An innovative contribution to East Asian and Chinese history of the medieval period, Northern Wei (386-534) brings to a new level the study of the little-known Northern Wei dynasty (386-534). Emerging from collapse of the Han empire, the founders of Northern Wei had come south from the grasslands of Inner Asia to conquer the rich farmlands of the Yellow River plains. With complex interactions of Chinese and Inner Asians, which evolved over centuries,Northern Wei laid the foundation for a new model for empire in East Asia, which in the seventh century would lead to the Tang.