Empress Hulü (; personal name unknown) was an

empress The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

of the

Northern Qi dynasty 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 ...

of China. She was

Gao Wei Gao Wei (高緯) (29 May 556 – November 577According to volume 10 of ''History of the Northern Dynasties'', Gao Wei was killed in the 10th month of the 6th year of the ''Jiande'' era of Yuwen Yong's reign. This corresponds to 28 Oct to 25 Nov ...

's first empress, and she was a daughter of the general

Hulü Guang Hulü Guang () (c. 515 – 22 August 572), courtesy name Mingyue (明月), was an ethnic Tiele general of the Chinese Northern Qi dynasty. During the late years of the dynasty—the reigns of Emperor Wucheng and Gao Wei, traditionally viewed as ...

. Her family was one of the most prominent military families in Northern Qi, as her grandfather Hulü Jin (斛律金) was one of the major generals serving the dynasty's ancestor

Gao Huan Gao Huan () (496 – 13 February 547), Xianbei name Heliuhun (賀六渾), formally Prince Xianwu of Qi (齊獻武王), later further formally honored by Northern Qi initially as Emperor Xianwu (獻武皇帝), then as Emperor Shenwu (神武皇� ...

and then continued to serve in his old age the successive emperors Emperor Wenxuan, Emperor Fei, Emperor Xiaozhao, and Gao Wei's father Emperor Wucheng. Her father Hulü Guang was honored even more for his military talent than her grandfather, and her uncle Hulü Xian (斛律羨) and brother Hulü Wudu (斛律武都) also served as major generals. She married Gao Wei while he was still

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, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

during Emperor Wucheng's reign—before Emperor Wucheng passed the throne to him in 565 while he was just eight years old. (Her age at that time is not known, but she was probably around Gao Wei's age.) She carried the title of Crown Princess previously, and in 565 Emperor Wucheng, while passing the throne to Gao Wei, created her empress. She was not favored by Gao Wei, and she did not bear him a son, although she bore a daughter in February 572 and Gao Wei, in order to please Hulü Guang, initially claimed that it was a son and declared a general pardon, but was subsequently forced to reveal that it was a daughter. (Gao Wei's

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal relationship, interpersonal and Intimate relationship, sexual relationship between two people in which the couple does not want to, or cannot, enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarde ...

Consort Mu Sheli bore him his oldest son

Gao Heng Gao Heng (; July or August 570 – 577), often known in historiography as the Youzhu of Northern Qi (, meaning 'child ruler'), was the last emperor of the Chinese Northern Qi dynasty. In 577, the Northern Qi was under a major attack by the riv ...

in 570, and as Consort Mu's adoptive mother Lu Lingxuan was planning to have Gao Heng made crown prince but feared that Empress Hulü would oppose, she gave Gao Heng to Empress Hulü to have her raise him.) In August 572, the official

Zu Ting Zu Ting (; ; ?-?), courtesy name Xiaozheng (孝征), was an official of the Chinese Northern Qi dynasty (550–577). He was renowned for his literary and administrative talents. Background Zu Ting's father Zu Ying (祖瑩) was a general durin ...

falsely accused Hulü Guang of plotting rebellion, and Gao Wei executed Hulü Guang, along with his entire clan except his grandson Hulü Zhong (斛律鍾). Empress Hulü was not killed, but she was deposed on 13 September 572( ��平三年��月庚寅，废皇后斛律氏为庶人。) ''Bei Qi Shu'', vol. 08. Vol. 171 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'' gave the date as the ''geng'wu'' day instead, corresponding to 24 Aug 572. This date would mean that Empress Hulü was deposed just two days after her father's death. and housed in a subsidiary palace. When rival

Northern Zhou Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties of China's ...

launched a major attack in 577 and threatened the capital Yecheng in spring 578, she, along with his other deposed empress Empress Hu, was summoned to the main palace, probably for her protection. Yecheng fell a few days later, and Gao Wei was captured in flight. Northern Zhou took over Northern Qi's territory. After Northern Qi's fall, the former Empress Hulü married the Northern Zhou official Yuan Ren (元仁). Nothing further was recorded about her in history, including the year of her death.

References

* '' Book of Northern Qi'', vol.

* ''

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 CE: the histories of Northern Wei, Western ...

'', vol. 1

* ''

Zizhi Tongjian The ''Zizhi Tongjian'' (1084) is a chronicle published during the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) that provides a record of Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning almost 1400 years. The main text is ...

'', vols.

169 Year 169 (Roman numerals, CLXIX) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Senecio and Apollinaris (or, less frequently, year 922 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denominat ...

170 Year 170 ( CLXX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Clarus and Cornelius (or, less frequently, year 923 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 170 for this yea ...

, 171. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hulu, Empress Northern Qi empresses Northern Zhou people