Dugu Qieluo

In this Chinese name, the family name is Dugu.

Dugu Qieluo
Empress consort of the Sui dynasty
Tenure	4 March 581–10 September 602
Born	544
Died	September 10, 602(602-09-10) (aged 57–58)
Spouse	Emperor Wen of Sui
Issue	Yang Lihua, Empress Tianyuan of Northern Zhou Yang Yong, Prince Fangling Yang Guang, Emperor Yang Yang Jun, Prince Xiao of Qin Yang Xiu, Prince of Shu Yang Awu, Princess Lanling Yang Liang, Prince of Han Princess Xiangguo Princess Guangping Princess Wanan, Duchess of Chen
Posthumous name Empress Wenxian (文獻皇后)
Father	Dugu Xin
Mother	Lady Cui

Dugu Qieluo or Dugu Jialuo (Chinese: 獨孤伽羅; 544 – September 10, 602), formally Empress Wenxian (文獻皇后), was an empress consort of the Sui dynasty. She was the wife of Emperor Wen, who, on account of his love and respect for her, as well as an oath they made while they were young, did not have any concubines for at least most of their marriage, an extreme rarity among Chinese emperors. She was very powerful and influential during her husband's reign and assisted the emperor in running the empire. However, she had a bipolar personality that made it quite difficult to judge her, sometimes cruel and domineering and sometimes kind and unassuming. She was heavily involved in Emperor Wen's decision to divert the order of succession from their oldest son Yang Yong to their second son Yang Guang (later Emperor Yang), and her influence in changing the succession eventually led to the fall of the Sui dynasty.

Early life

Dugu Qieluo was the seventh daughter of the Western Wei general Dugu Xin, who was of Xianbei ethnicity (or Xianbeinized Xiongnu). Her mother, Lady Cui (崔氏), was a niece of Cui Yanmu (崔彦穆) and a member of the Cui clan of Qinghe, who were of Han Chinese.

In 557, shortly after Western Wei was succeeded by Northern Zhou, Dugu Xin, who was very impressed with Yang Jian, the son of his subordinate general Yang Zhong (楊忠), arranged the marriage between him and Dugu Qieluo. She was only 13, and he was 16. Shortly thereafter, Dugu Xin became implicated in a plot organized by the general Zhao Gui (趙貴) against the regent Yuwen Hu, and Yuwen Hu forced him to commit suicide.

Yang Jian and Dugu Qieluo loved each other dearly, and it was when they were both young that he swore an oath that he would never let another woman have his children. They ended up having five sons and five daughters. In 568, after Yang Zhong's death, Yang Jian inherited the title of Duke of Sui, and Lady Dugu thereafter presumably carried the title of Duchess of Sui.

Dugu Qieluo was one of the most honored women at the Northern Zhou court, as her elder sister was the wife of Emperor Ming, and her beloved daughter, Yang Lihua, was the principal wife of Emperor Xuan. On one occasion, when the erratic Emperor Xuan was angry with Empress Yang and ordered her to commit suicide, Dugu Qieluo found out and went into the palace, earnestly begging Emperor Xuan's forgiveness. Emperor Xuan relented and spared Empress Yang.

Empress

The Two Holy Ones

In 580, Emperor Xuan, who had by then passed the throne to his young son Emperor Jing (by his concubine Zhu Manyue) and become retired emperor, but who was retaining imperial powers, died suddenly. Yang Jian seized power as regent. It was at that time when Dugu Qieluo sent Yang Jian a message that stated, "This is like riding a wild beast. You will not be able to come off of it. You need to fight hard to stay on." After Yang Jian defeated the general Yuchi Jiong, who rose against him after he took power, he had Emperor Jing yield the throne to him in 581, ending Northern Zhou and establishing Sui dynasty as Emperor Wen. He named Dugu Qieluo empress and their oldest son, Yang Yong, crown prince, while granting their other children, including the former Empress Yang, royal titles.

Emperor Wen and Empress Dugu lived in a unique monogamous relationship and in the same palace, which was unprecedented in Chinese history, because the emperor and empress had separate and indepent palaces for themselves. Because she was said to be studious and he listened to her, the couple often conferred with each other the important matters of state and rewards and punishments. It is difficult to say which decision was the idea of the emperor or the empress, or which one followed the other. It was not infrequent that when he hosted imperial meetings she would accompany him almost all the way into the meeting hall and she often asked eunuchs to listen in on the meeting. When she believed that he made the wrong decisions, she would advise him to change. She would also usually wait near the meeting hall for the meeting to be done and then return with him to the palace. Even when the emperor was in his study receiving and reading memorials from all over the empire and carrying on its matters, the empress was by his side, helping him till midnight. Whenever the officials had a proposal and wanted to convey it directly to the emperor, the empress also sat next to his table and listened to the discussions and involved herself in the discussed issues. She excelled in her role as a wise counselor, a faithful wife, a virtuous assistant, and the mother of the empire.

Emperor Wen and Empress Dugu became known as "the Two Holy Ones" inside the palace by officials, because the emperor was considered a holy person and because both of them managed government affairs together, this situation led to the name of two saints, "literally, two people who rule.". Because both of them were a harmonious couple who did not differentiate between each other and appeared together as much as possible, as if they were one soul, one heart with a common mindset, in two bodies. This situation set a precedent that in the future "Two Saints would preside over the court" (二聖臨朝, Er Sheng Lín cháo) and "Emperor and Empress Co-rule" (帝后共治, Dì hòu gòng zhì) by Empress Zetian of Zhou with her husband, Emperor Gaozong of Tang, which was far beyond the position of Empress Dugu with Emperor Wen.

As she lost her parents early in her life, Empress Dugu was particularly touched when she saw officials with both parents, and she would pay due respect to the officials' parents when she saw them. When officials suggested that, in accordance with rules set in the Zhou dynasty, that their officials' marriages must be approved by the Empress, she declined, believing that it was very inappropriate for her to overly interfere in personal matters. She respected the official Gao Jiong not only because of his talent, but because his father Gao Bin (高賓) had served on her father's staff and was a trusted advisor for him. While she appreciated familial values, she did not tolerate criminal behaviour, even if it was exhibited by her own relatives. When her cousin Cui Changren (崔長仁) committed crimes that called for the death penalty, Emperor Wen was initially considering pardoning on her account, but she stated that she could not, based on kinship, break the laws, and Cui Changren was executed.

Despite her honored status, Empress Dugu was said to be humble and lived frugally. She cut the expenses of the palace, like the making of overly luxurious handicrafts and clothing. She also demanded less tributes from the provinces, which had been customary for empresses to receive. These measures helped the imperial treasury to focus on urgent and far more imporant matters, such as a canal-building regime and state relief for landless farmers. However, it also caused a series of accidents with her husband. Once, when Emperor Wen wanted to reward the wife of his official Liu Song (劉嵩) with a gold-decorated dress, Empress Dugu had none to give. In a more awkward situation, when Emperor Wen needed a medicine for diarrhea that required ground pepper — then an exceedingly expensive spice that was more expensive than gold and which ladies of the court used for cosmetic purposes — he sought the ground pepper from Empress Dugu and found that she did not use it, on account of its cost.

Empress Dugu had a poor relationship with her sister-in-law, the wife of Emperor Wen's brother, Yang Zan (楊瓚), the Prince of Teng — Northern Zhou's Princess Shenyang (daughter of Yuwen Tai, the father of the first three Northern Zhou emperors). It is said that Princess Shenyang used witchcraft to curse Empress Dugu, so Emperor Wen immediately ordered Yang Zan to divorce Princess Shenyang, but Yang Zan refused. When Yang Zan died in 591, it was believed that Emperor Wen poisoned his own brother in retaliation for his wife's suffering.

In 595, the luxurious summer vacation palace, Renshou Palace (仁壽宮, in modern Baoji, Shaanxi), was completed by the general Yang Su. When the frugal Emperor Wen saw how luxurious the palace was, he was unhappy and angrily stated, "Yang Su expanded the efforts of the people to construct this palace. The people will despise me." However, when the equally frugal Empress Dugu arrived at the palace as well, she advised her husband to comfort Yang Su, and when he subsequently summoned Yang Su to the palace, she stated, "You know that this old couple had little to enjoy, so you decorated this palace in this way. Is it not that in doing so, you are being both faithful and filial?" She then gave him a large award of money and silk.

In 598, Empress Dugu and her younger half-brother, Dugu Tuo (獨孤陀), born of different mothers, were embroiled in a mysterious scandal. It was said that Dugu Tuo, whose wife was a sister of the official Yang Su's, had a female servant named Xu Ani (徐阿尼), who worshipped cat spirits and was capable to have those spirits kill people for her. At this time, both Empress Dugu and Yang Su's wife, Lady Zheng, were seriously ill, and it was suspected that they were afflicted by cat spirits. Emperor Wen suspected Dugu Tuo and had Gao Jiong investigate and Gao Jiong reported that it was indeed Dugu Tuo who instigated the matter. Emperor Wen ordered Dugu Tuo and Lady Yang to commit suicide, but Empress Dugu went on a three-day hunger strike to save them, stating, "If Tuo had harmed the people, I would not dare to say anything, but his crime was on my account, and therefore I dare to beg you to spare his life." Dugu Tuo's younger brother, Dugu Zheng (獨孤整), also pleaded earnestly, and Emperor Wen spared them, reducing Dugu Tuo to commoner rank and forcing his wife to become a Buddhist nun.

Over the years, the relationship between Emperor Wen and Empress Dugu was still loving and collaborative. However, on one occasion, when he happened to see Yuchi Jiong's beautiful granddaughter who had been forced into slave labor after her grandfather's death, he had sexual relations with her. When Empress Dugu found out, she had Lady Yuchi killed. In anger, he rode away from the palace on a horse, refused to return and said: "I am the emperor, but I don't have the freedom to do what I want". Gao Jiong and Yang Su had to track him down and urge him to return to the palace, with Gao Jiong stating, "Your Majesty, how can you abandon the empire on account of a mere woman?" When Emperor Wen did return to the palace after midnight, Empress Dugu was waiting for him, wept, and begged him for forgiveness for her crime. Gao Jiong and Yang Su subsequently hosted a banquet for the couple, and their quarrel ended.

However, when Empress Dugu heard that Gao Jiong, whom she had respected previously, refer to her as "a mere woman," she became secretly resentful of him. Later, she became particularly angry at Gao Jiong over his marital relations, as after his wife died, she suggested Emperor Wen find him another wife, but Gao Jiong declined, stating that he was getting old and beginning to lose his sexual urges and did not need to remarry — and soon thereafter, his concubine bore a son. Empress Dugu pointed out that, in effect, he was not truthful, and Emperor Wen began to distance himself from Gao Jiong. Furthermore, in 598, when Gao Jiong, under Emperor Wen's duress, was forced to accompany Yang Liang, the Prince of Han, in a campaign against Goguryeo, a campaign that he opposed, the campaign ended in failure, and Empress Dugu blamed him for the failure, particularly after Yang Liang, angry that Gao Jiong was not following his orders, complained to her.

Succesion crisis

Another person who began to draw Empress Dugu's ire was her eldest son, Yang Yong, the Crown Prince. When he was young, she and her husband had selected for him a wife from the honored Yuan clan, Northern Wei's imperial clan—a daughter of the official Yuan Xiaoju (元孝鉅). However, Yang Yong did not favor Crown Princess Yuan and instead had many concubines, including his favorite Consort Yun, and he did not have any sons with Crown Princess Yuan. When the Crown Princess died in 591 after a brief illness, Empress Dugu suspected Yang Yong and/or Consort Yun of poisoning her, and rebuked him. Her second son, Yang Guang, the Prince of Jin, had ambitions of displacing his older brother, so he put on pretenses of living frugally (which pleased his both of parents) and loving no one but his wife Princess Xiao (which pleased his mother).

By 599, both Emperor Wen and Empress Dugu were considering replacing Yang Yong with Yang Guang, but when she approached Gao Jiong with the issue, he stated firmly that the Crown Prince should not be replaced. Therefore, she suggested that Emperor Wen remove Gao Jiong, who was accused of crimes, removed from office and reduced to commoner rank. Meanwhile, Yang Guang continued to provoke his mother, falsely stating that he feared that Yang Yong would eventually put him to death.

Yang Guang soon entered into an alliance with Yang Su, with whom Yang Yong had a very poor relationship, and Empress Dugu also told Yang Su to encourage Emperor Wen to depose Yang Yong. Subsequently, Yang Guang engaged Yang Yong's associate, Ji Wei (姬威), to falsely accuse Yang Yong of plotting treason. In 600, after an investigation conducted by Yang Su, in which he manufactured evidence against Yang Yong, Emperor Wen deposed the Crown Prince and put him under house arrest, replacing him with Yang Guang.

In fall 602, Empress Dugu died, and Emperor Wen was greatly saddened and ordered a grand funeral, although he was comforted by Wang Shao (王劭), who submitted a petition in which he tried to use prophecies to show that Empress Dugu was, in fact, a Bodhisattva. Emperor Wen never named another empress, though he began to engage in sexual relations with concubines, but those unions never conceived children.

Family

Further information: Dugu sisters

• Paternal Grandfather
  • Dugu Ku
• Father
  • General Dugu Xin (503–557), Western Wei general (司馬) and superior officer to Yang Zhong, Duke of Sui, Yang Jian's father; was implicated in a plot to overthrow regent Yuwen Hu in 557, shortly after his daughter's marriage, and forced to commit suicide
• Mother
  • Lady Cui (崔氏)
• Stepmothers
  • Dugu Xin's first wife, mother of Dugu Luo
  • Lady Guo (郭氏), Dugu Xin's second wife, mother of Dugu Shan, Dugu Mu, Dugu Cang, Dugu Shun, Dugu Tuo, and Dugu Zheng
• Half-brothers
  • Dugu Luo (獨孤羅) (534–599), courtesy name Luoren (羅仁)
  • Dugu Shan (獨孤善), Buddhist name Futuo (伏陀)
  • Dugu Mu (獨孤穆)
  • Dugu Cang (獨孤藏) (553–587), Xianbei name Bazang (拔臣), Buddhist name Damo (達磨)
  • Dugu Shun (獨孤順)
  • Dugu Tuo (獨孤陀), courtesy name Lixie (黎邪), married a sister of Yang Su
  • Dugu Zheng (獨孤整), served as Provincial Governor of Youzhou, later elevated to Marquess of Pingxiang (平鄉侯)
  • Dugu Zhen (獨孤震)
• Half-sisters
  • Lady Dugu (獨孤氏), Dugu Xin's fourth daughter; married Li Bing, Duke Ren of Tang; posthumously honored under the Tang dynasty as Empress Yuanzhen (元貞皇后)
  • Empress Dugu (d. 558), Dugu Xin's eldest daughter, married Emperor Ming of Northern Zhou sometime after 548
• Nephews
  • Dugu Ji (獨孤機), Duke of Teng (滕國公) and Provincial Governor of Cangzhou, son of Dugu Cang and his wife Lady Helan (賀蘭氏)
  • Two other sons of Dugu Cang and Lady Helan
  • Emperor Gaozu of Tang, son and elder child of Empress Yuanzhen and Li Bing
• Niece
  • Princess Tong'an (同安公主), daughter and younger child of Empress Yuanzhen and Li Bing
• Sons
  • Yang Yong (楊勇) (d. 604), the Crown Prince (created 581, deposed 600, executed by Emperor Yang of Sui 604)
  • Yang Guang (楊廣) (569 – 10 April 618), initially the Duke of Yanmen, later the Prince of Jin (created 581), later the Crown Prince (created 600), later Emperor Yang of Sui
  • Yang Jun (楊俊) (571–600), Prince Xiao of Qin (created 581, d. 600)
  • Yang Xiu (楊秀) (573–618), initially the Prince of Yue (created 581), later the Prince of Shu (created 581, reduced to commoner rank 602, killed by Yuwen Huaji 618)
  • Yang Liang (楊諒) (575–605), the Prince of Han (created 581, reduced to commoner rank 604)
• Daughters
  • Yang Lihua (楊麗華) (561–609), empress to Emperor Xuan of Northern Zhou; later the Princess Leping
  • Princess Xiangguo, married Li Changya (李長雅)
  • Princess Guangping, married Yuwen Jingli (宇文靜禮), son of Yuwen Qing (宇文慶)
  • Yang Awu (楊阿五) (573–604), the Princess Lanling; married firstly Wang Fengxiao (王奉孝); remarried after Wang's death to Liu Shu (柳述), who later became Minister of Defense under Emperor Yang

In media

• Portrayed by Lee Heung-kam in the 1987 TV series The Grand Canal.
• Portrayed by Joan Chen in the 2012 TV series Sui Tang Yingxiong
• Portrayed by Song Jia in the 2013 TV series Heroes in Sui and Tang Dynasties.
• Portrayed by Pan Hong in the 2013 TV series Mulan.
• Portrayed by Hu Bingqing in the 2018 TV series The Legend of Dugu.
• Portrayed by Joe Chen in the 2019 TV series Queen Dugu.

Notes and references

• Book of Sui, vol. 36.[1]
• History of Northern Dynasties, vol. 14.[2]
• Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179.