Home Region: North China (East Asia)

Northern Wei

386 CE 534 CE

D G SC WF CC

EQ 2020 cn_northern_wei_dyn / CnNWei*

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General Description

The Northern Wei dynasty (Tuoba or Bei Wei) unified northern China during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. ^[1] Before unification under the Northern Wei, the northern region was ruled by the Sixteen Barbarian States that had risen up when the Western Jin fled to the south. ^[1] The Northern Wei conquered Northern Yan and Northern Liang to unify the north. ^[2] During Northern Wei rule, Tuoba continued to expand its territory. By 439 CE the dynasty controlled Henan, Hebei, and parts of Shaanxi, Manchuria, Gansu, and Sichuan. ^[3] At its peak the territory of the Northern Wei expanded from the Tarim Basin to the Yellow Sea, and from the northern steppe to edge of territory of the Southern dynasties. ^[1] In 500 CE, the Northern Wei territory encompassed 1.7 million square kilometers. ^[4]
The rulers of the Northern Wei belonged to the Tuoba tribe of the Xianbei northern steppe federation. ^[1] The Tuoba language was close to Turkish, and the non-Han Chinese rulers were first seen as foreign invaders. ^[3] In the late 400s the Tuoba Sinicized their customs, language, and government, and moved their capital to Luoyang. ^[5] Buddhism was upheld as a state religion for most of the Northern Wei. The Buddhist caves of Yungang and Longmen were constructed during the period. ^[1] In the early 500s, Luoyang had over one thousand monasteries and number of mansions and large palaces. ^[6]
The fall of the Northern Wei was due to a civil war caused by rebellions in garrisons in the northern frontier ^[5] The rival army factions spilt the dynasty into Eastern and Western Wei in 535 CE. ^[2]
Population and political organization
In the Northern Dynasties, nobles and landowners often had vesting holdings with dependent servants and slaves who did not pay taxes. ^[1] The Northern Wei government attempted to break up these large holdings to reduce the power of provincial nobles. The government deported over 400,000 dependent peasants to unused land near the first capital of Pingcheng. ^[3] The Northern Wei also instituted an equal-fields system in which the state owned all land and individuals were given certain allotments for life. ^[6]
In the late 400s, the Northern Wei moved the capital to Luoyang and began to create a more Chinese-style state. ^[5] The Tuoba relied on Chinese civil servants to assist with governance. ^[5]
The population of the Northern Wei dynasty was 32 million in 500 CE. ^[7] The second Wei capital of Luoyang had a population of 600,000 at its peak. ^[8]

[1]: (Theobald 2000) Theobald, U. 2000. Northern Dynasties (386-581). Accessed June 15, 2017. http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Division/beichao.html Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/GSM2F6GX

[2]: (Xiong 2009, 384) Xiong, V C. 2009. Historical Dictionary of Medieval China. Scarecrow Press, Inc., Plymouth. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZE3I2EQK/q/xiong.

[3]: “Wei dynasty | Chinese history [386- 534 535].” Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Wei-dynasty. Accessed June 15, 2017. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/B2C94XG8

[4]: (Chase-Dunn Spreadsheet)

[5]: (Holcombe 2017, 109) Holcombe, Charles. 2017. “Was Medieval China Medieval? (Post-Han to Mid-Tang)” In A Companion to Chinese History, edited by Michael Szonyi. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell. 106-117. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/DJMEH684

[6]: (Ebrey 1996, 91) Ebrey, Patricia Buckley. 1996. The Cambridge Illustrated History of China. Cambridge: CUP. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TDMBGBF8

[7]: (Graff 2002, 127)Graff, D A. 2002. Medieval Chinese Warfare, 300-900. Routledge. London. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/NUJQCRPA

[8]: (Graff 2002, 98)Graff, D A. 2002. Medieval Chinese Warfare, 300-900. Routledge. London. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/NUJQCRPA

General Variables

Identity and Location

1 Utm Zone

1 Original Name

3 Capital

3 Alternative Name

Temporal Bounds

1 Peak Years

1 Duration

Political and Cultural Relations

1 Suprapolity Relations

1 Supracultural Entity

1 Succeeding Entity

1 Scale of Supracultural Interaction

1 Relationship to preceding Entity

1 Polity Succession

1 Degree of Centralization

Language

1 Linguistic Family

2 Language

Religion

1 Religion Genus

1 Religion Family

1 Alternate Religion Genus

1 Alternate Religion Family

Social Complexity Variables

Social Scale

1 Population of the Largest Settlement

2 Polity Territory

1 Polity Population

Hierarchical Complexity

1 Settlement Hierarchy

1 Religious Level

1 Military Level

1 Administrative Level

Professions

1 Professional Soldier

1 Professional Priesthood

1 Professional Military Officer

Bureaucracy Characteristics

1 Specialized Government Building

1 Merit Promotion

1 Full Time Bureaucrat

1 Examination System

Law

1 Judge

1 Formal Legal Code

1 Court

Specialized Buildings: polity owned

1 Market

1 Irrigation System

1 Food Storage Site

1 Drinking Water Supply System

Transport Infrastructure

1 Road

1 Port

1 Bridge

Special-purpose Sites

1 Mines or Quarry

Information / Writing System

1 Written Record

1 Script

1 Phonetic Alphabetic Writing

1 Nonwritten Record

1 Non Phonetic Writing

1 Mnemonic Device

Information / Kinds of Written Documents

1 Scientific Literature

1 Sacred Text

1 Religious Literature

1 Practical Literature

1 Philosophy

1 Lists Tables and Classification

1 History

1 Calendar

Information / Money

1 Token

1 Paper Currency

1 Indigenous Coin

1 Foreign Coin

1 Article

Information / Postal System

1 Postal Station

1 General Postal Service

1 Courier

Information / Measurement System

Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)

Fortifications

1 Wooden Palisade

1 Stone Walls Non Mortared

1 Stone Walls Mortared

1 Settlements in a Defensive Position

1 Modern Fortification

1 Moat

1 Fortified Camp

1 Earth Rampart

1 Ditch

1 Complex Fortification

2 Long Wall

Military use of Metals

1 Steel

1 Iron

1 Copper

1 Bronze

Projectiles

1 Tension Siege Engine

2 Sling Siege Engine

1 Sling

1 Self Bow

1 Javelin

1 Handheld Firearm

1 Gunpowder Siege Artillery

1 Crossbow

1 Composite Bow

1 Atlatl

Handheld weapons

1 War Club

1 Sword

1 Spear

1 Polearm

1 Dagger

1 Battle Axe

Animals used in warfare

1 Horse

1 Elephant

1 Donkey

1 Dog

1 Camel

Armor

1 Wood Bark Etc

1 Shield

1 Scaled Armor

1 Plate Armor

1 Limb Protection

1 Leather Cloth

1 Laminar Armor

1 Helmet

1 Chainmail

1 Breastplate

Naval technology

1 Specialized Military Vessel

1 Small Vessels Canoes Etc

1 Merchant Ships Pressed Into Service

Economy Variables (Luxury Goods) Coding in Progress.

Religion Variables Coding in Progress.

Crisis Consequence Cases

1 Crisis Consequence

Power Transitions

13 Power Transition

Instability Events

25 Instability Event

NGA Settlements:

Year Range	Northern Wei (cn_northern_wei_dyn) was in:
(386 CE 557 CE)	Middle Yellow River Valley

Home NGA: Middle Yellow River Valley

General Variables

Identity and Location Northern Wei (cn_northern_wei_dyn)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Utm Zone	50 S	386 CE 534 CE
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Original Name	Northern Wei	386 CE 534 CE
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Capital	Shengle	386 CE 534 CE
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Capital	Pingcheng	386 CE 534 CE
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Capital	Luoyang	386 CE 534 CE
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Alternative Name	Toba Dynasty	386 CE 534 CE
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Alternative Name	Bei-Wei Dynasty	386 CE 534 CE
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Alternative Name	Toba	386 CE 534 CE
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Temporal Bounds Northern Wei (cn_northern_wei_dyn)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More
Peak Years	439 CE
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Duration	[386 CE ➜ 534 CE]
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Political and Cultural Relations Northern Wei (cn_northern_wei_dyn)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Suprapolity Relations	cn_northern_wei_dyn alliance with mn_rouran_khaganate	386 CE 534 CE
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Supracultural Entity	Xianbei	386 CE 534 CE
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Succeeding Entity	Western Wei	386 CE 534 CE
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Scale of Supracultural Interaction	[6,000,000 to 9,000,000] km²	386 CE 534 CE
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Relationship to Preceding Entity	continuity	386 CE 534 CE
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Preceding Entity	continuity; Dai [continuity] Update here
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Degree of Centralization	unitary state	386 CE 534 CE
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Language Northern Wei (cn_northern_wei_dyn)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Linguistic Family	Sino-Tibetan	386 CE 534 CE
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Language	Xianbei	386 CE 534 CE
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Language	Chinese	386 CE 534 CE
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Religion Northern Wei (cn_northern_wei_dyn)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Religion Genus	Chinese State Religion	386 CE 534 CE
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Religion Family	Imperial Confucian Traditions	386 CE 534 CE
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Alternate Religion Genus	Buddhism	386 CE 534 CE
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Alternate Religion Family	Chinese Buddhist Traditions	386 CE 534 CE
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Social Complexity Variables

Social Scale Northern Wei (cn_northern_wei_dyn)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Population of the Largest Settlement	600,000 people	386 CE 534 CE
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Polity Territory	500,000 km²	400 CE
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Polity Territory	1,773,000 km²	500 CE
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Polity Population	32,000,000 people	500 CE
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Hierarchical Complexity Northern Wei (cn_northern_wei_dyn)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Settlement Hierarchy	[5 to 6]	386 CE 534 CE
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Religious Level	2	386 CE 534 CE
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Military Level	[5 to 6]	386 CE 534 CE
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Administrative Level	6	386 CE 534 CE
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Professions Northern Wei (cn_northern_wei_dyn)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Professional Soldier	Absent Inferred	386 CE 534 CE
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Professional Priesthood	Absent Inferred	386 CE 534 CE
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Professional Military Officer	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Bureaucracy Characteristics Northern Wei (cn_northern_wei_dyn)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Specialized Government Building	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Merit Promotion	Absent Inferred	386 CE 534 CE
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Full Time Bureaucrat	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Examination System	Absent	386 CE 534 CE
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Law Northern Wei (cn_northern_wei_dyn)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Judge	Present Inferred	386 CE 534 CE
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Formal Legal Code	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Court	Present Inferred	386 CE 534 CE
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Specialized Buildings: polity owned Northern Wei (cn_northern_wei_dyn)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Market	Present Inferred	386 CE 534 CE
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Irrigation System	Present Inferred	386 CE 534 CE
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Food Storage Site	Present Inferred	386 CE 534 CE
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Drinking Water Supply System	Uncoded Undecided	386 CE 534 CE
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Transport Infrastructure Northern Wei (cn_northern_wei_dyn)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Road	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Port	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Bridge	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Special-purpose Sites Northern Wei (cn_northern_wei_dyn)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Mines or Quarry	Present Inferred	386 CE 534 CE
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Information / Writing System Northern Wei (cn_northern_wei_dyn)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Written Record	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Script	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Phonetic Alphabetic Writing	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Nonwritten Record	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Non Phonetic Writing	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Mnemonic Device	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Information / Kinds of Written Documents Northern Wei (cn_northern_wei_dyn)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Scientific Literature	Present Inferred	386 CE 534 CE
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Sacred Text	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Religious Literature	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Practical Literature	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Philosophy	Present Inferred	386 CE 534 CE
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Lists Tables and Classification	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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History	Present Inferred	386 CE 534 CE
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Calendar	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Information / Money Northern Wei (cn_northern_wei_dyn)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Token	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Paper Currency	Absent	386 CE 534 CE
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Indigenous Coin	Present Inferred	386 CE 534 CE
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Foreign Coin	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Article	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Information / Postal System Northern Wei (cn_northern_wei_dyn)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Postal Station	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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General Postal Service	Absent Inferred	386 CE 534 CE
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Courier	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Information / Measurement System Northern Wei (cn_northern_wei_dyn)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)

Fortifications Northern Wei (cn_northern_wei_dyn)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Wooden Palisade	Present Inferred	386 CE 534 CE
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Stone Walls Non Mortared	Unknown Suspected	386 CE 534 CE
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Stone Walls Mortared	Absent	386 CE 534 CE
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Settlements in a Defensive Position	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Modern Fortification	Absent	386 CE 534 CE
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Moat	Present Inferred	386 CE 534 CE
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Fortified Camp	Present Inferred	386 CE 534 CE
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Earth Rampart	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Ditch	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Complex Fortification	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Long Wall	1,073 km	423 CE
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Long Wall	681 km	446 CE
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Military use of Metals Northern Wei (cn_northern_wei_dyn)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Steel	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Iron	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Copper	Present Inferred	386 CE 534 CE
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Bronze	Present Inferred	386 CE 534 CE
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Projectiles Northern Wei (cn_northern_wei_dyn)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Tension Siege Engine	Present Inferred	386 CE 534 CE
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Sling Siege Engine	Present Disputed	386 CE 534 CE
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Sling Siege Engine	Absent Disputed	386 CE 534 CE
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Sling	Absent Inferred	386 CE 534 CE
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Self Bow	Present Inferred	386 CE 534 CE
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Javelin	Absent Inferred	386 CE 534 CE
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Handheld Firearm	Absent	386 CE 534 CE
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Gunpowder Siege Artillery	Absent	386 CE 534 CE
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Crossbow	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Composite Bow	Present Inferred	386 CE 534 CE
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Atlatl	Absent Inferred	386 CE 534 CE
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Handheld weapons Northern Wei (cn_northern_wei_dyn)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
War Club	Present Inferred	386 CE 534 CE
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Sword	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Spear	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Polearm	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Dagger	Present Inferred	386 CE 534 CE
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Battle Axe	Unknown Suspected	386 CE 534 CE
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Animals used in warfare Northern Wei (cn_northern_wei_dyn)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Horse	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Elephant	Unknown Suspected	386 CE 534 CE
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Donkey	Present Inferred	386 CE 534 CE
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Dog	Absent	386 CE 534 CE
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Camel	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Armor Northern Wei (cn_northern_wei_dyn)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Wood Bark Etc	Present Inferred	386 CE 534 CE
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Shield	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Scaled Armor	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Plate Armor	Present Inferred	386 CE 534 CE
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Limb Protection	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Leather Cloth	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Laminar Armor	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Helmet	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Chainmail	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Breastplate	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Naval technology Northern Wei (cn_northern_wei_dyn)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Specialized Military Vessel	Unknown Suspected	386 CE 534 CE
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Small Vessels Canoes Etc	Present	386 CE 534 CE
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Merchant Ships Pressed Into Service	Unknown Suspected	386 CE 534 CE
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Economy Variables (Luxury Goods)

Religion Variables

Moralizing Supernatural Punishment and Reward Northern Wei (cn_northern_wei_dyn)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Human Sacrifice Northern Wei (cn_northern_wei_dyn)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More