Northern Wei ordered Xianbei family names that were two-to-three syllables to be shortened to one-to-two syllables, converting them to Han names. Later historians, including Wei Shou, the author of the official history of Northern Wei, Book of Wei, found shortened Han-style names to be easier to write about, and therefore used post-496 family names even where pre-496 events involving Northern Wei were described. Later, after the division of Northern Wei into two in 534, the paramount general of Western Wei, Yuwen Tai, tried to reverse these name changes and restore Xianbei names.
Northern Wei mandated that Xianbei family names, which were two to three syllables long, be shortened to one or two syllables, transforming them into Han-style names. Later historians, such as Wei Shou, who wrote the official history of Northern Wei, Book of Wei, found these shorter Han-style names easier to write about and thus used post-496 family names even when describing pre-496 events involving Northern Wei. After the division of Northern Wei into two in 534, Yuwen Tai, the paramount general of Western Wei, attempted to reverse these name changes by reinstating Xianbei names.