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| 8) XuanWuDi 宣武帝 Yuan Ke 元恪 499-515 Jingming (景明 j_ng ming) 500-503
Zhengshi (正始 zheng sh_) 504-508 Yongping (永平 y_ng ping) 508-512 Yanchang (延昌 yan ch_ng) 512-515 Tuoba Ke (拓拔恪), later Yuan Ke (元恪) (483 ━ February 9, 515[1]) was known as Emperor Xuanwu of Northern Wei ((北)魏宣武帝) during the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei. During Xuanwu's reign, Northern Wei appeared, outwardly, to be at its prime, but there was much political infighting and corruption, particularly by Xuanwu's uncle Gao Zhao. Xuanwu was an avid Buddhist, and during his reign Buddhism effectively became the state religion, as Xuanwu himself often personally lectured on the Buddhist sutras. Background Tuoba Ke was born in 483, as the second son of Emperor Xiaowen. His mother was Xiaowen's concubine Consort, Gao Zhaorong. (As he was born the same year as his older brother Tuoba Xun, he was probably born just briefly after Tuoba Xun, whose mother was Consort Lin.) Little is known about his childhood, including whether he was raised by his mother Gao or not. In 496, Xiaowen changed the name of the imperial clan from Tuoba to Yuan, and thereafter he would be known as Yuan Ke. In fall 496, Yuan Xun, who was then crown prince, but who could not endure the hot weather of the capital Luoyang after Xiaowen moved the capital there from Pingcheng (平城, in modern Datong, Shanxi) in 494, plotted to flee back to Pingcheng with his followers, but his plot was discovered. Xiaowen deposed him, and in 497 created Yuan Ke crown prince to replace Yuan Xun. (The creation was in Luoyang, but it is unclear whether prior to his creation, Yuan Xun was at Luoyang or Pingcheng.) Later that year, Gao, who was in Pingcheng, travelled south to rejoin her son in Luoyang, but she died on the way. Historians generally believe that she was murdered by Xiaowen's wife, Empress Feng Run, who wanted to raise Yuan Ke herself. Whether she was actually able to do so is unclear, but after she was discovered to have carried on an affair with her attendant Gao Pusa (高菩萨) in 499, she was put under house arrest, and Xiaowen ordered Yuan Ke to have no more contact with her. Later in 499, Xiaowen, while on a campaign against rival Southern Qi, grew ill and died. Xiaowen's brother Yuan Xie the Prince of Pengcheng was put into command of the withdrawing army on an emergency basis, and Yuan Xie kept Xiaowen's death a secret while summoning Yuan Ke to join the army. Yuan Ke's attendants largely suspected Yuan Xie of wanting to take the throne himself, but Yuan Xie, once he met Yuan Ke, showed great deference to Yuan Ke, convincing Yuan Ke of his loyalty. Yuan Ke, at age 16, then took the throne as Xuanwu at Luyang (鲁阳, in modern Pingdingshan, Henan), before the army could return to Luoyang. [edit] Early reign Xuanwu initially wanted to make Yuan Xie, who was popular and well-regarded, prime minister, but Yuan Xie refused, and was made a provincial governor instead. The governmental affairs were largely in the hands of six officials: Xiaowen's brothers Yuan Xi (元禧) the Prince of Xianyang and Yuan Xiang (元详) the Prince of Beihai, Xiaowen's cousin Yuan Cheng (元澄) the Prince of Rencheng, Xiaowen's distant uncle Yuan Jia (元嘉) the Prince of Guangyang, and the officials Wang Su (王肃) and Song Bian (宋弁), although Yuan Cheng was soon stripped of his post because he falsely arrested Wang on suspicion of treason. By 500, Xuanwu recalled Yuan Xie to be prime minister. Xuanwu, once he returned to Luoyang, posthumously honored his mother Gao as an empress, and he created his maternal uncles Gao Zhao and Gao Xian (高显), as well as his cousin Gao Meng (高猛), none of wom he had previously met, dukes. Gao Zhao, in particular, became increasingly powerful during Xuanwu's reign. In 500, with Southern Qi in disarray because of the tyrannical rule of its emperor Xiao Baojuan, Northern Wei annexed the important city of Shouyang (寿阳, in modern Lu'an, Anhui) when the Southern Qi general Pei Shuye (裴叔业) surrendered the city to Northern Wei in fear of adverse actions by Xiao Baojuan. However, Northern Wei did not take further actions when Southern Qi was subsequently thrown into civil war during the rebellions of the generals Cui Huijing (崔慧景) and Xiao Yan. In 501, the general Yu Lie (于烈) and Yuan Xiang warned Xuanwu that Yuan Xi was growing corrupt and Yuan Xie was growing too popular, and suggested that they be relieved of their posts. Xuanwu did so, and formally personally took over governmental matters, but at his age, he could not actually properly handle governmental affairs himself, so his trusted attendants and Gao Zhao began to become growingly powerful and corrupt. Traditional historians generally regard this as the starting point of Northern Wei's decline. Late in 501, Yuan Xi, displeased that his power wa being stripped and fearful that he would be killed, plotted a rebellion to secede with the provinces south of the Yellow River. His plot was discovered, however, and he was executed. From this point on, Xuanwu grew increasingly suspicious of members of the imperial clan. Later in 501, Xuanwu created Yu Lie's niece, Consort Yu, empress. Later that year, with Xiao Yan's forces crushing Xiao Baojuan's, Xuanwu's general Yuan Ying (元英) suggested that a major attack be launched against Southern Qi to take advantage of Southern Qi's civil war. However, Xuanwu only authorized small scale attacks, which were generally fruitless. Xiao Yan soon defeated Xiao Baojuan and by 502 had overthrown Southern Qi and established Liang Dynasty as its Emperor Wu. The Liang general Chen Bozhi (陈伯之) subsequently tried to surrender Jiang Province (江州, modern Jiangxi and Fujian) to Northern Wei, but Liang forces defeated both Chen and the Northern Wei forces sent to reinforce him, and Chen fled to Northern Wei. For the next few years, however, there would continually be war between the two rivals, particularly with Northern Wei creating Southern Qi's prince Xiao Baoyin, who fled Southern Qi as Xiao Yan was beginning to kill members of the Southern Qi imperial clan, as the Prince of Qi and announcing that it would help him reestablish Southern Qi. In 504, Xuan Xiang, who had taken over Yuan Xi's posts, was accused by Gao Zhao of corruption. He was demoted to commoner rank, and died soon thereafter. At Gao's suggestion and despite Yuan Xie's opposition, Xuanwu subsequently put the imperial princes under heavy guard, effectively putting them under house arrest. Meanwhile, the wars with Liang continued, and while both sides had gains and losses, Northern Wei made a substantial gain in 505 when the Liang general Xiaohou Daoqian (夏侯道迁) surrendered Nanzheng (南郑, in modern Hanzhong, Shaanxi), as well as the surrounding region, to Northern Wei, which further annexed the semi-independent state Chouchi in spring 506. In winter 505, Liang launched a major counterattack on the eastern part of the border, commanded by Emperor Wu's brother Xiao Hong (萧宏) the Prince of Linchuan, but with Xiao Hong being an incompetent general, who mishandled a night terror situation in summer 506, while his army was at Luokou (洛口, in modern Bengbu, Anhui), the Liang forces collapsed by themselves without engaging Northern Wei forces. Yuan Ying and Xiao Baoyin followed up by attacking the Liang fortress Zhongli (钟离, in modern Chuzhou, Anhui), but were dealt a crushing defeat by the Liang general Wei Rui (韦□) in spring 507. The two states largely stopped their military activities against each other after that point. In winter 507, Empress Yu died suddenly, and in early 508, her young son Yuan Chang (元昌), Xuanwu's only son by that point, died suddenly as well. Because Gao Zhao was exceeding powerful by that point, and his niece Consort Gao was Xuanwu's favorite concubine, it was largely suspected that Gao Zhao and Gao murdered them, but there was no conclusive proof. In 508, Xuanwu created Gao empress to replace Yu, despite opposition by Yuan Xie, and from this point on Gao Zhao became resentful of Yuan Xie. Late reign In fall 508, Xuanwu's younger brother Yuan Yu (元愉) the Prince of Jingzhao, who had just been demoted by Xuanwu for corruption, became angry at both his demotion and that his favorite consort Lady Li had been severely battered by Empress Yu briefly before Empress Yu's death (because Yuan Yu's wife was Empress Yu's sister but was unfavored by him), declared a rebellion at his provincial post of Xindu (信都, in modern Hengshui, Hebei) and proclaimed himself emperor. Gao Zhao used this opportunity to falsely accuse Yuan Xie of acting in concert with both Yuan Yu (because Yuan Yu had forced Yuan Xie's uncle Pan Senggu (潘僧固) into joining his rebellion) and Liang Dynasty. Xuanwu believed Gao, and forced Yuan Xie to commit suicide. The populace and the officials greatly mourned Yuan Xie's death, and grew increasingly resentful of Gao. Soon, Yuan Yu's rebellion was defeated, and while Xuanwu contemplated not putting Yuan Yu to death, Yuan Yu was killed on Gao's orders. In 510, Xuanwu's concubine Consort Hu gave birth to a son, Yuan Xu. Because Xuanwu had lost multiple sons in childhood by that point, he carefully selected several experienced mothers to serve as Yuan Xu's wet nurses, and disallowed both Gao and Hu from seeing him. In winter 512, Xuanwu created Yuan Xu crown prince, and, abolishing the Northern Wei custom that the crown prince's mother must be forced to commit suicide, he did not force Hu to commit suicide. During these years, Northern Wei and Liang continued to have relatively minor border battles, with each side having gains and losses. In 514, however, Xuanwu commissioned Gao Zhao to launch a major attack against Liang's Yi Province (益州, modern Sichuan and Chongqing). Soon thereafter, however, in spring 515, he died suddenly, and Yuan Xu succeeded him (as Emperor Xiaoming). Yuan Cheng, Xuanwu's brother Yuan Yong the Prince of Gaoyang, and Yu Lie's son Yu Zhong seized power and, after recalling Gao, put him to death, and Gao was removed. Xiaoming's mother Hu became empress dowager and regent. Burial Xuanwu was buried north of Luoyang. His tomb is now open to the public as part of the Luoyang Ancient Tombs Museum. 9) Xiao Ming Di 孝明帝 Yuan Xu 元诩 516-528 Xiping (熙平 x_ ping) 516-518 Shengui (神龟 shen gu_) 518-520 Zhengguang (正光 zheng gu_ng) 520-525 Xiaochang (孝昌 xiao ch_ng) 525-527 Wutai (武泰 w_ tai) 528 Emperor Xiaoming of Northern Wei ((北)魏孝明帝) (510 ━ March 31, 528[1]), personal name Yuan Xu (元诩), was an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei. Due to his young age (five) when he ascended the throne at 515, governmental matters were dominated by his mother Empress Dowager Hu (with an intervening regency by the official Yuan Cha from 520 to 525), whose overly lenient attitude toward officials' corruptions spurred many agrarian rebellions that threw essentially the entire state into war. In 528, Emperor Xiaoming tried to curb his mother's powers and kill her lover Zheng Yan (郑俨) by conspiring with the general Erzhu Rong, and Empress Dowager Hu killed him. Soon, Erzhu overthrew her, and from that point on, Northern Wei emperors no longer had full actual authority. Background Yuan Xu was born in 510. He was the only son of Emperor Xuanwu to be alive at that point. (Emperor Xuanwu had other sons before him, but each died in infancy or childhood, and only one of them, Yuan Chang (元昌), the son of Emperor Xuanwu's first wife Empress Yu, had a name known to historians.) Yuan Xu's mother was Emperor Xuanwu's concubine Consort Hu. Because Emperor Xuanwu had lost other sons previously, he paid special attention to Yuan Xu's rearing, and he selected several experienced mothers to be Yuan Xu's wet nurses, forbidding his second wife Empress Gao and Consort Hu to be near him, perhaps because popular opinion at the time believed Yuan Chang to have been murdered by Empress Gao's (and Emperor Xuanwu's) uncle, Gao Zhao. In winter 512, Emperor Xuanwu created Yuan Xu crown prince. Contrary to Northern Wei's tradition of putting the crown prince's mother to death at the time of creation, Emperor Xuanwu spared Consort Hu. In 515, Emperor Xuanwu died suddenly, and Yuan Xu succeeded him (as Emperor Xiaoming). The official Yu Zhong and the imperial princes Yuan Yong the Prince of Gaoyang and Yuan Cheng (元澄) the Prince of Rencheng seized power from Empress Gao and, after ambushing and killing Gao Zhao, replaced Empress Gao as empress dowager with Consort Hu. Empress Dowager Hu became regent over the five-year-old emperor. First regency of Empress Dowager Hu Empress Dowager Hu was considered intelligent, capable of understanding many things quickly, but she was also overly lenient and tolerant of corruption. For example, in winter 515, the corrupt governor of Qi Province (岐州, roughly modern Baoji, Shaanxi), Yuan Mi (元谧) the Prince of Zhao, provoked a popular uprising when he killed several people without reason, and while he was relieved from his post, as soon as he returned to the capital Luoyang, Empress Dowager Hu made him a minister because his wife was her niece. In Yuan Xu's childhood, Empress Dowager Hu's power, during these few years, were unchallenged, and while she tolerated -- and, in certain circumstances, encouraged -- criticism, including rewarding such officials as Yuan Kuang (元匡) the Prince of Dongping and Zhang Puhui (张普惠) for their blunt words, she was slow to implement suggestions that would curb corruption. Empress Dowager Hu was a fervent Buddhist, and during this part of the regency, she built magnificent temples in Luoyang. One she built, dedicated to her father Hu Guozhen (胡国珍) the Duke of Qin, after his death in 518, was particularly beautiful. Because of her influence, Emperor Xiaoming also became a dedicated Buddhist. In his youth, however, he also favored spending time in imperial gardens rather than studies or learning about important affairs of state. In 519, a serious riot occurred in Luoyang, after the official Zhang Zhongyu (张仲□) proposed that the civil service regulations be changed to disallow soldiers to become civilian officials. The soldiers became angry and stormed both the ministry of civil service and the mansion of Zhang Zhongyu's father, Zhang Yi (张彝), killing Zhang Yi and serious injuring Zhang Zhongyu and his brother Zhang Shijun (张始均). Empress Dowager Hu arrested eight leaders of the riot and executed them, but pardoned the rest, to quell the unrest. She also rejected the proposal to change the civil service regulations. This event is often seen as the turning point and the start of the unrest that would eventually tear Northern Wei apart. Despite these events, Empress Dowager Hu continued to tolerate corruption, and she often gave exuberant awards to officials, draining the treasury; the pressure on the treasury and the burden on the people were further increased by her orders that each province was to build a tower dedicated to Buddhas. Sometime before 520, Empress Dowager had forced Emperor Xiaoming's uncle Yuan Yi (元怿) the Prince of Qinghe, who was popular with the people and the officials because of his abilities and humility, to have an affair with her. Yuan Yi thereafter became the effective leader of government, and he tried to reorganize the administration to decrease corruption. He particularly tried to curb the powers of Empress Dowager Hu's brother-in-law Yuan Cha and the eunuch Liu Teng (刘腾). Yuan Cha therefore falsely accused him of treason, but he was cleared after an investigation. Fearful of reprisals, Yuan Cha and Liu convinced Emperor Xiaoming that Yuan Yi was trying to poison him and carried out a coup against Empress Dowager Hu and Yuan Yi, killing Yuan Yi and putting Empress Dowager Hu under house arrest. Yuan Yong became titular regent, but Yuan Cha became the actual power.
In late 520, Yuan Cha spent much of Northern Wei's energy on trying to restore Rouran's khan Yujiulu Anagui, who had been overthrown by his cousin Yujiulu Shifa (郁久闾示发), despite warnings that doing so would either be fruitless or counterproductive. The restoration was successful, but by 523 Yujiulu Anagui had rebelled and an enemy to Northern Wei again. In spring 521, the general Xi Kangsheng (奚康生) made an attempt to restore Empress Dowager Hu, but failed. Yuan Cha had him put to death. In 523, the official Li Chong (李崇) saw that the people of the six northern military garrisons, largely ethnic Xianbei, who had for generations been forced to stay at those garrisons to defend against Rouran attacks, were stirring with discontent, and he suggested to Yuan Cha and Emperor Xiaoming that the garrisons be converted into provinces and that the people be given the rights of the people of other provinces. Yuan Cha refused. Later that year, the people of Huaihuang (怀荒, in modern Zhangjiakou, Hebei) and Woye (沃野, in modern Baynnur, Inner Mongolia) Garrisons rebelled -- rebellions that Northern Wei forces could not quickly quell, and the rebellions soon spread throughout not only the six garrisons but throughout virtually the entire empire. The more important rebels included: * Poliuhan Baling (破六韩拔陵), with his rebellion concentrated around Woye * Hu Chen (胡琛), Chile tribal chief, with his rebellion concentrated around Gaoping Garrison (高平, in modern Guyuan, Ningxia) * Mozhe Dati (莫折大提), with his rebellion concentrated around Qin Province (秦州, roughly modern Tianshui, Gansu), later succeeded by his son Mozhe Niansheng (莫折念生), who declared himself Emperor of Qin In 525, Yuan Faseng (元法僧), the governor of Xu Province (徐州, modern northern Jiangsu), who had been a close associate of Yuan Cha, believing that Yuan Cha would soon fall, rebelled as well, declaring himself emperor. After some initial defeats at the hands of Northern Wei forces sent against him, he surrendered his post of Pengcheng (彭城, in modern Xuzhou, Jiangsu) to Northern Wei's southern rival Liang Dynasty. By this point, Yuan Cha's precautions against Empress Dowager Hu had been greatly relaxed, particularly after Liu Teng's death in 523, as he no longer saw her as a threat. Empress Dowager Hu, Emperor Xiaoming, and Yuan Yong therefore took the chance to conspire against Yuan Cha. Empress Dowager Hu first threw Yuan Cha's guard off by often discussing about his overly trusting of Yuan Faseng, which caused Yuan Cha to be an apologetic mood. Then, with his agreement, she relieved him of his command of the imperial guards, replacing him with his associate Hou Gang (侯刚). In summer 525, she took sudden action and declared herself regent again, killing most of Yuan Cha's and Liu's associates and putting Yuan Cha under house arrest. However, she was initially hesitant to take further action against Yuan Cha, because of her relationship with her sister. Eventually, however, with popular opinion favoring Yuan Cha's death, she forced him and his brother Yuan Gua (元瓜) to commit suicide, but still posthumously awarded him much honor. Second regency of Empress Dowager Hu Empress Dowager Hu, after resumption of her regency over Emperor Xiaoming, allowed her lover Zheng Yan to assume great power, and while Yuan Yong and Yuan Lue (元略) the Prince of Dongping (Yuan Xi's brother) were trusted and had high ranks, Zheng and Zheng's associate Xu Ge (徐纥) were more powerful than they were. The agrarian and other revolts continued, and during these years, the more chief rebels included: * Xianyu Xiuli (鲜于修礼), with his rebellion centering Ding Province (定州, roughly modern Baoding, Hebei. After Xianyu's death, his general Ge Rong (葛荣) took over and became very strong, proclaiming himself the Emperor of Qi * Xiao Baoyin, son of Emperor Ming of Southern Qi, who sought to reestablish Southern Qi, with his rebellion centering Chang'an * Xing Gao (邢杲), with his rebellion centering Beihai (北海, roughly modern Weifang, Shandong) * Moqi Chounu (万俟丑奴), who took over Hu Chen's army after Hu was killed by Poliuhan Baling Empress Dowager Hu sent a number of generals against these rebels without much success, and while Xiao Baoyin was defeated by his own subordinates and forced to flee to Moqi, no other major rebels were defeated by Northern Wei generals. Exacerbating the situation was the fact that Empress Dowager Hu did not like to hear about news of rebel successes, and therefore her attendants often made up good news, causing her to often refuse generals' requests for reinforcements. Several times, Emperor Xiaoming publicly declared that he would personally lead armies against the rebels, but each time he failed to actually do so. Meanwhile, during these internal troubles that Northern Wei, Liang took advantage by capturing a number of border cities, including the important city Shouyang (寿阳, in modern Lu'an, Anhui). The only real military success that Northern Wei had during this time happened in late 525, when it was able to recapture Pengcheng from Liang -- and the success was fortuitous, as the Liang prince Xiao Zong (萧综), the son of Emperor Wu of Liang and his concubine Consort Wu, who was previously the concubine of Southern Qi emperor Xiao Baojuan, became convinced that he was actually Xiao Baojuan's posthumous son, and surrendered to Northern Wei, causing his own army to collapse and allowing Northern Wei to reenter Pengcheng. During this period, Emperor Xiaoming, by now a teenager, was said to spend much of his time drinking. He was also said to favor his concubine Consort Pan greatly, to the exclusion of his wife Empress Hu (his cousin) and the other concubines. Death in 528, Emperor Xiaoming's favorite concubine Consort Pan bore him a daughter. However, Empress Dowager Hu falsely declared that Consort Pan's child was a son, and ordered a general pardon. By this time, Emperor Xiaoming, aged 18, was tired of the hold that his mother had on his administration, and he further despised Zheng Yan and Xu Ge. He therefore sent secret messengers to the general Erzhu Rong, who controlled the region around Bing Province (并州, modern central Shanxi), ordering him to advance on Luoyang to force Empress Dowager Hu to remove Zheng and Xu. After Erzhu advanced to Shangdang (上党, in modern Changzhi, Shanxi), Emperor Xiaoming suddenly changed his mind and sent messengers to stop him, but the news leaked. Zheng and Xu therefore advised Empress Dowager Hu to have Emperor Xiaoming poisoned. She did so, and after initially announcing that Emperor Xiaoming's "son" by Consort Pan would succeed him, admitted that the "son" was actually a daughter, and instead selected Yuan Zhao the son of Yuan Baohui (元宝晖) the Prince of Lintao, two-years in age, to succeed Emperor Xiaoming. Erzhu Rong refused to recognize this arrangement, and soon arrived at and captured Luoyang, throwing Empress Dowager Hu and Yuan Zhao into the Yellow River to drown. 10) Youzhu 幼主 Yuan Zhao 元钊 528 None Yuan Zhao (元钊) (526 ━ May 17, 528[1]), also known in history as Youzhu (幼主, literally "the young lord"), was briefly an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei. Yuan Zhao was a son of Yuan Baohui (元宝晖) the Prince of Lintao, who was a grandson of Emperor Xiaowen and therefore cousin to Emperor Xiaoming, the reigning emperor at the time of Yuan Zhao's birth in 526. In 528, Emperor Xiaoming was poisoned to death by his mother Empress Dowager Hu after trying to curb her power and trying to kill her lover Zheng Yan (郑俨). Emperor Xiaoming was sonless, and while Empress Dowager Hu initially tried to pretend that Emperor Xiaoming's daughter, by his concubine Consort Pan, was actually a son, she soon realized that she could not carry on the deception, and she named Yuan Zhao emperor -- selecting him due to his young age so that she could control him. The general Erzhu Rong, with whom Emperor Xiaoming had conspired against Empress Dowager Hu, refused to recognize Yuan Zhao as emperor, quickly descending on the capital Luoyang with his troops and declaring a son of Emperor Xiaowen's brother Yuan Xie, Yuan Ziyou, emperor (as Emperor Xiaozhuang). Less than two months after Yuan Zhao was declared emperor, Erzhu had captured Luoyang and put Empress Dowager Hu and Yuan Zhao under arrest. After Empress Dowager Hu tried, unsuccessfully, to defend her actions before Erzhu, Erzhu had her and Yuan Zhao thrown into the Yellow River to drown. Traditional historians treat Yuan Zhao ambiguously, and subsequent Northern Wei emperors never explicitly officially declared whether he was an emperor or not. He was not given an imperial posthumous name or temple name, but nor was his imperial status declared null. The official history of Northern Wei, the Book of Wei, written during the succeeding Northern Qi, did not list Yuan Zhao in its imperial biographies (and indeed, did not have a biography for him or his father at all), listing the events during his brief reign under the biography of Emperor Xiaoming, but used the term beng (崩) to describe his death,[2] a term reserved for the deaths of emperors and empresses. ^ Empress Dowager Hu initially declared Emperor Xiaoming's "son" (actually a daughter) emperor, but almost immediately after admitted that she was actually female and declared Yuan Zhao emperor instead. Emperor Xiaoming's unnamed daughter was therefore arguably an "emperor" and Yuan Zhao's predecessor, but is not commonly regarded as one. |