Emperor Xiaowu of Northern Wei
| Yuan Xiu | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reign | June 13, 532 - February 3, 535 | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Yuan Lang | ||||||||
| Successor |
Emperor Xiaojing (Eastern) Emperor Wen (Western) |
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| Regent |
Gao Huan (532-534) Yuwen Tai (534-535) |
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| Born | 510 | ||||||||
| Died | February 3, 535 (aged 25) | ||||||||
| Spouse |
Empress Gao Yuan Mingyue, Princess Pingyuan Princess Ande Yuan Jili |
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| Issue | Yuan Guanji, Prince of Wu | ||||||||
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| Father | Yuan Huai, Prince Wumu of Guangping | ||||||||
| Mother | Lady Li | ||||||||
| Full name | |
|---|---|
| Family name: Yuan (元, yuán) Given name: Xiu (脩 or 修, xīu) |
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| Posthumous name | |
| Xiaowu (孝武, xiào wǔ), literary meaning: "filial and martial" |
Emperor Xiaowu of Northern Wei ((北)魏孝武帝) (510 – February 3, 535), personal name Yuan Xiu (元脩 or 元修), courtesy name Xiaoze (孝則), at times known as Emperor Chu (出帝, "the emperor who fled"), was an emperor of the Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei. After the general Gao Huan rebelled against and defeated the clan of the deceased paramount general Erzhu Rong in 532, he made Emperor Xiaowu emperor. Despite Gao's making him emperor, however, Emperor Xiaowu tried strenuously to free himself from Gao's control, and in 534, he, aligning with the general Yuwen Tai, formally broke with Gao. When Gao advanced south to try to again take control of the imperial government, Emperor Xiaowu fled to Yuwen's territory, leading to Northern Wei's division into two (as Gao then made Yuan Shanjian the Heir Apparent of Qinghe emperor (as Emperor Xiaojing), establishing Eastern Wei). Emperor Xiaowu's relationship with Yuwen, however, soon deteriorated over Yuwen's refusal to condone his incestuous relationships with his cousins, and around the new year 535, Yuwen poisoned him to death. Emperor Xiaowu's successor Emperor Wen of Western Wei is typically regarded, then, as the first emperor of Western Wei, formalizing the division of the empire.
Yuan Xiu was born in 510, as the third son of Yuan Huai (元懷) the Prince of Guangping, a son of Emperor Xiaowen and a younger brother of the then-reigning Emperor Xuanwu. His mother Lady Li was likely Yuan Huai's concubine, not his wife, although historical records were not clear on the issue. In 517, Yuan Huai died.
In Yuan Xiu's youth, he was considered to be quiet and peaceful, and he was interested in military matters. In 527, Emperor Xuanwu's son Emperor Xiaoming created Yuan Xiu the Duke of Ruyang. In 530, Emperor Xiaozhuang promoted him to the title of Prince of Pingyang.
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