Northern Wei


Northern Wei

 

(also T’opa Wei, Yüan Wei), a dynasty that ruled in North China from 386 to 535. The Northern Wei dynasty was founded by T’opa Kuei, the leader of the T’opa tribes that conquered North China in the fourth century. The period of its rule saw the spread of Buddhism through North China. The T’opa became highly sinicized and for the most part lost their own customs and language. In 534–35, in the course of internecine feudal strife and an antifeudal peasant struggle, the state split into two kingdoms, those of the Eastern Wei (534–550) and the Western Wei (535–557).