What was the actual fate of the empress of Emperor Yang of Sui, Empress Xiao?

Some records only mentioned that she escaped and found refuge with her sister-in-law, Princess YiCheng, who was married to the Tujue.

Other accounts, like the fictional Sui Tang Yan Yi, had it that she was forced to be concubine of Yuwen Huaji, then Dou Jiande, before she arrived at the Tujue.

The Sui Shu states that she passed through the hands of Yuwen Huaji and Dou Jiande, but the Kaghan of the Turks (on the urging of Princess Yicheng, who was actually not the daughter of either Sui Wendi or Sui Yangdi, just the daughter of another member of the imperial clan) sent an envoy to ask for Empress Xiao to be brought to the Turk court for protection. Dou Jiande, out of fear of the Turks, released her.

In 630, when the Tang inflicted a major defeat on the Eastern Turks, they also captured Empress Xiao and brought her to Chang'an, where she was treated very cordially. The reason probably was that one of Tang Taizong's concubines was a daughter of Sui Yangdi and had already borne two sons to Taizong (Li Ke and Li Yin), and hence Empress Xiao was a mother-in-law to Taizong and a grandmother to two of his sons.

However, some 'unofficial' histories claim that Empress Xiao herself became one of Taizong's concubines. I see no credibility in this claim.

She'd be rather old by then ... wouldn't she?

Not that I got anything against autumn romance ... but I agree it was not likely.

Still, but for her husband, she'd been one of the most respected and revered empress in Chinese history ... pity.

Zunjing de Snowybeagle Xian Sheng,

Hmm, I have never really paid much attention to Empress Xiao of Sui Yangdi since I did not find her character to be quite interesting nor did she actually play a significant role in history.

The story concerning her as later becoming Tang Taizong’s concubine was rather funny because of her old age. I would assume that this was a fictitious story to make a particular TV Series more appealing.

In ancient China , a woman’s fame and her position depended tremendously on her husband. For example, both Empress Zhangsun and Empress Ma were probably equally virtuous. However, Empress Zhangsun’s husband, Tang Taizong, was much more beloved by the civilians than Empress Ma’s husband, Ming Taizu. Therefore, Empress Zhangsun was generally viewed as a better Empress than Empress Ma.

With this in mind, how could Empress Xiao be one of the most respected and revered Empresses in Chinese History with her husband’s horrible reputation? Or was she respectable because of her faithful attitude toward her husband despite the fact that he was a tyrannical ruler?

Xie Xie,

Empress Xiao, despite of noble parentage, was essentially abandoned as an infant and raised in humbling circumstances. It was recorded that she was virtuous and tried to persuade her husband against his excesses. Her hubby apparently had affection for her, but refused to heed her words.

When Emperor Sui was stranded in the south, and the situation worsening daily, he confided in her, and once, looking at the mirror, asked in her presence, "What a nice head, I wonder who will be the one to take it away."

That she was treated with utmost courtesy even by Li Shimin, though he was indirectly related to her, spoke something about her character.

Zunjing de Snowybeagle Xian Sheng,

Hmm, I suspected that Empress Xiao came from a noble background, but had no idea that she was abandoned at a young age; hence, she grew up in a rather humble environment. Well, if Sui Yangdi did not have some affection for her, then he probably would not have kept her as the Empress since he was a womanizer. I highly doubt Sui Yangdi would heed the words of anyone giving advices against his excesses since he was a tyrant.

Well, it was also to Li Shimin’s best interest to speak good things of Empress Xiao, so I am not really certain about the reliability of this.

I agree that Empress Xiao was virtuous, and perhaps one of the most tragic Empresses in Chinese History; however, I am having trouble seeing how she would be regarded as one of the most respected and revered Empresses in Chinese History like you have previously stated above.

Are there any particular reasons for that statement of yours?

Xie Xie,

Empress Xiao was a daughter of Xiao Kui (reigned 562-585), the second emperor of the Later Liang dynasty, which was a small puppet state under the Western Wei, followed by the Northern Zhou, and lastly the Sui. The first ruler of Later Liang, Xiao Cha, was a grandson of Liang Wudi (Xiao Yan, reigned 502-549) who was placed on the Liang throne by Western Wei in 555 after the Western Wei army captured the Liang capital at Jiangling in 554, killing the Liang emperor Xiao Yi (reigned 552-554). [To complicate matters further, the Northern Qi dynasty and the Liang general Chen Baxian tried at the same time to replace the dead Xiao Yi with their own puppet emperors at the former Liang capital city of Jiankang. Northern Qi supported Xiao Yuanming, while Chen Baxian supported Xiao Fangzhi; Chen won the battle against Northern Qi, only to depose Xiao Fangzhi in 557 and found his own Chen dynasty.]

As Xiao Kui's daughter, she could have been raised as a princess, but because she was born in the second lunar month, and there was a Jiangnan taboo against raising children born in that month, she was handed over to Xiao Kui's younger brother Xiao Ji. Xiao Ji and his wife died soon after, and she was passed on to her maternal uncle Zhang Ke, who was very poor. Empress Xiao thus grew up in poverty.

When Sui Wendi was looking for a bride for Yang Guang, he decided to get a princess from Later Liang, but the divination results for all the eligible Liang princesses were inauspicious. Xiao Kui then brought this unwanted daughter over from Zhang Ke's home and asked the Sui envoy to do divination for her. The result was auspicious, and she then became Yang Guang's wife.

Zunjing de Yun the Sage-King,

Thank you very much for the background information and the interesting story regarding Empress Xiao’s background. I am sure that I would not be able to find good information like this anywhere else on the Internet. Hehehe!

The Age of Fragmentation is certainly a confusing time period for future historians to study.

It is so interesting and ironic that Empress Xiao was born a princess, yet grew up in poverty. Compared to a lot of other Empresses, Empress Xiao definitely had a much more appealing background. She was quite fortunately to be born into the Imperial family; however, the timing of her birth was extremely horrible, which resulted in her father abandoning her.

Since Sui Yangdi ascended to the throne at approximately the age of 35, I suspected that Empress Xiao was chosen by Sui Wendi to be his daughter-in-law.

Did Empress Xiao have any children? Do you agree with Brother Snowybeagle that Empress Xiao was one of the most revered Empresses in Chinese History? If you do agree, then can you please share with us some of her good qualities?

Xie Xie,

Empress Xiao bore Yang Guang two sons - his Crown Prince Yang Zhao, who died young in 606, and Yang Jian who was killed with Yang Guang at Jiangdu in 618. A third son was borne by a concubine with the same surname Xiao.

Yang Guang has a reputation as a big lecher with a huge sexual appetite, but strangely he had only these three sons.

The records say Empress Xiao was well-educated, intelligent, and had a nice and humble personality. She was also skilled in divination, which is rather fitting since it was due to divination that she became Yang Guang's wife.

Perhaps not so strange if we take the possibility that Yang Guang might not have wanted more children ...

From what I read, there are physicians or eunuchs in the harem skilled in the arts of preventing pregnancies in concubines after they serviced the monarchs. After each session, an attending eunuch, who was also responsible for recording the date and time of the coupling (that was considered the time of conception, used to check for legitimacy of births, as well as horoscope divinations) would ask the emperor whether he wanted to "keep" or "discard".

I thought this was more a practice during the Qing Dynasty and not during Sui or Tang - I mean the 'keep or discard' and the 'recording' protocol?

Perhaps, I might have been wrong.

Zunjing de Yun the Sage-King,

Hmm, it seems like Empress Xiao had fulfilled her duty as a good wife by giving birth to two sons. Sui Yangdi probably still had afftection toward her; that is why he created their eldest son as the Crown Prince. Since Sui Yangdi was the second son of the previous Emperor, and he had to usurp the throne, it did not seem like he would pay much attention to primogeniture.

Of course, Sui Yangdi was infamous for being licentious. Hence, are you sure that he only had these three sons? In that case, did he have a lot of daughters? Hey, I assumed that he would have had at least half of the amount Emperor Kang Xi had, 28 children.

Yup, it is really sad that Empress Xiao had to meet her tragic fate! It is quite interesting to find an Empress skilled in divination. Hehehe!

Xie Xie,

You are correct. It was recorded during 清文宗 's (Qing WenZong) reign.(or better known as 咸丰(XianFeng))That was how the eunuch 安德海 (An DeHai) could wield so much power as he was in charge of all these affairs and thus could influence the emperor whether to keep the pregnancy or not. (though I personally doubt how effective it is..the modern birth control control companies would go bust if this method is truely that effective)

Zunjing de Snowybeagle Xian Sheng,

May I ask why you think that Sui Yangdi might not have wanted to have more children? Normally, Emperors would want to have as many children as possible to ensure that there will be more than an adequate amount of offspring to pass on the family bloodline.

I cannot believe that there were physicians skilled in the art of preventing pregnancies! Well, I guess it is not really that surprising if you look at this as one of the earlier forms of birth control. Hmm, now I am wondering how effective these treatments were? Or were people just way too superstitious back then?

Hmm, I am really confused regarding the “keep” or “discard” issue! I mean it is quite easy to understand that the Emperor would most likely want to keep the baby. However, what if the Emperor chose to “discard” this pregnancy? Would the concubine or Empress be forced to have an abortion?

I believe that this protocol was much more famous in the Qing Dynasty compare to other dynasties; however, a similar procedure was mandatory to assure that all babies were sired by the Emperor himself. This would be the case for any dynasties.

Xie Xie,

A few reasons I could think of ...

(1) Too many sons, especially capable sons, translate into rivalries among ambitious siblings. Yang Guang himself should know.

(2) If Yang Guang liked the ministrations of these particular ladies, their getting pregnant would inconvenience him for quite a while, at least.


I think Centaur was correct - it was the norm for later dynasties.

As for the precise procedure, I really do not know it, but some possible interpretation according to some books I've seen, well, it is very undignified to the ladies, not to mention ghastly, horrifying, I don't want to describe the speculations but suffice to say it is a too horrible thing to even contemplate.

Zunjing de Snowybeagle Xian Sheng,

Hmm, I surmise Sui Yangdi would have concerns over producing so many capable sons since he originated as an ambitious second son, who was willing to do anything to his eldest brother to snatch away the position of Crown Prince. He obtained the throne through bloodshed in the family. However, he should always feel that there was a better chance for the dynasty to survive with many capable sons.

Regarding the second reason that you have stated, if that was the case, then Sui Yangdi was extremely selfish, in which he only thought of himself rather than having any compassions for his women.

Hmm, I never thought that birth controls were impossible back then and that was why people had so many children. In today’s world, the rate of babies being born each day would increase drastically without birth control pills and with wild teenagers. Hehehe! Abortion was always a possibility; however, with the low technologies in the ancient times, it would have definitely been a very painful experience for a woman.

By the way, was it clearly stated in history books that Sui Yangdi did not really insist on having a lot of children? Or was it just your own speculation(s)?

Xie Xie,

Actually, it was Yun who noted for his reputation of being fond of women, Yang Guang had very few children.
As to the reasons why, one can only make some guesses.

Zunjing de Snowybeagle Xian Sheng,

Actually, I have always thought that Sui Yangdi’s reputation for being fond of women is widely known since there were many TV adaptations, poems, stories, and jokes regarding it. Hence, I was really shocked to find out that Sui Yangdi did not have a lot of children. I was even more surprised to hear your speculations. Hehehe! Yeah, I am sure that history books only recorded the general information regarding each Emperor, so such detail like why he did not insist on having more children would not have been written down.

So, you were just making educated guesses after reading the posts from Brother Yun rather than actually getting this indication from official books?

Xie Xie,

Many scholars (e.g. Arthur Wright and Victor Xiong) actually believe that Sui Yangdi's reputation for lechery is a combination of Tang propaganda and racy Ming-dynasty popular novels or unofficial histories (yeshi) - part of the usual stereotype of the 'bad last emperor'. Certainly, a lot of the sexual perversions Yang Guang is notorious for were never recorded in the dynastic history, even the Sui Shu that was produced by the Tang. So they must be a figment of salacious imaginations.

It is true that Yang Guang had a large harem, but he would certainly not be the first or only emperor to have one.

Given that Book of Sui 《隋書》was compiled and edited by Wei Zheng (魏徵) during the reign of Li Shimin, could it might be prudent not to dwell too much on a monarch's sexual endeavours, especially with wives of others, considering how Li Shimin himself took his brother's woman ... (yeah, Wei Zheng was famed for giving most candid and brutally honest feedback to Li Shimin, but this aspect might not be considered as "politically relevant").

Zunjing de Yun the Sage-King,

Well, I have always thought that Sui Yangdi was a horrible Emperor because he caused the decline of the Sui Dynasty, mistreated many innocent civilians, and was lecherous. However, after truly going into Chinese History, I have found out that most of the things I knew about Sui Yangdi were fictional.

Since the Tang Dynasty technically overthrew the Sui Dynasty, it really made sense to try and give Sui Yangdi a much worst image than he truly was as propaganda was a great political tool. Even though I personally adore “Ye Shi,” I am not stupid enough to believe everything in it. Hehehehe! Stereotype usually happens when you don’t read primary sources. Then again, it is not always easy to identify original sources.

Hmm, it is kind of surprising that a lot of the sexual perversions Yang Guang is notorious for were never recorded in the Sui Shu, produced by the Tang.

Of course, Sui Yangdi had a large harem, but some of the greatest Emperors also had approximately 3,000 concubines.

Xie Xie,

Zunjing de Snowybeagle Xian Sheng,

Hmm, I think you have a really good point! Wei Zheng was an outstanding prime minister, who was willing to offer harsh criticism to the Emperor. However, his desire was to help create a prosperous state for the civilians. The fact that Tang Taizong himself took in his brother’s wife as his own was not something to brag about. I think this was also because the Li family was not of Han origin. If the common people knew very well that their respected monarch did something somewhat not honorable, then rebel leaders would use this as a propaganda tool for rebellions.

Well, I also believe that not much was known regarding an Emperor’s personal life since that was not usually too relevant in assessing his position in history. I don’t think historians were too interested in the personal life of each Emperor as opposed to his achievements.

Zunjing de Sima Yan,

Hmm, the protocol of “keep or discard” and “recording” was recorded during the reign of Qing Wen Zong, meaning this policy did not exist during the reigns of previous Qing Emperors?

I am aware An De Hai wielded so much power as the chief eunuch of Empress Cixi after she ascended to the position of Tai Hou. However, he was only a eunuch of second rank during the reign of Qing Wen Zong; hence, was it possible for him to be in charge of all the affairs in Hou Gong? Could he have influenced Emperor Xian Feng to keep or discard a pregnancy? It is important to note, unlike previous Qing Emperors, Emperor Xian Feng had a really small amount of children and only one heir. With this in mind, would not he insist in keeping more pregnancies, which may have resulted in the births of more sons?

I am really interested in knowing if the Emperor chose to discard a pregnancy, how would the actual procedure work? I know other members would have already looked down on me as being a pervert for having an interest in this topic. My honest reason for wanting to know is because I am just curious as to whether this was one of the earliest forms of birth control. If it was, then how effective was this process? I swear I did not have any intentions other than this sole one!

Xie Xie,