Tuoba Hena

Biography

Accession and Removal to Daining

Tuoba Gena's father Yituo and his elder brother Henu had in turn led the Tuoba. The Book of Wei calls him "Emperor Yang", a title conferred after the founding of the Northern Wei and not a state title or temple name used in his lifetime. In 325 (3rd year of the Taining era, Eastern Jin) Henu died and Gena succeeded him. In 327 (2nd year of the Xianhe era, Eastern Jin) Shi Le of the Later Zhao sent Shi Hu with cavalry against the borders of Dai; Gena was defeated defending north of the Juzhu Pass and moved his centre of rule to Daining. Another account states in summary that he "carried out military reforms", but neither its full text nor the standard histories give specific institutions, orders or implementation, so this is not written up as a settled deed.

Yihuai was Gena's cousin in the junior generation and lived among the followers of his maternal uncle Helan Aitou. Gena demanded that Aitou hand Yihuai over, and Aitou refused; Gena allied with the Yuwen and attacked the Helan without success. What is involved here is a combination of kinship protection, the allegiance of followers and an external alliance rather than a simple private quarrel between uncle and nephew.

Two Flights into Exile and Restoration

In 329 (4th year of the Xianhe era, Eastern Jin) Helan Aitou and other tribal leaders installed Yihuai instead, and Gena, unable to resist, fled to the Yuwen. After governing for some years Yihuai wished to deal with Aitou, which turned his followers against him. In 335 (1st year of the Xiankang era, Eastern Jin) Gena returned from the Yuwen and was raised again, while Yihuai fled to the Later Zhao. Gena thus became a transitional leader who twice held the title of king of Dai.

In 337 (3rd year of the Xiankang era, Eastern Jin) the Later Zhao general Li Mu escorted Yihuai back to Daining with troops, and Yihuai's old followers came over to him in numbers. Gena lost his position again and fled to the Murong. The Book of Wei and the History of the Northern Dynasties record nothing beyond this; another account says that he was killed soon after joining the Former Yan and gives 337 as the year of his death, while a further Chinese account says that what became of him is unknown. For the reason, the agent and the exact date of the killing, the surviving standard histories give no clear record and no account can be supplied.

Major Activities

Political and institutional context

The cached record places Tuo Ba Ge Na within the institutions and conflicts of Eastern Jin.

Source-based record

The two rises and falls of his rule can be set out by year: in 325 (third year of Taining, Eastern Jin) he succeeded on Henu's death; in 327 (second year of Xianhe) Shi Le of the Later Zhao sent Shi Hu with cavalry against the Dai frontier, and after failing to hold them north of the Juzhu pass he moved his centre of rule to Daning; in 329 (fourth year of Xianhe) Helan Aitou and other tribal leaders installed Yihuai instead, and unable to resist he fled to the Yuwen; in 335 (first year of Xiankang) he returned from the Yuwen and was raised again, while Yihuai fled to the Later Zhao; in 337 (third year of Xiankang) the Later Zhao general Li Mu escorted Yihuai back to Daning, his old followers came over in numbers, and he lost power again and fled to the Murong. Two accessions as king of Dai and two losses of power show that the throne then depended chiefly on the support of the tribal confederation and on the backing of neighbouring states such as the Later Zhao, Yuwen and Murong rather than on a fixed rule of succession; his title of "Emperor Yang" was conferred after the founding of the Northern Wei and cannot be read back as a state title or temple name of his own time.

During his two periods in power the external relations of Dai were determined chiefly by the attitudes of the Later Zhao, the Yuwen and the Murong: Later Zhao attacks drove him to move to Daning, the Yuwen were the refuge he fled to, and the Murong the last to receive him, while his holding of the throne depended on the choice of tribal leaders such as Helan Aitou. Institutionally, no fixed rule of succession had yet taken shape in Dai, changes of ruler resting on the support of the tribal following and of neighbouring states, and his title of "Emperor Yang" was conferred only after the founding of the Northern Wei.

The two interruptions of his rule are directly tied to the attitude of the Helan tribe: Helan Aitou first refused to surrender Yihuai and later joined the tribal leaders in installing him, changing the holder of the Dai throne on both occasions.

His two rises and falls were closely bound to the attitudes of the Helan, Yuwen and Murong tribes, while Later Zhao pressure directly changed the centre of Dai rule: after his failure to hold the frontier in 327 he moved his seat to Daning, and in 337, when the Later Zhao escorted Yihuai back, he lost power again. Twice king of Dai and twice a fugitive abroad, his career shows that changes of ruler in Dai at this time were less a matter of succession than of the interplay of the tribes and their neighbours.

The beginnings and ends of his two reigns also show the disparity of strength between Dai and the Later Zhao.

Personal Relations

• Relationships are recorded from the cached source text and should be read together with the related entries listed below.

Historical Assessment

The Book of Wei and the History of the Northern Dynasties narrate Gena within the succession of the rulers of Dai, stressing the Later Zhao attack and the repeated installation of leaders by the various tribes. Another account says that he "carried out military reforms" without giving the content of those reforms, and the generalisation is not enough for an independent appraisal. His clearer historical position is that he stood between Henu and Yihuai, twice raised by the people and twice losing power. While the year of his death follows the 337 given in another account, the limitation that neither that account nor the standard histories clearly record his death must be preserved.