Empress Yu (于皇后, personal name unknown) (c. 488– 1 December 507), formally Empress Shun (顺皇后), was an

empress The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

of the

Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were an ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. The Xianbei were likely not of a single ethnicity, but rather a multiling ...

-led

Northern Wei dynasty Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei ( zh, c=北魏, p=Běi Wèi), Tuoba Wei ( zh, c=拓跋魏, p=Tuòbá Wèi), Yuan Wei ( zh, c=元魏, p=Yuán Wèi) and Later Wei ( zh, t=後魏, p=Hòu Wèi), was an imperial dynasty of Chi ...

of China. She was Emperor Xuanwu's first empress. She was the daughter of Yu Jing (于勁), the younger brother of the powerful general Yu Lie (于烈). It was said that when Emperor Xuanwu first assumed imperial powers — which probably referred to his relieving his uncle

Yuan Xie Yuan Xie (元勰) (died 27 October 508), né Tuoba Xie (拓拔勰, changed 496), courtesy name Yanhe (彥和), formally Prince Wuxuan of Pengcheng (彭城武宣王), later posthumously honored as Emperor Wenmu (文穆皇帝) with the temple name of ...

of authorities in 501 — Yu Lie believed that the emperor lacked sufficient consorts, and so persuaded Emperor Xuanwu's attendants to praise her beauty and virtues. Emperor Xuanwu took her as an imperial consort with the rank of ''guiren''. Emperor Xuanwu greatly favored her and on 5 October 501''jihai'' day of the 9th month of the 2nd year of the ''Jingming'' era, per Emperor Xuanwu's biography in ''Book of Wei'' created her empress. She was said to be quiet, tolerant, and not jealous. The Empress and the Emperor had one son, Yuan Chang (元昌), in 506. By that point, however, she was said to have lost his favor, as he favored his cousin Consort Gao, and their uncle

Gao Zhao Gao Zhao (高肇) (before 469 - 515), courtesy name Shouwen (首文), was a high-ranking official of the Xianbei-led Northern Wei dynasty of China. He was a maternal uncle of Emperor Xuanwu, and he became increasingly powerful during Emperor Xuan ...

became exceedingly powerful. When Empress Yu suddenly died in 507, it was believed that Consort Gao poisoned her, but historians concede that there is no conclusive evidence. When her son Yuan Chang died the following year (508), it was also alleged that Gao Zhao had him poisoned.

Notes

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