History of Asia

The monarch of the heyday of Northern Wei! Is Emperor Xiaowen (Tuoba Hiroshi) really a great man?

With the end of the Three Kingdoms and the collapse of Jin's unification, China has entered the Sixteen Kingdoms era, in which five foreign and Han Chinese nations called the Five Barbarians compete.

The first champion of the Five Barbarians was the Tibetan Di tribe, but Fu Jian, who had reached its peak and almost unified North China, marched toward Jiankang, the capital of Eastern Jin, but it happened in 383. He suffered a great defeat in the Battle of Fei River, and the Tibetan people fell as they were.

Instead, it was Northern Wei, led by Xianbei Tuoba, who became the champion of North China.

This time, the story of Emperor Xiaowen, the sixth-generation monarch of Northern Wei, who appears frequently in world history textbooks.

Birth secrets

Who is the parent of Emperor Xiaowen? This has been a controversial part since ancient times.

Officially, his father, Emperor Xianwen, was born at the age of 14, and his mother is supposed to be Mr. Lee.

In the country of Northern Wei, there is a custom that the mother dies when the child becomes a prince in order to prevent the consort kin from becoming a consort kin. The theory that the mother is the grandmother, Empress Dowager Feng, has been said since this time.

Who is the father in that case also becomes a problem, but the person named Empress Dowager Fengsei, the royal family of the country of Northern Yan, was originally built by the Han people who served the Xianbei tribe. It is a descendant of the country.

She became the empress of Emperor Wencheng of the Northern Wei and appointed Emperor Xianwen as the emperor.

It was her mother, Empress Dowager Fumisei, who was in control during the time of the young Emperor Xianwen, excluding her vassals and conducting the so-called regency politics.

Although the country can be greatly disturbed in the politics of the regency, Empress Dowager Feng is a very capable woman who, with her solid political power and the recruitment of meritocracy, laid the foundations for the Northern Wei and set up a system of Chinese bureaucrats. rice field.

It is said that it was during her time that she later adopted the Zu Yong Diao system and the trinity system, which had a great influence on Japanese politics.

It is said that these were introduced based on the system of the Zhou era, and it seems that Empress Dowager Fumi wants to follow the political system of the Han Chinese, which is her origin.

Eventually, Empress Dowager Fumisei poisoned Emperor Xianwen and took the throne of Hiroshi Takumi, who was only five years old, to take the throne as Emperor Xiaowen.

Apparently there was no blood connection between Emperor Xianwen and Empress Dowager Feng. Therefore, the theory that Emperor Xiaowen, who is his blood relative, was made the emperor is deep-rooted.

It can be said that the secret of Emperor Xiaowen's birth is still one of the big mysteries that remains in Chinese history.

Empress Dowager Fumisei continued until 490.

Young King's Parenthood

When Emperor Xiaowen was 24, his grandmother, Empress Dowager Feng, died. Emperor Xiaowen lamented so much that he couldn't get the affairs and food.

After all, it is more natural to think that Emperor Xiaowen is the son of Empress Dowager Fumisei.

Or is it because the grandmother-in-law, who is also the main culprit who killed his birth mother, died, although some say it's a parent rather than a birth parent?

In any case, Emperor Xiaowen has relocated the capital of Northern Wei from the former Heijo to Luoyang, which was the capital of successive Chinese dynasties.

After that, he embarked on a large-scale Han Chinese policy, replacing the ancestral Tuoba surname with "yuan", banning Xianbei, banning Xianbei costumes, and introducing a Han Chinese-style aristocratic system.

The Xianbei rebellion against such a policy was fierce, and many rebellions occurred, but Emperor Xiaowen easily twisted them as expected.

Looking at the series of flows, it may be that the blood of the Xianbei tribe is not flowing to Emperor Xiaowen. If her mother is Empress Dowager Feng, her mother may be Han Chinese, and her father may also be Han Chinese. Everything is just speculation.

Emperor Xiaowen's extreme Hanka policy left a smoldering fire, causing a "Six Towns Rebellion" by the Xianbei who had accumulated dissatisfaction after his death, and Northern Wei was divided into east and west and lost its power. ..

However, in a dynasty of different ethnic groups, it is necessary to make Han Chinese in order to control the majority Han Chinese. Later Kim, Yuan, and Qing also abandoned some of the original tribal customs and incorporated the Han Chinese culture.

However, it can be said that Qing and others forced the Han Chinese to have the queuing of the Jurchen tribe and kept their identity, but no other ethnic prince has taken the step of becoming Han Chinese as much as Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei.

Emperor Xiaowen, who has been evaluated as the best-known prince of the Wei Jin North and South Dynasties, actually implemented each policy by his grandmother, Empress Dowager Fumisei, and his own achievements include the relocation to Luoyang. It's about a Chinese policy.

His life is short and he died in 499 at the young age of 33.

It has been about 9 years since the beginning of pro-government, and about 19 years since Empress Dowager Fumisei was 5 to 24 years old. After the death of Empress Dowager Fumi, Emperor Xiaowen only took over the line.

Personal evaluation of Emperor Xiaowen

Emperor Xiaowen is also a difficult person to evaluate.

He is said to be a virtuoso because his evaluator is Han Chinese. Although he is a foreigner, he has regained the pride of the Han Chinese in China. From the perspective of the Han Chinese, he is probably a heroic master.

From the perspective of one of the Xianbei, they are forgiving traitors who have defiled their pride.

In fact, about 25 years after the demise of Emperor Xiaowen, the Six Towns Rebellion occurred, and about 10 years after that, the Northern Wei was destroyed and split into east and west.

The heyday of Northern Wei is undoubtedly the era of Emperor Xiaowen.

It is not uncommon for a country to decline after its heyday, and it may be the nation's rule that it will perish.

It is certain that the large-scale expedition of Han Wudi hit the country of Han, and the expedition of Louis XIV was one of the causes of the French Revolution.

Considering that, it can be said that the decline rate of Northern Wei is too fast.

Originally it was a time when short-lived nations continued, but it is certain that extreme Hanka policies have shortened the life of the country.

Emperor Xiaowen is a person who appears in world history textbooks with a high probability, but considering his achievements, I think there are more people who should be listed, and personally, Emperor Xiaowen was neither a tyrant nor a dark prince. I think he was an ordinary prince who wasn't even a great prince.

However, it is a historical fact that Emperor Xiaowen's Hanka policy was inherited by Sui and Tang, and it was also inherited by Japan in the Far East, which is historically significant in terms of its origin. Can be said to be large, so I can understand the meaning of it in Japanese history textbooks.

Because it's a great man, it doesn't appear in textbooks. It is listed because the editor judges that it has great significance in world history.

Even so, when I think about Emperor Xiaowen, I am reminded that history is an evaluation.