Yuan Huangtou (; died in 559) was the son of emperor

Yuan Lang Yuan Lang (元朗) (513Yuan Lang's biography in ''Book of Wei'' indicated that he was 20 (by East Asian reckoning) when he died. Thus, his birth year should be 513. – 26 December 532), courtesy name Zhongzhe (仲哲), frequently known by his pos ...

Northern Wei dynasty 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 dynasties, it ruled northern China from 386 to 535 during t ...

of China. At that time, paramount general Gao Yang took control of the court of Northern Wei's branch successor state Eastern Wei and set the emperor as a puppet. After Gao deposed the last Eastern Wei emperor and established himself as the emperor of

Northern Qi Qi, known as the Northern Qi (), Later Qi (後齊) or Gao Qi (高齊) in historiography, was a Chinese imperial dynasty and one of the Northern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties era. It ruled the eastern part of northern China ...

, he exterminated the imperial clan of the previous dynasty. Yuan Huangtou was imprisoned by Gao Yang and, along with other prisoners and against his will, flown via a large kite from the tower of Ye, China. The ''

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 ...

'' records that all the condemned kite airmen died except for him. "Gao Yang made Yuan Huangtou and other prisoners take off from the Tower of the Phoenix attached to paper owls. Yuan Huangtou was the only one who succeeded in flying as far as the Purple Way, and there he came to earth." The Purple Way, a road, was 2.5 km from the approximately 33 metre tall Golden Phoenix Tower. He survived this flight, but was later starved to death in prison.（永定三年）使元黄头与诸囚自金凤台各乘纸鸱以飞，黄头独能至紫陌乃堕，仍付御史中丞毕义云饿杀之。(Rendering: n the 3rd year of Yongding, 559 Gao Yang conducted an experiment by having Yuan Huangtou and a few prisoners each launch themselves from Tower of the Golden Phoenix n Ye, capital of the Northern Qi Yuan Huangtou was the only one who survived from this flight, as he glided over the city-wall and fell at Zimo estern segment of Yesafely, but he was handed to Bi Yiyun and sentenced to death by starvation.). ''

'' under 167.

References

Year of birth missing 559 deaths Northern Wei imperial princes Northern Qi people Aviation pioneers Aviation history of China Kite flying 6th-century Chinese people Artificial wings {{China-bio-stub

See also

References