Emperor Jiemin of Northern Wei
Emperor Jiemin of Northern Wei 北魏節閔帝 | |
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Emperor of Family name: Yuán (元) Given name: Gōng (恭) | |
Era name and dates | |
Pǔtài (普泰): 531-532 | |
Posthumous name | |
Emperor Jiemin (節閔皇帝; lit. "self-controlled and careful") |
Emperor Jiemin of Northern Wei ((北)魏節閔帝) (498 – 21 June 532[1]), also known as Emperor Qianfei (前廢帝),[2] at times referred to by pre-ascension title Prince of Guangling (廣陵王), personal name Yuan Gong (元恭), courtesy name Xiuye (脩業), was an emperor of the Xianbei-led Northern Wei dynasty of China. He became emperor after the clan members of the paramount general Erzhu Rong, after Erzhu Rong was killed by Emperor Xiaozhuang, overthrew Emperor Xiaozhuang. Emperor Jiemin tried to revive the Northern Wei state, but with his power curbed by the Erzhus, was not able to accomplish much. After the general Gao Huan defeated the Erzhus in 532, Emperor Jiemin was imprisoned by Gao and subsequently poisoned to death by Emperor Xiaowu, whom Gao made emperor.
Background
Yuan Gong was born in 498, during the reign of
Yuan Gong was described to be confident and strong-willed, and also filially pious toward his grandmother Princess Dowager Meng and his father's wife Princess Dowager Zheng (whom, under
In 530, Emperor Xiaozhuang, in fear that the paramount general Erzhu Rong would seize the throne, killed Erzhu Rong. Erzhu Rong's clan members rose and declared Erzhu Rong's wife Princess Beixiang's nephew Yuan Ye the Prince of Changguang emperor. Around the new year 531, Erzhu Rong's nephew Erzhu Zhao captured Luoyang and seized Emperor Xiaozhuang, subsequently killing him. Yuan Ye traveled toward Luoyang to take the throne. However, Erzhu Rong's cousin Erzhu Shilong was uncomfortable with Yuan Ye's lineage being distant from that of recent emperors, and wanted to find an emperor with closer imperial lineage. Erzhu Rong's nephew Erzhu Tianguang suggested Yuan Gong, and after Erzhu Shilong sent his brother Erzhu Yanbo (爾朱彥伯) to visit Yuan Gong to force him to accept and to ascertain that he was not truly unable to speak, Yuan Gong agreed, and Erzhu Shilong, when Yuan Ye arrived at Luoyang, forced him to yield the throne to Yuan Gong. Yuan Gong, after making three submissions to Yuan Ye declining the throne, took the throne as Emperor Jiemin.
Reign
During Emperor Jiemin's reign, the Erzhu clan members controlled much of the functions of the central government, the provinces, and the military, with Erzhu Shilong controlling the central government, Erzhu Zhao controlling the northern provinces, Erzhu Tianguang controlling the western provinces, and Erzhu Zhongyuan (爾朱仲遠) controlling the southeastern provinces. Despite this, Emperor Jiemin himself tried to exert influences on policy in subtle ways, and at times he refused to following Erzhu Shilong's wishes. For example, when Erzhu Shilong had the official Xing Zicai (邢子才) author Emperor Jiemin's general pardon edict, describing the death of Erzhu Rong in detail as an extremely wrongful act by Emperor Xiaozhuang, Emperor Jiemin refused to promulgate the edict as written, but instead wrote a brief edict himself, using humble language and not getting into details. He also removed the character huang (皇) from his title, going from huangdi (皇帝) to just di (帝). He treated Yuan Ye with honor, creating him the Prince of Donghai. He also, in an unprecedented action, ordered that rival
The Erzhus, however, engaged in violence and corruption, and Emperor Jiemin was unable to curb them. As a result, in succession, the generals Liu Lingzhu (劉靈助) and
In spring 532, Erzhu Shilong, in order to end the dissension within the Erzhu clan, requested that Emperor Jiemin marry Erzhu Zhao's daughter as his empress. Soon, the Erzhu forces, commanded by Erzhu Zhao, Erzhu Tianguang, Erzhu Zhongyuan, and Erzhu Shilong's brother Erzhu Dulü (爾朱度律), converged at Yecheng to face Gao Huan, but despite their numerical advantage, Gao defeated them. Erzhu Zhao and Erzhu Zhongyuan fled back to their headquarters, while Erzhu Tianguang and Erzhu Dulü fled back toward Luoyang. At this time, the general Husi Chun rose against the Erzhus at Luoyang, and he killed Erzhu Shilong and Erzhu Yanbo, while capturing and delivering Erzhu Tianguang and Erzhu Dulü to Gao, who executed them.
After the defeat of the Erzhus
Emperor Jiemin tried to take initiative by sending the official Lu Bian (盧辯) to greet Gao. Gao, who was then accompanying Yuan Lang and heading toward Luoyang, considered allowing Emperor Jiemin to keep the throne, as Yuan Lang's lineage was distant from recent emperors. He sent the general Wei Lan'gen (魏蘭根) to calm the imperial officials and to observe Emperor Jiemin. After Wei returned to Gao, Wei opined that Emperor Jiemin was intelligent and decisive and would be difficult to control in the future. Gao therefore arrested Emperor Jiemin and imprisoned him at Chongxun Temple (崇訓寺). Gao instead forced Yuan Lang to yield the throne to Yuan Xiu the Prince of Pingyang, and Yuan Xiu took the throne as Emperor Xiaowu.
During Emperor Jiemin's imprisonment at Chongxun Temple, he wrote a poem that is still extant:
- A red door [sign of an honored household] brings disaster in the end;
- The imperial purple is not something to be accustomed to;
- Falls can be expected;
- Things change three times a year;
- And this is what fortune brings;
- It is better to study the true path.
About 10 days after Emperor Xiaowu took the throne, he sent messengers to poison Emperor Jiemin. He did not bury Emperor Jiemin with imperial honors, but did give him a burial that was greater than ordinary for imperial princes, and ordered the imperial officials to attend the funeral.
Family
Consorts and Issue:
- Empress, of the Erzhu clan (皇后 爾朱氏)
- Unknown
- Yuan Zishu, Prince Pei (沛王 元子恕)
Ancestry
Tuoba Huang (428–451) | |||||||||||||||||||
Emperor Wencheng of Northern Wei (440–465) | |||||||||||||||||||
Empress Gong | |||||||||||||||||||
Emperor Xianwen of Northern Wei (454–476) | |||||||||||||||||||
Li Fangshu | |||||||||||||||||||
Empress Yuan (d. 456) | |||||||||||||||||||
Yuan Yu (470–501) | |||||||||||||||||||
Lady Meng | |||||||||||||||||||
Emperor Jiemin of Northern Wei (498–532) | |||||||||||||||||||
Lady Wang | |||||||||||||||||||
References
- ^ 兩千年中西曆轉換
- ^ As he was removed from the throne, he initially received no imperial posthumous name. The Book of Wei, written by Wei Shou, an official of the branch successor state Eastern Wei, referred to him as Emperor Qianfei ("the former deposed emperor"), but the competing successor dynasty, Western Wei, probably because of requests by his older brother Yuan Xin (元欣) the Prince of Guangling, gave him the relatively honoring posthumous name Emperor Jiemin. Historians generally referred to him as Emperor Jiemin.