Northern Zhou

Zhou
周
Zhou 周
557–581
	Northern Zhou territories in light blue
	Administrative divisions as of 572
Capital	Chang'an
Government	Monarchy
Emperor
• 557	Emperor Xiaomin of Northern Zhou
• 557–560	Emperor Ming of Northern Zhou
• 560–578	Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou
• 578–579	Emperor Xuan of Northern Zhou
• 579–581	Emperor Jing of Northern Zhou
History
• Established	15 February 557
• Disestablished	4 March 581
Area
577	1,500,000 km2 (580,000 sq mi)
Currency	Chinese coin,; Chinese cash
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Western Wei
	Northern Qi
Sui Dynasty
Today part of	China; Mongolia

Northern Zhou dish inspired by Western metalwork, 557–581.

The Northern Zhou (/dʒoʊ/;^[4] Chinese: 北周; pinyin: Bĕi Zhōu) followed the Western Wei, and ruled northern China from 557 to 581 AD. The last of the Northern Dynasties of China's Northern and Southern dynasties period, it was eventually overthrown by the Sui Dynasty. Like the preceding Western and Northern Wei dynasties, the Northern Zhou emperors were of Xianbei descent.

History[]

The Northern Zhou's basis of power was established by Yuwen Tai, who was paramount general of Western Wei, following the split of Northern Wei into Western Wei and Eastern Wei in 535. After Yuwen Tai's death in 556, Yuwen Tai's nephew Yuwen Hu forced Emperor Gong of Western Wei to yield the throne to Yuwen Tai's son Yuwen Jue (Emperor Xiaomin), establishing Northern Zhou. The reigns of the first three emperors (Yuwen Tai's sons) – Emperor Xiaomin, Emperor Ming, and Emperor Wu were dominated by Yuwen Hu, until Emperor Wu ambushed and killed Yuwen Hu in 572 and assumed power personally. With Emperor Wu as a capable ruler, Northern Zhou destroyed rival Northern Qi in 577, taking over Northern Qi's territory. However, Emperor Wu's death in 578 doomed the state, as his son Emperor Xuan was an arbitrary and violent ruler whose unorthodox behavior greatly weakened the state. After his death in 580, when he was already nominally retired (Taishang Huang), Xuan's father-in-law Yang Jian took power, and in 581 seized the throne from Emperor Xuan's son Emperor Jing, establishing Sui. The young Emperor Jing and the imperial Yuwen clan, were subsequently slaughtered by Yang Jian.^[5]^[6]

The area was known as Guannei 關內. The Northern Zhou drew upon the Zhou dynasty for inspiration.^[7] The Northern Zhou military included Han Chinese.^[8]

Emperors[]

Posthumous name	Personal name	Period of Reigns	Era name
Xiaomin	Yuwen Jue	557	–
Ming, Xiaoming	Yuwen Yu	557–560	Wucheng (武成) 559–560
Wu	Yuwen Yong	561–578	Baoding (保定) 560–565 Tianhe (天和) 566–572 Jiande (建德) 572–578 Xuanzheng (宣政) 578
Xuan	Yuwen Yun	578–579	Dacheng (大成) 579
Jing	Yuwen Chan	579–581^{[note 1]}	Daxiang (大象) 579–581 Dading (大定) 581

Emperors' family tree[]

showNorthern Zhou emperors family tree

Notes[]

^ In 580, after Emperor Xuan's death, the general Yuchi Jiong, believing that the regent Yang Jian was about to seize the throne, rose against Yang and declared a son of Emperor Wu's brother Yuwen Zhao (宇文招) the Prince of Zhao, whose name is lost to history, emperor, but as Yuchi was soon defeated, and nothing further was known about the emperor that he declared, that son of Yuwen Zhao is usually not considered an emperor of Northern Zhou.

References[]

Citations[]

^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 167.
^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 175.
^ Rein Taagepera "Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D.", Social Science History Vol. 3, 115-138 (1979)
^ "Zhou". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.
^ Patricia Buckley Ebrey; Anne Walthall (1 January 2013). East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. Cengage Learning. pp. 76–. ISBN 978-1-133-60647-5.
^ Patricia Buckley Ebrey; Anne Walthall (1 January 2013). Pre-Modern East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History, Volume I: To 1800. Cengage Learning. pp. 76–. ISBN 978-1-133-60651-2.
^ Charles Holcombe (2011). A History of East Asia: From the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge University Press. pp. 97–. ISBN 978-0-521-51595-5.
^ ARS ORIENTALIS. 1986. p. 42.

Sources[]

Book of Zhou
History of Northern Dynasties
Zizhi Tongjian

External links[]

Media related to Northern Zhou Dynasty at Wikimedia Commons

[9] In 580, after Emperor Xuan's death, the general Yuchi Jiong, believing that the regent Yang Jian was about to seize the throne, rose against Yang and declared a son of Emperor Wu's brother Yuwen Zhao (宇文招) the Prince of Zhao, whose name is lost to history, emperor, but as Yuchi was soon defeated, and nothing further was known about the emperor that he declared, that son of Yuwen Zhao is usually not considered an emperor of Northern Zhou.

[1] Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 167.

[2] Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 175.

[3] Rein Taagepera "Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D.", Social Science History Vol. 3, 115-138 (1979)

[4] "Zhou". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.

[EbreyWalthall2013-5] Patricia Buckley Ebrey; Anne Walthall (1 January 2013). East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. Cengage Learning. pp. 76–. ISBN 978-1-133-60647-5.

[EbreyWalthall2013_2-6] Patricia Buckley Ebrey; Anne Walthall (1 January 2013). Pre-Modern East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History, Volume I: To 1800. Cengage Learning. pp. 76–. ISBN 978-1-133-60651-2.

[Holcombe2011-7] Charles Holcombe (2011). A History of East Asia: From the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge University Press. pp. 97–. ISBN 978-0-521-51595-5.

[8] ARS ORIENTALIS. 1986. p. 42.

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[note 1]

show v t Northern and Southern dynasties (420–589)
Northern dynasties	Northern Wei → (Western Wei \| Eastern Wei → Northern Qi) → Northern Zhou
Southern dynasties	Liu Song → Southern Qi → Liang (Western Liang) → Chen