Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei
Western Wei was, initially, the smaller and the weaker of the two successor states of Northern Wei, and early in its existence, there were questions on whether it would survive at all. Yuwen Tai spent much of his effort on preserving existence of Western Wei against repeated attacks led by Gao Huan. He also gradually began to show a trend of following both ancient Chinese customs, as largely encapsulated by the governmental structures of Zhou Dynasty, and restoring Xianbei customs that had largely been abolished by Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei. In this, he was assisted by the official Su Chuo (蘇綽). He also worked on earning the respect of other officials and generals, including Emperor Xiaowu's confidant Wang Sizheng and Pei Xia (裴俠), both of whom had initially been suspicious of Yuwen and yet later became important and faithful generals serving under him.