Why Xiaowen's Reforms Won the Court but Lost the Frontier

The Challenge

By the late fifth century the Northern Wei, a dynasty founded by the Tuoba Xianbei, ruled northern China from Pingcheng near the steppe frontier. Its ruling class remained Xianbei in language, dress and custom, while most of its subjects and officials were Chinese. Emperor Xiaowen believed the dynasty could only hold lasting legitimacy by becoming fully Chinese.

The Approach

• Moved the capital from Pingcheng south to Luoyang, the ancient seat of Chinese imperial government, in 494
• Banned Xianbei dress and language at court and required Chinese equivalents
• Ordered Xianbei families to take Chinese surnames; the ruling Tuoba clan became the Yuan
• Reorganized the aristocracy so that Xianbei and Chinese noble families were ranked together

The Impact

At court the reforms worked: within a generation the Xianbei elite of Luoyang was culturally Chinese, and this mixed aristocracy later formed the ruling class of the Sui and Tang dynasties.

On the northern frontier they failed. The garrison troops who guarded the steppe border were left behind, lower in status and cut off from the court. In 523, 29 years after the move to Luoyang, the Six Garrisons rose in revolt, and Northern Wei split apart within little more than a decade.

The Lesson for Leaders

Integration that leaves part of the organization behind can divide it. Xiaowen transformed the centre but not the edge, and the people he left out were the ones who defended the state. Any major change needs a plan for the groups whose status it lowers.