Lady Dugu (, personal name unknown, 544 - 590s) was a duchess of the

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 ...

dynasty. Her husband Li Bing was Duke of Longxi from 554 to 564 and Duke of Tang from 564 to 572. She was the fourth daughter of the

Western Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Western Wei (), was an imperial dynasty of China that followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei. One of the Northern dynasties during the era of the Northern and Southern dynasties, it ruled the weste ...

general

Dugu Xin Dugu Xin ( Chinese: 獨孤信; 503 – 24 April 557), Xianbei name Qimitou (期彌頭), known as Dugu Ruyuan (獨孤如願) before 540, was a general and official during the chaotic Northern and Southern dynasties period of imperial China ...

and one of the

Dugu sisters The Dugu sisters were part-Xianbei, part- Han sisters of the Dugu clan who lived in the Western Wei (535–557), Northern Zhou (557–581) and Sui (581–618) dynasties of China. All were daughters of the Western Wei general Dugu Xin. The eldes ...

. She was given the

posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary Personal name, name given mainly to revered dead people in East Asian cultural sphere, East Asian culture. It is predominantly used in Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. ...

Empress Yuanzhen () during the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

, after her son

Li Yuan Emperor Gaozu of Tang (7 April 566 – 25 June 635), born Li Yuan, courtesy name Shude, was the founding emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, reigning from 618 to 626 CE. Under the Sui dynasty, Li Yuan was the governor in the area of modern- ...

ascended the throne.

Life

She was born between 536 and 544, the years her eldest sister and the younger (seventh) sister

Dugu Qieluo Dugu Qieluo or Dugu Jialuo (; 544 – September 10, 602), formally Empress Wenxian (), was an empress of the Sui dynasty of China. She was the wife of Emperor Wen, who, on account of his love and respect for her, as well as an oath they made w ...

were born, respectively. When her husband Li Bing died in 572, their six-year-old son

inherited his title of Duke of Tang. Duchess Dowager Dugu suffered from poor health in her later life, and her daughter-in-law Duchess Dou assisted her in managing household affairs. According to

official history An official history is a work of history which is sponsored, authorised or endorsed by its subject. The term is most commonly used for histories which are produced for a government. The term also applies to commissions from non-state bodies includi ...

, Dowager Dugu was once extremely sick and due to her reckless personality, several of her daughters-in-law refused to assist her (probably because their husbands were not her biological sons). Only Duchess Dou cared for her, and Dowager Dugu recovered after a month. Dowager Dugu was grateful and favored Duchess Dou. She died before the

was founded in 618. Although Li Bing had many children, only Li Yuan and a daughter, known as Princess Tong'an () during the Tang dynasty, were known to be born of Duchess Dugu. According to

Alphonse Mingana Alphonse Mingana (), born Hurmiz Mingana (; 1878 – 5 December 1937), was an Assyrian theologian, historian, Syriacist, orientalist and a former priest who is best known for collecting and preserving the Mingana Collection, a collection of ...

and

Edward Harper Parker Edward Harper Parker (3July 18491926) was an English barrister and sinologist who wrote a number of books on the First and Second Opium Wars and other Chinese topics. On his return to England he ended his career as a university professor. Biogra ...

, Dugu might have been a "Nestorian" Christian.

In popular culture

* Li Yixiao portrayed as ''Dugu Mantuo'' (独孤曼陀) in

The Legend of Dugu ''The Legend of Dugu'' () is a 2018 Chinese television series starring Hu Bingqing, Zhang Danfeng, Ady An, Jeremy Tsui and Li Yixiao. The series chronicles the life of the Dugu sisters. It premiered on Tencent on 21 February 2018. Synopsis Dur ...

Life

In popular culture

References

Notes

Cited works