The present article reexamines the longstanding debate over the Northern Wei Dynasty's disbandment of tribal peoples within its territory, through an analysis of the words, 太和十二年, 代都平城改俟懃曹, 創立司州, contained in the epitaph of Yuang Chang 元萇, discovered in the city of Jiyuan, Henan Province in 2003. The author begins with the characters siqincao 俟懃曹. Siqin 俟懃 designates the bureaucratic name given to tribal chieftains among the Kumoxi and Murong-bu among the Xianbei people as well as the Rouran, and is similar to the Turkut Irkin 俟斤. From the fact that the Murong-bu governed their tribes by installing eight sili 俟釐 in the central, eastern, etc. areas of their territory, siqincao, which combines the Hui term 俟懃 with cao, the Han term for administrative center, therefore means tribal area governance agency, which is expressed in the Weishu 魏書, as Babu Daifu 八部大夫 (hereafter Baguo 八国), Liubu Darenguan 六部大人官, etc. Next the author examines the development of the Sinqincao (Baguo) agency. In contrast to the conventional understanding that the Baguo administrative system was gradually downsized into six, then four jurisdictions, to be completely abandoned during the reign of Emperor Xaowen (467-499), the author argues that 1) the institution of Baguo was created based on the nomadic traditions of such peoples as the southern Xiongnu and Xianbei and 2) the four jurisdiction Sibu 四部 system instituted during the reign of Emperor Taiwu (408-452) was still headed by eight chieftains and therefore represented no substantive change from the Baguo system. The Baguo system continued in tact until the 2nd year of the Taihe era (488), when its jurisdictions were renamed Sizhou 司州. Finally, the author investigates the meaning of the abandonment of the Sinqincao system in favor of Sizhou. It was in the 1st year of the Tianxing era (398) that Emperor Daowu established a permanent capital at Pingcheng, divided the kingdom into the Jinei 畿内 (capital) and Jiaodian 郊甸 (outer provincial) regions and established Sizhou for the purpose of governing the Han people residing there. At the same time, Siqincao (Baguo) was established to govern the northern tribal peoples inhabiting the two regions. The Baguo system continued in tact changing in name only from Liubu 六部 to Sibu then back to Liubu until its abandonment in 488, at which time, Emperor Xiowen placed the northern tribes under Sizhou governance, to be uniformly administered according to geo-political (junxin 郡県) districting. Therefore, the tribal disbandment carried out by Emperor Daomu cannot be said to have involved actually breaking up tribal households and registering people like Han inhabitants; but rather signifies tribal peoples affiliated with the Wei Dynasty being placed under the direct rule of the Wei emperor and governed by means of the Sinqincao system.

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Thanks to the scholarly efforts of Yan K'eng-wang (厳耕望), the general outline of the shang-shu-sheng system in the Northern Wei Period is now available. In my opinion, however, there are several debatable points in Professor Yan's analysis, the points which I will deal with in this paper. The discussion will consist of three sections, each briefly stating Professor Yan's view, followed by my comments. (1)After its creation during the reign of the First Emperor, Tao-wu-ti (), the shang-shu-sheng alternated between periods of abolishment and restoration. In the second year of T'ien-hsing (天興) (399 A.D.) the shang-shu-sheng was abolished only to be revived immediately, perhaps at the end of the following year. After that, it was never completely abolished. The annals of the second year of T'ien-tz'u (天賜) (405 A.D.) record that "(the work of) the shang-shu's 36 ts'ao (曹) is discontinued." But that did not mean the end of the entire sheng system. (2)During the reign of the next emperor, Ming-yuan-ti (明元帝), the system was totally abolished. We can infer that the shang-shu-sheng existed in the reign of Ming-yuan-ti. One important piece of evidence is the fact that the Eight ta-jen-kuan (大人官), which Professor Yan believes were established in order to serve as substitutes for the shang-shu, never performed those kind of duties. Another piece of evidence is the fact that there were at least five appointees to the shang-shu during Ming-yuan-ti's reign, in spite of Professor Yan's statement that he was unable to discover any appointees for this period. The number of appointees was not lower at this time than at the reign of Tao-wu-ti. And, of course, the shang-shu was in existence from the outset of the reign of T'ai-wu-ti (太武帝), the Third Emperor. (3)Between the time of T'ai-wu-ti and the first half of the reign of the Sixth Emperor, Hsiao-wen-ti (孝文帝), the shang-shu-lang (尚書郎) was abolished in its entirety and replaced by the offices of ta-fu (大夫), ling (令), and chang (長). Since there was the "shuang-kuei (双軌) system" in the Northern Wei Period, one can imagine that ta-fu, ling, chang, and shang-shu-lang existed side by side. It is not possible, I believe, to deny this claim only with the evidences presented by Professor Yan. This paper also touches on the ta-jen-kuan of the Northern Wei Period, the topic closely related to the arguments mentioned above.

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Epigaphical sources from the Northern Wei period reveal examples of the kingdom being referred to as "Dadal" 大代. During the Song period, Ou Yangxu 欧陽脩 pointed this fact out in his attempt to supplement the historiographical sources, but in the later research, no attempt was made to either list or analyze examples of the name "Dai," resulting in conflicting explanations : one that it is was a common usage, the other that is was not. The present article has gathered together and examined examples from both the historiography, including the Weishu 魏書, and the available epigraphical sources, resulting in the conclusion that even though the term "Dadai" can be found in the Suishu 随書, there is no example of the term in the Weishu (although Emperor Daowu 武道 did use the term Dawei 大魏 apparently). We do find the terms huandai 皇代 and youdai 有代. However, the former is not the name of a kingdom, but means "dynasty," while youdai was used for poetic purposes, leaving us with no concrete examples of their usage as names for the kingdom. On the other hand, Dadai appears frequently in the Northern Wei epigraphy, and from an analysis of four examples, the author concludes the following. With respect to form, examples appear on monuments and in epitaphs and Buddhist inscriptions. As to dating, the term was used beginning in the reign of Emperor Mingyuan 明元, increasing in frequency during Xiaowen's 孝文 reign, then continuing through the reign of Emperor Wen 文 of the Western Wei. Geographically, the examples are limited to the Northern Wei territory, mainly the caves of Yunkang 雲崗, Longmen 龍門 and Dunhuang 敦煌. The terms were used widely by high ranking imperial bureaucrats, Buddhist monks and commoners alike. The name Wei was established by Emperor Daowu as a diplomatic move to legitimize his kingdom vis-a-vis the Western Jin Dynasty. However, internally the term Dadai continued to be used, emphasizing its affiliation with the Dairen 代人, a group which had been formed as a means of integrating the people residing in the vicinity of Pingcheng 平城 during the transition from the Dai 代 Kingdom to the Northern Wei Dynasty.

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There were confrontations between 旧人 (Chiu-jen), who were old members in the 北魏 dynasty and 新人 (Hsin-jen), who were new members, and between 北人 (Pei-jen), who are 鮮卑 (Hsien-Pei) group and 南人 (Nan-jen), who are 漢人 (Han-jen). These groups had been intertwining complexly, and thus constituted a political "structure". The emperor's power continuosly aimed at making 旧人 of 新人 in order to intensify his power. About the time of 孝文帝 (Hsiao-wen-ti)'s reformation, the 北人 group's organization was becoming weaker and weaker. Therefore a great deal of confusion had occurred in this "structure". The 良奴 (Commoner and Slave) system appeared to take the place of this "structure" for bringing this confusion under control. There occurred an essential difference between 良 before the 孝文帝's reformation and 良 after the reformation because the 良奴 system had aimed at overcoming this "structure". The enforcement of the 良奴 system did not signify a decline of the 北人's political rank, but it rather aimed at elevating the 南人's political status to the 北人's political level. The emperor's power finally aimed at making 国人 (Kuo-jen) of 南人. The Sinification of 鮮卑 at this time does not mean assimilation of 鮮卑 into Chinese society, but rather can recognize that it was a generative power for creating a new Chinese civilization, because it was due to 鮮卑's voluntary choice, and there was the creation, of many institutions in the 北魏 dynasty which were adopted by the Sui 隋 and T'ang 唐 dynasties, and there was the unconscious preservation of 鮮卑 spirit. 鮮卑 in the 北魏 dynasty held an attachment to blood relations and prided itself in joining directly to the 拓跋 emperor. In the backgroud of the 良奴 system's full scale appearance during 孝文帝's reformation, lay such a 鮮卑 spirit and the aim to intensify emperor's powerinter-twiningly.

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The purpose of this paper is to clarify the forms of the festivals of heaven and earth (chiao-ssu, 郊祀) and the festivals of the emperor's ancestors (tsung-miao, 宗廟) from the Six Dynasties to the T'ang. In China, the chiao-ssu festival is performed only by the emperor, and the tsung-miao festival of the emperor is bigger than that of any other. Therefore to investigate the actual forms of these festivals is to partially investigate the characteristics of the Imperial System in China. In the Chin (晋) and the Southern Dynasties, the festivalof the heaven was held every other year in January in the south suburb of the capital, and that of the earth was performed in the north suburb. This system is similar to the theory of Wang Su (王粛) who was a confucian in the early Chin. In the Northern Dynasties, the Sui (隋) and the early T'ang, the god of heaven was worshiped at the round hill in the winter solstice, and the god of earth at the square hill in the summer solstice. Furthermore, Kan-sheng-ti (感生帝) -the heavenly god who corresponds to the 'virtue' (徳) of each dynasty- was worshiped in the south suburb, while another god of the earth, Shen-chou (神州) which was different from that worshiped at the square hill, was sacrificed to in the north suburb. From the Northern Wei to the T'ang, the date of the festival in the north suburb was not fixed. To separate the festival of the round hill from that of the south suburb, and the festival of the square hill from that of the north suburb is a division based on the theory of Cheng Hsuan (鄭). On the other hand, Wang Su says that the festival held at the round hill is the same as that held in the south suburb, and the festival at the square hill is the same as that held in the north suburb. In effect, from the Northern Dynasties to the early T'ang, the festival system indicated by Cheng Hsuan was in use while from the Chin to the Ch'en (陳) dynasty a system close to Wang Su's was in practice. However, according to Wang Su's theory, the chiao-ssu festivals at the south suburb are held in January and in the winter solstice. The festivals of the Ts'ao-Wei (曹魏) period are similar to those of the Cheng Hsuan's theory, but there are some special features in the line-up of gods. Generally speaking, the system of the festivals of heaven and earth was organized after the Tung-Chin (東晋) dynasty. The festivals of the emperor's ancestors are almost the same in all the dynasties. They consist of two varieties ; ssu-shih-chi (四時祭), small festivals which are held four or five times a year, and yin-chi (殷祭), big festivals which are held twice every five years. In the T'ang dynasty the system of festivals were changed three times. The various systems were called the Ch'en-kuan li (貞観礼), the Hsien-ch'ing li (顕慶礼), and the K'ai-yuan li (開元礼). Amongst them notable it is that the festivals of Kan-sheng-ti are replaced by those of hao-t'ien-shang-ti (昊天上帝) who is the greatest god in heaven, and that other festivals related to hao-t'ien-shang-ti also appeared in the T'ang dynasty. Furthermore, the festivals of hao-t'ien-shang-ti were decided to be held every year and the T'ang emperors even held them in connection with their coronation. Therefore it may be safely said that during the T'ang dynasty great importance was attached to the authority of heaven.

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In this article, I take up the stele commemorating Emperor Taiwuʼs eastern tour (“Taiwudi dongxun bei” 太武帝東巡碑 ; Tianxing 天興 1 [437]), said to be located in Yixian 易県 , Hebei province, and the stele commemorating Emperor Wenchengʼs southern tour (“Wenchengdi nanxun bei” 文成帝南巡碑; Heping 和平 2 [461]), which currently stands in the grounds of the temple Jueshansi 覚山寺 in Lingqiu 霊丘 county, Shanxi province. Both steles date from the period when Pingcheng 平城 (present-day Datong 大同 in Shanxi province) was the capital of the Northern Wei, and they were erected to commemorate imperial tours and extol the emperorʼs rule.

  In prior research, interest has focused on the contents of the inscriptions as viewed from a historical perspective, and the examination of their calligraphic style and the shape of the steles has been inadequate. In 2016 I conducted an on-site investigation of the “Wenchengdi nanxun bei,” and as a result I confirmed that both inscriptions are indicative of the level of contemporary calligraphy and follow the traditional design of steles.

  Further, taking into account their location and dates, I explore the aims behind the erection of these steles, that is, what they were intended to convey to whom. As a result, it became clear that both steles were located along important highways and stood at places that were important for subjugating new territories. That is to say, it is to be surmised that they had the aim of informing people both within and without the Northern Wei of the emperorʼs dominion and proclaiming his hegemony. The period when Pingcheng was capital could be said to have been a time when the Northern Wei state, which ruled over northern China by means of military force, needed to establish its legitimacy for governing the Han Chinese. The stele was a form of plastic art meant to be inscribed with outstanding writing and calligraphy and could be said to represent the quintessence of Chinese civilization. The erection of steles would also have had the aim of demonstrating to the Han Chinese that the emperor, who belonged to the non-Han Xianbei 鮮卑 tribe, was imbued with sufficient Han culture to rule over them.

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