Tuoba Huang (拓拔晃) (428 – July 29, 451''wuchen day'' of the 6th month of the 1st year of the ''Zhengping'' era, per Emperor Gongzong's biography in ''Book of Wei''),

Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were an ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. The Xianbei were likely not of a single ethnicity, but rather a multiling ...

name Tianzhen (天真), formally Crown Prince Jingmu (景穆太子) (literally "the decisive and solemn crown prince"), later further formally honored as Emperor Jingmu (景穆皇帝) with the

temple name Temple names are posthumous titles accorded to monarchs of the Sinosphere for the purpose of ancestor worship. The practice of honoring monarchs with temple names began during the Shang dynasty in China and had since been adopted by other dynas ...

Gongzong (恭宗) by his son Emperor Wencheng, was a

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

of the

-led

Northern Wei dynasty Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei ( zh, c=北魏, p=Běi Wèi), Tuoba Wei ( zh, c=拓跋魏, p=Tuòbá Wèi), Yuan Wei ( zh, c=元魏, p=Yuán Wèi) and Later Wei ( zh, t=後魏, p=Hòu Wèi), was an imperial dynasty of Chi ...

of China. He was the oldest son of Emperor Taiwu, and was created crown prince in 432 at the age of four. As he grew older, Emperor Taiwu transferred more and more authority to him. However, in 451, he incurred the wrath of his father due to false accusations of the

eunuch A eunuch ( , ) is a male who has been castration, castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2 ...

Zong Ai Zong Ai (? - 31 October 452) was a eunuch who briefly came to great power in the Xianbei-led Chinese Northern Wei dynasty in 452 after assassinating Emperor Taiwu and making his son Tuoba Yu emperor. Biography Little is known about Zong's caree ...

, and many of his associates were put to death. He himself grew ill in fear, and died that year. He is also recorded as one of the youngest fathers in the world, who fathered his son Tuoba Jun at the age of 12.

Early life

Tuoba Huang was born in 428, as Emperor Taiwu's oldest son. His mother's name was rendered as Consort He (賀夫人), but since both the Helan (賀蘭) and Helai (賀賴) clans later changed their names to He (during the reign of Tuoba Huang's great-grandson Emperor Xiaowen), it is unclear whether her name was Helan or Helai. She died the year that she gave birth to him, suggesting that she might have died in childbirth, but there is no conclusive evidence that it happened. On 17 February 432, Emperor Taiwu created Tuoba Huang

, at the same time that he created one of his consorts, Consort Helian, empress. He became a highly ranked official in his father's administration that same year, although, at age four, the position was likely nominal. In 433, Emperor Taiwu tried to negotiate a marriage between Crown Prince Huang and one of the daughters of

Emperor Wen of Liu Song Emperor Wen of Liu Song ((劉)宋文帝, (Liu) Song Wen-di; 407 – 16 March 453), personal name Liu Yilong (劉義隆), childhood name Che'er (車兒), was an emperor of the Liu Song dynasty of China. He was the third son of the dynastic founder ...

, but Emperor Wen, while not immediately rejecting the proposal, did not agree either. In 439, when Emperor Taiwu was on a campaign to conquer

Northern Liang The Northern Liang (; 397–439) was a Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic state of China and one of the Sixteen Kingdoms in Chinese history. It was ruled by the Juqu (沮渠) family of Lushuihu ethnicity, though they are sometimes categorized ...

, he had Crown Prince Huang assume imperial authority at the capital Pingcheng (平城, in modern

Datong Datong is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi Province, China. It is located in the Datong Basin at an elevation of and borders Inner Mongolia to the north and west and Hebei to the east. As of the 2020 census, it had a population o ...

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

), assisted by the high-ranking official Qiumuling Shou (丘穆陵壽), to guard against a

Rouran The Rouran Khaganate ( Chinese: zh, c=, p=Róurán, label=no), also known as Ruanruan or Juan-juan ( zh, c=, p=Ruǎnruǎn, label=no) (or variously ''Jou-jan'', ''Ruruan'', ''Ju-juan'', ''Ruru'', ''Ruirui'', ''Rouru'', ''Rouruan'' or ''Tantan'') ...

attack. However, Qiumuling, not believing that Rouran would actually attack, took little actual precautions, and when Rouran's Chilian Khan Yujiulü Wuti attacked, Pingcheng was caught nearly defenseless. Qiumuling wanted to escort Crown Prince Huang to the hills south of Pingcheng and take up defense position there, but at the opposition of Emperor Taiwu's

wet nurse A wet nurse is a woman who breastfeeding, breastfeeds and cares for another's child. Wet nurses are employed if the mother dies, if she is unable to nurse the child herself sufficiently or chooses not to do so. Wet-nursed children may be known a ...

Empress Dowager Dou, Crown Prince Huang remained in Pingcheng, and when Northern Wei forces subsequently defeated Rouran forces, Yujiulü Wuti was forced to withdraw. (By this point, although he was only 11, Crown Prince Huang was apparently already participating in major military and policy decisions, as he had opposed his father's Northern Liang campaign, but was overruled by his father, who trusted

Cui Hao Cui Hao () (died 5 July 450), courtesy name Boyuan (伯淵), was a ''shangshu'' of the Xianbei-led Northern Wei dynasty of China. Largely because of Cui's counsel, Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei was able to unify northern China, ending the Sixteen ...

's advice that Northern Liang was easily defeatable.) By 442, Crown Prince Huang appeared to be already a devout

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

, and when his father, at the suggestion of Cui and the

Taoist Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ...

monk

Kou Qianzhi Kou Qianzhi () (365–448) was a Taoist reformer who reenvisioned many of the ceremonies and rites of the Way of the Celestial Master form of Taoism and reformulated its theology into a new movement known as The Northern Celestial Masters. His ...

, built the very high and difficult-to-construct Jinglun Palace (靜輪宮), he tried to oppose on account of cost, but Emperor Taiwu did not agree. In 443, Crown Prince Huang accompanied his father on a campaign against Rouran, and when they suddenly encountered Yujiulü Wuti, Crown Prince Huang advised an immediate attack, but Emperor Taiwu hesitated, allowing Yujiulü Wuti to escape. From that point on, Emperor Taiwu began to listen to Crown Prince Huang's advice in earnest, and in winter 443, he authorized Crown Prince Huang to carry out all imperial duties except the most important ones, under assistance from Qiumuling, Cui, Zhang Li (張黎), and Tuxi Bi (吐奚弼). Crown Prince Huang soon instituted a policy to encourage farming—by mandatorily requiring those who had extra cattle to loan them to those without, to be animals of burden, with the lease being paid for by those without cattle by tilling the grounds of the cattle owners, increasing the efficiency of the farmlands greatly.

After Emperor Taiwu's partial transfer of authority

In 446, while Emperor Taiwu was attacking the

Lushuihu The Lushuihu () were an ethnic group that lived in ancient China. They are most known for founding the Northern Liang dynasty during the Sixteen Kingdoms period, and for their role in Gai Wu's rebellion against the Northern Wei dynasty that led t ...

rebel Gai Wu (蓋吳), he found a large number of weapons in Buddhist temples in

Chang'an Chang'an (; zh, t=長安, s=长安, p=Cháng'ān, first=t) is the traditional name of the city now named Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic time ...

. Believing that the monks were aligned with Gai, he slaughtered the monks in Chang'an. Cui Hao used this opportunity to encourage Emperor Taiwu to slaughter all monks throughout the empire and destroy the temples, statues, and sutras, and notwithstanding Kou Qianzhi's opposition, Emperor Taiwu proceeded to slaughter the monks in Chang'an, destroy the statues, and burn the sutras. He then issued an empire-wide prohibition of Buddhism. Crown Prince Huang, however, used delaying tactics in promulgating the edict, allowing Buddhists to flee or hide, but it was said that not a single Buddhist temple remained standing in Northern Wei. This was the first of the Three Disasters of Wu. By 450, Crown Prince Huang appeared to be in direct conflict with Cui over administration of the state. When Cui recommended a number of men to be commandery governors, Crown Prince Huang objected strenuously, and yet the men were commissioned over his objection at Cui's insistence. It appeared that Crown Prince Huang had a hand when, later in 450, Cui was put to death with his entire clan, on account of having defamed imperial ancestors, as Crown Prince Huang argued hard to spare one of Cui's staff members, Gao Yun, and during that process, Gao gave some statements regarding Cui that could be viewed either as exculpatory or inculpatory. In fall of 450, when Liu Song's Emperor Wen sent his general Wang Xuanmo (王玄謨) to attack Huatai (滑台, in modern

Anyang Anyang ( zh, s=安阳, t=安陽; ) is a prefecture-level city in Henan, China. Geographical coordinates are 35° 41'~ 36° 21' north latitude and 113° 38'~ 114° 59' east longitude. The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders Puyang to the eas ...

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

), Emperor Taiwu personally led an army to relieve Huatai, and subsequently, after defeating Wang, advanced deeply into Liu Song territory, all the way to the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...

. During Emperor Taiwu's campaign against Liu Song, pursuant to his instructions, Crown Prince Huang was on the northern border, defending against a potential Rouran attack.

Death and aftermath

Crown Prince Huang was described to be highly observant, but trusting of his associates and also spending much effort on managing orchards and farms, to earn money from them. Gao Yun tried to advise him against engaging in commercial ventures and in overly delegating authorities, but he did not listen. Rather, in 451, he became embroiled in a conflict with the eunuch

, whose corruption he had found out and whom he disliked immensely. Zong, apprehensive that Crown Prince Huang's trusted associates Chouni Daosheng (仇尼道盛) and Ren Pingcheng (任平城) would accuse him of crimes, acted pre-emptively and accused Chouni and Ren of crimes. In anger, Emperor Taiwu executed Chouni and Ren, and many other associates of Crown Prince Huang were entangled in the case and executed as well. In fear, Crown Prince Huang became ill and died. Emperor Taiwu soon became aware that Crown Prince Huang was not involved in any crimes, and he regretted his actions greatly. Around the new year 451, he created Crown Prince Huang's oldest son Tuoba Jun the Prince of Gaoyang, but soon removed that title on the account that the crown prince's oldest son should not be a mere imperial prince—a strong sign that he was intending to create Tuoba Jun crown prince eventually. Zong, in fear that Emperor Taiwu would punish him, assassinated Emperor Taiwu in spring 452, and then seized power, killing a number of officials and Crown Prince Huang's younger brother Tuoba Han (拓拔翰) the Prince of Dongping, while making another younger brother of Crown Prince Huang's, Tuoba Yu the Prince of Nan'an emperor. Zong controlled the imperial regime, and when Tuoba Yu tried to assert his own power in fall 452, Zong assassinated him as well. Officials led by Yuan He, Baba Kehou (拔拔渴侯), Dugu Ni (獨孤尼), and Buliugu Li rose against Zong and killed him, making Tuoba Jun emperor, and Tuoba Jun, after he took the throne as Emperor Wencheng, posthumously honored Tuoba Huang as an emperor.

Family

Consorts and Issue: * Empress Gong, of the Yujiulü clan () ** Tuoba Jun, Emperor Wencheng (; 440–465), first son * ''Jiaofang'', of the Yuan clan () ** Tuoba Xincheng, Prince You of Yangping (; d. 470), second son * ''Jiaofang'', of the Wei clan () ** Tuoba Zitui, Prince Kang of Jingzhao (; d. 477) ** Tuoba Xiaoxincheng, Prince Xuan of Jiyin (; d. 467) ** Tuoba Hu'er, Prince Kang of Leling (; d. 468) * ''Jiaofang'', of the Yang clan () ** Tuoba Tianci, Prince Ling of Ruyin () * ''Jiaofang'', of the Meng clan () ** Tuoba Yun, Prince Kang of Rencheng (; 446–481) ** Tuoba Xiu, Prince Jing of Anding (; d. 494) * ''Jiaofang'', of the Liu clan () ** Tuoba Zhen, Prince Hui of Nan'an (; 447–496), 11th son ** Tuoba Changshou, Prince Kang of Chengyang (; d. 474) * ''Jiaofang'', of the Murong clan () ** Tuoba Tailuo, Prince Jing of Zhangwu (; d. 468) * Unknown ** Tuoba Wanshou, Prince Li Leliang (; d. 462) ** Tuoba Luohou, Prince Shang of Guangping (; d. 461) ** ''Tuoba Shen, Prince Zhao'' (; d. 454) ** Princess Zhangwu (), first daughter *** Married Mu Tai (; d. 496), and had issue (two sons) *** Married Fang Pusa () ** Princess Anle () Second daughter *** Married Yi Gangui of Henan, Prince Xiping (; 445–475) ** Princess Boling () Third daughter *** Married Feng Xi of Changle, Prince Changli (; 438–495), and had issue (one son) ** Princess Leping () Fourth daughter *** Married Mr. Lü (), and had issue (one son)

Ancestry

In popular culture

* Portrayed by Wang Yujing in the 2016 Chinese TV series '' The Princess Weiyoung''.

Notes

{{Yuan Wei emperors Northern Wei Buddhists Northern Wei imperial princes 428 births 451 deaths People from Datong Chinese Buddhist monarchs