Northern Dynasty's outstanding ruler

Author: Wang Jin Liu Naisun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-08-01
Features: At the critical juncture of the second transformation in Chinese history, the factors determining the success or failure of reform were not the measures, the methods, or the determination of the reformers. What determined the success after reform was the humanistic qualities and personal charm of the reform itself. The successful reform of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty illustrates this point. The famous mountain Beiwudang in Shanxi, during the Northern Wei period, was a renowned mountain for Buddhism and Taoism, a summer retreat for the Northern Wei dynasty, and a hunting ground for the emperors and empresses of the Northern Wei. Many legendary stories about Empress Dowager Feng and Emperor Xiaowen are passed down here. This novel takes Beiwudang Mountain in northern Shanxi as the background, unfolding the plot through five major sections: Empress Dowager Feng's tragic love for Emperor Wen Chengdi, Empress Dowager Feng's assassination of Emperor Shun Wen, Emperor Xiaowen's summer retreat and hunting in Beiwudang with Empress Dowager Feng, Emperor Xiaowen's rise to power with Empress Dowager Feng, and Emperor Xiaowen's reform and relocation of the capital. These sections fully showcase the struggle between justice and evil, civilization and barbarism, light and darkness, and heroes and villains during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. They also fully demonstrate the great integration of the Han ethnic group and ethnic minorities, the great integration of grassland culture, and the great integration of a state built on martial prowess and a state ruled by virtue.