Background

Yuwen Yong was born in 543, as the fourth son of the Western Wei paramount general Yuwen Tai. His mother was Yuwen Tai's concubine Lady Chinu. He was born at Yuwen Tai's then-headquarters at Tong Province (同州, roughly modern Weinan, Shaanxi). He was considered filially pious, respectful, and intelligent in his youth. In 554, Emperor Fei of Western Wei created him the Duke of Fucheng.

Yuwen Tai died in 556, and in spring 557, Yuwen Yong's cousin Yuwen Hu, entrusted with the governing authority by Yuwen Tai, forced Emperor Gong of Western Wei to yield the throne to Yuwen Yong's older brother Yuwen Jue, ending Western Wei and establishing Northern Zhou. Yuwen Jue took the throne as Emperor Xiaomin, but used the alternative title of "Heavenly Prince" (Tian Wang). Yuwen Hu served as regent, and later that year, when Emperor Xiaomin tried to seize power from him, Yuwen Hu deposed Emperor Xiaomin and then killed him, replacing him with another older brother of Yuwen Yong's, Yuwen Yu, who took the throne as Emperor Ming. Emperor Ming created Yuwen Yong the greater title of Duke of Lu and often consulted Yuwen Yong on important matters. Although Yuwen Yong did not speak much, Emperor Ming made the observation, "He did not often speak, but whatever he spoke was always right."

In 559, Yuwen Hu formally returned his authorities to Emperor Ming, and Emperor Ming began to formally rule on governmental matters, but Yuwen Hu retained the command of the military. In 560, Yuwen Hu, apprehensive of Emperor Ming's abilities, had the imperial chef Li An (李安) poison him with sugar cookies. Emperor Ming, realizing that he was near death, designated Yuwen Yong as his successor, and after he soon died, Yuwen Yong took the throne as Emperor Wu. However, the control of the government again fell into Yuwen Hu's hands.

Early reign

Emperor Wu was said to be largely a silent emperor early in his reign, giving Yuwen Hu free rein over the government, although he appeared to start cultivating a group of officials who would be loyal to him as the years went by. He formally bestowed Yuwen Hu with not only the military authorities, but also authority over all six ministries.

With the Liang Dynasty general Wang Lin and the throne claimant that he supported, Xiao Zhuang, having been defeated by Chen Dynasty in spring 560 and having fled to Northern Qi, Northern Zhou (and its vassal Western Liang, with Emperor Xuan of Western Liang as its emperor) contended for control of Xiao Zhuang's former territory with Chen, precipitating a confrontation. Starting in winter 560, the Northern Zhou generals Heruo Dun (賀若敦) and Dugu Sheng (獨孤盛) began a drawn-out stalemate with the Chen general Hou Tian (侯瑱), initially being successful in thwarting Hou's attacks. Around the new year 561, however, Dugu was forced to withdraw, and Heruo was isolated. In spring 561, Hou agreed to let Heruo withdraw if Heruo would yield, and so Heruo withdrew; the modern Hunan region thus became Chen territory. (Yuwen Hu, believing Heruo to be at fault for losing the region, removed him from his posts.)

Also in 561, Emperor Wu honored his mother Lady Chinu empress dowager.

In spring 562, to foster a peaceful relationship with Chen, Northern Zhou returned the brother of Emperor Wen of Chen, Chen Xu, as well as Chen Xu's wife Liu Jingyan and son Chen Shubao, to Chen. In exchange, Chen gave the city of Lushan (魯山, in modern Wuhan, Hubei) to Northern Zhou.

In summer 562, Emperor Wu, seeing that previously, nobles were not receiving any material benefits from their titles, began to have the nobles receive stipends based on the size of their fiefs.

In spring 563, while on a visit to Yuan Province (原州, roughly modern Guyuan, Ningxia), Emperor Wu suddenly returned to the capital Chang'an without explanation. One of his attendants, Houmochen Chong the Duke of Liang, speculated to his associates that Yuwen Hu had died. When Houmochen's speculations became known, Emperor Wu publicly rebuked Houmochen, and the same night, Yuwen Hu sent troops to surround Houmochen's mansion, forcing him to commit suicide. Soon thereafter, he publicly bestowed Yuwen Hu the honor of having his name be subject to naming taboo, an honor that Yuwen Hu declined.

Also in spring 563, Emperor Wu promulgated a new 25-volume criminal code drafted by the official Tuoba Di (拓拔迪), which divided the criminal punishment into 25 classes.

In fall 563, Northern Zhou entered into an alliance treaty with the Gokturks, known to the Chinese ajs Tujue, against Northern Qi, part of which involved a promise that Emperor Wu would marry the daughter of Ashina Qijin, Tujue's Mugan Khan. In winter 563, the joint forces of Northern Zhou and Tujue launched a two-prong attack on Northern Qi, with the northern prong attacking Northern Qi's secondary capital Jinyang (晉陽, in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi) and the southern prong attacking Pingyang (平陽, in modern Linfen, Shanxi). The northern prong, commanded by the general Yang Zhong, put Jinyang under siege, but was soon defeated by the Northern Qi general Duan Shao (段韶) and forced to withdraw. In response, the southern prong, commanded by Daxi Wu (達奚武), also withdrew. Still, the attack demonstrated the growing Northern Zhou strength—as previously, in the winter months, Northern Zhou forces would break the ice on the Yellow River to prevent possible Northern Qi attacks, but around this time and thereafter, Northern Qi forces broke the ice on the river to prevent possible Northern Zhou attacks.

In fall 564, in order to placate Yuwen Hu, Emperor Wucheng of Northern Qi returned Yuwen Hu's mother Lady Yan and his (and Emperor Wu's) aunt (Yuwen Tai's sister), who had been trapped in Northern Qi territory several decades earlier, to Northern Zhou. In order to celebrate Lady Yan's return, Emperor Wu issued a general pardon, and prostrated himself before her as an ordinary nephew would. In turn, Yuwen Hu considered calling off planned joint attacks with Tujue against Northern Qi, but was fearful that Tujue would believe that Northern Zhou was abandoning the alliance, and therefore launched another joint attack with Tujue in winter 564. The assault, the main brunt of which was against Luoyang, however, was unsuccessful, and soon was abandoned.

In spring 565, Emperor Wu sent his brother Yuwen Chun (宇文純) the Duke of Chen, Yuwen Gui (宇文貴) the Duke of Xu, Dou Yi (竇毅) the Duke of Shenwu, and Yang Jian (楊薦, different person than the more-known Yang Jian, referenced above and below) the Duke of Nanyang, to lead a ceremonial guard corps to Tujue to welcome back Ashina Qijin's daughter for marriage to him. However, when they arrived at Ashina Qijin's headquarters, he turned against the treaty and detained Yuwen Chun and his attendants.

Middle reign

In 566, the non-Chinese tribes of Xin Province (信州, modern eastern Chongqing) rebelled and captured Baidicheng, under the leadership of the chieftains Ran Lingxian (冉令賢) and Xiang Wuziwang (向五子王). The general Lu Teng (陸騰), however, was able to persuade some of Rang's subjects to turn against him, and he subsequently defeated Rang and Xiang, killing them and suppressing the revolts.

In 567, in light of the death of Chen's Emperor Wen and succession by his son Emperor Fei of Chen in 566, the high level Chen officials engaged in infighting, and Emperor Wen's brother Chen Xu was victorious. The general Hua Jiao, the governor of Xiang Province (roughly modern Changsha, Hunan), felt uneasy, and therefore sought aid from Northern Zhou and Western Liang. Yuwen Hu, over the opposition by the official Cui You (崔猷), sent an army commanded by Emperor Wu's brother Yuwen Zhi (宇文直) the Duke of Wei to assist Hua and Western Liang, which was also aiding Hua. The Chen general Wu Mingche, however, quickly defeated the joint forces of Northern Zhou, Western Liang, and Hua, forcing Hua and Yuwen Zhi to both give up the war and flee to the Western Liang capital Jiangling. Chen was able to retain all of Hua's territory and further make minor territorial gains against both Northern Zhou and Western Liang as well. Yuwen Hu relieved Yuwen Zhi from his posts, and while Yuwen Zhi was eventually restored to them, Yuwen Zhi, who had previously had a cordial relationship with Yuwen Hu, bore a grudge against Yuwen Hu and secretly encouraged Emperor Wu to act against Yuwen Hu.

In spring 568, a major storm at Tujue's headquarters inflicted substantial damage, and Ashina Qijin took it as a sign of divine displeasure at his rescission of the marriage agreement with Northern Zhou. He therefore returned Yuwen Chun, along with the daughter he promised Emperor Wu, back to Northern Zhou. Emperor Wu personally welcomed her and created her empress.

Perhaps in light of the new adversarial relationship with Chen, when Northern Qi made peace overtures in fall 568, Northern Zhou accepted, and there was peace between the states for about a year, until fall 569, when Emperor Wu's brother Yuwen Xian the Prince of Qi led an army to siege Northern Qi's city of Yiyang (宜陽, in modern Luoyang, Henan) -- and for more than a year, the two states would engage in struggle for the control of Yiyang. Meanwhile, in fall 570, the Chen general Zhang Zhaoda (章昭達) put siege to Jiangling, nearly capturing it, but was eventually fought off by Northern Zhou and Western Liang's joint forces.

In 569-570, Emperor Wu organized a debate between Buddhists and Daoists and commissioned two reports - the Xiaodao Lun and the Erjiao Lun - on the suitability of either religion for their adoption by the Chinese government. He came out with a more favorable impression of Daoism, and would found the Tongdao Guan (通道观) for Daoist research, which would eventually compile the first Daoist encyclopedia, the Wushang Biyao (无上秘要).

In winter 570—as forewarned by the Northern Zhou general Wei Xiaokuan, who advised against the Yiyang campaign—the famed Northern Qi general Hulü Guang left Yiyang and instead advanced onto Northern Zhou territory north of the Fen River (汾水, flowing through modern Linfen), building forts and capturing substantial territory from Northern Zhou. While a counterattack by Yuwen Xian subsequently fought Hulü to a stalemate, damage had been done, and Northern Zhou was further forced to give up on the Yiyang campaign in fall 571 to concentrate against Hulü.

Also in 571, Hua went to Chang'an, and on the way, he met Yuwen Zhi at Xiang Province (襄州, roughly modern Xiangfan, Hubei), suggesting to Yuwen Zhi that Western Liang was in such a desperate shape that if Northern Zhou wanted to see it preserved, Northern Zhou should lend some land to Western Liang. Yuwen Zhi agreed and made the proposal to Emperor Wu; in response, Emperor Wu gave three provinces—Ji (基州), Ping (平州), and Ruo (鄀州) (together making up about modern Jingmen and Yichang, Hubei) to Western Liang.

By 572, Yuwen Hu had controlled the military for 16 years and the government for nearly as long. Emperor Wu had long wanted him out of the way, although he showed few outward signs of it. He conspired with Yuwen Zhi, distant relatives Yuwen Shenju (宇文神舉) and Yuwen Xiaobo (宇文孝伯), and Wang Gui (王軌) against Yuwen Hu. In spring 572, he made his move. After Emperor Wu and Yuwen Hu had a meeting, he invited Yuwen Hu into the palace to meet with Empress Dowager Chinu. On the way to her palace, he told Yuwen Hu that Empress Dowager Chinu was having problem with alcoholism and not listening to his advice to stop her drinking, so he wanted Yuwen Hu to advise her to change her ways as well. He further gave Yuwen Hu the text of the Jiu Gao (酒誥) -- an anti-alcoholism declaration written by King Cheng of Zhou—and suggested that he read the Jiu Gao to Empress Dowager Chinu. Once they reached her palace, Yuwen Hu, pursuant to Emperor Wu's request, started reading the Jiu Gao. Before he could finish it, Emperor Wu stepped behind him and used a jade tablet to strike the back of his head. Yuwen Hu fell to the ground, and Yuwen Zhi, who was hiding nearby, jumped out, and cut off Yuwen Hu's head, ending Yuwen Hu's hold on power. Yuwen Hu's sons, brothers, and key associates were all executed.

Late reign

Having been instrumental in Yuwen Hu's death, Yuwen Zhi sought to take over Yuwen Hu's post, but Emperor Wu, who wanted to directly control the government, divided the authority between several officials, retaining most authorities in himself. He took the opportunity posthumously to honor his brother Emperor Xiaomin (Yuwen Hu had refused to do so previously) and create his son Yuwen Yun the Duke of Lu crown prince. He also began to oppose overt luxury and destroyed several palaces that he found overly luxurious as well as other items that he considered ornately decorated.

Also in summer 572, Emperor Wu learned that Northern Qi's emperor Gao Wei, apprehensive of Hulü Guang, had executed Hulü. Being glad, Emperor Wu declared a general pardon.

By 573, it had come to Emperor Wu's attention that Crown Prince Yun was not paying attention to matters of state but instead associated with immoral people. In response, Emperor Wu selected staff members for Crown Prince Yun who were known for their strict conduct. This made the crown prince unhappy.

Around the new year 574, Emperor Wu gathered Confucian scholars, Taoist monks, and Buddhist monks, and had them debate about their philosophies. He ranked Confucianism the highest, then Taoism, and then Buddhism. Subsequently, in summer 574, he banned both Taoism and Buddhism, ordering their monks to return to secular life. He also banned the worship of minor deities whose cults were not registered with the government. (This became known as the second of the Three Disasters of Wu)

In spring 574, Empress Dowager Chinu died. Emperor Wu mourned for more than a month, eating only a small amount of rice during this period.

In fall 574, while Emperor Wu was at Yunyang (雲陽, in modern Xianyang, Shaanxi), Yuwen Zhi, who had long resented not receiving more authority, rebelled at Chang'an. The official Yuchi Yun (尉遲運), one of the officials in charge of the capital along with Crown Prince Yun, defeated Yuwen Zhi, forcing him to flee. Yuwen Zhi was soon captured and executed.

Believing Northern Qi to have been substantially weakened not only by Hulü's death but also by the successful campaign that Chen waged against it in 573 (capturing the provinces between the Yangtze River and the Huai River), by 575, Emperor Wu was seriously considering a major campaign against Northern Qi. However, he kept the matter secret, consulting only Yuwen Xian, Wang Yi (王誼), and Yu Yi (于翼). Only until he was ready in fall 575 did he announce it generally. He aimed his attack at Luoyang, but he spent about 20 days sieging it and could not capture it, and became ill. He withdrew, with virtually no gain.

In spring 576, pursuant to Emperor Wu's orders, Crown Prince Yun launched a campaign against Tuyuhun; a campaign that appeared to be moderately successful. Yet the campaign would bring another deterioration of the relationship between father and son, as Wang Gui, who officially served as the crown prince's lieutenant (along with Yuwen Xiaobo) but was in charge of the operation, reported a matter of immoral acts that the crown prince and his associates Zheng Yi and Wang Duan (王端) engaged in. Emperor Wu himself caned the crown prince and his associates, expelling the associates from the crown prince's palace. (Crown Prince Yun, however, soon recalled his associates.) Emperor Wu was also exceedingly strict with Crown Prince Yun, disallowing him from resting or drinking. Whenever he had faults, Emperor Wu would batter him or whip him, and further warn him that he would be deposed. Emperor Wu further ordered the crown prince's staff to report all of his actions to the emperor. Fearful of his father, Crown Prince Yun learned to feign upright behavior, and the emperor thought that the crown prince had changed.

In winter 576, Emperor Wu again attacked Northern Qi; this time, changing strategy and attacking Pingyang instead. He was able to capture Pingyang quickly, before Northern Qi troops could arrive. The Northern Qi emperor Gao Wei soon advanced toward Pingyang with a large army, and Emperor Wu, not wanting to engage Gao Wei's army directly, withdrew, leaving the general Liang Shiyan (梁士彥) in charge of defending Pingyang. Gao Wei put Pingyang under siege, and at one point nearly captured it. Emperor Wu, after reorganizing his forces, relaunched his army and headed for Pingyang, seeking to lift the siege. Around the new year 577, he arrived near Pingyang and Gao Wei chose to engage him—but, once the battle began, panicked when his favorite concubine Consort Feng Xiaolian falsely believed that the army had been defeated—and he abandoned the army, causing its collapse. Gao Wei fled to Jinyang, and Emperor Wu gave chase. No longer having the will to fight Emperor Wu, Gao Wei further fled back to the Northern Qi capital Yecheng, leaving his cousin Gao Yanzong in charge of Jinyang. Gao Yanzong launched a counterattack, catching Emperor Wu by surprise and nearly killing him. However, after the victory, Gao Yanzong's army went into a celebration, and he was unable to reorganize it, and Emperor Wu soon defeated and captured him, and headed for Yecheng.

Gao Wei, after passing the throne to his young son Gao Heng to deflect ill omens, considered resisting, but instead decided to flee southeast across the Yellow River, planning to regroup and see if he could make a last stand—but if not, to flee to Chen. In spring 577, Emperor Wu entered Yecheng. With Gao Wei's official Gao Anagong feeding him intelligence on Gao Wei's location, he was able to capture Gao Wei. After Gao Wei was returned to Yecheng, he treated Gao Wei with respect and created Gao Wei the Duke of Wen. Gao Wei's uncle Gao Jie (高湝) and cousin Gao Xiaoheng (高孝珩), making one last stand at Xindu (信都, in modern Hengshui, Hebei), were also soon defeated and captured. Another of Gao Wei's cousins, Gao Shaoyi, after making a failed bid to resist, fled to Tujue and came under the protection of Ashin Qijin's successor Tuobo Khan. Other than Ying Province (營州, roughly modern Zhaoyang, Liaoning), held by the official Gao Baoning (高寶寧), a distant relative to Northern Qi's imperial Gao clan, all of Northern Qi's territory came under Northern Zhou rule.

In summer 577, Emperor Wu returned to Chang'an with Gao Wei and other members of the Gao clan in tow. In winter 577, apprehensive of the Gao clan members, he falsely accused Gao Wei of conspiring with the former Northern Qi official Mu Tipo and killed Mu and ordered Gao Wei and the other members of the Gao clan to commit suicide.

In light of Northern Qi's defeat, Chen, then ruled by Chen Xu (who had deposed Emperor Fei and took the throne himself as Emperor Xuan), launched an attack commanded by Wu Mingche on Pengcheng (modern Xuzhou, Jiangsu), an important city on the former Chen/Northern Qi border. Emperor Wu sent Wang Gui to relieve Pengcheng, and in spring 578, Wang defeated Wu, capturing him.

By summer 578, Emperor Wu was engaging in military campaigns on two fronts: against Tujue in the north and against Chen in the south. However, he suddenly grew ill and, after stopping at Yunyang, ended the attack against Tujue. He entrusted the important matters to Yuwen Xiaobo, and he soon died at the age of 35. Crown Prince Yun succeeded him (as Emperor Xuan), and by 581 Northern Zhou had fallen, its throne having been seized by Emperor Xuan's father-in-law Yang Jian.

Relation with xiangqi

Yuwen Yong was a great fan of xiangqi, and wrote a book about it, Xiang Jing, in 569 AD

Era names

• Baoding (保定 bǎo dìng) 561-565

• Tianhe (天和 tiān hé) 566-572

• Jiande (建德 jiàn dé) 572-578

• Xuanzheng (宣政 xuān zhèng) 578

Family

Consorts and Issue:

• Empress Wucheng, of the Ashina clan (武成皇后 阿史那氏; 551–582)

• Empress Dowager, of the Li clan (天元聖皇太后 李氏; 535–588), personal name Ezi (娥姿)

　• Yuwen Yun, Emperor Xuan (宣皇帝 宇文贇; 559–580), first son

　• Yuwen Zan, Prince Han (漢王 宇文贊; d. 581), second son

• Shifu, of the Xue clan (世婦 薛氏)

　• Yuwen Dui, Prince Cai (蔡王 宇文兌; d. 581), sixth son

• Lady, of the Kuhan clan (庫汗氏)

　• Yuwen Zhi, Prince Qin (秦王 宇文贄; d. 581), third son

　• Yuwen Yun, Prince Cao (曹王 宇文允; d. 581), fourth son

• Lady, of the Feng clan (馮氏)

　• Yuwen Chong, Prince Dao (道王 宇文充; d. 581), fifth son

• Lady, of the Zheng clan (鄭氏)

　• Yuwen Yuan, Prince Jing (荊王 宇文元; d. 581), seventh son

• Unknown

　• Princess Qingdou (清都公主)

　　• Married Yan Pi, Duke Shibao (閻毗), and had issue (two sons including Yan Liben)

　• Princess Yiyang (義陽公主)

　　• Married Yu Xiangxian, Duke Qinchang (於象賢)

　• A daughter (b. 570)

Ancestry

Popular Culture

• Portrayed by Hanson Ying in The Legend of Dugu tv series.

生平

宇文邕在西魏時封輔城郡公，北周封魯國公，其堂兄宇文護專橫跋扈，連殺二帝，又立宇文邕為帝。宇文邕18歲即位，因其兄弟先後被宇文護所殺，武帝即位後，為免自身也遭殺身之禍，對宇文護表示恭敬，讓他主理國家大事，以靜待時機。武帝不甘做傀儡，最終於572年殺死宇文護，得以親政。

在位期間，武帝不像其父欲恢復鮮卑舊俗，反而極力擺脫鮮卑舊俗並接受漢文化，且自己也整頓吏治，使北周政治清明，百姓生活安定，國勢強盛。宇文邕生活儉樸，能夠及時關心民間疾苦。據史書記載，他「身布袍，寢布被……後宮不過十餘人。」他的漢文化政策為日後楊堅的統一奠定基礎。

滅佛道

另外他還聽從道士衛元嵩和張賓意見大舉滅佛，搗毀全國大量佛塔、佛寺，嚴令僧尼還俗，這是「求武器于塔廟之間、以士兵于僧侶之下」的富國強兵運動，是為建德毀佛。而在宇文邕禁止佛教之外，而且衛元嵩自己沒想到連道教也被禁止，自己和眾多的道士也被迫還俗。

滅齊

正當北周日益強盛的時候，北齊卻日衰。建德四年（575年）末，宇文邕於是出兵大舉進攻腐朽的北齊，並于一年半後（即建德六年，577年）滅北齊。

宣政元年（578年）宇文邕率軍分五道伐突厥，未出發即病死，年僅36歲，謚號武帝，廟號高祖。他可以說是南北朝兩百多年的亂世中少數稱得上有作為的君主。

與宣帝的關係

在史書中，他是一位嚴父，曾對其繼承人，教而不善的太子宇文贇（後來的北周宣帝）施用體罰，並多次威脅要廢去其太子地位，但最後都沒有實行。這樣的舉措反而收到了反效果，讓宇文贇對他記恨，而更加不聽從他的說教。宣帝繼位後荒淫無度，不到三年內其子就被楊堅篡位，北周滅亡。

其他

竇毅娶宇文泰第五女襄陽公主，第二女竇氏，竇氏出生時頭髮下垂超過了脖子，虛齡三歲時頭髮就和身體一樣長，閱讀《女誡》、《列女傳》等書籍，讀過一次就不忘記。襄陽公主的弟弟周武帝特別喜愛這個外甥女，將她帶到宮中養育，與其他外甥不同。當時周武帝娶突厥女子阿史那氏為皇后，皇后醜陋不受寵愛，竇氏當時年紀還小，私下對周武帝說：「四方沒有寧靜，突厥還很強大，希望舅舅抑制個人感情撫慰皇后，以天下百姓為念，還需要突厥的幫助，那麼江南的南陳、關東的北齊政權就不能成為禍患了。」周武帝讚許並採納了意見。周武帝去世後，竇氏追悼思念好像喪失了親生父母。隋文帝楊堅接受禪讓建立隋朝，竇氏聽說後灑下眼淚，自己跳上胡床說：「恨我不是男子，不能救助舅舅家的危難！」竇毅和襄陽公主急忙捂住竇氏的口說：「你別胡說，我們家族會被族滅的！」

與棋類的關係

宇文邕發明類似樗蒲、打馬的擲賽遊戲，史稱北周象戲，並編著有《象經》一書。

評價

唐令狐德棻《周書》評價宇文邕沉著、毅力且有智謀，韜光晦跡、除國害。之後勵精圖治、除卻奢靡、凡事從儉，戰爭時與軍士同喜悲。令狐德棻認為，再一兩年，宇文邕就能天一大一統：「帝沉毅有智謀。初以晉公護專權，常自晦跡，人莫測其深淺。及誅護之後，始親萬機。克己勵精，聽覽不怠。用法嚴整，多所罪殺。號令懇惻，唯屬意於政。群下畏服，莫不肅然。性旣明察，少於恩惠。凡布懷立行，皆欲踰越古人。身衣布袍，寢布被，無金寶之飾，諸宮殿華綺者，皆撤毀之，改為土階數尺，不施櫨栱。其雕文刻鏤，錦繡纂組，一皆禁斷。後宮嬪禦，不過十餘人。勞謙接下，自強不息。以海內未康，銳情教習。至於校兵閱武，步行山谷，履涉勤苦，皆人所不堪。平齊之役，見軍士有跣行者，帝親脫靴以賜之。每宴會將士，必自執杯勸酒，或手付賜物。至於征伐之處，躬在行陣。性又果決，能斷大事。故能得士卒死力，以弱制強。破齊之後，遂欲窮兵極武，平突厥，定江南，一二年間，必使天下一統，此其志也。」

唐令狐德棻《周書》評價宇文邕認真治國、同匹夫節儉度日，成為一時明君。雖然因為長年征戰，被稱窮兵黷武，但他的鴻圖遠略，是能凌駕古代王者：「自東西否隔，二國爭強，戎馬生郊，幹戈日用，兵連禍結，力敵勢均，疆埸之事，一彼一此。高祖纘業，未親萬機，慮遠謀深，以蒙養正。及英威電發，朝政惟新，內難旣除，外略方始。乃苦心焦思，克己勵精，勞役為士卒之先，居處同匹夫之儉。脩富民之政，務強兵之術，乘讐人之有釁，順大道而推亡。五年之間，大勳斯集。攄祖宗之宿憤，拯東夏之阽危，盛矣哉，其有成功者也。若使翌日之瘳無爽，經營之志獲申，黷武窮兵，雖見譏於良史，雄圖遠略，足方駕於前王者歟。」

家庭

妻妾

• 阿史那皇后

• 沈皇后，北周尚書左僕射沈勰之女

• 李妃，西魏柱國、隴右十二州諸軍事、行台左僕射、太尉公、隴西郡開國公李虎之女

• 李娥姿，北周宣帝宇文贇、漢王宇文贊生母

• 庫汗姬，生宇文贄、宇文允

• 馮姬，生宇文充

• 薛世婦，生宇文兌

• 鄭姬，生宇文元

• 鄭氏，原為北齊武成帝長子高綽妃，北齊滅亡後，被武帝所寵幸。與鄭姬為一人，或兩人，已不可考。

子女

• 周宣帝宇文贇，580年逝世

• 漢王宇文贊，581年被楊堅誅殺

• 秦王宇文贄，581年被楊堅誅殺

• 曹王宇文允，581年被楊堅誅殺

• 道王宇文充，581年被楊堅誅殺

• 蔡王宇文兌，581年被楊堅誅殺

• 荊王宇文元，581年被楊堅誅殺

• 清都公主，嫁閻毗

• 義陽公主，嫁儀同、禽昌縣開國公于象賢

• 皇女，僅知生于天和五年六月（570年）

影視形象