Emperor Xiaomin of Northern Zhou
| Emperor Xiaomin of Northern Zhou | |||||||||
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| Reign | February 15, 557 – 557 | ||||||||
| Born | 542 | ||||||||
| Died | 557 | ||||||||
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| Dynasty | Northern Zhou | ||||||||
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| Posthumous name | |
| Emperor Xiàomǐn (孝閔皇帝, "filial and careful") (full) |
Emperor Xiaomin of Northern Zhou ((北)周孝閔帝) (542–557), personal name Yuwen Jue (宇文覺), nickname Tuoluoni (陀羅尼), was an emperor of the Xianbei dynasty Northern Zhou (although he used the alternative title "Heavenly Prince" (Tian Wang). He was the heir of Western Wei's paramount general Yuwen Tai, and after Yuwen Tai's death in 556, his cousin Yuwen Hu, serving as his guardian, forced Emperor Gong of Western Wei to yield the throne to Yuwen Jue in spring 557, establishing Northern Zhou. Later in 557, however, Yuwen Jue, wanting to assume power personally, plotted to kill Yuwen Hu, who in turn deposed him and replaced him with his brother Yuwen Yu (Emperor Ming). Later that year, Yuwen Hu had Yuwen Jue executed.
Yuwen Jue was born in 542 as the son of Yuwen Tai, then the paramount general of Western Wei, and Yuwen Tai's wife Princess Fengyi, the sister of Emperor Xiaowu of Northern Wei. He was Yuwen Tai's third son, but was largely viewed as Yuwen Tai's likely heir because his mother was both of royal birth and Yuwen Tai's wife, while his older brothers Yuwen Yu and Yuwen Zhen (宇文震) were sons of concubines. In 550, he became the Duke of Lüeyang. He later married Emperor Wen's daughter Yuan Humo the Princess Jin'an as his wife and duchess.
In spring 556, Yuwen Tai was pondering the issue of succession. Yuwen Jue was born of the Princess Fengyi, but Yuwen Yu was older and married to the daughter of one of his chief generals, Dugu Xin (獨孤信). On the advice of Li Yuan (李遠), who argued that the son of a wife always had precedence over the son of a concubine, Yuwen Tai made Yuwen Jue his heir apparent.
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