Background
Lady Helan was a daughter of the Helan tribal chief Helan Yegan (賀蘭野干), an important general under Tuoba Shiyijian.
賀蘭太后獻明皇后
Lady Helan was a daughter of the Helan tribal chief Helan Yegan (賀蘭野干), an important general under Tuoba Shiyijian.
Her husband was Tuoba Gui"s father Tuoba Shi (拓拔寔), the heir apparent of the Dai prince Tuoba Shiyijian (拓拔什翼犍). (However, for reasons why this account may have its problems, see here -- in particular, note below with regard to description of the parentage of Tuoba Gu (拓拔觚).)
In 371, when the general Baba Jin (拔拔斤) attempted to assassinate Tuoba Shiyijian, Tuoba Shi took the blunt of the assault personally to protect his father, and he died later that year. After Tuoba Shi"s death, Heiress Apparent Helan gave birth to Tuoba Gui.
In 384, after Former Qin had begun to collapse in light of its defeat at the Battle of Fei River, Liu Kuren tried to aid the Former Qin prince Fu Pi, but was assassinated by his own general Muyu Chang (慕輿常).
After Tuoba Gui redeclared the Dai state as its prince with Helan Na"s support in 386 and later changed the state"s name to Wei, Lady Helan was honored as princess dowager. She died in 396.
The problem with this account is that if Tuoba Shi had died before Tuoba Gui"s death, than she could not have had an even younger son by him—but of course, she might have married another member of the Tuoba clan, perhaps Tuoba Shi"s younger brother Tuoba Han (拓拔翰), for Tuoba Gu was also referred to as the younger brother of Tuoba Han"s son Tuoba Yi (拓拔儀).) After Tuoba Gui declared himself emperor around the new year 399, he posthumously honored Tuoba Shi as an emperor and her as an empress.