Western Wei

Wei (/weɪ/), known in historiography as the Western Wei (Chinese: 西魏; pinyin: Xī Wèi), was an imperial dynasty of China that followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei. One of the Northern dynasties during the era of the Northern and Southern dynasties, it ruled the western part of northern China from 535 to 557. As with the Northern Wei dynasty that preceded it, the ruling family of the Western Wei were members of the Tuoba clan of the Xianbei.

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History

After the Xianbei general Yuwen Tai killed the Northern Wei emperor Yuan Xiu, he installed Yuan Baoju as emperor of Western Wei while Yuwen Tai would remain as the virtual ruler. Although smaller than the Eastern Wei in territory and population, Western Wei was able to withstand the attacks from the eastern empire, most notably at the Battle of Shayuan in 537. Due to its better economical conditions, Western Wei was even able to conquer the whole western part of the Liang empire in the south and occupied the territory of modern Sichuan. In 557 Yuwen Tai's nephew Yuwen Hu deposed Emperor Gong and placed Yuwen Tai's son Yuwen Jue on the throne, ending Western Wei and establishing Northern Zhou.

Marital alliances with the nascent Turkic Empire also took place, as Bumin Qaghan (r.552), first khagan of the Göktürks, married the Western Wei princess Changle (長樂公主) in June 551, before he was able to unite his tribes and revolt against the Rouran Empire, thereby establishing the First Turkic Khaganate in 552.^[4]

Religion and art

Buddhism and Buddhist art flourished under the Western Wei, even though the dynasty only lasted twenty-two years. Western Wei caves opened at Dunhuang and Maijishan.^[5]

Northern dynasties shieldbearer
Western Wei civil officer (535–557)
Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, Western Wei, Musée Guimet
Section of a Pagoda-Shaped Stele (Western Wei or Northern Zhou), mid-6th century CE
Story of the Five Hundred Robbers (535–557 CE), Mogao Caves, Cave 285, Dunhuang, Western Wei period
An apsara plays a pipa in Mogao Caves, Cave 285, Western Wei period.

Rulers

Posthumous Name	Personal Name	Period of Reign	Era Name
Emperor Wen of Western Wei	Yuan Baoju	535–551	Datong (大統) 535–551
Emperor Fei of Western Wei	Yuan Qin	551–554	–
Emperor Gong of Western Wei	Tuoba Kuo	554–557	–

References

Citations

^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 157.
^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 156.
^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 166.
^ Venning, Timothy (30 June 2023). A Compendium of Medieval World Sovereigns. Taylor & Francis. p. 170. ISBN 978-1-000-86633-9.
^ Juliano, Annette L. (2007). Buddhist Sculpture from China: Selections from the Xi'an Beilin Museum : Fifth Through Ninth Centuries. China Institute Gallery. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-9774054-2-8. Although Western Wei lasted only twenty-two years, and Northern Zhou just twenty-four years, Buddhism and Buddhist art flourished during these two regimes. Western Wei and Northern Zhou caves opened at Dunhuang , Maijishan...

Sources

History of Northern Dynasties.
Zizhi Tongjian.

v t e Northern and Southern dynasties (420–589)
Northern dynasties	Northern Wei → (Western Wei \| Eastern Wei → Northern Qi) → Northern Zhou
Southern dynasties	Liu Song → Southern Qi → Liang (Western Liang) → Chen

v t e Emperors of the Northern dynasties
Northern Wei	Daowu Mingyuan Taiwu Prince Yin of Nan'an Wencheng Xianwen Xiaowen Xuanwu Xiaoming Daughter of Xiaoming Youzhu Xiaozhuang Prince of Changguang Jiemin Houfei Xiaowu
Eastern Wei	Xiaojing
Western Wei	Wen Fei Gong
Northern Qi	Wenxuan Fei Xiaozhao Wucheng Houzhu Youzhu
Northern Zhou	Xiaomin Ming Wu Xuan Jing
Xia → Shang → Zhou → Qin → Han → 3 Kingdoms → Jìn / 16 Kingdoms → S. Dynasties / N. Dynasties → Sui → Tang → 5 Dynasties & 10 Kingdoms → Liao / Song / W. Xia / Jīn → Yuan → Ming → Qing → ROC / PRC