Wei (), known in historiography as the Western Wei (), was an imperial dynasty of China that followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei. One of the

Northern dynasties The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered as ...

during the era of the

Northern and Southern dynasties The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered a ...

, 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 The Tuoba (reconstructed Middle Chinese pronunciation: *''tʰak-bɛt''), also known as the Taugast or Tabgach ( otk, 𐱃𐰉𐰍𐰲 ''Tabγač''), was a Xianbei clan in Imperial China.Wei Shou. '' Book of Wei''. Vol. 1 During the Sixteen King ...

clan of the

Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were a Proto-Mongolic ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into the ...

History

After the

general

Yuwen Tai Yuwen Tai () (505 – 21 November 556According to Yuwen Tai's biography in ''Book of Zhou'', he died aged 52 (by East Asian reckoning) on the ''yihai'' day of the 10th month of the 3rd year of the reign of Emperor Gong of Western Wei. This corre ...

killed the Northern Wei emperor Yuan Xiu, he installed Yuan Baoju as

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

of Western Wei while Yuwen Tai would remain as the virtual ruler. Although smaller than the

Eastern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Eastern Wei (), was an imperial dynasty of China that followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei dynasty. One of the Northern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period, the Eastern We ...

in territory and population, Western Wei was able to withstand the attacks from the eastern empire, most notably at the

Battle of Shayuan The Battle of Shayuan () was fought in 537 AD and was the second battle between the two successor states of Northern Wei during the Southern and Northern Dynasty period. During the battle, Yuwen Tai of Western Wei successfully ambushed and defeat ...

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 Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

. In 557 Yuwen Tai's nephew

Yuwen Hu Yuwen Hu (宇文護) (513 – 14 April 572), courtesy name Sabao (薩保, also a title, which can be traced back to ''sartpāw “caravan leader”'', but was used as given name, in many cases by Buddhists - referring to the metaphorical meaning of ...

deposed Emperor Gong and placed Yuwen Tai's son

Yuwen Jue Emperor Xiaomin of Northern Zhou ((北)周孝閔帝) (542 – early November 557), personal name Yuwen Jue (宇文覺), nickname Dharani (陀羅尼), was the founder of the Xianbei-led Northern Zhou dynasty of China, ruling as Heavenly Prince ('' ...

on the throne, ending Western Wei and establishing

Northern Zhou Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern dynasties of China's Northern and Southern dynasties period, it succeeded the Western Wei dynasty a ...

Works of art

File:Northern Dynasties Warrior.jpg, Northern dynasties shieldbearer File:Western Wei civil officer.jpg, Western Wei civil officer (535–557) Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara Guimet MG18284 n01.jpg, Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, Western Wei,

Musée Guimet The Guimet Museum (full name in french: Musée national des arts asiatiques-Guimet; MNAAG; ) is an art museum located at 6, place d'Iéna in the XVIe arrondissement, 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. Literally translated into English, its ful ...

File:Section of a Pagoda-Shaped Stele (Western Wei or Northern Zhou), mid-6th century CE.jpg, Section of a Pagoda-Shaped Stele (Western Wei or Northern Zhou), mid-6th century CE File:西魏騎士壁畫.jpg, Story of the Five Hundred Robbers (535–557 CE),

Mogao Cave The Mogao Caves, also known as the Thousand Buddha Grottoes or Caves of the Thousand Buddhas, form a system of 500 temples southeast of the center of Dunhuang, an oasis located at a religious and cultural crossroads on the Silk Road, in Gansu p ...

285, Dunhuang, Western Wei period File:Pipa player, Western Wei Dynasty in Feitian, Cave 285.webp, An apsara plays a pipa in Mogao cave 285, Western Wei period.

Rulers

References

Citations

Sources

* ''

History of Northern Dynasties The ''History of the Northern Dynasties'' () is one of the official Chinese historical works in the ''Twenty-Four Histories'' canon. The text contains 100 volumes and covers the period from 386 to 618, the histories of Northern Wei, Western We ...

''. * ''

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...

''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wei States and territories established in the 530s States and territories disestablished in the 550s Dynasties in Chinese history Former countries in Chinese history 535 establishments 6th-century establishments in China 557 disestablishments 6th-century disestablishments in China