Li Ezi (; 536–588), later

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

nun name Changbei (), was an

empress dowager Empress dowager (also dowager empress or empress mother) () is the English language translation of the title given to the mother or widow of a Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese emperor in the Chinese cultural sphere. The title was also g ...

of the

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 ...

-led Chinese

Northern Zhou dynasty 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 an ...

. She was the mother of Emperor Xuan.

Background

Li Ezi was born in 536, around the Jiangling region, then ruled by

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 ...

. In 554, Northern Zhou's predecessor state

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 ...

's general Yu Jin () launched a major attack on Jiangling, then the capital of Liang's Emperor Yuan, capturing it and killing Emperor Yuan. While Western Wei then declared Emperor Yuan's nephew

Xiao Cha Emperor Xuan of (Western) Liang ((西)梁宣帝; 519 – March or April 562), personal name Xiao Cha (蕭詧), courtesy name Lisun (理孫), was the founding emperor of the Western Liang dynasty of China. He took the throne of the Liang dynasty ...

Liang's emperor (as Emperor Xuan), to be a vassal of Western Wei, when Yu withdrew, he captured most of the population of Jiangling and the surrounding region back to the Western Wei capital

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin Shi ...

as spoils of war. Western Wei's paramount general

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 ...

awarded Li Ezi to his son

Yuwen Yong Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou ((北)周武帝) (543 – 21 June 578), 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 brot ...

, then the Duke of Fucheng, to be Yuwen Yong's

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...

. She was seven years older than Yuwen Yong.

Empress Dowager

After Yuwen Tai's death in 556, his son

Yuwen Jue Emperor Xiaomin of Northern Zhou ((北)周孝閔帝) (542 – early November 557), personal name Yuwen Jue (宇文覺), nickname Dharani (陀羅尼), was the founder of the Xianbei-led Northern Zhou dynasty of China, ruling as Heavenly Prince ('' ...

took the throne from

Emperor Gong of Western Wei Emperor Gong of Western Wei ((西)魏恭帝) (537 – April 557Volume 167 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'' indicated that Emperor Gong was killed between the ''jiawu'' day of the 2nd month and the ''gengzi'' day of the 3rd month of the 1st year of the ''Yong ...

in 557, ending Western Wei and establishing Northern Zhou as its Emperor Xiaomin. As the emperor's brother, Yuwen Yong continued to carry the title of duke, although he was promoted to the Duke of Lu by another brother, Emperor Ming, who succeeded Emperor Xiaomin after 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 ...

deposed and killed Emperor Xiaomin later in 557. In 559, Lady Li gave birth to Yuwen Yong's oldest son

Yuwen Yun Emperor Xuan of Northern Zhou (北周宣帝) (559 – 22 June 580), personal name Yuwen Yun (宇文贇), courtesy name Qianbo (乾伯), was an emperor of the Xianbei-led Northern Zhou dynasty of China. He was known in history as an erratic and wa ...

. (She would later bear him another son, his second son Yuwen Zan (), although the date of Yuwen Zan's birth is not known to history.) In 560, Emperor Ming was poisoned by Yuwen Hu, and Yuwen Yong became emperor (as Emperor Wu). He created Yuwen Yun the Duke of Lu. He did not create Consort Li empress, and immediately began overtures to pursue formal marital relations with Tujue, commencing in marrying the daughter of Tujue's

Muqan Qaghan Muqan Qaghan (Old Turkic: 𐰢𐰆𐰴𐰣𐰴𐰍𐰣 Muqan qaγan, Chinese:木桿可汗/木杆可汗, Pinyin: mùgǎn kěhàn, Wade-Giles: mu-kan k'o-han or 木汗可汗, mùhàn kěhàn, mu-han k'o-han, personal name: 阿史那燕都, āshǐn� ...

, in 568 as his empress. However, Empress Ashina did not bear a son, and in 572, after Emperor Wu killed Yuwen Hu and personally took power, he created Yuwen Yun

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

. In summer 578, Emperor Wu died, and Yuwen Yun became emperor (as Emperor Xuan). He honored both Empress Ashina and Consort Li as empress dowagers (with Consort Li carrying the secondary title of ''Di Taihou'' (), to distinguish her from Empress Ashina's greater title of ''Huang Taihou'' ().

Grand Empress Dowager

In spring 579, the erratic Emperor Xuan formally passed the throne to his young son

Yuwen Chan Emperor Jing of Northern Zhou ((北)周靜帝) (July or August 573 – 10 July 581), personally name né Yuwen Yan (宇文衍), later Yuwen Chan (宇文闡), was the last emperor of the Xianbei-led Chinese Northern Zhou dynasty. He became emperor ...

(as Emperor Jing), and he took an atypical title for a

retired emperor Retired Emperor, Grand Emperor, or Emperor Emeritus is a title occasionally used by the monarchical regimes in the Sinosphere for former emperors who had (at least in name) abdicated voluntarily to another member of the same clan, usually their s ...

— "Emperor Tianyuan" (天元皇帝, ''Tianyuan Huangdi''). He thereafter changed her title several times — to ''Tianyuan Di Taihou'' () in spring 579, then ''Tian Huang Taihou'' in summer 579, and ''Tianyuan Sheng Huang Taihou'' in spring 580. In summer 580, Emperor Xuan died, and Emperor Jing, then under the control of the

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

Yang Jian, honored both Empress Dowager Ashina and her as grand empress dowagers — but with the title ''Tai Di Taihou'' () to distinguish her from the greater title of ''Tai Huang Taihou'' () that Empress Dowager Ashina carried. In 581, Yang Jian seized the throne from Emperor Jing, ending Northern Zhou and established 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 ...

(as its Emperor Wen). Emperor Jing and other members of Northern Zhou's imperial Yuwen clan were soon killed. In March or April 581, Grand Empress Dowager Li became a Buddhist nun, and changed her name to Changbei (literally meaning "frequent sorrow").隋開皇元年三月，出俗為尼，改名常悲。) ''Book of Zhou'', vol.09. The month corresponds to 21 Mar to 19 Apr 581 in the Julian calendar. She died in 588, and was buried only with ceremony due a Buddhist nun, south of Chang'an.

References

* ''

Book of Zhou The ''Book of Zhou'' (''Zhōu Shū'') records the official history of the Xianbei-led Western Wei and Northern Zhou dynasties of China, and ranks among the official Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. Compiled by the Tang dynasty historian ...

'', vol. 9. * ''

History of the Northern Dynasties The ''History of the Northern Dynasties'' () is one of the official Chinese historical works in the ''Twenty-Four Histories'' canon. The text contains 100 volumes and covers the period from 386 to 618, the histories of Northern Wei, Western We ...

'', vol. 14. * ''

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...

'', vols. 173,

174 Year 174 ( CLXXIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gallus and Flaccus (or, less frequently, year 927 '' Ab urbe condi ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Ezi People from Jingzhou Liang dynasty Buddhists Northern Wei Buddhists Northern Zhou Buddhists Northern Zhou empresses dowager Sui dynasty Buddhists Chinese Buddhist nuns 6th-century Buddhist nuns 536 births 588 deaths