Northern Wei

[YingZheng]

TheNorthern Wei Dynasty (386-534) is most noted for unifying northern
China in 440. Since the Wei was also heavily involved in funding the
arts, many precious antiques and art works from the period have been
preserved.

In 493, the dynasty moved its capital from Datong to Luoyang and
started constructing the Longmen Caves. More then 30,000 Buddhist
images from the time of the Wei have been unearthed in the caves.
It is believed that the dynasty originated from the Tuoba clan of the
non-Han Xianbei tribe. The Tuobas renamed themselves the Yuans as part
of a systematic Sinicization.

Xiaowen, an emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty, moved the Northern Wei
capital to Luoyang in 494 -- a city long-acknowledged as a major center
of activity in Chinese history. He then implemented a drastic policy of
Sinicization, changing artistic styles to reflect Chinese tastes and
requiring the Xianbei and others to adopt Chinese surnames, speak the
language and wear Chinese clothing. The resentment engendered by these
policies contributed to the downfall of the dynasty around the
mid-sixth century.