Empress Dugu

Who was Empress Dugu?

Empress Dugu, formally Empress Mingjing, was an empress of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Zhou.

She was the oldest daughter of Dugu Xin, a major general under Yuwen Tai, Yuwen Yu's father and paramount general of Western Wei. It is not known when she married Yuwen Yu and became his duchess, although historical texts imply that it was after his becoming the Duke of Ningdu in 548. In 557, after Yuwen Tai's death, his cousin Yuwen Hu, the guardian of his younger brother and Yuwen Tai's heir Yuwen Jue forced Emperor Gong of Western Wei to yield the throne to Yuwen Jue, ending Western Wei and starting Northern Zhou. A month later, Duchess Dugu's father Dugu Xin, then the Duke of Wei, was implicated in a plot to kill Yuwen Hu with another high level official, Zhao Gui the Duke of Chu, even though he tried to stop Zhao. Zhao was executed, while Dugu Xin was relieved of his posts and subsequently forced to commit suicide.