Dugu Xin

Dugu Xin (503 – 24 April 557), Xianbei name Qimitou (期彌頭), known as Dugu Ruyuan before 540, was a prominent military general and official during the chaotic Northern and Southern Dynasties period. In 534, Dugu Xin followed Emperor Xiaowu of Northern Wei to the west to join the warlord Yuwen Tai, and in the ensuing years led Western Wei forces against their archnemesis, the Eastern Wei. Despite an early debacle (after which he fled to and stayed for 3 years in the southern Liang dynasty before returning to the northwest), he captured the former Northern Wei capital Luoyang from Eastern Wei in 537. He rose to high ranks under Yuwen Tai, and his eldest daughter married Yuwen Tai's son Yuwen Yu. When the Northern Zhou dynasty replaced Western Wei, Dugu Xin was created Duke of Wei (衛國公), but was soon forced by the powerful regent Yuwen Hu to commit suicide for challenging him.

Dugu Xin was described as an extremely handsome man and was fond of wearing strange clothes, he is best remembered today by his 3 daughters: it is because of their marriages that 2 sons-in-law, 1 grandson-in-law and 2 grandsons of his became emperors of 3 Chinese dynasties, all after his death. In fact, every Chinese emperor from 604 to 907 (with the exception of Wu Zetian and self-proclaimed rebels) was his descendant. During the Sui dynasty, Dugu Xin was honored as Duke Jing of Zhao (趙景公) by Emperor Wen of Sui (who married his seventh daughter Dugu Qieluo), and in 583 the empress built a temple dedicated to his memory in the capital Daxingcheng. (Remains of the temple were discovered in 1997 on the campus of Xi'an Jiaotong University.)