Yang Jun

Yang Jun (571 – 4 August 600), nickname Azhi, formally Prince Xiao of Qin, was an imperial prince of the Chinese Sui Dynasty. He was a son of Emperor Wen (Yang Jian) and his powerful wife Empress Dugu, who died as a result of an illness caused by poisoning by his jealous wife Princess Cui. His son Yang Hao was later briefly declared emperor by the general Yuwen Huaji after Yuwen killed his brother Emperor Yang in 618. Family Parents Father: Emperor Wen of Sui (隋文帝; 21 July 541 – 13 August 604) Mother: Empress Wenxian, of the Henan Dugu clan (文獻皇后 河南獨孤氏; 544–602) Consort and their respective issue(s): Princess Consort Xiao of Qin, of the Cui clan of Boling (秦孝妃 博陵崔氏; d. 600) Yang Hao, Prince of Qin (秦王 楊浩, d 23 October 618), first son Yang Zhan, Marquis of Jibei (济北侯 杨湛; d. 618), second son Concubine Chen, of the Yingchuan chen clan (妾潁川陳氏), known as Princess Lingcheng (临成公主) Unknown: Princess Yongfeng (永丰公主), first daughter Lady Yang, second daughter Early life Yang Jun was born in 571. He was the third son of Yang Jian and Dugu Qieluo, after Yang Yong and Yang Guang. When Yang Jian seized the throne from Emperor Jing of Northern Zhou in 581, ending Northern Zhou and establishing Sui Dynasty as its Emperor Wen, he created his sons princes, and Yang Jun was created the Prince of Qin. In 582, Yang Jun, at age 11, was made the governor of Luo Province (洛州, roughly modern Luoyang, Henan) and titularly the commander of the armed forces east of the Hangu Pass. In 583, he was made the commandant at Qin Province (秦州, roughly modern Tianshui, Gansu) and was in charge of the surrounding provinces. It was around this time that Yang Jun began to be a devout Buddhist and became known for his kindness, and at one point he requested permission from Emperor Wen to become a monk, a request that Emperor Wen denied. Military and political career In 586, Yang Jun became the regional executive of the provinces south of the Qinling Mountains and was stationed at Xiangyang (襄陽, in modern Xiangfan, Hubei). It was around this time that his wife Princess Cui (the sister of the general Cui Hongdu gave birth to his first son Yang Hao. In 588, when Emperor Wen launched a major attack against rival Chen Dynasty, Yang Jun was stationed at Hankou (漢口, in modern Wuhan, Hubei) and made the commander of the Sui forces in the middle Yangtze River region.