Gao1 Zu3(great great grandfather) 高祖 Liu2 Bang1
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| 14) An Ding Wang (安定王 _n ding wang) Yuan Lang (元朗 yuan l_ng) 531-532 Zhongxing (中兴 zh_ng x_ng) 531-532 Yuan Lang (元朗) (513━532), courtesy name Zhongzhe (仲哲), frequently known by his post-removal title of Prince of Anding (安定王), at times known as Emperor Houfei (后废帝, "later removed emperor"), was briefly an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei. He was proclaimed emperor by the general Gao Huan, who rebelled against the clan of the paramount general Erzhu Rong in 531, as a competing candidate for the imperial throne against Emperor Jiemin, who had been made emperor by Erzhu Rong's cousin Erzhu Shilong. In 532, after Gao's victory over the Erzhus, he believed Yuan Lang, whose lineage was distant from the recent emperors, to be unsuitable to be emperor, and instead made Emperor Xiaowu emperor. Emperor Xiaowu created Yuan Lang the Prince of Anding, but later that year put him to death. Background Yuan Lang was born in 513, as the third son of Yuan Rong (元融) the Prince of Zhangwu, a key official in the Northern Wei imperial government who was a distant relative of the then-reigning Emperor Xuanwu. His mother was Lady Cheng. (It is unclear whether she was Yuan Rong's wife or concubine.) In 526, while fighting the agrarian rebel leader Ge Rong (葛荣), Yuan Rong was killed in battle, and Yuan Lang's older brother Yuan Jingzhe (元景哲) inherited the title of Prince of Zhangwu. Yuan Lang was said to be intelligent in his youth. In 529, at age 16, Yuan Lang became an army officer, serving on the staff of Yuan Su (元肃) the Prince of Lu Commandery, who was the governor of Si Province (肆州, roughly modern Xinzhou, Shanxi). In spring 531, he became the governor of Bohai Commandery (勃海, in modern Cangzhou, Hebei). At the time that Yuan Lang became the governor of Bohai Commandery, the imperial government was dominated by members of the paramount general Erzhu Rong, who, after Emperor Xiaozhuang had killed Erzhu Rong in 530, overthrew and killed Emperor Xiaozhuang, installing Yuan Ye and Emperor Jiemin successively. In summer 531, the general Gao Huan, believing the Erzhus to be corrupt and to have lost the support of the people, rose in rebellion at Xindu (信都, in modern Hengshui, Hebei), and while initially he claimed to be merely wanting to overthrow the Erzhus and still recognizing Emperor Jiemin, he soon, at the urging of his general Sun Teng (孙腾), came to believe that he needed to have an emperor under his control who could issue edicts as he wished. In winter 531, he therefore declared Yuan Lang, whose Bohai Commandery was under his control by that point, emperor, even though Yuan Lang's lineage was distant from that of recent emperors and was not even an imperial prince himself. Reign There is little evidence that the 18-year-old Yuan Lang exerted any real influence on Gao Huan's policy decisions as he battled the Erzhus. He initially remained at Xindu, but after Gao captured the important city Yecheng (邺城, in modern Handan, Hebei) in spring 532, Yuan Lang was placed in Yecheng. Gao soon prevailed in a major battle against the joined forces of Erzhu Zhao, Erzhu Tianguang, Erzhu Dulu (尔朱度律), and Erzhu Zhongyuan (尔朱仲远), and in light of Gao's victory, the general Husi Chun rebelled at the capital Luoyang and executed the prime minister Erzhu Shilong and Erzhu Shilong's brother Erzhu Yanbo (尔朱彦伯), delivering their heads, as well as Erzhu Tiangguang and Erzhu Dulu, whom Husi captured, to Gao. Erzhu Zhao fled back to his domain, while Erzhu Zhongyuan fled to rival Liang Dynasty. The victorious Gao, along with Yuan Lang, approached Luoyang. Gao, now believing that Yuan Lang's lineage was too distant, making him an inappropriate choice for emperor, initially considered still permitting Emperor Jiemin to remain on the throne, but after his generals Wei Lan'gen (魏兰根) and Cui Ling (name not in Unicode) persuaded him that Emperor Jiemin would be difficult to control, imprisoned Emperor Jiemin, while instead deciding on making Yuan Xiu the Prince of Pingyang, a grandson of Emperor Xiaowen, emperor. Gao then forced Yuan Lang to yield the throne to Yuan Xiu, who took the throne as Emperor Xiaowu. Death Emperor Xiaowu created Yuan Lang the Prince of Anding. However, in winter 532, about six and a half months after taking the throne, Emperor Xiaowu ordered Yuan Lang to commit suicide. Yuan Lang was buried without imperial honor, but it is not clear whether he was buried with any honor or not. Eventually, Yuan Lang's son Yuan Huangtou was permitted to inherit the title of Prince of Anding. After Northern Wei's branch successor state Eastern Wei ended and was replaced by Northern Qi, its first emperor Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi carried out a major slaughter of Northern Wei's imperial Yuan clan in 559. One of the victims was mentioned as one of his close associates Yuan Huangtou, who was starved to death, but it is not known for sure whether that Yuan Huangtou was Yuan Lang's son.
15) XiaoWuDi 孝武帝 or ChuDi 出帝 YuanXiu 元修532-535 Taichang (太昌 tai ch_ng) 532 Yongxing (永兴 y_ng x_ng) 532 Yongxi (永熙 y_ng3 x_) 532-535 Emperor Xiaowu of Northern Wei ((北)魏孝武帝) (510 ━ February 3, 535[1]), personal name Yuan Xiu (元修 or 元修), courtesy name Xiaoze (孝则), at times known as Emperor Chu (出帝, "the emperor who fled"),[2] was an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei. After the general Gao Huan rebelled against and defeated the clan of the deceased paramount general Erzhu Rong in 532, he made Emperor Xiaowu emperor. Despite Gao's making him emperor, however, Emperor Xiaowu tried strenuously to free himself from Gao's control, and in 534, he, aligning with the general Yuwen Tai, formally broke with Gao. When Gao advanced south to try to again take control of the imperial government, Emperor Xiaowu fled to Yuwen's territory, leading to Northern Wei's division into two (as Gao then made Yuan Shanjian the Heir Apparent of Qinghe emperor (as Emperor Xiaojing), establishing Eastern Wei). Emperor Xiaowu's relationship with Yuwen, however, soon deteriorated over Yuwen's refusal to condone his incestuous relationships with his cousins, and around the new year 535, Yuwen poisoned him to death. Emperor Xiaowu's successor Emperor Wen of Western Wei is typically regarded, then, as the first emperor of Western Wei, formalizing the division of the empire. Background Yuan Xiu was born in 510, as the third son of Yuan Huai (元怀) the Prince of Guangping, a son of Emperor Xiaowen and a younger brother of the then-reigning Emperor Xuanwu. His mother Lady Li was likely Yuan Huai's concubine, not his wife, although historical records were not clear on the issue. In 517, Yuan Huai died. In Yuan Xiu's youth, he was considered to be quiet and peaceful, and he was interested in military matters. In 527, Emperor Xuanwu's son Emperor Xiaoming created Yuan Xiu the Duke of Ruyang. In 530, Emperor Xiaozhuang promoted him to the title of Prince of Pingyang. In 532, the general Gao Huan defeated the members of the clan of the paramount general Erzhu Rong (who had overthrown and killed Emperor Xiaozhuang after Emperor Xiaozhuang killed Erzhu Rong in 530). During the campaign, Gao had declared Yuan Lang, a distant member of the imperial Yuan clan, emperor, to compete with Emperor Jiemin, whom Erzhu Rong's cousin Erzhu Shilong had made emperor. Gao, after victory, considered Yuan Lang an inappropriate choice to be emperor, given his distant relationship to the recent emperors. He considered keeping Emperor Jiemin on the throne, but decided against it when his generals Wei Lan'gen (魏兰根) and Qiu Ling (name not in Unicode) opined that Emperor Jiemin would be difficult to control in the future; he therefore had Emperor Jiemin imprisoned. He also considered making Yuan Yue (元悦) the Prince of Ru'nan, the only surviving son of Emperor Xiaowen, whom he welcomed back from rival Liang Dynasty (where Yuan Yue had fled earlier), emperor, but later changed his mind after hearing that Yuan Yue was violent and arbitrary. At that time, the imperial princes were all largely in hiding, and Yuan Xiu was hiding at a farm. Gao's ally, the general Husi Chun, located Yuan Xiu, and Gao wanted to make Yuan Xiu emperor. After a meeting with Gao, in which Gao vowed allegiance, Yuan Xiu decided to agree. Gao therefore forced Yuan Lang to yield the throne to Yuan Xiu, who then took the throne as Emperor Xiaowu. Reign in Luoyang One thing Emperor Xiaowu immediately started doing -- for which he was criticized by historians -- was eliminating potential claimants to the throne. Less than 10 days after taking the throne, he poisoned the deposed Emperor Jiemin to death. Six months later, he forced Yuan Lang and another former emperor, Yuan Ye, to commit suicide. He also executed his uncle Yuan Yue. Although Gao made him emperor, Emperor Xiaowu also almost immediately tried to do what he could to avoid being controlled by Gao. Although he married Gao's oldest daughter as his empress around the new year 533, he, after initially appearing to show deference to Gao, began to rule with Husi Chun and his associate Wang Sizheng (王思政) as his assistants, making decisions contrary to Gao's opinion, particularly after Gao had defeated the final major member of the Erzhu clan, Erzhu Zhao. He secretly communicated with Heba Yue (贺拔岳), who controlled the western provinces, and also commissioned Heba Yue's brother Heba Sheng (贺拔胜) as the commander of the southern provinces, wanting to depend on the Heba brothers to resist Gao's hold. Tensions also increased over Gao's desire to control more provinces and Emperor Xiaowu's corresponding desire to wrest control of the provinces from Gao. In spring 534, Heba Yue's friend and lieutenant, Houmochen Yue (侯莫陈悦), due to Gao's instigation, assassinated Heba Yue. Heba Yue's troops supported Heba Yue's assistant Yuwen Tai to replace him, and Yuwen soon defeated Houmochen, who committed suicide. Emperor Xiaowu continued to engage in talks with Yuwen (whom Heba Yue had previously sent to Emperor Xiaowu as a liaison) with an eye of depending on Yuwen to face off against Gao. In summer 534, Emperor Xiaowu prepared his troops and, believing he could catch Gao by surprise, issued secret edits to Gao pretending that he was suspecting Yuwen and Heba Sheng of rebellion and planning to attack them with Gao. Gao saw through Emperor Xiaowu's plot, however, and instead marched toward Luoyang. Wang Sizheng, believing that the imperial troops were not strong enough to resist Gao's, suggested Emperor Xiaowu to flee to Yuwen's territory, and Emperor Xiaowu decided to do so, rejecting Husi Chun's offer to take one final stand at Luoyang, particularly when Heba Sheng failed to come to the emperor's aid and when Yuwen's troops failed to arrive quickly. It took Gao only a month to reach Luoyang, and Emperor Xiaowu fled west, encountering Yuwen's troops on the way, and had them escort him back to Yuwen's headquarters at Chang'an, where he reestablished the imperial government and made Yuwen prime minister. He also married his sister Princess Fengyi to Yuwen. Flight to Chang'an and death Meanwhile, Gao Huan took over the Luoyang region, and soon also defeated Heba Sheng, taking over his territory and forcing him to flee to Liang. Gao then wrote repeated petitions to Emperor Xiaowu, requesting that he return to Luoyang and indicating that he was willing to return to the status quo ante. Emperor Xiaowu did not respond to any of Gao's overtures. Gao therefore made Yuan Shanjian, the son and heir apparent of Emperor Xiaowu's cousin Yuan Dan (元□) the Prince of Qinghe emperor (as Emperor Xiaojing) and moving the capital from Luoyang to Yecheng, thus formally dividing the empire into two (Eastern Wei under Emperor Xiaojing and Western Wei under Emperor Xiaowu), albeit with each claiming to be the rightful one. Meanwhile, Emperor Xiaowu's relationship with Yuwen Tai was deteriorating. While at Luoyang, he had previously entered into incestuous relationships with three of his cousins -- Yuan Mingyue (元明月) the Princess Pingyuan, the Princess Ande, and Yuan Jili (元蒺藜), who was also created princess. Yuan Mingyue accompanied him on his flight to Chang'an, but Yuwen disapproved of the relationship, and persuaded the imperial princes to arrest and kill her. Emperor Xiaowu was very angry, and he often used his bow or pounded his table inside the palace as demonstrations of his displeasure. Around the new year 535, he drank wine spiked by poison -- in all likelihood placed by Yuwen's assassins -- and died. Yuwen made his cousin Yuan Baoju the Prince of Nanyang (Yuan Mingyue's brother) emperor (as Emperor Wen). * Wife
o Empress Gao (created 532), daughter of Gao Huan # ^ Emperor Xiaowu's posthumous name of "Xiaowu" was bestowed by Western Wei. Eastern Wei did not recognize it, and instead referred to him as Emperor Chu. The official history of Northern Wei, the Book of Wei, written during Eastern Wei's successor state Northern Qi, thus referred to him as Emperor Chu. However, Chinese historians, following the lead of the History of Northern Dynasties, generally refer to him as Emperor Xiaowu. # ^ Little is known about the rest of Yuan Xiu's family, as the biographies of Yuan Huai were inexplicably lost from extant editions of both the Book of Wei (zh:s:魏书/卷22) and the History of Northern Dynasties[1].
In 534, Emperor Xiaowu, a cousin of Yuan Shanjian's father Yuan Dan, seeking to resist the control of the paramount general Gao Huan, entered into an alliance with independent generals Yuwen Tai and Heba Sheng (贺拔胜). When Gao, in response, marched toward the capital Luoyang, Emperor Xiaowu fled to Yuwen's territory. Yuan Dan initially joined Emperor Xiaowu on his flight, but quickly abandoned Emperor Xiaowu and returned to Luoyang. After Gao entered Luoyang, he had Yuan Dan assume acting imperial powers, and Yuan Dan began to become arrogant, viewing himself as the next emperor. Gao, who was in fact looking for a new emperor to replace Emperor Xiaowu, felt that Yuan Dan was inappropriate, and therefore, under the excuse that a cousin should not succeed another, chose Yuan Shanjian and declared him emperor (as Emperor Xiaojing). (Yuan Dan, in embarrassment and fear, tried to flee south, presumably to rival Liang Dynasty, but Gao tracked him down and brought him back to Luoyang.) This formally divided Northern Wei into Eastern Wei (with Emperor Xiaojing as emperor) and Western Wei (with Emperor Xiaowu as Emperor). During Gao Huan's lifetime Gao Huan, believing that Luoyang was too close to the borders of Western Wei and Liang, moved the capital to Yecheng, an important city firmly under his control. Viewing Emperor Xiaowu's flight as a blot on his person, Gao publicly showed Emperor Xiaojing the utmost respect for the rest of his life, and Gao's subordinates did not dare not to follow suit, although actual authority rested in the hands of Gao and other officials Gao delegated authority to. Gao also made repeated attempts to conquer Western Wei to reunify Northern Wei, but each time was repelled by Yuwen Tai or other Western Wei generals. Gao mostly remained at his headquarters in Jinyang (晋阳, in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi), but made occasional visits to Yecheng. In 536, Gao put his son, Gao Cheng, in charge of the Eastern Wei government. Late that year, Emperor Xiaojing's father Yuan Dan died, and according to some historians (but not all), Gao assassinated him. Emperor Xiaojing, was he grew, was described to be handsome and strong, capable of jumping over a fence while holding a stone lion. He was also said to be skillful at horseriding, archery, and literature. People compared him to his famed ancestor, Emperor Xiaowen. In 539, Emperor Xiaojing took Gao Huan's second daughter as his empress. In 544, Gao Cheng, wanting to place a trusted official to keep watch on Emperor Xiaojing, made his associate Cui Jishu (崔季舒) Emperor Xiaojing's secretary. However, Emperor Xiaojing had a cordial relationship with Cui, who often revised submissions Gao made to Emperor Xiaojing and edicts Emperor Xiaojing issued to Gao Huan and Gao Cheng, to improve the style and content. Emperor Xiaojing frequently made the comment, "Cui is my wet nurse." In 545, pursuant to Gao Huan's request, Emperor Xiaojing took the cousin of the khan of Tuyuhun, Murong Kualu (慕容夸吕), as a concubine, to try to enhance the relationship with Tuyuhun. In 547, Gao Huan died, and Gao Cheng took over full power of the government. During Gao Cheng's regency In light of Gao Huan's death, the general Hou Jing, who did not respect Gao Cheng, first surrendered the 13 provinces he controlled (the region between the Huai River and Yellow River to Western Wei, and then to Liang. Gao Cheng's general Murong Shaozong (慕容绍宗), however, defeated both Xiao Yuanming ━ nephew of Liang's Emperor Wu, whom Emperor Wu sent to assist Hou ━ and Hou, capturing Xiao Yuanming and forcing Hou to flee to Liang. By 548, all but four provinces (which Western Wei took) were back under Eastern Wei control, and by 549, Eastern Wei had recaptured those provinces as well, after Gao Cheng captured Changshe (长社, in modern Xuchang, Henan). Meanwhile, during the campaign against Hou, a conflict between Gao Cheng and Emperor Xiaojing would erupt. Gao Cheng was not as respectful to Emperor Xiaojing as Gao Huan was, and he ordered Cui Jishu to intensify his surveillance of Emperor Xiaojing. On one occasion, when Gao Cheng was attending a feast, he flashed a cup before Emperor Xiaojing as a toast ━ a very disrespectful gesture, as a subordinate, when toasting the emperor, was supposed to kneel. Emperor Xiaojing became angry, and remarked, "There is no such thing as an everlasting empire. Zhen [(朕, an imperial self-appellation comparable to the pluralis majestatis)] do not necessarily treasure my life!" Gao Cheng angrily responded, "Zhen, zhen, zhen! You are a zhen with dog feet!" He ordered Cui to punch Emperor Xiaojing three times, and then left abruptly. Emperor Xiaojing thereafter entered into a conspiracy with his teacher Xun Ji (荀济), Yuan Jin (元瑾), Liu Siyi (刘思逸), Yuan Daqi (元大器) the Prince of Huashan, Yuan Xuanhong (元宣洪) the Prince of Huainan, and Yuan Hui (元徽) the Prince of Jibei to consider overthrowing Gao Cheng. They dug a tunnel from within the palace to the outside of the city, intending to create a secret passage for imperial guards to go through, but the tunnel was discovered, and Gao Cheng entered the palace with his troops, arresting Emperor Xiaojing, putting him under house arrest, and executing the other members of the conspiracy. In spring 549, Emperor Xiaojing was forced to create Gao Cheng the greater title of Prince of Qi, and give him the honorific office of Xiangguo (相国), both signifying a move toward Gao's taking of the throne. Gao Cheng formally declined these honors, and further made a formal request for Emperor Xiaojing to create a son as crown prince. Subsequently, in fall 549, Emperor Xiaojing created his son Yuan Zhangren (元长仁) crown prince. (It is not known whether Yuan Zhangren's mother was Empress Gao.) Also in fall 549, Gao Cheng was meeting Chen Yuankang (陈元康), Yang Yin, and Cui Jishu, to secretly discuss the timeframe in which to take the throne, when his servant Lan Jing (兰京) ━ a son of the Liang general Lan Qin (兰钦) Gao Cheng captured in battle, and whom Gao Cheng had repeatedly threatened to kill ━ assassinated Gao Cheng and Chen. Gao Cheng's brother Gao Yang the Duke of Taiyuan, who was also in Yecheng at the time, killed Lan Jing and his associates, and publicly declared only that Gao Cheng had been wounded. Emperor Xiaojing, however, believed that Gao Cheng was dead, and secretly made the remark, "It is heaven's will that the Grand Marshall [(大将军, Da Ji_ngj_n, Gao Cheng's title at that time)] is dead. The power to rule should return to the imperial clan." During Gao Yang's regency Gao Yang, however, quickly moved to consolidate power. He made a quick show of force, marching his personal guards of 8,000 men into the palace, and stating to Emperor Xiaojing that he was going to Jinyang ━ where the military headquarters were. Emperor Xiaojing, seeing Gao Yang's intent on keeping power, turned pale and stated, "This man does not appear any more tolerant of me. I do not know when I will die." Gao Yang set up his headquarters in Jinyang, intending to control the military, and in spring 550, Gao Yang had Emperor Xiaojing create him the Prince of Qi Commandery ━ a slightly lesser title than the one that his brother declined before his death. Just two months later, Gao Yang's title was changed to Prince of Qi. Meanwhile, Gao Yang's associate Gao Dezheng (高德政) was trying to persuade him to seize the throne. In summer 550, Gao Yang agreed, and he started advancing toward Yecheng, while sending Gao Dezheng to Yecheng to try to force the issue. Emperor Xiaojing bestowed Gao Yang the nine bestowments ━ the traditional penultimate step before abdication. After Gao Yang arrived in Yecheng, with the officials Pan Le (潘乐), Zhang Liang (张亮), and Zhao Yanshen (赵彦深) sent by Gao Yang to request his abdication, Emperor Xiaojing did so, yielding the throne to Gao Yang, who established Northern Qi (as its Emperor Wenxuan). After removal The new Emperor Wenxuan created the former emperor the Prince of Zhongshan, and gave him the special treatment of not having to declare himself a subject of the new emperor. He created his sister, the former empress, the Princess Taiyuan. The former emperor resided with the princess, and the princess, worried that her brother might do her husband harm, kept close watch on her husband, often tasting his food to make sure that it was not poisoned. However, Emperor Wenxuan was apprehensive of the former emperor. Around the new year 552, Emperor Wenxuan invited the Princess Taiyuan to a feast inside the palace. As soon as she left her residence, Emperor Wenxuan sent assassins to force the former emperor to drink poisoned wine, and also killed his three sons. Emperor Wenxuan gave the former emperor the posthumous name of Xiaojing, and also buried him with imperial honors. However, at a later time, for reasons unknown, Emperor Wenxuan opened up the tomb and threw Emperor Xiaojing's casket into the Zhang River (漳水). |