Emperor Ming of Northern Zhou
Emperor Ming of Northern Zhou | |||||||||||||||||
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Emperor of Zhou | |||||||||||||||||
Emperor of Northern Zhou | |||||||||||||||||
Reign | 5 November 557[1] – 30 May 560 | ||||||||||||||||
Predecessor | Emperor Xiaomin | ||||||||||||||||
Successor | Emperor Wu | ||||||||||||||||
Regent | Yuwen Hu | ||||||||||||||||
Born | 534 | ||||||||||||||||
Died | May 30, 560 | ||||||||||||||||
Burial | Zhao Mausoleum ( | ||||||||||||||||
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House | Yuwen | ||||||||||||||||
Dynasty | Northern Zhou | ||||||||||||||||
Father | Yuwen Tai | ||||||||||||||||
Mother | Lady Yao |
Emperor Ming of Northern Zhou ((
Background[edit]
Yuwen Yu was born in 534, as the oldest son of the then-Northern Wei general Yuwen Tai. His mother was Yuwen Tai's concubine Lady Yao. His nickname of Tongwantu was derived from the fact that Lady Yao gave birth to him at the important city of Tongwan (
In spring 556, Yuwen Tai was pondering the issue of succession. His wife Princess Fengyi, the sister of Emperor Xiaowu of Northern Wei, had one son, Yuwen Jue, but he considered the fact of whether making Yuwen Jue heir apparent over Yuwen Yu would trouble Dugu Xin. On the advice of Li Yuan (
Later in 557, the 15-year-old Emperor Xiaomin, wanting to exercise full imperial powers, plotted to have Yuwen Hu killed. When Yuwen Hu discovered the plot, he deposed and then killed Emperor Xiaomin. Yuwen Hu welcomed Yuwen Yu to the capital Chang'an to take over the throne, still with the Heavenly Prince title.
Reign[edit]
In spring 558, Emperor Ming created his wife Duchess Dugu the title of princess (as he was still using the Heavenly Prince title at this point). Three months later, however, she died. (The historian Bo Yang speculated that because Yuwen Hu had in 557 forced her father Dugu Xin to commit suicide after Dugu Xin was implicated in a plot to overthrow Yuwen Hu, that Yuwen Hu had her murdered, but had no concrete evidence to show that that happened.)
In spring 559, Yuwen Hu formally returned his authorities to Emperor Ming, and Emperor Ming began to formally rule on all governmental matters, but Yuwen Hu retained authority over the military. Emperor Ming was generally credited with making sensible decisions and being humble toward elders, honoring them appropriately and listening to their advice.
In fall 559, Emperor Ming formally began to use the title of emperor and started using an era name (Wucheng); the practice had been abolished earlier by Yuwen Tai, during the time of Western Wei's Emperor Fei.
In spring 560, with Xiao Zhuang—a rival claimant to the Liang Dynasty throne to Western Liang's Emperor Xuan of Western Liang, who was a Northern Zhou vassal and whom Northern Zhou supported—attacking Chen Dynasty territory with his paramount general Wang Lin, Northern Zhou sent its general Shi Ning (
in summer 560, Yuwen Hu, apprehensive of Emperor Ming's intelligence and abilities, instructed the imperial chef Li An (
Family[edit]
Consorts and Issue:
- Empress Mingjing, of the Dugu clan of Henan (
明 敬 皇后 河南 獨 孤 氏 ; d. 558)- an unnamed son (558), died in infancy and not counted
- Fei, of the Xu clan (
妃 徐 氏 )- Yuwen Xian, Prince Bila (畢剌
王 宇文 賢 ; 559–580), first son
- Yuwen Xian, Prince Bila (畢剌
- Unknown
- Yuwen Zhen, Prince Feng (酆王
宇文 貞 ; d. 581), second son - Yuwen Shi, Prince Song (
宋 王 宇文 實 ; d. 581), third son - Princess Henan (
河南 公主 )- Married Yuchi Jing (
尉 遲 敬 )
- Married Yuchi Jing (
- A daughter who married Helan Shi (
賀 蘭 師 )
- Yuwen Zhen, Prince Feng (酆王
Ancestry[edit]
Yuwen Xi | |||||||||||||||||||
Yuwen Tao | |||||||||||||||||||
Yuwen Gong (470–526) | |||||||||||||||||||
Yuwen Tai (505–556) | |||||||||||||||||||
Wang Zhen | |||||||||||||||||||
Wang Pi (d. 541) | |||||||||||||||||||
Empress De | |||||||||||||||||||
Emperor Ming of Northern Zhou (534–560) | |||||||||||||||||||
Lady Yao | |||||||||||||||||||
References[edit]
- ^ According to Yuwen Yu's biography in Book of Zhou, he ascended the throne as tianwang on the jiazi day of the 9th month of the 1st year of his reign. This corresponds to 5 Nov 557 in the Julian calendar. ([
秋 九 月 ]甲子 ,群臣 上表 劝进,备法驾奉迎 。帝 固 让,群臣 固 请,是 日 ,即 天王 位 ,大赦 天下 。) Zhou Shu, vol.04 - ^ According to Yuwen Yu's biography in Book of Zhou, he died aged 27 (by East Asian reckoning) on the xinchou day of the 4th month of the 2nd year of the Wucheng era of his reign. This corresponds to 30 May 560 in the Julian calendar. ([
武 成 二 年 夏 四 月 ]辛 丑 ,崩 于延寿 殿 ,时年二 十 七 ...) Zhou Shu, vol.04. Thus by calculation, his birth year should be 534. - ^ "1 piece Chinese North Zhou Dy. Cash Coins(Bu Quan) - xiangxiangkafeizha". chinese-coins.auctivacommerce.com. Retrieved 2020-07-25.
- ^ Theobald, Ulrich. "Northern Zhou Dynasty
北 周 (www.chinaknowledge.de)". www.chinaknowledge.de. Retrieved 2020-07-25.