Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei

Son of Emperor Xianwen, he came to the throne at four and lived through the reforms carried out under the regency of his grandmother, Empress Dowager Feng, including the equal-field system (485) and the three-elder system of village control. Ruling in his own right after her death in 490, he forced through the move to Luoyang by leading an army south on the pretext of attacking the Southern Dynasties. He banned Xianbei dress and speech, changed the imperial surname to Yuan and even deposed the crown prince who opposed him. He died of illness in 499, aged thirty-two, while campaigning against the Southern Qi. His reforms drove the fusion of steppe and Chinese cultures in the north that underlay Sui and Tang civilisation.