Dugu Xin (

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

: 獨孤信; 503 – 24 April 557),

Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were a Proto-Mongolic ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into the ...

name Qimitou (期彌頭), known as Dugu Ruyuan (獨孤如願) before 540, was a prominent general and official during the chaotic

Northern and Southern dynasties The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered as ...

period of

imperial China The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapte ...

. In 534, Dugu Xin followed

Emperor Xiaowu of Northern Wei Emperor Xiaowu of Northern Wei ((北)魏孝武帝) (510 – February 3, 535), personal name Yuan Xiu (元脩 or 元修), courtesy name Xiaoze (孝則), at times known as Emperor Chu (出帝, "the emperor who fled"), was an emperor of the Xianbei-le ...

to the west to join the warlord

Yuwen Tai Yuwen Tai () (505 – 21 November 556According to Yuwen Tai's biography in ''Book of Zhou'', he died aged 52 (by East Asian reckoning) on the ''yihai'' day of the 10th month of the 3rd year of the reign of Emperor Gong of Western Wei. This corre ...

, and in the ensuing years led

Western Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Western Wei (), was an imperial dynasty of China that followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei. One of the Northern dynasties during the era of the Northern and Southern dynasties, it ruled the weste ...

forces against their nemesis, the

Eastern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Eastern Wei (), was an imperial dynasty of China that followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei dynasty. One of the Northern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period, the Eastern We ...

. Despite an early debacle (after which he fled to and stayed for 3 years in the southern

Liang dynasty The Liang dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Liang () in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the third of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. It was preceded by the South ...

before returning to the northwest), he captured the former Northern Wei capital

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...

from Eastern Wei in 537. He rose to high ranks under Yuwen Tai, and his eldest daughter married Yuwen Tai's son

Yuwen Yu Emperor Ming of Northern Zhou ((北)周明帝) (534 – 30 May 560), personal name Yuwen Yu (宇文毓), Xianbei name Tongwantu (統萬突), was an emperor of the Xianbei-led Chinese Northern Zhou dynasty, although at the start of his reign he us ...

. When the

Northern Zhou Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern dynasties of China's Northern and Southern dynasties period, it succeeded the Western Wei dynasty a ...

dynasty replaced Western Wei, Dugu Xin was created Duke of Wei (衛國公), but was soon forced to commit suicide by the powerful regent

Yuwen Hu Yuwen Hu (宇文護) (513 – 14 April 572), courtesy name Sabao (薩保, also a title, which can be traced back to ''sartpāw “caravan leader”'', but was used as given name, in many cases by Buddhists - referring to the metaphorical meaning of ...

. Dugu Xin was described as an extremely handsome man and was fond of wearing strange clothes. He is best remembered today due to his three daughters: it is because of their marriages that he was a father-in-law to two emperors from two Chinese dynasties (

Emperor Ming of Northern Zhou Emperor Ming of Northern Zhou ((北)周明帝) (534 – 30 May 560), personal name Yuwen Yu (宇文毓), Xianbei name Tongwantu (統萬突), was an emperor of the Xianbei-led Chinese Northern Zhou dynasty, although at the start of his reign he use ...

and Emperor Wen of Sui), and maternal grandfather to two emperors from two dynasties ( Emperor Yang of Sui and

Emperor Gaozu of Tang Emperor Gaozu of Tang (7 April 566 – 25 June 635, born Li Yuan, courtesy name Shude) was the founding emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, reigning from 618 to 626. Under the Sui dynasty, Li Yuan was the governor in the area of modern-day ...

), all after his death. In fact, every Chinese emperor for 3 centuries (from 604 to 907, with the exception of

Wu Zetian Wu Zetian (17 February 624 – 16 December 705), personal name Wu Zhao, was the ''de facto'' ruler of the Tang dynasty from 665 to 705, ruling first through others and then (from 690) in her own right. From 665 to 690, she was first empres ...

and self-proclaimed rebels) was descended from him. During the

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and layi ...

, Dugu Xin was honored as Duke Jing of Zhao (趙景公) by Emperor Wen (who married his seventh daughter

Dugu Qieluo Dugu Qieluo or Dugu Jialuo (; 544 – September 10, 602), formally Empress Wenxian (文獻皇后), was an empress of the Chinese Sui dynasty. She was the wife of Emperor Wen, who, on account of his love and respect for her, as well as an oath t ...

). In 583, the empress built a temple dedicated to his memory in the capital Daxingcheng, the remains of which were discovered in 1997 on the campus of

Xi'an Jiaotong University Xi'an Jiaotong University (XJTU, ) is a public research university in Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. As a member of Double First Class University Plan, C9 League, Project 985, and Project 211, it is a leading national university with special strengths ...

Family

Parents *Father: Dugu Kuzhe (獨孤庫者), Duke Gong of Si (司空公) *Mother: Lady of the Changle County, of the Feilian clan (长乐郡君費連氏) Consorts and their respective issue(s): *Lady Luo, of the Luo clan (罗氏) ** Dugu Luo (獨孤羅, 534 – 599), Duke of Shu (蜀恭公), first son *Lady Guo, of the Guo clan (郭氏) **Dugu Shan (獨孤善, 530– 570), Duke Jun of Henei (河内郡公), second son **Dugu Mu (獨孤穆), Duke Xiao of Jinquan (金泉县公), third son ** Empress Mingjing (明敬皇后, 536 – 558), first daughter ***Married Yuwen Yu, Emperor Ming of Northern Zhou and had issue (one son) **Dugu Zang (獨孤藏, 544 – 20 September 578), Duke Xian of Wuping (武平县公), fourth son **Dugu Shun (獨孤順), Duke Cheng of Wu (武成公), fifth son **Dugu Tuo (獨孤陀), Duke Xian of Wuxi (武喜县公), sixth son **Dugu Zheng (獨孤整), eighth son *Lady Cui, of the

Cui clan of Qinghe The Cui clan of Qinghe (清河崔氏) was an eminent Chinese family of high-ranking government officials and Confucian scholars. The clan's ancestral home was in Qinghe Commandery (清河郡), which covered parts of present-day Shandong and Hebei pr ...

(清河崔氏) ** Dugu Qieluo, Empress Wenxian (文獻皇后, 544 – 10 September 602), seventh daughter ***Married Yang Jian, Emperor Wen of Sui and had issue (five sons and five daughters) *Unknown **Dugu Zong (獨孤宗), seventh son **Lady Dugu (獨孤氏), second daughter **Lady Dugu (獨孤氏), third daughter ** Empress Yuanzhen (元贞皇后), fourth daughter ***Married Li Bing, Duke of Tang and had issue (one son and one daughter) **Lady Dugu (獨孤氏), fifth daughter **Lady Dugu (獨孤氏), sixth daughter

Notes and references

* * * 503 births 557 deaths Western Wei Northern Zhou generals Forced suicides of Chinese people Chinese duellists Suicides in Northern Zhou {{China-hist-stub