or Toba dynasty
(AD 386534/35) Longest-lived and most powerful of the northern Chinese dynasties that ruled after the Han dynasty fell and before the Sui and Tang dynasties reunified China.
Founded by Toba tribesmen, the Northern Wei defended its territory against other northern nomads and by 439 had unified all of northern China. The Wei lifestyle became more sedentary, and the Toba people, impressed by Chinese culture, began to emulate the Chinese. To bring into cultivation land abandoned during war, hundreds of thousands of peasants were relocated and allocated land under the equal-field system of land distribution. The rulers of the Northern Wei were great patrons of Buddhism, and the period is noted for its Buddhist art, particularly at the caves of Yungang . The one exception, the emperor Taiwu, persecuted Buddhists and supported Daoism.