Today is Feburary 2nd, Groundhog Day in the United States. Why mention this in an Asian history blog? Well, per usual, leave it to the Japanese to completely reinvent an idea and produce a superior product. I don’t how many people still tune in to the prognostications of Punxsutawney Phil, but the Dramatic Chipmunk/Prairie Dog YouTube clip has had over 5 million views and counting, surely a new record in the field of “oddly expressive ground rodents.” (If you’re really bored, or stoned, check out the Kill Bill and 007 Remixes.)
On this date in 496, Emperor Xiaowen (r. 471-499) of the Tuoba (Northern) Wei Dynasty (439-534 CE) instituted a series of reforms to adapt the Xianbei ruling class to Chinese mores and customs, and so consolidate the Wei’s control of Northern China. The Xianbei originated in what is today Manchuria as nomadic raiders. In the confusion and chaos following the end of the Han Dynasty in the 3rd century C.E., the Xianbei expanded their power and moved into the North China plain plundering and pillaging, as nomadic raiders in history tended to do, led by the Tuoba clan. The Tuoba amassed more and more territory and power, and in so doing they utilized the talents of recently hired (or captured) Han Chinese scholars to advise the Tuoba rulers in matters of statecraft and culture. It was Chinese advisers to the Tuoba Wei who first proposed the idea of the Equal Field System (均田制), which after China’s reunification would become a core policy of the Tang Dynasty. Xiaowen’s edict of February 2, 496 encouraged the Xianbei aristocracy to adopt Chinese surnames, with Xiaowen choosing Yuan (元) for the imperial clan, the same character that was used much later by the Mongol conquerors of China for their own dynasty. At the same time, Xiaowen encouraged the Xianbei to intermarry with Han Chinese and mandated the use of the Chinese language and dress at court. There were those who suggested that the Tuoba Wei’s allies still out on the steppe started to resent the Sinicized (and to them sissified) Xianbei living in their luxurious new capital at Luoyang, and so rebelled against the Tuoba, bringing down the Wei Dynasty in 534.*
- —————–
Source: Patricia Ebrey, The Cambridge Illustrated History of China. (Cambridge Univ. Press: 1996), p. 92
2 responses so far ↓
1 jason // Feb 4, 2008 at 3:07 am
The Tuoba Wei Empire was surely an example for the later two Jurchen Empires when entering the Chinese North. Not only in the Sinicisation in customs and bureaucratic system, but also the Han’s religious and sociological diversity: notably, Buddhist worship and Confucian values/order. Qing, of course desperately, as in Kangxi’s legacy, tried to preserve the nomadic identity of horse backs and archery.
I always wonder about the kinship among the Xianbei, Jurchens and the ancient Chosan people.
2 Jeremiah // Feb 4, 2008 at 5:32 am
Jason,
Great points. I think that the Jurchens were not just examples of Sinicisation, per se, but self-conscious sinicization, that is to say, they were not unwittingly seduced by the glory of ‘Han’ culture (as some history books might have it) but made a political calculation to appeal to new constituencies under their rules. In this way, I think your correct in bringing Kangxi into the discussion.
Second, the patronage of Buddhism by several of the dynasties and rulers during this period, as well as the general state of society at the time, played a large role in the spread and institutionalization of Buddhism at this time.
As for the relationship between the Xianbei, Jurchen, and the Choson, I’m not really informed enough to comment. Certainly they emerged from the same general area. The ‘academic annexation’ of some parts of Korean history, culture, and even territory by a few scholars in China who argue that the founders of certain Korean ruling houses were in fact “Chinese” is all a bit dodgy though.
Thanks for the great comment.
Leave a Comment