The Western Wei–Northern Zhou was one of the two short-lived states that emerged in the North after the breakup of the Northern Wei, the other being the Eastern Wei–Northern Qi. A small group of Xianbei took command of the western portion of the Northern Wei realm, and under the forceful and innovative leadership of Yuwen Tai and his son Yuwen Yong, important policies were initiated that had significant historical importance. Yuwen Tai’s immediate forebears were Xianbei tribesmen of some standing in the area of Wuchuan, a military colony northeast of the Ordos loop of the Yellow River, where they had settled in the opening years of the fifth century.