Emperor Xiaoming of Northern Wei facts for kids

Emperor Xiaoming of Northern Wei (born Yuan Xu) lived from 510 to 528 AD. He was an emperor of the Northern Wei dynasty, a powerful kingdom in ancient China led by the Xianbei people. He became emperor when he was only five years old in 515 AD.

Because he was so young, his mother, Empress Dowager Hu, took charge of the government. She was the main ruler for most of his reign. In 528 AD, when Emperor Xiaoming was 18, he tried to take back power from his mother. He also wanted to get rid of her close advisor, Zheng Yan. He secretly worked with a general named Erzhu Rong.

However, his mother found out. She had the young emperor poisoned. Soon after, General Erzhu Rong overthrew Empress Dowager Hu. After Emperor Xiaoming's death, the Northern Wei royal family lost most of its real power. The country eventually split into two parts, the Eastern and Western Wei, which didn't last very long.

Becoming Emperor

Yuan Xu was born in 510 AD. He was the only son of Emperor Xuanwu who survived past childhood. Emperor Xuanwu had other sons, but they all died very young. Yuan Xu's mother was Consort Hu, one of Emperor Xuanwu's partners.

Since he was the only male child, Yuan Xu received a lot of attention. His father chose special nurses to care for him. He even kept Yuan Xu's mother and his second wife, Empress Gao, away from him. This was perhaps because people believed Empress Gao's uncle might have harmed an earlier son.

In 512 AD, Emperor Xuanwu made Yuan Xu the crown prince. This meant Yuan Xu was next in line to become emperor. Usually, in Northern Wei, the crown prince's mother would be put to death. This was to prevent her from gaining too much power. But Emperor Xuanwu chose to spare Consort Hu, which was unusual.

In 515 AD, Emperor Xuanwu died suddenly. Yuan Xu, at just five years old, became Emperor Xiaoming. Important officials and princes quickly took control. They removed Empress Gao and made Consort Hu the new empress dowager. She then became the regent, meaning she ruled on behalf of the young emperor.

Empress Dowager Hu's First Rule

Empress Dowager Hu was seen as smart and quick to understand things. However, she was also very forgiving of corruption, which means she let dishonest officials get away with bad behavior. For example, in 515 AD, a corrupt governor named Yuan Mi caused a rebellion. Even though he was removed from his job, Empress Dowager Hu soon made him a minister. This was because his wife was her niece.

During Emperor Xiaoming's childhood, Empress Dowager Hu's power was very strong. She allowed people to criticize her, and sometimes even rewarded them for speaking their minds. But she was slow to stop corruption. Empress Dowager Hu was a very strong Buddhist. She spent a lot of money building beautiful temples in the capital city, Luoyang. One temple, built for her father, was especially grand. Because of her influence, Emperor Xiaoming also became a dedicated Buddhist. However, as a young boy, he preferred playing in the imperial gardens over studying or learning about government.

In 519 AD, a big riot happened in Luoyang. An official suggested that soldiers should not be allowed to become civilian officials. The soldiers got angry and attacked government buildings. They killed one official and badly hurt others. Empress Dowager Hu arrested and executed eight riot leaders. But she pardoned the rest to calm things down. She also decided not to change the rules for soldiers. Many historians see this event as the start of problems that would eventually break apart the Northern Wei dynasty. Despite these issues, Empress Dowager Hu continued to allow corruption. She also gave out many expensive rewards, which emptied the government's treasury. She also ordered every province to build a tower for Buddhas, which put more strain on the people and the treasury.

Before 520 AD, Empress Dowager Hu became romantically involved with Emperor Xiaoming's uncle, Yuan Yi. Yuan Yi was well-liked because he was capable and humble. He tried to fix the government and reduce corruption. He especially tried to limit the power of Empress Dowager Hu's brother-in-law, Yuan Cha, and a powerful eunuch named Liu Teng. Because of this, Yuan Cha falsely accused Yuan Yi of treason. Yuan Yi was found innocent, but Yuan Cha and Liu Teng were afraid of what he might do. They convinced Emperor Xiaoming that Yuan Yi was trying to poison him. They then launched a sudden takeover, killing Yuan Yi and putting Empress Dowager Hu under house arrest. Yuan Cha became the real power behind the throne.

Yuan Cha's Rule

Yuan Cha was not a good ruler. He and Liu Teng became even more corrupt once they were in charge. Yuan Cha spent most of his time feasting and with women, ignoring government matters. He also put his father and brothers in powerful positions, and they were just as corrupt.

Yuan Cha's poor leadership and corruption made people very unhappy. Many peasant revolts began to break out across the empire. In 520 AD, Yuan Xi, a prince who was friends with Empress Dowager Hu and Yuan Yi, rebelled to avenge Yuan Yi and free Empress Dowager Hu. Yuan Cha quickly crushed this rebellion.

In late 520 AD, Yuan Cha spent a lot of Northern Wei's resources trying to restore a foreign ruler, Yujiulü Anagui, to power in the Rouran kingdom. This was despite warnings that it might not work or even cause more problems. The restoration was successful, but by 523 AD, Yujiulü Anagui had rebelled and become an enemy of Northern Wei again.

In 521 AD, a general named Xi Kangsheng tried to restore Empress Dowager Hu to power, but he failed. Yuan Cha had him executed.

In 523 AD, an official named Li Chong noticed that people in the six northern military garrisons were unhappy. These people, mostly from the Xianbei ethnic group, had been forced to stay in these garrisons for generations to defend against Rouran attacks. Li Chong suggested that these garrisons should become regular provinces, and the people should have the same rights as other citizens. Yuan Cha refused this idea.

Later that year, people in two of these garrisons rebelled. Northern Wei forces could not stop them quickly. The rebellions soon spread across the entire empire. Some of the most important rebel leaders were:

• Poliuhan Baling, who led a rebellion around Woye.
• Hu Chen, a tribal chief, who led a rebellion around Gaoping Garrison.
• Mozhe Dati, who led a rebellion around Qin Province. His son, Mozhe Niansheng, later took over and even declared himself "Emperor of Qin."

In 525 AD, Yuan Faseng, a governor who had been close to Yuan Cha, also rebelled. He believed Yuan Cha would soon fall from power. After some defeats, he surrendered his city to Northern Wei's southern rival, the Liang Dynasty.

By this time, Yuan Cha had become less careful about Empress Dowager Hu. He no longer saw her as a threat, especially after Liu Teng died in 523 AD. Empress Dowager Hu, Emperor Xiaoming, and Yuan Yong saw their chance to act against Yuan Cha. Empress Dowager Hu first tricked Yuan Cha into feeling apologetic. Then, with his agreement, she removed him from his command of the imperial guards. In the summer of 525 AD, she suddenly declared herself regent again. She had most of Yuan Cha's close friends killed and put Yuan Cha under house arrest. At first, she hesitated to punish Yuan Cha further because he was related to her sister. But because people wanted Yuan Cha to die, she eventually forced him and his brother to take their own lives. However, she still gave him many honors after his death.

Empress Dowager Hu's Second Rule

After Empress Dowager Hu became regent again, she let her close advisor, Zheng Yan, gain a lot of power. While other trusted officials held high ranks, Zheng Yan and his friend Xu Ge were even more powerful.

The rebellions by farmers and other groups continued. During these years, some of the main rebel leaders included:

• Xianyu Xiuli, whose rebellion was centered in Ding Province. After Xianyu died, his general Ge Rong took over and became very strong, even calling himself the "Emperor of Qi."
• Xiao Baoyin, a prince who tried to bring back the Southern Qi dynasty. His rebellion was centered around Chang'an.
• Xing Gao, whose rebellion was centered around Beihai.
• Moqi Chounu, who took over Hu Chen's army after Hu was killed.

Empress Dowager Hu sent many generals to fight these rebels, but they didn't have much success. Only Xiao Baoyin was defeated by his own men. The situation was made worse because Empress Dowager Hu didn't like to hear bad news about rebel victories. So, her attendants often made up good news, which caused her to refuse generals' requests for more soldiers. Several times, Emperor Xiaoming publicly said he would lead armies against the rebels himself, but he never actually did. Meanwhile, while Northern Wei was dealing with these internal problems, the Liang Dynasty took advantage and captured several border cities.

The only real military success Northern Wei had during this time was in late 525 AD. They were able to recapture Pengcheng from Liang. This success was lucky. A Liang prince named Xiao Zong became convinced he was actually the son of a previous Southern Qi emperor. He surrendered to Northern Wei, causing his own army to fall apart and allowing Northern Wei to take back Pengcheng.

Emperor Xiaoming's Death

In 528 AD, Emperor Xiaoming's favorite partner, Consort Pan, gave birth to a daughter. However, Empress Dowager Hu falsely announced that the child was a son. She then declared a general pardon across the empire.

By this time, Emperor Xiaoming, who was 18 years old, was tired of his mother controlling everything. He also strongly disliked Zheng Yan and Xu Ge. So, he secretly sent messages to General Erzhu Rong, who controlled a region in central Shanxi. He ordered Erzhu Rong to march on Luoyang. His plan was to force Empress Dowager Hu to remove Zheng Yan and Xu Ge from power.

After Erzhu Rong began his advance, Emperor Xiaoming suddenly changed his mind and sent messengers to stop him. But the news of his original plan leaked out. Zheng Yan and Xu Ge then advised Empress Dowager Hu to poison Emperor Xiaoming. She did so.

Afterward, Empress Dowager Hu first announced that Emperor Xiaoming's "son" by Consort Pan would be the next ruler. Then, she admitted that the "son" was actually a daughter. Instead, she chose a two-year-old boy named Yuan Zhao to succeed Emperor Xiaoming.

General Erzhu Rong refused to accept this. He quickly arrived at and captured Luoyang. He then threw Empress Dowager Hu and the young Yuan Zhao into the Yellow River, where they drowned.

Era Names

• Xiping (熙平 Xīpíng) 516–518
• Shengui (神龜 Shénguī) 518–520
• Zhengguang (正光 Zhēngguāng) 520–525
• Xiaochang (孝昌 Xiàochāng) 525–527
• Wutai (武泰 Wǔtài) 528

Family

• Partners and Children:
  • Empress Hu, his second cousin
  • Consort Pan (Pan Wailian)
    • A daughter (born in 528 AD)