Emperor Wencheng of Northern Wei

Emperor Wencheng of Northern Wei
北魏文成帝
Emperor of Northern Wei
ReignOctober 31, 452[1][2] – June 20, 465[3]
PredecessorTuoba Yu
SuccessorEmperor Xianwen
BornJuly or August 440[4][5]
DiedJune 20, 465[6][7]
Burial
Jin Mausoleum of Yunzhong (雲中金陵)
ConsortsEmpress Wenming
Empress Yuan
IssueEmperor Xianwen
Tuoba Changle
Tuoba Lüe
Tuoba Jian
Tuoba Ruo
Tuoba Meng
Princess Xihe
Full name
Era dates
Xīng'ān (興安) (452-454)
Xīngguāng (興光) (454-455)
Tài'ān (太安) (455-459)
Hépíng (和平) (460-465)
Posthumous name
Emperor Wénchéng (文成皇帝, "civil and successful")
Temple name
Gāozōng (高宗)
HouseTuoba
DynastyNorthern Wei
FatherTuoba Huang
MotherEmpress Gong

Emperor Wencheng of Northern Wei ((北)魏文成帝) (July or August 440 – 20 June 465), Han name Tuoba Jun (拓拔濬), Xianbei name Wulei (烏雷), was an emperor of the Xianbei-led Northern Wei dynasty of China. He became emperor aged 12 in the aftermath of the eunuch Zong Ai's assassinations of his grandfather Emperor Taiwu and uncle Tuoba Yu, and he was generally described by historians as a ruler who sought foremost to allow his people to rest after his grandfather's expansionist policies and extensive campaigns, and who also reformed the laws to become more lenient.

  1. ^ wushen day of the 10th month of the 29th year of the Yuanjia era
  2. ^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 126.
  3. ^ Grousset, Rene (1970). The Empire of the Steppes. Rutgers University Press. pp. 64. ISBN 0-8135-1304-9.
  4. ^ 6th month of the 1st year of the Taiping Zhenjun era. The month corresponds to 15 Jul to 13 Aug 440 in the Julian calendar.
  5. ^ Book of Wei, vol. 5.
  6. ^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 130.
  7. ^ guimao day of the 5th month of the 1st year of the Taishi era.