Yang Wendu (; died 477) was a ruler of
Chouchi
Chouchi ( zh, c=仇池, p=Chóuchí), or Qiuchi ( zh, p=Qiúchí), was a polity in China ruled by the Yang clan of Di ethnicity in modern-day Gansu Province. Its existence spanned both the Sixteen Kingdoms and Northern and Southern dynasties per ...
during the
Northern and Southern dynasties
The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered a ...
period. He was the last King of Wudu before Chouchi was split into Wuxing and Yinping, although the rulers of Wuxing continued to use the title until 492. He can also be seen as the first ruler of Wuxing, as after succeeding his distant-cousin,
Yang Sengsi to the throne, Wendu proclaimed himself King of Wuxing and would only change his title to King of Wudu later.
Wendu came to power some time between 467 and 473. He initially sent envoys to the
Northern Wei
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 Dynasties of China, impe ...
, but later betrayed them in favour of
Liu Song
Song, known as Liu Song (), Former Song (前宋) or Song of (the) Southern dynasties (南朝宋) in historiography, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and the first of the four Northern and Southern dynasties#Southern dynasti ...
. Song bestowed Wendu numerous offices, all whilst he continued hostilities with Wei. He attacked Wei in 473, but was repelled. He attacked Wei again in 477, but Wei in response started a campaign to defeat him. Wendu was killed and his head was sent to
Pingcheng
Datong is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi Province, China. It is located in the Datong Basin at an elevation of and borders Inner Mongolia to the north and west and Hebei to the east. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of ...
. After his defeat, Wei installed his cousin,
Yang Guangxiang, as the Duke of Yinping (陰平; present-day
Wen County, Gansu
Wen County or Wenxian () is a county under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Longnan, in the southeast of Gansu province, China, bordering Sichuan province to the south and west. It has a land area of 4,994 square kilometers, and ...
). Meanwhile, Wendu's brother,
Yang Wenhong made peace with Wei and inherited his title, but would shift his base to Wuxing (武興縣; present-day
Lueyang County,
Shaanxi
Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...
).
477 deaths
Year of birth unknown
Chouchi
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