The Xianbei, Rouran and the Northern Dynasties

1
The Xianbei, Rouran (??) and the Northern
Dynasties

• Reading
• Barfield, Thomas, The Perilous Frontier, Ch. 3,
  The collapse of Central Order, pp. 101-10 OR
• Holmgren, Jennifer, Marriage, Kinship and Power
  in Northern China
• Imperial marriage in the Native Chinese and
  non-Han State, Han to Ming OR
• The Harem in Northern Wei Politics, 398-493 AD
  A Study of Tuoba attitudes towards the
  institution of empress dowager and regency
  governments in the Chinese dynastic system during
  early Northern Wei OR
• Family, Marriage and Political Power in Sixth
  Century China A study of the Gao Family of the
  Northern Chi, c.520-550, in VI, pp 1-50. OR
• Family, Marriage and Political Power in Sixth
  Century China A Study of the Kao Family of the
  Northern Chi, c.520-550, VI, pp 1-50.
• OR
• Dien, Albert E., ed., State and society in early
  medieval China,Politics of the Inner Court under
  the Hou-chu (Last Lord of the Northern Chi, c..
  565-73 in pp 269-330.
• Klein, Kenneth Douglas, The contributions of the
  fourth century Xianbei States to the
  Reunification of the Chinese Empire

2
The Xianbei, Rouran and the Northern Dynasties

• The Establishment of the Northern Wei (386-534)
• Marriage Alliances of the Tuoba
• The Sinification of the Tuoba
• The Tuoba and the Rouran
• The End of the Northern Wei
• Puppet Emperors on the Wei Throne
• The Northern Qi
• Succession Problems
• The end of Northern Qi (550-557)
• The Northern Zhou (557-581)
• The Regency of Yuwen Hu
• The End of the Northern Zhou
• References Northern Wei
• The End of the Rouran
• The Power of Foster Mothers Chang and Feng

3
The Establishment of the Northern Wei

• The early Tuoba ?? kingdom was called Dai, after
  the Chinese name of the area.
• This kingdom was never recognized as one of the
  16 kingdoms in Chinese history as it was not a
  well organized confederation of nomads.
• During most of this period, the Tuoba paid
  allegiance to their more powerful neighbors or
  they would escape into the mountains when
  attacked.
• The Tuoba began to try to conquer other steppe
  peoples when the Xiongnu Empire first divided
  into Northern and Southern Xiongnu.
• During most of the 4th century they were quite
  strong in the steppe until they were defeated by
  the Former Qin.
• After the fall of the Former Qin, the Tuoba had
  greater control of the steppe.
• Tuoba Gui ??? (r.386-409) became Prince of Dai
  but changed his title to Prince of Wei and
  founded the Tuoba state of N. Wei.
• However, for half of his reign he had no
  permanent court.
• In 387, Tuoba Gui and Murong Chui of the Former
  Yan allied and defeated the Later Zhao.

4
The Establishment of the Northern Wei

• 14 years after Tuoba Gui declared himself emperor
  of a new Wei dynasty (396) he controlled the
  entire northeastern region of China and southern
  Manchuria (By 410).
• He defeated the Northern Yan in 436 Northern
  Yan was the successor kingdom of the Later Yan
  (Murong Gao/Gao Yun)
• The reunification of northern China was
  accomplished by Northern Wei ?? (386-534) which
  governed it for about 100 years.
• Tuoba Gui adopted the Yan pattern of dual
  organization
• He allowed the Xianbei to retain their old
  benefits.
• The tribal confederacy and tribesmen were
  registered as subjects of the state and organized
  as military units.
• They were given land and forced to settle on it,
  acting as garrison communities and nomadism was
  prohibited.
• The Chinese were attracted to serve as they could
  gain influence by working for a dynasty that
  needed to run the civil bureaucracy.
• The Chinese were rewarded for their service.

5
The Establishment of the Northern Wei (2)

• Northern China had been divided for 135 years
  (since 304) before it was reunified under the N.
  Wei..
• The Tuoba capital was established at Ping-cheng,
  a steppe area at the center of the dynastys
  military power.
• It was described as an overgrown frontier town by
  visitors from the more sophisticated south.
• The Tuoba renamed themselves the Yuan as a part
  of their synification (496).

6
Marriage Alliances of the Tuoba

• Tuoba Gui used strategic marriages to win the
  loyalties of influential clans, particularly
  those of the conquered ruling houses.
• The Tuoba intermarried with Xianbei clans and
  with prestigious lines of Xiongnu rulers.
• They granting titles to members of the consort
  clans.
• Tuoba Gui married the sister of a leader of the
  Xiongnu clan and named their child as his
  successor.
• He took the daughter of the last emperor, Murong
  Bao, of the Later Yan, as his consort.
• He also took a consort from the Duan clan (the
  long-time consort clan of the Murong).
• The second emperor, Tuoba Si, took the daughter
  of the Later Qin, Yao Xing, as consort.
• He also had two Murong wives.

7
Marriage Alliances of the Tuoba (2)

• The third emperor, Tuoba Tao, conquered Da Xie in
  431 and took the daughter of the ruler, Helian
  Bobo, as his consort the daughters of the Da
  Xie ruling house were given to other Tuoba
  leaders in marriage.
• His major concubines were
• Two sisters of Empress Helian
• The daughter of Juqu, prince of Northern Liang
• The sister of the Khan of Rouran.
• The daughter of Feng Hong, emperor of the
  Northern Yan.
• Tuoba Taos heir, Tuoba Huang, had a Murong wife.
• The fifth emperor, Tuoba Jun (r.452-465), Tuoba
  Taos grandson, took as empress the granddaughter
  of Feng Hong, emperor of the Northern Yan.
• One of his concubines was Juqu, from the
  Northern Liang.
• Two of Empress Fengs nieces, were married to her
  grandson, Tuoba Hong.
• Half of the Tuoba princesses about 54 were
  given in marriage to the different clans and the
  other half to the Chinese clans.
• The fourth emperor was assassinated after less
  than a year on the throne.

8
Marriage Policy of the Northern Wei

• The Tuoba, adopted a policy that denied other
  groups access to power through marriage ties
  protect the privileges of the imperial clan.
• Imperial wives and concubines came from outside
  the ranks of the bureaucratic and military elite.
• Their relatives were discriminated against in
  selection for high office.
• Daughters of princess and maternal cousins were
  not taken into the imperial harem.
• Empresses came from the royal families of
  recently conquered non-Chinese states.
• The naming of an empress was used to capture the
  loyalty of recently conquered peoples.
• Their appointments hastened the integration of
  subject populations into the Northern Wei empire.
• These women did not have influential relatives at
  court and were preferred as their families posed
  no threat to the authority of the Tuoba elite.
• Appointment of an empress was considered
  politically dangerous and unnecessary so often no
  empress was named.
• Marriage was not a political issue for the
  princes.

9
Marriage Policy of the Northern Wei (2)

• To prevent mothers from gaining power, the Tuoba
  tried to separate the wifes biological function
  of producing an heir from her political role.
• Women were chosen as empresses on the basis of
  their previous lack of children and their low
  social status.
• Mothers of eldest sons were never named empress
  in their lifetimes and might be made to commit
  suicide after the son was named heir to the
  throne.
• Eldest sons were taken from their natural mothers
  and assigned to the care of a concubine with few
  influential relatives at court.
• Lady Du gave birth to Taizongs eldest son in 408
  and although she came from a high status family
  of sinicized Xianbei origins she was never
  considered for the position of empress.
• Her son was taken from her and assigned to the
  care of a woman of slave status.
• Tuoba Huangs eldest son, Gaozong, was taken from
  his mother and given to a slave concubine Lady
  Chang?) to raise.
• Foster mothers then gained power (see slides on
  Chang and Feng).

10
The Sinification of the Northern Wei

• The emperor was responsible for maintaining the
  balance between the Chinese and the tribal
  elites any change between these two groups had a
  critical impact on the dynasty.
• The location of the Wei capital at Ping-cheng in
  the tribal borderlands was a compromise even
  though it was hard to supply and was not central
  for administration.
• Chinese, Xianbei, and imported Buddhist customs
  all co-existed at the capital.
• The balance changed when the Empress Dowager Feng
  and her grandson, Tuoba Hong (???) (Xiao Wendi
  r.471-499), began to sinify the Wei state.
• Before sinification, the great tribal clans had
  attracted large groups of dependent households,
  who worked the land of the large manors in
  exchange for protection against heavy taxation.

11
The Sinification of the Northern Wei (2)

• The sinification program tried to bring the local
  populations into manageable administrative units
  a system that had been used in China since as
  early as the Qin-Han period and still exists
  under the bao jia ?? in China
• Five families were to make up a neighborhood (lin
  ?) headed by an elder ?? five neighborhoods made
  up a precinct ?, headed by an elder ??, five
  precincts made up a district ? headed by an elder
  ??.
• The arrangement made it easier to impose and
  enforce tax collections and it helped the
  enactment of another important reform, the
  equitable field system ???.
• The equitable field system, enacted in 485, was
  intended to bring uncultivated government lands
  into the tax rolls by distributing allotments to
  those who could cultivate it.
• Adult males were to receive 40 mou of open field
  (suitable for grain crops) adult females
  received 20 mou.
• Slaves or owners of slaves were given equal
  allotments.
• Allotments were also made for cattle30 mou per
  head, up to four heads on the assumption that
  much more land could be worked with oxens plowing
  the land.

12
The Sinification of the Northern Wei (3)

• The officials salaries system was reformed
  (484).
• The wearing of tribal clothes (494) was banned.
• The use of Xianbei language at court for young
  officials (495) was not permitted.
• The tribal and Han elites were integrated into a
  single ranking system (495).
• The adoption of a new Chinese surname for the
  imperial family Yuan ? (496) the name Tuoba was
  dropped.
• Marriages to Chinese were encouraged.
• All Tuoba clansmen (A decade later) were ordered
  to adopt Chinese surnames and Chinese was the
  language used at court.
• In 494, the court moved to its new capital at
  Luoyang.
• The location of the new capital meant new supply
  sources and so many tribal chiefs who had
  supplied the old capital faced economic
  difficulties.

13
The Sinification of the Northern Wei (4)

• The move to Luoyang changed the relation of the
  frontier troops to the dynasty previously they
  had been well supplied, their leaders had
  received favor at court, and the northern border
  had imperial attention.
• After the move, the frontier was seen as a
  marginal region tribal troops were regarded as
  politically unreliable.
• Garrisons were cheated of their rations by
  corrupt officials who were assigned to frontier
  posts as a form of exile along with convicts
  sentenced to frontier service.
• The Northern Wei policy of aggressive disruption
  of the Rouran was replaced by a conservative
  approach of walled defenses and tributary
  benefits.
• The tribal hierarchy reacted strongly to this
  radical shift away from Tuoba traditions.
• In 496, the crown prince led a large number of
  Xianbei back to Pingcheng in defiance the reforms
  of his father (Tuoba Hong) who had staffed the
  government almost exclusively with Chinese and
  had tried to encourage intermarriage with Chinese
  elites.

14
The Northern Wei and the Rouran

• According to the N. Wei history, the ancestor of
  the Rouran was a slave taken prisoner by the
  ancestor of the N. Wei in 277.
• The Tuoba looked down on the Rouran (?? meaning
  wriggly) and thought that they had a wormlike
  nature.
• The Rouran was able to rise as there was a power
  vacuum in Mongolia when the Xianbei destroyed the
  Xiongnu.
• During the civil wars in the Jin ? dynasty, the
  Rouran (about 3-400CE) put together a new
  confederation.
• They defeated the Gaoche ?? (High Carts) and
  established an empire extending all the way to
  the Korean peninsula.
• The continued rise of the Rouran empire was due
  to the fact that the steppe people had few
  choices they could either be controlled by the
  Rouran or defect to the Northern Wei.
• The threat of the Rouran was a constant concern
  of the N. Wei throughout their campaigns to unify
  North China.
• Tuoba Gui had his first campaign against the
  Rouran in 391, before the N. Wei had consolidated
  its power in China.
• The History of the Wei reported about 20 clashes
  between the Northern Wei and the Rouran in the
  first half of the 5th Century.

15
The Northern Wei and the Rouran (2)

• During the Rouran power struggles, the sons of
  the defeated parties fled to the N. Wei where
  they were given titles, linked by marriages with
  the Tuoba, and then incorporated into the
  dynasty.
• Despite these marriage alliances, the Rouran
  continued to attack the borders of the N. Wei --
  beginning in 485, the Rouran began attacking the
  N. Wei frontier on an annual basis.
• As the N. Wei became more sinified, it began
  relying on fixed defenses and payoffs to the
  nomads under these conditions the nomads began
  to grow in power.
• After A-na-gui of the Rouran became khaghan in
  519 he appeared at the N. Wei court asking for
  help to regain his throne from a rival.
• The N. Wei supported him in the hopes of dividing
  the Rouran into permanent rival factions but as
  soon as he had regained his throne he began a
  massive Rouran attack against the N. Wei.

16
The Northern Wei and the Rouran (3)

• The N. Wei had established six major garrisons
  bordering the Rouran and so sent them against the
  Rouran.
• But, the garrisons had been neglected and badly
  administered so they were unsuccessful and
  instead revolted after a corrupt official refused
  to issue grain to starving troops.
• A-na-gui destroyed the frontier and put down the
  rebellion for the N. Wei -- the emperor sent
  letters of praise to A-na-gui and recognized him
  as an equal.
• Marriage alliances were then arranged between the
  N. Wei and the Rouran.
• A-na-gui and his brother married N. Wei
  princesses and their sister became the wife of
  the N. Wei emperor Xiaowudi (r.500-515).
• In 520, A-na-gui, was ousted by a contender and
  the two took different domains A-na-gui took the
  eastern domain and the contender went further
  west.
• Divided, the Rouran were less likely to cause
  trouble for the N. Wei.

17
The End of the N. Wei

• N. Wei was then divided into two states
• Eastern Wei (534-550), in the north-east, which
  became the Northern Qi, (550-577) in 550 --
  Northern Qi was defeated by the Northern Zhou and
  northern China was united under Northern Zhou
  dynasty in 577.
• Western Wei (535-556) which became the Northern
  Zhou, (557-581) in 557.
• One of the major forces that caused the end of
  the Northern Wei was the Erzhu clan of Jie
  origin
• The Erzhu clan had been given a large fief by the
  Northern Wei as a reward for helping the Tuoba at
  the end of the 4th century.
• The Erzhu and the Tuoba royal families were blood
  relatives through intermarriage beginning from
  the time of Tuoba Huang, father of Emperor
  Gaozong (r.453-465).
• The Erzhu controlled the major source of supply
  of animals and fodder for the N. Wei armies and
  became very wealthy by the end of the 5th
  century.
• The Erzhu conquered areas in the name of the
  court at Luoyang during the rebellion against the
  N. Wei sinification program.

18
The End of the N. Wei (2)

• The last emperor of the Northern Wei asked (528)
  Erzhu Rong to march on Luoyang to free him from
  the Chinese advisors of his mother (Empress
  Dowager Ling).
• On arrival, Erzhu Rong murdered the entire N. Wei
  court and over 2,000 officials and their families
  most of whom were Chinese.
• Erzhu Rong then placed his son-in-law, Tuoba
  Ziyu, a grandson of the Northern Wei Emperor,
  Xianzu (r.515-528), as his puppet on the N. Wei
  throne.
• While Erzhu Rong was away on campaigns in the
  north in 529, the Liang armies took Luoyang and
  put their own puppet, Tuoba Hao, on the throne.
• Erzhu Rong defeated the Liang forces and his
  puppet, returned to the throne.
• In 530, the puppet murdered Erzu Rong.

19
The End of the N. Wei (3)

• Erzhu Rongs nephew, Erzhu Zhao, assisted by Gao
  Huan (founder of the Northern Qi), avenged Erzhu
  Rongs death and put another puppet, Tuoba Ye, on
  the throne.
• Erzhu Zhang rewarded Gao Huan by giving him Erzhu
  Rong's daughter for his harem she had been
  married to the former puppet -- as son-in-law to
  Erzhu Rong, Gao Huan gained recognition as an
  heir to the Erzhu armies.
• Erzhu Zhao left the capital on a northern
  campaign and while gone, a relative forced Zhaos
  puppet to abdicate and placed his own puppet on
  the throne.
• To appease Tuoba Zhao, Zhaos daughter was
  married to the new puppet and was made empress.
• Meanwhile Gao Huan had made friends with men who
  hated the Erzhu clan, and by 531 he was in a
  position to place his own puppet, Tuoba Lang, on
  the Northern Wei throne.
• He took the Erzhu Zhaos daughter, into his harem.

20
The End of the N. Wei (4)

• In 532, Gao Huan deposed his former puppet and
  placed Tuoba Xiu, a grandson of N. Wei emperor,
  Gaozu (r.471-499), on the throne.
• He married his eldest daughter, born of his
  primary wife, Lou, to the new puppet emperor.
• While Gao Huan was away in battle, his puppet
  rebelled and abandoned Gaos daughter and Gao
  Huan had to return and depose him.
• The puppet escaped, and Gao Huan remarried his
  daughter to Tuoba Shao, nephew of the first
  puppet, Tuoba Ziyu.
• Gao Huan then put Tuoba Shanjian on the throne
  and married another of his daughters to the
  puppet emperor.
• Gao Deng, Gao Huans son, was married to Tuoba
  Shanjians sister.
• Gao Huan never declared himself emperor his son,
  Gao Yang (r.550-559) established the Northern Qi
  (550-577) in 550.

21
The End of the N. Wei (5)

• In the meantime, Erzhu Tianguang, the brother of
  Erzhu Rong returned east to stop the growing
  power of Gao Huan.
• Shortly after, Erzhu Tianguang died in battle and
  Gao Huan eliminated the power of the Erzhu
  family.
• Erzhu Tianguang had left a large army back in
  Guanzhong and his principal generals met to
  choose a new leader and Yuwen Tai was elected.
• In 534, when the Northern Wei court was defeated
  by Gao Huan they escaped to Yuwen Tai who
  absorbed the newly arrived refugees --
  military-political elite.
• In the following year, he named Tuoba Baoju
  (d.551) as his puppet and as the first emperor of
  the Western Wei.
• From 537-47, Yuwen Tais regime had to fight for
  its survival against the Gao Huan regime.
• The end of the N. Wei showed that as a foreign
  dynasty became sinified it left itself vulnerable
  both to unhappy tribal elements and to a north
  Chinese elite which hates and fears the non-Han
  tribal leaders.
• The tribal military felt betrayed when the
  dynasty reduced its importance by promoting
  Chinese to the most powerful positions in court
  and reduced the economic and political benefits
  that had previously been taken for granted by the
  tribal leaders.

22
Puppet Emperors on the Wei Throne
23
Puppet Emperors on the Wei Throne (2)
24
Puppet Emperors on the Wei Throne (3)
25
The Northern Qi (550-557)

• Gao Huan consolidated his power through marriage
  alliances.
• His first wife, Lou, had given him the initial
  money to buy a horse and a position so he could
  join the Erzhu forces.
• His marriage to Erzhu Rongs daughter gave him
  claim to the Erzhu forces and territories.
• He also took Erzhu Zhaos daughter into his harem
  two empresses of the puppet emperors.
• Lady Li gave him some access to the Chinese
  official class.
• Lady Cheng gave him contacts with clans who had
  held important posts during ED Lings rule.
• Lady Feng gave him access to the Feng clan which
  had dominated the Northern Wei rule for many
  years.
• Lady Yu gave him knowledge of the rites for
  ceremonial occasions.
• Lady Mu gave him access to the Northern Wei
  elites.
• The princess of Rouran allied him with her
  people.
• Northern Qi soldier

26
The Northern Qi (2)

• To ensure that his sons and grandsons would be
  recognized as de facto rulers of the new empire,
  Gao Huan arranged marriages for them with the
  Tuoba royal family.
• He also arranged marriages for them with the
  former elite.
• For
• Gao Yang, he found a woman from the prestigious
  Li clan.
• Gao Zhan, a Rouran woman and one from the Chinese
  Hu clan.
• Gao Wei, the last ruler was married to the
  daughter of Hulu Guang, possibly of Turkic
  origin.
• The marriages successfully secured Gao legitimacy
  but had little effect on the racial hatred
  between the Chinese and Xianbei families as well
  as within the Gao family.
• Racial tension was a problem of major personal
  and political proportions which Gao Huan and his
  successor, Gao Yang, recognized but were
  powerless to deal with.

27
Succession Problems

• Gao Huan had at least 15 sons six were the
  offspring of the main consort, Empress Dowager
  Lou.
• Fraternal succession dominated the early years of
  the Northern Qi until the retirement of the
  fourth emperor, Wuchengdi (561-565).
• After Gao Huans death, in 547, his eldest son,
  Gao Cheng controlled the puppet Eastern Wei
  regime and
• Gao Cheng was able to hold the loyalty of most of
  the Eastern Wei leadership and expand the domains
  of the empire.
• Gao Cheng was assassinated -- his brother Gao
  Yang executed the assassins although the
  assassination might have been planned by Gao Yang
  (Wenxuandi r.550-9).
• Two of Gao Chengs advisors fled the murder scene
  and became close advisors of Gao Yang.

28
Succession Problems (2)

• In 550, Gao Yang ordered the abdication of the
  last Eastern Wei puppet and became the first
  Northern Qi emperor.
• Gao Yang executed two of his older and more
  influential half-brothers the other
  half-brothers were not serious contenders for the
  throne.
• All the brothers had numerous sons, some of whom
  felt themselves to be rightfully entitled to the
  throne.
• Violent political problems developed between the
  full brothers and also with the descendants of
  the line of Gao Cheng.
• Before his death in 559, Gao Yang asked his next
  brother, the future Xiaozhaodi (r. 560-1), not to
  kill Gao Yangs son should Xiaozhaodi decided to
  seize the throne.
• When Gao Yang died, his son ascended the throne
  but the grandmother, Grand Empress Dowager Lou
  preferred that her next eldest son be emperor and
  so deposed her grandson.

29
Succession Problems (3)

• In late 560, Xiaozhaodi made his son his heir and
  it upset his brother, Gao Zhan, who had expected
  to succeed him.
• In 561, Xiaozhao was critically injured after
  falling from a horse and Xiaozhao asked his
  brother Gao Zhan to take the throne and not to
  kill his son.
• When Gao Zhan ascended the throne as Wuchengdi,
  the dynasty had a history of aborted primogenital
  successions and successful fraternal successions.
  
• From late 563 through mid 565 Wuchengdi put in a
  series of institutional reforms designed to get
  resources for the imperial center, strengthen
  border defenses and stabilize the succession.
• He retired in 565 making his son the emperor but
  retained power in his own hands as the Retired
  Emperor he hoped that this would make it more
  difficult to topple his son.
• After Wuchengdi died, Houzhu ?? (r.567-577)
  reigned until the sudden collapse of the dynasty
  in 576, a full 7 years.
• Houzhus succession was the only successful
  primogenital succession in the history of the
  dynasty -- except for Gao Huans eldest son who
  had inherited power from him before the
  establishment of Northern Qi.

30
The End of the Northern Qi

• The Northern Qi had problems with both the
  Northern Zhou (557-581) and the Turks.
• In late 563, the Northern Zhou, in alliance with
  the Turks, broke through the Great Wall defenses
  and Wuchengdi and his general, Hulu Gaung, were
  both shocked that the Northern Zhou was so
  militarily strong.
• In late 564 the Turks raided the northern border.
• In mid-565, the Turks opened diplomatic relations
  with the Northern Qi and stopped allying
  themselves with the Northern Zhou.
• The Northern Qi was destroyed by Northern Zhou in
  577 and northern China was again unified.
• However, the dynasty was destroyed in 581 and a
  new dynasty Sui was established that eventually
  unified all of China.

31
The Northern Zhou (557-581)

• When Gao Han established the Eastern Wei in 534,
  the area under Yuwen Tai became the Western Wei.
• Yuwen Tai (506-556) had inherited the armies of
  Erzhu Rongs brother, ruled Western Wei through
  his puppet who had escaped from Gao Huans
  armies.
• Yuwen Tai spent much of his effort against
  repeated attacks led by Gao Huan.
• He stabilized the eastern border and bribed the
  Turks with tribute to keep peace on his western
  and northern borders.
• He reversed the hated law of 496 requiring
  everyone to have Chinese surnames and ordered the
  reestablishment of Xianbei surnames.
• When he lay dying he decided to name his nephew,
  Yuwen Hu, the son of Yuwen Tais eldest brother
  as regent.
• After his death in 556, Yuwen Hu, deposed the
  puppet emperor and enthroned a 14 year old son of
  Yuwen Tai, Yuwen Jue (542-57) son of the
  principal wife -- as ruler of a revived Zhou
  dynasty -- tracing the non-Han group to the
  legendary Shennong ??, who was associated with
  the Tibetan Qiang people, the marriage partners
  of the Zhou dynasty.

32
The Regency of Yuwen Hu

• Yuwen Hu was the son of Yuwen Tais eldest
  brother Yuwen Hao who had died early.
• He dominated the first emperors although he was
  of the same generation (first cousin) ?? and so
  did not command as much respect.
• When the young emperor tried to get rid of Yuwen
  Hu he had the young emperor killed and made Tais
  eldest son, Mingdi son of a concubine --
  emperor at the age.
• Since Mingdi was 23 and an adult, Hu formally
  abolished the regency and handed state powers to
  him but continued to keep full authority over
  the military.
• When Mingdi began to name his own people in
  important offices, Hu was had him poisoned in
  560.
• He then made Wudi (r.561-578), Tais fourth
  eldest son, emperor at the age of 17 and
  appointed himself chief commander of the
  military and made it very clear that he was in
  full control of all state affairs.

33
The Regency of Yuwen Hu (2)

• Five years later, Wudi and his brother decided to
  get rid of Yuwen Hu.
• During a private audience with the Empress
  Dowager, Wudi hit Hu over the head with the
  imperial scepter and then Wudis full brother,
  beheaded Hu.
• Also executed were all of Hus children who were
  politically active and Hus closest advisers.
• Yuwen Hu had maintained power from 556 until his
  death by in 572 covering the reign of 2.5
  monarchs.
• Yuwen Hu, as regent, relied on the support of
  older men who maintained their loyalty to the
  deceased Yuwen Tai he also maintained an iron
  grip over the palace guard.
• A Yuwen Hu never took over the throne and always
  installed emperors from among the sons of Yuwen
  Tai, in accordance with their age seniority, and
  so these mature emperors were difficult to
  control and he had to kill them.
• He did not try to install any of Yuwen Tais
  younger sons nor the young sons of the two
  emperors whom he had killed.
• Wudi said that he had to kill Yumen Hu as it was
  not possible for a 30 year old emperor to submit
  to the control of another.

34
The Reign of Wudi

• When Wudi ascended the throne in 560 the
  international situation had become intensely
  competitive.
• Initially, the Northern Zhou was seen to be
  militarily and economically weaker than the
  Northern Qi.
• Beginning in 561 the Chen regime (557-589) in the
  south was becoming more assertive and had forced
  the Northern Zhou to withdraw from the southern
  bank of the Middle Yangzi.
• The Tuks had put together a powerful steppe
  empire by the 560s and tried to play off the two
  Chinese states Northern Qi and Northern Zhou --
  against each other for tributes.
• They Turks did not wish to immediately conquer
  China but to ensure the indefinite continuance of
  a weakened and divided North China.
• In 563 an agreement was reached that a Turkish
  princess would be sent to the Northern Zhou only
  after the Northern Qi had been destroyed.
• The 563 agreement was a clever device that
  ensured continuous warfare between the Northern
  Zhou and the Northern Qi.
• The Turks temporarily abandoned this policy in
  576 after the Northern Qi had been conquered.

35
The Reign of Wudi (2)

• The Northern Zhou continued to regard the Turks
  as a threat along the northern border.
• In 563 the Turks and the Northern Zhou staged a
  large scale mixed cavalry and infantry invasion
  of the Northern Qi.
• The joint forces broke through the Great Wall
  defenses of the Northern Qi and penetrated to the
  walls of Jinyang (modern Taiyuan).
• The Northern Qi released Yuwen Hus mother and
  aunt, whome they had kept as hostages, in the
  Fall of 564 to establish friendly relations with
  the Zhou.
• After the release, the Turks called on the Zhou
  to begin another winter campaign against the
  Northern Qi.
• After Wudi conquered Northern Qi, it reinforced
  his authority as emperor.
• Wudi died suddenly after a 17 year reign and his
  son, Xuandi (r.579), ascended the throne.

36
The End of the Northern Zhou

• Unlike his father who had solicited court opinion
  and the views of his close paternal relatives,
  Xuandi made all decisions in conjunction with his
  close personal advisers.
• He replaced his fathers style of co-opting
  rivals for confrontational politics.
• He killed his influential uncle and scattered his
  five surviving uncles throughout the empire.
• He executed all the members of Wudis innermost
  advisers.
• He adopted a divide and rule tactic for his
  maternal relatives and the different women as
  empresses, ranked in order of seniority.
• The daughter of Yang Jian, the future founder of
  the Sui dynasty, was the senior empress and was
  given to him in 573 when he was first named heir
  apparent.
• The middle three were all from families of little
  or no influence in Zhou political circles.
• In 580, Xuandi seduced the wife of an imperial
  prince after he had got her drunk. made the wife
  of an imperial prince she was the daughter of
  the senior official, son of Yuwan Tais sister --
  It was said that he made her drunk and seduced
  her.
• He was insulted and rebelled but was killed.

37
The End of the Northern Zhou (2)

• Xuandi wanted to name his new favorite Empress
  but to do so he had to eliminate his principal
  wife, the daughter of Yang Jian (541-604), and
  exterminate the entire Yang family.
• When Xuandi became ill, Yangs friends forged an
  edict summoning Yang Jian to the bedside when
  Xuandi died, Yang kept it secret until he became
  regent of the young emperor.
• Yang Jian then invited the five senior princes to
  the capital to take part in the wedding ceremony
  of one of their daughters.
• Three days later, most of Xuandis palace women
  -- except for the Empress Dowager and Yangs
  daughter -- were forced to become Buddhist nuns.
• Yang Jian won the struggle for power against the
  senior princes and in 581 and proclaimed a new
  Sui dynasty (581-618).
• By the end of the following summer the last of
  the Northern Zhou princes was murdered and a coup
  from the Zhou loyalists was no longer possible.

38
The Turks, the Uighurs and China

• Readings
• Barfield, Thomas, The Perilous Frontier, Ch 4
  pp131-163 OR
• Drompp, Michael, The Uighur Chinese Conflict of
  840-848, in Di Cosmo, Nicola, Warfare in Inner
  Asian History (500-1800), pp73-96 OR
• Sinor, Denis, Sending princesses to nomads,
  Uighur Empire in Studies in Medieval Inner Asia,
  Part V.

39
References

• The End of the Rouran
• The Power of Foster Mothers Empress Dowager
  Chang
• The Power of Foster Mothers Empress Dowager Feng

40
The End of the Rouran

• In 546, the Turks defeated the Gao-che for the
  Rouran and their leader, Tu-men , asked for a
  marriage alliance as a reward.
• But the Rouran despised the Turks who were
  employed by the Rouran in metal works and
  A-na-gui rejected the request.
• Angered, Tu-men received a princess from the
  Western Wei (535-557), a successor state of the
  Northern Wei allied with them and attacked and
  defeated the Rouran.
• In 552, there was a revolt against A-na-gui who
  then committed suicide.
• When Tu-men died, his successors continued
  attacking the Rouran in 555, 3000 Rouran were
  beheaded and the Rouran disappeared.

41
The Power of Foster MothersEmpress Dowager Chang

• Gaozongs foster mother, Lady Chang ?, was a
  captive concubine from the Northern Yan with few
  relatives of influence at court.
• Gaozongs biological mother was a member of the
  Rouran aristocracy which was the only northern
  threat to Tuoba security so she was kept away
  from her son during his formative years.
• As Gaozongs foster mother, Lady Chang arranged
  for him to marry another captive woman from the
  Northern Yan, Lady Feng, who would later become
  empress would rule twice as regent.
• The naming of consort from the Feng family may
  have been Lady Changs strategies to maintain her
  privileged position in the harem and to protect
  the interests of Northern Yan.
• Lady Chang may have helped Gaozong get support
  for the throne after he had been passed over
  twice.
• Lady Chang was said to have been responsible for
  the reintroduction of the law on forced suicide
  for the mother of the heir.

42
The Power of Foster Mothers The Empress Dowager
Feng

• Empress Dowager Feng Wentong (442-490CE), from
  the Northern Yan, was the consort of Tuoba Jun
  she ruled the Northern Wei as regent for both her
  son and her grandson, Tuoba Hong ? , the 7th
  emperor (r.471-499) the sinification of the
  Northern Wei was carried out under her guidance.
• In 456, Gaozongs infant son, aged 2, was
  formally proclaimed heir and Feng was named
  empress and the natural mother of the heir was
  forced to commit suicide.
• After the death of Gaozong, Empress Feng, at the
  age of 23, made her first bid for power as regent
  for the new emperor, Xianzu, who was only 11.
• Feng was able to dominate court policy for less
  than a year before being made to retire by
  Xianzu.
• Xianzu named his 2 year old son, Hung, whose
  mother had died as heir who was fostered by
  Empress Dowager Feng.
• Xianzu started a tradition of Retired Emperors
  in order to protect the interests of his young
  son.
• At first he said he would retire in favor of one
  of his brothers but when the brother declined, he
  was persuaded to retire and be a co-regent,
  together with the ED Feng, for the Gaozu.

43
The Power of Foster Mothers The Empress Dowager
Feng (cont.)

• Gaozu was only 9 when he succeeded to the throne.
• Although Feng could officially rule for only a
  few years but she has had nine years of
  psychological control over the young emperor so
  her position at the court was very secure.
• As Gaozu grew older, her influence did not
  decline but instead increased.
• Throughout her life, she tutored, counseled and
  even physically punished Gaozu.
• She maintained her position of authority by
  promoting respected and capable officials who
  were not from her family.
• Her brother was her only close relative and she
  was able to share the traditional positions for
  relatives at court between him and members of the
  Chang clan.
• She kept Gaozus maternal relatives from power
  his mother, Lady Li, had been given the
  posthumous title of empress in 476, the year of
  Xianzus death.

44
The Power of Foster Mothers The Empress Dowager
Feng (cont.)

• Feng filled the key positions in Gaozus harem
  with her brothers daughters and brought his sons
  into the palace as companions for Gaozu.
• The nephews were later married to Tuoba
  princesses.
• She also forced Gaozu to order the suicide of the
  mother of his heir whom she then fostered.
• Even after Fengs death in 490 he was unable to
  escape her influence
• His harem was filled with her nieces.
• His ministers had been chosen by her.
• His eldest son had been brought up by her.
• She even ordered him to build his tomb next to
  hers but he was not buried there.
• Gaozu, on his death bed, ordered the suicide of
  his consort, one of the nieces of ED Feng.