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| Emperor Gong of Western Wei 西魏恭帝 | |||||||||||||||||
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| Emperor ofWestern Wei | |||||||||||||||||
| Reign | c.March 554[1] – 14 February 557[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Predecessor | Emperor Fei | ||||||||||||||||
| Regent | Yuwen Tai (554–556) Yuwen Jue &Yuwen Hu (556–557) | ||||||||||||||||
| Born | 537? | ||||||||||||||||
| Died | 557 (aged 19–20) | ||||||||||||||||
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| House | Tuoba (Yuan) | ||||||||||||||||
| Dynasty | Western Wei | ||||||||||||||||
Emperor Gong of Western Wei ((西)魏恭帝) (537? – April 557[3]), personal name néYuan Kuo (元廓), later changed toTuoba Kuo (拓拔廓), was the lastemperor of theWestern Wei dynasty of China. He was made emperor inc.March 554 after his older half-brotherYuan Qin was deposed by the paramount generalYuwen Tai. He carried little actual power, and in 556, after Yuwen Tai's death, Yuwen Tai's nephewYuwen Hu, serving as guardian to Yuwen Tai's sonYuwen Jue (Emperor Xiaomin of Northern Zhou), forced Emperor Gong to yield the throne to Yuwen Jue, ending Western Wei and founding theNorthern Zhou dynasty. The former emperor was killed in 557.
Yuan Kuo was born in 537, as the fourth son ofEmperor Wen. His mother's name is not recorded in history. In 548, Emperor Wen created him the Prince of Qi. He subsequently served underDugu Xin as one of Western Wei's twelve great generals. However, nothing else is known about his activities during his father's reign, during which the paramount generalYuwen Tai largely controlled power. Yuwen's hold on power appeared to be even firmer after Emperor Wen died in 551 and was succeeded by Yuan Kuo's older brotherYuan Qin (as Emperor Fei). During Yuan Kuo's stint as the Prince of Qi, he marriedthe daughter of the general Ruogan Hui (若干惠) as his wife and princess.
In 554, Emperor Fei, angry over Yuwen Tai's execution of the official Yuan Lie (元烈) in 553, plotted to have Yuwen killed. However, the news was leaked, and Yuwen deposed him. He selected Yuan Kuo to succeed Emperor Fei (as Emperor Gong). Contemporaneously, Yuwen changed the imperial clan's surname from Yuan back toTuoba, reversingthe change thatEmperor Xiaowen ordered in 496.
Emperor Gong appeared to be even more powerless than his father and brother, and the power remained in Yuwen's hands. He created his wife, Princess Ruogan,empress. Later in 554, Yuwen poisoned the deposed Emperor Fei to death. Later that year, an army dispatched by Yuwen and commanded by Yu Jin (于謹) captured rivalLiang dynasty's capital Jiangling (江陵, in modernJingzhou,Hubei), capturing and executing Liang'sEmperor Yuan. In spring 555, Emperor Gong createdXiao Cha, a nephew of Emperor Yuan, the Emperor of Liang (as Emperor Xuan), but Xiao Cha was not recognized by most of Liang generals and officials, who instead recognizedXiao Yuanming, a candidate supported byNorthern Qi, as emperor. (Xiao Cha's state is known as theWestern Liang in history.)
Later in 555, Yuwen required Tuoba Yu (拓拔育) the Prince of Huai'an to submit to Emperor Gong a proposal to have the imperial princes reduced in rank to dukes, of which Emperor Gong approved. In spring 556, pursuant to Yuwen's desire to reorganize the governmental structure in accordance with theZhou dynasty governmental structure, the imperial government was reorganized into six departments.
In fall 556, while Yuwen Tai was on a tour of the northern provinces, he became ill at Qiantun Mountain (牽屯山, in modernGuyuan,Ningxia). He summoned his nephewYuwen Hu to Qiantun and entrusted the affairs of the state as well as his sons to Yuwen Hu. He soon died, and Yuwen Tai's 14-year-old sonYuwen Jue took over his titles, while Yuwen Hu took the reins of the state. Emperor Gong was subsequently forced to create Yuwen Jue the greater title of Duke of Zhou.
In spring 557, Yuwen Hu, believing that Yuwen Jue's youth meant that he needed to take the imperial title to affirm his authority, forced Emperor Gong to yield the throne to Yuwen Jue, ending Western Wei and startingNorthern Zhou.
Yuwen Jue (Emperor Xiaomin) initially created Tuoba Kuo the Duke of Song. However, less than two months after Tuoba Kuo yielded the throne, he was killed. His wife, the former Empress Ruogan, became a Buddhist nun.
| Chinese royalty | ||
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| Preceded by | Emperor of Northern Wei (Western) 554–556 | Dynasty ended |
| Emperor of China (Western) 554–556 | Succeeded by | |