Yuwen Yu (534 – 30 May 560), courtesy name Wantu, was a native of Yanlu County, Honghua County (present-day Jingbian County, Shaanxi), and a member of the Xianbei clan. The second emperor of the Northern Zhou Dynasty (September 557 – May 560), the eldest son of Emperor Wen of Zhou Yuwen Taishu, his mother was Lady Yao.
In the first year of Wucheng (559), he was officially called emperor. In the second year of Wucheng (30 May 560), he was killed by the powerful minister Yuwen Hu, at the age of twenty-seven, and was buried in Zhaoling Tombs.
So today Xiaobian will talk about the tragic life of Yuwen Yu, the Emperor of the Zhou Ming Dynasty of the Northern Dynasty, let's take a look at it!
A brief biography of Yuwen Yu, Emperor Of the Northern Zhou Dynasty
Early life
In the third year of Yongxi (534), Yuwen Tai went to Xia Prefecture and gave birth to Yuwen Yu at Tongwancheng, so he took the nickname Tongwantu. In the fourteenth year of the reign (549), Yuwen Yu was made the Duke of Ningdu Commandery (宁都郡公), with 3,000 households.
In the sixteenth year of the unification (551), he acted as the governor of Huazhou. He was then appointed as the Kaifu Yi Tongsan Division, the Governor of Yizhou, and the Yizhou Assassin.
In the third year (556) of Emperor Gong of Western Wei, he was appointed as a general and guarded the area west of Longshan. In the first month of the first year of Emperor Xiaomin's reign (557), Yuwen Yu's younger brother Yuwen Jue was succeeded by Zen and promoted Yuwen Yu to the position of Pillar State, and was transferred to the rank of Military Governor of Qi Prefecture and The Assassin of Qi Prefecture. When Yuwen Yu served in Qi Prefecture, he had great political achievements and was deeply appreciated by the people.
Ascended the throne as emperor
In September of the first year of Emperor Xiaomin's reign (557), Yuwen Hu, duke of Jin, deposed Emperor Xiaomin, and Yuwen Hu did not dare to stand on his own because his wings were not yet full. Nai sent an envoy to Qi Prefecture to welcome Yuwen Yu to succeed to the throne. On September 27, Yuwen Yu arrived in the capital. On September 28, the throne of heaven, pardoned the prisoners of the world.
On August 14, 559, Yuwen Yu, believing that the Heavenly King was not enough to dominate the world, changed his title to Emperor, posthumously honored his father Yuwen Tai as Emperor Wen, pardoned the world, and gave the era name Wucheng.
Died of poisoning
Yuwen Yu is weak on the outside, but in fact, he is extremely sensitive and assertive in his heart. He refused to obey Yuwen Hu everywhere, and after Yuwen Hu pretended to return to power, Yuwen Yu began to exercise part of his power to handle state affairs and carry out reforms, but the military power was still firmly in the hands of Yuwen Hu, and Yuwen Yu tried to assassinate Yu Wen Yu when he saw that Yu Wen Yu was not in control.
At that time, there was a man named Lee An, who was favored by Yuwen Hu for his cooking skills, and was promoted to the position of doctor under the catering department. In April of the second year of Wucheng (560), Yuwen Hu quietly ordered Li An to poison Yuwen Yu's food. On April 19, Yuwen Yu became critically ill and dictated that the edict was passed on to his fourth brother Yuwen Yong, the Duke of Lu.
On April 20 (May 30), Yuwen Yu died at the age of twenty-seven at the Ageing Hall. After Yuwen Yu's death, due to the oral edict of Emperor Xian, Yuwen Hu could not change it, so he had to obey the order to make Yuwen Yong emperor, for Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou. After Yuwen Yong ascended the throne, Yuwen Yu became emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and the temple name was Sejong. On May 21, he was buried in Zhaoling (in present-day Dizhang Subdistrict, Weicheng District, Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province).
Was Emperor Yuwen Yu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty a good emperor?
From the above life experience of Yuwen Yu, it can be known that as the second emperor of Northern Zhou, Yuwen Yu died at the age of only 27. Judging from the time when Yuwen Yu ascended the throne, Yuwen Yu reigned for only 4 years.
So, is Yuwen Yu a good emperor? Knowing Yuwen Yu's political measures, we can know that Yuwen Yu is a good emperor. After Yuwen Yu seized power from his chancellor Yuwen Hu, he began to carry out drastic reforms. During Yuwen Yu's reign, he was deeply loved by the common people. Yuwen Yu worked hard to improve the economic, cultural, and military level of Northern Zhou.
In addition, Yuwen Yu was tolerant and got along very well with the monarchs and courtiers. It is precisely because Ofu yuwen yu has remarkable political achievements and good conduct that Yuwen Yu's prestige is increasing day by day. Yuwen Yu saw that Yuwen Yu was intelligent and assertive, so he asked Yuwen Yu to personally handle state affairs. In order to improve the economic level of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Yuwen Yu led by example and led the whole country to advocate frugality. Although Yuwen Yugui was the king of a country, he never used silk embroidery. In order to eliminate the official atmosphere, during Yuwen Yu's reign, he severely punished corrupt officials and made outstanding contributions to the governance of the Qing and Ming dynasties in Northern Zhou.
In order to ensure the stability of the frontier, Yuwen Yu sent HeLanxiang and other generals to lead an army to attack Tuguhun. Under the blows of Northern Zhou, Tuguhun withdrew from Northern Zhou territory. During Yuwen Yu's reign, he summoned the imperial court officials to compile the history of the scriptures, and under the leadership of Yuwen Yu, the Northern Zhou court compiled a book called "Genealogy", which described the changes in the world from Fuxi to the end of Wei. The Book of Zhou once spoke highly of Yuwen Yu with praise: "Emperor Kuan Ming Ren Hou, The Nine Tribes of Dun Mu, has the weight of a monarch." Young and studious, well-read, good at literature, gentle and beautiful. It can be seen that Yuwen Yu was a good emperor who deserved praise.
What are the anecdotal stories of Yuwen Yu, Emperor Ming of the Northern Zhou Dynasty?
1. The story of Yuwen Yu and the famous scholar Wei Yu
Yuwen Yu was the second emperor of Northern Zhou during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Relevant historical materials have recorded Yuwen Yu's life experience and Yu Wenyu's anecdotes, and by understanding Yuwen Yu's anecdotes, it is helpful to objectively and comprehensively understand Yuwen Yu. During Yuwen Yu's reign, he made indelible contributions to the improvement of all aspects of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. It is said that Yuwen Yu was immediately crowned empress dowager, and he was very courteous to the ministers of the imperial court, especially the famous scholar Wei Yu at that time.
In order to express his respect for Wei Yu, Yuwen Yu specially wrote a poem for Wei Yu. Yuwen Yu wrote: "The Six Divine Divination avoids the world, and the sun, moon, and stars are less bright." Yingyang pushed beyond the ancients, and Cangzhou never came back. The fragrance is heard by the swaying Qiulan Pei ornament, and the breeze wafts up the clothes made of lotus leaves. The length of this poem is relatively long, and Yuwen Yu expresses his envy and respect for Wei Yu in the poem. Yuwen Yu fantasized that one day he could swim all over the great rivers and mountains of the motherland with Wei Yu and other celebrities, sit on the big rocks by the stream to spy on the fairy cave, and take a small raft to chat and fish by the stream.
Subsequently, Yuwen Yu wrote: "The green pine on the ridge is upright and dry, and the clear spring on the rock is flying high." Let's climb up to Ping Optimistic and look at the Wei Cai on Shouyang Mountain. At the end of the poem, Yuwen Yu conveyed his urgent desire to seek talents to the famous scholar Wei Yu, who hoped that Wei Yu and other famous people could come to the Northern Zhou court to help him build the country. After receiving Yuwen Yu's letter, Wei Yu expressed his willingness to fight for Yuwen Yu's construction of the Imperial Program. Subsequently, Wei Yu wrote a poem to reply to Yuwen Yu, saying that he was willing to enter the pilgrimage on time to meet Yuwen Yu. After Yuwen Yu received the reply, he was very happy, and immediately ordered the government to supply Wei Yu with a bucket of Hedong liquor every day, and called Wei Yu the Duke of Xiaoyao.
2. The story of Yuwen Yu and the Lonely Queen
Yuwen Yu and the Lonely Empress are a couple. Books such as the Book of Zhou and the History of the North all record the story of Yuwen Yu and the LoneLy Empress. Yuwen Yu was the eldest son of Yuwen Tai, a western Wei chancellor, and Empress Dugu was the eldest daughter of Sima Duguxin of Western Wei. In terms of identity, the combination of Yuwen Yu and the Lonely Empress just reflects the saying that the folk door is right. The history books do not record in detail the life experience of the LoneLy Queen, only that the LoneLy Queen's mother is Guo.
At that time, Yuwen Yu's father Yuwen Tai and Dugu Xin, the father of the Dugu Empress, were powerful courtiers of the Western Wei court, and both were ranked in the Eight Pillars of Western Wei. During the Western Wei Dynasty, the relationship between nobles and courtiers would be consolidated by marriage. At the behest of his parents, Yuwen Yu and the LoneLy Queen married. Yuwen Tai's eldest son, Yuwen Yu, was talented and of excellent moral character. After the LoneLy Empress married Yuwen Yu, the two were very affectionate. Before Yuwen Tai's death, he wanted to make Yuwen Jue the son of the world, but he was worried that his relatives would be dissatisfied. After all, Yuwen Yu was Yuwen Tai's eldest son. Later, Yuwen Taili still established yuwen jue, the eldest son of the concubine, as the son of the world.
In 557, at the age of 15, Yuwen Jue ascended the throne as emperor and became the founder of the Northern Zhou regime. A year later, Yuwen Jue was killed by the powerful minister Yuwen Yu, and in order to consolidate his power, Yuwen Jue supported Yuwen Yu as the new emperor. After Yuwen Yu ascended the throne, he made dugushi empress. Three months later, the Lone Queen died of illness. Therefore, Yuwen Yu and The Dugu Empress did not have a male and a half son, and according to the Book of Zhou, it is speculated that the Dugu Mingjing Empress may have died in childbirth. After the death of Empress Mingjing, Yuwen Yu buried Empress Mingjing in Zhaoling.
Who was the father of Emperor Yuwen Yu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty?
Yuwen Tai (507–556), courtesy name Black Otter, was a native of Wuchuan County, Dai Commandery (present-day Wuchuan County, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region), and a member of the Xianbei ethnic group. He was an outstanding military, reformer, and statesman during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the de facto ruler of the Western Wei Dynasty, and the founder of the Northern Zhou regime.
In the last year of the Northern Wei Dynasty, he joined the Xianyu Xiuli Rebellion with his father Yuwen Qiu. After the uprising was suppressed by Erzhu Rong, he became the subordinate of He Bayue and served as the Assassin of Xia Prefecture. After He Bayue was killed, Yuwen Tai was elected as the leader and led the crowd to attack Hou Mochen Yue and Cao Ni, unifying the Guanlong region.
In December of the third year of Yongxi (534), he killed Emperor Xiaowu Yuanxiu. In the first month of the following year, he established Yuan Baoju, the king of Nanyang, as emperor, established Western Wei, and made the capital Chang'an. From then on, Yuwen Tai despoticized the Western Wei Dynasty for 22 years.
During Yuwen Tai's reign, he united all parties internally, clarified politics, established a military system in the government, and expanded the source of troops. Formally, it adopted the xianbei eight-part system and established the eight-pillar state.
Externally, it was based on Guanlong, fought against Eastern Wei, and encroached on Southern Liang. The Battle of Xiaoguan and the Battle of Shayuan, which he personally commanded, were both exemplary military histories with a small number of victories, laying the foundation for the unification of the north by northern Zhou and the strong prosperity of the Sui and Tang dynasties.
In the second year of Dading (556), he died, and his nickname was Wen. In the first year of Wucheng (559), he posthumously honored the emperor and was buried in Chengling.
Who was the mother of Yuwen Yu, Emperor Wen of the Northern Zhou Dynasty?
Lady Yao, the first wife of Emperor Wen of Northern Zhou Yuwen Tai, was the biological mother of Emperor Yuwen Yu of Northern Zhou.
However, what is strange is that Lady Yao, the biological mother of The Northern Zhou Ming Emperor Yuwen Yu, has a very low sense of existence in the history books. It is said that Lady Yao, as the imperial mother, not only was not posthumously crowned empress, but there is no historical record, and there is no record of when she died or even whether she lived to the throne.
Who were the younger brothers of Emperor Yuwen Yu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty?
1. Yuwen Jue (542–557), also known as Emperor Xiaomin of Northern Zhou (reigned 557), was a native of Wuchuan County (present-day Wuchuan County, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region), the third son of Emperor Yuwen tai of Zhou, whose mother was Empress Yuan (Princess Feng Yi, sister of Emperor Xiaowu of Northern Wei), the first monarch of Northern Zhou (then known as The Heavenly King) during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, but was actually a puppet of the powerful minister Yuwen Hu.
When Yuwen Jue was seven years old (one said to be nine years old), he was given the title of Duke of Luoyang County. In March of the third year (556) of Emperor Gong of Western Wei, Tuoba Kuo appointed Yuwen Jue as the Son of the Duke of Anding, and in April, he was made the Grand Sima (大司馬). In October, Yuwen Tai passed away, and Yuwen Jue inherited the titles of Taishi and Duke and Duke of Anding. In December, Tuoba Kuo issued another edict to seal Yuwen Jue as the Duke of Zhou in the land of Qiyang.
In the first year of The Reign of Emperor Xiaomin of Zhou (557), Tuoba Kuo sent Jibei Gongdi to give the emperor's jade seal and ribbon to Yuwen Jue, and on February 15, with the support of his cousin Yuwen Hu, Yu Wenjue was officially proclaimed the Heavenly King, with the title of Great Zhou, and the history was called Northern Zhou. Yuwen Jue claimed that the empress dowager had clashed with Otsuka Zai Yuwen in order to personally rule. Yuwen Hu then conspired with Wei Chigang to depose the establishment, first designing to kill Yi Fufeng and leave Yuwen Jue without guards around him; then sent He Lanxiang to force Yu Wenjue to abdicate, demoting him to the rank of Duke of Luoyang and imprisoning him.
Soon Yuwen Jue was killed by Yuwen Jue, who was only sixteen years old. In the seventh year of Tianhe (572), emperor Yuwen Yong of Zhou killed Yuwen Hu and sent the Duke of Shu to the southern suburbs to make Yuwen Jue emperor Xiaomin, calling his mausoleum Jingling.
2. Emperor Yuwen of Zhouwu (543 – June 21, 578), courtesy name Youluotu, was a member of the Xianbei clan, whose ancestral home was Wuchuan, Dai Commandery, and was born in Wuxiang, Tongzhou. The fourth son of Emperor Wen of Zhou, Emperor Yuwen Jue of Zhou and Emperor Yuwen Yu of Zhou Ming, the mother of Empress Wenxuan of The Lingnu clan (叱奴皇后), the third emperor of Northern Zhou during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, reigned from the second year of Wucheng (560) to the first year of Xuanzheng (578).
Yuwen Yong was made the Duke of Fucheng County of Western Wei when he was twelve years old. When Emperor Xiaomin of Zhou succeeded to the throne, he was a general who left Tongzhou (同州, in modern Dali County, Shaanxi Province). In the first year of the Northern Zhou Dynasty (559), the official served as the Grand Sikong and the Duke of Lu. Yuwen Yong is intelligent and far-sighted, decisive, resourceful, and able to judge big things.
In April of the second year of Wucheng (560), under the support of Yuwen Hu, he took the throne. In the first year of Jiande (572), he finally killed The Right Minister Yuwen Hu and took sole control of the imperial government. Later, he continued to implement the Juntian system, improved and developed the prefectural soldier system, took back the command of the prefectural soldiers from the Chinese and foreign capitals of the military provinces to the emperor' control, and began to recruit the juntian household peasants as prefectural soldiers, expand the source of troops, enrich the military strength, and prepare for the annexation of Northern Qi. In October of the fifth year of Jiande (576), the Fu led the army to attack qi in seven ways. In the first month of the sixth year of Jiande (577), he led an army to take advantage of the victory and siege of Yi, and in one fell swoop, captured northern Qi's father and son, and destroyed northern Qi.
During Yuwen Yong's reign, he got rid of the old customs of humility. Rectify the administration of officials, so that the politics of northern Zhou are clear, the people's lives are stable, and the country is strong. Yuwen Yong lived frugally and was able to care about the sufferings of the people in a timely manner.
In May of the first year of Xuanzheng (578), Emperor Wu of Zhou led various armies to cut down the Turks, and the five provinces advanced, but due to illness, they stopped marching. In June, he was very ill and returned to Chang'an, and died of illness that month at the age of thirty-six. Emperor Wu of the Imperial Household and Emperor Gaozu of the temple were buried in Xiaoling and passed on the throne to Yuwen Yun.
Expanded Information: An Introduction to the Northern Zhou dynasty of the Southern and Northern Dynasties
Northern Zhou (557–581) was one of the Northern Dynasties of The Northern and Southern Dynasties in Chinese history, laid the foundation of the state by the Western Wei chancellor Yuwen Tai and formally established by Yuwen Jue with the support of Yuwen Hu. Also known as Later Zhou (rarely used after the Five Dynasties to avoid confusion with the Zhou Dynasty established by Guo Wei), Yuwen Zhou. Five emperors, a total of twenty-four years.
In the third year of The Western Wei Gong Emperor (556), after the death of Yuwen Tai, who actually controlled the Western Wei regime, the third son Yuwen Jue officially assumed the title of Heavenly King and Duke of Zhou. At the beginning of the following year, Yuwen deposed Emperor Gong of Western Wei and established the state with the state name Zhou, and established the capital in Chang'an (present-day Xi'an), historically known as Northern Zhou. Emperor Xiaomin of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Yuwen Jue, was young and had great power in the hands of his cousin Yuwen Hu. In September, Yuwen Hu killed Emperor Xiaomin and made Yuwen Yu emperor.
In the second year of Wucheng (560), Yuwen Hu poisoned Yuwen Yu again, and Yuwen Yong was made emperor, and the history was called Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou. In the first year of Jiande (572), Emperor Wu of Zhouwu yuwen Yongzhi (宇文護) personally took charge of the imperial government and carried out many reforms. In 577, Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou destroyed Northern Qi and unified the north. In 581, Yang Jian was proclaimed emperor by the Zen Dynasty Zhou, changed the name of the country to Sui, and Northern Zhou died.
In the early days of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, the Guanlong region was controlled, but due to a series of wars, the people's livelihood was poor, the economic development was relatively slow, and the ideology and culture tended to be conservative and backward. However, the politics of the Northern Zhou Dynasty were relatively clear, and the monarch was quite energetic, and he had always been interested in unifying the north.
After the founding of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, he was at a disadvantage in the military struggle with Northern Qi, and Yuwen Tai used the fu military system to establish a brave and good warrior fu soldier. The regional geographical environment ruled by the Northern Zhou Dynasty created a unique humanistic culture, which was manifested as the characteristics of Shangli, Shangwu, and roughness, which were different from the characteristics of farming, Shangwen, and Zunru that were different from the regional geography and culture under the control of Northern Qi. The regional culture of Northern Zhou was able to cultivate a source of soldiers better than Northern Qi, which had a direct impact on Northern Zhou's eventual annexation of Northern Qi.