Zhu Manyue (; 547–586), later known by her

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

name Fajing (法淨), was a

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal relationship, interpersonal and Intimate relationship, sexual relationship between two people in which the couple does not want to, or cannot, enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarde ...

of Emperor Xuan (Yuwen Yun) 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 Zhou dynasty Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern dynasties of China's Northern and Southern dynasties period, it succeeded the Western Wei dynasty and ...

of China. She was the mother of Emperor Jing (Yuwen Chan), last emperor of Northern Zhou. Zhu Manyue was said to be from the Wu region, now southern

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

. Because someone from her family, probably her father, was accused of crimes, she was forced to be a servant and assigned to the palace of Yuwen Yun, who was then

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

under his father Emperor Wu. She was in charge of the clothes of Yuwen Yun, 12 years younger than her. On one occasion, he summoned her to have sexual relations with him; in July or August 573, she gave birth to his first son, Yuwen Yan (宇文衍), whose name was later changed to Yuwen Chan. In 578 Emperor Wu died, and Yuwen Yun took the throne. He created Yuwen Chan crown prince, and after Emperor Xuan passed the throne to Yuwen Chan and became retired emperor in spring 579 (with the atypical title of "Emperor Tianyuan" (天元皇帝, ''Tianyuan Huangdi''), he, in another unusual move, decided to create three (and later one more) additional

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 ...

es in addition to his wife,

Yang Lihua Yang Lihua (; 561–609) was an empress of the Xianbei-led Chinese Northern Zhou dynasty, and later a princess of the Sui dynasty. Background Yang Lihua was born in 561, as the eldest daughter of Yang Jian, then the heir apparent to Yang ...

, and Consort Zhu, on account of her being the mother of Emperor Jing, received the title of Empress Tianyuan (''Tianyuan Di Hou'', 天元帝后, a slightly less honored title than Empress Yang's ''Tianyuan Huanghou'' (天元皇后)), later changed to ''Tian Huanghou'' (天皇后), and then further changed in 580 to ''Tian Da Huanghou'' (天大皇后). It was said that she was not favored by him on account of her being much older and also of lowly birth.(后本非良家子，又年长于帝十馀岁，疏贱无宠。) ''Zhou Shu'', vol.09 Emperor Xuan died in 580, and Empress Yang's father Yang Jian became the

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

. Three of Emperor Xuan's empresses, other than Empresses Yang and Zhu, became Buddhist nuns, but Empress Zhu did not at this point, and was honored as

empress dowager Empress dowager (also dowager empress or empress mother; ) is the English language translation of the title given to the mother or widow of a monarch, especially in regards to Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese monarchs in the Chines ...

(along with Empress Yang) but with the secondary title of ''Di Taihou'' (帝太后), lower than Empress Dowager Yang's title of ''Huang Taihou'' (皇太后). In 581, Yang Jian seized the throne from Emperor Jing, ending the Northern Zhou dynasty and establishing the

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty ( ) was a short-lived Dynasties of China, Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618. The re-unification of China proper under the Sui brought the Northern and Southern dynasties era to a close, ending a prolonged peri ...

. The Emperor Jing and other members of the imperial Yuwen clan were soon slaughtered. Empress Dowager Zhu became a Buddhist nun and took the name Fajing. She died in 586 and was buried only with ceremonies due a Buddhist nun, west of the capital

Chang'an Chang'an (; zh, t=長安, s=长安, p=Cháng'ān, first=t) is the traditional name of the city now named Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic time ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhu, Manyue Northern Zhou empresses Northern Zhou Buddhists Sui dynasty Buddhists 547 births 586 deaths Chinese Buddhist nuns 6th-century Chinese women 6th-century Chinese people 6th-century Buddhist nuns Mothers of Chinese emperors