Editing Xianbei (section)

== Culture ==
The economic base of the Xianbei was [[animal husbandry]] combined with agricultural practice. They were the first to develop the [[khanate]] system,<ref name="Wittfogel 1949 p. 1">Wittfogel, Karl August and Chia-sheng Feng (1949). History of Chinese society: Liao, 907–1125. Philadelphia, American Philosophical Society distributed by the Macmillan Co. New York. p. 1.</ref> in which formation of social classes deepened, and developments also occurred in their literacy, arts and culture. They used a zodiac calendar and favoured song and music. [[Tengrism]] and subsequently [[Buddhism]] were the main religions among the Xianbei people. After they abandoned the frigid north and migrated into [[Northern China]], they gradually abandoned nomadic lifestyle and were [[Sinicization|sinicized]] and assimilated with the [[Han Chinese]]. [[Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei|Emperor Xiaowen]] of the Xianbei-led state of [[Northern Wei]] in northern China, eventually decreed the [[Change of Xianbei names to Han names|changes of Xianbei names to Han names]].<ref>Patricia Buckley Ebrey, [[Kwang-ching Liu]] – The Cambridge illustrated history of China</ref> Prior to Tanshihuai, the Xianbei did not have a [[Hereditary monarchy|hereditary system]], and their chieftains were chosen by electing a member of their tribe based on their character and abilities. Even as they established their states on the [[Central Plains (China)|Central Plains]] and adopted the Chinese hereditary system, influential brothers, uncles and cousins of the Xianbei rulers often posed as rival claimants to the throne.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Balogh |first=Mátyás |date=15 December 2021 |title=From Family Crisis to State Crisis: The Case of Former Yan (Qian Yan 前燕, 285/337–370), a Xianbei Conquest Dynasty |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/357179581 |journal=[[Journal of East Asian Cultures]] |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=141–158 |via=ResearchGate}}</ref>