Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei China
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Xiaowen (孝文帝) (467 - 499) was the emperor of the Northern Wei dynasty from 471 to 499.
Xiaowen implemented a drastic policy of sinicization, intending to centralize the government and make the multi-ethnic state more easy to govern. These policies included changing artistic styles to reflect Chinese taste and forcing the population to speak the language and to wear Chinese clothes. He forced the Xianbei and others to adopt Chinese surnames, and changed his family surname from Tuoba to Yuan (元). He also encouraged intermarriage between Xianbei and Han.
In 494, he moved the Northern Wei capital to Luoyang, a city long acknowledged as a major center in Chinese history. The shift in the capital was mirrored by a shift in tactics from active defense to passive defense against the Rouran. While the capital was moved to Luoyang, the military elite remained centered at the old capital, widening the differences between the administration and the military. The population at the old capital remained fiercely conservative, while the population at Luoyang were much more eager to adopt Xiaowen's policies of sinicization.
His reforms were met with resistance by the Xianbei elite. In 496, Xianbei nobles and generals in the north rebelled, intending to place his son on the throne. By 497, Xiaowen had ended the rebellion and forced his own son to commit suicide. The resentments engendered by these policies contributed to the downfall of the dynasty in the mid-6th century.
References
- Graff, David A., Medieval Chinese Warfare, 300-900. ISBN 0415239540