Background
It is not known when Tuoba Yong was born; what is known is that he was the sixth of seven sons of Emperor Xianwen, and that his mother was Emperor Xianwen's concubine Consort Han, who was also the mother of one of his older brothers, Tuoba Gan (拓拔幹). Emperor Xianwen yielded the throne to Tuoba Yong's oldest brother, Emperor Xiaowen, in 471, and died subsequently in 476, probably murdered by Tuoba Yong's stepgrandmother, Empress Dowager Feng, who then proceeded to assume regency over Emperor Xiaowen. Emperor Xiaowen liked Tuoba Yong for his lack of inhibitions, and while Yuan Yong did not display much talent while young, he believed that Yuan Yong might show those talents later. In 485, Tuoba Yong was created the Prince of Yingchuan. In 494, when Emperor Xiaowen moved the capital from Pingcheng (平城, in modern Datong, Shanxi), Tuoba Yong's title was changed to the Prince of Gaoyang. In 496, when Emperor Xiaowen changed the name of the imperial clan from Tuoba to Yuan, Tuoba Yong's name was changed to Yuan Yong. Subsequently, when Emperor Xiaowen conducted his campaigns against rival Southern Qi, Yuan Yong was put in charge of the important Xiang Province (相州, roughly modern Handan, Hebei), but he, unlike most of his other brothers, was not given any greater authority during Emperor Xiaowen's reign.
Read more about this topic: Yuan Yong
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