Wei (/weɪ/), known in historiography as the Eastern Wei (simplified Chinese: 东魏; traditional Chinese: 東魏; pinyin: Dōng Wèi), was an imperial dynasty of China that followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei dynasty.
Gao Huan was the potentate of the eastern half of what was Northern Wei territory.
Yuan Shanjian was a puppet ruler, as the real power lay in the hands of Gao Huan.
Several military campaigns, such as the Battle of Shayuan, were launched against the neighboring Western Wei in an attempt to reunify the territory once held by the Northern Wei, however these campaigns were not successful.
The Buddhist art of the Eastern Wei displays a combination of Greco-Buddhist influences from Gandhara and Central Asia (representations of flying figures holding wreaths, Greek-style folds of the drapery), together with Chinese artistic influences.