Dugu Qieluo or Dugu Jialuo (; 544 – September 10, 602), 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. She also bore him all his 10 children. However, she was utterly domineering and ruthless and 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. Background Dugu Qieluo was born in 544, as the seventh daughter of the Western Wei general Dugu Xin, who was of Xianbei ethnicity (or Xianbeinized Xiongnu). Her mother, Lady Cui (崔氏), was Han Chinese. In 557, shortly after Western Wei was succeeded by Northern Zhou, Dugu Xin, who was impressed with Yang Jian, the son of his subordinate general Yang Zhong (楊忠), arranged the marriage between him and Dugu Qieluo. She was 13, and he was 16. Shortly thereafter, Dugu Xin became implicated in a plot organized by the general Zhao Gui (趙貴) against the regent Yuwen Hu, and Yuwen Hu forced him to commit suicide. Yang Jian and Lady Dugu loved each other dearly, and it was when they were both young that he swore an oath that he would never let another woman have his children. They ended up having five sons and five daughters. In 568, after Yang Zhong's death, Yang Jian inherited the title of Duke of Sui, and Lady Dugu thereafter presumably carried the title of Duchess of Sui. Duchess Dugu was one of the most honored women at the Northern Zhou court, as her sister was the wife of Emperor Ming, and her daughter, Yang Lihua, was the wife of Emperor Xuan. Despite her honored status, however, she was said to be humble. On one occasion, when the erratic Emperor Xuan was angry with Empress Yang and ordered her to commit suicide, Duchess Dugu found out and went into the palace, earnestly begging Emperor Xuan's forgiveness. Emperor Xuan