Dynasties
During the Sixteen Kingdoms (304-439) period, the Xianbei founded six kingdoms in China proper, including the Former Yan (281-370), Western Yan (384-394), Later Yan (384-407), Southern Yan (398-410), Western Qin (385-430) and Southern Liang (397-414). Most of them were unified by the Tuoba Xianbei, who established the Northern Wei (386-535), which was the first of the Northern Dynasties (386-581) founded by the Xianbei.
Ruan Xian, Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, had a Xianbei slave who gave birth to his son, Ruan Fu.
In 534, the Northern Wei split into an Eastern Wei (534-550) and a Western Wei (535-556). The former evolved into the Northern Qi (550-577), and the latter into the Northern Zhou (557-581), while the Southern Dynasties were pushed to the south of the Yangtze River. In 581, the Prime Minister of Northern Zhou, Yang Jian, founded the Sui Dynasty (581-618). His son, the future emperor Yang Guang, annihilated the Southern Chen (557-589), the last kingdom of the Southern Dynasties, thereby unifying northern and southern China. After the Sui came to an end amidst peasant rebellions and renegade troops, his cousin, Li Shimin, founded the Tang Dynasty (618-907); Li led China to develop into one of the most prosperous states in history. Sui and Tang dynasties were founded by Han Chinese generals who also served the Northern Wei Dynasty. Through these political establishments, the Xianbei who entered China were largely merged with the Han, examples such as the wife of Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Duchess Dou and Emperor Taizong of Tang's (Li Shimin's) wife, Empress Zhangsun, both have Xianbei ancestries, while those who remained behind in the northern grassland emerged as later powers to rule over China.
Read more about this topic: Xianbei
Famous quotes containing the word dynasties:
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