The Dugu sisters were part-Xianbei, part-Han sisters of the Dugu clan who lived in the Western Wei (535–557), Northern Zhou (557–581) and Sui (581–618) dynasties of China.
The seventh sister Dugu Qieluo, in particular, was one of the most influential women in ancient China history, owing to her closeness to her husband, the Emperor Wen of Sui, throughout their 45-year monogamous marriage, and because of the power she gained from her closeness to her husband.
Out of the three dynasty changes, only the first—the usurpation of the Western Wei throne by the Yuwens—is considered a long time coming, in which the Dugus played no role.
In both Yang Jian's[3] and Li Yuan's (Emperor Gaozu of Tang) rise to power, family ties to the ruling house (through the sisters and Dugu Qieluo's daughter Yang Lihua) were important.
The Dugus were all literate (in Classical Chinese), cultivated, and pious Buddhists.