Yuwen Huaji

Strangled Emperor Yang of Sui in the Jiangdu Mutiny and made himself emperor; captured and killed by Dou Jiande.

Life

Frivolous young noble

Yuwen Huaji was the son of Yuwen Shu, a senior minister of the Sui dynasty. Dissolute and unprincipled in his youth, he was known as a "frivolous young noble," and relied on his father's position to become General of the Right Tunwei Guard.

Jiangdu Mutiny

In 618, as Emperor Yang of Sui lingered at Jiangdu, the elite Xiaoguo troops from Guanzhong in his retinue longed to go home. Sima Dekan and others put Yuwen Huaji at their head and launched a mutiny, strangling Emperor Yang of Sui.

Proclaimed himself emperor and perished

He set up Yang Hao as emperor and led the army north, but was repeatedly defeated along the way by Li Mi and others. He poisoned Yang Hao and proclaimed himself Emperor of Xu, and in 619 was captured and executed by Dou Jiande.

Legacy

Yuwen Huaji assassinated Emperor Yang of Sui, leaving the Sui dynasty in existence in name only; he himself soon met his downfall, and became the most unpopular of the contending warlords of the late Sui.

Did you know? When Dou Jiande captured him, Dou, speaking as a subject of the Sui, proclaimed him guilty of regicide.

Key dates

• 618Jiangdu Mutiny, strangled Emperor Yang of Sui
• 618Led the army north, defeated by Li Mi
• 619Captured and killed by Dou Jiande after proclaiming himself emperor