Tuo Ba Yi Huai

Biography

Helan Protection and First Accession

Yihuai was the eldest son of Tuoba Yulü, Emperor Pingwen, and his title "Emperor Lie" was conferred posthumously by the Northern Wei. In his early years he lived among the followers of his maternal uncle Helan Aitou. The Dai king Tuoba Gena sought to control this potential heir and demanded that Aitou hand Yihuai over, and Aitou refused. Gena allied with the Yuwen and attacked the Helan without success either. In 329 (4th year of the Xianhe era, Eastern Jin) Helan Aitou and the leaders of the tribes turned to install Yihuai, and Gena fled to the Yuwen. This shows that Yihuai's accession depended on the support of a tribal confederation rather than on Gena's voluntary surrender of the position.

After coming to the throne Yihuai made peace with the Later Zhao and sent his younger brother Tuoba Shiyijian into Later Zhao territory as a hostage. The Book of Wei records that about five thousand households went with him, a figure given by the history that cannot be equated directly with the size of an army. The hostage arrangement was connected with relations with the Later Zhao and also meant that the later installation of Shiyijian had to bring him back from Later Zhao territory.

Loss of Position, Refuge in Later Zhao and Restoration

In 335 (1st year of the Xiankang era, Eastern Jin) Yihuai intended to punish Aitou for disobedience, which provoked a revolt by the Helan and other followers. Gena returned from the Yuwen and was installed again, while Yihuai fled to the Later Zhao and was received by Shi Hu's regime. A summary in another account writes this year as "the tenth year of Xianhe", but its detailed life and the further account both give 335; the Xianhe era of the Eastern Jin had already ended in 334, so the text follows the first year of Xiankang.

In 337 (3rd year of the Xiankang era, Eastern Jin) the Later Zhao general Li Mu led troops to escort Yihuai back to Daining. His former followers came over to him again, and Gena fled once more to the Murong. After his restoration Yihuai built a new city southeast of the old Shengle city and rebuilt his centre of rule. This is recorded in the Book of Wei and the History of the Northern Dynasties, and should not be expanded into a nationwide urban reform for which no source exists.

In 338 (4th year of the Xiankang era, Eastern Jin) Yihuai died. The histories and both encyclopedic accounts record that on his deathbed he asked that his younger brother Shiyijian be brought back. Shiyijian was then in the Later Zhao, and Yihuai's other younger brother Tuoba Gu went to receive him, after which Shiyijian succeeded as king of Dai. Another account adds that Yihuai's daughter later married Murong Huang, which belongs to royal marriages after his death and should not be placed in the timeline of his life.

Major Activities

Political and institutional context

The cached record places Tuo Ba Yi Huai within the institutions and conflicts of Eastern Jin.

Source-based record

The structure of his two accessions and two losses of power is clear: the first came through Helan Aitou and the tribal leaders, the second through escort by the Later Zhao general Li Mu; between them he fled to the Later Zhao, and after his restoration he built a new city southeast of the old Shengle to rebuild his centre of rule. Sending Shiyijian to the Later Zhao as a hostage, building at Shengle and designating his successor on his deathbed are the political actions for which there is concrete evidence; the material records no fiscal, legal or routine institutions, so "reforming the state of Dai" is not used as a summary. His repeated alternation with Gena shows that the Dai throne was subject to a double influence, support by tribal confederation from within and the backing of the Later Zhao as one of the conditions from without.

His relations with the Helan tribe also moved back and forth: first raised as king of Dai by Helan Aitou and the tribal leaders, then, after falling out with Aitou, replaced by Gena at the tribes' wish and fleeing to the Later Zhao, and afterwards restored at Daning with the help of the Later Zhao general Li Mu. The repeated accessions and losses of power meant that his rule rested throughout on tribal support and external backing; his building at Shengle, his sending of his brother Shiyijian to the Later Zhao as a hostage and his deathbed instruction to bring Shiyijian back show the arrangements he made to steady the succession.

The tribal politics of his reign come to three points: his accession rested on Helan Aitou and the tribal leaders; his loss and recovery of power depended on the wishes of the tribes and on whether the Later Zhao gave support; and his dying instruction to bring in Shiyijian was his last arrangement for the succession, after which the rule of Dai passed into Shiyijian's reign.

The three turns of his four years on the throne, accession, loss of power and restoration, all took place within the interaction of the state of Dai with the Later Zhao and the Helan tribes, leaving him little room for personal decision; this is a background to be kept in view in judging his rule.

He was succeeded by Shiyijian, with whose reign the rule of Dai entered a longer period of stability.

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 record Yihuai's two accessions and his two losses of power through changes among the tribal followers, as well as his building of a city after his restoration and his designation of a successor at the point of death. Two other accounts agree on the main events. On the surviving material, his political ability should be understood through the concrete process of winning the support of the Helan, the Later Zhao and the old Tuoba followers; his brief restoration cannot be described directly as a general settling of the state of Dai. His posthumous title Emperor Lie was conferred by the Northern Wei and belongs to the ritual sequence of later ages.