hiː wʌzðə fˈɜːst ˈɛmpɚɹɚɹ ɪn tʃaɪnˈiːz hˈɪstɚɹi hˈuː, ˈæftɚ ɹᵻtˈaɪɚɹɪŋ æɾ ˈeɪdʒ sˈɛvəntˌiːn ɪn fˈeɪvɚɹ ʌv hɪz fˈoːɹjˈɪɹ ˈoʊld sˈʌn ˈɛmpɚɹɚ zˈaɪəˌoʊɪn tə bɪkˌʌm tˈeɪʃæŋ hwˈɑːŋ ɹᵻtˈaɪɚd ˈɛmpɚɹɚ ɪn fˈoːɹhˈʌndɹɪd sˈɛvənti wˈʌn, kəntˈɪnjuːd tə hˈoʊld ˌɔn tə pˈaʊɚɹ ʌntˈɪl hɪz dˈɛθ ɪn fˈoːɹhˈʌndɹɪd sˈɛvənti sˈɪks—wˌɛn ðɪ əfˈɪʃəl hˈɪstɚɹi stˈeɪts vˈeɪɡli ðæt hiː mˌeɪhɐv bˌɪn kˈɪld baɪ hɪz stˈɛpmʌðɚɹ ˈɛmpɹɛs dˈaʊɪdʒɚ fˈɛŋ.
He was the first emperor in Chinese history who, after retiring at age 17 in favor of his 4-year old son Emperor Xiaowen to become Taishang Huang (retired emperor) in 471, continued to hold on to power until his death in 476—when the official history states vaguely that he may have been killed by his stepmother Empress Dowager Feng.