We continue our look at Northern Wei at the dawn of the 6th century. The imperial bookends will be Xiaowen - the chief proponent of sinicization among the Tuoba Xianbei - and his son Xuanwu, a placeholder in just about every sense of the term. The real drama will unfold around two of Xuanwu's wives... and whether or not one killed the other in a murder mystery 1500 years old.Period Covered:499-515 CEMajor Figures:Yuan Hong [Emperor Xiaowen] (r. 467-499)Yuan Ke [Emperor Xuanwu] (r. 499-515)Empress Yu (~488-507)Prince Yuan Chang (506-506)Consort/Empress Gao (d. 518)Gao Zhong, Prime Minister (d. 515)Empress Dowager Hu (d. 528)Crowned Prince Yuan Xu [Emperor Xiaoming] (r. 515-528)
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