Yuan Cha

Yuan Cha (; 486 17 April 526), courtesy name Bojun (伯雋), nickname Yecha (夜叉), was an official of the Xianbei-led Northern Wei dynasty of China, who initially came to power as the brother-in-law of Emperor Xiaoming's mother and regent Empress Dowager Hu. In 520, after a conflict with her lover Yuan Yi (元懌) the Prince of Qinghe, he killed Yuan Yi and put Empress Dowager Hu under house arrest, effectively taking over as regent. In 525, a countercoup by Empress Dowager Hu restored her, and bowing to public pressure, she forced him to commit suicide.

Background Yuan Cha was the oldest son of Yuan Ji (元繼) the Prince of Jiangyang, who was a distant member of the imperial clan, whose ancestor was a son of Northern Wei's founder Emperor Daowu. while Yuan Cha's biography in the Wei Shu did not record how he was demoted to commoner status . were accused of treason, and popular opinion (including Emperor Xiaoming) favored their deaths. As such, Empress Dowager Hu agreed that the two should be forced to commit suicide, but still awarded Yuan Cha much posthumous honor.