Zhu Manyue

Zhu Manyue (; 547–586), later known by her

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 ...

name Fajing (法淨), 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 (Yuwen Yun) 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 th ...

-led Northern Zhou dynasty of China. She was the mother of the Emperor Jing (Yuwen Chan). Zhu Manyue was said to be from the Wu region, now southern

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with it ...

. Because someone from her family, probably her father, was accused of crimes, she was forced to be a servant and assigned to the palace of Yuwen Yun, who was then

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 w ...

under his father Emperor Wu. She was in charge of the clothes of Yuwen Yun, 12 years younger than her. On one occasion, he summoned her to have sexual relations with him; in summer 573, she gave birth to his first son, Yuwen Yan (宇文衍), whose name was later changed to Yuwen Chan. In 578 Emperor Wu died, and Yuwen Yun took the throne. He created Yuwen Chan crown prince, and after Emperor Xuan passed the throne to Yuwen Chan and became

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 ...

in spring 579 (with the atypical title of "Emperor Tianyuan" (天元皇帝, ''Tianyuan Huangdi''), he, in another unusual move, decided to create three (and later one more) additional

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

es in addition to 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 Nort ...

, and Consort Zhu, on account of her being the mother of Emperor Jing, received the title of Empress Tianyuan (''Tianyuan Di Hou'', 天元帝后, a slightly less honored title than Empress Yang's ''Tianyuan Huanghou'' (天元皇后)), later changed to ''Tian Huanghou'' (天皇后), and then further changed in 580 to ''Tian Da Huanghou'' (天大皇后). It was said that she was not favored by him on account of her being much older and also of lowly birth. Emperor Xuan died in 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 ...

. Three of Emperor Xuan's empresses, other than Empresses Yang and Zhu, became Buddhist nuns, but Empress Zhu did not at this point, and was honored as

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 a ...

(along with Empress Yang) but with the secondary title of ''Di Taihou'' (帝太后), lower than Empress Dowager Yang's title of ''Huang Taihou'' (皇太后). In 581, Yang Jian seized the throne from Emperor Jing, ending the Northern Zhou dynasty and establishing 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 la ...

. The Emperor Jing and other members of the imperial Yuwen clan were soon slaughtered. Empress Dowager Zhu became a Buddhist nun and took the name Fajing. She died in 586 and was buried only with ceremonies due a Buddhist nun, west of the 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 ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhu, Manyue Northern Zhou empresses Northern Zhou Buddhists Sui dynasty Buddhists 547 births 586 deaths Chinese Buddhist nuns 6th-century Chinese women 6th-century Chinese people 6th-century Buddhist nuns