家族

斛斯椿的祖父名为斛斯延，父亲斛斯疋，鲜卑名贷敦，孝明帝时期担任左牧令，后因斛斯椿贵宠而拜扬州刺史、车骑将军、加仪同三司。

生平

斛斯椿个性善于巧言谄媚，北魏正光五年（524年）开始，六镇、河西地区乱事纷起，斛斯椿举家投靠尔朱荣，颇得尔朱荣的喜好，当时军中的机密军谋，斛斯椿皆有所筹划，孝庄帝即位之后，担任大将军府司马，封阳曲县公，曾随尔朱荣征讨葛荣、元颢，后出任东徐州刺史、征东将军。

永安三年（530年）九月，尔朱荣遭杀害，斛斯椿率部众弃州归附当时停驻在魏、梁边境的元悦，授尚书左仆射，司空公。十二月尔朱兆攻入洛阳，又归尔朱兆。后参与拥立节闵帝的计画，因此拜骠骑大将军，加开府仪同三司，封城阳郡公，尔朱氏当时专擅国权，尔朱兆、尔朱世隆、尔朱度律等人又互相猜疑，斛斯椿经常居中调解，因惧怕尔朱氏败灭后祸及于身，便和贺拔胜共谋翦除尔朱氏，斛斯椿游说尔朱世隆，招集尔朱天光等军队攻打高欢，中兴二年（532年）闰三月，高欢在韩陵击败尔朱氏军队，斛斯椿对贾显智说：「如果不先执尔朱氏，我们便死无葬身之地了。」于是和贾显智在桑下达成协议，急速赶回洛阳北中城，收捕尔朱部曲尽杀之，并俘虏尔朱天光、尔朱度律。又命其弟斛斯元寿、长孙承业、张欢、贾显智等人收尔朱世隆、彦伯兄弟，斩于洛阳阊阖门外，后执送天光、度律以及世隆兄弟首级予高欢。在杀了尔朱世隆兄弟后斛斯椿将他们的首级悬挂在自家树上，父亲斛斯足看到，对斛斯椿说：「你和尔朱氏们约为兄弟，今天何以忍心将他们的首级悬挂在家门口？难道不愧对天地！」

中兴二年（532年）四月，高欢入洛阳，斛斯椿曾与贺拔胜讨论图谋高欢，但被贺拔胜制止。由于斛斯椿先前曾数次反叛，又听闻尔朱仲远的部下桥宁、张子期在投降之后被高欢处死，内心不安，在孝武帝即位之后，与南阳王元宝炬、王思政等人密劝元修对付高欢，开始增加禁卫武官和禁军的人数，当时朝廷的军谋朝政，皆取决于斛斯椿。

永熙三年（534年），元修和高欢决裂，六月，高欢率兵自晋阳南下，当年七月，元修率十万军队屯于河桥，以斛斯椿为前锋，列阵于邙山之北。斛斯椿请兵精骑两千夜渡河流掩袭高欢，但元修害怕斛斯椿事成后会成为高欢第二，拒绝了这个建议，斛斯椿叹息说：「近来火星入于南斗，陛下又听信左右的间言，不采用我的计策，这难道是天意吗？」元修派斛斯椿、长孙稚、颍川王元斌之镇守虎牢，长孙子彦镇守陕，贾显智、斛斯元寿镇守滑台。贾显智却投降高欢，大都督侯几绍战死，东面部队混乱，高欢趁机领军渡河。元斌之先是与斛斯椿不和，于是引兵回河桥并欺骗说：「高欢兵已至！」孝武帝急命斛斯椿撤退，一同出逃投奔宇文泰。宇文泰护送元修至长安，斛斯椿跟随之。入长安后，拜官尚书令、侍中、封常山郡公。

西魏大统元年（535年），斛斯椿解尚书令，转为太保，此为宇文泰架空斛斯椿权力的手段，隔年（536年）又升为太傅，大统三年（537年）去世，享年四十三岁。元宝炬曾赐予斛斯椿数间店铺与耕牛，斛斯椿当时认为国难未平，不可与百姓争利，只接受耕牛，宰杀来犒飨将士。斛斯椿过世的时候，家无馀财。

家庭

兄弟

• 斛斯元寿，豫州刺史，封桑乾县公。

儿子

• 斛斯悦，太中大夫。

• 斛斯恢，北周散骑常侍，封新蔡郡公。

• 斛斯徵，北周大宗伯，上大将军，封岐国公。

• 斛斯演，被高欢杀害。

注释

Early career

Husi Chun was a Xianbeified Chile, and his ancestors were tribal chiefs under Northern Wei's predecessor state Dai. During the reign of Emperor Xiaoming, Husi Chun's father Husi Zu (斛斯足) was one of the directors of husbandry—a mid-low level office in the imperial administration. At that time, Northern Wei was greatly affected by agrarian rebellions, and Husi Chun decided to take his household to follow the general Erzhu Rong. He served with distinction under Erzhu, showing tactical talent, and Erzhu made him a close associate. He participated in Erzhu's later plot with Emperor Xiaoming to try to overthrow Emperor Xiaoming's mother and regent Empress Dowager Hu. After Emperor Xiaoming's plot was discovered by Empress Dowager Hu in 528, Empress Dowager Hu poisoned Emperor Xiaoming to death and made his distant nephew, the toddler Yuan Zhao, emperor. Erzhu, with Husi serving as one of his advisors, refused to recognize Yuan Zhao as emperor and instead marched on the capital Luoyang, capturing it. He threw Empress Dowager Hu and Yuan Zhao into the Yellow River to drown, and installed Yuan Ziyou the Prince of Changle as emperor. For Husi's contributions to the campaign, he was created the Duke of Yangqu, and later was made the governor of Eastern Xu Province (东徐州, part of modern Xuzhou, Jiangsu).

In 530, Emperor Xiaozhuang, believing that Erzhu Rong would eventually seize the throne, ambushed and killed him. The members of Erzhu Rong's clan, led by his wife the Princess Beixiang, his cousin Erzhu Shilong, and his nephew Erzhu Zhao, waged a campaign against Emperor Xiaozhuang. During this campaign, rival Liang Dynasty's Emperor Wu created the Wei prince Yuan Yue (元悦) the Prince of Ru'nan, a son of Emperor Xiaowen, the Prince of Wei, and commissioned an army to escort him back to Northern Wei to try to take the throne. Husi, who was fearful after Erzhu Rong's death, decided to surrender to Yuan Yue, and Yuan Yue made him his commander in chief. Later that year, however, after the Erzhus captured and killed Emperor Xiaozhuang, Yuan Yue believed that he would be unable to contend with them, and therefore retreated back to Liang. Instead of following Yuan Yue to Liang, Husi fled and submitted to Erzhu Zhao.

Involvement in the destruction of the Erzhus

In spring 531, Husi Chun participated in Erzhu Shilong's plot to depose Yuan Ye (a distant member of the imperial Yuan clan and Princess Beixiang's nephew, whom the Erzhus had declared emperor during the war against Emperor Xiaozhuang to compete with Emperor Xiaozhuang) and make Yuan Gong the Prince of Guangling, a grandson of Emperor Xianwen, emperor instead (as Emperor Jiemin), and for that participation was created the greater title of Duke of Chengyang. Husi, who became convinced that Erzhu Zhao was being overly violent and autocratic, tried to ask, along with Heba Sheng (贺拔胜), Erzhu Shilong to try to persuade Erzhu Zhao to change his ways. Erzhu Shilong refused and was displeased with the advice. He wanted to kill Husi, but Erzhu Tianguang, another prominent member of the Erzhu clan, interceded and saved Husi.

In summer 531, the general Gao Huan, believing the Erzhus to have lost popularity by their corruption, declared a rebellion, and when the Erzhu forces converged to fight him, Gao spread rumors effectively to cause the Erzhus to suspect each other of treachery. During an attempt by Erzhu Shilong's brother Erzhu Zhongyuan (尔朱仲远) to try to persuade Erzhu Zhao of good faith, Erzhu Zhongyuan sent Husi and Heba to Erzhu Zhao's camp to explain, and Erzhu Zhao detained them and wanted to kill them. Only with much pleading from both did Erzhu Zhao spare them.

After Husi and Heba returned to Luoyang, however, they began to have second thoughts about continuing to follow the Erzhus. In 532, Husi and Heba planned to have the Erzhus converge, so that they could all be destroyed at the same time—and they persuaded Erzhu Shilong to demand Erzhu Tianguang (who, as of that point, had not engaged himself into the campaign against Gao) to join them in the campaign. Subsequently, Gao defeated the combined forces of the Erzhus, and after the Erzhus' defeat, Husi and the generals Jia Xiandu (贾显度) and Jia Xianzhi (贾显智) quickly arrived back at Luoyang first and declared a revolt against the Erzhus, killing Erzhu Shilong and Erzhu Shilong's brother Erzhu Yanbo (尔朱彦伯), while capturing Erzhu Tianguang and another brother of Erzhu Shilong's, Erzhu Dulü (尔朱度律), delivering them to Gao. Gao had them beheaded.

Gao, who had declared another distant member of the Yuan clan, Yuan Lang, emperor during his rebellion against the Erzhus, now believed that due to Yuan Lang's lineage, distant from recent emperors, he was not suitable to be emperor. He flirted with the ideas of allowing Emperor Jiemin to remain emperor or making Yue Yue, whom he welcomed back from Liang, emperor, but ultimately rejected both ideas. Instead, he had Husi seek out Emperor Xiaowen's grandson Yuan Xiu the Prince of Pingyang to offer him the throne. After some persuasion by Husi and Gao, Yuan Xiu accepted the throne (as Emperor Xiaowu).

Under Emperors Xiaowu and Wen

Emperor Xiaowu came to trust Husi Chun quickly and entrusted much governmental responsibility to him. Meanwhile, Husi Chun heard that Gao Huan executed two generals—Qiao Ning (乔宁) and Zhang Ziqi (张子期) -- accusing them of having first serving the Erzhus and then betraying them. Because he himself followed that pattern, he feared that he would be next, and therefore he, along with Emperor Xiaowu's close associate Wang Sizheng (王思政), suggested Emperor Xiaowu to try to find ways to free himself of Gao's grip on power. Under Husi's suggestion, Emperor Xiaowu tried to rebuild the imperial army, selecting the best soldiers for the army. Also under his suggestion, Emperor Xiaowu endeared himself to the general Heba Yue (贺拔岳, Heba Sheng's brother), who controlled the western provinces, and further commissioned Heba Sheng with the command of the southern provinces, intending to depend on the Hebas to resist Gao.

In spring 534, after Gao persuaded Heba Yue's lieutenant Houmochen Yue (侯莫陈悦) to assassinate Heba Yue, Heba Yue's assistant Yuwen Tai took over Heba Yue's army and defeated Houmochen Yue, who committed suicide. With Husi encouraging him, Emperor Xiaowu fostered a relationship with Yuwen, planning to attack Gao with him and Heba Sheng. Gao, hearing the news, marched on Luoyang, and initially, Husi advocated resisting Gao militarily while waiting for reinforcement from Yuwen and Heba Sheng, but Emperor Xiaowu, agreeing with Wang Sizheng that the imperial army was not strong enough to resist Gao's, chose to flee west to Yuwen's territory instead, reestablishing the imperial government at Yuwen's headquarters in Chang'an. Husi followed him. Gao declared Emperor Xiaowu's distant nephew Yuan Shanjian emperor (as Emperor Xiaojing), effectively dividing the empire into Eastern Wei (with Emperor Xiaojing as emperor) and Western Wei (with Emperor Xiaowu still ruling).

Emperor Xiaowu awarded Husi's faithfulness with the greater title of Duke of Changshan and also promoted his official rank. Soon, however, Emperor Xiaowu had a fallout with Yuwen, over Yuwen's refusal to condone his incestuous relationships with his cousins and killing of one of those cousins that he had an affair with, Yuan Mingyue (元明月) the Princess Pingyang. Around the new year 535, Yuwen poisoned him to death and declared his cousin Yuan Baoju the Prince of Nanyang (the Princess Pingyang's brother) emperor (as Emperor Wen). Husi continued to serve Emperor Wen in an honorary role, but did not appear to wield much actual power, which largely rested in Yuwen's hands. He died in 537. He was given the rare honor of having the emperor personally attend his wake, and he was posthumously awarded the title of Prince of Changshan.