy to kill, and his actions to exterminate Buddha destroyed culture, and the prison of national history implicated a large family. In his later years, suspicion caused Crown Prince to worry about his death, and he himself died at the hands of eunuchs, leaving behind serious political turmoil.
MilitaryRescue in the clouds
Rouran Khan Datan led 60,000 cavalry to attack Yunzhong. Emperor Taiwu, who had just ascended the throne, personally led his light cavalry to rescue and was besieged by more than fifty people. He looked calm, and the morale of the Wei army was greatly boosted. General Rouran was shot dead, and Datan led his troops to retreat.
MilitaryConquer Tongwan
He once again marched westward against the Hu Xia, and used light cavalry to lure the Xia lord He Lianchang out of the city for a decisive battle and defeat him. He captured Tongwan City, the Xia capital, and He Lianchang fled to Shanggui. He Lianchang was captured the next year, and the remnant Hu Xia army was destroyed in 431.
Lasting legacyThe Tongwancheng site is located in the northern part of Jingbian County, Shaanxi Province today. The white rammed earth city walls still exist today and are commonly known as "Baichengzi". It is a national key cultural relic protection unit.
MilitaryGreat defeat of Rouran
Dividing his troops and going deep into Mobei, Khan Datan of Rouran burned his house and fled westward, and soon died of grief and anger. Hundreds of thousands of Gaoche tribes who were originally affiliated with Rouran surrendered to the Northern Wei Dynasty, and the Wei army captured millions of horses, cattle, sheep and other livestock.
PeopleRecruit northern nobles
An imperial edict was issued to recruit famous northern scholars such as Fan Yang, Lu Xuan, and Bohai Gao Yun to serve as officials in the court. Hundreds of people applied from various places. As a result, a large number of Han nobles entered the Northern Wei regime.
MilitaryDestroy Beiyan
An army was sent to attack Longcheng, the capital of Beiyan. Feng Hong, the leader of Beiyan, fled the palace and fled to Goguryeo. Beiyan was destroyed. Feng Hong's granddaughter later entered the Wei Palace, namely Fengtaihou, who presided over the reform.
DiplomacySend envoys to the Western Regions
Dong Wan, Gao Ming and others were sent as envoys to the Western Regions with a large amount of brocade and silk to appease Wusun, Poluona and other countries. After that, the sixteen countries in the Western Regions successively sent envoys to pay tribute, and the exchanges between the Northern Wei Dynasty and the Western Regions were restored.
MilitaryDestroy Northern Liang and unify the North
He personally conquered Northern Liang and besieged Guzang. King Juqu Muqian of Northern Liang surrendered, thus ending the sixteen kingdoms' separatist rule. The Northern Wei Dynasty moved more than 30,000 households of officials and people from Liangzhou to Pingcheng. Confucian scholars, craftsmen and monks from Hexi followed them from the east, profoundly affecting the culture of the Northern Wei Dynasty.
Cultureadopted the era name Taiping Zhenjun
Taoist priest Kou Qianzhi reformed Tianshi Tao and was respected by Emperor Taiwu after Cui Hao recommended him. According to his words, Emperor Taiwu changed his name to the True King Taiping of the Yuan Dynasty. In 442, he went to the Taoist altar to receive the talisman in person. Taoism flourished in the Northern Wei Dynasty.
CultureSend envoys to pay tribute to Shishi
An envoy from the Wuluo Hou Kingdom said that there was a stone chamber in the old ruins of the Tuoba ancestors in the northwest of the country. Emperor Taiwu sent Li Chang, the minister of Zhongshu, to pay tribute and carve blessings on the wall of the stone chamber.
Lasting legacyIn 1980, archaeologists discovered this congratulatory inscription in the Gaxian Cave in Daxinganling, Oroqen Autonomous Banner, Inner Mongolia, confirming the early settlement of the Xianbei Tuoba tribe.
SocietyThe meaning of Gai Wu
The Lushui Hu people rebelled against Wu and raised troops in Xingcheng (today's Huangling, Shaanxi Province). All ethnic groups in Guanzhong responded one after another, with more than 100,000 people in attendance. Emperor Taiwu personally went to suppress it, and Gai Wu was killed by his subordinates the following year.
CultureTaiwu destroyed Buddha
During the Western Expedition, weapons, wine vessels and cave chambers were found at Chang'an Buddhist Temple. Emperor Taiwu, persuaded by Cui Hao, issued an edict to kill ascetics and burn scriptures and statues. Crown Prince Tuoba Huang deliberately delayed the promulgation of the edict, so many monks were able to escape and some scriptures and statues were secretly hidden.
MilitaryConquer Yanqi Qiuci
He sent Duke Zhou Wandu back to lead an army to march westward, conquered Yanqi, and then attacked Qiuci, returning with a large number of camels, horses and property. The influence of the Northern Wei Dynasty penetrated deep into the hinterland of the Western Regions.
PoliticsThe Prison of National History
Cui Hao presided over the compilation of the history of the Northern Wei Dynasty and erected the stone inscription on the outskirts of Pingcheng. He was accused of "extending evil to the country" because he directly wrote Tuoba's past events. Cui Hao was executed, and the Cui family of Qinghe and his in-laws, the Lu family of Fanyang, the Guo family of Taiyuan, and the Liu family of Hedong were all exterminated.
MilitaryDrinking from the Yangtze River
Liu Song launched a large-scale Northern Expedition, and the Song army failed to siege Huatai. Emperor Taiwu led his army to counterattack and drove southward. In winter, his troops came to Guabu (now Liuhe, Nanjing) on the north bank of the Yangtze River and promised to cross the river. Jiankang was shocked.
MilitaryXuyi was frustrated
In the first month of the first month, they returned from Guabu to the north and attacked Xuyi fiercely on the way. The defender Zang Zhi resisted tenaciously. The Wei army retreated with heavy casualties after fighting hard for thirty years. The commanderies and counties across the Yangtze River and Huaihe River were in ruins, and countless people were killed, injured and displaced.
PeopleCrown Prince is worried about death
The eunuch Zong Ai was at odds with Crown Prince Tuoba Huang's subordinates and falsely accused him of the crime. Emperor Taiwu was furious and killed the officials of the East Palace. Crown Prince became ill from fear and died in June at the age of twenty-four. Emperor Taiwu felt quite regretful afterwards.
PoliticsZong Aikills the Emperor
Zong Ai was worried about being held accountable, so he killed Emperor Taiwu in February without announcing the funeral secretly. Emperor Taiwu is forty-five years old.
The most trusted advisor of Emperor Taiwu, he advocated the Northern Expedition of Rouran and the Western Extermination of Huxia and Northern Liang. He repeatedly hit the mark. He advocated Taoism, urged the emperor to destroy Buddhism, and wanted to organize the gentry according to their family status. In 450, he was executed in the National History Prison, and his implication was widespread.
In his early years, he lived in seclusion in Songshan Mountain to practice Taoism. He claimed that he was taught new subjects by Taishang Laojun, purified Taoism and eliminated old abuses. After being recommended by Cui Hao, he was respected by Emperor Taiwu and was named "Tianshi". Taoism in the Northern Wei Dynasty flourished for a while.
Born in the Gao family of Bohai, he was recruited into the court in 431 and participated in compiling the history of the country. Crown Prince Tuoba Huang was spared by interceding for his outspokenness in the National History Prison. He served as an official for several dynasties and died at the age of ninety-eight. He was known for his integrity and honesty.
The eldest son of Emperor Taiwu was established as Crown Prince at the age of five. He later oversaw the administration of the country and supervised farming. When destroying the Buddha, he secretly protected the monks and Buddhist statues. He died in fear of Zong Ai's fall in 451. His son Emperor Wencheng ascended the throne and was honored as Emperor Jingmu.
The eunuch favored by Emperor Taiwu framed the Crown Prince and caused his death. He also killed Emperor Taiwu and Nan King An Tuoba Yu successively. He once dominated the government and the opposition. In October of the same year, he was executed by Yuan He, Lu Li and others.
Emperor Wu Liu Yu of the Song Dynasty was the nephew of Empress Zang. In 451, when Emperor Taiwu defended Xuyi, Emperor Taiwu sent a letter to threaten him. He responded with a sarcastic letter and refused, and the Wei army fought hard for three decades. Later, he was defeated and killed for participating in Liu Yixuan's rebellion.