Background
Yuan Xiu was born in 510, as the third son of Yuan Huai (元懷) the Prince of Guangping, a son of Emperor Xiaowen and a younger brother of the then-reigning Emperor Xuanwu. His mother Lady Li was likely Yuan Huai's concubine, not his wife, although historical records were not clear on the issue. In 517, Yuan Huai died.
In Yuan Xiu's youth, he was considered to be quiet and peaceful, and he was interested in military matters. In 527, Emperor Xuanwu's son Emperor Xiaoming created Yuan Xiu the Duke of Ruyang. In 530, Emperor Xiaozhuang promoted him to the title of Prince of Pingyang.
In 532, the general Gao Huan defeated the members of the clan of the paramount general Erzhu Rong (who had overthrown and killed Emperor Xiaozhuang after Emperor Xiaozhuang killed Erzhu Rong in 530). During the campaign, Gao had declared Yuan Lang, a distant member of the imperial Yuan clan, emperor, to compete with Emperor Jiemin, whom Erzhu Rong's cousin Erzhu Shilong had made emperor. Gao, after victory, considered Yuan Lang an inappropriate choice to be emperor, given his distant relationship to the recent emperors. He considered keeping Emperor Jiemin on the throne, but decided against it when his generals Wei Lan'gen (魏蘭根) and Qiu Ling (name not in Unicode) opined that Emperor Jiemin would be difficult to control in the future; he therefore had Emperor Jiemin imprisoned. He also considered making Yuan Yue (元悅) the Prince of Ru'nan, the only surviving son of Emperor Xiaowen, whom he welcomed back from rival Liang Dynasty (where Yuan Yue had fled earlier), emperor, but later changed his mind after hearing that Yuan Yue was violent and arbitrary. At that time, the imperial princes were all largely in hiding, and Yuan Xiu was hiding at a farm. Gao's ally, the general Husi Chun, located Yuan Xiu, and Gao wanted to make Yuan Xiu emperor. After a meeting with Gao, in which Gao vowed allegiance, Yuan Xiu decided to agree. Gao therefore forced Yuan Lang to yield the throne to Yuan Xiu, who then took the throne as Emperor Xiaowu.
Read more about this topic: Emperor Xiaowu Of Northern Wei
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