Emperor Wei Xiaowen, a Chinese reformer who promoted national integration
Overview
Chinese Name: 拓跋宏
English Name: Tuoba Hong
Other Names: Yuan Hong 元宏
Born: October 13, 467
Died: April 26, 499
Achievements:
Relocation of capital to Luoyang 迁都洛阳
Reforming the administration of officials 改革吏治
Vigorously develop Confucianism 大兴儒学
Brief Biography of Tuoba Hong
Tuoba Hong was an outstanding politician, reformer, and writer in ancient China.
Tuoba Hong (October 13, 467 to April 26, 499), named Yuan Hong in Chinese. He was the seventh emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty and the eldest son of Emperor Xianwen Tuoba Hong 拓跋弘 and his mother Mrs. Li.
In the third year of Huangxing 皇兴 (469), the emperor set up the crown prince. According to the death system of son and mother in the Northern Wei Dynasty 北魏, when Tuoba Hong became the crown prince, his mother was killed, and raised by his grandmother. Tuoba Hong ascended the throne at the age of five. Her grandmother, the civilized empress dowager 文明太后, was in power. She carried out a series of centralized reforms to the imperial court.
Empress Feng 冯太后 first rectified the administration of officials, established the three-leader system, implemented the equal field system, and then issued the salary system. Emperor Xiaowen 孝文帝 was deeply affected. In the 14th year of Taihe 太和 (490 years), Emperor Xiaowen further carried out the reform after he was officially in power. In the 18th year of Taihe (494), the capital was moved to Luoyang 洛阳 in the name of the Southern Expedition, and the old Xianbei 鲜卑 customs were comprehensively reformed.
Collect ancient and modern Han family books, stipulate that the Xianbei costume is replaced by the Han costume, and the Xianbei language is replaced by the Chinese language. The Xianbei people who moved to Luoyang took Luoyang as their native place and changed the Xianbei surname to the Han surname. He also encouraged Xianbei nobles to marry the Han gentry, reformed the political system of the Northern Wei Dynasty by referring to the rules and regulations of the Southern Dynasty, severely suppressed the conservative nobles who opposed the reform, and executed and abolished the crown prince Yuan Xun 元恂.
A series of actions promoted the vigorous development of the economy, culture, society, politics, military and other aspects of the Northern Wei Dynasty, which was known as “Taihe system reform 太和改制” in history, effectively alleviated ethnic estrangement, and promoted civilization progress and ethnic integration.
In the 23rd year of Taihe (499), Tuoba Hong became ill from overwork in the army. He later died in Gutangyuan Palace谷塘原行宫 and was only 33 years old. His posthumous title was Xiaowen 孝文 and his temple name was Gaozu 高祖. He was buried in Changling 长陵.
Personal Life and Major Contributions
Relocation of capital to Luoyang
After Emperor Xiaowen Tuoba Hong was in charge of the government, he first rectified the administration of officials, promulgated the salary system, established the three-leader system, and implemented the equal field system. The most important measure for Emperor Xiaowen to carry out Chinese culture was to move the capital to Luoyang.
The Northern Wei Dynasty has been in Pingcheng 平城 for a long time. Pingcheng is cold in the north. In June, it is snowy and windy. The geographical position to the north is more unfavorable for the Northern Wei Dynasty to rule the whole Central Plains. Emperor Xiaowen decided to move the capital to Luoyang.
In order to ensure the smooth progress of the capital transfer, Emperor Xiaowen made careful arrangements: in May of the seventeenth year of Taihe (493), he summoned hundreds of officials and announced that he would make a massive expedition to the Qi in the Southern Dynasty, planning to create a fait accompli of capital transfer on the way to the Southern Expedition.
Reform the old customs and carry out the localization
In the 18th year of Taihe (494), Emperor Xiaowen officially announced to move the capital to Luoyang. With the capital moving, a large number of Xianbei people poured into the mainland continuously.
The Northern Wei government was faced with many new problems: the customs of the Xianbei people did not conform to the customs of the Central Plains, which would seriously hinder the exchanges between various ethnic groups and the development of economic and cultural development, which was not conducive to the consolidation of the Northern Wei regime. With the support of Wang Su 王肃, Li Chong 李冲, Li Biao 李彪, Gao Lu 高闾, and other Han scholars, after moving to Luoyang, Emperor Xiaowen immediately began to reform the old Xianbei customs and comprehensively promote the sinicization.
Die Young
Since Emperor Xiaowen became ill, Yuan Xie 元勰 of Pengcheng often served medicine around the clock. He was unkempt, undressed, and had trouble sleeping. Emperor Xiaowen was sick and upset for a long time, so he was easy to get angry. If the courtiers had any mistakes, he would kill them. When the Wei army came to Maquan Town and met the Qi army, Emperor Xiaowen insisted on personally deploying and commanding the battle. At the end of March, Emperor Xiaowen’s illness worsened and he was forced to return to the north to Gutangyuan. On the first day of April in the 23rd year of Taihe (499), Emperor Xiaowen died in Gutangyuan’s palace at the age of 33.
After the prince Yuan Ke 元恪 arrived in Luyang 鲁阳, he held a funeral ceremony for Emperor Xiaowen and formally became the emperor and was named Emperor Xuanwu 宣武帝. In May, Emperor Xuanwu buried Emperor Xiaowen in Changling, with the temple name of Emperor Gaozu.