1
列傳第二后妃下○睿宗欽慈皇后睿宗貞懿皇后世宗昭德皇后世宗元妃張氏世宗元妃李氏顯宗孝懿皇后顯宗昭聖皇后章宗欽懷皇后章宗元妃李氏衛紹王后徒單氏宣宗皇后王氏宣宗明惠皇后哀宗徒單皇后
Biographies 2 — Empresses and Consorts (Part 2): Empress Qinci of Emperor Ruizong; Empress Zhenyi of Emperor Ruizong; Empress Zhaode of Emperor Shizong; First Consort Zhang of Emperor Shizong; First Consort Li of Emperor Shizong; Empress Xiaoyi of Emperor Xianzong; Empress Zhaosheng of Emperor Xianzong; Empress Qinhuai of Emperor Zhangzong; First Consort Li of Emperor Zhangzong; Queen Tudan of Emperor Weishao; Empress Wang of Emperor Xuanzong; Empress Minghui of Emperor Xuanzong; and Empress Tudan of Emperor Aizong
2
睿宗欽慈皇后
Empress Qinci of Emperor Ruizong
3
世宗嘗曰：「今之女直，不比前輩，雖親戚世敘，亦不能知其詳。 太后之母，太祖之妹，人亦不能知也。」 謂宗敘曰：「亦是卿父譚王之妹，知之乎？」 宗敘曰：「臣不能知也。」 上曰：「父之妹且不知，其如疏遠何」。 十九年，后族人勸農使莎魯窩請致仕，宰相以莎魯窩未嘗曆外，請除一外官，以均勞佚。 上曰：「莎魯窩不閑政事，不可使治民。 雖太后戚屬，富貴之可也。」 不聽。
Emperor Shizong once remarked, "Jurchen women today are not like those of earlier times—even when kinship is traced generation by generation, the particulars still cannot be known. The Empress Dowager's mother was Emperor Taizu's younger sister, and even that was unknown to most." He asked Zongxu, "She was also your father Prince Tan's younger sister—did you know?" Zongxu replied, "I did not know, Your Majesty." The Emperor said, "If you do not even know your father's younger sister, what hope is there for more distant kin?" In the nineteenth year of his reign, Shaluguo of the empress's clan, who held the post of Commissioner for Encouraging Agriculture, asked to retire. The chief ministers observed that he had never served outside the capital and proposed appointing him to an outside office so that duties and leisure might be fairly distributed. The Emperor said, "Shaluguo is unversed in statecraft and must not be entrusted with governing the people. Though he is kin to the Empress Dowager, it is enough that he enjoy wealth and rank." He would not hear of it.
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睿宗貞懿皇后
Empress Zhenyi of Emperor Ruizong
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貞懿皇后，李氏，世宗母，遼陽人。 父雛訛只，仕遼，官至桂州觀察使。 天輔間，選東京士族女子有姿德者赴上京，后入睿宗邸。 七年，世宗生。 天會十三年，睿宗薨，世宗時年十三。 后教之有義方，嘗密謂所親曰：「吾兒有奇相，貴不可言。」 居上京，內治謹嚴，臧獲皆守規矩，衣服飲食器皿無不精潔，敦睦親族，周給貧乏，宗室中甚敬之。 后性明敏，剛正有決，容貌端整，言不妄發。
Empress Zhenyi, née Li, was Emperor Shizong's mother and a native of Liaoyang. Her father Chuezhi had served the Liao dynasty and risen to Military Commissioner of Guizhou. During the Tianfu era, women of good birth in the Eastern Capital who possessed both beauty and virtue were chosen and sent to the Supreme Capital; she entered the household of Emperor Ruizong. In the seventh year she bore Emperor Shizong. In the thirteenth year of Tianhui, Emperor Ruizong died; Emperor Shizong was then thirteen years old. The empress raised him with sound principles and once confided to those close to her, "My son bears an extraordinary countenance—his destiny is beyond words." While living in the Supreme Capital she ran the inner household with strict discipline; every servant observed the rules; clothing, food, drink, and utensils were kept immaculate; she was dutiful toward kin and generous to the needy; and the imperial clan held her in the highest regard. She was quick-witted, upright, and decisive, with a composed bearing and a tongue that never spoke lightly.
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舊俗，婦女寡居，宗族接續之。 后乃祝發為比丘尼，號通慧圓明大師，賜紫衣，歸遼陽，營建清安禪寺，別為尼院居之。 貞元三年，世宗為東京留守。 正隆六年五月，后卒。 世宗哀毀過禮，以喪去官。 未幾，起複為留守。 是歲十月，后弟李石定策，世宗即位于東京，尊諡為貞懿皇后，其寢園曰孝甯宮。
By old custom, when a woman was widowed the clan would take her in levirate marriage. The empress instead tonsured her hair and became a Buddhist nun, taking the religious name Great Master Tonghui Yuanming; she was granted purple robes, returned to Liaoyang, founded Qing'an Chan Monastery, and had a separate nunnery built for her residence. In the third year of Zhenyuan, Emperor Shizong was appointed Military Governor of the Eastern Capital. In the fifth month of the sixth year of Zhenglong she died. Emperor Shizong's grief exceeded what ritual prescribed, and he resigned his post to observe mourning. Before long he was recalled from mourning and reappointed Military Governor. That October her younger brother Li Shi masterminded the coup; Emperor Shizong ascended the throne in the Eastern Capital, posthumously honored her as Empress Zhenyi, and named her resting place Xiaoning Palace.
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大定二年，改葬睿宗于景陵。 初，后自建浮圖于遼陽，是為垂慶寺，臨終謂世宗曰：「鄉土之念，人情所同，吾已用浮屠法置塔於此，不必合葬也。 我死，毋忘此言。」 世宗深念遺命，乃即東京清安寺建神禦殿，詔有司增大舊塔，起奉茲殿於塔前。 敕禮部尚書王競為塔銘以敘其意。 贈后曾祖參君司空、潞國公，祖波司徒、衛國公，父雛訛只太尉、隋國公。 四年，封后妹為邢國夫人，賜銀千兩、錦綺二十端、絹五百匹。 九年，神禦殿名曰報德殿。 詔翰林學士張景仁作《清安寺碑》，其文不稱旨，詔左丞石琚共修之。 十三年，東京垂慶寺起神禦殿，寺地褊狹，詔賈傍近民地，優與其直，不願鬻者以官地易之。 二十四年，世宗至東京，幸清安、垂慶寺。
In the second year of Dading, Emperor Ruizong was reinterred at Jingling. Earlier she had built a stūpa at Liaoyang, which became Chuaiqing Monastery. On her deathbed she told Emperor Shizong, "Longing for one's homeland is universal; I have already raised a tower here by Buddhist rite—there is no need for us to be buried together. When I am gone, do not forget what I have said." Emperor Shizong held her last wish close at heart. At Qing'an Monastery in the Eastern Capital he built a Spirit Tablet Hall, ordered officials to enlarge the old tower, and raised the hall for worship before it. He charged Minister of Rites Wang Jing with composing a tower inscription to record her intent. He posthumously ennobled her great-grandfather Canjun as Grand Preceptor and Duke of Lu, her grandfather Bo as Minister of Education and Duke of Wei, and her father Chuezhi as Grand Marshal and Duke of Sui. In the fourth year he enfeoffed her younger sister as Lady of Xing State and bestowed one thousand taels of silver, twenty bolts of brocade silk, and five hundred bolts of plain silk. In the ninth year the Spirit Tablet Hall was named the Hall of Repaying Virtue. He ordered Academician Zhang Jingren to compose the Stele of Qing'an Monastery; when the draft did not please him, he charged Left Vice Censor-in-Chief Shi Ju to revise it jointly. In the thirteenth year a Spirit Tablet Hall was raised at Chuaiqing Monastery in the Eastern Capital; the grounds were cramped, so an edict ordered the purchase of neighboring private land at favorable prices, and those unwilling to sell were given official land in exchange. In the twenty-fourth year Emperor Shizong traveled to the Eastern Capital and visited Qing'an and Chuaiqing monasteries.
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世宗昭德皇后
Empress Zhaode of Emperor Shizong
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世宗昭德皇后。 烏林荅[1]氏，其先居羅伊河[2]，世為烏林荅部長，率部族來歸，居上京，與本朝為婚姻家。 曾祖勝管[3]，康宗時累使高麗。 父石土黑[4]，騎射絕倫，從太祖伐遼，領行軍猛安[5]。 雖在行伍間，不嗜殺人。 以功授世襲謀克，為東京留守。
Empress Zhaode of Emperor Shizong. She was of the Wulindá clan. Her ancestors had lived on the Luoyi River and for generations had been chiefs of the Wulindá tribe; they led their people to submit, settled in the Supreme Capital, and became a marriage-alliance kin of the dynasty. Her great-grandfather Shengguan had served repeatedly as envoy to Goryeo under Emperor Kang. Her father Shituhei was unrivaled in horsemanship and archery; he followed Emperor Taizu against the Liao and commanded a field meng'an. Even amid the ranks of war he took no pleasure in killing. For his merit he was granted a hereditary meng'an and appointed Military Governor of the Eastern Capital.
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后聰敏孝慈，容儀整肅，在父母家，宗族皆敬重之。 既歸世宗，事舅姑孝謹，治家有敘，甚得婦道。 睿宗伐宋，得白玉帶，蓋帝王之服禦也。 睿宗沒後，世宗寶畜之。 后謂世宗曰：「此非王邸所宜有也，當獻之天子。」 世宗以為然，獻之熙宗，於是悼后大喜。 熙宗晚年頗酗酒，獨于世宗無間然。
The empress was quick-witted, filial, and compassionate, with a composed bearing; in her parents' household the entire clan held her in esteem. After she married Emperor Shizong she served her parents-in-law with filial devotion, kept the household in good order, and fully embodied the duties of a wife. When Emperor Ruizong campaigned against Song he captured a white jade belt—the sort of regalia reserved for emperors. After Emperor Ruizong's death, Emperor Shizong kept it as a treasured heirloom. The empress told Emperor Shizong, "A princely household ought not keep such a thing—it should be presented to the Son of Heaven." Emperor Shizong agreed and presented it to Emperor Xizong, and Empress Dao was greatly pleased. In his later years Emperor Xizong drank heavily, yet toward Emperor Shizong alone he showed no estrangement.
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海陵篡立，深忌宗室。 烏帶譖秉德以為意在葛王。 秉德誅死，后勸世宗多獻珍異以說其心，如故遼骨睹犀佩刀、吐鶻良玉茶器之類，皆奇寶也。 海陵以世宗恭順畏己，由是忌刻之心頗解。
When Emperor Hailing seized the throne he deeply feared the imperial clan. Wudai slandered Bingde, alleging that his loyalty lay with Prince Ge. Bingde was executed. The empress urged Emperor Shizong to win Hailing over with rare gifts—the old Liao bone-tu rhinoceros-horn belt knife, touhu fine-jade tea vessels, and the like, all extraordinary treasures. Seeing Emperor Shizong respectful and fearful of him, Hailing's jealous suspicion eased somewhat.
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后不妒忌，為世宗擇后房，廣繼嗣，雖顯宗生後而此心不移。 后嘗有疾，世宗為視醫藥，數日不離去。 后曰：「大王視妾過厚，其知者以為視疾，不知者必有專妒之嫌。」 又曰：「婦道以正家為大，第恐德薄，無補內治，安能效嬪妾所為，惟欲己厚也。」
The empress was free of jealousy; she chose consorts for Emperor Shizong to broaden the line of succession, and even after Emperor Xianzong was born her purpose did not waver. When she once fell ill, Emperor Shizong personally saw to her medicine and for several days did not leave her side. The empress said, "Your Highness shows me too much favor; those who understand will call it nursing an illness, but those who do not will suspect possessive jealousy." She added, "A wife's duty is above all to set the household right; I only fear my virtue is too slight to aid inner governance—how could I imitate what concubines do and seek only my own advantage?"
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世宗在濟南，海陵召后來中都。 后念若身死濟南，海陵必殺世宗，惟奉詔，去濟南而死，世宗可以免。 謂世宗曰：「我當自勉，不可累大王也。」 召王府臣僕張僅言諭之曰：「汝，王之腹心人也。 為我禱諸東嶽，我不負王，使皇天后土明鑒我心。」 召家人謂之曰：「我自初年為婦以至今日，未嘗見王有違道之事。 今宗室往往被疑者，皆奴僕不良，傲恨其主，以誣陷之耳。 汝等皆先國王時舊人，當念舊恩，無或妄圖也。 違此言者，我死後於冥中觀汝所為。」 眾皆泣下。 后既離濟南，從行者知后必不肯見海陵，將自為之所，防護甚謹。 行至良鄉，去中都七十裏，從行者防之稍緩，后得間即自殺。 海陵猶疑世宗教之使然。
While Emperor Shizong was in Jinan, Emperor Hailing summoned the empress to the Central Capital. The empress reasoned that if she died in Jinan, Hailing would surely kill Emperor Shizong; only by obeying the summons, leaving Jinan, and dying elsewhere could her husband be spared. She told Emperor Shizong, "I shall do my utmost on my own and must not bring trouble upon you." She summoned the prince's retainer Zhang Jinyan and told him, "You are the prince's trusted man. Pray for me at Mount Tai. I have not failed the prince—let Heaven and Earth bear witness to my heart." She gathered the household and said, "From the day I became his wife until now, I have never seen the prince do anything unworthy. Those of the imperial clan who are now so often suspected are victims of wicked servants who, proud and resentful toward their masters, slander and entrap them. You are all old retainers from the former prince's household; remember his kindness and harbor no reckless designs. Whoever violates these words—after my death I shall watch what you do from the nether world." All wept. After she left Jinan, her escorts knew she would never submit to Hailing and would take her own course; they guarded her very strictly. At Liangxiang, seventy li from the Central Capital, the escorts' vigilance slackened; she seized the moment and took her own life. Hailing still suspected that Emperor Shizong had instructed her to do it.
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世宗自濟南改西京留守，過良鄉，使魯國公主葬后於宛平縣土魯原。 大定二年，追冊為昭德皇后，立別廟。 贈三代，曾祖勝管司空、徐國公，曾祖母完顏氏徐國夫人，祖術思黑[6]司徒、代國公，祖母完顏氏，代國夫人，父石土黑太尉、瀋國公，母完顏氏瀋國夫人。 敕有司改葬，命皇太子致奠。 以后兄暉子天錫為太尉，石土黑後授世襲猛安。 上謂天錫曰：「朕四五歲時與皇后訂婚，乃祖太尉置朕于膝上曰：'吾婿七人，此婿最幼，後來必大吾門。 '今卜葬有期，疇昔之言驗矣。」
When Emperor Shizong was transferred from Jinan to Military Governor of the Western Capital and passed Liangxiang, he had the Princess of Lu State bury the empress at Tulu Plain in Wanping County. In the second year of Dading she was posthumously enfeoffed as Empress Zhaode and given a separate ancestral temple. Three generations were ennobled: her great-grandfather Shengguan as Grand Preceptor and Duke of Xu, her great-grandmother née Wanyan as Lady of Xu State, her grandfather Shusihei as Minister of Education and Duke of Dai, her grandmother née Wanyan as Lady of Dai State, her father Shituhei as Grand Marshal and Duke of Shen, and her mother née Wanyan as Lady of Shen State. He ordered officials to reinter her and commanded the Crown Prince to offer libations. He appointed the empress's nephew Tiansi, son of her elder brother's son Hui, as Grand Marshal; after Shituhei the hereditary meng'an passed to his heirs. The Emperor told Tiansi, "When I was four or five I was betrothed to the empress. Her grandfather the Grand Marshal set me on his knee and said, 'I have seven sons-in-law; this one is the youngest—later he will surely enlarge my house. Now that her burial is at hand, his words of long ago have come true."
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六年，利涉軍節度副使烏林荅鈔兀[7]捕逃軍受贓，當殆。 有司奏，鈔兀，后大功親，當議。 詔論如法。
In the sixth year, Wulindá Chaowu, Vice Military Commissioner of Lishes Army, accepted bribes while capturing deserters and faced the death penalty. Officials memorialized that Chaowu was a relative of the empress within the degree of dagong and that the case warranted deliberation. An edict ordered that he be judged according to law.
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八年七月，章宗上，世宗喜甚。 謂顯宗曰：「得社稷塚嗣，朕樂何極。 此皇后貽爾以陰德也。」
In the seventh month of the eighth year Zhangzong was born, and Emperor Shizong was overjoyed. He told Emperor Xianzong, "To have secured the heir of the altars of state—my joy knows no bounds. This is the hidden virtue the empress bequeathed to you."
17
十年十月，將改葬太尉石土黑，有司奏禮儀，援唐葬太尉李良器、司徒馬燧故事，百官便服送至都門外五裏。 上曰：「前改葬太后父母，未嘗用此故事。 但以本朝禮改葬之，惟親戚皆送。」 詔皇太子臨奠。
In the tenth month of the tenth year, as Grand Marshal Shituhei was to be reinterred, officials memorialized on ritual, citing Tang precedents for the burials of Grand Marshal Li Liangqi and Minister of Education Ma Sui: all officials in ordinary dress were to escort the coffin five li beyond the capital gate. The Emperor said, "When the Empress Dowager's parents were reinterred earlier, this precedent was not followed. Follow only our dynasty's rites for reburial; let kin alone escort the coffin." He ordered the Crown Prince to offer libations on site.
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十一年，皇太子生日，世宗宴於東宮。 酒酣，命豫國公主起舞。 上流涕曰：「此女之母皇后，婦道至矣。 朕所以不立中宮者，念皇后之德今無其比故也。」
In the eleventh year, on the Crown Prince's birthday, Emperor Shizong held a feast at the Eastern Palace. When the wine had warmed them, he commanded the Princess of Yu State to dance. The Emperor wept and said, "This girl's mother the empress embodied the duties of a wife to the utmost. The reason I have not installed a new empress is that I reflect on her virtue—for now there is none to compare with her."
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十二年四月，立皇后別廟于太廟東北隅。 是歲五月，車駕幸士魯原致奠。 十九年，改卜於大房山。 十一月甲寅，皇后梓宮至近郊，百官奉迎。 乙卯，車駕如楊村致祭。 丙辰，上登車送，哭之慟。 戊午，奉安于磐甯宮。 庚申，葬於坤厚陵，諸妃祔焉。 二十九年，祔葬興陵。 章宗時，有司奏太祖諡有「昭德」字，改諡明德皇后。
In the fourth month of the twelfth year a separate temple for the empress was established at the northeast corner of the Imperial Ancestral Temple. That May the imperial carriage visited Tulu Plain to offer libations. In the nineteenth year the burial site was moved to Mount Dafang. On jiayin day of the eleventh month the empress's coffin reached the suburbs, and all officials came forth to welcome it. On yimao day the imperial carriage went to Yang Village to offer sacrifice. On bingchen day the Emperor mounted his carriage to escort her and wept with deep grief. On wuwu day she was installed for repose at Panning Palace. On gengshen day she was buried at Kunhou Mausoleum, with all consorts enshrined there beside her. In the twenty-ninth year she was jointly buried at Xingling. Under Emperor Zhangzong, officials memorialized that Emperor Taizu's posthumous title contained the character "Zhaode," and her title was changed to Empress Mingde.
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世宗元妃張氏
First Consort Zhang of Emperor Shizong
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元妃張氏，父玄征。 母高氏，與世宗母貞懿皇后葭莩親。 世宗納為次室，生趙王永中，而張氏卒。 大定二年，追封宸妃。 是歲十月，追進惠妃。 十九年，追進元妃。
First Consort Zhang; her father was Xuanzheng. Her mother was of the Gao clan, related by marriage to Emperor Shizong's mother Empress Zhenyi. Emperor Shizong took her as secondary consort; she bore Prince Zhao Yongzhong, then died. In the second year of Dading she was posthumously enfeoffed as Noble Consort. That October she was further advanced to Kind Consort. In the nineteenth year she was further advanced to First Consort.
22
大定二十五年，皇太子薨。 永中于諸子最長，而世宗與徒單克甯議立章宗為太孫。 世宗嘗曰：「克寧與永中有親，而建議立太孫，真社會稷臣也。」 尚書左丞汝弼者，玄征子，永中每舅。 汝弼妻高陀斡屢以邪言怵永中，畫元妃像，朝夕事之，覬望徼福，及挾左道。 明昌五年，高陀斡誅死，事連汝弼及永中，汝弼以死後事覺，得不追削官爵，而章宗心疑永中，累年不釋。 諫官賈守謙、路鐸上疏欲寬解上意，章宗愈不悅。 平章政事完顏守貞持其事不肯決，章宗怒守貞，罷知濟南府，諸諫官皆斥外，賜永中死。 金代外戚之禍，惟張氏雲。
In the twenty-fifth year of Dading the Crown Prince died. Yongzhong was the eldest son, yet Emperor Shizong and Tudan Kening decided to establish Zhangzong as Imperial Grandson. Emperor Shizong once said, "Kening is kin to Yongzhong, yet he proposed establishing the Imperial Grandson—a true minister of altars and state." Left Vice Minister Rubi was Xuanzheng's son and Yongzhong's maternal uncle. Rubi's wife Gaotuowo repeatedly alarmed Yongzhong with heterodox talk, painted an image of the First Consort and worshipped it morning and evening in hope of blessing, and practiced sorcery as well. In the fifth year of Mingchang Gaotuowo was executed; the affair implicated Rubi and Yongzhong. Because Rubi's crimes came to light only after his death, his titles were not posthumously stripped, but Emperor Zhangzong harbored suspicion of Yongzhong for many years. Remonstrating officials Jia Shouqian and Lu Duo memorialized hoping to ease the Emperor's mind; Zhangzong was all the more displeased. Chief Councilor Wanyan Shouzhen refused to decide the case; Zhangzong was angry with him, dismissed him to govern Jinan Prefecture, expelled all the remonstrators to outside posts, and ordered Yongzhong to die. Of the calamities wrought by maternal kin in the Jin dynasty, only the Zhang clan is spoken of in this way.
23
世宗元妃李氏
First Consort Li of Emperor Shizong
24
大定二十一年二月，上如春水，次長春宮。 戊子，妃以疾薨。 詔允成、允蹈、允濟、允德皆服衰絰居喪。 己丑，皇太子及扈從臣僚，奉慰於芳明殿。 辛卯，留守官平章政事唐括安禮、曹王允功等上表奉慰。 禦史中丞張九思提控殯事，少府監左光慶、大興少尹王翛典領鹵簿儀仗。 宮籍監別治殯所，還殯京師。 乙未，入自崇智門，百官郊迎，親戚迎奠道路，殯于興德宮西位別室。 庚子，上至京師，幸興德宮致奠。 此葬，三致尊焉。 詔平章政事烏古論元忠監護葬事。 癸未，啟取，上輟朝。 皇太子、親王、宗戚、百官送葬。 甲申，葬于海王莊。 丙戌，上如海王莊燒飯。 二十八年九月，與賢妃石抹氏、德妃徒單氏、柔妃大氏俱陪葬於坤厚陵。 衛紹王即位，追諡光獻皇后，贈妃弟獻可特進。 貞祐三年九月，削皇后號。
In the second month of the twenty-first year of Dading the Emperor went to the spring hunt and halted at Changchun Palace. On wuzi day the consort died of illness. An edict ordered Yuncheng, Yunchao, Yunji, and Yunde all to wear hemp mourning and observe funeral rites. On jichou day the Crown Prince and accompanying officials offered condolences at Fangming Hall. On xinmao day the officials left behind—Chief Councilor Tangguo Anli and Prince of Cao Yungong among others—submitted a memorial offering condolences. Censor-in-Chief Zhang Jiusi supervised the funeral arrangements; Director of the Palace Storehouses Zuo Guangqing and Vice Magistrate of Daxing Wang Xiao directed the funeral escort and ceremonial regalia. The Palace Registry Office prepared a separate funeral site and returned the coffin to the capital. On yiwei day, entering by Chongzhi Gate, all officials welcomed her at the suburbs; kin offered libations along the road; the coffin lay in a separate chamber at the western wing of Xingde Palace. On gengzi day the Emperor reached the capital and visited Xingde Palace to offer libations. For this burial he showed utmost honor three times. He ordered Chief Councilor Wugulun Yuanzhong to supervise the burial. On guiwei day, when the coffin was opened for removal, the Emperor suspended court. The Crown Prince, imperial princes, clan kin, and all officials escorted the burial. On jiashen day she was buried at Haiwang Manor. On bingxu day the Emperor went to Haiwang Manor to offer burnt food at the grave. In the ninth month of the twenty-eighth year she was jointly buried at Kunhou Mausoleum together with Virtuous Consort Shimoshi, Virtuous Consort Tudan, and Gentle Consort Dashi. When Emperor Weishao took the throne, she was posthumously titled Empress Guangxian; the consort's younger brother Xiank was granted Special Advancement. In the ninth month of the third year of Zhenyou her empress title was stripped.
25
顯宗孝懿皇后
Empress Xiaoyi of Emperor Xianzong
26
顯宗孝懿皇后，徒單[8]氏。 其先忒裏辟刺[9]人也。 曾祖抄[10]，從太祖取遼有功，命以所部為猛安，世襲之。 祖婆盧火[11]，以戰功多，累官開府儀同三司，贈司徒、齊國公。 父貞，尚遼王宗幹女梁國公主，加駙馬都尉，贈太師、廣平郡王。
Empress Xiaoyi of Emperor Xianzong was of the Tudan clan. Her forebears were people of Telipici. Her great-grandfather Chao followed Emperor Taizu in the conquest of Liao with merit and was ordered to make his command a hereditary meng'an. Her grandfather Poluhuo, for many military achievements, rose to Grand Master of Splendid Happiness Bearing the Golden Pocket with Purse Set and was posthumously granted Minister of Education and Duke of Qi. Her father Zhen married the Princess of Liang State, daughter of Liao Prince Zonggan, was made Commandant Escorting the Imperial Son-in-Law, and was posthumously granted Grand Preceptor and Prince of Guangping Commandery.
27
后以皇統七年生於遼陽。 母夢神人授以寶珠，光焰滿室，既寤而生，紅光燭於庭。 后性莊重寡言，父母嘗令總家事，細大畢辦，諸男不及也。
The empress was born in Liaoyang in the seventh year of Huangtong. Her mother dreamed that a divine being gave her a precious pearl and radiance filled the room; when she awoke she gave birth, and red light illuminated the courtyard. She was dignified and sparing of words; her parents once put her in charge of the household, and great and small matters she handled completely—better than any of her brothers.
28
世宗初即位，貞為御史大夫，自南京馳見。 世宗喜謂之曰：「卿雖廢主腹心臣，然未嘗助彼為虐，況卿家法可尚，其以卿女為朕子妃。」 及顯宗為皇太子，大定四年九月，備禮親迎于貞弟。 世宗臨宴，盡歡而罷。 是年十一月，顯宗生辰，初封為皇太子妃。
When Emperor Shizong first took the throne, Zhen was Censor-in-Chief and galloped from the Southern Capital to see him. Emperor Shizong said to him with pleasure, "Though you were a trusted minister of the deposed ruler, you never aided him in cruelty; moreover your family's standards are worthy of esteem—let your daughter become my son's consort." When Emperor Xianzong became Crown Prince, in the ninth month of the fourth year of Dading the full rites of personal welcome were performed at Zhen's younger brother's residence. Emperor Shizong attended the feast and dismissed it only when all had rejoiced to the full. That November, on Emperor Xianzong's birthday, she was first enfeoffed as Crown Princess Consort.
29
八年七月，上遣宣徽使移刺神獨斡以名馬、寶刀、禦饍賜太子及妃，仍諭之曰：「妃今臨蓐，願平安得雄。 有慶之後，宜以此刀置左右。」 既而皇孫生，是為章宗。 時上幸金蓮川，次冰井，翌日，上臨幸撫視，宴甚歡。 又賜禦服佩刀等物，謂顯宗曰：「祖宗積慶，且皇后陰德至厚，而有今日，社稷之洪福也。」 又謂李石、紇石烈志寧曰：「朕諸子雖多，皇后止有太子一人而已。 今幸得嫡孫，觀其骨相不凡，又生麻達葛山，山勢衍氣清，朕甚嘉之。」 因以山名為章宗小字。
In the seventh month of the eighth year the Emperor sent Palace Commissioner Yila Shenduwo with famous horses, precious swords, and imperial viands for the Crown Prince and consort, and instructed them, "The consort is near childbirth; may she be safe and bear a son. After the happy event, keep this sword at hand." Shortly afterward the imperial grandson was born—this was Emperor Zhangzong. At the time the Emperor was at Jinlianchuan and halted at Bingjing; the next day he visited in person to comfort them and feasted with great joy. He further bestowed imperial garments, belt swords, and the like, and told Emperor Xianzong, "Our ancestors' accumulated blessing, and the empress's hidden virtue so deep—hence this day; it is the great fortune of altars and state." He also told Li Shi and Hesilie Zhining, "Though I have many sons, the empress has borne only the Crown Prince. Now we are fortunate to have a legitimate grandson; his bone structure is extraordinary, and he was born at Mount Madage, whose contours extend and whose qi is clear—I greatly commend this." Thereupon he took the mountain's name as Zhangzong's childhood name.
30
后素謙謹，每畏其家世崇寵，見父母流涕而言曰：「高明之家，古人所忌，願善自保持。」 其後，家果以海陵事敗，盡其遠慮如此。 世宗嘗謂諸王妃、公主曰：「皇太子妃容止合度，服飾得中，爾等當法效之。」 章宗即位，尊為皇太后，更所居仁壽宮名曰隆慶宮。 詔有司歲奉金千兩、銀五千兩、重幣五百端、絹二千疋、綿二萬兩、布五百疋、錢五萬貫。 他所應用，內庫奉之，毋拘其數。
The empress was always modest and cautious, ever fearing her family's exalted favor; seeing her parents she wept and said, "Households of lofty eminence are what the ancients dreaded—may you preserve yourselves well." Later the family indeed fell through the affair of Emperor Hailing—her far-sightedness was complete. Emperor Shizong once told the various princes' consorts and princesses, "The Crown Princess Consort's bearing is fitting and her dress moderate—you should take her as your model." When Emperor Zhangzong took the throne she was honored as Empress Dowager; her residence Renshou Palace was renamed Longqing Palace. An edict ordered officials yearly to present one thousand taels of gold, five thousand taels of silver, five hundred bolts of heavy silks, two thousand bolts of plain silk, twenty thousand taels of cotton, five hundred bolts of cloth, and fifty thousand strings of cash. Whatever else she needed, the inner treasury supplied without limit.
31
上月或五朝六朝，而后愈加敬儉，見諸大長公主，禮如平時，惇睦九族，恩紀皆合。 尤惡聞人過，諛佞之言無所得入。 恕以容物，未嘗見喜慍。 然禦下公平，雖至親無所阿徇。 嘗誡諸侄曰：「皇帝以我故，乃推恩外家，當盡忠圖報。 勿謂小善為無益而弗為，小惡為無傷而弗去。 毋藉吾之貴，輒肆非違，以幹國家常憲。」 一日，妹並國夫人、嫂涇國夫人等侍側，因諭之曰：「爾家累素重，且非豐厚，宜節約財用，勿以吾為可恃。 吾受天下之養，豈有所私積哉。 況財用者，天下之財用也。 吾終不能多取以富爾之私室。」 家人有以玉盂進者，卻之，且曰：「貴異物而殫財用，非我所欲也。 況我之賜予有度，今爾以此為獻，何以自給。 徒費汝財，我實無用，後勿複爾。」 明昌元年，禮官議以五月奉上冊寶，后弗許。 上屢為之請，后曰：「今世宗服未終，遽衣錦繡、佩珠玉，于禮何安。 當俟服闋行之。」 上諭有司曰：「太后執意甚堅，其待來年。」 明昌二年正月，崩于隆慶宮，年四十五。 諡曰孝懿，祔葬裕陵。
The Emperor visited her five or six times a month, yet she became all the more respectful and frugal; meeting the senior grand princesses she showed the same courtesy as always; she was warm to the nine clans and her bonds of kindness were all in accord. She especially hated hearing of others' faults; flattering words found no entry. She forgave and accommodated others and was never seen pleased or angry. Yet in governing subordinates she was fair; even toward the closest kin she showed no partiality. She once admonished her nephews, "The Emperor extends favor to our kin because of me—you must serve with full loyalty. Do not think a small good is without benefit and fail to do it; do not think a small evil is without harm and fail to remove it. Do not rely on my exalted status and recklessly commit wrongdoing, thereby violating the dynasty's standing statutes." One day her younger sister the Lady of Bing State, her sister-in-law the Lady of Jing State, and others attended at her side; she told them, "Your family burdens have always been heavy and your means are not ample—economize your wealth and do not think me someone to be relied upon. I receive the empire's sustenance—how could I have private accumulations? Moreover wealth is the empire's wealth. I cannot take more to enrich your private households." When a family member presented a jade bowl, she refused it and said, "Valuing rare objects and exhausting wealth is not what I desire. Moreover my gifts are measured; now you offer this—how will you support yourselves? You waste only your wealth; I have no use for it—do not do this again." In the first year of Mingchang ritual officials proposed presenting the seal and regalia in the fifth month; the empress did not consent. The Emperor repeatedly requested it; she said, "Emperor Shizong's mourning is not yet ended—how could ritual permit me suddenly to wear brocade and adorn myself with pearls and jade? We should wait until mourning is concluded." The Emperor instructed officials, "The Empress Dowager's resolve is very firm—let it wait until next year." In the first month of the second year of Mingchang she died at Longqing Palace, aged forty-five. Her posthumous title was Xiaoyi; she was jointly buried at Yuling.
32
后好《詩》、《書》，尤喜《老》、《莊》，學純淡清懿，造次心於禮。 逮嬪禦以和平，其有生子而母亡者，視之如己所生，慈訓無間。 上時問安，見事有未當者，必加之嚴誡雲。
She loved the Odes and Documents and especially delighted in the Laozi and Zhuangzi; her learning was pure and serene; even in haste her mind was on ritual. Toward palace women she was peaceful; when any bore a child whose mother had died, she regarded it as her own, her nurturing without stint. When the Emperor came to inquire after her health, if he saw anything amiss she would add stern admonition.
33
顯宗昭聖皇后
Empress Zhaosheng of Emperor Xianzong
34
昭聖皇后，劉氏，遼陽人。 天眷二年九月己亥夜，后家若見有黃衣女子入其母室中者，俄頃，后生。 性聰慧，凡字過目不忘。 初讀《孝經》，旬日終卷。 最喜佛書。 世宗為東京留守，因擊球，見而奇之，使見貞懿皇后于府中，進退閒雅，無恣睢之色。 大定元年，選入東宮，時年二十三。
Empress Zhaosheng, née Liu, was a native of Liaoyang. On the night of jihai day in the ninth month of the second year of Tianjuan, her household seemed to see a woman in yellow enter her mother's chamber; shortly afterward she was born. She was intelligent; any character she saw once she never forgot. When she first read the Classic of Filial Piety, she finished the scroll in ten days. She most delighted in Buddhist texts. When Emperor Shizong was Military Governor of the Eastern Capital, he saw her while playing polo and found her extraordinary; he had her presented to Empress Zhenyi at the residence; in advancing and retreating she was easy and elegant, without a trace of arrogance. In the first year of Dading she was selected into the Eastern Palace at the age of twenty-three.
35
三年三月十三日，宣宗生。 是日，大雨震電，后驚悸得疾，尋卒。 承安五年，贈裕陵昭華。 宣宗即位，追尊為皇太后，升祔顯宗廟，追諡昭聖皇后。
On the thirteenth day of the third month of the third year Emperor Xuanzong was born. That day brought great rain, thunder, and lightning; the empress, startled and shaken, fell ill and soon died. In the fifth year of Cheng'an she was posthumously ennobled as Zhaohua of Yuling. When Emperor Xuanzong ascended the throne, she was posthumously honored as Empress Dowager, her spirit tablet was installed in Xianzong's temple, and she received the posthumous title Empress Zhaosheng.
36
章宗欽懷皇后
Empress Qinhuai of Emperor Zhangzong
37
章宗欽懷皇后，蒲察氏，上京路曷速河人也。 曾署祖太神，國初有功，累階光祿大夫，贈司空、應國公。 祖阿胡迭，官至特進，贈司徒、譙國公。 父鼎壽尚熙宗鄭國公主，授駙馬都尉、中都路昏得渾山猛安、曷速木單世襲謀克，累官至金吾衛上將軍，贈太尉、越國公。
Empress Qinhuai of Emperor Zhangzong, née Pucha, was a native of Yasuhe in Shangjing Circuit. Her great-grandfather Taishen had merit at the founding of the dynasty, rose through the ranks to Grand Master of Splendid Happiness, and was posthumously given the titles of Minister of Works and Duke of Ying. Her grandfather Ahudie reached the rank of Special Advancement and was posthumously given the titles of Minister over the Masses and Duke of Qiao. Her father Dingshou married Princess Zheng of Emperor Xizong; he was appointed Commandant of the Feathered Forest Imperial Son-in-law, made Military Colony Commandant of Hundeshan in the Central Capital Circuit and hereditary Commander of Yasu Wood Single, rose through the ranks to Grand General of the Golden Wu Guard, and was posthumously given the titles of Grand Commandant and Duke of Yue.
38
后之始生，有紅光被體，移時不退。 就養于姨冀國公主，既長，孝謹如事所生。 大定二十三年，章宗為金源郡王，行納采禮。 世宗遣近侍局使徒單懷忠就賜金百兩、銀千兩、廄馬六匹、重彩三十端。 拜命間，慶雲見於日側，觀者異之。 是年十一月，備禮親迎。 詔親王宰執三品已上官及命婦會禮，封金源郡王夫人，后進封妃，崩。
At her birth red light covered her body and for a long while did not fade. She was raised by her aunt, Princess Ji of Ji State; once grown, she was as filial and careful toward her as toward her own mother. In the twenty-third year of Dading, when Zhangzong was Prince of Jinyuan Commandery, the betrothal ceremony was performed. Emperor Shizong sent Tudan Huaizhong, Commissioner of the Inner Attendance Bureau, to bestow one hundred taels of gold, one thousand taels of silver, six stable horses, and thirty bolts of heavy silk. While she received the command, auspicious clouds appeared beside the sun, and onlookers marveled. That year, in the eleventh month, full rites were prepared and she was received in person at the wedding. An edict summoned princes, chief ministers, officials of third rank and above, and titled ladies to attend the ceremony; she was enfeoffed as Lady of the Prince of Jinyuan Commandery, later advanced to consort rank, and died.
39
后性淑明，風儀粹穆，知讀書為文。 帝即位，遂加追冊，仍詔告中外，奉安神主于坤甯宮，歲時致祭。 大安初，祔於道陵。
She was gentle and bright by nature, pure and solemn in bearing, and knew how to read and compose texts. When the Emperor ascended the throne, he at once added posthumous enrollment, issued an edict proclaiming it throughout the realm, installed her spirit tablet in Kunning Palace, and offered seasonal sacrifices. At the beginning of Da'an she was jointly buried at Daoling.
40
章宗元妃李氏
First Consort Li of Emperor Zhangzong
41
元妃李氏師兒，其家有罪，沒入宮籍監。 父湘，母王盻兒，皆微賤。 大定末，以監戶女子入宮。 是時宮教張建教宮中，師兒與諸宮女皆從之學。 故事，宮教以青紗隔障蔽內外，宮教居障外，諸宮女居障內，不得面見。 有不識字及問義，皆自障內映紗指字請問，宮教自障外口說教之。 諸女子中惟師兒易為領解，建不知其誰，但識其音聲清亮。 章宗嘗問建，宮教中女子誰可教者。 建對曰：「就中聲音清亮者最可教。」 章宗以建言求得之。 宦者梁道譽師兒才美，勸章宗納之。 章宗好文辭，妃性慧黠，能作字，知文義，尤善伺候顏色，迎合旨意，遂大愛幸。 明昌四年，封為昭容。 明年，進封淑妃，父湘追贈金紫光祿大夫、上柱國、隴西郡公。 祖父、曾祖父皆追贈。
First Consort Li, called Shier, came from a family that had committed a crime and was enrolled in the palace household register as supervised persons. Her father was Xiang and her mother Wang Pan'er; both were of humble and low status. At the end of Dading she entered the palace as the daughter of a supervised household. At that time the palace instructor Zhang Jian taught within the palace; Shier and all the palace women studied under him. By precedent the palace instructor used a green gauze screen to divide inner from outer; the instructor sat outside the screen and the palace women inside, and they could not meet face to face. When any did not know a character or asked about meaning, they would point at characters through the gauze from within the screen to inquire, and the instructor would teach them orally from outside. Among all the women only Shier grasped the lessons easily; Jian did not know which one she was, but recognized her voice as clear and bright. Zhangzong once asked Jian which of the women under palace instruction were most teachable. Jian replied, "Among them, the one whose voice is clear and bright is most teachable." From this report Zhangzong found and obtained her. The eunuch Liang Daoyu praised Shier's talent and beauty and urged Zhangzong to take her in. Zhangzong loved literary composition; the consort was clever and quick-witted, could write, understood literary meaning, and was especially skilled at reading his mood and matching his wishes, and so came to be greatly favored. In the fourth year of Mingchang she was enfeoffed as Palace Acolyte. The next year she was advanced to Pure Consort; her father Xiang was posthumously given the titles of Grand Master of Golden Light and Purplish Radiance, Supreme Pillar of the State, and Duke of Longxi Commandery. Her grandfather and great-grandfather were both posthumously ennobled.
42
兄喜兒舊嘗為盜，與弟鐵哥皆擢顯近，勢傾朝廷，風采動四方，射利競進之徒爭趨走其門，南京李炳、中山李著與通譜系，超取顯美。 胥持國附依以致宰相。 怙財固位，上下紛然，知其奸蠹，不敢擊之，雖擊之，莫能去也。 紇石烈執中貪愎不法，章宗知其跋扈，而屢斥屢起，終亂天下。
Her elder brother Xier had once been a bandit; he and her younger brother Tiege were both promoted to eminent positions close to power; their influence tilted the court and their prestige moved all four quarters; those who sought profit and advancement raced to their door; Li Bing of Nanjing and Li Zhu of Zhongshan, who claimed kinship through the same genealogy, were abruptly promoted to prominent offices. Xu Chiguo, attaching himself to them, rose to become Chancellor. Relying on wealth to hold their posts, they threw court and populace into disorder; though people knew their wicked corruption, none dared strike at them, and even when struck at they could not be removed. Heshilie Zhizhong was greedy, obstinate, and lawless; Zhangzong knew his overbearing nature, yet though repeatedly dismissed he was repeatedly restored, and in the end he threw the realm into chaos.
43
自欽懷皇后沒世，中宮虛位久，章宗意屬李氏。 而國朝故事，皆徒單、唐括、蒲察、拏懶僕散、紇石烈、烏林荅、烏古論諸部部長之家，世為姻婚，娶后尚主，而李氏微甚。 至是，章宗果欲立之，大臣固執不從，台諫以為言，帝不得已，進封為元妃，而勢位熏赫，與皇后侔矣。 一日，章宗宴宮中，優人瑇瑁頭者戲於前。 或問：「上國有何符瑞？」 優曰：「汝不聞鳳皇見乎。」 其人曰：「知之，而未聞其詳。」 優曰：「其飛有四，所應亦異。 若響上飛則風雨順時，響下飛則五穀豐登，響外飛則四國來朝，向裏飛則加官進祿。」 上笑而罷。
Since Empress Qinhuai's death the central palace had long stood vacant, and Zhangzong's mind was set on Lady Li. But by dynastic precedent empresses came from the chieftain families of the Tudan, Tangguo, Pucha, Nalan Pusan, Heshilie, Wulin, and Wugulun clans, generation after generation bound by marriage, supplying empresses and receiving imperial princesses in marriage, whereas the Li family was exceedingly humble. At this Zhangzong indeed wished to install her as empress; the chief ministers firmly refused and the censorate remonstrated; the Emperor, having no choice, advanced her to First Consort, but her power and position blazed forth until they matched the empress's. One day Zhangzong feasted in the palace, and a performer in a tortoiseshell cap played before them. Someone asked, "What auspicious omens does the Upper State have?" The performer said, "Have you not heard that the phoenix has appeared?" The man said, "I know of it, but have not heard the details." The performer said, "Its flight has four modes, and the portents they answer to are also different. When it flies upward—through a pun on echo and direction—wind and rain come in season; downward, the five grains abound; outward, the four quarters send tribute; inward, offices rise and emoluments increase." The Emperor laughed and let the matter drop.
44
欽懷后及妃姬嘗有子，或二三歲或數月輒夭。 承安五年，帝以繼嗣未立，禱禮太廟、山陵。 少府監張汝猷因轉對，奏「皇嗣未立，乞聖主親行禮事之後，遣近臣詣諸嶽觀廟祈禱。」 詔司空襄往亳州禱太清宮，既而止之，遣刑部員外郎完顏匡往焉。
Empress Qinhuai and the consorts had borne children, but at two or three years, or a few months, they would perish. In the fifth year of Cheng'an, because the heir had not been established, the Emperor performed prayer rites at the Grand Ancestral Temple and the imperial tombs. Director of the Palace Storehouse Zhang Youyou, on a rotation audience, memorialized, "The imperial heir is not yet established; I beg that after Your Majesty personally performs the rites, near ministers be sent to the sacred peaks, temples, and shrines to pray." An edict ordered Minister of Works Xiang to go to Bozhou to pray at the Taiqing Palace; then this was stopped and Wanyan Kuang, Vice Director of the Ministry of Justice, was sent instead.
45
泰和二年八月丁酉，元妃生皇子忒鄰，群臣上表稱賀。 宴五品以上于神龍殿，六品以下宴於東廡下。 詔平章政事徒單鎰報謝太廟，右丞完顏匡報謝山陵，使使亳州報謝太清宮。 既彌月，詔賜名，封為葛王。 葛王，世宗初封，大定後不以封臣下，由是三等國號無葛。 尚書省奏，請于瀛王下附葛國號，上從之。 十二月癸酉，忒鄰生滿三月，敕放僧道度牒三千道，設醮于玄真觀，為忒鄰祈福。 丁丑，禦慶和殿，浴皇子。 詔百官用元旦禮儀進酒稱賀，五品以上進禮物。 生凡二歲而薨。
On dingyou day in the eighth month of the second year of Taihe, the First Consort bore the prince Tilie, and the officials submitted congratulatory memorials. Those of fifth rank and above were feasted in the Divine Dragon Hall; those of sixth rank and below feasted beneath the eastern veranda. An edict ordered Chief Councilor Tudan Yi to return thanks at the Grand Ancestral Temple, Vice Director Wanyan Kuang to return thanks at the imperial tombs, and emissaries to Bozhou to return thanks at the Taiqing Palace. Once the full month was complete, an edict bestowed a name and enfeoffed him as Prince of Ge. Prince of Ge had been Shizong's initial enfeoffment; after Dading that title was not used to enfeoff subjects, and so among third-rank state names there was no Ge. The Secretariat memorialized requesting that the state name Ge be attached under Prince of Ying, and the Emperor assented. On jiyou day in the twelfth month, when Tilie had completed three months since birth, an edict released three thousand ordination certificates for monks and Daoists, and a ritual was held at the Xuanyuan Abbey to pray for blessings for Tilie. On dingchou day the Emperor attended at Qinghe Hall for the prince's bathing rite. An edict ordered all officials to offer wine and congratulations using New Year's ceremony; those of fifth rank and above presented gifts. He lived only two years before he died.
46
兄喜兒，累官宣徽使、安國軍節度使。 弟鐵哥，累官近侍局使、少府監。
Her elder brother Xier rose through the offices to Commissioner of the Palace Endowment and Military Governor of Anguo Army. Her younger brother Tiege rose through the offices to Commissioner of the Inner Attendance Bureau and Director of the Palace Storehouse.
47
至八年，承禦賈氏及範氏皆有娠，未及乳月，章宗已得嗽疾，頗困。 是時衛王永濟自武定軍來朝。 章宗於父兄中最愛衛王，欲使繼體立之，語在《衛紹王紀》。 衛王朝辭，是日，章宗力疾與之擊球，謂衛王曰：「叔王不欲作主人，遽欲去邪？」 元妃在傍，謂帝曰：「此非輕言者。」 十一月乙卯，章宗大漸，衛王未發，元妃與黃門李新喜議立衛王，使內侍潘守恆召之。 守恆頗知書，識大體，謂元妃曰：「此大事，當與大臣議。」 乃使守恆召平章政事完顏匡。 匡，顯宗侍讀，最為舊臣，有征伐功，故獨召之。 匡至，遂與定策立衛王。 丙辰，章宗崩，遺詔皇叔衛王即皇帝位。 詔曰：「朕之內人，見有娠者兩位。 如其中有男，當立為儲貳。 如皆是男子，擇可立者立之。」
By the eighth year Lady-in-Waiting Jia and Lady Fan were both pregnant; before they reached full term, Zhangzong had contracted a coughing illness and was quite distressed. At this time Prince Wei Yongji came to court from Wuding Army. Among his uncles and brothers Zhangzong loved Prince Wei most and wished to have him succeed; this is told in the Annals of Emperor Weishao. When Prince Wei came to court to take leave, that day Zhangzong, forcing himself despite illness, played polo with him and said to Prince Wei, "Uncle, you do not wish to play host—do you hurry to leave?" The First Consort stood beside them and said to the Emperor, "These are not words to speak lightly." On yimao day in the eleventh month Zhangzong was near death; Prince Wei had not yet departed; the First Consort and the Yellow Gate officer Li Xixin discussed installing Prince Wei and sent the inner attendant Pan Shoheng to summon him. Shoheng was fairly learned and understood the larger matters; he said to the First Consort, "This is a great affair—it should be discussed with the chief ministers." He then had Shoheng summon Chief Councilor Wanyan Kuang. Kuang had been study companion to Xianzong, was the foremost senior minister, and had merit in military campaigns, and therefore he alone was summoned. When Kuang arrived, they at once settled the plan to install Prince Wei. On bingchen day Zhangzong died; his final edict ordered his imperial uncle Prince Wei to ascend the throne. The edict said, "Among my inner consorts, two are presently pregnant. If among them there is a male, he should be established as heir apparent. If all are males, choose the one fit to install and install him."
48
衛紹王即位，大安元年二月，詔曰：「章宗皇帝以天下重器畀於眇躬，遺旨謂掖庭內人有娠者兩位，如得男則立為儲貳。 申諭多方，皎如天日。 朕雖涼菲，實受付託，思克副於遺意，每曲為之盡心，擇靜舍以俾居，遣懿親而守視。 欽懷皇后母鄭國公主及乳母蕭國夫人晝夜不離。 昨聞有爽于安養，已用軫憂而弗寧，爰命大臣專為調護。 今者平章政事僕散端、左丞孫即康奏言，承禦賈氏當以十一月免乳，今則已出三月，來事未可度知。 範氏產期，合在正月，而太醫副使儀師顏言，自年前十一月診得範氏胎氣有損，調治迄今，脈息雖和，胎形已失。 及范氏自願於神御前削髮為尼。 重念先皇帝重屬大事，豈期聞此，深用怛然。 今範氏既已有損，而賈氏猶或可冀，告於先帝，願降靈禧，默賜保全，早生聖嗣。 尚恐眾庶未究端由，要不匿於播敷，使咸明於吾意。」
When Emperor Weishao ascended the throne, in the second month of the first year of Da'an an edict said, "Emperor Zhangzong entrusted the weighty vessel of the realm to my humble person; his final instructions said that among the inner women of the rear palace two were pregnant—if a male was born he was to be established as heir apparent. This was proclaimed in many places, bright as sun and moon. Though I am slight and inadequate, I truly received this charge; thinking to fulfill his final wishes, I have bent every effort on their behalf—choosing quiet quarters for them to dwell in and sending honored kin to guard and watch over them. Princess Zheng, mother of Empress Qinhuai, and the Wet Nurse, Lady Xiao of Xiao State, did not leave them day or night. Yesterday I heard that their safe nurturing had been disturbed; I have already been troubled and unquiet with concern, and therefore ordered chief ministers devoted solely to their care. Now Chief Councilor Pusan Duan and Vice Director Sun Jikang memorialized that Lady-in-Waiting Jia should have completed nursing in the eleventh month; now three months have already passed, and the coming outcome cannot yet be foreknown. Lady Fan's term of delivery should fall in the first month; but Vice Commissioner of the Imperial Medical Service Yishi Yan said that since the eleventh month of the previous year he had diagnosed damage to Lady Fan's fetal qi; treated to the present, though the pulse was calm, the fetal form was already lost. Thereupon Lady Fan of her own will shaved her head and became a nun before the imperial spirit tablet. Deeply recalling how the late Emperor greatly entrusted this great matter, who could expect to hear this—I am deeply dismayed. Now that Lady Fan is already damaged, Lady Jia may still be hoped for; I report to the late Emperor, praying that his spirit descend in blessing, silently grant preservation, and that a sage heir be born soon. Still fearing the multitude may not fully grasp the causes, I must not conceal this in proclamation, so that all may clearly understand my intent."
49
四月，詔曰：「近者有訴元妃李氏，潛計負恩，自泰和七年正月，章宗暫嘗違豫，李氏與新喜竊議，為儲嗣未立，欲令宮人詐作有身，計取他兒詐充皇嗣。 遂於年前閏月十日，因賈承禦病嘔吐，腹中若有積塊，李氏與其母王盻兒及李新喜謀，令賈氏詐稱有身，俟將臨月，于李家取兒以入，月日不偶則規別取，以為皇嗣。 章宗崩，謀不及行。 當先帝彌留之際，命平章政事完顏匡都提點中外事務，明有敕旨，'我有兩宮人有娠'，更令召平章，左右並聞斯語。 李氏並新喜乃敢不依敕旨，欲喚喜兒、鐵哥，事既不克，竊呼提點近侍局烏古論慶壽與計，因品藻諸王，議複不定。 知近侍局副使徒單張僧遣人召平章，已到宣華門外，始發勘同。 平章入內，一遵遺旨，以定大事。 方先帝疾危，數召李氏，李氏不到。 及索衣服，李氏承召亦不即來，猶與其母私議。 先皇平昔或有幸禦，李氏嫉妒，令女巫李定奴作紙木人、鴛鴦符以事魘魅，致絕聖嗣。 所為不軌，莫可殫陳。 事既髮露，遣大臣按問，俱已款服。 命宰臣往審，亦如之。 有司議，法當極刑。 以其久侍先帝，欲免其死。 王公百僚，執奏堅確。 今賜李氏自盡。 王盻兒、李新喜各正典刑。 李氏兄安國軍節度使喜兒、弟少府監鐵哥如律，仍追除複系監籍，於遠地安置。 諸連坐並依律令施行。 承禦賈氏亦賜自盡。」
In the fourth month an edict said, "Recently there was a petition against First Consort Lady Li, who secretly plotted ingratitude: from the first month of the seventh year of Taihe, when Zhangzong was briefly unwell, Li and Xixin privately discussed that because the heir was not established, they wished to have palace women falsely claim pregnancy, planning to take another's child and falsely pass him off as the imperial heir. They then on the tenth day of the intercalary month before the year-end, exploiting Lady-in-Waiting Jia's illness and vomiting and a seeming mass in her belly, Li together with her mother Wang Pan'er and Li Xixin plotted to have Lady Jia falsely claim pregnancy; waiting until near term, they would take a child from the Li household and bring him in—if the month and day did not match they would plan to take another—to make him the imperial heir. When Zhangzong died, the plot had no time to be carried out. At the moment the late Emperor was near death, he ordered Chief Councilor Wanyan Kuang to oversee all affairs within and without; there was a clear edict—'I have two palace women who are pregnant'—and he further ordered the Chief Councilor summoned; those at his side all heard these words. Li and Xixin then dared not follow the edict; they wished to summon Xier and Tiege; when the affair could not succeed, they secretly called Wugulun Qingshou, overseer of the Inner Attendance Bureau, to consult; they appraised the various princes, and deliberation again could not be settled. Vice Commissioner of the Inner Attendance Bureau Tudan Zhangseng sent someone to summon the Chief Councilor; once he had reached outside Xuanhua Gate, deliberation was at last opened. The Chief Councilor entered within and, fully following the final instructions, settled the great affair. Just when the late Emperor's illness was critical, he summoned Li many times; Li did not come. When clothes were requested, Li though summoned still did not come at once, but continued in private consultation with her mother. Whenever the late Emperor had occasionally favored other women, Li was jealous; she had the witch Li Dingnu make paper-and-wood effigies and mandarin-duck talismans to work sorcery and haunting, causing the cutting off of the imperial line. Her unlawful acts cannot all be enumerated. Once the matter was exposed, chief ministers were sent to investigate; all have fully confessed. He ordered chief ministers to go and interrogate them; they likewise confessed. The responsible offices deliberated and held that, by law, the penalty should be death. Because she had long attended the late Emperor, he wished to spare her life. Princes, officials, and the entire court memorialized with adamant insistence. Li was now granted permission to take her own life. Wang Pan'er and Li Xixin were each executed according to law. Li's elder brother Xier, Military Commissioner of the Anguo Army, and her younger brother Tiege, Director of the Court of Imperial Manufactories, were punished according to law; their offices were revoked, they were re-enrolled in the supervised registry, and exiled to a distant region. All who were implicated by association were punished according to law. Lady-in-Waiting Jia was also granted permission to take her own life."
50
蓋章宗崩三日而稱範氏胎氣有損。 章宗疾彌留，亦無完顏匡都提點中外事務敕旨。 或謂完顏匡欲奪定策功，構致如此。 自後天下不復稱元妃，但呼曰李師兒。
It seems that only three days after Zhangzong's death they already claimed that Lady Fan's fetal qi had been harmed. When Zhangzong lay at death's door, there was likewise no edict appointing Wanyan Kuang to oversee all affairs within and without the court. Some hold that Wanyan Kuang wished to claim the credit for settling the succession and deliberately contrived matters in this way. Thereafter the realm no longer addressed her as First Consort; she was known only as Li Shier.
51
及胡沙虎弑衛王，立宣宗，請貶降衛王，降為東海郡侯。 其詔曰：「大安之初，頒諭天下，謂李氏與其母王盻兒及李新喜同謀，令賈氏虛稱有身，各正罪法。 朕惟章宗皇帝聖德聰明，豈容有此欺紿。 近因集議，武衛軍副使兼提點近侍局完顏達、霍王傅大政德皆言賈氏事內有冤。 此時，達職在近侍，政德護賈氏，所以知之。 朕親臨問佐證，其事暖昧無據，當時被罪貶責者可俱令放免還家。」 由是李氏家族皆得還。
When Hushahu assassinated Emperor Weishao and enthroned Emperor Xuanzong, he petitioned that Weishao be degraded to Marquis of Donghai Commandery. The edict read: "At the beginning of Da'an, an edict was promulgated throughout the realm declaring that Li, her mother Wang Pan'er, and Li Xixin had conspired to have Lady Jia falsely claim pregnancy; each was duly punished according to law. I reflect that Emperor Zhangzong was sagacious and clear-minded; how could such deception have been allowed? At a recent assembly, Wanyan Da, Vice Commissioner of the Martial Guard Army and overseer of the Inner Attendance Bureau, and Da Zhengde, Tutor to Prince Huo, both testified that Lady Jia had been wronged. Da had served in the Inner Attendance Bureau at the time, and Zhengde had been Lady Jia's protector; that is how they knew. I personally examined witnesses and corroborating evidence and found the matter ambiguous and unsubstantiated; all who had been convicted and punished at the time are to be pardoned and sent home." Thereupon the entire Li family was restored and allowed to return.
52
衛紹王后徒單氏
Queen Tudan of Emperor Weishao
53
宣宗皇后王氏
Empress Wang of Emperor Xuanzong
54
宣宗皇后王氏，中都人，明惠皇后妹也。 其父微時嘗夢二玉梳化為月，已而生二后，及沒，有芝生於柩。 初，宣宗封翼王，章宗詔諸王求民家子，以廣繼嗣。 是時，后與龐氏偕入王邸，及見后姊有姿色，又納之。 貞祐元年九月，封后為元妃，姊為淑妃，龐氏為真妃。 淑妃生哀宗，真妃生守純，后無子，養哀宗為己子。 貞祐二年七月，賜姓溫敦氏，立為皇后。 追封后曾祖得壽司空、冀國公，曾祖母劉氏冀國夫人，祖璞司徒、益國公，祖母楊氏益國夫人，父彥昌太尉、汴國公，母馬氏汴國夫人。
Empress Wang of Emperor Xuanzong was a native of the Central Capital and the younger sister of Empress Minghui. While her father was still obscure, he once dreamed that two jade combs turned into the moon; afterward he fathered two daughters who became empresses, and when he died lingzhi fungus sprouted upon his coffin. Early on, when Xuanzong was enfeoffed as Prince Yi, Zhangzong ordered the princes to take commoners' daughters as consorts to broaden the imperial succession. At that time she and Lady Pang entered the princely residence together; when he saw that her elder sister was beautiful, he took her in as well. In the ninth month of the first year of Zhenyou, she was created First Consort, her elder sister Shufei, and Lady Pang Zhenfei. Shufei bore Emperor Aizong, Zhenfei bore Shou Chun, and the empress, who had no children of her own, raised Aizong as her son. In the seventh month of the second year of Zhenyou, she was granted the surname Wendun and installed as empress. Her great-grandfather Deshou was posthumously enfeoffed Minister of Works and Duke of Ji; her great-grandmother, Lady Liu, Lady of Ji; her grandfather Pu, Minister of Education and Duke of Yi; her grandmother, Lady Yang, Lady of Yi; her father Yanchang, Grand Marshal and Duke of Bian; and her mother, Lady Ma, Lady of Bian.
55
三年，莊獻太子薨，哀宗為皇太子。 宣宗崩，哀宗即位。 正大元年，尊后為皇太后，號其宮曰仁聖，進封后父曰南陽郡王。
In the third year Crown Prince Zhuangxian died, and Aizong was made crown prince. When Xuanzong died, Aizong ascended the throne. In the first year of Zhengda she was honored as Empress Dowager; her palace was named Rensheng, and her father was enfeoffed Prince of Nanyang.
56
或曰：宣宗為諸王時，莊獻太子母為正妃，及即位，尊為皇后。 貞祐元年九月，詔曰：「元妃某氏久奉侍於潛籓，已賜封於國號，可立為皇后。」 其名氏蓋不可考也。 或又曰：自王氏姊妹入宮而后寵衰，尋為尼，王氏遂立為后，皆后姊明惠之謀也。
Some accounts hold that when Xuanzong was still a prince, the mother of Crown Prince Zhuangxian was his primary consort, and that upon his accession she was elevated to empress. In the ninth month of the first year of Zhenyou an edict declared: "First Consort [Name] has long served at the prince's household and has already been granted a state title; she is hereby installed as empress." Her personal name and lineage can no longer be determined. Another account holds that after the Wang sisters entered the palace, the former consort's favor waned; she soon took vows as a nun, and Empress Wang was installed—all through the machinations of her elder sister Minghui.
57
初，王氏姊妹受封之日，大風昏霾，黃氣充塞天地。 已而，后夢丐者數萬踵其後，心甚惡之。 占者曰：「后者，天下之母也。 百姓貧窶，將誰訴焉？」 后遂敕有司，京城設粥與冰藥。 及壬辰、癸巳歲，河南饑饉。 大元兵圍汴，加以大疫，汴城之民，死者百余萬，后皆目睹焉。
When the Wang sisters first received their titles, fierce winds and murky haze filled the heavens with yellow miasma. Soon afterward the empress dreamed that tens of thousands of beggars trailed behind her, and the dream sickened her. A diviner said: "The empress is mother to the realm. When the people are destitute, to whom will they turn for redress?" The empress thereupon ordered the authorities to distribute gruel and cooling medicines throughout the capital. In the renchen and guisi years famine struck Henan. When the armies of the Great Yuan besieged Bian and plague swept the city, more than a million people in the capital perished; the empress saw it all with her own eyes.
58
哀宗釋服，將禘饗太廟，先期，有司奏冕服成，上請仁聖、慈聖兩宮太后禦內殿，因試衣之以見，兩宮大悅。 上更便服，奉觴為兩宮壽。 仁聖太后諭上曰：「祖宗初取天下甚不易。 何時使四方承平，百姓安樂，天子服此法服，于中都祖廟行禘饗乎？」 上曰：「阿婆有此意，臣亦何嘗忘。」 慈聖太后亦曰：「恆有此心，則見此當有期矣。」 遂酌酒為上壽，歡然而罷。
When Aizong completed mourning and prepared to perform the di rite at the Grand Ancestral Temple, the relevant offices reported in advance that the ceremonial robes were ready. The emperor invited the Empresses Dowager of the Rensheng and Cisheng palaces to the inner hall and had the robes tried on for their inspection; both were delighted. He then changed into informal dress and raised a cup to toast the long life of both empresses dowager. The Rensheng Empress Dowager admonished him: "Our ancestors won the realm only with great hardship. When will the four quarters know lasting peace and the people live in ease, so that the Son of Heaven may don these robes and perform the di rite at the ancestral temple in the Central Capital?" The emperor replied: "Grandmother thinks as I do; I have never ceased to cherish this hope." The Cisheng Empress Dowager added: "So long as we keep this wish alive, the day we see it fulfilled must surely come." They then poured wine to toast the emperor's long life, and the gathering broke up in good cheer.
59
宣宗明惠皇后
Empress Minghui of Emperor Xuanzong
60
宣宗明惠皇后，王皇后之姊也。 生哀宗。 宣宗即位，封為淑妃。 及妹立為后，進封元妃。 哀宗即位，詔尊為皇太后，號其宮曰慈聖。
Empress Minghui of Emperor Xuanzong was the elder sister of Empress Wang. She was the birth mother of Emperor Aizong. When Xuanzong took the throne, she was created Shufei. When her younger sister was made empress, she was promoted to First Consort. When Aizong ascended the throne, she was honored as Empress Dowager and her palace named Cisheng.
61
哀宗甚寵一宮人，欲立為后。 后惡其微賤，固命出之。 上不得已，命放之出宮，語使者曰：「爾出東華門，不計何人，首遇者即賜之。」 於是遇一販繒者，遂賜為妻。 點檢撒合輦教上騎鞠，后傳旨戒之雲：「汝為人臣，當輔主以正，顧乃教之戲耶。 再有聞，必大杖汝矣。」
Emperor Aizong deeply favored a palace woman and wished to make her empress. The empress, disgusted by her low birth, insisted that she be removed from court. The emperor, unable to refuse, ordered her released from the palace and told the envoy: "Leave by the Donghua Gate. Whoever you meet first—no matter who he is—give her to him as his wife." He met a silk peddler and gave her to him in marriage. Inspector Sahe Nian taught the emperor polo; the empress sent a reprimand: "You are a subject of the throne. You ought to guide your sovereign toward rectitude—yet you teach him games? If I hear of this again, you will be thrashed within an inch of your life."
62
比年小捷，國勢頗振，文士有奏賦頌以聖德中興為言者。 后聞不悅曰：「帝年少氣銳，無懼心則驕怠生。 今幸一勝，何等中興，而若輩諂之如是。」
In recent years the dynasty had won minor victories and the state's fortunes had revived somewhat; literati submitted encomia celebrating a sagely restoration. The empress heard of this and said disapprovingly: "The emperor is young and high-spirited; without a healthy fear of failure, arrogance and sloth will follow. One skirmish won, and you call it a restoration? The flattery is shameless."
63
正大八年九月丙申，后崩，遺命園陵制度，務從儉約。 十二月己未，葬汴城迎朔門外五裏莊獻太子墓之西。 諡明惠皇后。
On bingshen day of the ninth month in the eighth year of Zhengda the empress died, leaving instructions that her tomb and park be kept as simple as possible. On jiwei day of the twelfth month she was buried five li outside the Yingshuo Gate of Bian, to the west of Crown Prince Zhuangxian's tomb. She was posthumously honored as Empress Minghui.
64
哀宗徒單皇后
Empress Tudan of Emperor Aizong
65
贊曰：《周禮》「九嬪，掌婦學之法，婦德、婦言、婦容、婦功。」 班昭氏論之曰：「婦德，不必才明絕異也。 婦言，不必便口利辭也。 婦容，不必顏色美麗也。 婦功，不必功巧過人也。 清閒貞靜，守節整齊，行己有恥，動靜有法，是謂婦德。 擇辭而說，不道惡語，時然後言，不厭於人，是謂婦言。 盥浣塵穢，服飾鮮潔，沐浴以時，身不垢辱，是謂婦容。 專心紡績，不好戲笑，潔齊酒食，以奉賓客，是謂婦功。」 後世婦學不修，麗色以相高，巧言以相傾，銜能以市恩，逢迎以固寵。 是故悼平掣頓皇統，以隕其身，海陵蠱惑群嬖，幾亡其國。 道陵李氏擅寵蠹政，卒憤其宗。 嗚呼，可不戒哉。
Commentary: The Rites of Zhou states, "The Nine Consorts preside over the instruction of palace women in four arts: virtue, speech, deportment, and work." Ban Zhao observed: "Womanly virtue need not rest on extraordinary talent or brilliance. Womanly speech need not be quick and clever of tongue. Womanly deportment need not depend on physical beauty. Womanly work need not exceed all others in skill and dexterity. To be pure, serene, chaste, and calm; to observe propriety; to act with a sense of shame; to comport oneself with decorum in every motion and rest—this is womanly virtue. To choose one's words, speak no ill, speak only when the occasion demands, and never weary others with one's voice—this is womanly speech. To keep oneself clean, dress neatly, bathe at the proper hour, and never appear before others in disarray—this is womanly deportment. To devote oneself to weaving, shun frivolity, and keep food and drink in good order for the entertainment of guests—this is womanly work." In later ages the arts of womanhood were neglected. Women competed in beauty, undermined one another with clever speech, traded on talent to win favor, and courted their lords to hold their place. Thus Empress Daoping hamstrung the imperial line and lost her life; Hailing seduced a host of favorites and nearly destroyed the dynasty. Li, consort of the Daoling Emperor, monopolized imperial favor, corrupted the government, and in the end brought her own house to ruin. Alas—is there not a lesson here?
66
“烏林荅”，又譯“烏凌阿”。
"Wulin'a" is also transliterated as "Wuling'a."
67
又譯“海倫河”。
Also transliterated as "Hailun River."
68
“勝管”為音譯，又做“雙寬”。
"Shengguan" is a phonetic transcription; also written "Shuangkuan."
69
“猛安”，又譯為“明安”、“銘安”，女真語“千”之意，蓋“千夫長”也。
"Meng'an" is also rendered "Ming'an" or "Ming An"; in Jurchen it means "thousand" and probably denotes a commander of a thousand men.
70
“術思黑”為音譯，又做“珠蘇庫”。
"Shusihei" is a phonetic transcription; also written "Zhusuku."
71
“鈔兀”，又譯作“楚呼”。
"Chaowu" is also transliterated as "Chuhu."
72
又做“圖克坦”。
Also written "Tuketan."
73
又做“德里必喇”。
Also written "Delibila."
74
“抄”，音譯，又做“綽”。
"Chao" is a phonetic transcription; also written "Chuo."
75
又譯“博勒和”。
Also transliterated as "Bolehe."