{{Short description|Part-Xianbei, part-Han Chinese sisters of the Dugu clan}} The '''Dugu sisters''' were part-[[Xianbei]], part-[[Han Chinese|Han]] sisters of the [[Dugu (surname)|Dugu]] clan who lived in the [[Western Wei]] (535–557), [[Northern Zhou]] (557–581) and [[Sui dynasty|Sui]] (581–618) dynasties of China. All were daughters of the Western Wei general [[Dugu Xin]]. The [[Empress Dugu (Northern Zhou)|eldest sister]] became a Northern Zhou empress, the [[Dugu Qieluo|seventh sister]] became a Sui dynasty empress, and the [[Duchess Dugu|fourth sister]] was posthumously honored as empress of the [[Tang dynasty]] (618–907). The seventh sister Dugu Qieluo, in particular, was one of the most influential women in ancient Chinese history, owing to her closeness to her husband [[Emperor Wen of Sui]], throughout their 45-year monogamous marriage. Some authors have written that the three sisters "married emperors"<ref>{{cite book|title=Ethnic Identity in Tang China|last=Abramson|first=Marc S.|isbn=978-0-8122-4052-8|year=2008|publisher=[[University of Pennsylvania Press]]|page=152}}</ref> or "married into imperial families".<ref>{{cite book|title=China's Cosmopolitan Empire: The Tang Dynasty|last=Lewis|first=Mark Edward|author-link=Mark Edward Lewis|year=2009|publisher=The Belknap Press of [[Harvard University Press]]|isbn=978-0-674-03306-1|page=201}}</ref> However, at the time of their marriages, none of their husbands were members of an imperial family (yet): each of the three sisters became an empress or a posthumous empress after a dynastic change. Out of the three dynastic transitions, only the first — the usurpation of the Western Wei throne by the [[Yuwen]]s — is considered a long time coming, in which the Dugus played no role. In both Yang Jian's<ref name="sui">{{cite book |last=Wright |first=Arthur F. |author-link=Arthur F. Wright |title=[[The Cambridge History of China]], Volume 3, Sui and T'ang China, 589–906, Part 1 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=1979 |isbn=978-0-521-21446-9 |editor-last=Twitchett |editor-first=Denis |editor-link=Denis Twitchett |pages=57–58, 63–66 |chapter=The Sui dynasty (581-617) |editor2-last=Fairbank |editor2-first=John K. |editor2-link=John K. Fairbank}}</ref> and Li Yuan's ([[Emperor Gaozu of Tang]]) rise to power, family ties to the ruling house (through the sisters and Dugu Qieluo's daughter [[Yang Lihua]]) were important.<ref>{{The Cambridge History of China | volume = 3|chapter=The founding of the T'ang dynasty: Kao-tsu (reign 618-26)|last=Wechsler|first=Howard J.|pages=151–152}}</ref>
==Family tree== {{Div col|colwidth=30em}} *{{Color sample|#faa}} – Dugu sisters *{{Color sample|border=#9400D3|white; border-width:3px}} – [[Western Wei]] (535–557) emperors *{{Color sample|border=#03C03C|white; border-width:3px}} – [[Northern Zhou]] (557–581) emperors *{{Color sample|border=#0000FF|white; border-width:3px}} – [[Western Liang (555–587)|Western Liang]] (555–587) emperors *{{Color sample|border=#CC0000|white; border-width:3px}} – [[Sui dynasty]] (581–618) emperors *{{Color sample|border=#FFA500|white; border-width:3px}} – [[Tang dynasty]] (618–907) emperors {{div col end}} {{chart top|collapsed=no|width=auto}} {{tree chart/start|align=center|style=font-size:100%}} {{tree chart|border=1|||YBJ||||||||TAI||||||||Dxi|YBJ=[[Emperor Wen of Western Wei|Yuan Baoju]]|boxstyle_YBJ=border-color:#9400D3; border-width:2px|TAI=[[Yuwen Tai]]|Dxi=[[Dugu Xin]]}} {{tree chart|border=1||||!||||||||||!||||||||||!}} {{tree chart|border=1||||!||||||||||!||||||||||!}} {{tree chart|border=1||,|-|+|-|.||||,|-|v|-|+|-|v|-|.||||,|-|+|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|.}} {{tree chart|border=1|YK|!|YQ|~|EYW|!|YWY|!|MEI|~|Qdu|!|Dqi|y|SWD||DUGU|YK=[[Emperor Gong of Western Wei|Yuan Kuo]]|boxstyle_YK=border-color:#9400D3; border-width:2px|YQ=[[Emperor Fei of Western Wei|Yuan Qin]]|boxstyle_YQ=border-color:#9400D3; border-width:2px|EYW=[[Empress Yuwen]]|YWY=[[Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou|Yuwen Yong]]|boxstyle_YWY=border-width:2px; border-color:#03C03C|MEI=[[Emperor Ming of Northern Zhou|Yuwen Yu]]|boxstyle_MEI=border-width:2px; border-color:#03C03C|Qdu=1. [[Empress Dugu (Northern Zhou)|Empress Dugu]]|boxstyle_Qdu=background-color: #faa|Dqi=7. [[Dugu Qieluo|Empress Dugu]]|boxstyle_Dqi=background-color: #faa|SWD=[[Emperor Wen of Sui|Yang Jian]]|boxstyle_SWD=border-color:#CC0000; border-width:2px|DUGU=Dugu Luo}} {{tree chart|border=1||||!||||||||!||!||!||||||||!||||!|||||!}} {{tree chart|border=1|||YHM|~|~|~|~|~|YWJ|!|XYP||LB|y|Ddu|||!|XK||!|XK=[[Emperor Ming of Western Liang|Xiao Kui]]|boxstyle_XK=border-width:2px; border-color:#0000FF|YHM=[[Yuan Humo|Empress Yuan]]|XYP=Princess Xiangyang|YWJ=[[Emperor Xiaomin of Northern Zhou|Yuwen Jue]]|boxstyle_YWJ=border-width:2px; border-color:#03C03C|Ddu=4. [[Duchess Dugu]]|boxstyle_Ddu=background-color:#faa;|LB=[[Li Bing (Northern Zhou)|Li Bing]]}} {{tree chart|border=1||,|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|'| |!|,|-|-|-|-|'||||||!||!|||!}} {{tree chart|border=1||!||||,|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|'|!|,|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|'||!|||!}} {{tree chart|border=1||!||||!||||,|-|-|-|-|-|-|'|!||||||||||||!|||!}} {{tree chart|border=1||!||||!||||!||||,|-|-|-|(||||,|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|(|||!}} {{tree chart|border=1|YUN|7|DOU|~|Gzu|F|LIH| |SYD|~|EX||XC||XY|~|LDG|DOU=[[Empress Taimu|Duchess Dou]]|YUN=[[Emperor Xuan of Northern Zhou|Yuwen Yun]]|boxstyle_YUN=border-width:2px; border-color:#03C03C|LIH=[[Yang Lihua|Empress Yang]]|SYD=[[Emperor Yang of Sui|Yang Guang]]|boxstyle_SYD=border-width:2px; border-color:#CC0000|Gzu=[[Emperor Gaozu of Tang|Li Yuan]]|boxstyle_Gzu=border-width:2px; border-color:#FFA500|EX=[[Empress Xiao (Sui dynasty)|Empress Xiao]]|XY=[[Xiao Yu]]|XC=[[Emperor Jing of Western Liang|Xiao Cong]]|boxstyle_XC=border-width:2px; border-color:#0000FF|LDG=Duchess Dugu}} {{tree chart|border=1||||L|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|J}} {{tree chart/end}} {{chart bottom}}
==Basic information== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Sister ! Personal name ! Mother ! Husband ! Posthumous name ! Birth year ! Death year ! Issue |- | 1st | ''Unknown'' | Lady Guo (郭氏) | [[Emperor Ming of Northern Zhou|Yuwen Yu]] (宇文毓) | [[Empress Dugu (Northern Zhou)|Empress Mingjing]] (明敬皇后) | ''Unknown'' | 558 | 1 |- | 4th | ''Unknown'' | ''Unknown'' | [[Li Bing (Northern Zhou)|Li Bing]] (李昞) |[[Duchess Dugu|Empress Yuanzhen]] (元貞皇后) | ''Unknown'' | ''Unknown'' | 2 |- | 7th | Dugu Qieluo | Lady Cui (崔氏) | [[Emperor Wen of Sui|Yang Jian]] (楊堅)||[[Dugu Qieluo|Empress Wenxian]] (文獻皇后) | 544 | 602 | 10 |}
==See also== *[[Two Qiaos]] *[[Soong sisters]]
==References== {{reflist}} *{{cite book|title=[[History of the Northern Dynasties|Bei Shi]] ''(北史)''|trans-title=History of the Northern Dynasties|last1=Li Dashi|last2=Li Yanshou|language=zh|year=659|ref={{harvid|''Bei Shi''}}|author1-link=Li Dashi }}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dugu sisters}} [[Category:6th-century Chinese women]] [[Category:6th-century Chinese people]] [[Category:7th-century Chinese women]] [[Category:7th-century Chinese people]] [[Category:Sister trios]] [[Category:Northern Zhou people]]