Wen Xuan Di (Northern Qi)

Gao Yang was born in 529 when, as his father, Gao Huan served with Erzhu Rong . His mother Lu Zhaojun father financial support at the beginning of his career. He was the second son after Gao Cheng . After the death of Erzhu Zhong in 530, Gao Huan overthrew the Erzhu clan and seized power, and after the collapse of Toba Wei into East and West, Gao became the de facto ruler of East Wei . In 535, Gao Yang became the "Duke" of Taiyuan.

As a child, Gao Yang was not considered particularly developed, he was even supposed to have mental retardation. However, apparently in many areas that he possessed a rather high potential. Once, when Gao Huan decided to test the intelligence of his children, giving them tangled balls of yarn for unraveling, Gao Yang drew his sword and cut a ball, said that this was the only solution. When the sons of Gao Huan grew up, Gao Huan decided to test their military capabilities, and ordered General Peng Le (彭 乐) to portray an attack on them. All the sons, including the eldest Chen, were scared, but Yang did not, and he almost twisted Peng Le. However, he grew awkward and seemed stupid, and Cheng looked at him with contempt.

Gao Huan died in 547, and Gao Cheng became regent, he had long been preparing for a similar role. He gained even more power, and when Emperor Xiao Jing-di tried to dump him, Cheng plotted and arrested the emperor. In 549, in the capital of Yecheng (邺 城, in modern Handan , Hebei ), Chen and his associates Chen Yuankang (陈元康), Tsui Jishu (崔 季 舒), and Yang Yin discussed the removal of the emperor, and Cheng was killed by a servant Lan Jing (蘭 京), who was treated unjustly. At this time, Gao Yang was in Yecheng, he gathered supporters, executed the conspirators, but did not announce the death of his brother, because he was waiting for the moment.

Xiao Jing-di, learning about the death of Gao Cheng, decided to regain power. But Gao Yang quickly gathered 200 guards, and the emperor realized that it would not be easy to remove him. Meanwhile, Gao Yang headed for the stronghold of his clan in Jinyang (晋阳, Taiyuan , Shanxi ), and impressed the local generals with quick and skillful decisions.

In the fall and winter of 549, the Liang dynasty was weakened by the uprising of Hou Jing (he was a general of Eastern Wei, but surrendered to Liang in 547), Gao Yang sent Le Peng to attack the Liang border provinces, recapturing the region between Huaihe and Yangtze .

In the spring of 550, Gao Yang assumed the title of Wang of Qi Province (齊 郡王). Two months later, he became Wang Qi (齊王).

In the summer of 550, on the advice of officials Gao Dezheng (高 德政), Xu Zhitsaya (徐 之 才), and Song Jingye (宋景 业), Gao Yang decided to take the throne, despite the protest of his mother. Therefore, he moved from Jinyan to Yecheng, but even when he was on his way and reached the city of Pingdu (平 都, in modern Jinzhong , Shanxi ), officials ignored him, and he decided to return to Jinyan. Soon the emperor granted his family nine privileges . He then returned to Yecheng, overthrew Emperor Xiao Jing-di and declared himself Emperor Wen Xuan of the Qi Dynasty. This ended the Eastern Wei dynasty and the Northern Qi dynasty began. The former emperor became Wang Zhongshan. Wen Xuan proclaimed his father and brother, Gao Huan and Gao Cheng, to be emperors posthumously, and his mother as the Dowager Empress.

Wen Xuan-di has established himself as a person who is attentive to government issues, especially to the military. He edited Wei's code of laws, and he recruited an elite soldier from xianbi and hans to create an elite border guard. Peasant households were divided into 9 classes of wealth, while the rich paid more taxes, and the poor carried more duties. He left the official capital in Yecheng, and transferred the unofficial capital to Jinyang.

Interestingly, Wen Xuan-di, being a descendant of the Chinese aristocracy, presented himself as a Syanbi. Unlike his father, he did not want to follow many Han traditions. Because of this, Gao Dezheng and official Gao Longzhi (高 隆 之), who arranged with the cousin of the emperor, General Duan Shao (段韶), propose to the emperor the general’s sister as concubine. The emperor refused and made Princess Li Zue the empress, and her son Gao Yin the crown prince .

In response to the creation in North Qi, Yuwen Tai , the ruler of the former Wei’s western provinces, attacked Qi. Wen Xuan-di personally led the troops to defend Yecheng. Seeing the powerful and well-organized Qi army, Yuwen said: “Gao Huan has not died yet.” He did not break through the capital’s defenses and did not return west, while several border districts crossed over to Qi.

At the beginning of 552, Wen Xuan-di decided to execute the former Wei emperor, but first he invited his wife (his sister) to a feast in the palace, and sent soldiers to her husband who executed him and his sons. First, Wen Xuan-di buried him with imperial honors, but then he suddenly changed his mind and the ashes of the former emperor were thrown into the river.

In the spring of 552, Emperor Wen Xuan-di himself led troops against the Kumo Xi tribes (in the upper reaches of Liaohe ) and achieved victory. At about the same time, he also sent generals to seize some border cities with Liang, while the Liang fought the impostor Hou Jing. The battles with Liang continued after the death of Hou Jing in 552, although Wen Xuan-di did not plan a full-fledged war. In the winter of 552, the Emperor promised the Lans generals Wang Sengyan and Chen Basian , whom Emperor Yuan would defend the eastern lands of Liang, cities from Guanling (广陵, in modern Yangzhou , Jiangsu ) and Liyan (历 阳, in modern Chaochu , Anhui ).

In addition, in the winter of 552, the emperor personally led the troops from Jingyang to Lishi (离石, in modern Luyliang , Shanxi ), and ordered the restoration of the great wall from the Huanglu Mountains (黄 栌 岭, modern Luiliang) to Sheping Fortress (社 平 戍, Xinzhou , Shanxi ), apparently, to protect against Western Wei and the Turks .

In the winter of 553, Khitan attacked the northern border of Northern Qi, Wen Xuan-di personally led troops and defeated the Khitan, while he was in great danger and showed personal courage.

In addition, in the winter of 553, the emperor decided to intervene in the Liang dynastic crisis. He instructed the army under the command of Guo Yuanjiang (郭元 建) to accompany Xiao Tui (萧 退) the cousin of the Liang emperor, in Liang. However, Qi’s troops were defeated by Liang general Hou Tian (侯 瑱) and Xiao Tui returned to Yecheng.

At the beginning of 554, the remnants of the Juan Juan surrendered to Qi, fearing that they would be exterminated by the Turks. Wen Xuan-di accepted them and personally led troops against the Turks, the battles with which were difficult. Then he made Yujiuluy Anluochen the new khan of the Juan Juan and granted him land in Mai (马邑, in modern Shuzhou , Shanxi ).

In the spring of 554, the emperor helped senior general Hului Jin (斛律 金) and his brother Gao Yang , Wang Changshan, attack the Shanhu tribe (山 胡) (in modern Luyliang). After the victory, he ordered that all 11-year-old and elderly men from Shanghai be executed, and the young men and women distributed to the soldiers as slaves. When one of his commanders died because his lieutenant Lu Huili (路 晖 礼) did not save him, the emperor ordered him to be cut, and the soldier forced him to eat his organs. Many traditional historians, including Li Yanshou (李延寿), author of The History of the Northern Dynasties , and Sima Guang , author of Zizhi Tongjian , considered this battle a turning point: before it, Wen Xuan-di was a good emperor, after which he became a cruel and capricious tyrant. For example, in the spring of 554, when the Zhujani revolted, and the emperor suppressed them, it seemed to him that the war horses were not of high quality and for this General Heba Ren was sent to the coal mine as a worker. Another time, in the fall of 554, after he appointed the official Yuan Xu (元 旭), the former Northern Prince, who died, the emperor remembered that Gao Longzhi was a friend of Yuan Xu. Once Gao Longzhi harshly scolded the young Gao Yang (future emperor), now the emperor ordered to beat Gao Longzhi with sticks and he died a few days later, but the emperor did not calm down and executed 20 of his sons.
Beginning in 551, the emperor ordered official Wei Shaw to write the story of North Wei. Wei Shaw completed the story in 554, but his work ( The Book of Wei ) was criticized, as many officials were disgraced by the mention of their affairs (the author himself called the work Huishu (秽 书 - Book of Abominations), and the emperor received many denunciations of Wei Shaw The emperor claimed that he was for the "purity" of the story and Wei Shaw was sent to prison.

At the end of 554, West Wei launched a major attack on Jianglin (江陵, Jingzhou , Hubei ), then on the capital Liang. Wen Xuan-di da army Gao Yue (高 岳) Wang Qinghe to attack the province of Western Wei An (安 州 about Xiaogan , Hubei ), but when Yue arrived, Jianglin had already fallen, and Emperor Yuan had been executed.

Western Wei declared the nephew of Emperor Yuan Xiao Cha emperor Liang, but most of the Lansk generals and Wang Shengbyan did not accept him, invited emperor Yuan's son Xiao Fangji Jinyang to the old capital Liang Jiankang , and in spring 555 declared him crown prince Liang and was preparing to make emperor. Wen Xuan-di had a different opinion and he made Xiao Yuanming a Zhenyang Hou, which East Wei captured in 547. Wen Xuan-di wrote to Wang Xiao Yuanming's recommendations as emperor, claiming that 12-year-old Xiao Fanzhi is too young. Wang initially rejected his candidacy, but after the victories of Gao Huang over the generals, Wang and Wang agreed to recognize Yuanming as emperor, especially after the troops of North Qi agreed to leave the southern lands. To show his location, Wang sent his son Wang Xiang (王 顯) and nephew Wang Shizhen (王世珍), and Wang Xiang's mother Ms. Liu, to Yecheng as hostages. Xiao Yuanming became the Liang emperor, Qi and Liang reconciled, but Liang recognized herself as a vassal of Qi.

Just four months later, the situation changed. Lieutenant Wang Senbyan Chen Basian, unhappy with the rise of Xiao Yuanming, unexpectedly attacked Jiankang from his headquarters in Jingkou (京口, in modern Zhenjiang , Jiangsu ), the assassination of Wang Sengyan and forced Xiao Yuanming to cede the throne to Xiao Fanzhi (who entered the throne). Initially, Chen Liang said he would be a vassal, and Emperor Wen Xuan sent official Sim Gong (司马 恭) to swear officials Liang. However, with several generals loyal to Wang Sengyan, the rebellion against Chen after Wang's death, deceived the emperor, Xu Xihui (徐 嗣 徽) and Ren Yue (任 约), suddenly captured several fortresses. The emperor sent General Xiao Gui (萧 轨) to strengthen Xu and Ren. However, Chen defeated the troops of Northern Qi Xu and Ren, and assistant Xiao Gong Liu Damo (柳 达摩), besieged in Shitou, requested peace. Chen agreed, and sent his nephew Chen Tanlan (陈 昙 朗), the nephew of Emperor Jing Xiao Zhuang, Prince Yongjia and Wang Min (王 珉), the son of one of the key officials, Wang Chunag (王 冲), as hostages in Northern Qi, allowing Liu to leave. However, upon arrival in North Qi, Liu was executed by the emperor.

During the campaign against Liang, Emperor Wen Xuan made another manifestation of his instability, he was jealous of the fact that his concubine Xue had previously had sexual relations with Gao Yue, and ordered Gao Yue to commit suicide. In a fit of insanity, he beheaded the concubine Yue and brought her chopped body to a banquet, which shocked the guests.

In the fall of 555, Wen Xuan decided that one religion should remain from Buddhism and Taoism . He declared a public "debate" and awarded the victory to the Buddhists. He ordered the Taoists to become Buddhist monks, the four Taoists refused and were executed, the rest humbled themselves. Since this year, Taoism has been banned.

In the spring of 556, fighting with Liang resumed, and Northern Qi prepared another campaign against Liang. In the summer of 556, the Qi troops were deployed south of the Yangtze to the Jiangkang area, but they were surrounded by Liang troops, and when they ran out of food, they surrendered. The emperor executed many generals.

The emperor’s restless nature combined with alcoholism made him mad. Sima Guang described it this way:

... [Emperor Wen Xuan] drank heavily and lived immorally, behaved cruelly and barbarously. Sometimes he sang and danced day and night. Sometimes he braided his hair and wove ribbons there like a barbarian. Sometimes he was naked and did makeup. He rode donkeys, cows, camels and elephants bareback. Sometimes he ordered Tsui Jishu or Taozhi Liu (刘 桃 枝) to wear it along with the big drum he hit. He loved to surprise nobles and officials. He often crossed the streets, sometimes sat on the street, and sometimes even slept on them. Sometimes, when it was warm, he basked naked in the sun, but even in the coldest winters he also ran naked. His servants were afraid of his tricks, but he didn’t care ... Once he asked a woman on the street, "Who does the Son of Heaven look like?" The woman replied: "He is so crazy that he cannot be considered the Son of Heaven." He beheaded her.

Once, when he was drunk and crazy, the Dowager Empress Lou began to tempt him, and he said that he would pass her off as an old barbarian. Somehow, he accidentally knocked her off the chair, and she was injured. After he sobered up, he realized how he was wounded, and set fire to the palace, deciding to drive death away by fire. He promised to stop drinking, but lasted 10 days. Archery, he wounded Ms. Tsui, the mother of his wife. Rumor had it that he had sex with most of the wives of his relatives. When the widow of Emperor Xiao Wu Di, Empress Erzhu Inye refused to sleep with him, he killed her with his own hands. The emperor often wanted to kill someone when he got drunk. Yang Yin, who was the prime minister at that moment, kept those sentenced to death in the palace, and if the emperor wanted to execute someone, the guards brought the convicted person to him, if the convict lived in the palace for 3 months, then Yang Yin pardoned him.

Surprisingly, the madness of the emperor did not lead to the collapse of the empire. The emperor still paid attention to many issues, and officials did not dare to violate the law, fearing his abrupt temper. In addition, Yang Yin was an excellent chancellor, and the emperor trusted him in almost everything.

In the winter of 557, he arrested his brother Gao Huang (高 渙), suspecting him of plans to seize power.

In addition, the Chen Dynasty was proclaimed in the winter of 557 in the south. General Wang Lin , who ruled Hunan and Eastern Hubei , asked Qi to return him Prince Czj Zhuang to continue the Liang line, but already as a vassal of Qi. In the spring of 558, this was done; the city of Jiangxia became the capital (江夏, in modern Wuhan , Hubei ).

By the treasury of Qi emptied, and the emperor could only spend. He also quarreled with Gao Yin, who did not tolerate his father's barbaric manners. Once he ordered Gao Yin to execute the prisoner, Yin refused, and the emperor hit him with a whip very cruelly, Yin earned a panic disorder . When the emperor got drunk, he shouted that he would transfer the throne to his brother Jan, and not By.

Around the new year 559, the emperor visited the prisoners Gao Jun and Gao Huang. Initially, he took pity on them and wanted to set them free, but, at the insistence of his other brother, Gao Dan Wang of Changyang, he ordered them to be stabbed with spears and burned.

In the summer of 559, the emperor decided that the Yuan clan wants to restore Toba Wei. He ordered all Yuan to be chopped off, regardless of gender and age, and his bodies to be thrown into the Zhang River. Only a few of the RMB were spared.

In the fall of 559, the emperor became seriously ill, according to historians, due to alcoholism. He said before his death that Yin was still young for the throne, and Yang should rule, but he did not sign the will, and no one listened to him. He died, and Yin became emperor. When Wen Xuan-di died, officials tried to mourn him, but no one could utter tears, except for Gao Yin.

• Tianbao (天保 tiān bǎo) 550—559

• Father
  • Gao Huan , Bohai Wang.
• Mother
  • Princess Lowe Zhaojin
• Wife
  • Empress Li Zue (since 550), mother of Yin and Princess Shaode
• Main Concubines
  • Concubine Duan, sister of Duan Shao (段韶)
  • Concubine Feng, mother of Prince Shaoyi
  • Concubine Pei, mother of Prince Shaozhuy
  • Concubine Yan, mother of Princess Shaolin
  • Concubine Wang
  • Concubine Xue
• Children
  • Gao Yin (高 殷), heir (since 550), later Fei-di (Northern Qi)
  • Gao Shaode (高 紹德), Taiyuan Wang (assassinated by Wu Cheng-di (Northern Qi) in 562)
  • Gao Shaoyi (高 紹 義), van guanyang (p. 559), van fanyang (p. 560), emperor in exile
  • Gao Shaozhui (高 紹 仁), Wang Sihe Hei
  • Gao Shaolian (高 紹 廉), Changlei Wang (p. 559), Lonsisky Wang (p. 560)
  • Princess Zhangshan