The reform of Emperor Xiaowen in the Northern Wei Dynasty refers to the reform carried out during the reign of Emperor Xiaowen Tuoba Hong when the Northern Wei Dynasty faced a crisis, including the reform of the Empress Dowager Kaihua and the ruling Emperor Xiaowen. Its nature is a feudal reform movement initiated by Feng Taihou and Emperor Xiaowen from top to bottom to change the social outlook of the Northern Wei Dynasty. The purpose of the reform is to ease the national opposition and social contradictions, develop production, consolidate the rule, and make the Northern Wei regime out of the crisis.

From 47 1-499 to the early stage of reform. The early stage is mainly around the establishment of a new system. The main contents are:

First, formulate the official salary system, replace the broken salary system with the class salary system, and rectify the bureaucracy. This improved the bureaucracy of the Northern Wei Dynasty, reduced the tax burden of farmers, and quickly restored and developed the northern agriculture.

Second, implement the system of land equalization. Since then, farmers' enthusiasm for production has been greatly improved, and at the same time, large areas of wasteland have been reclaimed, which has promoted the recovery and development of the northern economy, promoted the feudalization of the northern Wei regime, promoted the economic transformation of the Xianbei people, and strengthened national integration.

Third, change the suzerain supervision and protection system into a three-system system. Neighborhood leaders, village heads and party leaders are collectively called "three leaders", and they are directly under the counties and counties, and are responsible for cleaning up household registration, land, corvee and military service. It can improve the political system of the country from the central to the grassroots, ensure the effective control of the people by the state, and be conducive to the consolidation of centralization.

From 490 to 499 AD, it was mainly the late reform with emphasis on sinicization under the auspices of Emperor Xiaowen. The main measures are:

First, move the capital to Luoyang. In order to facilitate the acceptance of Han culture, eliminate the gap between Xianbei nationality and Han nationality, further win over the landlord and scholar-officials of Han nationality, strengthen the rule of the Central Plains and consolidate the regime of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Emperor Xiaowen decided to move the capital from Pingcheng (now Datong, Shanxi) to Luoyang.

Second, change the customs and vigorously promote the China policy. The main contents are as follows: first, it is forbidden to wear Xianbei clothes, and all of them will be changed to Hanfu; Second, it is forbidden to use Xianbei language and speak Chinese instead; Thirdly, Xianbei changed his surname to Han, and Emperor Xiaowen changed the royal family Tuoba to Yuan, forbidding Xianbei people to marry with the same surname, and advocating Xianbei nobles to marry with Han. Fourth, establish a gate valve system in Xianbei, and extend the gate valve system of Han landlords to Xianbei people. Fifth, change Xianbei's official system, laws, etiquette and laws into Chinese system and get rid of Xianbei's old system.

Not only that, in the reform, he also set an example, changed the royal family to Yuan, renamed it, took the lead in marrying the daughter of the Han minister as the imperial concubine, and married her daughter to the Han people.

These measures made the northern minorities gradually converge with the Han nationality in language, clothing, customs and habits, enriched and developed the culture of the Central Plains, and gradually integrated the diet, clothing, art and daily utensils of ethnic minorities into the lives of the Han people. While making the lifestyle of ethnic minorities feudal, it is more important to promote ethnic integration.

It is precisely because the reform conforms to the historical trend of national integration that Emperor Xiaowen, with his personal courage and insight, combined with appropriate measures, started from rectifying official management, carried out both economic reform and cultural customs reform, which was comprehensive, pragmatic and feasible, and gained extensive social support, making the reform smoothly advanced and more successful and far-reaching.

In a word, Emperor Xiaowen's reform accelerated the process of feudalization (that is, sinicization) between Xianbei and the north, and promoted the great integration of the northern nationalities. To some extent, the reform eased class contradictions and consolidated the Northern Wei regime. The reform of Emperor Xiaowen in the Northern Wei Dynasty made a positive contribution to the historical development of China's unified multi-ethnic country and had a far-reaching impact. Although the Xianbei nationality no longer exists as a nation, it has merged with the Han nationality and contributed to the prosperity and rejuvenation of the great motherland.