Dugu Qieluo

Posthumous name
	Empress Wenxian (文獻皇后)

Dugu Qieluo
Dugu Qieluo
Empress consort of the Sui dynasty
Tenure	4 March 581–10 September 602
Born	544
Died	September 10, 602 (aged 57–58)
Spouse	Emperor Wen of Sui
Issue	Yang Lihua, Empress Tianyuan of Northern Zhou; Yang Yong, Prince Fangling; Yang Guang, Emperor Yang; Yang Jun, Prince Xiao of Qin; Yang Xiu, Prince of Shu; Yang Awu, Princess Lanling; Yang Liang, Prince of Han; Princess Xiangguo; Princess Guangping; Princess Wanan, Duchess of Chen
Posthumous name
Posthumous name
	Empress Wenxian (文獻皇后)
Father	Dugu Xin
Mother	Lady Cui

Dugu Qieluo or Dugu Jialuo^[1] (Chinese: 獨孤伽羅; 544^[2] – September 10, 602^[3]), formally Empress Wenxian (文獻皇后), was an empress of the Chinese Sui dynasty. She was the wife of Emperor Wen, who, on account of his love and respect for her, as well as an oath they made while they were young, did not have any concubines for at least most of their marriage, an extreme rarity among Chinese emperors. However, she had a bipolar personality that made it difficult to judge her, sometimes cruel and domineering and sometimes kind and unassuming. But was exceedingly powerful and influential during her husband's reign and assisted the emperor in running the empire. She was heavily involved in his decision to divert the order of succession from their oldest son Yang Yong to the second son Yang Guang (later Emperor Yang), and her influence in changing the succession eventually led to the fall of the Sui dynasty.

^ (隋文献皇后独孤氏，讳伽罗，...) Bei Shi, vol.14
^ According to Dugu's biography in volume 36 of Book of Sui, she was 50 (by East Asian reckoning) when she died. By calculation, her birth year should be 553. However, her biography in volume 14 of History of the Northern Dynasties recorded that she was 59 (by East Asian reckoning) when she died. If this record is correct, by calculation, her birth year should be 544. As Dugu's daughter Yang Lihua was born in 561, it is more likely that Dugu was born in 544.
^ Volume 179 of Zizhi Tongjian recorded that Dugu died on the jiazi day of the 8th month of the 2nd year of the Renshou era of Emperor Wen's reign. This date corresponds to 10 Sep 602 on the Gregorian calendar. [(仁寿二年)八月，甲子，皇后独孤氏崩。]

[1] (隋文献皇后独孤氏，讳伽罗，...) Bei Shi, vol.14

[2] According to Dugu's biography in volume 36 of Book of Sui, she was 50 (by East Asian reckoning) when she died. By calculation, her birth year should be 553. However, her biography in volume 14 of History of the Northern Dynasties recorded that she was 59 (by East Asian reckoning) when she died. If this record is correct, by calculation, her birth year should be 544. As Dugu's daughter Yang Lihua was born in 561, it is more likely that Dugu was born in 544.

[3] Volume 179 of Zizhi Tongjian recorded that Dugu died on the jiazi day of the 8th month of the 2nd year of the Renshou era of Emperor Wen's reign. This date corresponds to 10 Sep 602 on the Gregorian calendar. [(仁寿二年)八月，甲子，皇后独孤氏崩。]

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