Yuchi Chifan () or Yuchi Fanchi ()The ''

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 ...

'' gives her given name as Chifan, while the ''

History of 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 ...

'' gives her given name as Fanchi. (566–595), 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 Huashou (華首), was a

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 ...

of the Emperor Xuan of the

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 and ...

of China. Yuchi Chifan's grandfather

Yuchi Jiong Yuchi Jiong (尉遲迥) (died 11 September 580''gengwu'' day of the 8th month of the 2nd year of the ''Daxiang'' era, per Emperor Jing's biography in ''Book of Zhou''), courtesy name Bojuluo (薄居羅), was a general of the Xianbei-led Western We ...

the Duke of Shu was a renowned general of Northern Zhou and a nephew of

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 ...

, Emperor Xuan's grandfather, making her and Emperor Xuan cousins. She initially married Yuwen Wen (宇文溫) the Duke of Xiyang—a son of Emperor Xuan's cousin Yuwen Liang (宇文亮) the Duke of Qi. She was said to be exceedingly beautiful. Sometime in or before 580, on an occasion when the wives of imperial clan members were, pursuant to the customs of the time, in the palace to greet the Emperor Xuan, Emperor Xuan was so infatuated by her beauty that he forced her to drink, and then raped her after she fell drunk. In spring 580, Yuwen Liang, angry and fearful over the incident, was one of the generals commanding troops against rival Chen dynasty. As the army withdrew from the borders after having captured the territory between the

Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...

and the

Huai River The Huai River (), Postal Map Romanization, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as the Hwai, is a major river in China. It is located about midway between the Yellow River and Yangtze, the two longest rivers and largest drainage basins ...

in winter 579, Yuwen Liang made the plan to ambush the commander of the entire operation,

Wei Xiaokuan Wei Xiaokuan (韋孝寬) (509 – 17 December 580''dingwei'' day of the 11th month of the 2nd year of the ''Daxiang'' era, per Emperor Jing's biography in ''Book of Zhou''. Wei Xiaokuan's biography in ''Book of Zhou'' indicated that he was 72 (by Ea ...

, and then seize the entire army and support an uncle of Emperor Xuan to be emperor. The plot, however, was revealed by his staff member Ru Kuan (茹寬) to Wei, and when Yuwen Liang attacked Wei, Wei was prepared and defeated him. Yuwen Liang was killed in battle, and Emperor Xuan, then carrying the atypical title "Emperor Tianyuan" (天元皇帝, ''Tianyuan Huangdi'') as

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 ...

, then executed Yuwen Wen. He then summoned Yuchi Chifan to the palace and made her an imperial consort with the title ''Zhangguifei'' (長貴妃). He soon further elevated her to the title of empress (of which his wife

Yang Lihua Yang Lihua (; 561–609) was an empress of the Xianbei-led Chinese Northern Zhou dynasty, and later a princess of Sui dynasty. Her husband was Emperor Xuan of Northern Zhou (Yuwen Yun), and her father was Yang Jian who later usurped the Northe ...

and three other concubines already possessed) with the title ''Tianzuo Da Huanghou'' (天左大皇后). Emperor Xuan died in summer 580, and Empress Yang's father Yang Jian became

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 ...

to Emperor Xuan's son Emperor Jing. Empress Yuchi became a Buddhist nun with the name of Huashou. Her grandfather Yuchi Jiong subsequently rose against Yang Jian, but was defeated and committed suicide. His sons, and some other members of the Yuchi clan (but not the entire clan) were executed, although Empress Yuchi was not harmed. Yang Jian subsequently seized the throne and established

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 Emperor Wen), and she died in 595, during Emperor Wen's reign.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yuchi, Chifan Northern Zhou empresses Northern Zhou Buddhists Sui dynasty Buddhists Chinese Buddhist nuns 6th-century Buddhist nuns 566 births 595 deaths