1
夫乾坤定位，男女流形，伉儷之義同歸，貴賤之名異等。 若乃作配皇極，齊體紫宸，象玉床之連後星，喻金波之合羲璧。 爰自敻古，是謂元妃； 降及中年，乃稱王后。 四人並列，光于帝嚳之宮； 二妃同降，著彼有虞之典。 夏商以上，六宮之制，其詳靡得而聞焉。 姬劉以降，五翟之規，其事可略而言矣。 周禮，天子立一后、三夫人、九嬪、二十七世婦、八十一御妻，以聽王者內政。 故婚義曰：「天子之與后，如日之與月，陰之與陽。」 由斯而談，其所從來遠矣。 故能母儀天宇，助宣王化，德均載物，比大坤維，宗廟歆其薦羞，穹壤俟其交泰。 是以哲王垂憲，尤重造舟之禮； 詩人立言，先獎葛覃之訓。 後燭流景，所以裁其宴私； 房樂希聲，是用節其容止。 履端正本，抑斯之謂歟！ 若乃娉納有方，防閑有禮，肅尊儀而修四德，體柔範而弘六義，陰教洽于宮闈，淑譽騰於區域。 則玄雲入戶，上帝錫母萌之符； 黃神降徵，坤靈贊壽丘之道，終能鼎祚惟永，胤嗣克昌。 至若儷極虧閑，憑天作孽，倒裳衣于衽席，感朓側於弦望。 則龍漦結釁，宗周鞠為黍苗； 燕尾挻災，隆漢墜其枌社矣。 自曹劉內主，位以色登，甄衛之家，榮非德舉。 淫荒挺性，蔑西郊之禮容； 婉孌含辭，作南國之奇態。 詖謁由斯外人，穢德於是內宣。 椒掖播晨牝之風，蘭殿絕河雎之響。 永言彤史，大練之範逾微； 緬視青蒲，脫珥之猷替矣。 晉承其末，與世污隆，宣皇創基，功弘而道屈； 穆后一善，勣侔於十亂。 洎乎世祖，[1]始親選良家，既而帝掩紈扇，躬行請託。 后採長白，實彰妒忌之情； 賈納短青，竟踐覆亡之轍。 得失遺跡，煥在綈緗，興滅所由，義同畫一。 故列其本事，以為后妃傳云。
Heaven and earth fixed their stations; men and women took their bodily shapes. Husband and wife share one moral purpose, even though rank divides high from low. Those who match the sovereign on high and share the body politic of the inner palace are figured as the jade couch tied to the queen’s asterism, as moonlight married to the solar disk. In deepest antiquity she was known as the principal wife; Later ages styled her queen. Four consorts stood side by side and brought glory to Emperor Ku’s inner court; Two royal brides arrived together and entered the canonical record of Shun’s reign. For ages before Xia and Shang, no reliable detail survives about how the six wings of the harem were ordered. From the Zhou and Han dynasties on, the graded “five pheasant” ritual for consorts can at least be sketched. The Rites of Zhou prescribe one empress, three chief consorts, nine ranked ladies, twenty-seven secondary wives, and eighty-one attendants to manage the sovereign’s domestic government. The Meaning of Marriage therefore declares: “The emperor and his empress mirror sun and moon, yin and yang.” Judged by such language, their institution reaches far back into antiquity. Hence she sets the maternal standard for the realm, advances the king’s civilizing work, and bears creation as steadfastly as earth itself; the temple accepts her sacrifices gladly, and heaven and earth look to her union with the throne for peace. That is why enlightened monarchs codify law and prize above all the royal wedding rite of “meeting across the boat.” The Classic of Poetry opens by honoring the lessons of “Ge Tan,” the ode on diligent royal ladies. Dimming the late-night lamp curbs excess in the privy chamber; Sparse music in the inner rooms reins in conduct at court and couch alike. Walking straight to set the root right—surely this is what those measures intend! When matches are arranged by rule, propriety fences passion, majesty guards ritual while the four womanly virtues are cultivated, gentle models enlarge the six canonical lessons, inner-chamber teaching fills the harem, and fair fame spreads beyond the capital. Then auspicious clouds cross the threshold and Heaven grants the token of fruitful motherhood; The divine Yellow Emperor sends portents; earth’s spirit blesses the birth-hill of sage-kings; the dynasty’s mandate endures and heirs thrive. But women who reach the throne yet abandon modesty, who invoke Heaven while plotting harm, who turn proper dress upside down on the bed, and whose passions shift with every phase of the moon— —dragon spit seals a fatal feud, and the Zhou heartland turns to weed-grown ruin; swallow-tail charms invite catastrophe, and even mighty Han loses its soil-and-millet shrines. Under the Cao and Liu courts, palace ladies rose by looks alone; clans such as the Zhens and Weis won favor without moral merit. Wanton temperaments mocked the solemn suburban liturgy reserved for the empress; Soft voices and studied phrases invented the freakish grace of southern entertainers. Sycophancy leaked beyond the palace gates while depravity was preached inside. The harem aired the omen of women ruling like crowing hens; orchid halls no longer echoed the chaste songs of “Guan ju.” Forever the palace diarists wrote, yet the ideal of homespun austerity faded; Looking back to mat audiences where consorts remonstrated, the counsel of tearing off earrings to warn the throne had vanished. The Jin took up this fallen era and rose or fell with the times. Emperor Xuan laid the foundations: his deeds were grand, yet the moral course stayed cramped; a single virtue in Empress Mu rivaled the merit of the “ten turbulent” worthies who saved a dynasty. Under Emperor Wu [1] the court at first picked brides from respectable houses; soon the sovereign waved his silk fan in the inner quarters and himself traded favors for appointments. An empress chosen for graying hair laid bare the spite of jealousy; the Jias welcomed a young rival and eventually followed the same rut to ruin. Success and failure still gleam from the silk-bound histories; the springs of fortune and disaster follow one clear pattern. I therefore set out the essential facts as this “Treatise on Empresses and Consorts.”
2
宣穆張皇后
Empress Zhang the August and Revered
3
宣穆張皇后諱春華，河內平皋人也。 父汪，魏粟邑令； 母河內山氏，司徒濤之從祖姑也。 后少有德行，智識過人，生景帝、文帝、平原王幹、南陽公主。
Empress Zhang Xuanmu, personal name Chunhua, came from Pinggao in Henei commandery. Her father Wang had served as magistrate of Suiyi under Wei; her mother was a Shan from Henei, first cousin once removed to Grand Tutor Shan Tao. She showed virtue and unusual discernment from girlhood. She was mother to Emperors Jing and Wen, to Prince Sima Gan of Pingyuan, and to the Princess of Nanyang.
4
宣帝初辭魏武之命，託以風痹，嘗暴書，遇暴雨，不覺自起收之。 家惟有一婢見之，后乃恐事泄致禍，遂手殺之以滅口，而親自執爨。 帝由是重之。 其後柏夫人有寵，后罕得進見。 帝嘗臥疾，后往省病。 帝曰：「老物可憎，何煩出也！」 后慚恚不食，將自殺，諸子亦不食。 帝驚而致謝，后乃止。 帝退而謂人曰：「老物不足惜，慮困我好兒耳！」
When Emperor Xuan first refused Cao Cao’s summons, claiming crippling palsy, he once aired books in the sun. A cloudburst came; forgetting his act, he leapt up to rescue them. A single bondmaid witnessed it. Fearing exposure would destroy them, the empress killed her with her own hands and herself cooked the family meals to hide the truth. Thereafter her husband valued her all the more. Later Lady Bai won his favor, and the empress was seldom admitted. Once when he lay sick, she came to nurse him. He snapped, “That foul old hag—why drag herself here!” Shamed and furious, she refused food and meant to take her life; her sons fasted with her. Alarmed, he apologized, and she gave up the attempt. Privately he muttered, “I care nothing for the hag—I fear only harm to my fine sons.”
5
魏正始八年崩，時年五十九，葬洛陽高原陵，追贈廣平縣君。 咸熙元年，追號宣穆妃。 及武帝受禪，追尊為皇后。
She died in 247 at fifty-nine and was buried at Gaoyuan mausoleum east of Luoyang; Wei later enfeoffed her posthumously as Lady of Guangping. In 264 she received the posthumous title Consort Xuanmu. When Emperor Wu took the throne, she was raised posthumously to empress.
6
景懷夏侯皇后
Empress Xiahou the Revered and Cherished
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景懷夏侯皇后諱徽，字媛容，沛國譙人也。 父尚，魏征南大將軍； 母曹氏，魏德陽鄉主。
Empress Xiahou Jinghuai, personal name Hui, courtesy name Yuanrong, came from Qiao in the state of Pei. Her father Xiahou Shang held Wei’s post of Grand General Who Conquers the South; her mother was a daughter of the Wei imperial house, titled Village Mistress of Deyang.
8
后雅有識度，帝每有所為，必豫籌畫。 魏明帝世，宣帝居上將之重，諸子並有雄才大略。 后知帝非魏之純臣，而后既魏氏之甥，帝深忌之。 青龍二年，遂以鴆崩，時年二十四，葬峻平陵。 武帝登阼，初未追崇，弘訓太后每以為言，泰始二年始加號諡。 后無男，生五女。
She was poised and far-sighted; whatever her husband planned, she anticipated and shaped. Under Wei Mingdi, Sima Yi commanded the armies while his sons showed ruthless ambition. She knew Sima Yi was no loyal servant of Wei, yet as a Wei princess by birth she herself drew his deepest suspicion. In 234 she was poisoned at twenty-four and buried at Junping mausoleum. After Emperor Wu took the throne he left her unhonored until Empress Dowager Yang at Hongxun repeatedly pressed the matter; only in 266 did he grant posthumous rank and epithet. She had no sons but five daughters.
9
景獻羊皇后
Empress Yang the Revered and Offered
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景獻羊皇后諱徽瑜，泰山南城人。 父茞，上黨太守； 后母陳留蔡氏，漢左中郎將邕之女也。
Empress Yang Jingxian, personal name Huiyu, came from Nancheng in Taishan commandery. Her father Yang Zhi served as governor of Shangdang; her mother was a Cai from Chenliu, daughter of the Han court poet Cai Yong.
11
后聰敏有才行。 景懷皇后崩，景帝更娶鎮北將軍濮陽吳質女，見黜，復納后，無子。 武帝受禪，居弘訓宮，號弘訓太后。 泰始九年，追贈蔡氏濟陽縣君，諡曰穆。 咸寧四年，太后崩，時年六十五，祔葬峻平陵。
She was quick-witted, talented, and principled. After Empress Xiahou died, Emperor Jing married Wu Zhi’s daughter, then divorced her, and took Yang Huiyu back; she bore no sons. When Emperor Wu assumed the throne she moved to Hongxun Palace as dowager. In 273 her mother was posthumously named Lady of Jiyang with the epithet Mu. She died in 278 at sixty-five and was interred beside Emperor Jing at Junping.
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文明王皇后
Empress Wang the Cultured and Illustrious
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文明王皇后諱元姬，東海郯人也。 父肅，魏中領軍、蘭陵侯。
Empress Wang Wenming, personal name Yuanji, came from Tan in Donghai commandery. Her father Wang Su served Wei as Central Commandant and Marquis of Lanling.
14
后年八歲，誦詩論，尤善喪服； 苟有文義，目所一見，必貫於心。 年九歲，遇母疾，扶侍不捨左右，衣不解帶者久之。 每先意候指，動中所適，由是父母令攝家事，每盡其理。 祖朗甚愛異之，曰：「興吾家者，必此女也，惜不為男矣！」 年十二，朗薨，后哀戚哭泣，發于自然，其父益加敬異。
At eight she could recite the Odes and Analects and had mastered the ritual chapters on mourning dress; whatever text she read once lodged permanently in memory. At nine, when her mother fell ill, she nursed her night and day without loosening her sash for weeks. She anticipated every wish so deftly that her parents put her in charge of the household, which she ran flawlessly. Her grandfather Wang Lang doted on her, saying, “This girl will redeem our line—if only she were a son!” When Wang Lang died she was twelve; her grief was utterly spontaneous, and her father prized her even more.
15
既笄，歸于文帝，生武帝及遼東悼王定國、齊獻王攸、城陽哀王兆、廣漢殤王廣德、京兆公主。 后事舅姑盡婦道，謙沖接下，嬪御有序。 及居父喪，身不勝衣，言與淚俱。 時鍾會以才能見任，后每言于帝曰：「會見利忘義，好為事端，寵過必亂，不可大任。」 會後果反。
After coming of age she married Sima Zhao (later Emperor Wen) and bore Sima Yan (Emperor Wu), Princes Dingguo, You, Zhao, and Guangde, and the Princess of Jingzhao. She observed every duty to her in-laws, treated inferiors with modesty, and kept the inner household in harmony. During her father’s mourning she wasted to skin and bone; every word came with tears. Zhong Hui had won power through sheer ability; she often warned Emperor Wen, “Zhong chases profit, courts trouble, and will rebel if favor grows—do not give him real authority.” Zhong Hui later rose in rebellion, just as she foretold.
16
武帝受禪，尊為皇太后，宮曰崇化。 初置宮卿，重選其職，以太常諸葛緒為衛尉，太僕劉原為太僕，宗正曹楷為少府。 后雖處尊位，不忘素業，躬執紡績，器服無文，御浣濯之衣，食不參味。 而敦睦九族，垂心萬物，言必典禮，浸潤不行。
When Emperor Wu took the throne she became empress dowager, with residence in Chonghua Palace. She established palace ministries with careful appointments: Zhuge Xu as minister of the guard, Liu Yuan as grand coachman, Cao Kai as privy treasurer. Though dowager, she still spun and wove, wore undyed cloth and laundered robes, and took simple meals without mixed dishes. She cherished every branch of kin, cared for all living things, spoke only in classical idiom, and never let private bias seep into policy.
17
帝以后母羊氏未崇諡號，泰始三年下詔曰：「昔漢文追崇靈文之號，武、宣有平原、博平之封，咸所以奉尊尊之敬，廣親親之恩也。 故衛將軍、蘭陵景侯夫人羊氏，含章體順，仁德醇備，內承世冑，出嬪大國，三從之行，率禮無違。 仍遭不造，頻喪統嗣，撫育眾胤，克成家道。 母儀之教，光于邦族，誕啟聖明，祚流萬國。 而早世殂隕，不遇休寵。 皇太后孝思蒸蒸，永慕罔極。 朕感存遺訓，追遠傷懷。 其封夫人為縣君，依德紀諡，主者詳如舊典。」 於是使使持節謁者何融追諡為平陽靖君。
Because his mother-in-law lacked posthumous honors, Emperor Wu issued in 267 an edict: “Han Wendi raised Empress Dowager Bo’s title; later Han rulers enfeoffed mothers from Pingyuan and Boping—such acts honor parents and widen kinship grace. Lady Yang, widow of General Wang Su, Marquis Jing of Lanling, bore inward grace and outward modesty, fulfilled every womanly virtue, linked great houses by marriage, and observed the three obediences without fault. Though Heaven denied her sons and struck down heirs again and again, she raised the wider family and preserved the household. Her maternal example illuminated kin and state, opened the way for the sage-sovereign, and spread blessing across every realm. Yet she died young before receiving such honors. The empress dowager mourns her mother with boundless filial love. Remembering her teaching, I ache when paying tribute to the past. Enfeoff her as a county mistress, grant an epithet suited to her virtue, and let the ministry follow precedent.” Envoy He Rong was therefore dispatched with tally and staff to confer posthumously the title Lady Jing of Pingyang.
18
四年，后崩，時年五十二，合葬崇陽陵。 將遷祔，帝手疏后德行，命史官為哀策曰：
In the fourth year she died at fifty-two and was laid beside him in Chongyang Mausoleum. When her cortège was readied for burial at his side, he drafted her virtues in his own hand and told the historiographers to write a lament—thus:
19
明明先后，興我晉道。 暉章淑問，以翼皇考。 邁德宣猷，大業有造。 貽慶孤矇，堂構是保。 庶資復顧，永享難老。 奄然登遐，棄我何早！ 沈哀罔訴，如何穹昊。 嗚呼哀哉！
Radiant queen who went before, you lifted high our Jin house. Your shining virtue and gracious name steadied our royal father. You advanced virtue and wise counsel and helped forge the great enterprise. You left blessing to a fatherless heir and preserved the house he would inherit. We hoped still for your shelter and the gift of your undying care. Suddenly you journeyed on—why abandon us this soon! Grief too deep for words—how shall I cry to boundless Heaven? Alas for this sorrow!
20
厥初生民，樹之惠康。 帝遷明德，顧予先皇。 天立厥配，我皇是光。 作邦作對，德音無疆。 愍予不弔，天篤降殃。 日沒明夷，中年隕喪。 煢煢在疚，永懷摧傷。 尋惟景行，於穆不已。 海岱降靈，世荷繁祉。 永錫祚胤，篤生文母。 誕膺純和，淑慎容止。 質直不渝，體茲孝友。 詩書是悅，禮籍是紀。 三從無違，中饋允理。 追惟先后，勞謙是尚。 爰初在室，竭力致養。 嬪于大邦，皇基是相。 謐靜隆化，帝業以創。 內敘嬪御，外協時望。 履信居順，德行洽暢。 密勿無荒，劬勞克讓。 崇儉抑華，沖素是放。 雖享崇高，歡嘉未饗。 胡寧棄之，我將曷仰？ 咨余不造，大罰薦臻。 皇考背世，始踰三年。 仰奉慈親，冀無後艱。 凶災仍集，何辜於天。 嗚呼哀哉！
From life’s first dawn kind nurture has sustained the folk. Heaven chose a luminous lady to watch beside our late king. Heaven set her at his side and glorified our throne. She matched him as co-ruler; her fair fame knows no shore. Pity your orphaned son—Heaven heaps fresh grief upon him. The sun dipped into night; in mid-life she was torn away. I stand alone in mourning, heartsick without healing. When I trace her shining conduct, its grandeur knows no end. Sea and Taishan lent her spirit; age after age received rich blessing. Heaven blessed our line with heirs and gave us a mother steeped in pattern. She bore pure harmony in her blood and moved with modest grace. Her honesty never wavered; she lived filial love and gentle kindness. She delighted in the classics and held the ritual texts as her compass. She kept the three obediences flawlessly and ordered the inner household aright. Remembering queens past, she prized humble service above all. In her girlhood she strained every nerve to care for her parents. She married into a great house and steadied the throne’s foundation. Her quiet grace lifted the realm and gave the dynasty its start. Within she schooled the harem; without she answered the hopes of the age. Faithful in word and compliant in station, her virtue suffused every quarter. She labored without slack and strove with yielding grace. She honored plain cloth over display and made simplicity her fashion. Though raised to the heights, she never tasted idle revelry. How could she leave us—where shall I lift my eyes? Alas for my ill star—Heaven’s blows strike again and again. My royal father left this world hardly three years ago. I leaned on a loving mother and prayed no further grief would come. Yet calamity returns—what sin have I committed against Heaven? Alas for this sorrow!
21
靈轜夙駕，設祖中闈。 轀輬動軫，既往不追。 哀哀皇妣，永潛靈暉。 進攀梓宮，顧援素旂。 屏營窮痛，誰告誰依？ 訴情贈策，以舒傷悲。 尚或有聞，顧予孤遺。 嗚呼哀哉！
At dawn the hearse stood ready; parting rites filled the inner court. The jeweled hearse rolled forward—what is gone cannot be reclaimed. Royal mother most dear—your holy light is hid forever. I cling to your catalpa bier and clutch the mourning pennants as I climb. I tremble with pain—whom can I tell, where find shelter? I pour my heart into this text to ease the ache that breaks me. Perhaps you still may hear—turn once to your forsaken child. Alas for this sorrow!
22
其後帝追慕不已，復下詔曰：「外曾祖母故司徒王朗夫人楊氏，舅氏尊屬，鄭、劉二從母，先后至愛。 每惟聖善，敦睦遺旨，渭陽之感，永懷靡及。 其封楊夫人及從母為鄉君，邑各五百戶。」 太康七年，追贈繼祖母夏侯氏為滎陽鄉君。
Still grieving, he issued another edict: “Lady Yang, wife of former Minister Wang Lang and my maternal great-grandmother, together with my maternal uncles and my two aunts on the Zheng and Liu sides, were cherished by successive empresses. Whenever I recall their kindness and the generous instructions they left, the ache of a nephew for his mother’s kin stays with me yet can never be satisfied. Let Lady Yang and my maternal aunts each receive the title of village mistress with five hundred taxable households.” In 286 he posthumously named his step-grandmother Lady Xiahou village mistress of Xingyang.
23
武元楊皇后
Empress Yang the Martial and Primordial
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武元楊皇后諱艷，字瓊芝，弘農華陰人也。 父文宗，[2]見《外戚傳》； 母天水趙氏，早卒。 后依舅家，舅妻仁愛，親乳養后，遣他人乳其子。 及長，又隨後母段氏，依其家。
Empress Yang Wuyuan, personal name Yan, courtesy Qiongzhi, came from Huayin in Hongnong commandery. Her father Yang Wenzhong [2] is treated in the “Treatise on Outer Kin”; her mother, a Zhao from Tianshui, died while Yang Yan was still young. She grew up in her uncle’s house; his wife nursed Yang Yan herself and hired another wet nurse for her own baby. Later she lived under her stepmother Lady Duan’s roof.
25
帝以皇太子不堪奉大統，密以語后。 后曰：「立嫡以長不以賢，豈可動乎？」 初，賈充妻郭氏使賂后，求以女為太子妃。 及議太子婚，帝欲娶衛瓘女。 然后盛稱賈后有淑德，又密使太子太傅荀顗進言，上乃聽之。 泰始中，帝博選良家以充後宮，先下書禁天下嫁娶，使宦者乘使車，給騶騎，馳傳州郡，召充選者使后揀擇。 后性妒，惟取潔白長大，其端正美麗者並不見留。 時卞藩女有美色，帝掩扇謂后曰：「卞氏女佳。」 后曰：「藩三世后族，其女不可枉以卑位。」 帝乃止。 司徒李胤、鎮軍大將軍胡奮、廷尉諸葛沖、太僕臧權、侍中馮蓀、秘書郎左思及世族子女並充三夫人九嬪之列。 司、冀、兗、豫四州二千石將吏家，補良人以下。 名家盛族子女，多敗衣瘁貌以避之。
Believing the crown prince unfit to inherit the realm, he confided as much privately to the empress. She replied, “The eldest legitimate son succeeds regardless of talent—how can we undo that?” Earlier Jia Chong’s wife Lady Guo had bribed her to secure her daughter as crown princess. When the heir’s marriage came under debate, the emperor favored Wei Guan’s daughter. The empress loudly praised Lady Jia’s virtue and secretly had Grand Tutor Xun Yi speak for her, so the emperor yielded. Midway through Taishi he cast a wide net for palace women, banned commoners from marrying, sent eunuchs in official carriages with escorts racing along post roads to every commandery, and had the candidates presented to the empress for her verdict. Jealous by nature, she kept only plain, towering girls and rejected every truly lovely face. When Bian Fan’s daughter proved breathtaking, the emperor hid behind his fan and said, “The Bian girl is a jewel.” The empress answered, “Three generations of Bians have supplied empresses—such a bride cannot be parked in a petty title.” He dropped the matter. The daughters of Li Yin, Hu Fen, Zhuge Chong, Zang Quan, Feng Sun, Zuo Si, and other great houses were placed among the Three Ladies and the Nine Concubines. From Si, Ji, Yan, and Yu the daughters of prefects and local officers filled the ranks below Good Woman. Great families dressed their girls in rags and smeared their faces to dodge the draft.
26
及后有疾，見帝素幸胡夫人，恐後立之，慮太子不安。 臨終，枕帝膝曰：「叔父駿女男胤有德色，願陛下以備六宮。」 因悲泣，帝流涕許之。 泰始十年，崩於明光殿，絕于帝膝，時年三十七。 詔曰：「皇后逮事先后，常冀能終始永奉宗廟，一旦殂隕，痛悼傷懷。 每自以夙喪二親，於家門之情特隆。 又有心欲改葬父祖，以頃者務崇儉約，初不有言，近垂困，說此意，情亦愍之。 其使領前軍將軍駿等自克改葬之宜，至時，主者供給葬事。 賜諡母趙氏為縣君，以繼母段氏為鄉君。 傳不云乎，『慎終追遠，民德歸厚』。 且使亡者有知，尚或嘉之。」
When she fell ill and saw how he favored Lady Hu, she feared a future empress would threaten her son. Dying with her head on his knee she said, “Your uncle Yang Jun’s niece combines virtue and beauty—please bring her into the six palaces.” She wept; he swore through tears to comply. She died in 274 in Mingguang Hall on his lap, thirty-seven years old. The edict read, “The empress served my late mothers and hoped to honor the shrines to the end; her sudden death tears my heart. Orphaned young, she cherished family ties above all else. She longed to move her parents’ graves but, while court fashion prized austerity, stayed silent until her final hours—this wish moves us still. Let Forward-General Yang Jun and his colleagues arrange the reburials; officials shall supply whatever is needed when the day comes. Honor her mother Lady Zhao as county mistress and her stepmother Lady Duan as village mistress. Has not the classic said, ‘Care for the dead and honor the past, and the people grow in virtue’? Should the dead still know anything of us, they may rejoice in this kindness.”
27
于是有司卜吉，窀穸有期，乃命史臣作哀策敘懷。 其詞曰：
Officers chose an auspicious day for interment and scribes were told to write a lament. It reads:
28
天地配序，成化兩儀。 王假有家，道在伉儷。 姜嫄佐嚳，二妃興媯。 仰希古昔，冀亦同規。 今胡不然，景命夙虧。 嗚呼哀哉！
Heaven and earth keep their stations and shape the yin and yang spheres. The king wins a true household because husband and wife uphold the Way. Jiang Yuan aided Emperor Ku; the two brides raised the house of Gui. We look to antiquity and pray our norm matches theirs. Why are we denied that grace—why was her bright mandate cut short? Alas for this sorrow!
29
我應圖籙，統臨萬方。 正位于內，實在嬪嬙。 天作之合，駿發之祥。 河嶽降靈，啟祚華陽。 奕世豐衍，朱紼斯煌。 纘女惟行，受命溥將。 來翼家邦，憲度是常。 緝熙陰教，德聲顯揚。 昔我先妣，暉曜休光。 后承前訓，奉述遺芳。 宜嗣徽音，繼序無荒。 如何不弔，背世隕喪。 望齊無主，長去烝嘗。 追懷永悼，率土摧傷。 嗚呼哀哉！
I hold the celestial charts and rule the myriad lands. The inner court’s order rests with its ladies. Heaven forged our match and sent forth splendid omens. River and peak lent her spirit and opened blessing in Huayang. Generation on generation flourished; vermillion seals blaze forth. She renewed womanly duty and answered Heaven’s wide charge. She came to shield house and realm and held fast to every norm. She brightened women’s teaching and her fair fame rang wide. My late mother shone with auspicious light. This empress followed her teaching and kept her fragrance alive. She should have prolonged that sweet renown and kept our line from wandering astray. Why should Heaven not pity her—she left the living world too soon. Ancestral feasts in Qi lack their host; steam offerings rise without her. Memory cuts deep; the whole realm shares this wound. Alas for this sorrow!
30
陵兆既窆，將遷幽都。 宵陳夙駕，元妃其徂。 宮闈遏密，階庭空虛。 設祖布紼，告駕啟塗。 服翬褕狄，寄象容車。 金路晻藹，裳帳不舒。 千乘動軫，六驥躊躇。 銘旌樹表，翣柳雲敷。 祁祁同軌，岌岌烝徒。 孰不云懷，哀感萬夫。 寧神虞卜，安體玄廬。 土房陶簋，齊制遂初。 依行紀諡，聲被八區。 雖背明光，亦歸皇姑。 沒而不朽，世德作謨。 嗚呼哀哉！
The vault is closed; her shades depart for darkness. Torches at midnight, dawn departure—the queen sets forth. The inner halls fall silent; courtyard stairs lie bare. Bearers array cords of parting, proclaim the hearse, and clear the way. Kingfisher seams and pheasant gown ride with her image on the draped bier. Gold carriage lamps flicker; pall curtains stay furled in grief. Countless wheels roll; six bays champ at their traces. Spirit pennons lift high; plumed shades drift like clouds. All realms march together; the funeral train towers sheer. Who could withhold tears—a myriad souls ache together. Give her peace per oracle rites; settle her in the earthen vault. Clay chamber and pottery jars restore the humble pattern from her youth. Virtue frames her epithet; her name crosses every quarter. Though she leaves the sunny halls, she rests beside her queenly ancestress. Death cannot dissolve her—her house’s virtue turns scripture. Alas for this sorrow!
31
乃葬于峻陽陵。
They laid her to rest at Junyang.
32
武悼楊皇后
Empress Yang the Martial and Mourned
33
武悼楊皇后諱芷，字季蘭，小字男胤，元后從妹。 父駿，別有傳。 以咸寧二年立為皇后。 婉嫕有婦德，美映椒房，甚有寵。 生渤海殤王，早薨，遂無子。 太康九年，后率內外夫人命婦躬桑于西郊，賜帛各有差。
Empress Yang Wudao—personal name Zhi, courtesy Jilan, pet name Nanyin—was cousin to the founding empress. Her father Yang Jun has his own biography. She became empress in 276. Gentle and virtuous, she brightened the harem and won enduring favor. Her son the prince of Bohai died in infancy, leaving her without heirs. In 288 she led court ladies to the western suburban silkworm rite and dispensed silk rewards by rank.
34
太子妃賈氏妒忌，帝將廢之。 后言於帝曰：「賈公閭有勳社稷，猶當數世宥之。 賈妃親是其女，正復妒忌之間，不足以一眚掩其大德。」 后又數誡厲妃，妃不知后之助己，因以致恨，謂后構之於帝，忿怨彌深。 及帝崩，尊為皇太后。 賈后凶悖，忌后父駿執權，遂誣駿為亂，使楚王瑋與東安王繇稱詔誅駿。 內外隔塞，后題帛為書，射之城外，曰「救太傅者有賞」，賈后因宣言太后同逆。
Jealous Crown Princess Jia faced deposition. She urged him, “Jia Chong secured the dynasty—his clan merits lasting grace. His daughter is princess—in mere spite one flaw cannot bury his great merit. She later scolded the princess repeatedly; blind to this help, Jia Nanfeng blamed her for slander and hated her all the more. After Emperor Wu died she became empress dowager. Vicious Jia Nanfeng feared Yang Jun; she accused him of treason and had Sima Wei and Sima Yao murder him with forged orders. Cut off from aid, she shot silk pleas over the wall offering reward to save Yang Jun; Jia then claimed the dowager joined the plot.
35
駿既死，詔使後軍將軍荀悝送后于永寧宮。 特全后母高都君龐氏之命，聽就后居止。 賈后諷群公有司奏曰：「皇太后陰漸姦謀，圖危社稷，飛箭繫書，要募將士，同惡相濟，自絕于天。 魯侯絕文姜，春秋所許，蓋以奉順祖宗，任至公於天下。 陛下雖懷無已之情，臣下不敢奉詔。 可宣敕王公于朝堂會議。」 詔曰：「此大事，更詳之。」 有司又奏：「駿藉外戚之資，居冢宰之任，陛下既居諒闇，委以重權，至乃陰圖凶逆，布樹私黨。 皇太后內為脣齒，協同逆謀，禍釁既彰，背捍詔命，阻兵負眾，血刃宮省，而復流書募眾，以獎凶黨，上背祖宗之靈，下絕億兆之望。 昔文姜與亂，春秋所貶，呂宗叛戾，高后降配，宜廢皇太后為峻陽庶人。」 中書監張華等以為「太后非得罪于先帝者也，今黨惡所親，[3]為不母于聖世。 宜依孝成趙皇后故事，曰武帝皇后，處之離宮，以全貴終之恩。」 尚書令、下邳王晃等議曰：「皇太后與駿潛謀，欲危社稷，不可復奉承宗廟，配合先帝。 宜貶尊號，廢詣金墉城。」 于是有司奏：「請從晃等議，廢太后為庶人。 遣使者以太牢告于郊廟，以奉承祖宗之命，稱萬國之望。 至於諸所供奉，可順聖恩，務從豐厚。」 詔不許。 有司又固請，乃可之。 又奏：「楊駿造亂，家屬應誅，詔原其妻龐命，以慰太后之心。 今太后廢為庶人，請以龐付廷尉行刑。」 詔曰：「聽龐與庶人相隨。」 有司希賈后旨，固請，乃從之。 龐臨刑，太后抱持號叫，截髮稽顙，上表詣賈后稱妾，請全母命，不見省。 初，太后尚有侍御十餘人，賈后奪之，絕膳而崩，時年三十四，在位十五年。 賈后又信妖巫，謂太后必訴冤先帝，乃覆而殯之，施諸厭劾符書藥物。
After Yang Jun fell, Rear-General Xun Kui was ordered to move her to Yongning Palace. Her mother Lady Pang was spared and permitted to live with her. Jia’s faction petitioned: “The dowager schemed treason, imperiled the state, shot letters beyond the walls, and recruited troops—criminals helped her and Heaven abandoned her. Lu cut ties with Wen Jiang, which the Annals condone, to serve ancestors and justice. We know your grief, sire, yet we cannot sanction mercy. Summon princes and ministers to the outer court for debate.” The throne replied, “Weighty—deliberate further.” They answered: “Yang Jun used kinship to seize power; while you mourned he plotted rebellion and packed offices with clients. The dowager abetted him; when crime surfaced she resisted orders, armed her faction, and stained the palace—yet still shot appeals to arm traitors, dishonoring spirits and people. Like Wen Jiang or Empress Lü, she must be struck from dowager rank and made a commoner of Junyang.” Zhang Hua argued: “She never wronged Emperor Wu; siding with villains now breaks maternal duty in our era [3]. Treat her like Chengdi’s Zhao—call her Emperor Wu’s consort, lodge her apart, yet grant a decent end.” Wang Huang countered: “She conspired with Yang Jun—she cannot share Wu’s temple. Strip her titles and lock her in Jinyong.” Officials asked to adopt Huang and reduce her to commoner. Announce it with suburban bull sacrifice to ancestors and satisfy the realm. Let her maintenance stay generous per your mercy.” The emperor refused. They insisted again; he yielded. They added: “Yang Jun’s clan should die; you spared Lady Pang to comfort the dowager. Now that she is a commoner, execute Lady Pang.” He ruled: “Let Lady Pang stay with her.” Bowing to Jia’s will they insisted until he agreed. At Lady Pang’s execution the dowager clung to her, cut her hair, kowtowed, signed herself Jia’s servant to beg for mercy—Jia ignored her. Jia stripped her servants; she starved at thirty-four after fifteen years as consort. Jia feared her ghost would accuse Emperor Wu, so she buried her prone under talismans.
36
世祖武皇帝光有四海，元皇后應乾作配。 元后既崩，悼后繼作，至楊駿肆逆，禍延天母。 孝懷皇帝追復號諡，豈不以鯀殛禹興，義在不替者乎！ 又太寧二年，臣忝宗正，帝譜泯棄，罔所循按。 時博諮舊齒，以定昭穆，與故驃騎將軍華恒、尚書荀崧、侍中荀邃因舊譜參論撰次，尊號之重，一無改替。 今聖上孝思，祗肅禋祀，詢及群司，將以恢定大禮。 臣輒思詳，伏見惠皇帝起居注、群臣議奏，列駿作逆謀，危社稷，引魯之文姜，漢之呂后。 臣竊以文姜雖莊公之母，實為父讎； 呂后寵樹私戚，幾危劉氏，按此二事異于今日。 昔漢章帝竇后殺和帝之母，和帝即位盡誅諸竇。 當時議者欲貶竇后，及后之亡，欲不以禮葬。 和帝以奉事十年，義不可違，臣子之道，務從豐厚，仁明之稱，表于往代。 又見故尚書僕射裴頠議悼后故事，稱繼母雖出，追服無改。 是以孝懷皇帝尊崇號諡，還葬峻陵。 此則母子道全，而廢事蕩革也。 于時祭于弘訓之宮，未入太廟。 蓋是事之未盡，非義典也。 若以悼后復位為宜，則應配食世祖； 若以復之為非，則譜諡宜闕，未有位號居正，而偏祠別室者也。 若以孝懷皇帝私隆母子之道，特為立廟者，此苟崇私情，有虧國典，則國譜帝諱，皆宜除棄，匪徒不得同祀于世祖之廟也。
Emperor Wu illumined the realm; his first empress answered Heaven. After Yang Yan died came Yang Zhi; Yang Jun’s treason dragged down the queen mother. Huai restored her honors—as Gun fell but Yu rose, duty survives. In Taining 316 I held the clan office; registers were gone. With Hua Heng, Xun Song, and Xun Sui we recomposed charts—her rank stood firm. Today’s ruler seeks your counsel to fix court ritual. Hui’s archives cite Wen Jiang and Empress Lü against Yang Jun. Wen Jiang was Duke Huan’s killer despite bearing Zhuang— Empress Lü nearly ruined Han—these differ from Yang Zhi. Zhangdi’s Dou killed He’s mother; He wiped out the Dous. Critics then sought to shame Dou and withhold burial rites. He refused cruelty after ten years’ care—his mercy became legend. Pei Yi argued Emperor Ai’s mourned empress kept mourning even after divorce. So Huai restored her posthumous honors at Junling. Kin duty survived though politics had fouled them. She received offerings only at Hongxun, not the grand temple. That showed work unfinished, not proper liturgy. If Yang Zhi deserves restoration, she must join Wu’s temple; if not, her titles should lapse—no legitimate rank receives only a side altar. A private shrine for filial piety alone would break precedent and void every register.
37
會稽王昱、中書監庾冰、中書令何充、尚書令諸葛恢、尚書謝廣、光祿勳留擢、丹楊尹殷融、護軍將軍馮懷、散騎常侍鄧逸等咸從潭議，由是太后配食武帝。
Yu Yi, Yu Bing, He Chong, Zhuge Hui, Xie Guang, Liu Zhuo, Yin Rong, Feng Huai, and Deng Yi endorsed Tan—Yang Zhi joined Wu’s temple.
38
左貴嬪
Lady Zuo of Honorable Rank
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左貴嬪名芬。 兄思，別有傳。 芬少好學，善綴文，名亞于思，武帝聞而納之。 泰始八年，拜修儀。 受詔作愁思之文，因為離思賦曰：
Lady Zuo Fen bore that name. Her brother Zuo Si has his own biography. A scholar and poet second only to Zuo Si, she entered Emperor Wu’s harem by reputation. In 272 she became Xiuyi. Ordered to write on longing, she penned “Rhapsody on Parting Longing”:
40
生蓬戶之側陋兮，不閑習於文符。 不見圖畫之妙像兮，不聞先哲之典謨。 既愚陋而寡識兮，謬忝廁于紫廬。 非草苗之所處兮，恒怵惕以憂懼。 懷思慕之忉怛兮，兼始終之萬慮。 嗟隱憂之沈積兮，獨鬱結而靡訴。 意慘憒而無聊兮，思纏綿以增慕。 夜耿耿而不寐兮，魂憧憧而至曙。 風騷騷而四起兮，霜皚皚而依庭。 日晻曖而無光兮，氣懰慄以洌清。 懷愁戚之多感兮，患涕淚之自零。
Raised by a humble gate—I never studied formal genres. I never traced gallery portraits nor heard wise exempla. Crude and shallow, I stumbled into the purple halls. I am grass out of place—I live in constant fear. Love and sorrow knot every moment. Hidden grief heaps high; I choke with words unsaid. My spirit dulls; longing coils tighter. Nights are endless; my soul drifts till daylight. Wind sighs on four sides; frost lines the yard. Sunlight fades; the air cuts cold. Sorrow crowds my breast; tears fall unbidden.
41
昔伯瑜之婉孌兮，每綵衣以娛親。 悼今日之乖隔兮，奄與家為參辰。 豈相去之云遠兮，曾不盈乎數尋。 何宮禁之清切兮，欲瞻睹而莫因。 仰行雲以歔欷兮，涕流射而沾巾。 惟屈原之哀感兮，嗟悲傷于離別。 彼城闕之作詩兮，亦以日而喻月。 況骨肉之相於兮，永緬邈而兩絕。 長含哀而抱戚兮，仰蒼天而泣血。
Like Boyu of Zhou I ache—he wore bright robes to delight his kin. Today’s cruel divide casts kin as stars that never meet. We stand mere feet apart yet cannot bridge the gap. Palace gates cut sharply—no path opens for my gaze. I gaze at clouds and weep; tears stream until my sleeves drip. Qu Yuan knew this ache—parting tears fall anew. The poets at the gate tower likened sun and moon— —yet kinship binds tighter than sun and moon, now lost forever. Endless sorrow grips me; I lift my eyes to Heaven and weep blood.
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亂曰：骨肉至親，化為他人，永長辭兮。 慘愴愁悲，夢想魂歸，見所思兮。 驚寤號咷，心不自聊，泣漣洏兮。 援筆舒情，涕淚增零，訴斯詩兮。
Envoi: closest kin turned stranger—gone forever. Bitter grief—dreaming souls return with remembered faces. Waking with a cry the heart finds no rest; tears thread endlessly. Brush in hand I bare grief; tears fall faster as I write these lines.
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後為貴嬪，姿陋無寵，以才德見禮。 體羸多患，常居薄室，帝每遊華林，輒回輦過之。 言及文義，辭對清華，左右侍聽，莫不稱美。
Raised to honorable lady despite plain looks, she won respect through wit and character. Frail and sickly, she kept to spare rooms; each imperial outing to Splendid Grove detoured past her lodge. Her answers on texts sparkled; every listener praised her grace.
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及元楊皇后崩，芬獻誄曰：
When Empress Yang Yan died, Zuo Fen offered a lament:
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惟泰始十年秋七月丙寅，晉元皇后楊氏崩，嗚呼哀哉！ 昔有莘適殷，姜姒歸周，宣德中闈，徽音永流。 樊衛二姬，匡齊翼楚； 馬鄧兩妃，亦毗漢主。 峨峨元后，光嬪晉宇。 伉儷聖皇，比蹤往古。 遭命不永，背陽即陰。 六宮號咷，四海慟心。 嗟余鄙妾，銜恩特深。 追慕三良，甘心自沈。 何用存思？ 不忘德音。 何用紀述？ 託辭翰林。 乃作誄曰：
On that summer day in 274 Jin’s Empress Yang Yan passed—alas! Youxin wed Yin; Jiang water wed Zhou—inner chambers rang with virtue. Fan Ji and Wei Ji uplifted Qi and Chu; Ma and Deng consorts beside Han sovereigns did the same. Towering primal queen—you lit the Jin harem. You walked beside the sage throne as queens of old. Heaven refused long life—you crossed from light to shade. Six wings of the harem keened; all beneath Heaven tore their breasts. Mean concubine though I am—your kindness pierced deepest. I envy the three who followed Duke Mu—I would gladly sink with you. Why hoard longing? Keep your virtuous words alive. Why record deeds? Commit them to ink and Hanlin. Thus runs her lament:
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赫赫元后，出自有楊。 奕世朱輪，燿彼華陽。 惟嶽降神，顯茲禎祥。 篤生英媛，休有烈光。 含靈握文，異于庶姜。 和暢春日，操厲秋霜。 疾彼攸遂，敦此義方。 率由四教，匪怠匪荒。 行周六親，徽音顯揚。 顯揚伊何？ 京室是臧。 乃娉乃納，聿嬪聖皇。 正位閨閾，惟德是將。 鳴珮有節，發言有章。 仰觀列圖，俯覽篇籍。 顧問女史，咨詢竹帛。 思媚皇姑，虔恭朝夕。 允釐中饋，執事有恪。
Bright primal queen—you rose from the house of Yang. Generation on generation rode vermillion wheels—Huayang blazed. Sacred peaks poured forth spirit—showing these blessed omens. From them sprang a heroine blazing with light. Spirit and letters dwelt in her—not common flesh. Gentle as vernal sun; resolve sharp as autumn frost. She spurned reckless ease and upheld righteous paths. She walked the four teachings—never idle, never wild. Among six degrees of kin her sweet fame rang. Where did her praise ring? It rang through the royal house. Courtship led her to the sage sovereign’s side. She ordered inner gates—virtue guided every step. Her pendants chimed in rhythm; every phrase wore pattern. She studied charts above and rolled texts below. She queried palace scholars and silk-bound histories. She charmed her royal mother-in-law with dawn-and-dusk reverence. She governed inner kitchens—every duty performed with awe.
47
于禮斯勞，于敬斯勤。 雖曰齊聖，邁德日新。 日新伊何，克廣弘仁。 終溫且惠，帝妹是親。 經緯六宮，罔不彌綸。 群妾惟仰，譬彼北辰。 亦既青陽，鳴鳩告時。 躬執桑曲，率導媵姬。 修成蠶蔟，分繭理絲。 女工是察，祭服是治。 祗奉宗廟，永言孝思。 于彼六行，靡不蹈之。 皇英佐舜，塗山翼禹。 惟衛惟樊，二霸是輔。 明明我后，異世同矩。 亦能有亂[4]，謀及天府。 內敷陰教，外毗陽化。 綢繆庶正，密勿夙夜。 恩從風翔，澤隨雨播。 中外禔福，遐邇詠歌。
Ritual bent her back; reverence drove her nights. Though hailed unequaled, her virtue renewed each dawn. What did renewal bring? Ever-kind, ever-gentle—she cherished the emperor’s own sisters. She threaded six wings of the harem—nothing slipped her weave. Lesser ladies looked up as to the North Star. Spring greens when turtle-doves call the hour. She led brides with mulberry hook in hand. She tended trays, split cocoons, sorted filament. She inspected needlework and fashioned sacral gowns. She served the temple—always mindful of filial hearts. She practiced every womanly virtue. Ehuang and Nüying aided Shun; Tushan aided Yu. Wei Ji and Fan Ji steadied two hegemons. Bright our queen—another age, same measure. She too could heal unrest [4]; she schemed with Heaven’s storehouse. Within she spread yin teaching; without she aided yang rule. She knit every minister—tireless day and night. Her grace rode wind; her bounty fell like rain. Court and countryside flourished; near and far sang hymns.
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天祚貞吉，克昌克繁。 則百斯慶，育聖育賢。 教踰妊姒，訓邁姜嫄。 堂堂太子，惟國之元。 濟濟南陽，為屏為藩。 本支菴藹，四海蔭焉。 微斯皇妣，孰茲克臻。 曰乾蓋聰，曰聖允誠。 積善之堂，五福所并。 宜享高年，匪隕匪傾。 如彭之齒，如聃之齡。 云胡不造，于茲禍殃[5]。 寢疾彌留，寤寐不康。 巫咸騁術，和鵲奏方。 祈禱無應，嘗藥無良。 形神將離，載昏載荒。 奄忽崩殂，湮精滅光。 哀哀太子，南陽繁昌。 攀援不寐，擗踊摧傷。 嗚呼哀哉！ 闔宮號咷，宇內震驚。 奔者填衢，赴者塞庭。 哀慟雷駭，流淚雨零。 歔欷不已，若喪所生。
Heaven kept auspicious fate—family branches multiplied. Blessings arrived in hundreds—bearing sage sons and worthy princes. Her teaching topped Si and Ren; her norms surpassed Jiang Yuan. Lofty the heir—pillar of the realm. Splendid Nanyang princes—screens and river guards. Root and branch spread shade—the realm rests cool. Without this queen mother—who could climb so high? They call Heaven keen; they call sageness true. Goodness piled high—the five blessings gather. She deserved long years—never to fall or fail. Like Peng Zu’s span; like Laozi’s age. Why deny Heaven’s favor—why strike her here [5]? She lingered at death’s door—no sleep brought ease. Shaman Wu worked spells; healers He and Que brewed drafts. Prayers failed; every draught proved vain. Body and soul slipped apart—dimming into gloom. Suddenly she fell—light drowned in dark. The heir mourns—the flourishing prince of Nanyang. He cannot climb from grief—beats his breast till bones break. Alas for this sorrow! Every hall keened—the realm inside the seas shook. Runners clogged roads—mourners packed the yard. Mourning crashed like thunder; tears fell like showers. No sob ends—as if a parent died.
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惟帝與后，契闊在昔。 比翼白屋，雙飛紫閣。 悼后傷后，早即窀穸。 言斯既及，涕泗隕落。 追惟我后，實聰實哲。 通于性命，達于儉節。 送終之禮，比素上世。 襚無珍寶，唅無明月。 潛輝梓宮，永背昭晰。 臣妾哀號，同此斷絕。 庭宇遏密，幽室增陰。 空設幃帳，虛置衣衾。 人亦有言，神道難尋。 悠悠精爽，豈浮豈沈。 豐奠日陳，冀魂之臨。 孰云元后，不聞其音。
Emperor and queen—pledged long ago. They nested in humble roofs—then flew paired to purple halls. They mourn their queen—she sank too soon to stone. Speech stops here—tears and mucus fall. Remembering her—truly keen, truly wise. She grasped life’s truth—she mastered austerity. Her burial honored utmost thrift—plain as oldest times. Her grave clothes bore no gems; no pearl filled her mouth. Her gleam sinks in the catalpa bier—gone from daylight forever. We servants keened—we shared that rupture. Courtyards fell mute; shadow thickened every room. Silken curtains hang hollow; quilts lie unused. Men say ghost roads cannot be traced. Her bright soul wanders—does it rise or sink? Opulent gifts pile daily—we pray her ghost approaches. Who claims our primal queen hears nothing now?
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乃議景行，景行已溢[6]。 乃考龜筮，龜筮襲吉。 爰定宅兆，克成玄室。 魂之往矣，于以令日。 仲秋之晨，啟明始出。 星陳夙駕，靈輿結駟。 其輿伊何？ 金根玉箱。 其駟伊何？ 二駱雙黃。 習習容車，朱服丹章。 隱隱轜軒，弁絰繐裳。 華轂曜野，素蓋被原。 方相仡仡，旌旐翻翻。 輓童引歌，白驥鳴轅。 觀者夾塗，士女涕漣。 千乘萬騎，迄彼峻山。 峻山峨峨，曾阜重阿。 弘高顯敞，據洛背河。 左瞻皇姑，右睇帝家。 推存揆亡，明神所嘉。 諸姑姊妹，娣姒媵御。 追送塵軌，號咷衢路。 王侯卿士，雲會星布。 群官庶僚，縞蓋無數。 咨嗟通夜，東方云曙。 百祇奉迎，我后安厝。 中外俱臨，同哀並慕。 涕如連雲，淚如湛露。 扃闓既闔，窈窈冥冥。 有夜無晝，曷用其明。 不封不樹，山阪同形。
They praised her conduct—it already overflowed measure [6]. Tortoise and yarrow both answered doubly auspicious. They fixed the grave site—raised the hidden vault. Her soul sets forth—this chosen day. Autumn dawn—morning star climbs. Stars still blaze as horses hitch—the spirit coach spans four bays. What coach bore her? Gold-wheeled coach and jade-lined chest. What bays drew her? White Luos paired with golden bays. Rustling draped bier—scarlet robes and vermillion stripes. Low rumbling hearses—mourning bands and hemp skirts. Jeweled hubs flame across fields—white shades blanket the moor. Masked squaremen march—spirit banners whip and flutter. Children guide laments—white steeds keen at shafts. Roadways jam with watchers—lords and ladies sob. Thousands of riders climb toward steep Jun ridge. Jun summit rises—ridge folds on ridge. Lofty and bright—it faces Luo with River behind. Left toward royal mothers—right toward imperial tombs. Judging life and death—the gods approve. Aunts, sisters, co-wives, and maids— they chased the dust—wailing choked every lane. Lords and ministers clustered like clouds and stars. Official multitudes—countless white shades. They sighed till dawn broke east. Spirits greet her—our queen is laid to rest. Court and countryside mourn together. Tears hang like clouds—drops fall like dew. Stone gates sealed—depths sink black. Night without sun—what good is sight? No mound, no marker—she lies plain as the slope.
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昔后之崩，大火西流。 寒往暑過，今亦孟秋。 自我銜卹，儵忽一周。 衣服將變，痛心若抽。 逼彼禮制，惟以增憂。 去此素衣，結戀靈丘。 有始有終，天地之經。 自非三光，誰能不零。 存播令德，沒圖丹青。 先哲之志，以此為榮。 溫溫元后，實宣慈焉。 撫育群生，恩惠滋焉。 遺愛不已，永見思焉。 懸名日月，垂萬春焉。 嗚呼庶妾，感四時焉。 言思言慕，涕漣洏焉。
When she died last year—the Fire star slid west. Cold yielded to heat—again first autumn comes. Since grief seized me—a year flashed past. Mourning clothes turn—my vitals twist. Ritual presses harder—only sorrow swells. I shed white hemp yet cling to her burial mound. Beginnings and endings weave Heaven’s law. Unless you are sun, moon, stars—who escapes falling? Alive she spread virtue—dead artists paint her face. Ancient worthies deemed this their glory. Gentle primal queen—she widowed kindness. She nurtured every life—kindness overflowed. Her love lingers—memory never fades. Her name rides moon and sun—through endless springs. Mean concubine feels—four seasons turn. Each word of longing—tears trail.
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咸寧二年，納悼后，芬于座受詔作頌，其辭曰：
In 276 they welcomed Empress Yang Zhi; Zuo Fen took orders at banquet to hymn her:
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峨峨華嶽，峻極泰清。 巨靈導流，河瀆是經。 惟瀆之神，惟嶽之靈。 鍾于楊族，載育盛明。 穆穆我后，應期挺生。 含聰履喆，岐嶷夙成。 如蘭之茂，如玉之榮。 越在幼沖，休有令名。 飛聲八極，翕習紫庭。 超妊邈姒，比德皇英。 京室是嘉，備禮致娉。 令月吉辰，百僚奉迎。 周生歸韓，詩人是詠。 我后戾止，車服暉映。 登位太微，明德日盛。 群黎欣戴，函夏同慶。
Towering Huashan—summit kisses sky. River Lord splits torrents—the Great River keeps its channel. Spirit of ford and spirit of peak— —they fused in House Yang and bred this brilliance. August queen—born to meet the hour. Clever from birth—child sage mature. Orchid lush—jade radiant. Still in swaddling—already famed. Her voice crossed eight zones—purple palace applauded. Past Ren and Si—she rivals Ehuang and Nüying. The court esteemed her—honored matchmakers sealed the pact. On chosen moon and day—every minister welcomed her. When Zhou-sheng wed Han—the poets sang. Our queen arrived—coach lacquer flashed. She mounted throne—virtue brightened daily. All lands rejoiced—the realm within seas sang.
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翼翼聖皇，叡喆孔純。 愍茲狂戾，闡惠播仁。 蠲釁滌穢，與時惟新。 沛然洪赦，恩詔遐震。 后之踐阼，囹圄虛陳。 萬國齊歡，六合同欣。 坤神抃舞，天人載悅。 興瑞降祥，表精日月。 和氣煙熅，三光朗烈。 既獲嘉時，尋播甘雪。 玄雲晻藹，靈液霏霏。 既儲既積，待陽而晞。 曣晛沾濡，柔潤中畿。 長享豐年，福祿永綏。
Solemn sage emperor—pure in deepest wit. He pitied cruel times—spread mercy everywhere. He washed sin away—made all things new. Grand amnesty rolled—edicts shook frontiers. When she rose—jails gaped empty. Ten thousand states danced—six directions sang. Earth spirit dances—Heaven and mortals thrill. Good omens arrive—sun and moon blaze essence. Warm vapors coil—three lights burn bright. Blessed hour brings timely snow. Purple clouds billow—spirit dew drifts. Moisture gathers—sun must dry it. Warm vapor drenches—capital fields soften. Enjoy fat harvests—wealth and peace endure.
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及帝女萬年公主薨，帝痛悼不已，詔芬為誄，其文甚麗。 帝重芬詞藻，每有方物異寶，必詔為賦頌，以是屢獲恩賜焉。 答兄思詩、書及雜賦頌數十篇，並行于世。
When Princess Wannian died Wu mourned without cease and bid Zuo Fen write—her elegy was splendid. He prized her lines; each tribute beast or gem won an ode—she gathered repeated gifts. Her replies to Zuo Si and dozens of essays circulated widely.
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胡貴嬪
Lady Hu of Honorable Rank
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胡貴嬪名芳。 父奮，別有傳。
Lady Hu Fang bore that name. Her father Hu Fen has his own biography.
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泰始九年，帝多簡良家子女以充內職，自擇其美者以絳紗繫臂。 而芳既入選，下殿號泣。 左右止之曰：「陛下聞聲。」 芳曰：「死且不畏，何畏陛下！」 帝遣洛陽令司馬肇策拜芳為貴嬪。 帝每有顧問，不飾言辭，率爾而答，進退方雅。 時帝多內寵，平吳之後復納孫皓宮人數千，自此掖庭殆將萬人。 而並寵者甚眾，帝莫知所適，常乘羊車，恣其所之，至便宴寢。 宮人乃取竹葉插戶，以鹽汁灑地，而引帝車。 然芳最蒙愛幸，殆有專房之寵焉，侍御服飾亞于皇后。 帝嘗與之摴蒱，爭矢，遂傷上指。 帝怒曰：「此固將種也！」 芳對曰：「北伐公孫，西距諸葛，非將種而何？」 帝甚有慚色。 芳生武安公主。
In 273 he drafted palace girls from good families and marked his favorites with crimson silk arm-bands. Hu Fang crossed the hall weeping once chosen. Attendants hissed, “The emperor will hear.” She shot back, “I fear death itself—why fear an emperor?” Emperor Wu had Luoyang prefect Sima Zhao invest her with honorable rank. Whenever he questioned her she answered straight without flourish—yet comported herself with modest grace. After Wu fell he absorbed thousands of Sun Hao’s girls until the harem neared ten thousand souls. So many favorites he rode a goat cart wherever chance led and slept there. Women sprinkled salt and hung bamboo leaves to steer his goat cart. Hu Fang won nearest monopoly favor—her wardrobe rivaled the empress. Playing dice for arrows she wounded his finger. He snapped, “That’s pure warrior blood!” She shot back, “You marched north against Gongsun and west against Zhuge—what else is warlord stock?” He flushed with shame. She bore Princess Wu’an.
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諸葛夫人
Lady Zhuge
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諸葛夫人名婉，琅邪陽都人也。 父沖，字茂長，廷尉卿。 婉以泰始九年春入宮，帝臨軒，使使持節、洛陽令司馬肇拜為夫人。
Lady Zhuge Wan came from Yangdu in Langya. Her father Zhuge Chong, courtesy Maochang, served as Commandant of Justice. In spring 273 she entered court; Emperor Wu had Sima Zhao invest her as Lady from the southern gallery.
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兄銓，字德林，散騎常侍。 銓弟玫，字仁林，侍中、御史中丞。 玫婦弟周穆，清河王覃之舅也。 永嘉初，穆與玫勸東海王越廢懷帝，立覃，越不許。 重言之，越怒，遂斬玫及穆。 臨刑，玫謂穆曰：「我語卿何道？」 穆曰：「今日復何所說。」 時人方知謀出於穆，非玫之意。
Her brother Zhuge Quan, courtesy Delin, was a palace attendant. Zhuge Mei served as attendant and censor chief. Mei’s brother-in-law Zhou Mu was uncle to Prince Tan of Qinghe. In early Yongjia Zhou Mu and Zhuge Mei urged Sima Yue to replace Huai with Tan—Yue refused. When pressed again Yue beheaded both. Mei asked Zhou Mu, “Did I not warn you?” Mu answered, “Nothing left to say.” Only then did folk realize Zhou Mu schemed it—not Mei.
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惠賈皇后
Empress Jia of Emperor Hui
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惠賈皇后諱南風，平陽人也，小名時。 父充，別有傳。 初，武帝欲為太子取衛瓘女，元后納賈郭親黨之說，欲婚賈氏。 帝曰：「衛公女有五可，賈公女有五不可。 衛家種賢而多子，美而長白； 賈家種妒而少子，醜而短黑。」 元后固請，荀顗、荀勖並稱充女之賢，乃定婚。 始欲聘后妹午，午年十二，小太子一歲，短小未勝衣。 更娶南風，時年十五，大太子二歲。 泰始八年二月辛卯[7]，冊拜太子妃。 妒忌多權詐，太子畏而惑之，嬪御罕有進幸者。
Empress Jia Nanfeng of Pingyang—pet name Shi. Her father Jia Chong has his own biography. Wu favored Wei Guan’s daughter; Empress Yang Yan pushed Jia kin. Wu said, “Wei’s girl scores five merits—Jia’s five flaws. Weis are fertile and wise—fair and statuesque; Jias are jealous and barren—dark and squat. Yang Yan insisted; Xun Yi and Xun Xu praised Jia’s girl—the match closed. They first chose sister Wu—twelve, petite beside the heir. They wed Nanfeng instead—fifteen, two years his senior. On xinmao in early 272 she became crown princess [7]. Jealous and scheming, she cowed the befuddled prince—other women seldom touched him.
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帝常疑太子不慧，且朝臣和嶠等多以為言，故欲試之。 盡召東宮大小官屬，為設宴會，而密封疑事，使太子決之，停信待反。 妃大懼，倩外人作答。 答者多引古義。 給使張泓曰：「太子不學。 而答詔引義，必責作草主，更益譴負。 不如直以意對。」 妃大喜，語泓：「便為我好答，富貴與汝共之。」 泓素有小才，具草，令太子自寫。 帝省之，甚悅。 先示太子少傅衛瓘，瓘大踧踖，眾人乃知瓘先有毀言，殿上皆稱萬歲。 充密遣語妃云：「衛瓘老奴，幾破汝家。」
Wu doubted the heir’s wit—He Qiao agreed—so he tested him. He feasted Eastern Palace staff, sealed riddling cases for the heir to solve. Princess Jia panicked and outsourced answers. Ghostwriters packed classics. Clerk Zhang Hong warned, “He never studied. Classic prose exposes the ghostwriter. Plain speech fits better. She thrilled: “Write plainly—wealth follows. Hong drafted; she made the prince copy. Wu read it—delighted. He flashed it at Wei Guan—Wei squirmed; courtiers jeered Guan’s prior slanders. Jia Chong whispered, “Wei Guan nearly ruined you.
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妃性酷虐，嘗手殺數人。 或以戟擲孕妾，子隨刃墮地。 帝聞之，大怒，已修金墉城，將廢之。 充華趙粲從容言曰：「賈妃年少，妒是婦人之情耳，長自當差。 願陛下察之。」 其後楊珧亦為之言曰：「陛下忘賈公閭耶？」 荀勖深救之，故得不廢。 惠帝即位，立為皇后，生河東、臨海、始平公主、哀獻皇女。
She killed with her own hands. She hurled a ji at a pregnant girl—the infant fell with the blow. Wu rebuilt Jinyong cage ready to depose her. Zhao Can soothed him: “She’s young—jealousy passes. Judge kindly. Yang Zhao added, “Remember Jia Chong?” Xun Xu pleaded—she kept rank. Hui made her queen—mother of Hedong, Linhai, Shiping princesses and others.
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后暴戾日甚。 侍中賈模，后之族兄，右衛郭彰，后之從舅，並以才望居位，與楚王瑋、東安公繇分掌朝政。 后母廣城君養孫賈謐干預國事，權侔人主。 繇密欲廢后，賈氏憚之。 及太宰亮、衛瓘等表繇徙帶方，奪楚王中候，后知瑋怨之，乃使帝作密詔令瑋誅瓘、亮，以報宿憾。 模知后凶暴，恐禍及己，乃與裴頠、王衍謀廢之，衍悔而謀寢。
Her cruelty mounted daily. Jia Mo and Guo Zhang ran court beside Sima Wei and Sima Yao. Lady Guo raised Jia Mi—his power rivaled the throne. Sima Yao plotted deposition—Jias feared him. When Sima Liang and Wei Guan banished Yao and clipped Wei’s guard—she forged orders for Sima Wei to murder Liang and Wei. Jia Mo saw danger—planned coup with Pei Yi—Wang Yan backed out.
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后遂荒淫放恣，與太醫令程據等亂彰內外。 洛南有盜尉部小吏，端麗美容止，既給冢役，忽有非常衣服，眾咸疑其竊盜，尉嫌而辯之。 賈后疏親欲求盜物，往聽對辭。 小吏云：「先行逢一老嫗，說家有疾病，師卜云宜得城南少年厭之，欲暫相煩，必有重報。 於是隨去，上車下帷，內簏箱中，行可十餘里，過六七門限，開簏箱，忽見樓闕好屋。 問此是何處，云是天上，即以香湯見浴，好衣美食將入。 見一婦人，年可三十五六，短形青黑色，眉後有疵。 見留數夕，共寢歡宴，臨出贈此眾物。」 聽者聞其形狀，知是賈后，慚笑而去，尉亦解意。 時他人入者多死，惟此小吏，以后愛之，得全而出。 及河東公主有疾，師巫以為宜施寬令，乃稱詔大赦天下。
She ran riot with physician Cheng Ju. A pretty clerk toiling tombs wore silk—suspected theft. Jia kin listened to his confession. He met an old woman needing a southern lad to lift a curse—for pay. She rode blindfolded through gates till palaces appeared. They called it Heaven—bathed and fed him. A squat dark woman in her mid-thirties bore a brow mole. She kept him nights—sent gifts after. Listeners recognized Jia Nanfeng—the captain dropped charges. Others died visiting her bed—only her pet survived. When her daughter sickened shamans demanded amnesty—she forged pardon.
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初，后詐有身，內稿物為產具，遂取妹夫韓壽子慰祖養之，託諒闇所生，故弗顯。 遂謀廢太子，以所養代立。 時洛中謠曰：「南風烈烈吹黃沙，遙望魯國鬱嵯峨，前至三月滅汝家。」 后母廣城君以后無子，甚敬重愍懷，每勸厲后，使加慈愛。 賈謐恃貴驕縱，不能推崇太子，廣城君恒切責之。 及廣城君病篤，占術謂不宜封廣城，乃改封宜城。 后出侍疾十餘日，太子常往宜城第，將醫出入，恂恂盡禮。 宜城臨終執后手，令盡意于太子，言甚切至。 又曰：「趙粲及午必亂汝事，我死後，勿復聽入，深憶吾言。」 后不能遵之，遂專制天下，威服內外。 更與粲、午專為姦謀，誣害太子，眾惡彰著。 初，誅楊駿及汝南王亮、太保衛瓘、楚王瑋等，皆臨機專斷，宦人董猛參預其事。 猛，武帝時為寺人監，侍東宮，得親信于后，預誅楊駿，封武安侯，猛三兄皆為亭侯，天下咸怨。
She faked pregnancy—snatched Han Shou’s son Weizu—called him newborn heir. She meant to replace the heir with him. Luoyang sang: “Nanfeng blasts yellow dust—Lu towers loom—by third moon your clan falls. Lady Guo prized Minhuai—begged Jia to cherish him. Jia Mi insulted the heir—Lady Guo scolded him. Ill diviners forbade “Guangcheng”—she became Princess Yicheng. Minhuai nursed her mother—deferential. She clasped Jia’s hand—beg her shield Minhuai. She warned against Zhao Can and Jia Wu. Jia ignored—ruled alone. She schemed with them against Minhuai. Yang Jun, Sima Liang, Wei Guan, Sima Wei died by her whim—with eunuch Dong Meng. Dong Meng gained titles—his brothers too—the realm cursed them.
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及太子廢黜，趙王倫、孫秀等因眾怨謀欲廢后[8]。 后數遣宮婢微服於人間視聽，其謀頗泄。 后甚懼，遂害太子，以絕眾望。 趙王倫乃率兵入宮，使翊軍校尉齊王冏入殿廢后。 后與冏母有隙，故倫使之。 后驚曰：「卿何為來！」 冏曰：「有詔收后。」 后曰：「詔當從我出，何詔也？」 后至上閤，遙呼帝曰：「陛下有婦，使人廢之，亦行自廢。」 又問冏曰：「起事者誰？」 冏曰：「梁、趙。」 后曰：「繫狗當繫頸，今反繫其尾，何得不然！」 至宮西，見謐尸，再舉聲而哭遽止。 倫乃矯詔遣尚書劉弘等持節齎金屑酒賜后死。 后在位十一年。 趙粲、賈午、韓壽、董猛等皆伏誅。
Once Minhuai fell Sima Lun and Sun Xiu used hatred to target her [8]. She spied on rumors—some leaked. Terrified she murdered Minhuai. Sima Lun stormed in—sent Sima Jiong to drag her out. Jiong hated her mother—Lun used him. She cried, “Why you!” Jiong said, “Orders to seize you. She snapped, “Only I issue edicts. She yelled at Hui—depose your wife, doom yourself. She asked who plotted. “Liang and Zhao.” “Chain a dog by the throat—you seized the tail—no wonder!” Seeing Jia Mi’s corpse she wailed twice—then silence. Sima Lun sent Liu Hong with golden liquor. Eleven years queen. Her cabal died with her.
70
臨海公主先封清河，洛陽之亂，為人所略，傳賣吳興錢溫。 溫以送女，女遇主甚酷。 元帝鎮建鄴，主詣縣自言。 元帝誅溫及女，改封臨海，宗正曹統尚之。
Princess Qinghe—later Linhai—was kidnapped in chaos and sold to Qian Wen. Qian Wen delivered her as a bride—the girl met a vicious mistress. Once Yuan of Jin ruled Jianye she appealed at the yamen. He executed Wen and his daughter, restored her Linhai title, and married her to Cao Tong.
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惠羊皇后
Empress Yang of Emperor Hui
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惠羊皇后諱獻容，泰山南城人。 祖瑾，父玄之，並見外戚傳。 賈后既廢，孫秀議立后。 后外祖孫旂與秀合族，又諸子自結於秀，故以太安元年立為皇后[9]。 將入宮，衣中有火。
Empress Yang Xianrong came from Nancheng in Taishan. Her grandfather Yang Jin and father Yang Xuanzhi appear among outer kin. After Jia Nanfeng fell Sun Xiu debated a new queen. Sun Qi’s tie to Sun Xiu won her the throne in 302 [9]. Fire sparked inside her robes on palace entry.
73
成都王穎伐長沙王乂，以討玄之為名。 乂敗，穎奏廢后為庶人，處金墉城。 陳眕等唱伐成都王，大赦，復后位。 張方入洛，又廢后。 方逼遷大駕幸長安，留臺復后位。 永興初，張方又廢后。 河間王顒矯詔，以后屢為姦人所立，遣尚書田淑敕留臺賜后死。 詔書累至，司隸校尉劉暾與尚書僕射荀藩、河南尹周馥馳上奏曰：「奉被手詔，伏讀惶悴。 臣按古今書籍，亡國破家，毀喪宗祊，皆由犯眾違人之所致也。 陛下遷幸，舊京廓然，眾庶悠悠，罔所依倚。 家有跂踵之心，人想鑾輿之聲，思望大德，釋兵歸農。 而兵纏不解，處處互起，豈非善者不至，人情猜隔故耶！ 今上官巳犯闕稱兵，焚燒宮省，百姓諠駭，宜鎮之以靜。 而大使卒至，赫然執藥，當詣金墉，內外震動，謂非聖意。 羊庶人門戶殘破，廢放空宮，門禁峻密，若絕天地，無緣得與姦人搆亂。 眾無智愚，皆謂不然，刑書猥至，罪不值辜，人心一憤，易致興動。 夫殺一人而天下喜悅者，宗廟社稷之福也。 今殺一枯窮之人而令天下傷慘，臣懼凶豎乘間，妄生變故。 臣忝司京輦，觀察眾心，實以深憂，宜當含忍。 不勝所見，謹密啟聞。 願陛下更深與太宰參詳，勿令遠近疑惑，取謗天下。」 顒見表大怒，乃遣陳顏、呂朗東收暾。 暾奔青州，后遂得免。 帝還洛，迎后復位。 後洛陽令何喬又廢后。 及張方首至，其日復后位。
Sima Ying struck Sima Yi citing Yang Xuanzhi. After Yi fell Ying reduced her to commoner at Jinyong. Chen Zhen’s coalition restored her with amnesty. Zhang Fang returned and struck her title. Zhang Fang dragged the court west—Luoyang ministers restored her. Early Yongxing Zhang Fang deposed her again. Sima Yong forged orders—blaming meddlers—sent Tian Shu to kill her. Liu Tun, Xun Fan, and Zhou Fu raced a plea: “Your sealed orders leave us shaking. History shows ruin follows when rulers betray the people. You moved west—Luoyang lies bare—the people wander homeless. Every hearth cranes for your bells—the realm wants peace and fields. War still spreads because trust never came. Shangguan Si burns the palace—calm needs quiet rule. Suddenly envoys bear poison for Jinyong—none believe it is your wish. Yang wallows locked away—no traitor access. No one thinks her guilty—rash execution invites riot. Execute one villain and the realm cheers—that aids the shrines. Kill a helpless widow and horrify the realm—rebels will exploit it. We guard the capital—we plead restraint. We cannot stay silent. Consult your ministers—do not scandalize the world. Yong raged—sent Chen Yan and Lu Lang to arrest Liu Tun. Tun fled to Qingzhou—she survived. When the emperor returned he restored her. Magistrate He Qiao struck her title again. Zhang Fang’s head reached Luoyang—she rose again that day.
74
會帝崩，后慮太弟立為嫂叔，不得稱太后，催前太子清河王覃入，將立之，不果。 懷帝即位，尊后為惠帝皇后，居弘訓宮。 洛陽敗，沒于劉曜。 曜僭位，以為皇后。 因問曰：「吾何如司馬家兒？」 后曰：「胡可並言？ 陛下開基之聖主，彼亡國之暗夫，有一婦一子及身三耳，不能庇之。 貴為帝王，而妻子辱于凡庶之手。 遣妾爾時實不思生，何圖復有今日。 妾生於高門，常謂世間男子皆然。 自奉巾櫛以來，始知天下有丈夫耳。」 曜甚愛寵之，生曜二子而死，偽諡獻文皇后。
At Hui’s death she feared Sima Chi would make her sister-in-law—she rushed Tan—failed. Huai styled her Hui’s widow at Hongxun. Luoyang fell—Liu Yao seized her. Liu Yao made her consort. He asked, “How do I compare to that Sima?” She answered, “There is no comparison. You are a founding hero—he could not shield wife, son, self. Emperor though he was—kin suffered common abuse. I thought life over—never dreamed of this dawn. Raised noble—I assumed every man so weak. Since serving you I learned what men can be. He adored her—she bore two sons then died—honored posthumously as Empress Xianwen.
75
謝夫人
Lady Xie
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謝夫人名玖。 家本貧賤，父以屠羊為業。 玖清惠貞正而有淑姿，選入後庭為才人。
Lady Xie Jiu bore that name. Her father butchered sheep. Pure and lovely—she entered as a talented lady.
77
惠帝在東宮，將納妃。 武帝慮太子尚幼，未知帷房之事，乃遣往東宮侍寢，由是得幸有身。 賈后妒忌之，玖求還西宮，遂生愍懷太子，年三四歲，惠帝不知也。 入朝，見愍懷與諸皇子共戲，執其手，武帝曰：「是汝兒也。」 及立為太子，拜玖為淑媛。 賈后不聽太子與玖相見，處之一室。 及愍懷遇酷，玖亦被害焉。 永康初，詔改葬太子，因贈玖夫人印綬，葬顯平陵。
While Hui was heir they chose a princess. Wu sent her to tutor him in bed—she conceived. Jia drove her west—she bore Minhuai—Hui knew nothing for years. At court Wu pointed—this is your boy. When Minhuai became heir she became Shuyuan. Jia barred visits—penned mother and son apart. When Minhuai died killers took her too. Yongkang reburied Minhuai—honored her at Xianping.
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懷王皇太后
Empress Dowager Wang of Emperor Huai
79
懷王皇太后諱媛姬，不知所出。 初入武帝宮，拜中才人，早卒。 懷帝即位，追尊曰皇太后。
Empress Dowager Wang Yuanji—parentage unknown. She entered Wu’s harem as mid-ranked talented lady—died young. Huai raised her posthumously to dowager.
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元夏侯太妃
Lady Xiahou the Honored Consort of Yuan
81
元夏侯太妃名光姬，沛國譙人也。 祖威，兗州刺史。 父莊，字仲容，淮南太守、清明亭侯。
Lady Xiahou Guangji came from Qiao in Pei. Her grandfather Xiahou Wei governed Yanzhou. Her father Xiahou Zhuang—Huainan governor—Marquis of Qingming.
82
妃生自華宗，幼而明慧。 琅邪武王為世子覲納焉，生元帝。 及恭王薨，元帝嗣立，稱王太妃。 永嘉元年，薨于江左，葬琅邪國。 初有讖云「銅馬入海建鄴期」，太妃小字銅環，而元帝中興於江左焉。
Noble blood—bright even as a girl. Prince Sima Zhou wed her for his heir—she bore Sima Rui. After Gong died Rui styled her royal dowager. She died in 307 south of the river—buried in Langya. Prophecy called “bronze horse” to sea—her pet name was Bronze Ring—and Rui restored Jin south.
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校勘記
Collation Notes
84
洎乎世祖「世祖」原作「太祖」。 太祖，文帝廟號。 選良家掩扇乃世祖武帝事，今依《武元楊皇后傳》改。
Text erroneously said Taizu instead of Shizu. Taizu names Emperor Wen. Fan episode belongs to Wu—fixed per Yang Yan’s biography.
85
「父文宗」校文：御覽一三八引云后父炳，此作「文宗」者，疑以字行。 湯球王隱晉書輯本注云，唐諱「炳」，故所修書作「文宗」。
Yang Wenzhong vs Bing—likely courtesy. Tang scribes avoided Bing—substituted Wenzhong.
86
《華傳》作「黨其所親」。 按：《通鑑·八二》用張華傳文，是也。
Zhang Hua’s text reads “bonded with favorites.” Zizhi Tongjian follows Hua—correct.
87
南監本「亂」作「辭」。
Southern manuscript reads ci for luan.
88
《類聚·一五》「于」作「丁」，義長。
Leiju variant ding fits better.
89
「溢」疑「謚」之誤。
Yi should read shi.
90
二月己亥朔，無辛卯。
February jihai cycle lacks xinmao.
91
「怨」，宋本作「怒」，今從殿本、局本。 此「怨」字承上文「天下咸怨」。
Song reads nu—Palace edition yuan. Yuan echoes “all under Heaven resented.”