View source for Eastern Wei

{{Short description|Imperial dynasty of China that followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei dynasty}}
{{Infobox country
| native_name            = 魏
| conventional_long_name = Wei
| common_name            = Eastern Wei
| status                 = Empire
| government_type        = [[Monarchy]]
| year_start             = 534
| year_end               = 550
| date_start             = 8 November<ref>''[[Zizhi Tongjian]]'', [[:zh:s:資治通鑑/卷156|vol. 156]].</ref>
| date_end               = 7 June<ref>''Zizhi Tongjian'', [[:zh:s:資治通鑑/卷163|vol. 163]].</ref>
| p1                     = Northern Wei
| s1                     = Northern Qi
| image_map              = Eastern Wei map.jpg
| image_map_caption      = Eastern Wei and neighbors
| capital                = [[Luoyang]] (534)<br>[[Ye, China|Yecheng]] (534–550)
| currency               = [[Ancient Chinese coinage#The North and South Dynasties (420–581)|Chinese coin]]<br>[[Cash (Chinese coin)|Chinese cash]]
| leader1                = [[Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei]]
| year_leader1           = 534–550
| title_leader           = Emperor
| today                  = [[China]]
}}
{{History of China}}
'''Wei''' ({{IPAc-en|w|eɪ}}), known in historiography as the '''Eastern Wei''' ({{zh|t=東魏|s=东魏|p=Dōng Wèi}}), was an [[Dynasties in Chinese history|imperial dynasty of China]] that followed the disintegration of the [[Northern Wei]] dynasty. One of the [[Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties|Northern dynasties]] during the [[Northern and Southern dynasties]] period, the Eastern Wei ruled the eastern part of northern China from 534 to 550. As with the Northern Wei, the ruling family of the Eastern Wei were members of the [[Tuoba]] clan of the [[Xianbei]].

==History==
[[Gao Huan]] was the potentate of the eastern half of what was Northern Wei territory. In 534, following the disintegration of the Northern Wei dynasty, he installed [[Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei|Yuan Shanjian]] as ruler of Eastern Wei. Yuan Shanjian was a descendant of the Northern Wei.  Yuan Shanjian was a puppet ruler, as the real power lay in the hands of Gao Huan. Several military campaigns, such as the [[Battle of Shayuan]], were launched against the neighboring [[Western Wei]] in an attempt to reunify the territory once held by the Northern Wei, however these campaigns were not successful. In 547 Gao Huan died. His sons [[Gao Cheng]] and [[Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi|Gao Yang]] were able to pursue his policy of controlling the emperor, but in 550 Gao Yang deposed Yuan Shanjian and founded his dynasty, the [[Northern Qi]].

==Art==
The Buddhist art of the Eastern Wei displays a combination of [[Greco-Buddhist art|Greco-Buddhist]] influences from [[Gandhara]] and [[Central Asia]] (representations of flying figures holding wreaths, Greek-style folds of the drapery), together with Chinese artistic influences.

<gallery widths="130px" heights="200px" perrow="4">
File:Armored warriors, China, Eastern Wei dynasty, 534-550 AD, ceramic - Linden-Museum - Stuttgart, Germany - DSC03593.jpg|Armored warriors, China, Eastern Wei dynasty, 534–550 AD
Image:EasternWeiBuddha.JPG|[[Buddhahood|Buddha]] triad, Eastern Wei (534–550), [[China]].
File:2016 Singapur, Downtown Core, Muzeum Cywilizacji Azjatyckich, Ekspozycja (026).jpg|Eastern Wei Buddhist triad
File:Eastern Wei Limestone Bodhisattva.jpg|Eastern Wei Limestone Bodhisattva.
</gallery>

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* ''[[Book of Wei]]''
* ''[[History of Northern Dynasties]]''
* ''[[Zizhi Tongjian]]''
{{refend}}

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{{NS Dynasties}}
{{Northern Dynasties emperors}}
{{Yuan Wei emperors}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wei}}
[[Category:Dynasties of China]]
[[Category:Former countries in Chinese history]]
[[Category:States and territories established in the 530s]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in the 550s]]
[[Category:534 establishments]]
[[Category:6th-century establishments in China]]
[[Category:550 disestablishments]]
[[Category:6th-century disestablishments in China]]
[[Category:Tuoba]]