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169-508: Emperor Wen of Sui ( 隋文帝 ; 21 July 541 – 13 August 604), personal name Yang Jian ( 楊堅 ), Xianbei name Puliuru Jian ( 普六茹堅 ), was the founding emperor of the Chinese Sui dynasty . As a Buddhist, he encouraged the spread of Buddhism through the state. He is regarded as one of the most important emperors in Chinese history, reunifying China proper in 589 after centuries of division since

338-618: A Murong Xianbei cemetery in Lamadong, Liaoning , China ca. 300 AD. They were determined to be carriers of the maternal haplogroups J1b1 , D (three samples), F1a (three samples), M , B, B5b , C (three samples) and G2a . These haplogroups are common among East Asians and some Siberians. The maternal haplogroups of the Murong Xianbei were noticeably different from those of the Huns and Tuoba Xianbei. Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou Yuwen Yong

507-459: A campaign against Tuyuhun ; a campaign that appeared to be moderately successful. Yet the campaign would bring another deterioration of the relationship between father and son, as Wang Gui, who officially served as the crown prince's lieutenant (along with Yuwen Xiaobo) but was in charge of the operation, reported a matter of immoral acts that the crown prince and his associates Zheng Yi ( 鄭譯 ) and Wang Duan ( 王端 ) engaged in. Emperor Wu himself caned

676-585: A campaign against Chen, commanded by Yang Guang, another of his sons Yang Jun the Prince of Qin, and Yang Su, with Yang Guang in overall command. Gao Jiong served as Yang Guang's assistant. In spring 589, the Sui general Heruo Bi ( 賀若弼 ) crossed the Yangtze at Jingkou (京口, in modern Zhenjiang , Jiangsu ), and the Sui general Han Qinhu ( 韓擒虎 ) crossed the Yangtze at Caishi (采石, in modern Ma'anshan , Anhui ). Meanwhile, Yang Su

845-516: A confrontation. Starting in winter 560, the Northern Zhou generals Heruo Dun ( 賀若敦 ) and Dugu Sheng ( 獨孤盛 ) began a drawn-out stalemate with the Chen general Hou Tian ( 侯瑱 ), initially being successful in thwarting Hou's attacks. Around the new year 561, however, Dugu was forced to withdraw, and Heruo was isolated. In spring 561, Hou agreed to let Heruo withdraw if Heruo would yield, and so Heruo withdrew;

1014-586: A counterattack by Yuwen Xian subsequently fought Hulü to a stalemate, damage had been done, and Northern Zhou was further forced to give up on the Yiyang campaign in fall 571 to concentrate against Hulü. Also in 571, Hua went to Chang'an, and on the way, he met Yuwen Zhi at Xiang Province (襄州, roughly modern Xiangfan , Hubei ), suggesting to Yuwen Zhi that Western Liang was in such a desperate shape that if Northern Zhou wanted to see it preserved, Northern Zhou should lend some land to Western Liang. Yuwen Zhi agreed and made

1183-404: A counterattack, catching Emperor Wu by surprise and nearly killing him. However, after the victory, Gao Yanzong's army went into a celebration, and he was unable to reorganize it, and Emperor Wu soon defeated and captured him, and headed for Yecheng. Gao Wei, after passing the throne to his young son Gao Heng to deflect ill omens, considered resisting, but instead decided to flee southeast across

1352-676: A daughter of a clansman the Princess Guanghua and married her to Murong Shifu, to cement the peaceful relations with Tuyuhun. In 597, Cuan Wan ( 爨翫 ), the chief of the Nanning Tribe (南寧夷, located in modern Qujing , Yunnan ), rebelled. Emperor Wen sent the general Shi Wansui ( 史萬歲 ) the Duke of Taiping against Cuan, forcing him to surrender. Initially, Shi was to take Cuan to Chang'an to be presented to Emperor Wen, but Cuan bribed Shi, and so Shi allowed him to stay. Also in 597, Li Guangshi ( 李光仕 ),

1521-579: A degree of self-governance. He also took Emperor Ming's daughter as the wife and princess to his son, Yang Guang the Prince of Jin. (After Emperor Ming's death in 585 and succession by his son Emperor Jing of Western Liang , however, Emperor Wen reestablished the post of commandant of Jiangling and again put Western Liang territory under military control.) By spring 583, the Göktürks' internal dissension had become serious enough that Emperor Wen felt comfortable enough to commission his brother Yang Shuang ( 楊爽 )

1690-407: A faction, with tacit support of Empress Dugu, they had Yang Yong's associate Ji Wei ( 姬威 ) falsely accuse Yang Yong of plotting treason. Emperor Wen deposed Yang Yong and replaced him with Yang Guang. Emperor Wen also put a number of officials whom he believed to be part of Yang Yong's faction, including Shi and Yuan Min ( 元旻 ) the Duke of Wuyuan, to death. In 602, Empress Dugu died, and Emperor Wen

1859-469: A failed bid to resist, fled to Tujue and came under the protection of Ashin Qijin's successor Tuobo Khan . Other than Ying Province (營州, roughly modern Zhaoyang , Liaoning ), held by the official Gao Baoning ( 高寶寧 ), a distant relative to Northern Qi's imperial Gao clan, all of Northern Qi's territory came under Northern Zhou rule. In summer 577, Emperor Wu returned to Chang'an with Gao Wei and other members of

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2028-576: A force of 3,000 Xiongnu but could not take the Southern Xiongnu capital due to disease among the horses of their Xianbei allies. The Xianbei under Qizhijian raided Han territory four times from 121 to 138. In 145, the Xianbei raided Dai Commandery . Around the mid-2nd century, a chieftain, Tanshihuai , unified the Xianbei tribes and established an imperial court at Mount Danhan (彈汗山; in present-day Shangdu County , Inner Mongolia ). Under Tanshihuai,

2197-403: A general pardon, and prostrated himself before her as an ordinary nephew would. In turn, Yuwen Hu considered calling off planned joint attacks with Tujue against Northern Qi, but was fearful that Tujue would believe that Northern Zhou was abandoning the alliance, and therefore launched another joint attack with Tujue in winter 564. The assault, the main brunt of which was against Luoyang , however,

2366-497: A general pardon. By 573, it had come to Emperor Wu's attention that Crown Prince Yun was not paying attention to matters of state but instead associated with immoral people. In response, Emperor Wu selected staff members for Crown Prince Yun who were known for their strict conduct. This made the crown prince unhappy. Around the new year 574, Emperor Wu gathered Confucian scholars, Taoist monks, and Buddhist monks, and had them debate about their philosophies. He ranked Confucianism

2535-439: A large army, and Emperor Wu, not wanting to engage Gao Wei's army directly, withdrew, leaving the general Liang Shiyan ( 梁士彥 ) in charge of defending Pingyang. Gao Wei put Pingyang under siege, and at one point nearly captured it. Emperor Wu, after reorganizing his forces, relaunched his army and headed for Pingyang, seeking to lift the siege. Around the new year 577, he arrived near Pingyang and Gao Wei chose to engage him—but, once

2704-507: A major storm at Tujue's headquarters inflicted substantial damage, and Ashina Qijin took it as a sign of divine displeasure at his rescission of the marriage agreement with Northern Zhou. He therefore returned Yuwen Chun, along with the daughter he promised Emperor Wu, back to Northern Zhou. Emperor Wu personally welcomed her and created her empress. Perhaps in light of the new adversarial relationship with Chen, when Northern Qi made peace overtures in fall 568, Northern Zhou accepted, and there

2873-506: A meeting, he invited Yuwen Hu into the palace to meet with Empress Dowager Chinu. On the way to her palace, he told Yuwen Hu that Empress Dowager Chinu was having problem with alcoholism and not listening to his advice to stop her drinking, so he wanted Yuwen Hu to advise her to change her ways as well. He further gave Yuwen Hu the text of the Jiu Gao ( 酒誥 ) -- an anti-alcoholism declaration written by King Cheng of Zhou —and suggested that he read

3042-498: A member of their tribe based on their character and abilities. Even as they established their states on the Central Plains and adopted the Chinese hereditary system, influential brothers, uncles and cousins of the Xianbei rulers often posed as rival claimants to the throne. Art of the Xianbei portrayed their nomadic lifestyle and consisted primarily of metalwork and figurines. The style and subjects of Xianbei art were influenced by

3211-647: A minor degree, Tungusic and Turkic peoples. They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into the Wuhuan and Xianbei when they were defeated by the Xiongnu at the end of the third century BC. Following the split, the Xianbei people did not have a direct contact with the Han dynasty, residing to the north of the Wuhuan. In the first century BC, the Xianbei began actively engaging in

3380-492: A new 25-volume criminal code drafted by the official Tuoba Di ( 拓拔迪 ), which divided the criminal punishment into 25 classes. In fall 563, Northern Zhou entered into an alliance treaty with the Gokturks , known to the Chinese as Tujue, against Northern Qi, part of which involved a promise that Emperor Wu would marry the daughter of Ashina Qijin , Tujue's Mugan Khan. In winter 563, the joint forces of Northern Zhou and Tujue launched

3549-502: A princess to Ashina Rangan, in order to create greater friction between them. In 594, in response to another famine in the Guanzhong region, Emperor Wen again temporarily took up residence in Luoyang. He also, to share in some of his people's suffering, abstained from meat for a year. Late in 594, Yang Guang submitted a petition that Emperor Wen carry out the ancient ceremonies of worshipping

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3718-466: A recent time "Yellow River" was already predominant even on some territory of today's independent Mongolia) His face was reconstructed in 2024 using the DNA analysis, CNN posted his reconstructed face . Emperor Wu was said to be largely a silent emperor early in his reign, giving Yuwen Hu free rein over the government, although he appeared to start cultivating a group of officials who would be loyal to him as

3887-438: A servant after her grandfather's defeat—and when Empress Dugu found out, she had Yuchi Jiong's granddaughter killed. Emperor Wen was exceedingly angry and rode away from the palace on a horse, returning to the palace only at the urging of Gao and Yang Su—but with Gao further angering Empress Dugu when Gao referred to her as "a woman." In 599, Gao was accused of associating with Wang Shiji and removed from his posts. Subsequently, Gao

4056-501: A small amount of rice during this period. In fall 574, while Emperor Wu was at Yunyang (雲陽, in modern Xianyang , Shaanxi ), Yuwen Zhi, who had long resented not receiving more authority, rebelled at Chang'an. The official Yuchi Yun ( 尉遲運 ), one of the officials in charge of the capital along with Crown Prince Yun, defeated Yuwen Zhi, forcing him to flee. Yuwen Zhi was soon captured and executed. Believing Northern Qi to have been substantially weakened not only by Hulü's death but also by

4225-469: A step further by decreeing the change of Xianbei names to Han names , even changing their own family name from Tuoba to Yuan. Xiaowen also moved the capital to Luoyang in the Chinese heartlands away from Pingcheng near the northern frontiers. While the population in Luoyang were open to accepting the policies, the population near the old capital were more conservative and held on to their Xianbei culture. Marriages to Han elite families were encouraged, and

4394-638: A three-pronged attack against Ashina Yongyulü, with Yang Liang in nominal command but not at the frontline. In response, Ashina Yongyulü and Ashina Dianjue made a joint attack against Ashina Rangan, defeating him and largely seizing his tribe. Ashina Rangan fled to Sui, and Emperor Wen treated him as an honored guest. Subsequently, both Gao Jiong and Yang Su engaged Göktürk forces and repelled them. Also in 599, with Wang Shiji's subordinate Huangfu Xiaoxie ( 皇甫孝諧 ) accusing Wang of treason after Wang refused to shield Huangfu after he committed crimes, Emperor Wen believed Huangfu and executed Wang. By this point, Yang Yong

4563-470: A two-prong attack on Northern Qi, with the northern prong attacking Northern Qi's secondary capital Jinyang (晉陽, in modern Taiyuan , Shanxi ) and the southern prong attacking Pingyang (平陽, in modern Linfen , Shanxi ). The northern prong, commanded by the general Yang Zhong ( 楊忠 ), put Jinyang under siege, but was soon defeated by the Northern Qi general Duan Shao ( 段韶 ) and forced to withdraw. In response,

4732-420: A variety of influences, and ultimately, the Xianbei were known for emphasizing unique nomadic motifs in artistic advancements such as leaf headdresses, crouching and geometricized animals depictions, animal pendant necklaces, and metal openwork . The leaf headdresses were very characteristic of Xianbei culture, and they are found especially in Murong Xianbei tombs. Their corresponding ornamental style also links

4901-818: Is a matter of historical controversy. Most traditional historians relay and believe an account in which, while Emperor Wen was ill, Yang Guang tried to rape Consort Chen. When she reported the attempted rape to Emperor Wen, he became angry and had the officials Liu Shu (柳述, the husband of his daughter Yang Awu ( 楊阿五 ) the Princess Lanling) and Yuan Yan ( 元巖 ) the Duke of Longgu summon Yang Yong, intending to restore him. When Yang Guang found out, he, in association with Yang Su, had Liu and Yuan arrested, and then sent his associate Zhang Heng ( 張衡 ) to kill Emperor Wen, and Zhang did so. Soon thereafter, he forced Consorts Chen and Cai to become his concubines and had Yang Yong put to death, and only then announced Emperor Wen's death and took

5070-452: Is also possible that the Xianbei spoke more than one language. However, there are no remaining works written in Xianbei, which are thought to have been written using Chinese characters . Only a few words remain, such as 啊干 'elder brother'. According to Du, et al. (2024), some historians believe that the Xianbei could have had "exotic" features such as high nose bridges, blond hair and thick beards. However, other scholars have suggested

5239-496: Is worn on top of the head and resembles a tree or animal with many leaf pendants, and the rare "Blossoming Vine" (huaman), which consists of "gold strips interwoven with wires with leaves." Leaf headdresses were made with hammered gold and decorated by punching out designs and hanging the leaf pendants with wire. The exact origin, use, and wear of these headdresses is still being investigated and determined. However, headdresses similar to those later also existed and were worn by women in

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5408-757: The Former Yan (337–370), Later Yan (384–407) and Southern Yan (398–410), as well as the Western Yan (384–394; not listed among the Sixteen Kingdoms). The Murong dominated the northeast and at one point vied to unify China, but fell short due to family infighting, corruption and weak rulers. Meanwhile, in Gansu , the Qifu established the Western Qin (385–431) while the Tufa established

5577-580: The Han dynasty , the Xianbei began occupying the Mongolian Plateau , absorbing 100,000 Xiongnu tribes and increasing their strength. In 109, the Wuhuan and Xianbei attacked Wuyuan Commandery and defeated local Han forces. The Southern Xiongnu chanyu Wanshishizhudi rebelled against the Han and attacked the Emissary Geng Chong but failed to oust him. Han forces under Geng Kui retaliated and defeated

5746-655: The Jiu Gao to Empress Dowager Chinu. Once they reached her palace, Yuwen Hu, pursuant to Emperor Wu's request, started reading the Jiu Gao . Before he could finish it, Emperor Wu stepped behind him and used a jade tablet to strike the back of his head. Yuwen Hu fell to the ground, and Yuwen Zhi, who was hiding nearby, jumped out, and cut off Yuwen Hu's head, ending Yuwen Hu's hold on power. Yuwen Hu's sons, brothers, and key associates were all executed. Having been instrumental in Yuwen Hu's death, Yuwen Zhi sought to take over Yuwen Hu's post, but Emperor Wu, who wanted to directly control

5915-615: The Northern Wei dynasty (386–535), becoming the first of the Northern dynasties (386–581). The Northern Wei grew in power after they defeated and supplanted the Later Yan on the Central Plains . In 439, they conquered the last of the Sixteen Kingdoms , thereby unifying the north and completing the transition into the Northern and Southern dynasties period . The Northern Wei unification

6084-567: The Northern Zhou . Ishbara therefore carried out a series of border attacks against Sui, allied with Gao Baoning ( 高寶寧 ), the former Northern Qi general who was still holding Ying Province (營州, roughly modern Zhaoyang , Liaoning ). In response, under advice from the general Zhangsun Sheng ( 長孫晟 ), Emperor Wen carried out the strategy of placating Ishbara's subordinate qaγans—his cousins Tardu ( 阿史那玷厥 ) and Apa ( 阿史那大暹便 ), and brother Ashina Chuluohou ( 阿史那處羅侯 ) – to create dissension within

6253-868: The Oroqen people . A genetic study published in the Russian Journal of Genetics in April 2014 examined the mtDNA of 17 Tuoba Xianbei buried at the Shangdu Dongdajing cemetery in Inner Mongolia, China. The 17 samples of mtDNA extracted belonged to haplogroups D4 (four samples), D5 (three samples), C (five samples), A (three samples), G and B. A genetic study published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology in November 2007 examined 17 individuals buried at

6422-501: The Sixteen Kingdoms in northern China. The Murong of Liaodong were the most notable clan of this period. Having adopted the Jin governing system and customs, they rose to prominence during the fall of Western Jin by providing refuge and cooperating closely with the Chinese exiles, eventually establishing Xianbei rule over the Central Plains after they defeated the Ran Wei in 352. They founded

6591-647: The Southern Liang (397–414). The Tuoba retained their fiefdom of Dai (310–376), which was elevated to a kingdom in 315, before they were eventually conquered by the Di -led Former Qin dynasty . With the fall of Dai, northern China was briefly unified under the Qin, but as they rapidly collapsed following a disastrous defeat at the Battle of Fei River in 383, the Tuoba restored their state as

6760-597: The Tang dynasty (618–907). Both Sui and Tang were founded by families who identified with their Han Chinese heritage, and were backed by an alliance of Chinese and Xianbei nobles from the Northern Zhou who sought to protect their common interest. Through these political establishments, the Xianbei who entered China were largely merged with the Chinese, examples such as the wife of Emperor Gaozu of Tang , Duchess Dou and Emperor Taizong of Tang 's wife, Empress Zhangsun , both have Xianbei ancestries, while those who remained behind in

6929-538: The Tuoba formed the Northern Wei dynasty and eventually reunited northern China, ushering China into the Northern and Southern dynasties period. The Northern dynasties , all of which were either led or heavily influenced by the Xianbei, opposed and promoted sinicization at one point or another but trended towards the latter and had merged with the general Chinese population by the Tang dynasty . The Northern Wei also arranged for ethnic Han elites to marry daughters of

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7098-857: The Tuoba imperial clan in the 480s. More than fifty percent of Tuoba Xianbei princesses of the Northern Wei were married to southern Han men from the imperial families and aristocrats from southern China of the Southern dynasties who defected and moved north to join the Northern Wei. Paul Pelliot tentatively reconstructs the Eastern Han Chinese pronunciation of 鮮卑 as */serbi/, from * Särpi , after noting that Chinese scribes used 鮮 to transcribe Middle Persian sēr ( lion ) and 卑 to transcribe foreign syllable /pi/; for instance, Sanskrit गोपी gopī "milkmaid, cowherdess" became Middle Chinese 瞿卑 ( ɡɨo-piᴇ ) (> Mand. qúbēi ). According to Schuessler, however,

7267-802: The Tuoba tribe settled in the abandoned city of Shengle , north of the Yin Mountains . To the east of them, the Yuwen tribe settled between the Luan River and Liucheng , while the Murong tribe were allowed to move deeper into Liaodong . The Duan tribe was founded in Liaoxi within the Great Wall by a Xianbei ex-slave along with a group of exiles. In the west, an offshoot of the Murong moved into northern Qinghai and mixed with

7436-586: The Wuhuan at the Battle of White Wolf Mountain in 207, Budugen, Fuluohan, Kebineng and others paid tribute to him. In 218, Fuluohan met with the Wuhuan chieftain Nengchendi to form an alliance, but Nengchendi double crossed him and called in Kebineng, who killed Fuluohan. Budugen went to the court of Cao Wei in 224 to ask for assistance against Kebineng, but he eventually betrayed them and allied with Kebineng in 233. Kebineng killed Budugen soon afterwards. Kebineng

7605-714: The Yellow River , planning to regroup and see if he could make a last stand—but if not, to flee to Chen. In spring 577, Emperor Wu entered Yecheng. With Gao Wei's official Gao Anagong feeding him intelligence on Gao Wei's location, he was able to capture Gao Wei. After Gao Wei was returned to Yecheng, he treated Gao Wei with respect and created Gao Wei the Duke of Wen. Gao Wei's uncle Gao Jie ( 高湝 ) and cousin Gao Xiaoheng ( 高孝珩 ), making one last stand at Xindu (信都, in modern Hengshui , Hebei ), were also soon defeated and captured. Another of Gao Wei's cousins, Gao Shaoyi , after making

7774-627: The Central Plains and give pushback on the Wei's sinicization policies. The Northern Qi was ruled by the Gao clan, a Xianbeified Han Chinese family who relied on the Xianbei elites and favoured their traditions. Meanwhile, the Northern Zhou was ruled by the Yuwen clan of Xianbei ethnicity. Ruling over a predominantly Chinese population, the military reforms of the Western Wei and Northern Zhou saw an attempt to revive

7943-508: The Crown Prince had lost the favor of both Emperor Wen and Empress Dugu, over his being overly wasteful (which displeased Emperor Wen) and having many concubines (which displeased Empress Dugu). They therefore considered deposing him and replacing him with Yang Guang. When Empress Dugu hinted as such, Gao Jiong stated clear opposition. Meanwhile, Emperor Wen himself had engaged in sexual relations with Yuchi Jiong's granddaughter, who had been made

8112-452: The Duke of Jie, but soon slaughtered all grandsons of Yuwen Tai, and eventually put the Duke of Jie to death as well. He entrusted most of the important governmental matters to his officials Gao Jiong , Yang Su , and Su Wei . Agreeing with some officials' assertions that Northern Zhou fell because its imperial princes lacked power to protect the central government, he sent his sons out to key provinces with broad powers. He further commissioned

8281-443: The Duke of Liang, speculated to his associates that Yuwen Hu had died. When Houmochen's speculations became known, Emperor Wu publicly rebuked Houmochen, and the same night, Yuwen Hu sent troops to surround Houmochen's mansion, forcing him to commit suicide. Soon thereafter, he publicly bestowed Yuwen Hu the honor of having his name be subject to naming taboo , an honor that Yuwen Hu declined. Also in spring 563, Emperor Wu promulgated

8450-653: The Eastern Han Chinese pronunciation of 鮮卑 is /sian pie/, and he does not reconstruct syllables ending in -r for this stage. He reconstructed the Later Han pronunciation of 室韋 as /śit wui/. On the one hand, *Särpi may be linked to the Mongolic root *ser ~ *sir which means "crest, bristle, sticking out, projecting, etc." (cf. Khalkha сэрвэн serven ), possibly referring to the Xianbei's horses (semantically analogous with

8619-588: The Five Barbarians . For their services, the Duan and Tuoba were granted the duchies of Liaoxi and Dai , respectively. However, for varying reasons, most of the Xianbei eventually withdrew from the conflict, allowing the remnants of Jin to be quickly overwhelmed. Mass number of Chinese officers, soldiers and civilians fled south to join the Eastern Jin or north to join the Xianbei duchies. The Xianbei founded several of

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8788-498: The Gao clan in tow. In winter 577, apprehensive of the Gao clan members, he falsely accused Gao Wei of conspiring with the former Northern Qi official Mu Tipo and killed Mu and ordered Gao Wei and the other members of the Gao clan to commit suicide. In light of Northern Qi's defeat, Chen, then ruled by Chen Xu (who had deposed Emperor Fei and took the throne himself as Emperor Xuan), launched an attack commanded by Wu Mingche on Pengcheng (modern Xuzhou , Jiangsu ), an important city on

8957-723: The Guangtong Canal ( 廣通渠 ), greatly easing the transport of food and other supplies to the capital region Guanzhong . Nevertheless, on account of a famine in Guanzhong in fall 584, Emperor Wen briefly took up residence in Luoyang . In 586, the officials Liang Shiyan ( 梁士彥 ) the Duke of Cheng, Yuwen Xin ( 宇文忻 ) the Duke of Qi, and Liu Fang the Duke of Shu—all three of whom were friends of Emperor Wen but all of whom believed that they had been slighted by Emperor Wen—were accused of plotting rebellion, and all three were executed. In spring 587, continuing his canal-building regime, Emperor Wen built

9126-422: The Göktürks, and gradually, the strategy worked, causing the Göktürks to be unable to take unified actions against Sui. In 581, Emperor Wen commissioned a major attack on Chen, and while it was initially successful, Emperor Wen withdrew the attack in spring 582 after hearing that Emperor Xuan of Chen had died and believing it wrongful to attack a state whose emperor had just died. In 582, believing that Chang'an

9295-488: The Göktürks. In spring 604, Emperor Wen, as per his custom, went to Renshou Palace to avoid the heat, despite warnings from the sorcerer Zhangchou Taiyi ( 章仇太翼 ) that if he went, he would never return. While there, he grew ill, and in fall 604, he died. He was buried at the Yangling District 's Tailing ( 泰陵 ) tumulus mausoleum, with Empress Dugu (though not in the same burial chamber). How Emperor Wen died, however,

9464-458: The Jin was pushed to the south. During the Sixteen Kingdoms period, the Xianbei founded several short-lived states in the north and established themselves on the Central Plains . The Xianbei were at one point all subjected to the Di -led Former Qin dynasty before it fell apart not long after its defeat in the Battle of Fei River by the Eastern Jin. In the wake of the Former Qin's collapse,

9633-517: The Northern Wei dynasty, and ultimately led to the creation of the Yungang Grottoes . The Xianbei are thought to have spoken Mongolic or Para-Mongolic languages, with early and substantial Turkic influences, as Claus Schönig asserts: The Xianbei derived from the context of the Donghu , who are likely to have contained the linguistic ancestors of the Mongols . Later branches and descendants of

9802-516: The Northern Wei started to arrange for Han Chinese elites to marry daughters of the Xianbei Tuoba royal family in the 480s. More than fifty percent of Tuoba Xianbei princesses of the Northern Wei were married to southern Han Chinese men from the imperial families and aristocrats from southern China of the Southern dynasties who defected and moved north to join the Northern Wei. Some Han Chinese exiled royalty fled from southern China and defected to

9971-543: The Prince of Anping and Xiao Huan ( 蕭瓛 ) the Prince of Yixing instead believed that Cui was intending to attack the city, and they took the populace of the city and surrendered to the Chen general Chen Huiji ( 陳慧紀 ), the cousin to Chen's emperor Chen Shubao . In response, Emperor Wen abolished Western Liang, directly seizing its territory, while creating Emperor Jing the Duke of Ju. Emperor Wen, who had been planning to conquer Chen for years, now further enhanced his planning in earnest. In spring 588, Emperor Wen publicly announced

10140-500: The Prince of Qi and the general Wang Gui ( 王軌 ) were said to have suggested that Emperor Wu execute Yang Jian, but Emperor Wu resisted. Still, Yang Jian heard rumors and tried to hide his own talent to avoid trouble. It was not until 575 when Emperor Wu involved Yang Jian in a major campaign against rival Northern Qi . Yang Jian also participated in the 576–577 campaign that saw Emperor Wu being able to destroy Northern Qi and seize its territory. In 578, Emperor Wu died, and Yuwen Yun took

10309-644: The Prince of Wei to command a major attack against Ashina Shetu. Yang Shuang achieved a great victory, and part of his army, commanded by the general Yin Shou ( 陰壽 ), defeated Gao, forcing Gao to try to flee to the Qidan , but on the way, Gao was killed by his own subordinates, ending the last bit of Northern Qi resistance. After the defeat, the various subordinate khans further engaged in battles among themselves and against Ashina Shetu, with Sui watching by, refusing to give aid to any side. By 584, Ashina Shetu submitted to Sui, and even

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10478-510: The Prince of Yue and their sons to death, and after Yuchi was defeated, he began to slaughter the Yuwen clan in earnest. He also had Emperor Jing promote his titles quickly, and he changed his surname back to Yang. Around the new year 581, his title was promoted to Prince of Sui ( 隨王 ). In spring 581, he had Emperor Jing yield the throne to him, ending Northern Zhou and establishing Sui dynasty, as its Emperor Wen. (His use of "Sui" as his new dynasty name

10647-578: The Princess Anyi had died, and Emperor Wen married another daughter of a clansman, whom he created the Princess Yicheng ( 義成公主 ), to marry Ashina Rangan. Soon thereafter, Ashina Yongyulü was assassinated, and Ashina Dianjue declared himself Bujia Khan. In summer 600, Ashina Dianjue attacked Ashina Rangan, and Sui forces fought off Ashina Dianjue's attack, further causing Ashina Rangan to be grateful to Sui. In fall 600, with Yang Guang and Yang Su forming

10816-506: The Princess Dayi was still resentful of him, Emperor Wen had the official Pei Ju inform the cousin and subordinate khan to the Göktürks' Dulan Khan , Ashina Yongyulü, the Tuli Khan Ashina Rangan (son of Ashina Chuluohou) that he would let Ashina Rangan marry a Sui princess if Ashina Rangan was able to get Princess Dayi killed. Ashina Rangan, in response, accused Princess Dayi of adultery, and Ashina Yongyulü killed her and requested another marriage with Sui. Instead, Emperor Wen agreed to marry

10985-463: The Shanyang Canal ( 山陽瀆 ) between the Yangtze River and the Huai River to improve the transport of material between those two rivers. In fall 587, Emperor Wen summoned Western Liang's Emperor Jing to Chang'an to meet him. Emperor Jing complied with the direction. While Emperor Jing was away, however, Emperor Wen, believing that Jiangling would not be guarded well, sent his general Cui Hongdu ( 崔弘度 ) to Jiangling. Emperor Jing's uncle Xiao Yan ( 蕭巖 )

11154-405: The Shouyang Princess was wedded to the Liang dynasty ruler Emperor Wu of Liang 's son Xiao Zong (蕭綜). After the Six Frontier Towns Rebellion and the events that followed, the Northern Wei split into Eastern Wei (534–550) and Western Wei (535–556) before becoming the Northern Qi (550–577) and Northern Zhou (557–581) respectively. The chaos allowed the Xianbei frontier nobility to enter

11323-425: The Sui had control. The Northern and Southern dynasties period was over, and Sui had united China. Much as how he had torn down Yecheng after Yuchi defeat, Emperor Wen tore down Jiankang, establishing only a minor garrison at the nearby Shitou as Jiang Province ( 蔣州 ). In 590, apparently jealous of the talent of the official Li Delin , who had been key in his takeover of power as regent and who had contributed to

11492-661: The Turkic ethnonym Yabaqu < Yapağu 'matted hair or wool', later 'a matted-haired animal, i.e. a colt') On the other hand, the Book of the Later Han and the Book of Wei stated that before becoming an ethnonym, Xianbei had been a toponym, referring to the Great Xianbei mountains (大鮮卑山), which is now identified as the Greater Khingan range ( simplified Chinese : 大兴安岭 ; traditional Chinese : 大興安嶺 ; pinyin : Dà Xīng'ān Lǐng ). Shimunek (2018) reconstructs * serbi for Xiānbēi and * širwi for 室韋 Shìwéi < MC *ɕiɪt̚-ɦʉi . Warring States period 's Chinese literature contains early mentions of Xianbei, as in

11661-436: The Xianbei are the same as the Wuhuan ". The first significant contact the Xianbei had with the Han dynasty was in 41 and 45, when they joined the Wuhuan and Xiongnu in raiding Han territory. In 49, the governor Ji Tong convinced the Xianbei chieftain Pianhe to turn on the Xiongnu with rewards for each Xiongnu head they collected. In 54, Yuchouben and Mantou of the Xianbei paid tribute to Emperor Guangwu of Han . In 58,

11830-408: The Xianbei attacked the Wusun in the west and repelled the Dingling from the north and Buyeo from the east. He divided the Xianbei empire into three sections, each governed by an appointed chieftain. Tanshihuai of the Xianbei divided his territory into three sections: the eastern, the middle and the western. From the You Beiping to the Liao River , connecting the Fuyu and Mo to the east, it

11999-415: The Xianbei chieftain Pianhe attacked and killed Xinzhiben, a Wuhuan leader causing trouble in Yuyang Commandery . In 85, the Xianbei secured an alliance with the Dingling and Southern Xiongnu . In 87, the Xianbei attacked the Xiongnu chanyu Youliu and killed him. They flayed him and his followers and took the skins back as trophies. In 93, as the Northern Xiongnu were forced to the northwest by

12168-519: The Xianbei for generations. Yang Jian's clan specifically claimed descent from the Han dynasty general Yang Zhen. Yang Zhen's eighth-generation descendant Yang Xuan ( 楊鉉 ) served as a commandery governor for a Yan state ( Former Yan or Later Yan ) during the Sixteen Kingdoms Period , and his descendants subsequently served the Northern Wei dynasty. Yang Jian emphasized Han Chinese cultural identity throughout his reign. Yang Jian's father

12337-478: The Xianbei include the Tabghach and Khitan , who seem to have been linguistically Para-Mongolic. [...] Opinions differ widely as to what the linguistic impact of the Xianbei period was. Some scholars (like Clauson) have preferred to regard the Xianbei and Tabghach (Tuoba) as Turks, with the implication that the entire layer of early Turkic borrowings in Mongolic would have been received from the Xianbei, rather than from

12506-556: The Xianbei of the northeast, primarily the Duan , were brought in to fight in the civil wars of the Jin princes and played a deciding factor in the wars. When the Xiongnu in Shanxi rebelled and founded the Han-Zhao dynasty , the Tuoba offered their assistance to Jin to fight the rebels. The Jin were heavily reliant on the Xianbei's military force as they gradually lost the north during the upheaval of

12675-528: The Xianbei run their state, but eventually the Xianbei became Sinophiles and promoted Buddhism. The beginning of this conversion is evidenced by the Buddha imagery that emerges in Xianbei art. For instance, the included Buddha imprinted leaf headdress perfectly represents the Xianbei conversion and Buddhist synthesis since it combines both the traditional nomadic Xianbei leaf headdress with the new imagery of Buddha. This Xianbei religious conversion continued to develop in

12844-480: The Xianbei to Bactria. These gold hat ornaments represented trees and antlers and, in Chinese, they are referred to as buyao ("step sway") since the thin metal leaves move when the wearer moves. Sun Guoping first uncovered this type of artifact, and defined three main styles: "Blossoming Tree" (huashu), which is mounted on the front of a cap near the forehead and has one or more branches with hanging leaves that are circle or droplet shaped, "Blossoming Top" (dinghua), which

13013-574: The Xianbei warrior culture, which includes reverting the sinicized names of the Northern Wei and rewarding Han Chinese officers with Xianbei names. The Prime Minister of Northern Zhou, Yang Jian , later had these names restored back to Han names. In 581, Yang Jian founded the Sui dynasty (581–618) and unified China in 589 after absorbing the Chen dynasty (557–589). When the Sui came to an end amidst peasant rebellions and renegade troops, his cousin, Li Yuan , founded

13182-407: The Xianbei was animal husbandry combined with agricultural practice. They were the first to develop the khanate system, in which formation of social classes deepened, and developments also occurred in their literacy, arts and culture. They used a zodiac calendar and favoured song and music. Tengrism and subsequently Buddhism were the main religions among the Xianbei people. After they abandoned

13351-458: The Xianbei. Historian Edward H. Schafer believes many of the Xianbei were blondes, but others such as Charles Holcombe think it is "likely that the bulk of the Xianbei were not visibly very different in appearance from the general population of northeastern Asia." Chinese anthropologist Zhu Hong and Zhang Quan-chao studied Xianbei crania from several sites of Inner Mongolia and noticed that anthropological features of studied Xianbei crania show that

13520-590: The Xianbei. Several daughters of the Xianbei Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei were married to Han Chinese elites, the Liu Song royal Liu Hui (劉輝), married Princess Lanling (蘭陵公主) of the Northern Wei, Princess Huayang (華陽公主) to Sima Fei (司馬朏), a descendant of Jin dynasty (266–420) royalty, Princess Jinan (濟南公主) to Lu Daoqian (盧道虔), Princess Nanyang (南陽長公主) to Xiao Baoyin (蕭寶寅), a member of Southern Qi royalty. Emperor Xiaozhuang of Northern Wei's sister

13689-492: The Xianbei. They were defeated and returned with only one-tenth of their original forces. A memorial made that year records that the Xianbei had taken all the lands previously held by the Xiongnu and their warriors numbered 100,000. Han deserters who sought refuge in their lands served as their advisers and refined metals as well as wrought iron came into their possession. Their weapons were sharper and their horses faster than those of

13858-399: The Xiongnu. Another memorial submitted in 185 states that the Xianbei were making raids on Han settlements nearly every year. Despite the constant raids, the loose Xianbei confederacy lacked the organization of the Xiongnu empire, and they were struggling to sustain their growing population. Tanshihuai died in 181 and was succeeded by his son, Helian, but he lacked his father's abilities and

14027-519: The Xiongnu. However, since the Mongolic (or Para-Mongolic) identity of the Xianbei is increasingly obvious in the light of recent progress in Khitan studies, it is more reasonable to assume (with Doerfer) that the flow of linguistic influence from Turkic into Mongolic was at least partly reversed during the Xianbei period, yielding the first identifiable layer of Mongolic (or Para-Mongolic) loanwords in Turkic. It

14196-573: The age of 35. Crown Prince Yun succeeded him (as Emperor Xuan), and by 581 Northern Zhou had fallen, its throne having been seized by Emperor Xuan's father-in-law Yang Jian . Emperor Wu was buried at the Northern Zhou Qiaoling Mausoleum, together with his Turkic wife, Empress Ashina . A recent study on the remains of Emperor Wu (his skull was nearly completely preserved), has shown that "Emperor Wu had typical East or Northeast Asian facial characteristics", which bring some light on

14365-450: The appearance of the Xianbei was not dramatically different from modern East Asians. A genetic analysis of Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou revealed that he had an East Asian appearance, consistent with the hypothesis that the Xianbei were primarily of East Asian appearance. Yellow hair in Chinese sources could have meant brown rather than blonde and described other people such as the Jie rather than

14534-576: The atypical title of "Emperor Tianyuan" ( Tianyuan Huangdi ), but continued to exercise imperial powers. On one occasion, he became so suspicious of Yang Jian that he stated to Empress Yang, "I will surely slaughter your clan!" He then summoned Yang Jian to the palace, with instructions to kill him if his expressions betrayed any worries, but Yang Jian arrived without showing any unusual emotions, and avoided being killed. On another occasion, Empress Yang displeased Emperor Xuan, and Emperor Xuan ordered her to commit suicide. When Duchess Dugu heard this, she went to

14703-442: The back of hammered metal sheets. The nomadic traditions of the Xianbei inspired them to portray horses in their artwork. The horse played a large role in the existence of the Xianbei as a nomadic people, and in one tomb, a horse skull lay atop Xianbei bells, buckles, ornaments, a saddle, and one gilded bronze stirrup. The Xianbei not only created art for their horses, but they also made art to depict horses. Another recurring motif

14872-400: The backgrounds were decorated with openwork or mountainous landscapes, which harks back to the Xianbei nomadic lifestyle. With repeated animal imagery, an openwork background, and a rectangular frame, the included image of the three deer plaque is a paradigm of the Xianbei art style. Concave plaque backings imply that plaques were made using lost-wax casting , or raised designs were impressed on

15041-468: The battle began, panicked when his favorite concubine Consort Feng Xiaolian falsely believed that the army had been defeated—and he abandoned the army, causing its collapse. Gao Wei fled to Jinyang, and Emperor Wu gave chase. No longer having the will to fight Emperor Wu, Gao Wei further fled back to the Northern Qi capital Yecheng , leaving his cousin Gao Yanzong in charge of Jinyang. Gao Yanzong launched

15210-484: The border commanderies and claimed many lives. Though the Han was able to repel them at times, they were concerned that they would not be able to subdue Tanshihuai. The Han attempted to appease him by offering him the title of King, but Tanshihuai rejected them and continued to harass their borders. In 177, Xia Yu , Tian Yan and the Southern Xiongnu Chanyu , Tute Ruoshi Zhujiu led a force of 30,000 against

15379-502: The campaign, this precipitated a conflict between Goguryeo and Baekje. Also in 598, Cuan Wan rebelled again, and Yang Xiu accused Shi of accepting bribes from Cuan earlier. Emperor Wen considered executing Shi, but ultimately chose only to remove him from his posts, and it appeared soon after Shi was restored to his post. In 599, after Ashina Rangan reported that Ashina Yongyulü was planning to attack, Emperor Wen took preemptive action and had Gao Jiong, Yang Su, and Yan Rong ( 燕榮 ) command

15548-452: The capital. After Yang Xiu arrived at the capital, Yang Guang further manufactured evidence that Yang Xiu had cursed Emperor Wen and Yang Liang. In anger, Emperor Wen reduced Yang Xiu to commoner rank and put him under house arrest. In 603, Ashina Dianjue, faced with rebellions from the Tiele and Pugu ( 僕骨 ) tribes, surrendered to Ashina Rangan. By now, Ashina Rangan became the undisputed khan of

15717-474: The chief of the aborigine people in Gui Province (桂州, roughly modern Guilin , Guangxi ), also rebelled. Emperor Wen sent the generals Wang Shiji ( 王世積 ) and Zhou Fashang ( 周法尚 ) against Li, and Zhou was able to defeat and kill Li. However, in the fall, Li Shixian ( 李世賢 ), who might have been related to Li Guangshi, rebelled at Gui Province, and Emperor Wen sent Yu Qingze the Duke of Lu to attack Li Shixian; Yu

15886-483: The city of Lushan (魯山, in modern Wuhan , Hubei ) to Northern Zhou. In summer 562, Emperor Wu, seeing that previously, nobles were not receiving any material benefits from their titles, began to have the nobles receive stipends based on the size of their fiefs. In spring 563, while on a visit to Yuan Province (原州, roughly modern Guyuan , Ningxia ), Emperor Wu suddenly returned to the capital Chang'an without explanation. One of his attendants, Houmochen Chong ( 侯莫陳崇 )

16055-631: The commandant at Yi Province (roughly modern Chengdu , Sichuan ). However, just 68 days after Yuchi rose in rebellion, the general Wei Xiaokuan defeated Yuchi, and Yuchi committed suicide. Wang was also soon defeated, and Sima fled to Chen. To prevent Yuchi's headquarters at Yecheng to be used again as a base of opposition against him, Yang Jian had Yecheng (Northern Qi's old capital) torn down. During Yuchi's campaign, Zhou princes like Yuwen Xian Prince of Bi and Yuwen Zhao made attempts to assassinate Yang, but failed. In response, Yang put Yuwen Xian, Yuwen Zhao and Zhao's younger brother Yuwen Sheng ( 宇文盛 )

16224-451: The court had become too dangerous. In 554, Emperor Fei of Western Wei created him the Duke of Fucheng. Yuwen Tai died in 556, and in spring 557, Yuwen Yong's cousin Yuwen Hu , entrusted with the governing authority by Yuwen Tai, forced Emperor Gong of Western Wei to yield the throne to Yuwen Yong's older brother Yuwen Jue , ending Western Wei and establishing Northern Zhou. Yuwen Jue took

16393-433: The courts. Another key form of Xianbei art is animal iconography, which was implemented primarily in metalwork. The Xianbei stylistically portrayed crouching animals in geometricized, abstracted, repeated forms, and distinguished their culture and art by depicting animal predation and same-animal combat. Typically, sheep, deer, and horses were illustrated. The artifacts, usually plaques or pendants, were made from metal, and

16562-452: The crown prince and his associates, expelling the associates from the crown prince's palace. (Crown Prince Yun, however, soon recalled his associates.) Emperor Wu was also exceedingly strict with Crown Prince Yun, disallowing him from resting or drinking. Whenever he had faults, Emperor Wu would batter him or whip him, and further warn him that he would be deposed. Emperor Wu further ordered the crown prince's staff to report all of his actions to

16731-399: The deceased in afterlife processions and guard their tomb. Furthermore, the figurine clothing specifies the according social statuses: higher-ranking Xianbei wore long-sleeved robes with a straight neck shirt underneath, while lower-ranking Xianbei wore trousers and belted tunics. Xianbei Buddhist influences were derived from interactions with Han culture. The Han bureaucrats initially helped

16900-492: The designation of official music styles for Sui. In anger, He Tuo accused Su Wei of factionalism, and after investigation by Emperor Wen's son Yang Xiu and the official Yu Qingze (ted zhang), Su Wei was removed from office. After Su Wei's removal, Yang Su and Gao Jiong became effectively the co-prime ministers. When Heruo Bi, who believed that he should have been prime minister, complained, Emperor Wen removed him from his post as well and stripped him of his ducal title, but restored

17069-498: The ducal title a year later. (Su Wei, however, was back in his post at the latest by 595.) Also in 592, Emperor Wen, reacting to an overflowing abundance of food and silk in the governmental stores, reduced the taxes heavily, and he also sent messengers around central China, redistributing land to give the poor farming land. In 593, Emperor Wen commissioned a summer vacation palace, Renshou Palace (仁壽宮, in modern Linyou County , Shaanxi ), away from Chang'an , with Yang Su in charge of

17238-497: The eastern one being nominally submissive to Sui, as was Goguryeo. Champa was defeated and, while not conquered, did not remain a threat. Yang Jian was a member of the northwestern Chinese military aristocracy which had arisen during the previous period of division, and he had served as a general under the Xianbei -led Northern Zhou . Yang Jian's family was the Yang clan of Hongnong ( 弘農楊氏 ), which had Han origins but had intermarried with

17407-411: The emperor. Fearful of his father, Crown Prince Yun learned to feign upright behavior, and the emperor thought that the crown prince had changed. In winter 576, Emperor Wu again attacked Northern Qi; this time, changing strategy and attacking Pingyang instead. He was able to capture Pingyang quickly, before Northern Qi troops could arrive. The Northern Qi emperor Gao Wei soon advanced toward Pingyang with

17576-715: The end of the Three Kingdoms period , the Xianbei migrated south and settled in close proximity to Han society and submitted as vassals to the Chinese dynasties. As one of the so-called " Five Barbarians " that settled in northern China, the Xianbei fought as auxiliaries for the Western Jin dynasty during the War of the Eight Princes and the Upheaval of the Five Barbarians before eventually distancing themselves and declaring their autonomy as

17745-527: The first Daoist encyclopedia, the Wushang Biyao ( 无上秘要 ). In winter 570—as forewarned by the Northern Zhou general Wei Xiaokuan , who advised against the Yiyang campaign—the famed Northern Qi general Hulü Guang left Yiyang and instead advanced onto Northern Zhou territory north of the Fen River (汾水, flowing through modern Linfen), building forts and capturing substantial territory from Northern Zhou. While

17914-436: The former Chen/Northern Qi border. Emperor Wu sent Wang Gui to relieve Pengcheng, and in spring 578, Wang defeated Wu, capturing him. By summer 578, Emperor Wu was engaging in military campaigns on two fronts: against Tujue in the north and against Chen in the south. However, he suddenly grew ill and, after stopping at Yunyang, ended the attack against Tujue. He entrusted the important matters to Yuwen Xiaobo, and he soon died at

18083-522: The frigid north and migrated into Northern China , they gradually abandoned nomadic lifestyle and were sinicized and assimilated with the Han Chinese . Emperor Xiaowen of the Xianbei-led state of Northern Wei in northern China, eventually decreed the changes of Xianbei names to Han names . Prior to Tanshihuai, the Xianbei did not have a hereditary system , and their chieftains were chosen by electing

18252-462: The frontier by Cao Zhang . In 220, he acknowledged Cao Pi as emperor of Cao Wei. Eventually, he turned on the Wei for frustrating his advances on Suli. Kebineng conducted raids on Cao Wei before he was killed in 235, after which his confederacy disintegrated. Many of the Xianbei tribes migrated south and settled on the borders of the Wei-Jin dynasties, where they often offered their submission. In 258,

18421-600: The government, divided the authority between several officials, retaining most authorities in himself. He took the opportunity posthumously to honor his brother Emperor Xiaomin (Yuwen Hu had refused to do so previously) and create his son Yuwen Yun the Duke of Lu crown prince . He also began to oppose overt luxury and destroyed several palaces that he found overly luxurious as well as other items that he considered ornately decorated. Also in summer 572, Emperor Wu learned that Northern Qi's emperor Gao Wei , apprehensive of Hulü Guang, had executed Hulü. Being glad, Emperor Wu declared

18590-464: The governor of Ying Province, Wei Chong ( 韋沖 ), fought off the Goguryeo attack, Emperor Wen was angered. He sent his son Yang Liang the Prince of Han and Wang Shiji to serve as commanding generals, with Gao Jiong serving as Yang Liang's assistant, and the former Chen general Zhou Luohou ( 周羅睺 ) serving as the commander of the navy, to attack Goguryeo. However, the forces ran into food supply problems, and

18759-458: The heaven and earth gods at Mount Tai . Emperor Wen declined to carry out a full set of ceremonies due to its costs, but in spring 595 carried out an abbreviated version to seek blessings from the gods due to the ongoing drought. Also in spring 595, Emperor Wen ordered that no weapons be held by private individuals and that all of them be collected and destroyed, although he exempted the border provinces from this edict. In 596, Emperor Wen created

18928-475: The highest, then Taoism, and then Buddhism. Subsequently, in summer 574, he banned both Taoism and Buddhism, ordering their monks to return to secular life. He also banned the worship of minor deities whose cults were not registered with the government. (This became known as the second of the Three Disasters of Wu ) In spring 574, Empress Dowager Chinu died. Emperor Wu mourned for more than a month, eating only

19097-432: The imperial college for the sons of the nobility and high officials. When he was 14 years old, he was appointed to serve in the military under Yuwen Tai. In 555, on account of Yang Zhong's accomplishments, Yang Jian received several official ranks, including the title of the Duke of Chengji County ( 成紀縣公 ). In 557, Dugu Xin , impressed with Yang Jian, gave his daughter, Empress Dugu Qieluo, to Yang and made her his wife. He

19266-614: The independence of the Cheng-Han and Han-Zhao dynasties from the Western Jin dynasty in 304. During his reign, the construction of the Grand Canal began. As a Northern Zhou official, Yang Jian served with apparent distinction during the reigns of the Emperor Wu and Emperor Xuan . When the erratic Emperor Xuan died in 580, Yang, as his father-in-law, seized power as regent. After defeating General Yuchi Jiong , who resisted him, he seized

19435-474: The legally prescribed punishment was too light in comparison to the degree of misconduct. Further, also believing that there was too much theft and robbery throughout the realm, he increased the punishment for theft to death—a law that he subsequently abolished. Also in 597, Emperor Wen's son Yang Jun the Prince of Qin, the commandant at Bing Province (并州, roughly Taiyuan , Shanxi ), was poisoned, but not to death, by his jealous wife Princess Cui. After Yang Jun

19604-451: The modern Hunan region thus became Chen territory. (Yuwen Hu, believing Heruo to be at fault for losing the region, removed him from his posts.) Also in 561, Emperor Wu honored his mother Lady Chinu empress dowager . In spring 562, to foster a peaceful relationship with Chen, Northern Zhou returned the brother of Emperor Wen of Chen , Chen Xu , as well as Chen Xu's wife Liu Jingyan and son Chen Shubao , to Chen. In exchange, Chen gave

19773-451: The nation prospered. It was said that there was enough food stored for 50 years. The military was also powerful. At the beginning of his reign, Sui faced the threat of the Göktürks in the north, neighbored Tibetan tribes in the west, Goguryeo in the northeast, and Champa (Linyi) in the south. By the end of Emperor Wen's reign, the Göktürks had split into an eastern and a western khaganate,

19942-599: The native Qiang people , becoming Tuyuhun . The Qifu tribe settled near the Longxi basin , while a branch of the Tuoba, the Tufa tribe, roamed the Hexi corridor . In 270, the Tufa chieftain, Tufa Shujineng , led the various ethnic tribes in the northwest in a rebellion against the Jin dynasty in Qin and Liang provinces but was defeated in 279 by Ma Long . During the War of the Eight Princes ,

20111-706: The northern grassland evolved into tribes of the Rouran and Khitan . In the West, the Xianbei kingdom of Tuyuhun remained independent until it was defeated by the Tibetan Empire in 670. After the fall of the kingdom, the Xianbei people underwent a diaspora over a vast territory that stretched from the northwest into central and eastern parts of China. Murong Nuohebo led the Tuyuhun people eastward into central China, where they settled in modern Yinchuan , Ningxia. The economic base of

20280-427: The observation, "He did not often speak, but whatever he spoke was always right." In 559, Yuwen Hu formally returned his authorities to Emperor Ming, and Emperor Ming began to formally rule on governmental matters, but Yuwen Hu retained the command of the military. In 560, Yuwen Hu, apprehensive of Emperor Ming's abilities, had the imperial chef Li An ( 李安 ) poison him with sugar cookies. Emperor Ming, realizing that he

20449-460: The official Pei Zheng ( 裴政 ) to carry out a project of simplifying the penal code and decrease the penalty from the harsh laws—a reform that was later largely accepted by the succeeding dynasties. Emperor Wen did not maintain as submissive a relationship with the Göktürks, which brought resentment from the Göktürks' Ishbara Qaghan . The qaγan's wife, the Xianbei princess Qianjin , Yuwen Zhao's daughter, particularly hated Emperor Wen for destroying

20618-467: The opposition by the official Cui You ( 崔猷 ), sent an army commanded by Emperor Wu's brother Yuwen Zhi ( 宇文直 ) the Duke of Wei to assist Hua and Western Liang, which was also aiding Hua. The Chen general Wu Mingche , however, quickly defeated the joint forces of Northern Zhou, Western Liang, and Hua, forcing Hua and Yuwen Zhi to both give up the war and flee to the Western Liang capital Jiangling . Chen

20787-510: The palace to beg Emperor Xuan's forgiveness, and Emperor Xuan eventually spared Empress Yang. In summer 581, with Emperor Xuan intending to conquer Chen dynasty , he sent Yang Jian to be the commandant at Yang Province (揚州, roughly modern Lu'an , Anhui ) to prepare for the campaign against Chen. Before Yang Jian could depart, however, Emperor Xuan suddenly grew seriously ill. Two of Emperor Xuan's close associates, Liu Fang ( 劉昉 ) and Zheng Yi ( 鄭譯 ), who were friends of Yang's, summoned Yang to

20956-555: The palace to prepare to serve as regent, overriding the desire of another closet associate, Yan Zhiyi ( 顏之儀 ), to have Emperor Xuan's uncle Yuwen Zhao ( 宇文招 ) the Prince of Zhao appointed regent. Emperor Xuan soon died, and Zheng and Liu issued an edict in Emperor Xuan's name appointing Yang regent. Yang immediately pleased the officials at the capital by abolishing the wastefulness and cruel policies of Emperor Xuan, and he himself demonstrated both hard work and frugality, which impressed

21125-468: The people. Fearful of the intentions of the general Yuchi Jiong , who was then the commandant at Xiang Province (相州, roughly modern Handan , Hebei ), he summoned Yuchi back to the capital. Yuchi, however, refused, and believing that Yang's intentions were to usurp the throne, rose at Xiang Province against Yang. He was supported by the generals Sima Xiaonan ( 司馬消難 ), the commandant at Xun Province (勛州, roughly modern Xiaogan , Hubei ) and Wang Qian ( 王謙 ),

21294-603: The poem " The Great Summons " ( Chinese : 大招 ; pinyin : Dà zhāo ) in the anthology Verses of Chu and possibly the chapter "Discourses of Jin 8" in Discourses of the States . When the Donghu "Eastern Barbarians" were defeated by Modu Chanyu around 208 BC, the Donghu splintered into the Xianbei and Wuhuan. According to the Book of the Later Han , "the language and culture of

21463-409: The project. The palace was far more luxurious than Emperor Wen expected, and its construction cost many lives. (When it was completed in spring 595 and Emperor Wen visited the palace, he was initially very displeased with Yang Su, but Empress Dugu persuaded him that Yang Su knew that he had little other entertainment, and she awarded Yang Su much treasure to show appreciation.) Also in 593, knowing that

21632-593: The proposal to Emperor Wu; in response, Emperor Wu gave three provinces—Ji ( 基州 ), Ping ( 平州 ), and Ruo ( 鄀州 ) (together making up about modern Jingmen and Yichang , Hubei ) to Western Liang. By 572, Yuwen Hu had controlled the military for 16 years and the government for nearly as long. Emperor Wu had long wanted him out of the way, although he showed few outward signs of it. He conspired with Yuwen Zhi, distant relatives Yuwen Shenju ( 宇文神舉 ) and Yuwen Xiaobo ( 宇文孝伯 ), and Wang Gui ( 王軌 ) against Yuwen Hu. In spring 572, he made his move. After Emperor Wu and Yuwen Hu had

21801-841: The racial type is closely related to the modern East-Asians, and some physical characteristics of those skulls are closer to modern Mongols, Manchu and Han Chinese . A genetic study published in The FEBS Journal in October 2006 examined the mtDNA of 21 Tuoba Xianbei buried at the Qilang Mountain Cemetery in Inner Mongolia , China. The 21 samples of mtDNA extracted belonged to haplogroups O (9 samples), D (7 samples), C (5 samples), B (2 samples) and A . These haplogroups are characteristic of Northeast Asians. Among modern populations they were found to be most closely related to

21970-512: The rebellions, and the rebels were no match for Yang Su; within the year, the rebellions were put down. In 591, Tuyuhun sought peace and, as per custom, its khan Murong Shifu ( 慕容世伏 ) offered his daughter to be a concubine for Emperor Wen. Emperor Wen accepted the peace offer but declined the offer of Murong Shifu's daughter. (It was, however, around this time that he did take Chen Shubao's sister and another woman from Jiankang, Consort Cai, as concubines, although it appeared likely that Consort Cai

22139-559: The resentful Princess Qianjin referred to Emperor Wen as "father." He created her the Princess Dayi. In summer 584, believing that the Wei River , on account of its sandbars and treacherous waters, was becoming too difficult of a route for food transport to Daxing, commissioned the official Yuwen Kai ( 宇文愷 ) to construct a canal between Daxing and Tong Pass , parallel to the Wei River, named

22308-415: The revolts. In 567, in light of the death of Chen's Emperor Wen and succession by his son Emperor Fei of Chen in 566, the high level Chen officials engaged in infighting, and Emperor Wen's brother Chen Xu was victorious. The general Hua Jiao ( 華皎 ), the governor of Xiang Province (roughly modern Changsha , Hunan ), felt uneasy, and therefore sought aid from Northern Zhou and Western Liang. Yuwen Hu, over

22477-408: The ships ran into a storm and suffered great losses. Both at sea and on the ground, Goguryeo forces inflicted heavy losses on the Sui forces. Nevertheless, King Yeongyang ceased his raids into China and so Emperor Wen called off the campaign against Goguryeo, unable to commit yet another enormous force to punish Goguryeo after the recent losses. As King Wideok of Baekje offered assistance to Sui during

22646-510: The south. Su Wei further wrote a work known as the Five Teachings (五教, Wu Jiao ) which is no longer extant but thought to be a work about loyalty to Sui and ordered that all former Chen subjects read and memorize it, leading to further resentment. When a rumor spread that Sui would move Chen subjects into the Guanzhong region in 590, nearly all of former Chen realm rose in rebellion, but in an unorganized manner. Emperor Wen sent Yang Su to quell

22815-714: The southern prong, commanded by Daxi Wu ( 達奚武 ), also withdrew. Still, the attack demonstrated the growing Northern Zhou strength—as previously, in the winter months, Northern Zhou forces would break the ice on the Yellow River to prevent possible Northern Qi attacks, but around this time and thereafter, Northern Qi forces broke the ice on the river to prevent possible Northern Zhou attacks. In fall 564, in order to placate Yuwen Hu, Emperor Wucheng of Northern Qi returned Yuwen Hu's mother Lady Yan and his (and Emperor Wu's) aunt (Yuwen Tai's sister), who had been trapped in Northern Qi territory several decades earlier, to Northern Zhou. In order to celebrate Lady Yan's return, Emperor Wu issued

22984-444: The strategies in conquering Chen, Emperor Wen, believing in several false accusations against Li, removed Li from his office and made him a provincial governor. Li would not return to the central government for the rest of his life. After Chen was conquered, Sui began to apply its laws over Chen's former territory—which brought resentment from the gentry, as they had been treated preferentially under Chen and its predecessor dynasties in

23153-404: The struggle between the Han and Xiongnu, culminating in the Xianbei replacing the Xiongnu on the Mongolian Plateau in 93 AD. In the mid-2nd century, the chieftain, Tanshihuai unified the Xianbei and waged war against the Han dynasty. His confederation threatened the Han's northern borders for many years, but quickly disintegrated following his death in 181 AD. After suffering several defeats by

23322-715: The successful campaign that Chen waged against it in 573 (capturing the provinces between the Yangtze River and the Huai River ), by 575, Emperor Wu was seriously considering a major campaign against Northern Qi. However, he kept the matter secret, consulting only Yuwen Xian, Wang Yi ( 王誼 ), and Yu Yi ( 于翼 ). Only until he was ready in fall 575 did he announce it generally. He aimed his attack at Luoyang, but he spent about 20 days sieging it and could not capture it, and became ill. He withdrew, with virtually no gain. In spring 576, pursuant to Emperor Wu's orders, Crown Prince Yun launched

23491-550: The throne (as Emperor Yang). Xianbei The Xianbei ( / ʃ j ɛ n ˈ b eɪ / ; simplified Chinese : 鲜卑 ; traditional Chinese : 鮮卑 ; pinyin : Xiānbēi ) were an ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia , Inner Mongolia , and Northeastern China . The Xianbei were strongly suggested to be a multilingual, multi-ethnic confederation consisting of mainly Proto-Mongols (who spoke either pre-Proto-Mongolic, or Para-Mongolic languages ), and, to

23660-537: The throne as Emperor Xiaomin, but used the alternative title of "Heavenly Prince" ( Tian Wang ). Yuwen Hu served as regent , and later that year, when Emperor Xiaomin tried to seize power from him, Yuwen Hu deposed Emperor Xiaomin and then killed him, replacing him with another older brother of Yuwen Yong's, Yuwen Yu , who took the throne as Emperor Ming. Emperor Ming created Yuwen Yong the greater title of Duke of Lu and often consulted Yuwen Yong on important matters. Although Yuwen Yong did not speak much, Emperor Ming made

23829-404: The throne as Emperor Xuan. Emperor Xuan immediately began to show erratic behavior, and while he created Yang Jian's daughter Crown Princess Yang empress , he suspected Yang Jian deeply, although he made Yang Jian the minister of defense. In 579, Emperor Xuan passed the throne to his young son Yuwen Chan (by his concubine Consort Zhu Manyue ) (as Emperor Jing) and became retired emperor (with

23998-401: The throne for himself, establishing the new Sui dynasty. Yang Jian was the first ethnic Han ruler to control the entirety of North China after the Xianbei people conquered the region from the Liu Song dynasty (not counting the brief reconquest by Emperor Wu of Liang ). Generally speaking, Emperor Wen's reign was a great period of prosperity, not seen since the Han dynasty . Economically,

24167-464: The title of Duke of Sui. In 573, Emperor Wu took Yang Jian's daughter Yang Lihua to be the wife and crown princess of his son Yuwen Yun the Crown Prince , and further honored Yang Jian. It was said that, however, that Yang Jian was so unusual in his appearance that some of Emperor Wu's close associates suspected Yang Jian of eventually harboring treasonous intent. Both Emperor Wu's brother Yuwen Xian

24336-492: The treaty and detained Yuwen Chun and his attendants. In 566, the non-Chinese tribes of Xin Province (信州, modern eastern Chongqing ) rebelled and captured Baidicheng , under the leadership of the chieftains Ran Lingxian ( 冉令賢 ) and Xiang Wuziwang ( 向五子王 ). The general Lu Teng ( 陸騰 ), however, was able to persuade some of Rang's subjects to turn against him, and he subsequently defeated Rang and Xiang, killing them and suppressing

24505-555: The years went by. He formally bestowed Yuwen Hu with not only the military authorities, but also authority over all six ministries. With the Liang dynasty general Wang Lin and the throne claimant that he supported, Xiao Zhuang , having been defeated by the Chen dynasty in spring 560 and having fled to Northern Qi , Northern Zhou (and its vassal Western Liang , with Emperor Xuan of Western Liang as its emperor) contended for control of Xiao Zhuang's former territory with Chen, precipitating

24674-506: Was Yang Zhong ( 楊忠 ), a follower of the late-Northern Wei general Yuwen Tai , who later became prominent in the politics of the Western Wei under Yuwen's regency. Yang Jian's mother was Lady Lü, who gave birth to him in a Buddhist temple in Pingyi (馮翊, in modern Weinan , Shaanxi ). A Buddhist nun was impressed with Yang Jian's appearance, and raised him in his early years. Yang Jian attended

24843-419: Was 16, and she was 13. After Yuwen Tai's son Emperor Ming of Northern Zhou came to the throne later that year, Yang Jian was made the vice minister of internal affairs, and he was created the greater title of Duke of Daxing Commandery ( 大興郡公 ). Subsequently, during the reign of Emperor Ming's brother Emperor Wu , Yang Jian was further promoted in military authority. After Yang Zhong's death in 568, he inherited

25012-413: Was able to retain all of Hua's territory and further make minor territorial gains against both Northern Zhou and Western Liang as well. Yuwen Hu relieved Yuwen Zhi from his posts, and while Yuwen Zhi was eventually restored to them, Yuwen Zhi, who had previously had a cordial relationship with Yuwen Hu, bore a grudge against Yuwen Hu and secretly encouraged Emperor Wu to act against Yuwen Hu. In spring 568,

25181-493: Was accused of cursing Emperor Wen, but when the sentence of death was recommended, Emperor Wen commented that he could not kill Gao soon after killing Yu and Wang, and therefore only reduced Gao to commoner rank. In winter 599, Emperor Wen created Ashina Rangan Qimin Khan, and commissioned Zhangsun Sheng to build the city of Dali (大利, in modern Hohhot) to house Ashian Rangan's people, and also sent an army to protect Ashina Rangan. By now,

25350-582: Was advancing from the west down the Yangtze, and Yang Jun was stationed in the middle Yangtze region, cutting off any Chen forces that might have been able to come to the aid of Chen's capital Jiankang . Heruo soon defeated and captured the Chen general Xiao Mohe , who was making a final attempt to repel Heruo and Han's forces from Jiankang, and Jiankang fell immediately after. Chen Shubao was captured but not harmed. Rather, he and his clan members were transported to Chang'an, where Emperor Wen treated them as honored guests. Some Chen generals briefly resisted, but soon

25519-435: Was born in 543, as the fourth son of the Western Wei paramount general Yuwen Tai . His mother was Yuwen Tai's concubine Lady Chinu . He was born at Yuwen Tai's then-headquarters at Tong Province (同州, roughly modern Weinan , Shaanxi ). He was considered filially pious, respectful, and intelligent in his youth. During six years his father entrusted him and his brother to general Li Xian for his protection and education, as

25688-561: Was derived from Western Steppe Herders . It was furthermore revealed that he might have died of a stroke , as he carried several risk-alleles. The study's authors also could reconstruct how he looked like, determining him to have had "a typical East or Northeast Asian facial appearance". A previous study on his wife, Empress Ashina of the early Turkic ruling class, the Ashina tribe , determined her to be of nearly entirely Ancient Northeast Asian ancestry. (This made them far northerners, as at such

25857-624: Was eventually fought off by Northern Zhou and Western Liang's joint forces. In 569–570, Emperor Wu organized a debate between Buddhists and Daoists and commissioned two reports - the Xiaodao Lun and the Erjiao Lun - on the suitability of either religion for their adoption by the Chinese government. He came out with a more favorable impression of Daoism, and would found the Tongdao Guan ( 通道观 ) for Daoist research, which would eventually compile

26026-407: Was from a minor Xianbei tribe. He rose to power west of Dai Commandery by taking in a number of Chinese refugees, who helped him drill his soldiers and make weapons. After the defeat of the Wuhuan in 207, he also sent tribute to Cao Cao, and even provided assistance against the rebel Tian Yin. In 218 he allied himself to the Wuhuan rebel Nengchendi but they were heavily defeated and forced back across

26195-435: Was greatly saddened. Thereafter, he began to engage in sexual relations with his concubines, favoring Consort Chen and Consort Cai. Also in 602, Yang Guang, believing that Yang Xiu would eventually create trouble for him, had Yang Su collect evidence of Yang Xiu's wastefulness and use of items that were only appropriate for emperors. Yang Su submitted the evidence to Emperor Wen, and Emperor Wen, in anger, recalled Yang Xiu to

26364-708: Was killed in a raid on Beidi during the last years of Emperor Ling of Han . Helian's son, Qianman was too young at the time of his father's death, so the chieftains elected his nephew, Kuitou, to succeed him. Once Qianman came of age, however, he challenged his cousin to succession, destroying the last vestiges of unity among the Xianbei. By the Jian'an era (196–220), the Xianbei had split into many different groups, most notably with Kuitou ruling in Inner Mongolia , Kebineng in northern Shanxi , and Suli and Mijia in northern Liaodong . Following his death, Kuitou's brothers Budugen and Fuluohan succeeded him. After Cao Cao defeated

26533-497: Was long-lasting and brought a period of relative peace to the north in the wake of the chaotic Sixteen Kingdoms period. The Xianbei had naturally been in the process of sinicization since they first entered the Chinese interior, but this process became systemic during the late Northern Wei period. Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei established a policy of systematic sinicization that was continued by his successors and largely abandoned Xianbei traditions. The royal family took sinicization

26702-451: Was near death, designated Yuwen Yong as his successor, and after he soon died, Yuwen Yong took the throne as Emperor Wu. However, the control of the government again fell into Yuwen Hu's hands. A 2024 genetic study analyzed the genetic makeup of Emperor Wu, determining him to be of primarily Ancient Northeast Asian ancestry (c. 62%), with lower amounts of 'Yellow River farmers' ancestry associated with Han Chinese (c. 32%). The remaining 6%

26871-406: Was never able to have sexual relations with Emperor Wen while Empress Dugu was alive; Consort Chen , as the sister of a submissive former sovereign, might have had sexual relations with Emperor Wen on an infrequent basis, but it is not clear.) In spring 592, the official He Tuo ( 何妥 ), who, despite his senior status over Su Wei's son Su Kui ( 蘇夔 ), was losing out against Su Kui over a debate as to

27040-546: Was overly severe, Emperor Wen responded to Yang Su: Also in 597, Ashina Rangan arrived at Chang'an, and Emperor Wen gave him the daughter of a clansman, whom he created the Princess Anyi, to be his wife, and awarded Ashina Rangan with much treasure, to try to break the bond between him and Ashina Yongyulü. From this point on, whenever Ashina Yongyulü would prepare to attack, Ashina Rangan would report his plans to Emperor Wen, allowing Sui forces to become prepared. In 598, King Yeongyang of Goguryeo attacked Ying Province, and while

27209-411: Was peace between the states for about a year, until fall 569, when Emperor Wu's brother Yuwen Xian the Prince of Qi led an army to siege Northern Qi's city of Yiyang (宜陽, in modern Luoyang , Henan ) -- and for more than a year, the two states would engage in struggle for the control of Yiyang. Meanwhile, in fall 570, the Chen general Zhang Zhaoda ( 章昭達 ) put siege to Jiangling, nearly capturing it, but

27378-441: Was successful in suppressing the rebellion. Subsequently, however, Yu's brother-in-law Zhao Shizhu ( 趙什住 ), who had an affair with Yu's concubine, falsely accused Yu of treason, and around the new year 598, Yu was executed. Also in 597, Emperor Wen felt that the punishment for official misconduct was too light, and authorized that supervising officials would be permitted to batter their subordinates with large canes if they felt that

27547-429: Was taken back to Chang'an for treatment, Emperor Wen discovered that Yang Jun had been wasteful at his post, and removed him from all of his offices, allowing him to only retain the title of imperial prince. When Princess Cui's poisoning was discovered, Emperor Wen ordered Yang Jun to divorce her, and subsequently ordered her to commit suicide. When Liu Sheng ( 劉昇 ) and Yang Su suggested that the punishment against Yang Jun

27716-505: Was the eastern section. There were more than twenty counties. The darens (chiefs) (of this section) were called Mijia 彌加, Queji 闕機, Suli 素利 and Huaitou 槐頭. From the You Beiping to Shanggu to the west, it was the middle section. There were more than ten counties. The darens of this section were called Kezui 柯最, Queju 闕居, Murong 慕容, et al. From Shanggu to Dunhuang, connecting the Wusun to the west, it

27885-523: Was the western section. There were more than twenty counties. The darens (of this section) were called Zhijian Luoluo 置鞬落羅, Rilü Tuiyan 曰律推演, Yanliyou 宴荔游, et al. These chiefs were all subordinate to Tanshihuai. Throughout his reign, Tanshihuai aggressively raided the Han dynasty's northern borders, with his first recorded raid being in 156. In 166, he even allied with the Southern Xiongnu and Wuhuan to attack Shaanxi and Gansu . These raids devastated

28054-578: Was the winged horse. It has been suggested by archaeologist Su Bai that this symbol was a "heavenly beast in the shape of a horse" because of its prominence in Xianbei mythology. This symbol is thought to have guided an early Xianbei southern migration, and is a recurring image in many Xianbei art forms. Xianbei figurines help to portray the people of the society by representing pastimes, depicting specialized clothing, and implying various beliefs. Most figurines have been recovered from Xianbei tombs, so they are primarily military and musical figures meant to serve

28223-534: Was too small of a city, Emperor Wen built a new capital nearby, which he named Daxing, and in spring 583 he moved the capital to Daxing. (From that point forward, Daxing and Chang'an became interchangeable names, although by the time of succeeding Tang dynasty , the new capital was known again just as Chang'an.) Also in 582, Emperor Wen, thankful for the refusal by the vassal Emperor Ming of Western Liang to support Yuchi Jiong in 580, withdrew his forces from Western Liang 's capital Jiangling , permitting Western Liang

28392-1317: Was typical of Chinese historical dynastic transitions—using the old fief name as the new dynasty's name—but he, believing that the character for his fief Sui ( 隨 ) to contain a "辶" radical , denoting "walking" and therefore a lack of permanence in the regime, removed "辶" from the character, rendering it "隋".) The Book of Sui records Emperor Wen as having withdrawn his favour from the Confucians , giving it to "the group advocating Legalism and authoritarian government." Emperor Wen abolished Northern Zhou's governmental organization of six departments, instead establishing five main bureaus—executive bureau ( Shangshu Sheng ( 尚書省) ), examination bureau ( Menxia Sheng ( 門下省) ), legislative bureau ( Neishǐ Sheng ( 內史省) ), Palace Library , and eunuch bureau ( Neishì Sheng (內侍省—note different tone and character versus 'legislative bureau')), with two additional independent agencies, 11 other independent departments, and 12 military commands. He posthumously honored his father Yang Zhong and mother Lady Lü as emperor and empress. He created his wife Duchess Dugu empress and their oldest son Yang Yong crown prince; he created his brothers and his other sons imperial princes. He initially created Northern Zhou's Emperor Jing

28561-490: Was unsuccessful, and soon was abandoned. In spring 565, Emperor Wu sent his brother Yuwen Chun ( 宇文純 ) the Duke of Chen, Yuwen Gui ( 宇文貴 ) the Duke of Xu, Dou Yi ( 竇毅 ) the Duke of Shenwu, and Yang Jian (楊薦, different person than the more-known Yang Jian, referenced above and below) the Duke of Nanyang, to lead a ceremonial guard corps to Tujue to welcome back Ashina Qijin's daughter for marriage to him. However, when they arrived at Ashina Qijin's headquarters, he turned against

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