#wang luo'er

[incorrectmedievalchina]

Tuoba Si: I told His Majesty his ears flush when he lies.

Wang Luo'er: Why?

Tuoba Si: Look.

Tuoba Si: Hey Your Majesty! Do you love me?

Tuoba Gui, covering his ears: Yes.

Wang Luo'er:

[craftercat]

WS29.2.1, Biography of Shusun Jun

(His clan name was actually Yizhan. The Yizhan clan changed their clan name to Shusun during the Sinicisation reforms of Emperor Xiaowen. Also, providing some context and explanation for the Northern Wei practice of encouraging the suicides of officials' widows which started with him)

Biography

[Yizhan Jian]'s eldest son was Jun, courtesy name Chougui, [he was] intelligent at a young age. At the age of fifteen, attended the imperial palace as a retainer. Had a cautious and calm character, and did not exceed his capabilities. In order to be a horse mount archer, was transferred as a hunting official [1].

長子俊，字醜歸，少聰敏。年十五，內侍左右。性謹密，初無過行。以便弓馬，轉為獵郎.

Emperor Taizu [posthumous name Emperor Daowu, personal name Tuoba Gui] died, the Prince of Qinghe, Shao, shut the palace gates [2], and Taizong [posthumous name Emperor Mingyuan, personal name Tuoba Si] was outside [3]. Shao forced Jun to act to assist him. Although Jun on the outside submitted to Shao, on the inside he had true loyalty, therefore with Yuan [4] Mohan and others criticised Shao, pledging allegiance to Taizong. This affair is in the biography of Mohan.

太祖崩，清河王紹閉宮門，太宗在外。紹逼俊以為己援。俊外雖從紹，內實忠款，仍與元磨渾等說紹，得歸太宗。事在磨渾傳。

At this time of Taizong's retainers, only Che [5] Lutou, Wang Luo'er and others, were able to reach Jun and others' [assistance], [Taizong] was very pleased [with him], [Jun] acted as an attendant.

是時太宗左右，唯車路頭、王洛兒等，及得俊等，大悅，以為爪牙。

When Taizong succeeded to the throne, ordered that Jun, Mohan and others correct the errors of the retainers. Was transferred as a guard general and bestowed as Duke of Ancheng.

太宗即位，命俊與磨渾等拾遺左右。遷衞將軍，賜爵安城公。

The Prince of Zhuti, Yue, carried a knife in his bosom and entered within the imperial residence, to goad a major rebellion. Jun realised Yue's actions were unusual, and easily held his hand and pulled it back, thus within Yue's bosom there were two daggers, [Yue] was thereupon executed.

太宗即位，命俊與磨渾等拾遺左右。遷衞將軍，賜爵安城公。朱提王悅懷刃入禁中，將為大逆。俊覺悅舉動有異，便引手掣之，乃於悅懷中得兩刃匕首，遂殺之。

Taizong grasped Jun's significant merits from beginning to end, the policies of military affairs and civil administration were all according to his appointment, many officials starting their posts were earlier by Jun selected and inspected, and after that were presented and confirmed.

太宗以俊前後功重，軍國大計一以委之，群官上事，先由俊銓校，然後奏聞。

[Jun] had a just, fair and gentle character, and his form was not likely to be easily angered. [He was] loyal, devoted and genuine, and did not flatter his superiors or repress his subordinates. Every time he received an imperial edict and announced it to the outside, he would certainly announce [it] politely, the receivers would all be fulfilled and retreat, and those with confidential matters would turn away and arrive at the torch [6] again. Therefore his superiors and subordinates admired and praised him.

性平正柔和，未嘗有喜怒之色。忠篤愛厚，不諂上抑下。每奉詔宣外，必告示殷勤，受事者皆飽之而退，事密者倍至蒸仍。是以上下嘉歎。

Died in the first year of Taichang [416 CE], was twenty-eight [7] at the time, Taizong was excessively anguished and mournful, went in person and was deeply aggrieved. In all levels of society, there was no lacking in their pursuit of pity. Bestowed as Palace Attendant, Minister of Land and Water and Prince of Ancheng [8], with the posthumous name of Filial and Fundamental [xiaoyuan].

泰常元年卒，時年二十八，太宗甚痛悼之，親臨哀慟。朝野無不追惜。贈侍中、司空、安城王，諡孝元。

Was bestowed warm and bright rare utensils, carried using a sleeping carriage, guarded by soldiers leading their followers, and was buried [with other important people, including the imperial family] in the Jin Mausoleum. His son Pu inherited his rank. After [this], when esteemed ministers with great merit and special favour died, the rites with which they were paid their last respects were all according to the tradition of Jun's [9], but did not surpass that.

子蒲，襲爵。後有��功及寵幸貴臣薨，賻送終禮，皆依俊故事，無得踰之者.

[As a part of this], when Jun died, Taizong advised his wife Lady Huan [10] and said:

"When people in life share glory, in death it is appropriate to share a tomb. The capacity for [you] to be buried with the dead may be an undertaking of [your] desire." [11]

Lady Huan thus hanged herself and died, and was thereupon jointly interred there.

初，俊既卒，太宗命其妻桓氏曰：「夫生既共榮，沒宜同穴，能殉葬者可任意。」桓氏乃縊而死，遂合葬焉。

Northern Wei emperors and princes would often go on hunts with their attendants. I presume that Yizhan Jun would attend the emperor or a prince's hunting trip.

2. Tuoba Shao had assassinated Tuoba Gui.

3. Tuoba Si had earlier fled the capital of Pingcheng to avoid his father's wrath.

4. Should be Tuoba Mohan, as the imperial clan name of Tuoba was changed to Yuan by Emperor Xiaowen.

5. Should be Chekun Lutou, as the Chekun clan shortened their clan name under the reforms of Emperor Xiaowen.

6. I presume that 蒸 refers to a type of torch in this context. Torches would be lit as a signal during this time.

7. By East Asian age reckoning, in which a person is considered 1 year old at birth and becomes a year older at New Year, regardless of individual birthday. By Western age reckoning, he would be 26 or 27 years old.

8. He received the title of Duke of Ancheng in his lifetime; he was posthumously promoted to the rank of prince.

9. This likely refers to the death of the wives of these officials, which is outlined in the section below this statement.

10. Should be Lady Wuwan, as the Wuwan clan changed their clan name to Huan under the reforms of Emperor Xiaowen.

11. The Zizhi Tongjian phrases this differently, stating: "In life you shared honour with him [Yizhan Jun], will you share his sadness in death?" The History of the Northern Dynasties records an identical phrase to the Book of Wei, so Sima Guang likely paraphrased the earlier phrase in his record. The outcome was the same.

The Northern Wei practice

The death of Yizhan Jun started a practice in which the wives of powerful and favoured officials would be encouraged into committing suicide upon the official's death. This was first hinted using the euphemism "buried according to the rites of Shusun Jun".

(Technically, Tuoba Si had earlier poisoned Wang Luo'er's wife, but this was an irregular case. All other women to die to this practice were encouraged to commit suicide, yet she was poisoned, and the Weishu dates this practice to Shusun Jun, not Wang Luo'er. Wang Luo'er's wife may have been poisoned for a different reason)

This practice started with Tuoba Si and Yizhan Jun, but it continued into his son Tuoba Tao's reign. Tuoba Tao later buried his official Lu (Tufulu) Luyuan with the rites of Yizhan Jun, indicating this practice. Tufulu Luyuan's rites were even greater, so from then on, this practice was euphemised as "buried according to the rites of Lu Luyuan", which should indicate this practice, as Lu Luyuan was buried with this practice.

I think that although Tuoba Si claimed burial etiquette as his reasoning, the actual reasoning was probably to prevent other powerful tribes from coming to power the same way the Tuobas themselves did - using their maternal connections.

Tuoba Gui used his connections to the Helan and Murong tribes to claim power for himself. Later, Tuoba Shao's attempted seizure of power likely relied on his maternal tribe, the Helan tribe, making two incidents where this method of gaining power was attempted. Tuoba Gui created 子贵母死, and Tuoba Si this policy, to prevent others from using this method of gaining power.

Though the Tuoba clan did not restrict the greater freedom of common women, they restricted the women in elite classes, who they saw as being a threat to their power. Due to their knowledge that they only came to power with the help of maternal connections, they became fearful of these connections being exploited.

It is for this reason that the practice continued after the death of Tuoba Si, and continued to as far as Empress Dowager Feng's regency over Emperor Xiaowen. The practice was likely abolished during the sinicisation reforms of Emperor Xiaowen.

[incorrectmedievalchina]

Hear me out, but tuoba si is wang luo'er's malewife, and che lutou is tuoba si's malewife.

[craftercat]

The Succession Crisis of 409: The Coup of Tuoba Shao (2/2)

Welcome to part 2 of the series. In this part, I will be looking at the moves of Tuoba Shao in his attempt to seize power, which will show the failings as a politician that led to his defeat.

There is little record of Tuoba Si during his time on the run. We know that Tuoba Si left the palace in the seventh lunar month of 409, and that he returned in the tenth lunar month. This means that he was on the run for at least two months. There are clues on how he lived:

Weishu volume 34: 元紹之逆，太宗左右唯洛兒與車路頭而已。

"In Tuoba Shao's rebellion, Tuoba Si's attendants were only Wang Luo'er and Chekun Lutou."

Weishu volume 105: 及六年七月，宣穆后以強死，太子微行人間

"Reaching the seventh month of the sixth year [of Tianci], Empress Xuanmu violently died, and the crown prince [Tuoba Si] went out secretly amongst the people."

This shows both what Tuoba Si was doing and just how vulnerable he was during this period. He only had two attendants on his side, and he was vulnerable to being hunted down or persecuted. The second record shows that Tuoba Si's plan was not to flee to another state but to hide amongst the common people. This plan was likely because Tuoba Si hoped that Tuoba Gui would summon him back to display forgiveness and that he would somehow be able to claim the throne.

What was going on in the palace? At the time, Tuoba Gui was handling clan politics.

Weishu volume 15: 天賜六年，天文多變，占者云「當有逆臣伏尸流血」。太祖惡之，頗殺公卿，欲以厭當天災。儀內不自安，單騎遁走。太祖使人追執之，遂賜死，葬以庶人禮。

"In the sixth year of Tianci [409], the astronomical signs had many changes, and diviners said: "There will be a rebellious subject and a bloodied corpse on the ground." Tuoba Gui hated this, very much killed ministers, wishing to remove the foretold heavenly disaster. Tuoba Yi did not feel at ease, and fled on a single horse. Tuoba Gui sent people to pursue and arrest him, thereupon forced him to commit suicide, and was buried with the rites of a commoner."

Weishu volume 15: 初，衞王死後，太祖欲敦宗親之義，詔引諸王子弟入宴。常山王素等三十餘人咸謂與衞王相坐，疑懼，皆出逃遁，將奔蠕蠕，唯崇獨至。太祖見之甚悅，厚加禮賜，遂寵敬之，素等於是亦安。

"Earlier, after Tuoba Yi died, Tuoba Gui wanted to respect the relationship between clan members, and decreed to summon the various princely sons and brothers for a banquet. The Prince of Changshan, Su, and others, more than thirty people, all said they were being tried together with Tuoba Yi, were afraid, and they all escaped, planning to flee to Rouran, and only Tuoba Chong arrived. Tuoba Gui treated him with great pleasure, rewarded him generously, and thereupon favoured him, and Tuoba Su and the others were thereupon also at peace."

It can be seen here that Tuoba Gui executed Tuoba Yi for escaping, but he realised that the other clan members might plot against him, so he summoned them to show his grace but also to observe their loyalty to him. Due to the atmosphere of fear, Tuoba Su and the other clan members planned to escape, and only Tuoba Chong did not. Because Tuoba Chong had been loyal to him, Tuoba Gui treated him very well.

This focus on clan politics may also be about succession. Tuoba Gui wanted to abandon the brother-brother succession of Dai, and he therefore had two options after Tuoba Si left: Tuoba Si's one-year-old son Tuoba Tao or Tuoba Si's brother Tuoba Shao.

Tuoba Gui was very fond of Tuoba Tao and envisioned him as his heir, which I demonstrated in the previous article. However, as a one year old, Tuoba Tao was not old enough to rule and would need a regent, which could lead to instability. Meanwhile, Tuoba Shao was favoured by both Tuoba Gui and the old tribes, and he had some kind of talent to have this support. Tuoba Shao also had some experience of court politics to be able to persecute Tuoba Si, but he had not been successful in doing so.

Either way, it appears that Tuoba Gui abandoned making Tuoba Tao his heir due to his youth, and made Tuoba Shao the heir instead:

Weishu volume 16: 而紹母夫人賀氏有譴，太祖幽之於宮，將殺之。會日暮，未決。

"And Tuoba Shao's mother Consort Helan had an offense, so Tuoba Gui imprisoned her in the palace, planning to kill her. At dusk, it had not been decided."

It seems unclear why Consort Helan had not yet been executed at dusk: when Tuoba Gui killed people based on suspicion, he would often do it with his own hands, and certainly not with this hesitation. It appears more likely that Tuoba Gui planned to kill Consort Helan based on the same reasons as why he killed Consort Liu. Of course, the records on this may well have been changed to avoid making Tuoba Shao look like a legitimate option.

However, Consort Helan did not just sit around:

Weishu volume 16: 賀氏密告紹曰：「汝將何以救吾？」紹乃夜與帳下及宦者數人，踰宮犯禁。

"Consort Helan secretly told Shao: "How shall you rescue me?" Shao thus at night climbed the walls of the palace with several eunuchs and subordinates, violating the prohibition."

That Consort Helan was able to send a message to incite Tuoba Shao to rebellion showed that she was not a passive figure, but someone with influence in the palace. Although the Helan tribe had been suppressed, there may have been supporters of the tribe, such as the other old tribes, still in the palace, and Consort Helan may have exerted influence through them.

This led Tuoba Shao to kill his father:

Weishu volume 16: 左右侍御呼曰：「賊至！」太祖驚起，求弓刀不獲，遂暴崩。

"Tuoba Gui's attendants exclaimed: "Traitors have arrived!" Tuoba Gui was startled, sought his bow and sword but did not obtain them, and thereupon died violently."

Why didn't Tuoba Gui seek his bow and sword? Likely because of a betrayal within the court itself. Tuoba Gui's tyranny had alienated those around him, which made them willing to plot against him. His violent death showed that he had lost his grasp on politics, and didn't understand that fear alone does not inspire loyalty.

This gives a clue:

Weishu volume 16: 於是賜紹母子死，誅帳下閹官、宮人為內應者十數人

"Thereupon Tuoba Shao and his mother were forced to commit suicide, and executed more than ten subordinates, eunuchs and palace maids who acted as internal responders"

A "內應" refers to someone who acts to support someone as an agent. This could refer to the attendants of Tuoba Gui. But how did they support Tuoba Shao? Maybe, when Tuoba Gui asked for his bow and sword, they decided to betray him and support Tuoba Shao, and therefore they intentionally did not give it to him.

However, these events also show Tuoba Shao's flaws as a politician. He relied on the Helan tribe and several palace attendants to kill his father, without really thinking of what to do afterwards. He hadn't gathered support from any of the larger factions, such as the clan, the traditional Xianbei, the reformist Xianbei or the Han aristocrats. His plan to kill his father was reckless and already showed his poor political strategy.

What happened the next day may give some clues as to the power dynamics at the time:

Weishu volume 16: 明日，宮門至日中不開，紹稱詔召百僚於西宮端門前北面而立，紹從門扇間謂羣臣曰：「我有父，亦有兄，公卿欲從誰也？」王公已下皆驚愕失色，莫有對者。良久，南平公長孫嵩曰：「從王。」羣臣乃知宮車晏駕，而不審登遐之狀，唯陰平公元烈哭泣而去。

"The next day, the palace gates did not open until midday, and Tuoba Shao issued an edict to summon the officials in front of the West Palace's northern gate to establish himself, and Shao between the doors called the ministers and said:

"I have a father, and I also have an older brother, who do you ministers wish to follow."

The princes, dukes and below were all startled, and there was no reply. After a long time, the Duke of Nanping, Baba Song said:

"I follow the prince."

The ministers knew the emperor had died, but did not investigate the cause, and only the Duke of Yinping, Tuoba Lie, cried and left."

When Tuoba Shao says he has a "father", he actually means that he has an "uncle"; he is referring to the Dai horizontal succession. But who is this uncle? According to the records, Tuoba Gui's only brother was Tuoba Gu, and he had been executed in 397. So who is this uncle referring to?

The birth and death dates of Tuoba Han do not fit with the records surrounding him. He should have been a child when he died, not someone with military accomplishments and three sons (Tuoba Yi, Tuoba Lie, Tuoba Gu). So it has been theorised that these were actually the children of Tuoba Shiyijian and Tuoba Gui's mother Princess Dowager Helan (Consort Helan's older sister; yes, Tuoba Gui fathered a son with his aunt). Which would then make Tuoba Lie the uncle, granduncle and cousin of Tuoba Shao, and through these connections, if the traditional Dai system of succession were to be used, Tuoba Lie would have been the proper successor to the throne.

But why did Tuoba Shao do this move? I think he was trying to intimidate the ministers. By issuing an edict to summon them and then asking if they wanted to follow him instead of the two people with better claims to the throne than him, he was essentially telling them that he was in charge. Tuoba Lie knew that he was the uncle Tuoba Shao was referring to, and that was why he cried and left. The other ministers knew that Tuoba Gui was dead and Tuoba Shao was in charge, but they didn't know how this happened, and they were therefore afraid and followed Tuoba Shao.

As well, that Baba Song responded first also shows the court power dynamics. The Baba clan were an old tribe that had been honoured since the time of Dai, and Baba Song was the most senior member of this tribe. This meant that Baba Song was the leader of the traditional Xianbei faction at court. The Helan tribe were also traditionally honoured Xianbei like the Baba tribe, and Tuoba Shao's character was likely more in line with traditional Xianbei values, and so Baba Song may have supported Tuoba Shao as a representative of the interests of the traditional Xianbei tribes.

At the time, there were three main groups of ministers: the traditional Xianbei, headed by Baba Song, the reformist Xianbei, which had been headed by Tuoba Yi until his death in 409, and the Han aristocrats, headed by Cui Hong. The political purges of Tuoba Gui had changed the influence of these factions, and in 409, most ministers were traditional Xianbei, even though eliminating a single faction wasn't the goal.

So why did Tuoba Shao lose support so quickly? I think it was to do with the political landscape. Tuoba Shao supported the interests of the traditional Xianbei, but he specifically supported the interests of the Helan tribe:

Weishu volume 16: 肥如侯賀護舉烽於安陽城北，故賀蘭部人皆往赴之，其餘舊部亦率子弟招集族人，往往相聚。

"The Marquis of Feiru, Helan Hu, lit a signal in the north of Anyang city, hence the Helan tribesmen all went there, and the other old tribes also led their sons and brothers to assemble their tribesmen, and they frequently assembled."

This shows not just the shift in power to favour the Helan tribe and the other old tribes, but also the reversal of Tuoba Gui's reforms. In 398, after taking Zhongshan, Tuoba Gui had dissolved the tribes and replaced them with eight artificial units, each headed by a dafu. That the old tribes were gathering together their tribesmen showed that Tuoba Shao reversed the dissolution of the tribes. The old tribes would frequently assemble in Anyang to collect their old tribesmen. Tuoba Gui had assigned fixed locations for the eight units that they were not allowed to leave; Tuoba Shao clearly reversed this, as the old tribes were all gathering in Anyang, which could not have been the fixed location of all of the old tribes.

Another thing that is strange is that the biography of the Helan tribe in the Book of Wei attributes this not to Helan Hu but to Helan Ni:

Weishu volume 83: 子泥，襲爵，後降為肥如侯。太祖崩，京師草草，泥出舉烽於安陽城北，賀蘭部人皆往赴之。太宗即位，乃罷。

"[Helan Yue]'s son Ni, inherited the titled, later downgraded to Marquis of Feiru. When Tuoba Gui died, the capital was in turmoil, and Helan Ni went out to light a beacon fire in the north of Anyang city, and the Helan tribespeople all went there. When Tuoba Si came to the throne, he thereupon stopped."

Both Helan Hu and Helan Ni had the same title, and both lighted the beacon fire in the north of Anyang city. But why is this attributed to two different people? While the pronunciation of "Hu" and "Ni" could be similar in the Xianbei language, if Helan Hu/Ni was Tuoba Shao's second-in-command, then why did he have such an honoured position in Tuoba Si and Tuoba Tao's reigns? And even if they were different people, what were the Helan tribe and the other old tribes even doing at the signal?

I think it's likely that these tribes were assembling together to migrate back to their old lands after Tuoba Shao reversed Tuoba Gui's reforms. Ultimately they did not have the time to actually move north, but that was likely their plan. As well, Tuoba Shao intended to remove the Han ministers from power and elevate the Helan tribe and their subordinates:

Weishu volume 3: 公卿大臣先罢归第不与朝政者，悉复登用之.

"The major ministers who had earlier been returned to their mansion and did not participate in politics were all restored and promoted."

Tuoba Gui did not remove major ministers from office on a large scale; he preferred to simply execute them. This must have happened in Tuoba Shao's coup. Tuoba Shao wanted to empower the Helan tribe and the other old tribes, so he removed many Han aristocrats from office and replaced them with the Helan tribe and their subordinates.

Weishu volume 24: 太祖崩，太宗未即位，清河王紹聞人心不安，大出財帛班賜朝士。玄伯獨不受。

"When Tuoba Gui died, Tuoba Si had not yet ascended, and the Prince of Qinghe, Tuoba Shao, heard the people's hearts were not at ease, and greatly sent wealth and silk to bestow on the court ministers. Cui Hong was the only one who did not accept."

Cui Hong was the leader of the Han aristocratic faction, who Tuoba Shao wanted to suppress. It is likely that Tuoba Shao, in order to elevate the traditional Xianbei, removed Cui Hong from his post and returned him to his mansion. Because Cui Hong was angry about this, he therefore refused the silk.

We also know who accepted the silk:

Weishu volume 24: 長孫嵩已下咸愧焉。

"Baba Song and below were all ashamed."

As I discussed before, Baba Song was the leader of the traditional Xianbei faction. This traditional Xianbei faction were the ones that were bestowed with silk. But this bestowal also indicates that the traditional Xianbei were unhappy with Tuoba Shao. How did Tuoba Shao alienate this faction? Probably because the Helan clan were already monopolising power.

Weishu volume 16: 於是賜紹母子死

"Thereupon Tuoba Shao and his mother were forced to commit suicide"

This indicates that Consort Helan was a major part of Tuoba Shao's governance. She was clearly one of the two main targets of the coup alongside Tuoba Shao, which indicates her power and influence within his government. This also indicates that the Helan tribe were heavily involved in governance, along with Helan Hu/Helan Ni lighting the beacon fire. Consort Helan had likely been honoured as empress dowager by Tuoba Shao soon after the coup.

Who was replacing the dismissed Han aristocrats? Probably the Helan tribe and their former subordinate tribes. I will discuss the Helan tribe and their fall from grace in a separate article, but what is relevant here is that by 409, the Helan tribe were powerless and did not have a major position in court. Tuoba Gui had worked for years to eliminate the power of the Helan tribe, and now Tuoba Shao wanted to restore the Helan tribe - the same Helan tribe that had been involved in a major rebellion during the Later Yan campaign.

This idea quickly made Tuoba Shao a lot of enemies: the Han aristocrats didn't like how they were being shafted and how Tuoba Gui's reforms were being reversed; the reformist Xianbei didn't like the Helan tribe and didn't want to see them in power; the imperial clan worried that the Helan tribe would become too powerful; and now the traditional Xianbei were worried that the Helan tribe would usurp their own positions, and were concerned for a Helan tribe takeover.

To these people, this was just the beginning. What if Empress Dowager Helan and her tribe were to start claiming even more power for themselves? What if they were merely using Tuoba Shao as a puppet, and were planning to overthrow Tuoba Shao and make one of their own tribesmen emperor? Regardless of the disagreements between the factions, they all had one thing in common: they did not want to become or be ruled by Helan Xianbei instead of Tuoba Xianbei.

So if the Helan tribe are so involved in this coup, who was Helan Hu, and was he the same person as Helan Ni? I think they were the same person. Both are mentioned as working with An Tong for Tuoba Si, so I don't think it makes sense for them not to be.

I think he could be Tuoba Shao's second in command who was appointed to gather the old tribes. However he betrayed Tuoba Shao and switched sides to support Tuoba Si, either by working with the imperial guard or leading the old tribes to support Tuoba Si. He may even have helped An Tong gather supporters.

In a way, it's almost laughable that Tuoba Shao thought that he could rely on the Helan tribe at the expense of all other factions to usurp the throne and seize power. This policy shows Tuoba Shao's lack of understanding or talent in politics: a politician should align with rising factions or ideas against falling factions or ideas. Tuoba Shao aligned himself with the falling Helan tribe. Tuoba Shao was defeated not because of his lack of legitimacy, but because Tuoba Si was a much wiser politician than him.

Meanwhile, what was Tuoba SI doing? He was preparing to take the throne:

Weishu volume 16: 先是，太宗在外，聞變乃還，潛于山中，使人夜告北新侯安同，眾皆響應。

"Earlier, Tuoba Si was outside, and he heard the coup and returned, hiding in the mountains, and sent people at night to report to the Marquis of Beixin, An Tong, and the people all respnded."

Weishu volume 34: 晝居山嶺，夜還洛兒家。洛兒隣人李道潛相奉給，晨昏往復，眾庶頗知，喜而相告。紹聞，收道斬之。洛兒猶冒難往返京都，通問於大臣，大臣遂出奉迎，百姓奔赴。

"[Tuoba Si] by day resided in the mountains, and at night returned to Wang Luo'er's house. Wang Luo'er's neighbour Li Dao secretly provided him with supplies, day and night going back and forwards, and the masses all knew, were pleased and told each other. Tuoba Shao heard, arrested Li Dao and executed him. Wang Luo'er still risked disaster to come back and go out of the capital, communicating with the ministers, and the ministers thereupon went out to great him, and the common people went there."

Weishu volume 30: 清河王紹之亂，太宗在外，使夜告同，令收合百工伎巧，眾皆響應奉迎。

"In the rebellion of Tuoba Shao, Tuoba Si was outside, by night sent messengers to communicate with An Tong, ordered him to collect the many officials and craftsmen, and the masses all responded and welcomed him."

These records show just how unpopular Tuoba Shao had become. Not only were the officials turning against him, but the common people also supported Tuoba Si. Wang Luo'er and An Tong were both able to convince officials to switch sides and join Tuoba Shao, which quickly eroded at his power base. Tuoba Shao had tried to persecute Tuoba Si, but he was so lacking in support that it backfired:

Weishu volume 14: 元紹之逆也，太宗潛隱於外，磨渾與叔孫俊詐云太宗所在。紹使帳下二人隨磨渾往，規為逆。磨渾既得出，便縛帳下詣太宗斬之。太宗得磨渾，大喜，因為羽翼。

"In Tuoba Shao's rebellion, Tuoba Si was hiding outside, and Tuoba Mohun and Yizhan Jun falsely stated Tuoba Si's location. Tuoba Shao sent two of his subordinates to follow Tuoba Mohun there, in order to kill Tuoba Si. Tuoba Mohun went out, then arrested the two subordinates and went to Tuoba Si to execute them. Tuoba Si obtained Tuoba Mohun and was very happy, and thereupon became an assistant."

Tuoba Mohun was a member of the imperial clan who had a long relationship with Tuoba Si; Yizhan Jun was a part of the reformist Xianbei faction. Tuoba Shao had tried to kill Tuoba Si, but he was so lacking in support that his own faction was weakened, and Tuoba Si gained more close allies to protect himself with.

Just four days (according to the Weishu) or fourteen days (according to the Beishi) after launching his coup, Tuoba Shao was arrested by his own guard:

Weishu volume 16: 太宗至城西，衞士執送紹。

"Tuoba Si reached the west of the city, and the imperial guard arrested and sent off Tuoba Shao."

I do not think that the imperial guard acted alone. Tuoba Shao had so many enemies amongst all factions that I think it's more likely that the officials turned against Tuoba Shao, and plotted with the imperial guard to depose him. Who led the plot is unclear, and I'll talk about it more when I discuss Tuoba Si's measures to secure his power. After this, the old tribes abandoned Tuoba Shao, stopped the signal and submitted to Tuoba Si to save their own lives.

This final end shows how much Tuoba Shao failed as a politician. He made almost everyone his enemy: the traditional Xianbei, the reformist Xianbei, the Han aristocrats, the imperial clan, and the imperial guards were all against him by the time of his downfall. In the Han dynasty, Liu He lasted 27 days before being removed, and Zong Ai lasted more than six months as the main power. However, Tuoba Shao only lasted fourteen (or four) days in power before being removed, which is a real testament to his lack of political skill.

Weishu volume 16: 於是賜紹母子死，誅帳下閹官、宮人為內應者十數人，其先犯乘輿者，羣臣於城南都街生臠割而食之。

"Thereupon [Tuoba Si] forced Tuoba Shao and his mother to commit suicide, and executed the subordinates, eunuchs and palace maids who had supported him, more than ten people. Those who previously killed Tuoba Gui were chopped up and eaten raw by the ministers in the southern streets of the city."

That the ministers ate Tuoba Shao and the people who had actively plotted to kill Tuoba Gui shows just how hated Tuoba Shao had become. Tuoba Shao had only plotted with several of his subordinates and eunuchs; as I discussed, the others were likely the ones who prevented Tuoba Gui from obtaining a bow or sword.

But was that really everyone he executed? I have already discussed that after Tuoba Shao's arrest, the old tribes stopped the smoke signal and led themselves to support Tuoba Si in order to save their own lives. This meant that Tuoba Si did not need to execute them. But what happened to the Helan tribe?

The Helan tribe's influence was finally relegated with the failure of the 409 coup. Helan Ni did have a position in Tuoba Si and Tuoba Tao's administration, but that was because he played a major role in the submission of the old tribes. What about the other Helans? Apart from Helan Ni, we have no records on any other members of the Helan tribe after Tuoba Gui. We can assume that Tuoba Si either massacred the Helan tribe or that he simply removed almost all of their power and influence, making them powerless to resist their Tuoba rulers.

There are clues as to what happened to the ministers that Tuoba Shao instated during his coup:

Weishu volume 4: 於是除禁錮，釋嫌怨，開倉庫，賑窮乏，河南流民相率內屬者甚眾。

"Thereupon removed civil service prohibitions, mended old grudges, opened warehouses, and relieved the poor, and Henan's refugees who submitted one after another were extremely many."

I think the part on opening warehouses and relieving the poor is Tuoba Tao stealing achievements from his father (because the warehouses were decreed to be opened on the tenth month, while this record is from the twelfth month of the same year; the decree likely didn't get everywhere until after Tuoba Si died) but the part about removing civil service prohibitions and mending old grudges is interesting.

"禁錮" refers to prohibitions on a person joining the civil service. It is usually used on corrupt officials, losers in political struggles and political dissidents. That Tuoba Tao removed these suggests that Tuoba Si had imposed an abnormally large number of "禁錮". However, there was little factionalism within his reign itself, Tuoba Tao would never reinstate corrupt officials, and Tuoba Si wasn't known for his harsh crackdowns. I find it more likely that he imposed the "禁錮" on the ministers that Tuoba Shao had employed to replace the old ministers during his coup. He also used the "禁錮" after his southern expedition to suppress the Henan gentry's power, but I'll get to Tuoba Si's governance of Henan later: the records hide his desire to change Henan's political landscape, probably because it involved Xianbeification of the region.

Tuoba Si recognised that the palace attendants were capricious and might not support him, but he introduced a measure to change that:

Weishu volume 83: 詔泥與元渾等八人拾遺左右。

"[Tuoba Si] decreed for [Helan] Ni, Tuoba Mohun and others, eight people, to remedy the errors of the attendants."

The people who were remedying the errors of the attendants were all supporters of Tuoba Si in the coup. We know five of them: Tuoba Mohun, Yizhan Jun, Helan Ni, Qiudun Dui and Baba Han. We know that Tuoba Mohun, Yizhan Jun and Baba Han were involved in the plan to thwart Tuoba Shao's assassination attempt on Tuoba Si. But what did Helan Ni and Qiudun Dui do?

I think that Helan Ni and Qiudun Dui were the leaders of the old tribes who submitted to Tuoba Si and stopped the smoke signal. I also think that the other three unknown attendants were likely involved in convincing the imperial guard to arrest Tuoba Shao, or even the members of the imperial guard who were the leaders behind the arrest of Tuoba Shao.

He also immediately reformed the attendant system:

Weishu volume 113: 永興元年十一月，置騏驎官四十人，宿直殿省，比常侍、侍郎。

"In the first year of Yongxing [409] in the eleventh month, established the Unicorn Bureau of forty people, who spent the night on duty in the palace, similar to regular attendants."

It can be seen from this that Tuoba Si believed there to be too few night attendants, and that this played a hand in Tuoba Gui's inability to defend himself against Tuoba Shao. He therefore created a new bureau of night attendants, to ensure that the coup of Tuoba Shao could never happen again. As well, these people were chosen by him or his loyal officials, which would make them more loyal to him rather than to any remaining supporters of Tuoba Shao.

Tuoba Si also removed excess palace staff from the palace. He believed that it was better to have fewer, more talented attendants, and that there were too many in the palace. To him, if there were too many attendants, then it created more opportunities for plotting. He therefore released many of the palace maids and sent them to get married, and he likely also removed many of the palace eunuchs from their positions. Of course, the motive was also to increase labour and reduce palace expenses during a time of flood and drought, but I think that his doubts about the loyalty of these attendants also played a role. His strategy of keeping few, close attendants is one I'll talk about later.

He also needed to fix the problems of Tuoba Gui's final years:

Weishu volume 3: 公卿大臣先罷歸第不與朝政者，悉復登用之。詔南平公長孫嵩、北新侯安同對理民訟，簡賢任能，彝倫攸敍。

"The ministers who had earlier been dismissed and returned to their mansions, not taking part in politics, were all restored and re-employed. Decreed for the Duke of Nanping, Baba Song, and the Marquis of Beixin, An Tong, to handle the people's disputes, select the talented and rely on the able, and order and coherence were expressed from afar."

Tuoba Si both stabilised the government and the people. By re-instating the victims of both Tuoba Gui's purges and Tuoba Shao's promotion of the Helan tribe, Tuoba Si hoped to gather support from the officials. He also established central government ministers to handle law cases, which did not exist in Tuoba Gui's reign. This was actually a major step towards a more Han Chinese judicial system, where the central government had a major role in law enforcement. His reliance on the talented also led to more stability. In the end, his practical governance measures led to a stable and orderly reign.

The measures Tuoba Si took after coming to the throne easily shows why he won the succession struggle. Tuoba Shao tried to prop up a declining tribe and alienated everyone else in the process, failing to gather a support base, and even removed important reforms to raise up the Helan tribe. Tuoba Si, however, imposed practical measures to solve the serious problems of Tuoba Gui's later years, and acted in the interests of the officials as a group. Tuoba Si was simply a much better politician than Tuoba Shao, and smarter than him.

I will discuss Tuoba Si's own political measures later on, but for now I'm going to back to Tuoba Gui's reign and talk about his reforms and his founding of Northern Wei.

[craftercat]

A Detailed Analysis of the Northern Wei Emperors' Widow Suicide Tradition

In the early Northern Wei dynasty, a system was created where when a powerful and favoured official died, his wife would then be encouraged into committing suicide. The system started during the reign of Tuoba Si and remained prevalent in Tuoba Tao's reign, and there were some cases as far as 476, during Empress Dowager Feng's regency over Yuan Hong. Why was this implemented?

First of all, one thing that is unusual is that the Book of Wei considered this practice to be an honour for the official and their family due to their great favour. Despite this, the Book of Wei did criticise the similar tradition of the crown prince's mother being forced to commit suicide. The difference is probably because the latter tradition involved the emperor killing his own consort rather than someone else's.

Second of all, the starting point of the tradition is murky. The Book of Wei believes the official starting point to be Yizhan Jun's death and funeral rites in 416:

Book of Wei volume 29: 後有大功及寵幸貴臣薨，賻送終禮，皆依俊故事，無得踰之者。

"After, when ministers with great merits and special favour died, the rites of funerals and paying respects were all according to the practice of Yizhan Jun, and none were able to surpass it."

However, there is an earlier case of a similar type of death amongst official widows under Tuoba Si:

Book of Wei volume 34: 乃鴆其妻周氏，與洛兒合葬。

"[Tuoba Si] thus poisoned [Wang Luo'er's] wife Lady Zhou (should be Lady Pu), and buried her with Wang Luo'er."

Yet there are actually quite a few differences between this case and the case with Yizhan Jun's wife. The process in which a wife died from the tradition is demonstrated in Yizhan Jun's biography:

Book of Wei volume 29: 初，俊既卒，太宗命其妻桓氏曰：「夫生既共榮，沒宜同穴，能殉葬者可任意。」桓氏乃縊而死，遂合葬焉。

"The practice was that when Yizhan Jun died, Tuoba Si advised his wife Lady Huan (should be Wuwan) and said: "When people in life share honour, in death it is appropriate for them to share a tomb, and the ability to be one who is buried with the dead is up to free will." Lady Wuwan thus hanged herself and died, and was thereupon jointly buried with him."

(Here, the word "初" refers to a practice or tradition)

These two cases are rather different. In the case with Yizhan Jun, Tuoba Si encouraged Lady Wuwan to commit suicide, but he at least ostensibly left the final decision to her. This was how the other cases later on were also handled. However, when Wang Luo'er died, he poisoned his wife, which is different to the other cases.

So what is going on here? To look at this, we also need to look at another case of widow suicide:

Book of Wei volume 28: 妻劉氏自殺以從。

"[Suhe Ba's] wife Lady Liu (should be Dugu?) committed suicide in order to follow him [in death]."

Again, Lady Dugu's death is positioned as being a voluntary suicide to join her deceased husband. However, Suhe Ba had been executed by Tuoba Gui, and from his later actions, it appeared that he wanted to exterminate the power of the Suhe clan - well, that branch at least. So how voluntary was this suicide really? Maybe the real motive was fear for her life due to the impending extermination of the clan.

This case wasn't an official case of the tradition, but it could have a link to the tradition. This becomes more apparent when it can be found in the Book of Wei that the wives of Tuoba clan members were seemingly exempt from the tradition, as they never died due to it. In Tuoba Si's time, Tuoba Xi was favoured and highly rewarded with military merit, but when he died young at 22, even though he must surely have left behind a widow as he had seven children and it would be unusual for him not to marry a wife, this wife did not commit suicide. No other clan member's wife was subject to the tradition either.

In fact, the purpose of Tuoba Gui's political purges also provide crucial background information for the practice.

Although it is true that Tuoba Gui suffered from excessive paranoia and possibly insanity in his later years, his purges of major officials were primarily for the purpose of consolidating power. During Tuoba Gui's reign, there were many powerful ministers who had military accomplishment and a large following, such as Tuoba Yi or Yu Yue. Tuoba Gui saw these ministers as being a threat to his power, and so he launched purges against them.

Why does this matter? Because it showed that the Northern Wei emperors feared that their ministers would become too powerful. At this time, although the tribes had been disbanded, many tribes remained powerful, such as the Helan tribe, and there were also many powerful Han aristocratic families such as the Cui clan.

During Tuoba Si's reign, his policies were aimed towards solving internal issues such as bad harvests and the various conflicts between the imperial family and ministers, imperial court and local officials, local officials and common people, wealthy families and common people, Xiongnu-Xianbei tensions, and Han-non Han tensions.

This tradition was aimed towards settling the conflict between the imperial family and ministers. This explains why only some officials would be subject to the practice, and why the practice was not implemented for wives of Tuoba clan members.

When Tuoba Si was in power, he had to do the most work in resolving this conflict, which is why the practice was more prevalent then. The purges in Tuoba Gui's reign had only just ended, but there were still conflicts in this area. Tuoba Si solved the conflict between the imperial family and ministers by restoring ministers earlier removed from office, establishing a council to advise him on state affairs, and ordering his ministers to appoint the talented and able while keeping his clan out of politics.

(The death of Tuoba Qu can also be contextualised with this conflict. Tuoba Qu was a member of the imperial clan, and Tuoba Si's way of solving this conflict was to keep the imperial clan out of important positions and rely on those of different clans. Tuoba Si established Tuoba Qu as a general, which was a dividing line the Tuoba clan later used: they would use their own as generals, while using those of different clans as ministers. However, he did not get too powerful; he was defeated in a campaign and removed from capital governance, and was later executed for incompetence. Tuoba Xi also didn't do much after 413.)

However, this tradition was also used to solve this conflict. The Tuoba clan were worried that another tribe might try to seize power the same way that they themselves did: exploiting maternal connections. The Tuoba clan only rose to power because of the Helan and Murong clans, both maternal relatives. Tuoba Gui then spent years suppressing the Helan clan, and they were less influential under Tuoba Si after they emerged on the losing side of political struggle. Tuoba Shao's attempt to seize power was likely related to the influence of his mother Consort Helan. That made two instances of people trying to seize power via maternal connections.

By encouraging the suicides of his officials' wives, Tuoba Si aimed to help solve this by removing this passage to maternal connections. This would then lessen the power of these families and make them less of a threat. We can see from Yizhan Jun's biography that he was exceedingly powerful in Tuoba Si's reign:

Book of Wei volume 29: 太宗以俊前後功重，軍國大計一以委之，群官上事，先由俊銓校，然後奏聞。

"Tuoba Si because of Yizhan Jun's important merits from beginning to end, entrusted him with all important military and administrative matters, and when the officials submitted matters, they were first examined by Yizhan Jun, and then submitted to the emperor."

While all major military and state matters being entrusted to Yizhan Jun is probably an exaggeration, as he did not seem to be one of the ministers who were part of the eight-man council, it is clear from this passage that Yizhan Jun had a lot of power and influence in Tuoba Si's court.

Therefore, although Tuoba Si claims burial etiquette as his reason, the real reason behind Lady Wuwan's death is to suppress the power of the Yizhan clan. Yizhan Jun's father Yizhan Jian was a major general at the time and had much prestige, and both Yizhan Jian and Yizhan Jun having such great power meant that there was a risk of the clan becoming too powerful. Lady Wuwan's death was intended to break the connection between the Yizhan and Wuwan clans, weakening their power.

This can also be seen by who else was targeted by this policy. The minister Cui Hong's wife died due to this policy. Cui Hong's family were a Han aristocratic clan who were very powerful at the time, with both Cui Hong and his son Cui Hao being highly trusted by Tuoba Si. Therefore, this move could have weakened the Cui family's ties to other Han gentry clans.

The other person clearly targeted by this policy was Chekun Lutou, who was another highly trusted official. Though the Chekun clan were not particularly noble, Chekun Lutou was very powerful, being rewarded highly, and he was so powerful that he did not fear the rigorous investigations of Tuoba Si, that often led to punishment. Tuoba Si may have trusted Chekun Lutou himself highly, but the same couldn't be said for the clan and widow that he left behind.

Qiumuling Guan's wife was also encouraged into suicide due to this tradition. During this time it was Tuoba Tao's regency, and so it's unclear if Tuoba Si or Tuoba Tao was responsible for the order. This case is also a strange case as the wife of Qiumuling Guan was from the Tuoba clan, and killing her would simply lessen their own power. I think that either foul play was suspected on the part of the princess, because Qiumuling Guan died suddenly at the age of 34, or the princess died young before Qiumuling Guan and he married again. Especially if this princess was Tuoba Si's sister. Because I don't think that Tuoba Si would encourage the death of his own sister due to the tradition without any further reason, especially if Tuoba Si didn't apply it to his brothers.

As for the case of Wang Luo'er, it doesn't seem to fit with the others. The practice is dated to Yizhan Jun, not Wang Luo'er, despite the other rites being almost identical. And Wang Luo'er's wife was directly poisoned rather than forced to commit suicide. I think that Wang Luo'er's wife may have been poisoned for some other reason. Perhaps he was especially suspicious of her; Wang Luo'er died young, so maybe he suspected that she could have been involved. Then Tuoba Si claimed this practice to maintain Wang Luo'er's reputation.

Tuoba Si was able to greatly improve the internal situation, and many of these internal conflicts became less severe or disappeared. The conflict between the imperial clan and the ministers almost disappeared, as only Tuoba Qu and Gongsun Biao were executed, which was a low rate of execution for major ministers in this era of Northern Wei. However, his successor Tuoba Tao continued to remain vigilant, though the practice became less frequent.

Tuoba Tao encouraged the wife of his general Baba Han to commit suicide when he died. The Baba clan were an influential Xianbei clan at the time, with powerful representatives such as Baba Song and Baba Daosheng in addition to Baba Han.

Later on, the official Tufulu Luyuan was buried with the rites of Yizhan Jun, which would have included this practice. However, his burial rites went beyond Yizhan Jun's, so later cases used the euphemism "buried according to the funeral rites of Tufulu Luyuan" instead.

However, this practice became less common during this era. I think that part of the reason is that the imperial clan-ministers conflict was mostly solved during this time. As well, Tuoba Tao believed that the wedding and funeral rites were extravagant and wanted to set limits on them, and he may have seen this practice as being a symbol of extravagance (rather than, you know, politics or misogyny).

Another reason this practice declined is simply because so many major ministers of the Tuoba Tao era were executed or disgraced. Cui Hao, Li Shun, Dugu Jie, Tuxi Bi, Zhang Li, Daxi Juan, Dou Jin and others were all executed. Baba Song and Daxi Jin never quite regained their former reputation. Only Yizhan Jian and Baba Daosheng of the old ministers were unscathed, and both of them were old when they died and so may not have had a living wife at the time.

After Tuoba Tao, the ministers engaged in struggles with each other that prevented any one of them from being too powerful, so this weakened their power. During this era, Chekun Yiluo's wife was encouraged to commit suicide due to this practice.

After Tuoba Jun's death, the minister Yifu Hun monopolised power and killed many ministers, and the ministers together with Empress Dowager Feng killed him. During this period, the power of the ministers was reduced with the execution of the general Murong Baiyao, which solidified power in the hands of Empress Dowager Feng and Tuoba Hong.

There was still a case of this tradition however, with the official Suliujin Shi's wife in 471. But like Qiumuling Guan, Suliujin Shi was married to a clan member, Princess Shanggu. Like with Qiumuling Guan, maybe Princess Shanggu had died? But what if it was because of Empress Dowager Feng that she died? Empress Dowager Feng was no stranger to taking advantage of patriarchal systems to eliminate female rivals. Maybe she saw Princess Shanggu or her branch of the Tuoba family as being a threat, and she therefore used this system to kill Princess Shanggu and weaken her branch of the clan.

After this, I could not find any other instances of the practice being implemented. This came with the Sinicisation efforts of Empress Dowager Feng and Yuan Hong, which may have made such practices seem outdated or overly tied to Xianbei tradition. However, this period was also one where many internal conflicts were solved, which may have also played a role. Later emperors were dominated by their ministers, but this was mostly allowed and never really suppressed.

The Book of Wei would later criticise the practice of killing the crown prince's mother as being cruel, but it made no direct comment on this practice. In fact, the Book of Wei seems to view this practice as being a symbol of honour and favour for the minister, rather than criticising it. It also seemed to imply that the grand funeral rites, widow suicide included, were appropriate for the ministers due to their favour and loyalty.

It is true that the Northern Wei dynasty was one of the better dynasties for the common woman, as the emperors made no laws that restricted the greater freedom of common women. However, the Northern Wei rulers also considered the freedom of elite women to ba a threat to their own power, so they suppressed these women.