Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou
Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou 北周武帝 | |||||||||||||||||
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Li Ezi | |||||||||||||||||
Issue | Emperor Xuan Yuwen Zan Yuwen Zhi Yuwen Yun Yuwen Chong Yuwen Dui Yuwen Yuan Princess Qingdou Princess Yiyang | ||||||||||||||||
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House | Yuwen | ||||||||||||||||
Dynasty | Northern Zhou | ||||||||||||||||
Father | Yuwen Tai | ||||||||||||||||
Mother | Empress Xuan |
Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou ((北)周武帝) (543 – 21 June 578[1]), personal name Yuwen Yong (宇文邕), Xianbei name Miluotu (禰羅突), was an emperor of the Xianbei-led Northern Zhou dynasty of China. As was the case of the reigns of his brothers Emperor Xiaomin and Emperor Ming, the early part of his reign was dominated by his cousin Yuwen Hu, but in 572 he ambushed Yuwen Hu and seized power personally. He thereafter ruled ably and built up the power of his military, destroying the rivaling Northern Qi dynasty in 577 and annexing its territory. His death the next year, however, ended his ambitions of uniting China, and under the reign of his erratic son Emperor Xuan (Yuwen Yun), Northern Zhou itself soon deteriorated and was usurped by Yang Jian, who founded the Sui dynasty, in 581.
Background
Yuwen Yong was born in 543, as the fourth son of the
Yuwen Tai died in 556, and in spring 557, Yuwen Yong's cousin
In 559, Yuwen Hu formally returned his authorities to Emperor Ming, and Emperor Ming began to formally rule on governmental matters, but Yuwen Hu retained the command of the military. In 560, Yuwen Hu, apprehensive of Emperor Ming's abilities, had the imperial chef Li An (李安) poison him with sugar cookies. Emperor Ming, realizing that he was near death, designated Yuwen Yong as his successor, and after he soon died, Yuwen Yong took the throne as Emperor Wu. However, the control of the government again fell into Yuwen Hu's hands.
DNA analysis
A 2024 genetic study analyzed the genetic makeup of Emperor Wu, determining him to be of primarily Ancient Northeast Asian ancestry (c. 62%), with lower amounts of 'Yellow River farmers' ancestry associated with Han Chinese (c. 32%). The remaining 6% was derived from Western Steppe Herders. It was furthermore revealed that he might have died of a stroke, as he carried several risk-alleles. The study's authors also could reconstruct how he looked like, determining him to have had "a typical East or Northeast Asian facial appearance". A previous study on his wife, Empress Ashina of the early Turkic ruling class, the Ashina tribe, determined her to be of nearly entirely Ancient Northeast Asian ancestry.[3]
His face was reconstructed in 2024 using the DNA analysis, CNN posted his reconstructed face.
Early reign
Emperor Wu was said to be largely a silent emperor early in his reign, giving Yuwen Hu free rein over the government, although he appeared to start cultivating a group of officials who would be loyal to him as the years went by. He formally bestowed Yuwen Hu with not only the military authorities, but also authority over all six ministries.
With the
Also in 561, Emperor Wu honored his mother Lady Chinu empress dowager.
In spring 562, to foster a peaceful relationship with Chen, Northern Zhou returned the brother of
In summer 562, Emperor Wu, seeing that previously, nobles were not receiving any material benefits from their titles, began to have the nobles receive stipends based on the size of their fiefs.
In spring 563, while on a visit to Yuan Province (原州, roughly modern Guyuan, Ningxia), Emperor Wu suddenly returned to the capital Chang'an without explanation. One of his attendants, Houmochen Chong (侯莫陳崇) the Duke of Liang, speculated to his associates that Yuwen Hu had died. When Houmochen's speculations became known, Emperor Wu publicly rebuked Houmochen, and the same night, Yuwen Hu sent troops to surround Houmochen's mansion, forcing him to commit suicide. Soon thereafter, he publicly bestowed Yuwen Hu the honor of having his name be subject to naming taboo, an honor that Yuwen Hu declined.
Also in spring 563, Emperor Wu promulgated a new 25-volume criminal code drafted by the official Tuoba Di (拓拔迪), which divided the criminal punishment into 25 classes.
In fall 563, Northern Zhou entered into an alliance treaty with the
In fall 564, in order to placate Yuwen Hu, Emperor Wucheng of Northern Qi returned Yuwen Hu's mother Lady Yan and his (and Emperor Wu's) aunt (Yuwen Tai's sister), who had been trapped in Northern Qi territory several decades earlier, to Northern Zhou. In order to celebrate Lady Yan's return, Emperor Wu issued a general pardon, and prostrated himself before her as an ordinary nephew would. In turn, Yuwen Hu considered calling off planned joint attacks with Tujue against Northern Qi, but was fearful that Tujue would believe that Northern Zhou was abandoning the alliance, and therefore launched another joint attack with Tujue in winter 564. The assault, the main brunt of which was against Luoyang, however, was unsuccessful, and soon was abandoned.
In spring 565, Emperor Wu sent his brother Yuwen Chun (宇文純) the Duke of Chen, Yuwen Gui (宇文貴) the Duke of Xu, Dou Yi (竇毅) the Duke of Shenwu, and Yang Jian (楊薦, different person than the more-known Yang Jian, referenced above and below) the Duke of Nanyang, to lead a ceremonial guard corps to Tujue to welcome back Ashina Qijin's daughter for marriage to him. However, when they arrived at Ashina Qijin's headquarters, he turned against the treaty and detained Yuwen Chun and his attendants.
Middle reign
In 566, the non-Chinese tribes of Xin Province (信州, modern eastern Chongqing) rebelled and captured Baidicheng, under the leadership of the chieftains Ran Lingxian (冉令賢) and Xiang Wuziwang (向五子王). The general Lu Teng (陸騰), however, was able to persuade some of Rang's subjects to turn against him, and he subsequently defeated Rang and Xiang, killing them and suppressing the revolts.
In 567, in light of the death of Chen's Emperor Wen and succession by his son Emperor Fei of Chen in 566, the high level Chen officials engaged in infighting, and Emperor Wen's brother Chen Xu was victorious. The general Hua Jiao (華皎), the governor of Xiang Province (roughly modern Changsha, Hunan), felt uneasy, and therefore sought aid from Northern Zhou and Western Liang. Yuwen Hu, over the opposition by the official Cui You (崔猷), sent an army commanded by Emperor Wu's brother Yuwen Zhi (宇文直) the Duke of Wei to assist Hua and Western Liang, which was also aiding Hua. The Chen general Wu Mingche, however, quickly defeated the joint forces of Northern Zhou, Western Liang, and Hua, forcing Hua and Yuwen Zhi to both give up the war and flee to the Western Liang capital Jiangling. Chen was able to retain all of Hua's territory and further make minor territorial gains against both Northern Zhou and Western Liang as well. Yuwen Hu relieved Yuwen Zhi from his posts, and while Yuwen Zhi was eventually restored to them, Yuwen Zhi, who had previously had a cordial relationship with Yuwen Hu, bore a grudge against Yuwen Hu and secretly encouraged Emperor Wu to act against Yuwen Hu.
In spring 568, a major storm at Tujue's headquarters inflicted substantial damage, and Ashina Qijin took it as a sign of divine displeasure at his rescission of the marriage agreement with Northern Zhou. He therefore returned Yuwen Chun, along with the daughter he promised Emperor Wu, back to Northern Zhou. Emperor Wu personally welcomed her and created her empress.
Perhaps in light of the new adversarial relationship with Chen, when Northern Qi made peace overtures in fall 568, Northern Zhou accepted, and there was peace between the states for about a year, until fall 569, when Emperor Wu's brother Yuwen Xian the Prince of Qi led an army to siege Northern Qi's city of Yiyang (宜陽, in modern Luoyang, Henan) -- and for more than a year, the two states would engage in struggle for the control of Yiyang. Meanwhile, in fall 570, the Chen general Zhang Zhaoda (章昭達) put siege to Jiangling, nearly capturing it, but was eventually fought off by Northern Zhou and Western Liang's joint forces.
In 569-570, Emperor Wu organized a debate between
In winter 570—as forewarned by the Northern Zhou general Wei Xiaokuan, who advised against the Yiyang campaign—the famed Northern Qi general Hulü Guang left Yiyang and instead advanced onto Northern Zhou territory north of the Fen River (汾水, flowing through modern Linfen), building forts and capturing substantial territory from Northern Zhou. While a counterattack by Yuwen Xian subsequently fought Hulü to a stalemate, damage had been done, and Northern Zhou was further forced to give up on the Yiyang campaign in fall 571 to concentrate against Hulü.
Also in 571, Hua went to Chang'an, and on the way, he met Yuwen Zhi at Xiang Province (襄州, roughly modern
By 572, Yuwen Hu had controlled the military for 16 years and the government for nearly as long. Emperor Wu had long wanted him out of the way, although he showed few outward signs of it. He conspired with Yuwen Zhi, distant relatives Yuwen Shenju (宇文神舉) and Yuwen Xiaobo (宇文孝伯), and Wang Gui (王軌) against Yuwen Hu. In spring 572, he made his move. After Emperor Wu and Yuwen Hu had a meeting, he invited Yuwen Hu into the palace to meet with Empress Dowager Chinu. On the way to her palace, he told Yuwen Hu that Empress Dowager Chinu was having problem with alcoholism and not listening to his advice to stop her drinking, so he wanted Yuwen Hu to advise her to change her ways as well. He further gave Yuwen Hu the text of the Jiu Gao (酒誥) -- an anti-alcoholism declaration written by King Cheng of Zhou—and suggested that he read the Jiu Gao to Empress Dowager Chinu. Once they reached her palace, Yuwen Hu, pursuant to Emperor Wu's request, started reading the Jiu Gao. Before he could finish it, Emperor Wu stepped behind him and used a jade tablet to strike the back of his head. Yuwen Hu fell to the ground, and Yuwen Zhi, who was hiding nearby, jumped out, and cut off Yuwen Hu's head, ending Yuwen Hu's hold on power. Yuwen Hu's sons, brothers, and key associates were all executed.
Late reign
Having been instrumental in Yuwen Hu's death, Yuwen Zhi sought to take over Yuwen Hu's post, but Emperor Wu, who wanted to directly control the government, divided the authority between several officials, retaining most authorities in himself. He took the opportunity posthumously to honor his brother Emperor Xiaomin (Yuwen Hu had refused to do so previously) and create his son Yuwen Yun the Duke of Lu crown prince. He also began to oppose overt luxury and destroyed several palaces that he found overly luxurious as well as other items that he considered ornately decorated.
Also in summer 572, Emperor Wu learned that Northern Qi's emperor Gao Wei, apprehensive of Hulü Guang, had executed Hulü. Being glad, Emperor Wu declared a general pardon.
By 573, it had come to Emperor Wu's attention that Crown Prince Yun was not paying attention to matters of state but instead associated with immoral people. In response, Emperor Wu selected staff members for Crown Prince Yun who were known for their strict conduct. This made the crown prince unhappy.
Around the new year 574, Emperor Wu gathered
In spring 574, Empress Dowager Chinu died. Emperor Wu mourned for more than a month, eating only a small amount of rice during this period.
In fall 574, while Emperor Wu was at Yunyang (雲陽, in modern Xianyang, Shaanxi), Yuwen Zhi, who had long resented not receiving more authority, rebelled at Chang'an. The official Yuchi Yun (尉遲運), one of the officials in charge of the capital along with Crown Prince Yun, defeated Yuwen Zhi, forcing him to flee. Yuwen Zhi was soon captured and executed.
Believing Northern Qi to have been substantially weakened not only by Hulü's death but also by the successful campaign that Chen waged against it in 573 (capturing the provinces between the
In spring 576, pursuant to Emperor Wu's orders, Crown Prince Yun launched a campaign against
In winter 576, Emperor Wu again attacked Northern Qi; this time, changing strategy and attacking Pingyang instead. He was able to capture Pingyang quickly, before Northern Qi troops could arrive. The Northern Qi emperor Gao Wei soon advanced toward Pingyang with a large army, and Emperor Wu, not wanting to engage Gao Wei's army directly, withdrew, leaving the general Liang Shiyan (梁士彥) in charge of defending Pingyang. Gao Wei put Pingyang under siege, and at one point nearly captured it. Emperor Wu, after reorganizing his forces, relaunched his army and headed for Pingyang, seeking to lift the siege. Around the new year 577, he arrived near Pingyang and Gao Wei chose to engage him—but, once the battle began, panicked when his favorite concubine Consort
Gao Wei, after passing the throne to his young son
In summer 577, Emperor Wu returned to Chang'an with Gao Wei and other members of the Gao clan in tow. In winter 577, apprehensive of the Gao clan members, he falsely accused Gao Wei of conspiring with the former Northern Qi official Mu Tipo and killed Mu and ordered Gao Wei and the other members of the Gao clan to commit suicide.
In light of Northern Qi's defeat, Chen, then ruled by Chen Xu (who had deposed Emperor Fei and took the throne himself as Emperor Xuan), launched an attack commanded by Wu Mingche on Pengcheng (modern Xuzhou, Jiangsu), an important city on the former Chen/Northern Qi border. Emperor Wu sent Wang Gui to relieve Pengcheng, and in spring 578, Wang defeated Wu, capturing him.
By summer 578, Emperor Wu was engaging in military campaigns on two fronts: against Tujue in the north and against Chen in the south. However, he suddenly grew ill and, after stopping at Yunyang, ended the attack against Tujue. He entrusted the important matters to Yuwen Xiaobo, and he soon died at the age of 35. Crown Prince Yun succeeded him (as Emperor Xuan), and by 581 Northern Zhou had fallen, its throne having been seized by Emperor Xuan's father-in-law Yang Jian.
Mausoleum
Emperor Wu was buried at the Northern Zhou Qiaoling Mausoleum, together with his Turkic wife, Empress Ashina.[6][7]
A recent study on the remains of Emperor Wu (his skull was nearly completely preserved), has shown that "Emperor Wu had typical East or Northeast Asian facial characteristics", which bring some light on the appearance of the people of Xianbei ancestry, to whom Emperor Wu belonged, in the 6th century CE.[8][9]
Relation with xiangqi
Yuwen Yong was a great fan of xiangqi, he wrote a book about it, Xiang Jing, in 569 AD.
Family
Consorts and Issue:
- Empress Wucheng, of the Ashina clan (武成皇后 阿史那氏; 551–582)
- Empress Dowager, of the Li clan (天元聖皇太后 李氏; 535–588), personal name Ezi (娥姿)
- Yuwen Yun, Emperor Xuan (宣皇帝 宇文贇; 559–580), first son
- Yuwen Zan, Prince Han (漢王 宇文贊; d. 581), second son
- Shifu, of the Xue clan (世婦 薛氏)
- Yuwen Dui, Prince Cai (蔡王 宇文兌; d. 581), sixth son
- Lady, of the Kuhan clan (庫汗氏)
- Yuwen Zhi, Prince Qin (秦王 宇文贄; d. 581), third son
- Yuwen Yun, Prince Cao (曹王 宇文允; d. 581), fourth son
- Lady, of the Feng clan (馮氏)
- Yuwen Chong, Prince Dao (道王 宇文充; d. 581), fifth son
- Lady, of the Zheng clan (鄭氏)
- Yuwen Yuan, Prince Jing (荊王 宇文元; d. 581), seventh son
- Unknown
- Princess Qingdou (清都公主)
- Married Yan Pi, Duke Shibao (閻毗), and had issue (two sons including Yan Liben)
- Princess Yiyang (義陽公主)
- Married Yu Xiangxian, Duke Qinchang (於象賢)
- A daughter (b. 570)
- Princess Qingdou (清都公主)
Ancestry
According to the new DNA research,[10] his Y-DNA is C-F3830 and his Mtdna is C4a1a-a
Yuwen Xi | |||||||||||||||||||
Yuwen Tao | |||||||||||||||||||
Yuwen Gong (470–526) | |||||||||||||||||||
Yuwen Tai (Xianbei General, 505–556) | |||||||||||||||||||
Wang Zhen | |||||||||||||||||||
Wang Pi (d. 541) | |||||||||||||||||||
Empress De | |||||||||||||||||||
Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou (543–578) | |||||||||||||||||||
Chinu (Xianbei Princess, d. 574) | |||||||||||||||||||
Popular culture
- Portrayed by Daniel Chan in Prince of Lan Ling tv series.
- Portrayed by Hanson Ying in The Legend of Dugu tv series.
References
- ^ According to Yuwen Yong's biography in Book of Zhou, he died aged 36 (by East Asian reckoning) during the night of the dingyou day of the 6th month of the 1st year of the Xuanzheng era of his reign. This corresponds to 21 Jun 578 in the Julian calendar. ([宣政元年]六月丁酉,帝疾甚,还京。其夜,崩于乘舆。时年三十六。) Zhou Shu, vol.06. Thus by calculation, his birth year should be 543.
- ^ Wu, Jui-Man (2010). "MORTUARY ART IN THE NORTHERN ZHOU CHINA (557-581 CE): VISUALIZATION OF CLASS, ROLE, AND CULTURAL IDENTITY" (PDF). University of Pittsburgh: 109-.
- ISSN 0960-9822.
- ^ a b Kohn, Livia (2000). "The Northern Celestial Masters". In Kohn, Livia (ed.). Daoism Handbook. Brill. pp. 288–289.
- ^ Komjathy, Louis (2012). "The Daoist Tradition in China". In Nadeau, Randall L (ed.). The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Chinese Religions. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 179–180.
- ISBN 978-0-8248-3822-5.
- ISBN 978-0-300-07404-8.
- ^ Hunt, Katie (28 March 2024). "Ancient DNA reveals intriguing details about a sixth century Chinese emperor". CNN.
- .
- ^ Ancient Genome of Emperor Wu (We target-captured the Emperor Wu genome at a coverage of 0.15x) https://ngdc.cncb.ac.cn/gsa-human/browse/HRA003871