The Northern Wei Dynasty, as the first regime to rule the north for a long time after the Yongjia Rebellion, had a profound impact on the development of Chinese history, and the multi-ethnic society it built promoted the process of National Integration in China very well, and was of great significance to the development of subsequent Sui and Tang dynasties.
During its reign, the most important change in this dynasty, which was born out of the alliance of tribal states of the daiguo, in addition to the agrarian transformation of the nomadic people, was to use the traditional political system of the Han nationality to determine the inheritance law of imperial power, and established the Northern Wei Dynasty into a typical feudal monarchy dynasty.
However, unlike the Han regime, perhaps it has not completely faded the shadow of the tribal alliance era. Before Emperor Xiaowen moved the capital, there was an era of long-term female interference in politics. Although Empress Wenwen Feng had outstanding ability to hold power for a long time, she made great contributions to the Sinicization reform of Northern Wei. However, Emperor Xiaowen, who was emperor at the time, and Emperor Xianwen, who preceded him, were not incompetent emperors, so this is still relatively rare in Chinese political history. From the mausoleums of Empress Feng and several previous Northern Wei empresses, we can also see that the feminine color in the politics of the Pingcheng era of Northern Wei is difficult to ignore.
Stills of Empress Dowager Feng
The three empresses of Northern Wei refused to bury Jincheng
Soon after the founding of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Daowu Emperor Tuoba Jue moved the capital of The Northern Wei from Shengle to Pingcheng. However, it did not change the custom of burying imperial people in jinling in the clouds, and the Northern Wei emperors and empresses after them would also be buried here after their deaths.
Emperor Daowu established a system of death for sons and nobles during the Northern Wei Dynasty, which was originally a system he had set up to prevent the dictatorship of the Hou clan. However, this allowed the nannies who were not related to the Northern Wei emperors to have a very respected position after the ascension of the princes they raised, such as the Taiwu Emperor Tuoba Tao's nanny Dou Shi and Tuoba Mao's nanny Chang Shi were once honored as empresses, enjoying reputation and also having a certain impact on the political trend of Northern Wei.
Ruins of Jinling in the Northern Wei Dynasty
Logically, their honorific title of empress dowager meant that they were associated with the Northern Wei imperial family and were to be buried in Jinling in the clouds after their deaths. However, they invariably chose to find suitable tombs around Pingcheng and refused to be buried with the Northern Wei royal family, which may be the reason why they still care about their lower origins
During the reign of Emperor Xianwen and Emperor Xiaowen, Empress Wenfeng, who was in power at the same time as the two previous empresses, also made the same choice, which is more worth exploring. Because she was the empress dowager of Emperor Wencheng, she was supposed to be buried with Emperor Wencheng, but she built a mausoleum for herself on the top of the square hill north of Pingcheng, where she could overlook the entire Pingcheng.
Fangshan Yonggu Mausoleum Site
From Empress Wenwen's desire for power during her lifetime, and her political struggle with Emperor Xianwen, it is not difficult to see that she is still unwilling to submit to the Tuoba clan and wants to show her own status.
Northern Wei Xiaowen Emperor's mausoleum selection
After the death of Empress Wenming Feng, Emperor Xiaowen solemnly established her aftermath and buried her on Top of Fang Mountain. At that time, Emperor Xiaowen also built a Shou Mausoleum for himself next to Empress Feng's mausoleum, which was smaller than Empress Feng's mausoleum, and its location was also under Empress Feng's Yonggu Mausoleum. ：
In the beginning, Gao Zu's filial piety to the empress dowager was in the northeast of Yonggu Ling, Yuying Shou Palace, and he had the ambition to look forward to the end. And the relocation of Luoyang, which is the place of the mountain garden from the west of the table, and the Fangshan Virtual Palace still exists today, known as the "Ten Thousand Years Hall" cloud.
The reason why Emperor Xiaowen made such a choice is that of course there is a filial piety side, and it also has certain political significance. When Emperor Xiaowen was just in power, Empress Feng's power still had a strong influence in the court, and Emperor Xiaowen had to put on a humble posture to show respect for Empress Feng and stabilize the order in the court.
Ruins of the Wannian Hall
Later, as Emperor Xiaowen gradually reclaimed the power of the court into his own hands, he also had plans to move the capital away from Pingcheng to Luoyang. Its most important purpose was naturally to further promote the Northern Wei's Sinicization policy and strengthen its rule over the Central Plains. But there may also be reasons to stay away from Pingcheng and escape from Empress Feng's shadow.
After Emperor Xiaowen moved the capital to Luoyang, he built a new mausoleum, and the Shouling Tomb, which had previously been on Fang Mountain, was completely abandoned and became a virtual tomb. This may also be a struggle that he did not want to remain under Empress Feng after his death.
A brief analysis of the relationship between Empress Feng and Emperor Xiaowen
Before assuming Emperor Xiaowen's motives for building the new mausoleum, we should talk about the relationship between Empress Feng and Emperor Xiaowen. After Emperor Xiaowen was born, his birth mother was executed by Empress Feng according to the ancestral system, and empress Feng raised Emperor Xiaowen personally and cultivated him into an outstanding talent. However, in the political struggle with Emperor Xianwen, Empress Feng executed many relatives of Emperor Xiaowen's mother, which made Empress Feng worry that Emperor Xiaowen would be unfavorable to herself when she became an adult.
Statue of Empress Feng of Civilization
Therefore, Empress Feng once proposed to let Tuoba Xi replace Tuoba Hong, but this was advised by the heavy courtiers, and Empress Feng herself was also uncertain, and finally gave up. After determining Tuoba Hong's status, Empress Feng was very attentive to Emperor Xiaowen's education, making him an emperor who was proficient in Han culture, which was of great significance to the later political trend of the Northern Wei Dynasty.
As the titular ruler, Emperor Xiaowen was always in the shadow of his grandmother. Coupled with the fact that his own maternal relatives had many deaths at the hands of Empress Feng, it also made sense that he had a certain grudge against Empress Feng. What's more, when Empress Feng was in power, she also asked her ministers to report the emperor's actions to her, which made the pair of grandchildren full of distrust.
Therefore, the relationship between Emperor Xiaowen and Empress Feng was by no means as harmonious as it seemed on the surface, and Emperor Xiaowen had already done enough image engineering after Empress Feng's death, and his move to build a new tomb was probably his real idea. Emperor Xiaowen's move to the capital Luoyang may also have been influenced by Empress Feng's Yonggu Mausoleum, which is also what we need to pay attention to.
Northern Wei Xiaowen Emperor Tuoba Hong
Empress Feng, as a prominent figure in the Pingcheng era of northern Wei, held power for more than ten years as a descendant. This made him resist continuing to live under the Tuoba clan, so he made the decision to build a separate mausoleum on FangShan instead of burying with Emperor Wencheng.
Empress Feng's decision also had a certain impact on the political choices after Emperor Xiaowen, as an ambitious monarch, he was forced by Filial Piety to set up his tomb on Top of Fang Mountain, but he obviously did not want to be suppressed by his grandmother after his death, nor did he want to continue to accept the scrutiny of Yonggu Mausoleum, which to a certain extent may have prompted Emperor Xiaowen to strengthen his determination to move the capital to Luoyang and accelerate the process of Sinicization reform in Northern Wei.
On the other hand, Empress Feng's rebellion against feudal imperial power shows the unremitting struggle of women in the Northern And Southern Dynasties for political status, which also has a certain impact on the political development of later generations, in a sense, Wu Zetian's title of emperor is also a continuation of the women's political movement in the Northern Wei Dynasty.