| A universal guide for China studiesChinese History - Northern Dynasties 北朝 (386~581) |
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Northern Dynasties:Northern Wei 北魏 (386-534)Western Wei 西魏 (535-556) and Eastern Wei 東魏 (534-550) Northern Zhou 北周 (557-581) and Northern Qi 北齊 (550-577) |  period before (Jin)-- Southern Dynasties -- 16 Kingdoms next period (Sui)  | |
 | After hundred and thirty years of foreign rule by various tribes over northern China, the period of the Sixteen Kingdoms, the chieftains of the Tuoba 拓跋 clan of the Xianbei 鮮卑 ethnicity were able to unite the northern part of China. The begin of their rule seemed to be the same than that of the previous only semi-civilized chieftains that called themselves emperor, made sporadic use of Chinese administration units and agencies, and brutally resettled the peasant population around their capitals to survive economically and fiscally. The Tuoba rulers had better Chinese advisers than their forerunners. They forced their own people to speak Chinese, to adopt Chinese names and culture, and challenged the own aristocracy by depriving them of their powerful offices, thereby strenghtened the position of the central government and contributed to the sinification of the foreign tribes. Futhermore, the Tuoba rulers (now called Yuan) developed a new system of land distribution that should be adopted by the following Sui and Tang Dynasties. A powerful instrument for the Northern Wei rulers - as they were called later - was Buddhism, as the emperor was seen as a living incarnation of the ruling Buddha. Internal struggles made an end to the power of the central govtrnment. The north was divided into two short-lived empires that were toppled and followed by two others. The result of this almost twohundred year long period was the gradual reconstruction of the northern economy and the homogenization of the Chinese with the Non-Chinese population. | Map and Geography |
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