# Dugu sisters

The Dugu sisters were part-Xianbei, part-Han sisters of the Dugu clan who lived in the Western Wei (535–557), Northern Zhou (557–581) and Sui (581–618) dynasties of China. All were daughters of the Western Wei general Dugu Xin. The eldest sister became a Northern Zhou empress, the seventh sister became a Sui dynasty empress, and the 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" or "married into imperial families". 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 dynasty changes, only the first — the usurpation of the Western Wei throne by the Yuwens — is considered a long time coming, in which the Dugus played no role. In both Yang Jian's 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.

## Family tree

* – Dugu sisters
* – Western Wei (535–557) emperors
* – Northern Zhou (557–581) emperors
* – Western Liang (555–587) emperors
* – Sui dynasty (581–618) emperors
* – Tang dynasty (618–907) emperors
Family of Dugu sisters :
| | | | | Yuan Baoju | Yuan Baoju | Yuan Baoju | Yuan Baoju | | | | | | | | | | | Yuwen Tai | Yuwen Tai | Yuwen Tai | Yuwen Tai | Yuwen Tai | Yuwen Tai | | | | | | | | | | | Dugu Xin | Dugu Xin | Dugu Xin | Dugu Xin |
| Yuan Kuo | Yuan Kuo | Yuan Kuo | Yuan Kuo | Yuan Kuo | Yuan Kuo | Yuan Qin | Yuan Qin | Yuan Qin | Yuan Qin | Yuan Qin | Yuan Qin | Empress Yuwen | Empress Yuwen | Empress Yuwen | Empress Yuwen | Empress Yuwen | Empress Yuwen | Yuwen Yong | Yuwen Yong | Yuwen Yong | Yuwen Yong | Yuwen Yong | Yuwen Yong | Yuwen Yu | Yuwen Yu | Yuwen Yu | Yuwen Yu | Yuwen Yu | Yuwen Yu | 1. Empress Dugu | 1. Empress Dugu | 1. Empress Dugu | 1. Empress Dugu | 1. Empress Dugu | 1. Empress Dugu | 7. Empress Dugu | 7. Empress Dugu | 7. Empress Dugu | 7. Empress Dugu | 7. Empress Dugu | 7. Empress Dugu | Yang Jian | Yang Jian | Yang Jian | Yang Jian | Yang Jian | Yang Jian | Dugu Luo | Dugu Luo | Dugu Luo | Dugu Luo | Dugu Luo | Dugu Luo |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Empress Yuan | Empress Yuan | Empress Yuan | Empress Yuan | Empress Yuan | Empress Yuan | Yuwen Jue | Yuwen Jue | Yuwen Jue | Yuwen Jue | Yuwen Jue | Yuwen Jue | Princess Xiangyang | Princess Xiangyang | Princess Xiangyang | Princess Xiangyang | Princess Xiangyang | Princess Xiangyang | Li Bing | Li Bing | Li Bing | Li Bing | Li Bing | Li Bing | 4. Duchess Dugu | 4. Duchess Dugu | 4. Duchess Dugu | 4. Duchess Dugu | 4. Duchess Dugu | 4. Duchess Dugu | Xiao Kui | Xiao Kui | Xiao Kui | Xiao Kui | Xiao Kui | Xiao Kui |
| Yuwen Yun | Yuwen Yun | Yuwen Yun | Yuwen Yun | Yuwen Yun | Yuwen Yun | Duchess Dou | Duchess Dou | Duchess Dou | Duchess Dou | Duchess Dou | Duchess Dou | Li Yuan | Li Yuan | Li Yuan | Li Yuan | Li Yuan | Li Yuan | Empress Yang | Empress Yang | Empress Yang | Empress Yang | Empress Yang | Empress Yang | Yang Guang | Yang Guang | Yang Guang | Yang Guang | Yang Guang | Yang Guang | Empress Xiao | Empress Xiao | Empress Xiao | Empress Xiao | Empress Xiao | Empress Xiao | Xiao Cong | Xiao Cong | Xiao Cong | Xiao Cong | Xiao Cong | Xiao Cong | Xiao Yu | Xiao Yu | Xiao Yu | Xiao Yu | Xiao Yu | Xiao Yu | Duchess Dugu | Duchess Dugu | Duchess Dugu | Duchess Dugu | Duchess Dugu | Duchess Dugu |

## Basic information

| Sister | Personal name | Mother | Husband | Posthumous name | Birth year | Death year | Issue |
| 1st | Unknown | Lady Guo (郭氏) | Yuwen Yu (宇文毓) | Empress Mingjing (明敬皇后) | Unknown | 558 | None |
| 4th | Unknown | Unknown | Li Bing (李昞) | Empress Yuanzhen (元貞皇后) | Unknown | Unknown | 2 |
| 7th | Dugu Qieluo | Lady Cui (崔氏) | Yang Jian (楊堅) | Empress Wenxian (文獻皇后) | 544 | 602 | 10 |