Emperor Mingyuan of Northern Wei
| Emperor Mingyuan of Northern Wei | |||||||||||||||||
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| Reign | November 10, 409 – December 23, 423 | ||||||||||||||||
| Born | 392 | ||||||||||||||||
| Died | December 23, 423 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Dynasty | Northern Wei | ||||||||||||||||
| Full name | |
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| Era dates | |
| Yǒngxīng (永興) 409–413 Shénruì (神瑞) 414–416 Tàicháng (泰常) 416–423 |
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| Posthumous name | |
| Emperor Mingyuan (明元皇帝) ("understanding and discerning") | |
| Temple name | |
| Tàizōng (太宗) |
Emperor Mingyuan of Northern Wei ((北)魏明元帝) (392–423 AD), personal name Tuoba Si (拓拔嗣), was an emperor of the Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei. He was the oldest son of the founding emperor Emperor Daowu. During his reign, Northern Wei's territory did not expand as much as it did under either his father's reign or the reign of his son Emperor Taiwu, but he helped the state stabilize over northern China, and started the tradition of meeting with important imperial officials to listen to their advice and make final decisions. He is generally regarded by historians to be an intelligent and rational ruler.
Tuoba Si was born in 392 after his father Tuoba Gui had founded Northern Wei in 386 but before he had conquered most of rival Later Yan's territory and claimed imperial title in 399. His mother was Tuoba Gui's favorite consort, Consort Liu, the daughter of the Xiongnu chief Liu Toujuan (劉頭眷). He was born at the capital Yunzhong (雲中, in modern Hohhot, Inner Mongolia.) He was Tuoba Gui's oldest son, and his father was said to be so pleased by this late arrival of a son that he declared a general pardon. (It should be noted that based on Northern Wei's official history, Tuoba Gui would only be 21 at this point; this might be further evidence corroborating the alternative version of his life history.)
As Tuoba Si grew, he was said to be a wise and kind young man, whose actions were all in accordance with proper protocol. In contrast, his oldest younger brother Tuoba Shao (拓拔紹) was a frivolous and violent young man, and often received punishment from Emperor Daowu, and Tuoba Si tried to correct his brother's behavior by rebukes, but this made Tuoba Shao angry at him. In 403, Tuoba Gui, by this point emperor (as Emperor Daowu), created him the Prince of Qi. In 409, Emperor Daowu was intent on creating Tuoba Si crown prince, but based on the Tuoba tradition that when an heir is decided upon, his mother must be put to death, Emperor Daowu forced Consort Liu to commit suicide. Either before or after he did so, he summoned Tuoba Si to explain to him that this tradition was also in accordance with Emperor Wu of Han's rationale to put his favorite concubine, Consort Zhao (Emperor Zhao of Han's mother) to death, to avoid overly great maternal influence on a young emperor. After Tuoba Si left his father's presence, because of the affection that he had for his mother, he mourned greatly. Hearing this, Emperor Daowu summoned him back to the palace—and, because Emperor Daowu, in his late reign, often displayed great paranoid and violent tendencies, the new crown prince's attendants suggested that he not go to the palace but hide in the country. Tuoba Si agreed and did so, fleeing the capital Pingcheng, where Emperor Daowu had moved the capital in 398.
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