Eastern Wei

Wei 魏
534–550
Eastern Wei and neighbors
Capital	Luoyang (534) Yecheng (534–550)
Government	Monarchy
Emperor
• 534–550	Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei
History
• Established	8 November[1] 534
• Disestablished	7 June[2] 550
Currency	Chinese coin, Chinese cash
Preceded by Succeeded by Northern Wei Northern Qi
Today part of	China

The Eastern Wei (/weɪ/;^[3] simplified Chinese: 东魏; traditional Chinese: 東魏; pinyin: Dōng Wèi) was a dynasty of China that followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei, and ruled northern China from 534 to 550. As with the Northern Wei, the ruling family of Eastern Wei were members of the Tuoba clan of the Xianbei.

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 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 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 Gao Yang were able to pursue his policy of controlling the emperor, but in 550 Gao Yang deposed Yuan Shanjian and founded his own dynasty, the Northern Qi.

Art[]

Buddha triad, Eastern Wei (534–550), China.

Standing Buddha Triad, China – Limestone, Eastern Wei dynasty, 6th century, China.

The Buddhist art of the Eastern Wei displays a combination of 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.

Eastern Wei Buddhist stele

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