Emperor Gong of Western Wei

Emperor Gong of Western Wei
西魏恭帝
Emperor of Western Wei
Reignc.March 554 – 14 February 557
PredecessorEmperor Fei
RegentYuwen Tai (554–556)
Yuwen Jue & Yuwen Hu (556–557)
Born537?
Died557 (aged 1920)
Names
Family name: Initially Yuán (元), later changed to Tuòbá (拓拔) in 554;
Given name:Kuò (廓)
Era dates
None
Posthumous name
Emperor Gong (恭皇帝; lit. "respectful")
Temple name
None
HouseTuoba (Yuan)
DynastyWestern Wei

Emperor Gong of Western Wei ((西)魏恭帝) (537? – April 557), personal name né Yuan Kuo (元廓), later changed to Tuoba Kuo (拓拔廓), was the last emperor of the Western Wei dynasty of China. He was made emperor in c.March 554 after his older half-brother Yuan Qin was deposed by the paramount general Yuwen Tai. He carried little actual power, and in 556, after Yuwen Tai's death, Yuwen Tai's nephew Yuwen Hu, serving as guardian to Yuwen Tai's son Yuwen Jue (Emperor Xiaomin of Northern Zhou), forced Emperor Gong to yield the throne to Yuwen Jue, ending Western Wei and founding the Northern Zhou dynasty. The former emperor was killed in 557.