Editing Xianbei (section)

===Sixteen Kingdoms and Northern Wei===
[[File:Northern Dynasties Pottery Horse & Rider.jpg|thumb|Northern dynasties horseman]]
[[File:Northern Wei Cavalry (4).jpg|thumb|Northern Wei cavalry]]
[[File:Dinastia wei del nord, due cavalieri, cina del nord, 500-550 ca..JPG|thumb|Northern Wei cavalry]]
{{See also|Upheaval of the Five Barbarians|Sixteen Kingdoms|Northern Wei}}

During the [[War of the Eight Princes]], the Xianbei of the northeast, primarily the [[Duan tribe|Duan]], were brought in to fight in the civil wars of the Jin princes and played a deciding factor in the wars. When the [[Xiongnu]] in [[Shanxi]] rebelled and founded the [[Han-Zhao|Han-Zhao dynasty]], the Tuoba offered their assistance to Jin to fight the rebels. The Jin were heavily reliant on the Xianbei's military force as they gradually lost the north during the [[upheaval of the Five Barbarians]]. For their services, the Duan and Tuoba were granted the duchies of [[Liaoxi Commandery|Liaoxi]] and [[Dai Commandery|Dai]], respectively. However, for varying reasons, most of the Xianbei eventually withdrew from the conflict, allowing the remnants of Jin to be quickly overwhelmed. Mass number of Chinese officers, soldiers and civilians fled south to join the Eastern Jin or north to join the Xianbei duchies.

The Xianbei founded several of the [[Sixteen Kingdoms]] in northern China. The [[Murong]] of [[Liaodong Peninsula|Liaodong]] were the most notable clan of this period. Having adopted the Jin governing system and customs, they rose to prominence during the fall of Western Jin by providing refuge and cooperating closely with the Chinese exiles, eventually establishing Xianbei rule over the [[Zhongyuan|Central Plains]] after they defeated the [[Ran Wei]] in 352. They founded the [[Former Yan]] (337–370), [[Later Yan]] (384–407) and [[Southern Yan]] (398–410), as well as the [[Western Yan]] (384–394; not listed among the Sixteen Kingdoms). The Murong dominated the northeast and at one point vied to unify China, but fell short due to family infighting, corruption and weak rulers. Meanwhile, in [[Gansu]], the Qifu established the [[Western Qin]] (385–431) while the Tufa established the [[Southern Liang (Sixteen Kingdoms)|Southern Liang]] (397–414).

The Tuoba retained their fiefdom of [[Dai (Sixteen Kingdoms)|Dai]] (310–376), which was elevated to a kingdom in 315, before they were eventually conquered by the [[Di (Five Barbarians)|Di]]-led [[Former Qin|Former Qin dynasty]]. With the fall of Dai, northern China was briefly unified under the Qin, but as they rapidly collapsed following a disastrous defeat at the [[Battle of Fei River]] in 383, the Tuoba restored their state as the [[Northern Wei|Northern Wei dynasty]] (386–535), becoming the first of the [[Northern dynasties]] (386–581). The Northern Wei grew in power after they defeated and supplanted the Later Yan on the [[Zhongyuan|Central Plains]]. In 439, they conquered the last of the [[Sixteen Kingdoms]], thereby unifying the north and completing the transition into the [[Northern and Southern dynasties|Northern and Southern dynasties period]].<ref>Ma, Changshou [馬長壽] (1962). Wuhuan yu Xianbei [Wuhuan and Xianbei] 烏桓與鮮卑. Shanghai [上海], Shanghai ren min chu ban she [Shanghai People's Press] 上海人民出版社.</ref><ref>Liu, Xueyao [劉學銚] (1994). Xianbei shi lun [the Xianbei History] 鮮卑史論. Taipei [台北], Nan tian shu ju [Nantian Press] 南天書局.</ref><ref>Wang, Zhongluo [王仲荦] (2007). Wei jin nan bei chao shi [History of Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties] 魏晋南北朝史. Beijing [北京], Zhonghua shu ju [China Press] 中华书局.</ref>

[[Image:BeltBuckleXianbei3-4thcentury.jpg|left|thumb|Xianbei belt buckles, 3–4th century AD]]