Background

Relatively not much is known about Yuan Ye's early life. His father Yuan Yi (元怡) was a son of Tuoba Zhen (拓拔楨) the Prince of Nan'an, a brother of Emperor Wencheng and son of Tuoba Huang, Emperor Taiwu's crown prince. Tuoba Zhen's line was dishonored after Tuoba Zhen participated in a plot against Emperor Xiaowen's sinicization regime, but Yuan Yi's older brother Yuan Ying (元英) was eventually created the Prince of Zhongshan after he achieved much in the battlefield. Yuan Yi himself was said to be corrupt and violent when serving as the commanding general of the garrison at remote Shanshan (鄯善, in modern Turpan, Xinjiang), and who fled and hid after accusations of such corruption was made against him, dying while in flight sometime between 512 and 515. One of Yuan Yi's sisters married the general Erzhu Rong, and after Erzhu became the paramount general of the empire during the reign of Emperor Xiaozhuang, Yuan Yi was posthumously honored as the Prince of Fufeng.

Yuan Ye himself was not Yuan Yi's oldest son, as he had at least one older brother, Yuan Su (元肅). His mother was Lady Wei, and it is unclear whether she was Yuan Yi's wife or not. Early in Emperor Xiaozhuang's reign, probably on account of his aunt, Yuan Ye was created the Prince of Changguang and made the acting governor of Bing Province (并州, modern central Shanxi), deep in Erzhu Rong's power base. According to the Book of Wei (whose author, Wei Shou, however, might have had an incentive to defame him), he was frivolous and impatient, but physically strong, in his youth.

Becoming emperor

In fall 530, Emperor Xiaozhuang, fearful that Erzhu Rong would eventually seize the throne, ambushed him inside the palace in the capital Luoyang and killed him. Erzhu Rong's wife (Yuan Ye's aunt), along with Erzhu Rong's cousin Erzhu Shilong, fought their way out of Luoyang and headed back north, meeting up with Erzhu Rong's nephew Erzhu Zhao at Zhangzi (長子, in modern Changzhi, Shanxi). They decided to make Yuan Ye emperor, as a competing candidate for the throne against Emperor Xiaozhuang. Yuan Ye created a daughter of Erzhu Zhao empress (although it is not clear whether he had already married her previously, or only married her at that point).

Less than two months later, the Erzhu forces captured Luoyang and arrested Emperor Xiaozhuang. Emperor Xiaozhuang was subsequently delivered to Jinyang (晉陽, in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi) and killed. Meanwhile, Erzhu Shilong, believing that Yuan Ye's mother Lady Wei would exert political influence, had her assassinated, but staging the assassination to appear as a robbery. Meanwhile, Yuan Ye himself was escorted south toward Luoyang, apparently to take over the throne formally.

However, Erzhu Shilong and his brothers secretly believed that Yuan Ye was too distant in lineage from the recent emperors and lacked sufficient good reputation to be emperor. They made overtures to Yuan Gong the Prince of Guangling, a son of Emperor Xiaowen's brother Yuan Yu (元羽), forcing Yuan Gong to cooperate. When Yuan Ye arrived in Luoyang's vicinity, Erzhu Shilong forced him to yield the throne to Yuan Gong, who took the throne as Emperor Jiemin. (Erzhu Zhao, who was not involved in Erzhu Shilong's plot to replace Yuan Ye with Emperor Jiemin, was initially angered and considered attacking Erzhu Shilong, but calmed down after Erzhu Shilong sent his brother Erzhu Yanbo (爾朱彥伯) to explain the reasoning, and Erzhu Zhao did not carry out any further actions to try to restore Yuan Ye as emperor.)

After removal

Emperor Jiemin created Yuan Ye the Prince of Donghai, a greater title than his original title of Prince of Changguang, and generally treated him with respect. However, Emperor Jiemin lacked much actual power, and the Erzhus remained in control of most of governmental and military affairs, drawing ire from the people for their corruption. The general Gao Huan declared a rebellion against the Erzhus in 531 and declared another member of the imperial clan, Yuan Lang, emperor. By 532, Gao had defeated the Erzhus and imprisoned Emperor Jiemin. Because Yuan Lang was also distant from the lineage of recent emperors, Gao then removed him and replaced him with Yuan Xiu the Prince of Pingyang, a son of Yuan Huai (元懷), a son of Emperor Xiaowen, and Yuan Xiu took the throne as Emperor Xiaowu. In summer 532, Emperor Xiaowu first put Emperor Jiemin to death by poisoning. In winter 532, he similarly put Yuan Ye and Yuan Lang to death, probably by forcing them to commit suicide by poison. Yuan Ye died and his title of Prince of Donghai was not inherited by anyone.

Era name

• Jianming (建明 jiàn míng) 530-531

Family

Consorts and Issue:

• Princess consort, of the Erzhu clan (王妃 爾朱氏)

• Unknown

　• Yuan Liang, Marquis Jinyang (晉陽侯 元良)

Ancestry

生平

元曄性格輕浮急躁，有體力，以秘書郎為起家官，略微升遷至通直散騎常侍。建義元年四月甲辰（528年5月21日），魏孝莊帝元子攸封秘書郎中元曄為長廣王，食邑一千戶，外任太原郡太守，代理并州刺史。爾朱榮死後，爾朱世隆逃回并州的建興郡高都縣，爾朱兆從晉陽縣前來匯合，于是在永安三年十月壬申（530年12月5日）推舉爾朱榮妻北鄉公主的侄子元曄為皇帝，大赦所管轄的地區，年號建明，所有官員加四級。元曄小名盆子，聽說此事的人都認為類似赤眉軍之事。

建明元年十二月戊申（531年1月10日），元曄在攻克洛陽後大赦天下。爾朱世隆與兄弟密謀，擔心元曄的母親衛氏幹預朝政，觀察衛氏出行，派遣數十騎兵裝扮成劫匪，在京城小巷子裡殺死了衛氏。公家和私人都感到驚愕，不知道什麼原因。很快又張貼公告懸賞，以一千萬錢懸賞劫匪。百姓知道後，沒有不垂頭喪氣的。爾朱世隆很快認為元曄是北魏宗室遠支，又不是眾望所推的人，想要推舉宗室近支廣陵王元恭為皇帝。建明元年春二月己巳（531年4月1日），元曄前往邙山南，爾朱世隆等人在洛陽東城外奉迎廣陵王元恭，爾朱世隆等人寫好禪讓的冊文，以泰山郡太守竇瑗執馬鞭進入行宮，啟奏元曄說：「上天和百姓的願望，都在廣陵王身上，請實行堯舜禪讓的禮儀。」元曄因此退位。

魏節閔帝元恭登基後，于普泰元年三月癸酉（531年4月5日）封元曄為東海王，食邑一萬戶。太昌元年十一月甲辰（532年12月26日），安定王元朗和元曄在家中被賜令自殺。元曄的爵位被削除。

家庭

母親

• 衛氏

兄弟

• 元肅，北魏驃騎大將軍、太師、魯郡王

夫人

• 爾朱皇后，北魏大將軍、潁川王爾朱兆之女

兒子

• 拓跋良，北周散騎常侍、開府儀同三司、直閣將軍、金紫光祿大夫、太子僕、並恆二州諸軍事、二州刺史、晉陽縣開國侯