Dugu sisters


The Dugu sisters were part-Xianbei, part-Chinese sisters of the Dugu clan who lived in the Western Wei, Northern Zhou and Sui dynasties. 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 an empress during the Tang dynasty. The seventh sister Dugu Qieluo, in particular, was one of the most influential women in ancient China history, owing to her closeness to her husband Yang Jian throughout their 45-year monogamous marriage.
Some authors wrote that the three sisters "married emperors" or "married into imperial families". At the time of their marriages, none of their husbands was a member of the imperial family : each of the three sisters became an empress or a posthumous empress after a dynasty 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 rise to power, family ties to the ruling house were important.

Family tree

No physical descriptions of them survived but their father was said to be very handsome. Dugu Xin was an ethnic Xianbei but both his wives Lady Guo and Lady Cui appear to be Han Chinese. The Dugus were all literate, cultivated, and pious Buddhists.

In popular culture

The 2018 Chinese TV series The Legend of Dugu stars Hu Bingqing as Dugu Jialuo, Ady An as the eldest sister Dugu Banruo, and Li Yixiao as the middle sister Dugu Mantuo.