Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei

Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei
北魏太武帝
Emperor of Northern Wei
ReignDecember 27, 423[1][2] – March 11, 452
PredecessorEmperor Mingyuan
SuccessorTuoba Yu
Born408[3]
DiedMarch 11, 452[4][5]
Burial
Jin Mausoleum of Yunzhong (雲中金陵)
ConsortsEmpress Taiwu
Empress Jing'ai
Lu Zuo Zhaoyi
IssueTuoba Huang
Tuoba Fuluo
Tuoba Han
Tuoba Tan
Tuoba Jian
Tuoba Yu
Princess Shanggu
Full name
Era dates
Shǐguāng (始光) 424–428
Shénjiā (神䴥) 428–431
Yánhé (延和) 432–434
Tàiyán (太延) 435–440
Tàipíngzhēnjūn (太平真君) 440–451
Zhèngpíng (正平) 451–452
Posthumous name
Emperor Tàiwǔ (太武皇帝)
("grand and martial emperor")
Temple name
Shìzǔ (世祖)
HouseTuoba
DynastyNorthern Wei
FatherEmperor Mingyuan
MotherEmpress Mi
ReligionTaoism

Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei ((北)魏太武帝, 408 – 11 March 452), personal name Tuoba Tao (拓拔燾), Xianbei name Büri (佛貍),[6] was the third emperor of China's Northern Wei dynasty.[7] He was generally regarded as a capable ruler, and during his reign, the Northern Wei roughly doubled in size and unified all of northern China, thus ending the Sixteen Kingdoms period and, together with the southern dynasty Liu Song, starting the Southern and Northern Dynasties period of Chinese history. He was a devout Taoist, under the influence of his prime minister Cui Hao, and in 444, at Cui Hao's suggestion and believing that Buddhists had supported the rebellion of Gai Wu (蓋吳), he ordered the abolition of Buddhism, at the penalty of death. This was the first of the Three Disasters of Wu for Chinese Buddhism. Late in his reign, his reign began to be cruel, and his people were also worn out by his incessant wars against the Liu Song dynasty. In 452, he was assassinated by his eunuch Zong Ai, who put his son Tuoba Yu on the throne but then assassinated Tuoba Yu as well. The other officials overthrew Zong and put Emperor Taiwu's grandson Tuoba Jun (son of Tuoba Huang the Crown Prince, who predeceased him).

  1. ^ renshen day of the 11th month of the 1st year of the Jingping era
  2. ^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 119.
  3. ^ 5th year of the Tianci era, per Emperor Taiwu's biography in Book of Wei
  4. ^ jiayin day of the 2nd month of the 29th year of the Yuanjia era
  5. ^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 126.
  6. ^ 佛貍 should actually be pronounced Büri, and meant "wolf" in the Xianbei language, 罗新:《北魏太武帝的鲜卑本名》,《民族研究》,2006年第4期。
  7. ^ Grousset, Rene (1970). The Empire of the Steppes. Rutgers University Press. pp. 61. ISBN 0-8135-1304-9.