Chapter 39 chapter Five

Tuoba Hong has always had the great ambition to rule the world, however, "the sky is full of sunshine, and there is only one corner on the left of the river that is not illuminated." The sky is not a holiday, and ambition is hard to be rewarded. He only lived a short thirty-three years old and hated it It can be said that "died before leaving the teacher, which will make the hero burst into tears". What future generations valued him, scholars studied him, and his pivotal position in history did not lie in his martial arts, but in his cultural governance—full Sinicization.

Reform cannot be accomplished overnight, and requires long-term practice and testing, especially the change of cultural customs, which often requires the long-term efforts of several generations.The sinicization reform of the Northern Wei Dynasty began to be carried out imperceptibly in the early days. In the hands of Empress Dowager Feng and Emperor Xianwen, this reform has become a clear consciousness. , and wait until the fruits of culture are produced, it will be a matter for the next generation. If we leave other things aside, we can only look at the most direct and serious consequences of the overall Sinicization reforms severely implemented by Emperor Xiaowen Tuobahong. In the "vast ocean".

Without Tuobahong's overall Sinicization policy, what would be the fate of the Xianbei nation? Does it mean that the exchange and integration among nations must be at the cost of the complete disappearance of certain nations? How can ethnic minorities maintain their own national identity and accept the achievements of advanced civilization in an open and communicative world? These are really complicated and difficult questions that we have to think deeply about! Let us turn our attention to the depths of history, go back to the Western Jin Dynasty mentioned at the beginning of this article, and look at the fate of those ethnic minorities in the "five random China".

During the one hundred and thirty-six-year-long melee that was so dark that day, almost every army could organize a government, appoint officials and worship titles, issue proclamations, and establish an empire.The Xiongnu, Jie, Di, Qiang, and Xianbei all established their own regimes successively. However, after a series of brutal and bloody wars, the leaders of the four ethnic groups Almost all of them were extinct, and the remaining ordinary people also disappeared among the large number of Han people and were assimilated without a trace, and it is difficult to find even a trace.The remaining Xianbei tribe, who first settled in the Central Plains, had the same fate as the other four tribes. The Tuoba tribe of Xianbei, which established the Northern Wei Dynasty, actually rose in the north later, and it did not participate in the early Five Dynasties. Hu Luanhua's "Chorus".It is this remaining Xianbei Tuoba tribe that was completely assimilated by the Han within a century after Emperor Xiaowen's thorough reform, and ceased to exist.

It is not difficult to understand the process and its outcome of making his opponent disappear with the force of swords and swords.What is puzzling to future generations is that starting with the Tuoba tribe of Xianbei, why did the victors of the ethnic minorities who entered the Central Plains always melt into the Han people unknowingly like water droplets in the desert? If we take the Tuoba tribe of Xianbei as an example for a little analysis, we may gain some insight and enlightenment. The Tuoba tribe rose up in the north, with a strong physique, rough and tough, and good at riding and shooting.In the era of cold weapons, the super speed of horses, the long-distance range of bows and arrows, and the strong physique make Tuoba's military power rank first-class, and it has an absolute advantage in the confrontation with the farming culture of the Central Plains, so it can be defeated in a short period of time. pack of heroes.After the unification of the north, how to rule the Han people who accounted for the absolute majority in a long-term, effective and stable manner was a primary problem that the Tuoba tribe had to face.The Northern Wei Dynasty was the first feudal dynasty established by ethnic minorities in the Central Plains. There was no experience to learn from before, and they had to gradually explore on their own.The Tuoba tribe can seize the world by force on horseback, but it is difficult to govern the world with the military model of the past.What they are facing is the consistent farming life for thousands of years. It is impossible to turn the vast and boundless North China Plain under their feet into a nomadic land in the past. Moreover, the growing population can only rely on and revitalize agriculture to obtain food and solve problems. existential crisis.The strength of military power does not equal the advancement of culture. Although the development of culture, economy and military constitute an interactive relationship, they are different from each other, and it is difficult to form the same level of development.It is impossible for the Xianbei to impose the barbaric and backward culture of the past on the advanced culture of the Han people in the Central Plains. There is no other way but to learn, reform and adapt.And culture is often a whole, a combination of "Tao" and "vessel". It not only includes advanced technical means such as farming, but also includes ideological content such as philosophy, political system, and state institutions.In other words, the feudal culture of the Han nationality in the Central Plains faced by the Tuoba clan was an indivisible whole.This kind of culture is a kind of traditional civilization that is more suitable for their survival created by people living on this land for thousands of years to adapt to the climate and environment here.It is impossible for the Xianbei Tuoba tribe to rule the Central Plains with the nomadic culture of the past, and it is difficult to create a new heterogeneous civilization on the Han people. Therefore, learning, absorbing and accepting the traditional culture of the Central Plains Han is their only way out. choose.If not, they can only return to the remote desert and continue to work with the cold climate and harsh environment.

Therefore, the Tuoba tribe had to choose farming methods and Central Plains culture. They were tied to a piece of land and settled in a certain place, and they could no longer run and hunt freely and unrestrainedly on the vast grassland as in the past.It must have been difficult to adapt at the beginning, the blood was always boiling inexplicably, and several emperors in the early Northern Wei Dynasty compensated in a disguised form by constantly touring various places.Although the farming life is monotonous and heavy, compared with the nomadic life, it is full of comfort, ease and warmth. The most important thing is that they don't need to take frequent risks, and they can live a relatively stable life without the fear of hunger and cold in the past.The pursuit of stability, comfort and enjoyment is an unalterable inner nature of human beings.Therefore, they quickly adapted to and fell in love with farming life.As time goes on, the physical fitness becomes relatively weaker, without the toughness and strength of the past, nor the adventurous and hard-working spirit of the past.And Emperor Xiaowen Tuoba Hong took advantage of this and successfully staged a live drama of moving the capital.If the Tuoba tribe still had the vigorous and strong physique and the spirit of enduring hardships and adventures they had when they conquered the world in the early years, they would never beg to stay in Luoyang, but would happily ride their horses and march southward.

In the process of contact with the Han people, the Tuoba tribe gradually believed in Buddhism.At the beginning of the establishment of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Daowu Emperor Tuoba believed in Buddhism very much. He "read Buddhist scriptures quite a lot".As a result, believing in Buddha has changed the cruel and murderous habits of the Tuoba tribe.From killing people without blinking an eye to cherishing every living thing, from drinking blood like a fur to abstaining from meat and vegetables, this has to be said to be a great change.Although the Tuoba tribe strictly followed the Buddhist taboos and there were not many monks, it still affected their national characteristics to a large extent.

Buddhism likes to be quiet but not to move, and what it spreads is a life concept of meditation, tolerance, retreat, and weakness; while the mainstream Confucianism of the traditional culture of the Central Plains that Tuoba tribe later accepted was also a secular, feminine, , Hypocritical philosophy, in this way, the masculinity and adventurous spirit of the Tuoba tribe of Xianbei have undergone fundamental changes. After the Tuoba tribe entered the Central Plains, both the external physical fitness and the internal spiritual soul were marked with the basic characteristics of farming civilization.One of the most obvious signs is the decline in combat effectiveness.When its power advanced to the Jianghuai area, it stagnated.This is certainly related to the fact that the more mobile cavalry is constrained by the geographical environment and it is difficult to take advantage of the past, but more importantly, the Tuoba tribe has lost the vigorous and martial style of the past.That is to say, taking an army of 300,000 troops led by Tuoba Hong when he moved his capital to Luoyang, they did not encounter any enemy troops. They just walked on rough and muddy roads in rainy weather for more than a month. Tired and timid, it is hard to imagine how powerful such an army will be?

It can be seen from this that even without Tuoba Hong's overall Sinicization, the Xianbei Tuoba tribe would slowly melt into the Han nationality.All he did was speed up the process. When later generations evaluated Tuoba Hong's overall Sinicization reform, they had nothing more than the following three viewpoints: One, praise and affirmation.It is believed that he completed the feudalization of the Northern Wei Dynasty, promoted the integration of various ethnic groups, and promoted social stability, economic prosperity and cultural progress at that time. It should be said that Emperor Xiaowen's overall Sinicization conformed to the trend of historical development at that time, and it was also a reform strategy he had to adopt.

Second, both praise and criticism.While affirming Tuobahong's sinicization reforms, he believes that he should not have no choice, indiscriminately, and absorb Han culture regardless of the essence and dross. For example, the establishment of the clan system had a great negative impact. Increasingly corrupt and incompetent, it also reduces the status of soldiers, lowers their morale, and lowers their combat effectiveness.Not long after he moved his capital to Luoyang, he launched three successive large-scale military campaigns against Southern Qi under the circumstances of insufficient preparation and internal instability, which was even more suspected of being hasty.

When absorbing foreign cultures, people naturally want to choose the best and discard the rotten parts.However, it is indeed difficult to distinguish which is the essence and which is the dross.Furthermore, culture is often a whole, gold and jade coexist with silt, and it is difficult to "segregate" it.Not only Tuoba Hong, but also people today can hardly come up with a perfect answer to the ancient subject of sublation of culture. Tuoba Hong marched south three times in a short period of time, perhaps because he wanted to use the masculine legacy of the Tuoba tribe in the past to wipe out the Southern Dynasty in one fell swoop.Because he deeply knew that the further he went, the Tuoba tribe would become weaker and weaker, and their combat effectiveness would be even worse.If action is not taken as soon as possible, the grand ambition of unifying the world may become a dream.However, at the end of the day, he was unable to penetrate the armor, and he could only return without success again and again in the military operations of the Southern Expedition, and ended up getting sick and dying.Although the three southern expeditions of the Northern Wei Dynasty captured the land of Huainan, they consumed a lot of manpower and material resources and brought a heavy burden to the people. The strength of the Northern Wei Dynasty that was slightly surpassed that of the Southern Dynasty was reduced and became evenly matched, thus lengthening , Continuing the confrontation and stalemate between the Northern and Southern Dynasties. 3. Total negation.He believed that Emperor Xiaowen's Sinicization was pedantic Confucianization and negative Sinicization. He only learned the complicated etiquette and decadent elements of the Han people, and lost the bravery and simplicity of the Tuoba tribe. His reforms not only failed to revitalize the Northern Wei Dynasty, but instead It has led to the weakness of the nation and the decline of the country. Without Emperor Xiaowen's reforms, the Tuoba tribe had lost or was losing the bravery and vigor of their ancestors.Nation is a historical category, which refers to a relatively stable comprehensive community with a common region, a common language, a common economic way of life, and a common cultural and psychological quality.Here, region plays a crucial role. Different geographical conditions have different geographical environments, production methods and even dietary structures. They determine different economic life, and long-term economic life will inevitably form a relatively solidified culture. mental quality.In other words, once one leaves the old living area, it will inevitably lead to the disappearance of national identity.If the Tuoba tribe of Xianbei wants to maintain the bravery and simplicity of the past forever, it can only be done by returning to the living area of ​​the past. And the decline and fall of the Northern Wei Dynasty was not all caused by Tuoba Hong.If it hadn't been for moving the capital to Luoyang and strengthening the forces in the south, perhaps the Southern Qi would have succeeded in the Northern Expedition long ago, and it is unknown whether they would have regained the lost land in the Central Plains.To say that Tuoba Hong made mistakes in reform, I am afraid that the main reason is that he ignored the Daibei border.When Empress Dowager Feng was in charge, the salary system, the three-head system, and the land equalization system were all promulgated in Pingcheng in the name of Emperor Xiaowen and implemented nationwide. After moving the capital to Luoyang, the political and military center of gravity moved south. The Yellow River Basin with Luoyang as the center was carried out in the Daibei area with Pingcheng as the center, which was the birthplace of the past. Maybe it was because of the constraints of economic conditions, maybe it was too far away, maybe it was because I wanted to concentrate on dealing with the Southern Dynasty, but I didn’t take that into account anyway. important place.The south is fully sinicized, while the north shows a strong tendency of Xianbei. The Xianbei language, Xianbei clothing, and Xianbei customs remain the same, and the clan system excludes the nobles of Daibei Town, making them the common surnames at the bottom. Hence the strong dissatisfaction.Over time, it slowly split into two groups with Luoyang as the center and Pingcheng as the center, which resulted in a huge political civil strife and accelerated the demise of the Northern Wei Dynasty.The fundamental reason for the rapid decline of the Northern Wei Dynasty was that Emperor Xiaowen had no successors.One of the biggest characteristics of China's feudal rule is the rule of man. The rise and fall of gains and losses are often inseparable from those in power.A wise ruler makes the country strong, while a foolish, tyrant and mediocre ruler lead to the weakening of the country. This is an iron law of Chinese feudal society for thousands of years.After the death of Emperor Xiaowen, the successors were either mediocre and incompetent, or stupid and tyrannical. They were really inferior to each other. In less than thirty years, a good Northern Wei Dynasty was quickly ruined.