Emperor Daowu of Northern Wei
Emperor Daowu of Northern Wei | |||||||||||||||||
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Emperor of Northern Wei | |||||||||||||||||
Reign | February 20, 386[1] – November 6, 409 | ||||||||||||||||
Successor | Emperor Mingyuan | ||||||||||||||||
Born | August 4, 371 | ||||||||||||||||
Died | November 6, 409 | (aged 38)||||||||||||||||
Burial | Jin Mausoleum of Shengle ( | ||||||||||||||||
Consorts | Empress Murong | ||||||||||||||||
Issue | Emperor Mingyuan Tuoba Shao Tuoba Xi Tuoba Yao Tuoba Xiu Tuoba Chuwen Tuoba Lian Tuoba Li Tuoba Hun Tuoba Cong Princess Huayin | ||||||||||||||||
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House | Tuoba | ||||||||||||||||
Dynasty | Northern Wei | ||||||||||||||||
Father | Tuoba Shi | ||||||||||||||||
Mother | Lady He |
Emperor Daowu of Northern Wei ((
Emperor Daowu was commonly regarded as a brilliant general, but cruel and arbitrary in his rule, particularly toward the end of his reign. In 409, as he considered killing his concubine Consort Helan, his son Tuoba Shao (
Life before founding of Northern Wei
[edit]Birth and childhood
[edit]According to official accounts, Tuoba Gui was born in 371, after his father Tuoba Shi (
Around New Years 377, Former Qin launched a major attack against Dai. Tuoba Shiyijian temporarily fled his capital Yunzhong (
In the disturbance, Tuoba Gui's mother Lady Helan initially fled to her brother Helan Na (
Adolescence
[edit]Little is known about Tuoba Gui's life until 385, by which time Former Qin, which had come close to uniting all of China, had fallen into great disturbance in light of rebellions throughout the empire. In 384, Liu Kuren had attempted to aid Fu Jiān's son Fu Pi, who was then under siege by Murong Chui, the founder of Later Yan, but was assassinated by Muyu Chang (慕輿
Alternative version
[edit]However, an alternative version of Tuoba Gui's early life was presented in documents such as the Book of Jin and Book of Song—the official histories of the rival Jin Dynasty (266–420) and Liu Song Dynasty. Under this version, Tuoba Gui was not Tuoba Shiyijian's grandson, but his son—and was born significantly earlier than the official 371 date, of Tuoba Shiyijian's wife Princess Murong. When Former Qin attacked in 377, it was Tuoba Gui who restrained his father Tuoba Shiyijian and surrendered. Fu Jiān, offended at this act of betrayal, exiled Tuoba Gui. When Murong Chui, his uncle, declared Later Yan in 384, Tuoba Gui joined him, and was later put in charge of his father's tribes through a military campaign waged by Later Yan. Then, later, in order to avoid having the people know Tuoba Gui's status as a traitor to his father, the official version of his personal history was manufactured.
This version is not well attested but would solve a number of apparent contradictions in early Northern Wei history. These difficulties apparent in the official version include:
- How Tuoba Gui's father, Tuoba Shi, had a nearly identical name to the perpetrator of the patricide, Tuoba Shijun. If both names were manufactured by Tuoba Gui's later apologists, then the similarity in name could be explained as lack of creativity.
- How Tuoba Han (
拓 拔翰), mentioned as Tuoba Shi's younger brother, was also referred to in some official sources as Tuoba Gui's younger brother; as Tuoba Yi (拓 拔儀), Tuoba Han's son, played an important role early in Northern Wei history as a key diplomat and general, he would be too old to be possibly Tuoba Gui's nephew if Tuoba Gui were born in 371. Obviously, if the official history, which stated that Tuoba Yi was Tuoba Gui's cousin, were correct, then there is no problem. - How Tuoba Gui appeared too willing to turn against his maternal uncles the Helans early in his reign. If he was actually the son of Princess Murong, then he would not be related to the Helans, and his campaigns against them seemed less problematic. (Of course, it would then render it problematic how he eventually attacked and seized most of Later Yan's history, as the Later Yan emperor Murong Bao would be his cousin.)
- How Tuoba Gui could have a younger brother—as given and undisputed in official history—Tuoba Gu (
拓 拔觚) -- described as also being a son of his mother Lady Helan, if he himself were born after Tuoba Shi's death. (Two alternative explanations exist, however—it could be that Tuoba Gu was actually born of a concubine of Tuoba Shi but raised by Lady Helan, or it could be that Lady Helan remarried after Tuoba Shi's death, to another member of the Tuoba clan—possibly Tuoba Yi's father Tuoba Han—and therefore her younger son Tuoba Gu would also carry the Tuoba name. The latter possibility is attested in that another semi-contradictory version of the official history stated that Tuoba Gu was Tuoba Yi's younger brother. Another possible explanation—that Tuoba Gu was a twin younger brother—appears unlikely, as the official accounts of Tuoba Gui's birth did not suggest the possibility of twin birth.) - How Tuoba Gui's oldest son Tuoba Si, born in 392, was said to be a late-arriving son. According to the official chronology, Tuoba Gui would only be 21 at this point, and it might be difficult to comprehend his being characterized as having had a late fatherhood. On the other hand, during his lifetime, particularly among non-Han peoples, marriage and childbirth often happened during adolescence.
- How Tuoba Gui appeared to begin to show signs of mental deterioration when he was still just in his late 30s, with signs of paranoia that appeared to be more characteristic of men of much older age. The official version attribute this to poisoning from powders given him by alchemists, which is not an unreasonable explanation, however, or it also could have been that the paranoia had nothing to do with mental deterioration.
Whether Cui Hao, the prime minister of Tuoba Gui's grandson Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei, propagated this version, and whether that contributed to Emperor Taiwu's execution of not only himself but his entire clan, is not completely clear, but appeared likely.
As Prince of Wei
[edit]Establishment of rule
[edit]For the first several years of his reign, Tuoba Gui had to endure constant gravitating of positions by tribal chiefs, and his position was not secure. As he gradually asserted his leadership, however, the tribal chiefs began to coalesce around him.
In spring 386, Tuoba Gui set his capital at Shengle (
In fall 386, with support of Western Yan and Liu Xian, Tuoba Gui's youngest uncle Tuoba Kuduo (
Around the new year 387, Murong Chui offered the titles of Western Chanyu and Prince of Shanggu to Tuoba Gui, but as the title of Prince of Shanggu was not as honored of one as Prince of Wei, Tuoba Gui refused them.
Despite Later Yan's assistance of him and his status as a Later Yan vassal, Tuoba Gui began to secretly consider whether he could eventually conquer Later Yan. In 388, he sent his cousin Tuoba Yi the Duke of Jiuyuan to offer tributes to Murong Chui but also to observe the Later Yan court, to consider whether he would have eventual chance of attacking it. Murong Yi concluded that Murong Chui was growing old, and that his crown prince Murong Bao was incompetent—and that there were many potential claimants who would weaken Later Yan. This encouraged Tuoba Gui greatly in his eventual planning.
In 391, Helan Na's brother Helan Rangan (
In fall 391, an incident occurred that would lead to the break of relations between Later Yan and Northern Wei. That year, Tuoba Gui sent his brother Tuoba Gu to Later Yan to offer tribute, and Murong Chui's sons detained Tuoba Gu and ordered Tuoba Gui to offer horses to trade for Tuoba Gu's freedom. Tuoba Gui refused and broke off relations with Later Yan, instead entering into an alliance with Western Yan.
Following hostility with Later Yan
[edit]In 391, Tuoba Gui attacked Rouran—which had been a Dai vassal but had never submitted to him—inflicting major damage on Rouran, but was unable to destroy it. Rouran would remain an annoyance, and often a menace, for the rest of Northern Wei's history.
In winter 391, Liu Wenchen sent his son Liu Zhilidi (
In 394, Western Yan's emperor Murong Yong, under heavy attack by Murong Chui, sought aid from Tuoba Gui, but Tuoba Gui, while sending an army by his cousin Tuoba Qian (
In 395, Tuoba Gui led raids against Later Yan's border regions. Later that year, Murong Chui commissioned an 80,000-men army led by Murong Bao, assisted by his brothers Murong Nong and Murong Lin, to try punish Northern Wei. Tuoba Gui, hearing about Murong Bao's army, abandoned Shengle and retreated west across the Yellow River. Murong Bao's army quickly reached the river in fall 395 and prepared to cross the river. However, by this point, Northern Wei scouts had cut off the line of communication between Murong Bao's army and the Later Yan capital Zhongshan (
In 396, concerned that Northern Wei would then view Murong Bao lightly, Murong Chui personally led another expedition against Northern Wei, initially successful and killing Tuoba Qian. Tuoba Gui became concerned and considered abandoning Shengle again. However, as the army reached Canhe Slope, the soldiers cried out loud for their fathers and brothers, and Murong Chui became angry and ill, forcing the Later Yan forces to retreat to Zhongshan. He soon died, and Murong Bao succeeded him as emperor.
In fall 396, Tuoba Gui led his Northern Wei troops and made a surprise attack on Bing Province (并州, modern central and northern Shanxi), defeating Murong Nong and forcing him to flee back to Zhongshan. Tuoba Gui then advanced east, ready to attack Zhongshan. Accepting Murong Lin's suggestion, Murong Bao prepared to defend Zhongshan, leaving the Northern Wei forces free to roam over his territory, believing that Northern Wei would retreat once its forces are worn out. However, this had the effect that all of the cities' garrisons in modern Hebei abandoned them, except for Zhongshan and two other important cities—Yecheng (in modern Handan, Hebei) and Xindu (
Murong Xiang, meanwhile, declared himself emperor, and put Tuoba Gu to death to try to show his resolve. In the fall, however, Murong Lin made a surprise attack on him, killing him and taking over Zhongshan. Murong Lin also claimed imperial title, but was unable to stand Northern Wei military pressure, and Zhongshan fell to Tuoba Gui, who was largely gentle to Zhongshan's population despite their resistance—although he slaughtered the clans of those who advocated Tuoba Gu's death. It was around this time, however, that his army suffered a serious plague that might have killed as much as half of the army and livestock. When his generals tried to persuade him to suspend the campaign, Tuoba Gui gave a response that might be quite demonstrative of his personality:
- This is the will of Heaven, and I can do nothing about it. A state can be established anywhere on earth where there are people. It only depends on how I govern it, and I am not fearful that the people would die.
Around the new year 398, with Tuoba Gui ready to attack Yecheng, Yecheng's defender Murong De abandoned it and fled south of the Yellow River, to Huatai (
In summer 398, Tuoba Gui considered restoring the old name of the state, Dai, but at the suggestion of Cui Hong (
Around this time, Tuoba Gui issued a series of reforms to various administrative systems. He broke up the old Xianbei tribes, forcing them to disperse and no longer allowing them to control their own armies. To replace them, he created eight artificial tribes, placed in the newly declared capital region to supervise agricultural practice in the area. When he conquered Yan, he moved a large amount of their Xianbei and Han nobility and population to the new capital to establish greater control over them, and he had them cultivate the capital region's farmland. As well, he adopted a more detailed administrative system, using elements from earlier Chinese dynasties in his system. Due to his agricultural reforms, his reign saw many abundant harvests, but the Book of Wei did not consider the harvests sufficient enough to sustain Tuoba Gui's frequent military campaigns and later harsh rule.
Around the new year 399, Tuoba Gui declared himself emperor. He also claimed descent from the mystical Yellow Emperor, to legitimize his reign over the Han.
Early reign as emperor
[edit]In 399, Emperor Daowu made a major attack on the Gaoche tribes near and in the Gobi Desert, inflicting great casualties and capturing many Gaoche tribesmen. In a display of cruelty and power, he ordered the captured Gaoche men to use their bodies as a wall on a hunt he carried out months later, to stop animals from escape. He also had the Gaoche slaves build a deer farm for him.
Later that year, he reorganized his government, expanding from 36 bureaus to 360 bureaus, and he also established a university at Pingcheng and ordered that books be collected throughout the empire and be delivered to Pingcheng.
In summer 399, the Southern Yan general Li Bian (
Later in 399, because Emperor Daowu was angry that, on a letter to Jin's general Chi Hui (郗恢), the official Cui Cheng (
In 400, Emperor Daowu considered creating an empress. Of his consorts, he most favored Consort Liu, the daughter of Liu Toujuan, who bore his oldest son Tuoba Si. However, according to Tuoba tribe customs, he was required to make the potential candidates try to forge golden statues, to try to discern divine favor. Consort Liu was unable to complete her statue, while Consort Murong, the youngest daughter of Murong Bao, whom he captured when he took Zhongshan in 397, was able to complete her statue, and so Emperor Daowu created her empress.
Around this time, Emperor Daowu became increasingly superstitious and became trusting of astrologers and alchemists, seeking immortality. He also began to use strict laws against his subordinates, punishing them harshly if they carried out what he perceived to be disrespectful actions. The Book of Wei describes his governance in the early to middle part of his reign as such:
- Taizu [Emperor Daowu's temple name] had a difficult early life and his preparation to be ruler was dangerous, therefore he understood the sentiments of his people. During his rule, he was benevolent in his actions and harmonised the common people. Upon taking Zhongshan, he was troubled by the stern and confusing laws of previous regimes, so he ordered one of the Three Excellencies, Wang De, to remove the laws that were cruel to the people, and they agreed to greatly value simplicity in their legal decrees. At this time, the people in Northern Wei had long suffered the chaos of war, and feared the laws in peace. The emperor knew that the people suffered due to this, thus quietly removed this by being lenient in punishment, and the people were loaded with happiness. Yet he would not be lenient in upholding the laws against his ministers. [5]
In 401–402, Emperor Daowu made an attempt to attack Later Yan, by now limited to modern Liaoning, but was unable to make gains against Later Yan's emperor Murong Sheng.
Around this time, Emperor Daowu also sought marriage and peace with Later Qin. However, Later Qin's emperor Yao Xing, hearing that he already had Empress Murong, refused, and because around this time Emperor Daowu constantly attacked several Later Qin vassals, the states' relations broke down. Emperor Daowu therefore began to prepare for a confrontation with Later Qin. Later in the year, Yao Xing did make a major attack against Northern Wei. In fall 402, Yao Xing's forward commander Yao Ping (姚平) the Duke of Yiyang was surrounded by Northern Wei's Emperor Daowu at Chaibi (
Late reign
[edit]In the last few years of Emperor Daowu's reign, he became increasingly harsher in his treatment of his officials. For example, in 406, as he planned the expansion of Pingcheng with intent to make it into an impressive capital, he initially had his official Mo Ti (莫題), an accomplished civil engineer, plan the city's layout, but over a relatively minor issue where Mo was not very careful, ordered Mo to commit suicide—and then used Mo's layout anyway. He also made increasing visits to Chaishan Palace (豺山
In 407, Northern Wei and Later Qin entered into a peace treaty, returning previously captured generals to each other. This would have a disastrous consequence on Later Qin, however, as Liu Bobo, then a Later Qin general, became angry because his father Liu Weichen had been killed by Northern Wei, and therefore rebelled, establishing his own state Xia. However, he spent much more of his energy conducting guerilla warfare against Later Qin, gradually sapping Later Qin's strength, and did not actually conduct warfare against Northern Wei.
By 409, Emperor Daowu, who was said to be under the effect of poisonous substances given him by alchemists, was described to be so harsh and paranoid in his personality that he constantly feared rebellion, particularly because fortunetellers had been telling him that a rebellion would happen near him. The Book of Wei describes this part of his reign as such:
- Earlier, the emperor took Cold Food Powder, and after the imperial physician Yin Qiang died, the drug's effects were frequently seen in his actions. Catastrophic events were frequently seen, and the emperor was worried and restless, and might for several days not eat, or would not sleep until dawn. He accused his subordinates, his joy and anger being abnormal, said that his attendants and officials could not be trusted, and worried about heavenly divinations, or about concerns near him. He recollected the past gains and losses, all day and night speaking to himself without stopping, as if there were ghosts replying to him. When court ministers arrived before him, he would recall their past faults and would invariably execute them, and the others, perhaps because their facial expression changed, or because their breathing was not regular, or because they made mistakes in speech, the emperor would believe them to have hatred in their hearts which were becoming visible on the outside world, and he thus personally beat them, and those who died would be displayed before the Tian'an Palace. Thereupon all levels of society felt afraid in their minds, the officials were lazy and did not help to administer the country and would rob the people. Thieves would act publicly, so there were very few people mingling in alleys. When the emperor heard this, he said: "It is my relaxation of them that made it this way. Waiting to pass the calamitous era, we must cleanse and punish them in this way even more." [6]
The entire government came under a spell of terror. The only persons immune from this treatment were said to be the minister Cui Hong and his son Cui Hao, who were said to avoid the disaster by never offending or flattering the emperor—both of which could have brought disaster.
In fall 409, Emperor Daowu resolved to create Tuoba Si crown prince. Because of the Tuoba traditional custom of executing the designated heir's mother, he ordered Tuoba Si's mother Consort Liu to commit suicide. He explained his reasons to Crown Prince Si, who, however, could not stop mourning for his mother, and Emperor Daowu became very angry, and he summoned the crown prince. Crown Prince Si, in fear, fled out of Pingcheng.
At this time, however, Emperor Daowu would suffer death at another son's hand. When he was young, when he had visited Helan tribe, he saw his maternal aunt (Princess Dowager Helan's sister), who was very beautiful, and he asked to have her as a concubine. Princess Dowager Helan refused—but not under the rationale that it would be incest, but rather that the younger Lady Helan had already had a husband and was too beautiful—citing a saying that beautiful things were often poisonous. Without Princess Dowager Helan's knowledge, he assassinated the younger Lady Helan's husband and took her as a concubine. In 394, they had a son, Tuoba Shao (
Family
[edit]Consorts and Issue:
- Empress Daowu, of the Murong clan (
道 武 皇后 慕容氏 ), second cousin - Empress Xuanmu, of the Liu clan (
宣 穆 皇后 劉 氏 ; d. 409)- Princess Huayin (
華 陰 公主 ), 1st daughter- Married Ji Ba, Prince Changle (嵇拔), and had issue (one son)
- Tuoba Si, Emperor Mingyuan (
明元 皇帝 拓 跋 嗣; 392–423), 1st son
- Princess Huayin (
- Furen, of the He clan (
夫人 賀 氏 ; d. 409), aunt- Tuoba Shao, Prince Qinghe (
清河 王 拓 跋 紹; 394–409), 2nd son
- Tuoba Shao, Prince Qinghe (
- Furen, of the Wang clan (
夫人 王 氏 )- Tuoba Xi, Prince Yangping (
陽平 王 拓 跋 熙; 399–421), 3rd son
- Tuoba Xi, Prince Yangping (
- Furen, of the Wang clan (
夫人 王 氏 )- Tuoba Yao, Prince Henan (
河南 王 拓 跋 曜; 401–422), 4th son
- Tuoba Yao, Prince Henan (
- Furen, of the Duan clan (
夫人 段 氏 )- Tuoba Lian, Prince Guangping (
廣平 王 拓 跋 連 ; d. 426), 7th son - Tuoba Li, Prince Jingzhao (
京 兆 王 拓 跋 黎 ; d. 428), 8th son
- Tuoba Lian, Prince Guangping (
- Unknown
- Tuoba Xiu, Prince Hejian (
河間 王 拓 跋 脩 ; d. 416), 5th son - Tuoba Chuwen, Prince Changle (
長樂 王 拓 跋 處 文 ; 403–416), 6th son - Tuoba Hun (
拓 跋 浑), 9th son - Tuoba Cong (
拓 跋 聰 ), 10th son - Princess Huoze (濩澤
公主 )- Married Lü Dafei, Prince Zhongshan (閭大
肥 ), a son of Yujiulü Datan, and had issue (one son)
- Married Lü Dafei, Prince Zhongshan (閭大
- Tuoba Xiu, Prince Hejian (
Ancestry
[edit]Tuoba Fu (d. 294) | |||||||||||||||||||
Tuoba Yulü (d. 321) | |||||||||||||||||||
Tuoba Shiyijian (318–376) | |||||||||||||||||||
Empress Pingwen (d. 355) | |||||||||||||||||||
Tuoba Shi (d. 371) | |||||||||||||||||||
Murong Gui (269–333) | |||||||||||||||||||
Murong Huang (297–348) | |||||||||||||||||||
Empress Wuxuan | |||||||||||||||||||
Empress Zhaocheng (d. 360) | |||||||||||||||||||
Emperor Daowu of Northern Wei (371–409) | |||||||||||||||||||
He Ge | |||||||||||||||||||
He Yegan | |||||||||||||||||||
Tuoba Yulü (d. 321) | |||||||||||||||||||
Ladu Tuoba | |||||||||||||||||||
Empress Xianming (351–396) | |||||||||||||||||||
References
[edit]- ^ wushen day of the 1st month of the 1st year of the Dengguo era, per Emperor Daowu's biography in Book of Wei
- ^ 7th day of the 7th month of the 34th year of the Jian'guo era, per Emperor Daowu's biography in Book of Wei
- ^ wuchen day of the 10th month of the 6th year of the Tian'ci era, per Emperor Daowu's biography in Book of Wei
- ^ Grousset, Rene (1970). The Empire of the Steppes. Rutgers University Press. pp. 60. ISBN 0-8135-1304-9.
- ^
太 祖 幼 遭艱難 ,備嘗險阻 ,具 知 民 之 情 偽 。及在位 ,躬行 仁 厚 ,協和 民 庶。既定 中原 ,患前代 刑 網 峻 密 ,乃命三公郎王德除其法之酷切於民者,約定 科 令 ,大 崇 簡易 。是 時 ,天下 民 久 苦 兵亂 ,畏 法樂 安 。帝 知 其若此,乃鎮之 以玄默 ,罰 必從輕 ,兆 庶欣戴焉。然 於大 臣 持 法 不 捨。Book of Wei, volume 111. - ^
初 ,帝 服 寒 食 散 ,自 太 醫 令 陰 羌死後 ,藥 數 動 發 ,至 此逾甚。而災變 屢見,憂 懣不安 ,或 數日 不 食 ,或 不 寢 達 旦 。歸 咎 羣下,喜怒 乖常,謂 百 僚左右 人 不可 信 ,慮 如天文 之 占 ,或 有 肘 腋 之 虞 。追 思 既往 成敗 得失 ,終日 竟夜獨語 不 止 ,若 旁 有 鬼 物 對 揚 者 。朝臣 至 前 ,追 其舊惡 皆 見 殺害 ,其餘或 以顏色 變動 ,或 以喘息 不調 ,或 以行步 乖節,或 以言辭 失 措,帝 皆 以為懷 惡 在 心 ,變 見 於外,乃手自 毆 擊 ,死者 皆 陳 天 安 殿 前 。於是朝野 人情 各 懷 危懼 ,有司 懈怠 ,莫相督 攝 ,百 工 偷劫,盜賊 公 行 ,巷 里 之 間 人為 希少 。帝 亦 聞之,曰:「朕 縱 之 使 然 ,待 過 災 年 ,當 更 清治 之 爾 。」Book of Wei, volume 2.
- Book of Wei, vol. 2.
- History of Northern Dynasties, vol. 1.
- Book of Jin, vols. 113, 114.
- Book of Song, vol. 95.
- Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 104, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115.