Empress Yujiulü (郁久閭皇后, personal name unknown) (525–540), formally Empress Dao (悼皇后, literally "the untimely-dead empress"), was an

empress An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

of the Xianbei-led Chinese

Western Wei dynasty 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 ...

— a branch successor state of

Northern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei (), Tuoba Wei (), Yuan Wei () and Later Wei (), was founded by the Tuoba (Tabgach) clan of the Xianbei. The first of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties ...

. Her husband was Emperor Wen. She was a daughter of the Chiliantoubingdoufa Khan of

Rouran The Rouran Khaganate, also Juan-Juan Khaganate (), was a tribal confederation and later state founded by a people of Proto-Mongolic Donghu origin.*Pulleyblank, Edwin G. (2000)"Ji 姬 and Jiang 姜: The Role of Exogamic Clans in the Organizati ...

Yujiulü Anagui Yujiulü Anagui (Rouran: Anakay; ; pinyin: Yùjiǔlǘ Ānàguī) (?–552) was ruler of the Rouran (520–552) with the title of Chiliantoubingdoufa Khagan (敕連頭兵豆伐可汗). First reign His reign started with troubles. First rebellion s ...

(郁久閭阿那瓌). In 538, with Western Wei fighting constant wars with Eastern Wei and suffering from Rouran invasions,

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 ...

, the paramount general of Western Wei, requested Emperor Wen to depose his wife

Empress Yifu Empress Yifu (乙弗皇后, personal name unknown) (510–540), formally Empress Wen (文皇后, literally "the civil empress"), was an empress of the Xianbei-led Chinese Western Wei dynasty—a branch successor state of Northern Wei. Her husban ...

and marry a daughter of Rouran's khan. Emperor Wen was forced to agree, and he sent Yuan Fu (元孚) the Prince of Fufeng to Rouran to invite her to be his empress. Yujiulü Anagui gave Western Wei 700 carts full of goods as dowry, along with 10,000 horses and 2,000 camels. As her train encountered that of Yuan Fu's, Yuan Fu requested that she turn her face from facing east (the honored direction pursuant to Rouran customs) to south (the honored direction pursuant to Chinese customs). She made the response: When she arrived at Chang'an in spring 538, Emperor Wen created her empress. In 540, she was pregnant when Rouran launched a major attack on Western Wei — causing the Western Wei officials to believe that the attack was launched because she was jealous of the former Empress Yifu, who was by then a Buddhist nun. Emperor Wen, under pressure, ordered Empress Yifu to commit suicide. Later in the year, when Empress Yujiulü herself was about to give birth, she heard unusual barking noises in the palace, and she suspected them as from the spirit of Empress Yifu. She therefore grew depressed, and she died either during or shortly after childbirth. When Emperor Wen subsequently died in 551, he was buried with her, although eventually Empress Yifu was buried with him.

References

* '' Zizhi Tongjian'', vol.

158 Year 158 ( CLVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Tertullus and Sacerdos (or, less frequently, year 911 '' Ab urbe ...

. * '' History of Northern Dynasties'', vols.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Yujiulu, Empress Northern Wei empresses 525 births 540 deaths Place of birth unknown 6th-century Chinese women 6th-century Chinese people Deaths in childbirth Yujiulü clan