At the end of the Western Jin Dynasty, wars raged across the land of China, and the Western Jin court was ultimately forced to relocate its capital to Jiankang, known as the Eastern Jin Dynasty. In the northern Central Plains, the most frequent dynastic changes occurred, with more than ten ethnic regimes emerging one after another. From then on, Chinese history entered the era of the Five Barbarians and Sixteen Kingdoms, and this turbulent period lasted for more than 100 years. It was not until a tribe from the grasslands appeared that the division of power was declared over. The first stable political power ruled by a minority was established in the northern part of China, known as Northern Wei. The tribe that established Northern Wei was the Tuoba Xianbei tribe from the grasslands. When the rough and unrestrained nomadic civilization of the grasslands encountered the challenge of the nomadic civilization of the grasslands, The Central Plains agricultural civilization, which advocates etiquette, naturally experienced intense and painful cultural collisions and fusion, experiencing over a century of cultural upheaval, Tuoba Xianbei has finally deeply rooted in this land, but the path of ethnic integration has been exceptionally difficult.
This is the honor guard of the Northern Wei Dynasty, which often appeared in national celebrations and sacrificial occasions. Shortly after the founding of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the honor guard welcomed a long admired noble consort to the founding emperor Tuoba Gui. This new noble consort was his mother’s sister, Helan Shi, who was his aunt. In fact, it is not uncommon for the royal family to marry their own relatives. This is because at that time, the Han people seemed to be in a state of incest. However, the reason why Tuoba Xianbei had such a custom was because their social class was relatively backward. Although they had already established a country on the Central Plains by this time and moved their capital from the grasslands to Pingcheng, it was not surprising that in the early days of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, whether it was the Xianbei nobility or the common people, close relatives got married. This marriage custom has been continued in Xianbei for nearly a thousand years.
Researcher at the Institute of History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences – Liang Mancang: At that time, they were still in a very primitive period, only knowing that their father did not know their mother. That habit was very early at that time. After entering the Central Plains, there were still some remnants of customs. For example, for Han Chinese in the Central Plains, it was emphasized that people with the same surname did not intermarry.
Obviously, this ethnic minority from the northern grasslands has not yet been able to quickly integrate into the Chinese civilization. For the rulers of Northern Wei who have just entered the Central Plains, they need to consolidate their political power and reside here for a long time. How can we change this situation? At the beginning of entering the Central Plains, Tuoba Xianbei successfully implemented one country, two systems, and divided the rule of Hu and Han. This governance method, founded during the Sixteen Kingdoms period, also successfully alleviated the conflict between Xianbei and Han, allowing this emerging dynasty to stand firm on this land. At the same time, the court also began to appoint Han officials. The Northern Wei Dynasty formed a political power where Xianbei nobles and Han people jointly ruled. The areas where Hu and Han people lived on the Central Plains continued to expand. Within just 50 years of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, more than one million Han people migrated to the capital city of Pingcheng. The customs of Hu and Han mixed with each other became a common phenomenon in the Northern Wei Dynasty.
Pingcheng Site, Datong City, Shanxi Province
Researcher Lou Jin from the Institute of History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences: From the perspective of the relationship between the entire Northern Wei ruling group, Chinese culture, and Han Chinese people, it should be from extreme sharpness at the beginning to gradual easing. Such a development, with ups and downs in between, should be such a process. Why were you so sharp at the beginning? Then you directly occupied them, and everyone has anti aggression and anti oppression, right? This is certainly very sharp.
The Hu and Han customs of Northern Wei required the country to maintain a subtle balance between national unity and national contradictions at all times. However, after the death of Tuoba Tao, the balance began to tilt towards national contradictions. As a conqueror, Tuoba’s tribe also brought the trend of burning, killing, and looting into the Central Plains. After the founding of the country, plundering and oppression of conquered areas were not uncommon, which was also their main means of obtaining economic income. The concentrated manifestation of national contradictions was the continuous outbreak of peasant uprisings. In the decades after the founding of the country, there were more than 80 uprisings, and the rulers of Northern Wei had to completely reverse this political situation. Tuoba Tao, who was only 17 years old and the third emperor of Northern Wei in 423 AD, Tuoba Tao, was only 17 years old. The succession to the throne and the urgent resolution of the Hu Han conflict have been put on the agenda. In the third year of Tuoba Tao’s accession to the throne, a magnificent building was quietly built outside the eastern city of Pingcheng. This building was not built by Tuoba Tao for himself, nor for a favored concubine. The purpose of this construction was to worship a Han Chinese, who was the founder of Confucianism, Confucius. Since then, Tuoba Tao often came to worship and even stipulated the establishment of a Taixue here. He requested that the children of Xianbei and Han nobles must study Confucian classics here. Tuoba Tao hoped to use Confucianism to open up a new path for governing the country and ensuring stability.
Researcher Lou Jin from the Institute of History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences: In the ruling group of Northern Wei, there were several landmark events. As mentioned earlier, the worship of Confucius had already begun, which was acknowledged. In other words, from the founding of the Northern Wei Dynasty to the founding of the Wu Dynasty, the establishment of the Five Classics Doctorate and the establishment of the Imperial Academy for teaching had already confirmed the position of Confucianism in national politics. It should be said that this was not a problem.
Confucianism can only solve the problem of governing the country. The Northern Wei Dynasty still needed a large number of Han officials familiar with the culture of the Central Plains. Tuoba Tao began to employ a large number of Han intellectuals, and he hired hundreds of Han intellectuals. Although they were Xianbei nobles, they often planted horses outside the border and hunted in enclosures. However, agriculture in the Central Plains region had already been widely developed, and they began to cultivate and reclaim land. There was rapid economic development. After a series of sinicization reforms, the Northern Wei Dynasty saw a relatively stable situation, and its national strength continued to strengthen. Tuoba Tao commanded the Northern Wei Iron Cavalry to successively eliminate the Northern Yan and Northern Liang, bringing the turbulent and noisy North back to unity for over 120 years. However, the path of feudalization was not smooth sailing. Tuoba Tao’s tendency towards sinicization caused unease among the aristocratic elders of Xianbei, and the expansion of power by the Han Grand Minister also caused their doubts. The dispute between grassland civilization and agricultural civilization became increasingly fierce, ultimately leading to the first major case of Northern Wei – the Prison of National History.
Compiling national history is a long-standing tradition of Han culture. After Tuoba Xianbei entered the Central Plains, he considered himself orthodox in Central Plains culture and naturally hoped to record his glorious journey in the form of national history. Although Xianbei has its own language, it does not have its own writing system. Their history can only rely on oral transmission and written records of the history of Northern Wei. It is necessary to appoint Han Chinese scholars who not only understand Xianbei’s history but also serve the court. Cui Hao, who came from the highest family of Han Chinese and was a strategist in the Three Dynasties, became the best candidate to compile national history. In 439 AD, Cui Hao was ordered to compile the book of Northern Wei. Since ancient times, Han Chinese historians have had a tradition of writing a good history with a straightforward style. Cui Hao spent 10 years collecting information and recounting the early history of the Tuoba tribe, which was detailed and comprehensive without any concealment. Originally, according to Tuoba Heng’s request, a factual record of the history of Xianbei was made, but due to the fact that it recorded many of Tuoba Xianbei’s early and disgraceful history, it attracted the dissatisfaction of many Xianbei ministers.
Professor Luo Xin from Peking University: What were some unpleasant experiences in the entrepreneurial history of Northern Wei? It must be those places where the values and cultural values are inconsistent with the Central Plains values accepted by the ruling class of the Northern Wei dynasty in later generations. Which ones are likely to be related to this way of marriage, these are related to siblings, and so on.
The Guoshu compiled by Cui Hao faced strong opposition from the Xianbei nobility, who saw it as a blatant provocation by the Han people towards the Xianbei people, and even an insult to this minority political power. The execution of Cui Hao and his followers became a common call for many Xianbei nobility. One day in July 450 AD, due to the exposure of the ugliness of the Xianbei Tuoba clan state in the Guoshu, the senior statesman of the three dynasties, Cui Hao and his family, as well as other northern aristocratic families who were married by the Tuoba clan, were beheaded by the Manchus, involving more than 300 people. This was the prison of national history that shook the four corners of the Northern Wei Dynasty. In this blow, many… The northern aristocratic families were devastated, and Tuoba Tao intended to praise the glorious history of Xianbei by writing the “Book of Nations”. In the end, in order to appease the anger of the Xianbei nobility, he executed the four major Han families, This has actually intensified the conflict between Xianbei and the Han ethnic group.
Researcher Lou Jin from the Institute of History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences: There is indeed a difference between the two sides, which can ferment. It can lead to a large number of people from the Northern ethnic group not liking Cui Hao. When this fermentation ferments to a certain extent and other factors are added, it can form this fork. The most basic core content of this fork should not be national history, but the Hu Han relationship.
Pingcheng Site, Datong City, Shanxi Province
Without the support of the aristocratic tribes in the Central Plains, where is the next path to settle in this land for a long time? At this time, Tuoba Tao is like a solitary eagle hovering in the sky, struggling to find its direction. Why did his ancestors set foot on the vast grasslands to come here? To the north of Pingcheng lies an endless grassland, and thousands of miles to the northeast lies the majestic Great Khingan Mountains. Amidst the undulating pine sea and forest waves, a stone cave is hidden on a cliff. This cave is called Gaxian Cave, which is said to be the birthplace of Tuoba Xianbei. The ancient stone cave confirms the early life of the Xianbei tribe. Today, the Dajun family living here still relies on the forest to maintain their livelihood. Dajun comes to the forest every day to cut birch bark and make birch bark handicrafts, which are his main sources of income. Now his daughter is processing birch bark, which cannot fully sustain his family’s livelihood. The animal skins sewn by Da Jun’s wife were all transported from elsewhere. Due to the decreasing number of local prey, they have now become a prohibited hunting area. The lifestyle of the Da Jun family has undergone a transformation over a decade ago, And Tuoba Xianbei, who lived here thousands of years ago, is also facing a transformation.
It is speculated that Tuoba Xianbei lived in the depths of the Great Khingan Mountains in the second century BC. They often hunted for a living. With the increasing population, their prey became less and less. Seven months of the year were winter, and most of the time was a scene of white snow. Whether to continue living here or to go out of the jungle to explore a new life unknown, it was a long and difficult journey for the tribe leaders at that time to lead the tribe out of the mountains. They crossed the snow capped mountains, through the jungle, and traveled thousands of kilometers to today’s Hulun Lake, Inner Mongolia, to begin their nomadic production career of living by water and grass. Although the water and grass here are plentiful, but in the tribe From the leader’s point of view, this is just a temporary stop, not the final destination. The prosperous Central Plains has been calling them.
Researcher Lou Jin from the Institute of History, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences: The civilization here attracts them, their needs, their society is developing, they need exchange, they need silk, they need to look in the mirror, they need to enjoy the life of that civilized Han people.
Just as the Xianbei tribe was hovering around the outskirts of the Central Plains, the Tuoba Xianbei, who had already been surrounded by the expansion of the Former Qin, had a divine opportunity. In 383 AD, the Battle of Feishui broke out, and the pre Qin regime that controlled the north collapsed. Tuoba Xianbei took the opportunity to establish the Northern Wei regime, end his nomadic life, and successfully took control of the Central Plains. Although he had found his beloved habitat for a long time, how to survive here became the biggest problem. For the third emperor of Northern Wei, Tuoba Tao, he was both a national army and the leader of the Tuoba tribe. He wanted his tribe to live here for a long time. The successive leaders of Tuoba Xianbei have always shouldered this sacred mission. With the deterioration of the prison of national history, Tuoba Xi’s life also came to an end helplessly. Due to the palace coup, Tuoba Tao was killed by eunuchs. How to integrate Tuoba Xianbei into the culture of the Central Plains is the unfinished task of Emperor Taiwu Tuoba Tao, and it can only be solved by later generations. In the following 20 years, the Northern Wei regime fell into chaos, and the entire dynasty even reached the brink of danger.
Researcher at the Institute of History, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences – Liang Mancang: From the perspective of economic and political contradictions, they have become even more acute. Many Han Chinese ministers, because they did not implement that salary system, do not receive rewards, and only military workers can receive rewards, so their lives are very tight.
For farmers living near Datong, it is a special day. Women make a special meal, which is the local yellow cake. The reason why people choose to eat yellow cake on this day is because it is the first day of spring plowing. More than 1500 years ago, on this day of spring plowing, a child with drooping hair was accompanied by many Northern Wei ministers to the fields. This young child is the sixth Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei, Tuoba Hong. The noble middle-aged woman next to him is his grandmother, Empress Dowager Feng. Since the Qin and Han dynasties, the emperor has led hundreds of officials to carry out land registration activities, and the emperor personally carried out farming, fully demonstrating that the emperor himself is capable of farming. The feudal rulers attached great importance to agriculture and land, and now members of the Northern Wei royal family have once again come to this land.
Professor Hou Xudong from Tsinghua University: Empress Dowager Feng was nominally the grandmother of Emperor Xiaowen, but in reality, she was not biological. This is because the Northern Wei Dynasty had a system of sons and noble mothers, so Emperor Xiaowen’s biological grandmother and mother died very early. Therefore, Empress Dowager Feng is actually a Han Chinese, and she taught Emperor Xiaowen from a young age by paying attention to his influence on Han culture.
After the registration of Emperor Xiaowen, peasant uprisings continued to erupt. Empress Dowager Feng, who came from the Han ethnic group and monopolized power, relied on her understanding of Hu and Han culture to finally find a way to solve ethnic conflicts. In the 13 years since Emperor Xiaowen boarded the plane, with the strong support of Empress Dowager Feng, a grand political and economic reform was officially launched. During the Taihe period of the Northern Wei Dynasty, it was known as the Taihe Reform in history. Since the founding of Northern Wei, the Tuoba aristocrats have mainly obtained huge rewards through war plunder and meritorious deeds, and the material life of Han bureaucrats has been extremely tight. The first item of Taihe’s reform was to restore the salary of 100 officials implemented in the Central Plains, but the material treatment of Han bureaucrats was improved. The salary of officials ultimately came from farmers, and the basic livelihood of farmers was land. After the establishment of Northern Wei, a large number of northern ethnic minorities flooded into the Central Plains, producing a large number of refugees.
Researcher Lou Jin from the Institute of History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences: The biggest driving force should be said to be the period that followed the Five Hu and Northern Wei dynasties. Our people became masters there and established a dynasty, which was well governed and provided us with many preferential treatment, some of which were given priority treatment. You directly divided your land, planned your mouth to receive land, and directly guaranteed your life. This was a huge stimulus. Therefore, we saw that from the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Wei and Jin Dynasties, from entering the Five Hu period until Northern Wei, a rapid and hundreds of years long wave of immigration swept across northern China, especially in the northeast region, with a large number of Northern ethnic groups moving southward.
These refugees have become the most unstable factor in society and are not conducive to the development of the social economy. In 485 AD, Emperor Xiaowen, with the support of Empress Dowager Feng, issued the Land Equalization Order. The fundamental principle of the Land Equalization Order is to grant the unclaimed wasteland controlled by the state to farmers, who will be granted land based on their spouses and the number of plowed cows.
Professor Hou Xudong from Tsinghua University: The equal field system was a very important item in the reform of Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei. In fact, due to the war, there were a large number of landless Huangdi in Northern Wei. In addition, the country also needed to continuously provide various food and materials to maintain stable fiscal revenue. Therefore, it adopted this measure. In addition, he also helped the Xianbei people and the Hu people in the north to gradually change their production methods from nomadic to agricultural., So this equal field system has actually played a very important role in these aspects.
When farmers gained land income, they had to pay a certain amount of taxes to the state. In order to effectively supervise the agricultural population, the Northern Wei Dynasty implemented a three chapter system, where five families established one neighborhood chief, five neighbors established one neighborhood chief, and five miles established one party chief. Emperor Xiaowen also promulgated a new rental system, where the more farmers planted land, the lower the taxes. This greatly increased the enthusiasm of farmers. It took them a whole 100 years from the grasslands to the Tuoba tribe in the Central Plains, and they deeply realized that the most fundamental dependence for a long-term life is the fertile soil under their feet. This is the Ming Tang of Northern Wei, which was replicated according to traditional craftsmanship. It was first built during the Taihe reform period, during which Emperor Xiaowen met with his courtiers and worshipped his ancestors. The Ming Tang was originally an important place for ancient Han emperors to educate themselves. It can be imagined that after the Taihe reform, the politics and economy of Northern Wei had become extremely sinicized, presenting a scene of prosperity and prosperity. They have become the orthodox of the Central Plains region. After six years of reform, Northern Wei gradually entered the prosperous era of Taihe, and the imperial power of Northern Wei gained a deeper understanding of agricultural civilization. Emperor Xiaowen also grew up with the experience and support of Empress Dowager Feng.
In 490 AD, Empress Dowager Feng passed away. At the age of 24, Emperor Xiaowen began his political career, with wild Tuoba royal blood and the influence of Han culture flowing through his body, guiding him to carry out a rapid and aggressive sinicization reform. After Empress Dowager Feng’s death, Emperor Xiaowen declared the practice of Confucian filial piety and observed filial piety for his grandparents for three years. Among all the monarchs in history, there has never been a system of observing filial piety for three years, which is fundamentally inconsistent with the old customs of Xianbei. Xianbei nobles cannot tolerate such behavior that violates the laws of their ancestors and deviates from the norm. They strongly opposed it, and Han ministers at that time dared not directly stand up to support it because they did not want to support it again. I don’t want to be a victim of the game between the Tuoba aristocracy and Han culture, staging the prison of national history.
Researcher at the Institute of History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences – Liang Mancang: At that time, Emperor Xiaowen was under great pressure, so he came up with a solution. He asked three Han Chinese ministers to raise objections, and then asked the opposing Tuoba nobles to listen and engage in a debate. In fact, these three people were all in favor of Emperor Xiaowen’s three-year filial piety system, but on the surface, they proposed many reasons that were not feasible. Since all the reasons they said were those of these Tuoba nobles, they were ultimately refuted by Emperor Xiaowen.
Although Tuoba Xianbei made significant improvements in the system after taking control of the Central Plains, there are still significant differences in culture between Tuoba Xianbei and Han Chinese. Whether to maintain the old Tuoba customs or abandon old customs, accept advanced culture, and regain new life in this land. The rulers of Northern Wei had to make a choice. Emperor Xiaowen, who had been deeply influenced by Confucianism since childhood, constantly pondered how to implement reforms at the cultural level during his three years of filial piety. This was Emperor Xiaowen’s personal question of the Holy Father of Literature. Shortly after Empress Dowager Feng’s death, Emperor Xiaowen built an independent temple for Confucius, which was the first in Tuoba Xianbei. Although Han culture had already been integrated into Emperor Xiaowen’s bone marrow, the old forces of Pingcheng Xianbei were too strong, and Emperor Xiaowen’s reforms were hindered everywhere. How to overcome the constraints and integrate Han culture into this minority? After the end of the filial piety period, Emperor Xiaowen directed a relocation of the capital. He made an incredible decision, whether it was the Xianbei nobility or Han Chinese ministers, to attack Southern Qi and unify the country, This time, Emperor Xiaowen changed his usual method and did not engage in analysis and debate with his ministers in the court as before. He set off with the determination to win. In September 493 AD, Emperor Xiaowen, dressed in feathered military uniforms, whipped his horses and personally ordered most of the civil and military courtiers to march south with his 300000 strong army. At this time, it was the rainy season in the north, with continuous autumn rain, muddy roads, and difficult marching. When he arrived in Luoyang, he was already exhausted and morale was low.
Professor Hu Axiang from Nanjing University: His cavalry and cavalry may not be suitable for this weather, so people are not willing to come here. When they arrived at a similar place, Emperor Xiaowen said, “If we don’t go south, we will stay here.” Among the many measures taken by Emperor Xiaowen to sinicize, the most important one, I think, is to move the capital from Pingcheng to Luoyang. Pingcheng is now Datong, Shanxi, and has been moved to Luoyang, which we call the land of Zhongzhou in the world.
In the year 494 AD, Emperor Xiaowen officially announced the relocation of his capital to Luoyang, from the depths of the grasslands to Pingcheng. 100 years later, Tuoba Xianbei finally arrived in the hinterland of the Central Plains – Luoyang, which has a profound Han cultural heritage. Emperor Xiaowen came here with all his heart and soul to break free from the constraints of the Xianbei old tribe. This laid the strongest foundation for his later mandatory sinicization reform. A royal wedding ceremony for the Han ethnic group was held in the imperial palace of Luoyang, with the protagonist being Emperor Xiaowen and the daughter of the Lu family of the northern Han ethnic group. After Emperor Xiaowen moved the capital, he changed the early marriage customs of Xianbei and took the lead in intermarrying with the Han high family. Thus, Xiaowen The Emperor’s sinicization reform officially kicked off. While issuing a marriage ban decree, Emperor Wen of Han made Chinese the official language, prohibiting young officials under the age of 30 from speaking Xianbei language in court, The Tuoba royal family in the imperial palace also all learned Chinese and spoke Sinicization. At that time, there were many Buddhist temples around Luoyang City, among which one was the Yaoguang Temple. Two years after Emperor Xiaowen moved the capital, an unusual figure was welcomed to the Yaoguang Temple, who was actually the Empress of Emperor Xiaowen. It is said that after Emperor Xiaowen prohibited speaking Xianbei, the Empress relied on her own identity and continued to speak Xianbei in the palace. This was undoubtedly a blatant provocation to Emperor Xiaowen’s reform. After the Empress was discovered by Emperor Xiaowen, she was eventually demoted to commoners and lived her life in the Yaoguang Temple, just before she was demoted to nuns. Emperor Xiaowen, who was wearing a Han style imperial crown in the palace, bestowed a Han style official uniform on his court staff and ordered his courtiers not to wear Xianbei attire in public places.
Researcher at the Institute of History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences – Liang Mancang: Xianbei. At that time, they held a grand ceremony, where the Hu people dressed in short clothes and pants, a kind of warrior attire. Later, Emperor Xiaowen, in order to reform, wore Han Dynasty formal attire. However, there was no grand ceremony that year because there was no discussion on what clothes to wear. It was not until the discussion was reached that they wore Han Dynasty formal attire, and the next year they took action.
In addition, more than 100 Xianbei surnames were also changed to Han surnames, and the Tuoba royal family was also changed to Yuan. From then on, Emperor Xiaowen Tuoba Hong became Yuan Hong. In the second year after Emperor Xiaowen moved the capital, he led his courtiers to leave Luoyang to visit a Han Chinese whom he had admired for a long time. The team arrived at the city of Lu at that time, which is now Qufu, Shandong. It was not anyone else he wanted to visit, but Confucius, the founder of Confucianism.
Researcher at the Institute of History, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences – Lou Jin: After the capital was relocated, it had already entered the central plains, and he had the conditions to go to Qufu. He could see with his own eyes the hometown of the sage he had long admired. This is certainly a posture, indicating that I want to use the teachings of Confucius to establish the basic ideology of the country and serve as the guiding ideology of the country.
After relocating the capital, Emperor Xiaowen issued a decree to prevent the Xianbei nobles from returning to Datong. He changed the hometown of Xianbei people who moved to Luoyang to Luoyang County, Henan County, and buried them in Luoyang after their death. They were not allowed to return to Datong. Emperor Xiaowen also personally selected a tomb site near Mangshan, named Changling. The Northern Wei Emperor, who was the descendant of Emperor Xiaowen, and the Xianbei ministers who moved to Luoyang were buried in Mangshan.
Researcher Lou Jin from the Institute of History, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences: You must be from Luoyang. You are no longer from Xianbei, but from Luoyang. This is in line with his language, clothing, and other reforms, which require you to be a Chinese.
Park Xianqun, a researcher at the Institute of History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences: From the perspective of the history of unifying the form of a multi-ethnic country, Emperor Xiaowen’s reforms have profound historical significance in promoting the formation of our multi-ethnic country.
Nowadays, there are countless villages scattered around the tomb of Emperor Xiaowen. The ancient imperial tomb has passed away, and the people living here can no longer distinguish between Xianbei people and Han people. On the surface, Emperor Xiaowen’s reform was the Tuoba tribe, changing their traditional customs. However, as the leader of the tribe, he fulfilled the wishes of his ancestors and completely integrated the entire Tuoba Xianbei into Chinese civilization. Under his leadership, many ethnic groups in the north joined in the climax of national integration. It is precisely because of these multiple national integrations that the development of the Chinese nation is like a flowing river, constantly flowing.
90 seconds in history: Kill Yuwen Hu
In 560 AD, the young Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou succeeded to the throne, while the political power was in turmoil. The real power was held by the Northern Zhou Minister Yuwen Hu, who had killed two emperors and a group of old officials. He was also full of vigilance and murderous intent towards this new emperor, Yuwen Hu. The deep willed Emperor Wu, Yuwen Yong, was completely different from the previous two emperors. For the user’s authoritarianism, he gladly accepted it. In 572 AD, Yuwen Hu entered the capital from a feudal state to pay respects to Empress Dowager Chi Nu. Emperor Wu first met Yuwen Hu at the Wen’an Hall, and the Empress Dowager liked to drink alcohol. He hoped that he would advise the Empress Dowager not to drink too much. The two of them walked into the Hanren Hall to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager. As Yuwen Hu was engrossed in reading the “Wine Edict,” Emperor Wu, standing beside him, raised the jade pendant in his hand. This should be the first time this elegant emperor had a cold expression towards his political opponent, but Liang Jian managed to deliver a fatal blow. In this way, after 12 years of patience, experience, and waiting, Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou truly stepped onto the political stage of Chinese history. He began to realize his greatest dream, not only to unify the north, but also to pacify the Turks in the north, to pacify the Jiangnan in the south, and to establish a strong China with unified north and south.