拓跋政權立足中原後，面臨政治社會體轉型的大問題，在君主繼承體制上即是一具體表徵。在太宗、世祖朝邁向長子繼承制過程來看，最大的阻力、威脅與不穩定因素，仍是來自於政權自身與各種傳統勢力，包括世祖自身對體制定位的不明確及不同於慣例的作為，各種傳統勢力延伸形成複雜狀態而難以防範等。東宮的建制也處於轉型階段，至世祖時東宮的規模始致完整。鮮卑貴族出任東宮的輔政大臣，在政權上形成優勢型態，崔浩與他們的競手、鬥爭從大宗朝延續到世祖朝末期，凸顯出東宮局勢的動盪。東宮的情勢一向在世祖的掌控中，太子晃的勢力雖有擴張成長，但應不致於過度膨脹。爆發正平事變的關鍵因素在於，宦官宗愛利用傳統勢力威脅繼承體制，使得繼承體制再度遭遇挫敗與危機。因此，彰顯出政治社會體轉型之不易。

The Tuba regime (拓跋政權) encountered major problems in political and social transition after its establishment in Zhongyuan (中原). The critical issue was the system of monarchical succession. Throughout the process of establishing the primogeniture institution during the reigns of Taizong (太宗) and Shizu (世祖), the greatest threats came from the regime itself including Shizu's uncertainty about the definition of the institution and his unconventional leadership style, and from variou s traditional forces that were difficult to resist. The crown prince institution (東宮), which was also in a transitional stage, was completed during Shizu's reign. When the Xianbei (鮮卑) nobles became regent-councilors of the crown prince and assumed a dominant position in politics, Cui Hao (崔浩) was forced to struggle with them. This conflict highlighted the unstable position of the crown prince. Although the power of Prince Hoang (太子晃) had been growing, it was still closely monitored by Shizu. The ＂Zhengping Incident＂ (正平事變) , in which the eunuch Zongai (宗愛) intervened in the conventional succession, led to a crisis that revealed the difficulties of political and social transition.