1
元敬虞皇后
Empress Yu, posthumously titled Respectful and Reverent.
2
元敬虞皇后諱孟母，濟陽外黃人也。 父豫，見《外戚傳》。 帝為琅邪王，納后為妃，無子。 永嘉六年薨，時年三十五。
Empress Yu's personal name was Mengmu; she came from Waihuang in Jiyang commandery. Her father was Yu; his biography appears under the outer kin. While he was still Prince of Langya, he married her as his consort, and she bore him no children. She died in the sixth year of Yongjia, at the age of thirty-five.
3
帝為晉王，追尊為王后。 有司奏王后應別立廟。 令曰：「今宗廟未成，不宜更興作，便修飾陵上屋以為廟。」 太興三年，冊曰：「皇帝咨前琅邪王妃虞氏：朕祗順昊天成命，用陟帝位。 悼妃夙徂，徽音潛翳，御于家邦，靡所儀刑，陰教有虧，用傷于懷。 追號制諡，先王之典。 今遣使持節兼太尉萬勝奉冊贈皇后璽綬，祀以太牢。 魂而有靈，嘉茲寵榮。」 乃祔於太廟，葬建平陵。
After he was invested as Prince of Jin, she was posthumously honored as his queen. Officials submitted that the late queen deserved a shrine of her own. An edict declared: "The dynastic temple is not finished yet, so we should not start another major project; renovate the structures on her burial mound and use them as her temple." In the third year of Taixing the formal patent read: "The Emperor speaks to the former Princess Yu of Langya: I have reverently accepted Heaven's charge and taken the throne. My consort left this world too soon; her virtuous name has faded from view. She should have ordered the inner court and the realm, yet no one can now model themselves on her, and women's moral teaching is the poorer for it—this truly pains me. Bestowing a title and fixing a posthumous name are practices handed down from the ancient kings. I therefore send Wan Sheng, credential bearer and concurrent Grand Commandant, to deliver the patent and investiture regalia and to sacrifice to her with a full tai-lao offering. Should your spirit still be aware, take comfort in this honor I confer." She was then given a place beside the imperial ancestors in the Grand Temple and laid to rest at Jianping Mausoleum.
4
太寧中，明帝追懷母養之恩，贈豫妻王氏為䢵陽縣君，從母散騎常侍新野王罕妻為平陽鄉君。
During the Taining years, Emperor Ming remembered how Yu's wife had raised him and ennobled her as Mistress of Yiyang county; his aunt, wife of Wang Han, Prince of Xinye and Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary, received the title Mistress of Pingyang township.
5
荀豫章君
Lady Xun of Yuzhang.
6
豫章君荀氏，元帝宮人也。 初有寵，生明帝及琅邪王裒，由是為虞后所忌。 自以位卑，每懷怨望，為帝所譴，漸見疏薄。 及明帝即位，封建安君，別立第宅。 太寧元年，帝迎還臺內，供奉隆厚。 及成帝立，尊重同于太后。 咸康元年薨。 詔曰：「朕少遭憫凶，慈訓無稟，撫育之勤，建安君之仁也。 一旦薨殂，實思報復，永惟平昔，感痛哀摧。 其贈豫章郡君，別立廟于京都。」
Lady Xun of Yuzhang had entered Emperor Yuan's inner palace. She once enjoyed the emperor's favor and gave birth to Emperor Ming and Prince Ai of Langya, which drew Empress Yu's jealousy. Convinced that her station was too humble, she nursed a bitter grievance until the emperor reproached her, and little by little she fell out of favor. When Emperor Ming took the throne, he titled her Lady of Jian'an and set her up in a residence of her own. In the first year of Taining he brought her back into the palace compound and attended to her wants with exceptional generosity. Under Emperor Cheng she was honored no less than a formal empress dowager. She died in the first year of Xiankang. The edict ran: "I lost my parents while still young and never knew a mother's guidance; it was the Lady of Jian'an who tenderly raised me. Now that she is gone I long to repay her kindness; whenever I think of the past, grief overwhelms me. Posthumously honor her as Mistress of Yuzhang commandery and erect a dedicated shrine for her in the capital."
7
明穆庾皇后
Empress Yu of Mingmu.
8
明穆庾皇后諱文君，潁川鄢陵人也。 父琛，見《外戚傳》。 后性仁慈，美姿儀。 元帝聞之，聘為太子妃，以德行見重。
Empress Yu's personal name was Wenjun; her family was from Yanling in Yingchuan commandery. Her father was Yu Chen; see the outer-kin biographies. She was gentle by nature and graceful in bearing. Emperor Yuan, hearing of her reputation, chose her as crown princess and valued her for character and virtue.
9
明帝即位，立為皇后。 冊曰：「妃庾氏昔承明命，作嬪東宮，虔恭中饋，思媚軌則。 履信思順，以成肅雝之道； 正位閨房，以著協德之美。 朕夙罹不造，煢煢在疚。 群公卿士，稽之往代，僉以崇嫡明統，載在典謨，宜建長秋，以奉宗廟。 是以追述先志，不替舊命，使使持節兼太尉授皇后璽綬。 夫坤德尚柔，婦道承姑，崇粢盛之禮，敦螽斯之義。 是以利在永貞，克隆堂基，母儀天下，潛暢陰教。 鑒于六列，考之篇籍，禍福無門，盛衰由人，雖休勿休。 其敬之哉，可不慎歟！」
When Emperor Ming came to the throne, she was invested as empress. The patent declared: "Consort Yu once received a shining mandate as mistress of the Eastern Palace; devoutly she kept the inner household in order and sought to embody every feminine virtue. Faithful and obedient, she realized that austere harmony proper to the inner quarters; holding rightful place in the women's apartments, she showed what matching virtue could be. I have known bereavement since childhood and stand alone in mourning. My ministers, searching antiquity, agree that raising the rightful consort to clarify the imperial line is written in the classics—we ought to install the Mistress of Eternal Autumn to serve the ancestral shrine. I therefore honor my late father's wish and do not set aside his earlier command: a credential bearer concurrent Grand Commandant shall present the seal and ribbons of empress. Earth's virtue favors yielding; a wife's duty is to honor her husband's mother; exalt the grain offerings and nurture the blessing of abundant heirs. Lasting integrity enlarges the royal house; as mother to the realm she must quietly extend women's moral teaching everywhere. Learn from the Six Precepts for Women and from the histories: fortune strikes no fixed door—rise and fall depend on conduct; even in ease you must never grow careless. Revere all this—could you dare be anything but vigilant?"
10
成恭杜皇后
Empress Du of Chenggong.
11
成恭杜皇后諱陵陽[2]，京兆人，鎮南將軍預之曾孫也。 父乂，見《外戚傳》。 成帝以后奕世名德，咸康二年備禮拜為皇后，即日入宮。 帝御太極前殿，群臣畢賀，晝漏盡，懸籥，百官乃罷。 后少有姿色，然長猶無齒，有來求婚者輒中止。 及帝納采之日，一夜齒盡生。 改宣城陵陽縣為廣陽縣。 七年三月，后崩，年二十一。 外官五日一臨，內官旦一入，葬訖止。 后在位六年，無子。
Empress Du's personal name was Lingyang; she came from Jingzhao and was the great-granddaughter of Du Yu, General Who Guards the South. Her father was Du Yi; see the outer-kin biographies. Emperor Cheng admired her lineage's long-standing reputation for virtue; in the second year of Xiankang he invested her with full ceremony as empress, and she entered the palace that same day. The emperor took his seat in the forward hall of Supreme Ultimate while the ministers offered congratulations; court lasted until the water-clock ran dry and the gate tally was hung up—only then did the officials withdraw. She had been pretty as a girl, but even as a young woman she still had no teeth, so every match that was proposed fell through. On the night the emperor's betrothal gifts arrived, her teeth suddenly came in. Lingyang county in Xuancheng commandery was renamed Guangyang to avoid the imperial personal name. She died in the third month of the seventh year of her reign, aged twenty-one. Outer-court officials mourning visits came once every five days; inner-palace staff attended each morning until burial was finished. She had been empress six years and bore no heir.
12
先是，三吳女子相與簪白花，望之如素柰，傳言天公織女死，為之著服，至是而后崩。 帝下詔曰：「吉凶典儀，誠宜備設； 然豐約之度，亦當隨時，況重壤之下，而崇飾無用邪！ 今山陵之事，一從節儉，陵中唯潔掃而已，不得施塗車芻靈。」 有司奏造凶門柏歷及調挽郎，皆不許。 又禁遠近遣使。 明年元會，有司奏廢樂。 詔廢管絃，奏金石如故。
Earlier, women throughout the Wu region had taken to wearing white blossoms in their hair until, from a distance, they looked like groves of pale crabapple; rumor said Heaven's Weaver had died and they were in mourning for her—then the empress passed away. The emperor proclaimed: "Rites for joy and for mourning ought indeed to be observed in full; yet scale should suit the times—especially once she lies under deep earth, what good is useless splendor? Her burial mound shall be handled with strict economy: the chamber needs only a clean floor—no plaster chariots or straw effigies." When officials asked to build mourning gateways and cypress biers and to draft pallbearers, he refused every request. He also barred localities near and far from sending delegations. At the next New Year's audience officials asked that music be suspended. The edict silenced strings and winds but allowed bells and chimes as usual.
13
孝武帝立，寧康二年，以后母裴氏為廣德縣君。 裴氏名穆，長水校尉綽孫，太傅主簿遐女，太尉王夷甫外孫。 中表之美，高於當世。 遐隨東海王越遇害，無子。 唯穆渡江，遂享榮慶，立第南掖門外，世所謂杜姥宅云。
After Emperor Xiaowu ascended the throne, he titled the empress's mother, Lady Pei, Mistress of Guangde county in the second year of Ningkang. Lady Pei was named Mu—granddaughter of the Colonel of the Chang River Guard Pei Chuo, daughter of the Grand Tutor's registrar Pei Xia, and maternal granddaughter of Grand Commandant Wang Yan. Among her kin she stood out as one of the finest women of her generation. Pei Xia had followed Sima Yue, Prince of Donghai, and was killed in the turmoil; he left no sons. Only Lady Mu escaped south across the Yangzi and lived to see honor and ease; she built a mansion outside the southern side gate—the house later known as Old Lady Du's.
14
周太妃
Grand Consort Zhou.
15
章太妃周氏以選入成帝宮，有寵，生哀帝及海西公。 始拜為貴人。 哀帝即位，詔有司議貴人位號，太尉桓溫議宜稱夫人，尚書僕射江虨議應曰太夫人。 詔崇為皇太妃，儀服與太后同。 又詔「朝臣不為太妃敬，合禮典不」。 太常江逌議「位號不極，不應盡敬」。 興寧元年薨。 帝欲服重，江虨啟應緦麻三月。 詔欲降為期年，虨又啟「厭屈私情，所以上嚴祖考」，帝從之。
Lady Zhou of Zhang entered Emperor Cheng's harem as a selected concubine, won his favor, and bore Emperor Ai and the future Duke of Haixi. She was first titled Honored Person. When Emperor Ai took the throne he told officials to settle her title: Grand Commandant Huan Wen proposed "Lady"; Vice Director of the Secretariat Jiang Bin argued for "Grand Lady." An edict raised her to Grand Imperial Consort with regalia matching an empress dowager's. Another edict asked whether ministers who refused her full obeisance were acting within the rites. Minister Jiang Yi replied that because her rank fell short of empress dowager, she should not receive the full ritual deference. She died in the first year of Xingning. The emperor meant to observe heavy mourning; Jiang Bin urged the lighter si-ma hemp for three months instead. When the court suggested cutting mourning to one year, Jiang Bin argued that restraining private grief honored the imperial ancestors; the emperor accepted his advice.
16
康獻褚皇后
Empress Chu of Kangxian.
17
康獻褚皇后諱蒜子，河南陽翟人也。 父裒，見《外戚傳》。 后聰明有器識，少以名家入為琅邪王妃。 及康帝即位，立為皇后，封母謝氏為尋陽鄉君。
Empress Chu's personal name was Suànzi; her clan came from Yangzhai in Henan commandery. Her father was Chu Pou; see the outer-kin biographies. Clever and discerning, she married into the house of Langya while still young as a bride from an eminent family. When Emperor Kang succeeded, she became empress and her mother, Lady Xie, received the title Mistress of Xunyang township.
18
及穆帝即位，尊后曰皇太后。 時帝幼沖，未親國政。 領司徒蔡謨等上奏曰：「嗣皇誕哲岐嶷，繼承天統，率土宅心，兆庶蒙賴。 陛下體茲坤道，訓隆文母。 昔塗山光夏，簡狄熙殷，實由宣哲，以隆休祚。 伏惟陛下德侔二媯，淑美關雎，臨朝攝政，以寧天下。 今社稷危急，兆庶懸命，臣等章惶，一日萬機，事運之期，天祿所鍾，非復沖虛高讓之日。 漢和熹、順烈，並亦臨朝，近明穆故事，以為先制。 臣等不勝悲怖，謹伏地上請。 乞陛下上順祖宗，下念臣吏，推公弘道，以協天人，則萬邦承慶，群黎更生。」 太后詔曰：「帝幼沖，當賴群公卿士將順匡救，以酬先帝禮賢之意，且是舊德世濟之美，則莫重之命不墜，祖宗之基有奉，是其所以欲正位于內而已。 所奏懇到，形于翰墨，執省未究，以悲以懼。 先后允恭謙抑，思順坤道，所以不距群情，固為國計。 豈敢執守沖闇，以違先旨。 輒敬從所奏。」 於是臨朝稱制。 有司奏，謝夫人既封，荀、卞二夫人亦應追贈，皆后之前母也。 太后不許。 太常殷融議依鄭玄義，衛將軍裒在宮庭則盡臣敬，太后歸寧之日自如家人之禮。 太后詔曰：「典禮誠所未詳，如所奏，是情所不能安也，更詳之。」 征西將軍翼、南中郎尚議謂「父尊盡於一家，君敬重於天下，鄭玄義合情禮之中」。 太后從之。 自後朝臣皆敬裒焉。
After Emperor Mu came to the throne she was honored as empress dowager. The boy emperor was too young to rule in person. Cai Mo, acting Minister over the Masses, and others wrote: "The young sovereign shows Heaven-endowed wisdom; he has received the mandate and holds the hearts of the realm; the people look to him for protection. Your Majesty embodies Earth's sustaining power, like the mother who instructed the kings of Zhou. Ancient consorts such as the lady of Tushan and Jiandi brought glory to Xia and Shang through their own clarity of mind. We believe your virtue rivals the two wives of Shun, your grace recalls the "Guanju" ode—take the reins of government and calm the empire. The altars totter and the people hang by a thread; we tremble with fear. These heavy times, when Heaven concentrates its mandate, are no moment for modest refusal. Han empresses dowager Deng and Liang both held court, as did our own late Empress Mingmu—let their example be your guide. Overcome by dread and sorrow, we prostrate ourselves and beg you. Honor your ancestors, remember your officials, pursue the common good and enlarge the Way until Heaven and humanity are aligned—then every quarter of the realm will rejoice and the common folk will have new life." The dowager replied: "The emperor is a child; he needs his ministers to guide and steady him, fulfilling his late father's wish to honor wise men and continuing the virtuous assistance each generation owes the next. Only then will the great charge stay secure and the ancestral legacy find support—that is all I mean by keeping proper station within the palace. Your plea, set down so earnestly on paper, moves me before I have finished reading it—I feel both sorrow and fear. My late sister-consort was yielding and gentle, ever seeking to follow Earth's way; she deferred to the court's wishes because she put the state first. How could I cling to dull modesty and spurn what she intended? I accept what you have asked." She thereupon took up regency and issued orders in her own name. Officials noted that Lady Xie had received a title and argued that Ladies Xun and Bian—the empress's two stepmothers—deserved posthumous honors as well. The dowager refused. Minister Yin Rong, citing Zheng Xuan, ruled that General Who Guards the Wei Chu Pou should observe full court etiquette inside the palace, but on days when the dowager visited her natal home they might behave as father and daughter. The dowager replied: "The ritual canon is not yet clear to me on this point; granting what you ask would leave me inwardly uneasy—study it again and report back." Yu Yi, General Who Conquers the West, and Xie Shang, Colonel of the Southern Interior, then argued that "a father commands reverence only within the household, whereas the sovereign's dignity weighs on the whole realm—Zheng Xuan's reading strikes the right balance between affection and ritual." The dowager accepted their view. Henceforth every minister treated Chu Pou with full ceremonial respect.
19
帝既冠，太后詔曰：「昔遭不造，帝在幼沖，皇緒之微，眇若贅旒。 百辟卿士率遵前朝，勸喻攝政。 以社稷之重，先代成義，僶俛敬從，弗遑固守。 仰憑七廟之靈，俯仗群后之力，帝加元服，禮成德備，當陽親覽，臨御萬國。 今歸事反政，一依舊典。」 于是居崇德宮，手詔群公曰：「昔以皇帝幼沖，從群后之議，既以闇弱，又頻丁極艱，銜恤歷祀，沈憂在疚。 司徒親尊德重，訓救其弊，王室之不壞，實公是憑。 帝既備茲冠禮，而四海未一，五胡叛逆，豺狼當路，費役日興，百姓困苦。 願諸君子思量遠算，戮力一心，輔翼幼主，匡救不逮。 未亡人永歸別宮，以終餘齒。 仰惟家國，故以一言託懷。」
After the emperor's capping ceremony the dowager proclaimed: "We once faced calamity while he was still a child—the imperial thread hung by a hair, like a stray tassel on a crown. The nobles and ministers, following precedent of recent reigns, urged me to govern as regent. The altars' safety and precedent alike demanded obedience, so I swallowed my reluctance and took up the regency—I could not cling to refusal. Through the blessing of the seven shrines and the strength of you ministers he has now received the cap; the rites are finished and his virtue formed—it is time for him to face south, rule in person, and oversee the realm. I therefore return the government to him, exactly as the statutes prescribe." She retired to Chongde Palace and wrote the grandees personally: "Because the emperor was a minor I yielded to your counsel and ruled for him; timid by nature, I then endured one catastrophe after another—year after year of mourning has left me crushed by sorrow. The Minister over the Masses—honored, weighty in virtue—has corrected our faults and kept the house of Jin standing; we owe that survival chiefly to him. Though his capping is done, the realm is still divided, the five Hu rampage like wolves across the roads, levies multiply daily, and the people suffer terribly. I ask you to think ahead, stand together, support the young sovereign, and remedy every shortcoming. I shall withdraw forever to another palace and live out what years remain. Thinking of both kin and kingdom, I offer you this single heartfelt charge.
20
及哀帝、海西公之世，太后復臨朝稱制[3]。 桓溫之廢海西公也，太后方在佛屋燒香，內侍啟云「外有急奏」，太后乃出。 尚倚戶前視奏數行，乃曰「我本自疑此」，至半便止，索筆答奏云：「未亡人罹此百憂，感念存沒，心焉如割。」 溫始呈詔草，慮太后意異，悚動流汗，見于顏色。 及詔出，溫大喜。
Under Emperor Ai and the Duke of Haixi she took up the regency once more. When Huan Wen deposed the Duke of Haixi, she was offering incense in the chapel; eunuchs announced an urgent memorial from outside, and she came out to receive it. Leaning in the doorway she skimmed a few lines of the memorial and said, "I had half expected this"; she stopped halfway through, took up a brush, and wrote back: "This widow is overwhelmed with sorrow for both the living and the dead—it cuts my heart like a knife." When Huan Wen first handed her the draft edict, he feared she might dissent—his fear showed in trembling hands and a face streaked with sweat. Once the edict was issued, Huan Wen was elated.
21
簡文帝即位，尊后為崇德太后。 及帝崩，孝武帝幼沖，桓溫又薨。 群臣啟曰：「王室多故，禍艱仍臻，國憂始周，復喪元輔，天下惘然，若無攸濟。 主上雖聖資奇茂，固天誕縱。 而春秋尚富，如在諒闇，蒸蒸之思，未遑庶事。 伏惟陛下德應坤厚，宣慈聖善，遭家多艱，臨朝親覽。 光大之美，化洽在昔，謳歌流詠，播溢無外。 雖有莘熙殷，妊姒隆周，未足以喻。 是以五謀克從，人鬼同心，仰望來蘇，懸心日月。 夫隨時之義，周易所尚，寧固社稷，大人之任。 伏願陛下撫綜萬機，釐和政道，以慰祖宗，以安兆庶。 不勝憂國喁喁至誠。」 太后詔曰：「王室不幸，仍有艱屯。 覽省啟事，感增悲歎。 內外諸君，並以主上春秋沖富，加蒸蒸之慕，未能親覽，號令宜有所由。 苟可安社稷，利天下，亦豈有所執，輒敬從所啟。 但闇昧之闕，望盡弼諧之道。」 於是太后復臨朝。 帝既冠，乃詔曰：「皇帝婚冠禮備，遐邇宅心，宜當陽親覽，緝熙惟始。 今歸政事，率由舊典。」 於是復稱崇德太后。
Emperor Jianwen honored her as Empress Dowager Chongde. After he died the future Emperor Xiaowu was still a child, and Huan Wen had also passed away. The ministers wrote: "The house of Jin has suffered blow after blow—hardly had one crisis ended than we lost our paramount minister as well; the empire is adrift, with no one to steer it. Our sovereign is Heaven-favored and richly endowed, yet he is still young and wears mourning for his father; absorbed in filial grief, he cannot yet manage the myriad affairs of state. Your Majesty's virtue matches Earth's sustaining power; kind and sage, you once faced domestic calamity and held court to steady the realm. You enlarged the royal virtue until it harmonized the realm; songs of praise ran everywhere, within the seas and beyond. Not even the consorts who glorified Shang and Zhou could surpass your example. Every plan won consent; men and spirits alike look to you as to the rising sun, longing for the relief you alone can bring. The "Book of Changes" praises adapting to the hour; securing the altars is the duty of a true leader. We beg you to take the myriad threads of government in hand, set policy aright, comfort the imperial ancestors, and give the people peace. We cannot voice half the loyal anxiety we feel for the dynasty." The dowager replied: "The royal house meets sorrow upon sorrow; hardship still presses upon us. Reading your memorial deepens my grief. You within and without the court note that the emperor is young and absorbed in mourning—he cannot yet rule in person, so edicts must issue from some authority. If holding the reins steadies the altars and serves the realm, I will not cling to refusal—I accept your plea. My own limitations remain—I look to you for full counsel and support." She therefore resumed the regency. After his capping an edict declared: "Marriage and capping are finished; the realm expects him to rule—he should face south and begin his bright reign in person. I now return all affairs of state according to established precedent." She was again known simply as Empress Dowager Chongde.
22
太元九年，崩于顯陽殿，年六十一，在位凡四十年。 太后於帝為從嫂，朝議疑其服。 太學博士徐藻議曰：「資父事君而敬同。 又禮云『其夫屬父道者，妻皆母道也』，則夫屬君道，妻亦后道矣。 服后以齊，母之義也。 魯譏逆祀，以明尊卑[4]。 今上躬奉康、穆、哀皇及靖后之祀，致敬同于所天，豈可敬之以君道，而服廢於本親。 謂應齊衰期。」 從之。
She died in Xianyang Hall in the ninth year of Taiyuan, aged sixty-one, after holding authority for forty years. To the emperor she was a cousin's widow, so the court debated what mourning he should wear for her. Erudite Xu Zao of the Imperial Academy argued: "Serving one's father and serving one's ruler demand the same degree of respect. The canon also says that wherever a husband stands in a son's relation to his father, his wife stands as a mother—and where the husband stands toward his prince, his wife stands toward the consort; by that token she ranks as an empress to him. Mourning her with zi-grade hemp matches mourning a mother. Lu scorned inverted sacrifices precisely to fix precedence between high and low. Our sovereign personally honors Emperors Kang and Mu, Emperor Ai, and Empress Jing as he would Heaven itself—he cannot treat them only as liege lords and then stint mourning for his true kin. He should therefore observe one year's zi-cui mourning." The court agreed.
23
穆章何皇后
Empress He of Muzhang.
24
穆章何皇后諱法倪，廬江灊人也。 父準，見《外戚傳》。 以名家膺選。 升平元年八月，下璽書曰：「皇帝咨前太尉參軍何琦：混元資始，肇經人倫，爰及夫婦，以奉天地宗廟社稷。 謀于公卿，咸以宜率由舊典。 今使使持節太常彪之、宗正綜，以禮納采。」 琦答曰：「前太尉參軍、都鄉侯糞土臣何琦稽首頓首再拜。 皇帝嘉命，訪婚陋族，備數採擇。 臣從祖弟故散騎侍郎準之遺女，未閑教訓，衣履若如人。 欽承舊章，肅奉典制。」 又使兼太保、武陵王晞，兼太尉、中領軍洽，持節奉冊立為皇后。
Empress He's personal name was Fani; her family came from Qian in Lujiang commandery. Her father was He Zhun; see the outer-kin biographies. Chosen from an eminent clan. In the eighth month of the first year of Shengping a sealed rescript declared: "The Emperor addresses He Qi, formerly adjutant to the Grand Commandant: from the primordial chaos came human order, including the bond of husband and wife, whereby we serve Heaven, Earth, the shrines, and the altars. The nobles agree we should follow precedent. We therefore send Minister of Ceremonies Wang Biaozhi, credential bearer, and Director of the Imperial Clan Sima Zong to present the betrothal gifts." He Qi replied: "Your humble servant He Qi, former adjutant to the Grand Commandant and village marquis of Du, bows twice and touches his forehead to the ground. By your gracious command you seek a bride even among humble houses, widening the search. The orphan daughter of my late cousin He Zhun, once a supernumerary gentleman-in-attendance, has not yet mastered domestic training and barely knows how to dress presentably. Yet I reverently accept the classical forms and will observe every statute." They next dispatched Grand Guardian Sima Xi, Prince of Wuling, and concurrent Grand Commandant Xie Xia, Central Commander, bearing credentials to invest her as empress.
25
后無子。 哀帝即位，稱穆皇后，居永安宮。 桓玄篡位，移后入司徒府。 路經太廟，后停輿慟哭，哀感路人。 玄聞而怒曰：「天下禪代常理，何預何氏女子事耶！」 乃降后為零陵縣君。 與安帝俱西，至巴陵。 及劉裕建義，殷仲文奉后還京都，下令曰：「戎車屢警，黎元阻饑。 而膳御豐靡，豈與百姓同其儉約。 減損供給，勿令游過。」 后時以遠還，欲奉拜陵廟。 有司以寇難未平，奏停。 元興三年崩[5]，年六十六，在位凡四十八年。
She bore no sons. Emperor Ai styled her Empress Mu and installed her in Yong'an Palace. After Huan Xuan seized the throne he quartered her in the Minister over the Masses' compound. Passing the Grand Temple she halted her carriage and wept until bystanders wept with her. Huan Xuan snarled when he heard: "Dynasties yield by fixed rule—what has any woman of the He clan to do with it?" He reduced her to Mistress of Lingling county. She accompanied Emperor An westward as far as Baling. When Liu Yu launched his loyal campaign, Yin Zhongwen brought her back to the capital with this order: "Armies march without cease and the people starve. Yet palace kitchens remain extravagant—that is no way to share austerity with the common folk. Cut provisions and stop needless extravagance." After her long absence she wished to visit the imperial tombs and shrines. Officials argued that rebellion still raged and persuaded her to defer the pilgrimage. She died in the third year of Yuanxing, aged sixty-six, having held her titles for forty-eight years.
26
哀靖王皇后
Empress Wang of Aijing.
27
廢帝孝庾皇后
Empress Yu, consort of the deposed emperor.
28
廢帝孝庾皇后諱道憐，潁川鄢陵人也。 父冰，自有傳。 初為東海王妃。 及帝即位，立為皇后。 太和六年崩[6]，葬于敬平陵。 帝廢為海西公，追貶后曰海西公夫人。 太元十一年，海西公薨于吳[7]，又以后合葬于吳陵。
Empress Yu's personal name was Daolian; she came from Yanling in Yingchuan commandery. Her father was Yu Bing, who has his own biography. She had first been princess consort to the Prince of Donghai. When he became emperor she was invested as empress. She died in the sixth year of Taihe and was buried at Jingping Mausoleum. When he was demoted to Duke of Haixi she was retroactively styled merely Lady of the Duke of Haixi. The Duke of Haixi died in Wu in the eleventh year of Taiyuan; she was later buried beside him in the Wu tomb complex.
29
簡文宣鄭太后
Empress Dowager Zheng of Emperor Jianwen.
30
簡文宣鄭太后諱阿春，河南滎陽人也。 世為冠族。 祖合，臨濟令。 父愷，字祖元，安豐太守。
Empress Dowager Zheng's personal name was Achun; her clan hailed from Xingyang in Henan commandery. For generations her family had ranked among the great houses. Her grandfather Zheng He had served as magistrate of Linji. Her father Zheng Kai, courtesy name Zuyuan, was governor of Anfeng.
31
后少孤，無兄弟，唯姊妹四人，后最長。 先適渤海田氏，生一男而寡，依于舅濮陽吳氏。 元帝為丞相，敬后先崩，將納吳氏女為夫人。 后及吳氏女並游後園，或見之，言於帝曰：「鄭氏女雖嫠，賢於吳氏遠矣。」 建武元年，納為琅邪王夫人，甚有寵。 后雖貴幸，而恒有憂色。 帝問其故，對曰：「妾有妹，中者已適長沙王褒，餘二妹未有所適，恐姊為人妾，無復求者。」 帝因從容謂劉隗曰：「鄭氏二妹，卿可為求佳對，使不失舊。」 隗舉其從子傭娶第三者，以小者適漢中李氏，皆得舊門。 帝召王褒為尚書郎，以悅后意。 后生琅邪悼王、簡文帝、尋陽公主。 帝稱尊號，后雖為夫人，詔太子及東海、武陵王皆母事之。 帝崩，后稱建平國夫人。
Orphaned young, she had no brothers—only four sisters, of whom she was the eldest. She had married into the Tian family of Bohai, borne a son, and been widowed; she then lived under the protection of her maternal uncle, the Wu clan of Puyang. While he was still grand chancellor, Empress Jing died and he planned to take a daughter of the Wu family as his consort. She and the Wu girl were strolling in the rear garden when someone who saw them told the prince: "The Zheng widow is far worthier than the Wu maiden." In the first year of Jianwu he took her as Princess Consort of Langya and favored her deeply. Though honored and beloved, she often looked troubled. When he asked why, she said: "I have sisters—the middle one has married Prince Sima Bao of Changsha, but the two youngest are still unwed. Men may think that because I am only a concubine, they need not court my sisters." He quietly told Liu Wei: "Find worthy husbands for Lady Zheng's two younger sisters—matches fit for their station. Liu Wei proposed his nephew Liu Yong for the third sister and married the youngest into the Li clan of Hanzhong—both unions matched their standing. He summoned Sima Bao, Prince of Changsha, to serve as Gentleman of the Masters of Writing and put her mind at ease. She bore Prince Dao of Langya, the future Emperor Jianwen, and the Princess of Xunyang. After he took the throne she remained only a lady in rank, yet he ordered the crown prince and the princes of Donghai and Wuling to honor her as they would a mother. When he died she received the title Lady of the Jianping princedom.
32
咸和元年薨，簡文帝時為琅邪王，制服重。 有司以王出繼，宜降所生，國臣不能匡正，奏免國相諸葛頤。 王上疏曰：「亡母生臨臣國，沒留國第，臣雖出後，亦無所厭，則私情得敘。 昔敬后崩，孝王已出繼，亦還服重。 此則明比，臣所憲章也。」 明穆皇后不奪其志，乃徙琅邪王為會稽王，追號后曰會稽太妃。 及簡文帝即位，未及追尊。 臨崩，封皇子道子為琅邪王，領會稽國，奉太妃祀。
She died in the first year of Xianhe while her son still held the title Prince of Langya; he observed full mourning for her. Officials argued that because he had been adopted into another line he should wear lighter mourning for his birth mother; his ministers had failed to correct him, so they impeached Principality Chancellor Zhuge Yi. The prince wrote: "My late mother lived and died in my princedom; though I was designated heir to another house, nothing forbids my expressing full filial grief. When Empress Jing died, Prince Xiao had already been adopted elsewhere, yet he still resumed heavy mourning for her. That clear precedent is the rule I ask you to follow." Empress Mingmu did not force him to relent: she transferred him from Langya to Kuaiji and posthumously titled his mother Grand Consort of Kuaiji. After Emperor Jianwen took the throne he had not yet posthumously honored her. On his deathbed he invested Prince Daozi as Prince of Langya with Kuaiji added to his fief so he could maintain her shrine.
33
太元十九年，孝武帝下詔曰：「會稽太妃文母之德，徽音有融，誕載聖明，光延于晉。 先帝追尊聖善，朝議不一，道以疑屈。 朕述遵先志，常惕于心。 今仰奉遺旨，依陽秋二漢孝懷皇帝故事，上太妃尊號曰簡文太后。」 [8]于是立廟于太廟路西，陵曰嘉平。 時群臣希旨，多謂鄭太后應配食于元帝者。 帝以問太子前率徐邈，邈曰：「臣案陽秋之義，母以子貴。 魯隱尊桓母，別考仲子之宮而不配食于惠廟。 又平素之時，不伉儷于先帝，至于子孫，豈可為祖考立配？ 其崇尊盡禮，由於臣子，故得稱太后，陵廟備典。 若乃祔葬配食，則義所不可。」 從之。
In the nineteenth year of Taiyuan Emperor Xiaowu proclaimed: "The Grand Consort of Kuaiji possessed the nurturing virtue of the Zhou queens; her fair fame endures; she bore our sage sovereign and brought lustre to the house of Jin. My father wished to honor her worth, yet divided counsel left the matter unsettled and him inwardly torn. I mean to fulfill his intent and have never forgotten my unease. Following his testament and the precedents of the classics and of Emperor Xiaohuai of Han, I elevate her to Empress Dowager Jianwen." A shrine was built west of the Grand Temple approach; her tomb mound was named Jiaping. Courtiers, eager to please, largely argued that Empress Dowager Zheng should share Emperor Yuan's offerings in the Grand Temple. The emperor asked Xu Miao, forward leader of the crown prince's guard, who replied: "The classic principle is that a mother's rank rises with her son. Duke Yin of Lu honored Huan's mother in a separate shrine to Zhongzi rather than beside Duke Hui's tablet. She had never been principal consort to Emperor Yuan; her descendants cannot rightly install her as his temple consort. Her sons and ministers may honor her as dowager and furnish tomb and shrine—that lies within filial duty. Burial beside Yuan Di or shared sacrifice with him would violate ritual propriety." The emperor accepted his opinion.
34
簡文順王皇后
Empress Wang of Jianwenshun.
35
孝武文李太后
Empress Dowager Li of Emperor Xiaowu.
36
孝武文李太后諱陵容，本出微賤。 始簡文帝為會稽王，有三子，俱夭。 自道生廢黜，獻王早世，其後諸姬絕孕將十年。 帝令卜者扈謙筮之，曰：「後房中有一女，當育二貴男，其一終盛晉室。」 時徐貴人生新安公主，以德美見寵。 帝常冀之有娠，而彌年無子。 會有道士許邁者，朝臣時望多稱其得道。 帝從容問焉，答曰：「邁是好山水人，本無道術，斯事豈所能判！ 但殿下德厚慶深，宜隆奕世之緒，當從扈謙之言，以存廣接之道。」 帝然之，更加採納。 又數年無子，乃令善相者召諸愛妾而示之，皆云非其人，又悉以諸婢媵示焉。 時后為宮人，在織坊中，形長而色黑，宮人皆謂之崑崙。 既至，相者驚云：「此其人也。」 帝以大計，召之侍寢。 后數夢兩龍枕膝，日月入懷，意以為吉祥，向儕類說之，帝聞而異焉，遂生孝武帝及會稽文孝王、鄱陽長公主。
Empress Dowager Li's personal name was Lingrong; she came from very humble origins. While Emperor Jianwen was still Prince of Kuaiji he fathered three sons, each of whom died in infancy. After Daosheng was cast aside and Prince Xian died young, none of his ladies conceived for almost ten years. He had the diviner Hu Qian cast the milfoil; Hu reported, "Among your women one will bear two noble sons, one of whom will bring great glory to Jin." Lady Xu, already mother to the Princess of Xin'an, was favored for grace and virtue. He long hoped she would conceive, but year after year passed without an heir. The Daoist Xu Mai enjoyed such prestige at court that many believed he had attained transcendence. The prince asked him casually; Xu answered, "Xu Mai is a lover of landscape, not a master of occult arts—he cannot settle such questions. Your virtue runs deep and Heaven owes you heirs—heed Hu Qian and cast your net wide among your women." The prince agreed and took more concubines. Several more barren years passed before he summoned a face-reader to inspect every favorite; none matched the omen, so he paraded out every maid and secondary girl as well. The future empress was then a weaving-house attendant, tall and dark-skinned; the women nicknamed her "the Kunlun girl." When she was brought forward the reader exclaimed, "Here is the woman of the portent." Weighing the succession, he called her to his bed. She dreamed repeatedly of twin dragons cradled in her lap and of sun and moon sliding into her bosom; she told her companions she took this for a blessing. When the prince heard, he was intrigued—soon she gave birth to the future Emperor Xiaowu, Prince Daozi of Kuaiji, and the elder princess of Poyang.
37
及孝武帝初即位，尊為淑妃。 太元三年，進為貴人。 九年，又進為夫人。 十二年，加為皇太妃，儀服一同太后。 十九年，會稽王道子啟：「母以子貴，慶厚禮崇。 伏惟皇太妃純德光大，休祐攸鍾，啟嘉祚於聖明，嗣徽音于上列。 雖幽顯同謀，而稱謂未盡，非所以仰述聖心，允答天人。 宜崇正名號，詳案舊典。」 八月辛巳，帝臨軒，遣兼太保劉耽尊為皇太后，稱崇訓宮。 安帝即位，尊為太皇太后。
When Emperor Xiaowu first took the throne he titled her Pure Consort. In the third year of Taiyuan she was promoted to Honored Person. In the ninth year she became Lady. In the twelfth year she received the title Grand Imperial Consort with regalia equal to an empress dowager's. In the nineteenth year Prince Daozi of Kuaiji wrote: "A mother's station rises with her son—she deserves the richest honors. The Grand Imperial Consort's pure virtue shines; Heaven has singled her out for blessing—she bore our sage sovereign and prolongs the virtue of the imperial line. Yet her titles still fall short of her merit—hardly enough to reflect our sovereign's intent or satisfy Heaven and the court. Raise her to the proper title according to the classical precedents." On xinsi day in the eighth month the emperor held court and sent concurrent Grand Guardian Liu Dan to invest her as empress dowager; her residence was named Chongxun Palace. Emperor An honored her as grand empress dowager.
38
隆安四年，崩于含章殿。 朝議疑其服制，左僕射何澄、右僕射王雅、尚書車胤、孔安國[9]、祠部郎徐廣等議曰：「太皇太后名位允正，體同皇極，理制備盡，情禮兼申。 陽秋之義，母以子貴，既稱夫人，禮服從正。 故成風顯夫人之號，文公服三年之喪。 子于父母之所生，體尊義重。 且禮祖不厭孫，固宜追服無屈，而緣情立制。 若嫌明文不存，則疑斯從重，謂應同于為祖母後齊衰三年。」 從之。 皇后及百官皆服齊衰期，永安皇后一舉哀。 於是設廬於西堂，凶儀施于神獸門，葬修平陵，神主祔于宣太后廟。
She died in Hanzhang Hall in the fourth year of Long'an. The court debated her mourning grade. He Cheng, Wang Ya, Che Yin, Kong Anguo, Xu Guang, and others argued: "The grand empress dowager held rightful rank matching the throne; ritually she deserves every observance. The principle "the mother is honored through her son" means that once she was titled Lady, mourning follows the principal wife's rule. Lady Chengfeng's title allowed Duke Wen of Lu to mourn three years for her. A child's bond to the parent who bore him is profound and binding. Ritual does not let the grandfather block the grandson's grief—the mourning should not be curtailed, though feelings must still shape the regulation. Where the classics are silent, choose the heavier observance—here that means three years of zi-cui as for a grandmother who bore one's father." The throne approved. The empress and officials wore one year's zi-cui; the Empress of Yong'an performed a single lament. A mourning hut rose in the western hall; obsequies proceeded at the Divine Beast Gate; she was buried at Xiuping Mausoleum and her tablet joined Empress Dowager Xuan's shrine.
39
孝武定王皇后
Empress Wang of Xiaowuding.
40
孝武定王皇后諱法慧，哀靖皇后之姪也。 父蘊，見《外戚傳》。
Empress Wang's personal name was Fahui; she was niece to Empress Wang of Aijing. Her father was Wang Yun; see the outer-kin biographies.
41
初，帝將納后，訪于公卿。 于時蘊子恭以弱冠見僕射謝安，安深敬重之。 既而謂人曰：「昔毛嘉恥于魏朝，楊駿幾傾晉室。 若帝納后，有父者，唯廕望如王蘊乃可。」 既而訪蘊女，容德淑令，乃舉以應選。 寧康三年，中軍將軍桓沖等奏曰：「臣聞天地之道，蓋相須而化成； 帝后之德，必相協而政隆。 然後品物流形，彝倫攸敘，靈根長固，本枝百世。 天人同致，莫不由此。 是以塗山作儷，而夏族以熙； 妊姒配周，而姬祚以昌。 今長秋將建，宜時簡擇。 伏聞試守晉陵太守王蘊女，天性柔順，四業允備。 且盛德之冑，美善先積。 臣等參議，可以配德乾元，恭承宗廟，徽音六宮，母儀天下。」 於是帝始納焉。 封蘊妻劉氏為樂平鄉君。
When he first sought an empress he sounded out his chief ministers. Wang Yun's son Wang Gong, barely twenty, called on Vice Director Xie An, who formed the highest opinion of him. Later Xie remarked to others, "Mao Jia humiliated Wei with his vulgar kin; Yang Jun nearly destroyed Jin. If our sovereign marries a woman whose father still lives, let him be someone as reputable as Wang Yun—nothing less will do." They looked into Wang Yun's daughter—lovely and virtuous—and nominated her for selection. In the third year of Ningkang Huan Chong, Central Army general, and others wrote: "Heaven and earth depend on each other to bring forth the cosmos; so too sovereign and consort must harmonize if rule is to flourish. Then creatures take proper form, human relations stay ordered, the dynastic stem grows firm, and royal posterity lasts for ages. Heaven and humanity align in this alone. The lady of Tushan wed Yu and the Xia flourished; the queens of Zhou paired with their kings and the Ji prospered. The Mistress of Eternal Autumn must soon be chosen—it is time to select wisely. We hear that Wang Yun's daughter—his Excellency holds Jinling in acting capacity—is gentle by nature and accomplished in the woman's four arts. She springs from a house piled high with virtue. We judge her fit to match Heaven's first principle, serve the shrines, bring harmony to the six palaces, and mother the realm. The emperor accepted her as empress. He titled Wang Yun's wife, Lady Liu, Mistress of Leping township.
42
后性嗜酒驕妒，帝深患之。 乃召蘊於東堂，具說后過狀，令加訓誡。 蘊免冠謝焉。 后於是少自改飾。 太元五年崩，年二十一，葬隆平陵。
She drank heavily and grew proud and jealous until the emperor found her unbearable. He summoned Wang Yun to the Eastern Hall, catalogued her misconduct, and told him to discipline her. Wang Yun doffed his cap and apologized. She somewhat mended her ways. She died in the fifth year of Taiyuan at twenty-one and was buried at Longping Mausoleum.
43
安德陳太后
Empress Dowager Chen of Ande.
44
安僖王皇后
Empress Wang of Anxi.
45
安僖王皇后諱神愛，琅邪臨沂人也。 父獻之，見別傳； 母新安愍公主。 后以太元二十一年納為太子妃。 及安帝即位，立為皇后。 無子。 義熙八年崩于徽音殿，時年二十九，葬休平陵。
Empress Wang's personal name was Shen'ai; she came from Linyi in Langya commandery. Her father was Wang Xianzhi, whose biography appears elsewhere; her mother was the Princess of Xin'an posthumously titled Min. In the twenty-first year of Taiyuan she became crown princess. When Emperor An succeeded she was invested as empress. She bore no heir. She died in Huiyin Hall in the eighth year of Yixi, aged twenty-nine, and was buried at Xiuping Mausoleum.
46
恭思褚皇后
Empress Chu of Gongsi.
47
史臣曰：方祇體安，儷乾儀而合德； 圓舒循晷，配羲曜以齊明。 故知陽爍陰凝，萬物假其陶鑄； 火炎水潤，六氣由其調理。 取譬賢淑，作伉文思，靈根式固，實資於此。 宣穆閱禮，偶德潛鱗，翊天造之艱虞，嗣塗山之逸響，寶運歸其後胤，蓋有母儀之助焉。 武元楊氏預聞朝政，明不逮遠，愛溺私情，深杜衛瓘之言，不曉張泓之詐，運其陰沴，韜映乾明，晉道中微，基于是矣。 惠皇稟質，王縱其嚚，識暗鳴蛙，智昏文蛤。 南風肆狡，扇禍稽天。 初踐椒宮，逞梟心于長樂； 方觀梓樹，頒鴆羽於離明。 褒后滅周，方之蓋小； 妹妃傾夏，曾何足喻。 中原陷於鳴鏑，其兆彰於此焉。 昔者高宗諒闇，總百官於元老； 成王沖眇，託萬機於上公。 太后御宸，諒知非古。 而明穆、康獻，仍世臨朝，時屬委裘，躬行負扆。 各免華陽之釁，竟躡和熹之蹤，保陵遲以克終，所幸實為多矣。
The historians write: Earth holds still and mates with Heaven's pattern, sharing its virtue; the round moon follows the sundial's course and pairs with the solar splendor so both lights shine as one. Thus yang's fire and yin's mold shape all things through their forge; flame and flood temper the six cosmic breaths. Likewise wise consorts match cultured sovereigns, anchoring the sacred root—dynastic endurance depends on such unions. Empress Xuanmu mastered ritual and matched her lord while he still hid like a dragon in the deep; she steadied him through peril and echoed the virtue of Tushan—later triumph rested with her line in part because she showed what a mother of the state should be. Lady Yang of Wuyuan meddled in state affairs: foresight failed her, partial love swayed her, she silenced Wei Guan and never saw through Zhang Hong—the poison she spread dimmed the imperial house, and the decline of Jin began there. Emperor Hui was dull by nature while the Wang women unleashed their malice—his wit was no brighter than a frog's croak, his judgment no sharper than a clam in mud. Jia Nanfeng gave free rein to cunning and fanned disaster until it scraped the sky. Once she mounted to the pepper-scented halls she showed an owl's heart in Changle Palace; then, watching the catalpa in court, she dealt death beneath the southern sun like spreading poisoned plumes. Baosi brought Zhou low—set beside Nanfeng she seems almost minor; Mo Xi who drowned Xia is hardly fit as her mirror. The heartland would fall to whistling arrows—the omen was already plain in this. Ancient Gaozong wore unhemmed sackcloth yet entrusted the hundred bureaus to his aged ministers; young King Cheng placed every weight of state upon the grand dukes. A dowager holding the purple palace was never classical precedent. Yet Empresses Mingmu and Kangxian ruled generation after generation when an emperor's cloak lay empty, sitting themselves against the imperial screen. Each escaped the stain that befell Yang Zhi of Huayang, trod instead in Deng Sui's footsteps, and steered a fading court to a peaceful close—more good fortune than anyone might expect.
48
贊曰：二妃光舜，三母翼周。 末升夷癸，褒進亡幽。 家邦興滅，職此之由。 穆后沈斷，忘情執爨。 故劍辭恩，池蒲起歎。 崇化繁祉，肇基商亂。 二楊繼寵，福極災生。 南風熾虐，國喪身傾。 獻容幸亂，居辱疑榮。 援筆廢主，持尺威帝。 契闊終罹，殷憂以斃。 芬實窈窕，芳菲婉嫕。 呂妾變嬴，黃姬化羋。 石文遠著，金行潛徙。 婦德傾城，迷朱奪紫。
The encomium reads: Two royal wives brought glory to Shun; three nurturing mothers bore Zhou aloft. Late ages raised Yi and Gui to honor; Bao advanced until You perished. Households and kingdoms rise or fall—here lies the hinge. Empress Mu was stern and decisive; she put sentiment aside and kept the kitchen fires herself. The sword of first marriage lost favor; pond-reeds stirred lament. Her teaching multiplied blessings yet laid the first stone of Shang's turmoil. Two Yang women rode successive favor—fortune peaked and disaster followed. South Wind burned fierce and cruel—the realm fell and she herself was cast down. Yang Xianrong throve on chaos and wore infamy as if it were honor. Brush in hand she deposed her sovereign; foot-rule raised she cowed the throne. Separation and peril consumed her at last; crushing sorrow killed her. Lady Feng was slender grace; beauty lush and softly yielding. Lü's concubine turned the house of Ying; Lady Huang shifted the Mi clan's fate. Prophetic stone-text showed itself from afar; Jin's metal virtue slipped away unseen. A woman's power could shake a capital—crimson dazzled until it stole the purple.
49
校勘記
Textual collation notes.
50
「安陵縣君」斠注：《御覽·二〇二》引《中興書》「安陵」作「安陽」。 按：晉無安陵縣，而有東安陵縣，疑此當作「安陽縣君」。
On "Mistress of Anling county": the Imperial Readings (scroll 202), quoting the Zhongxing Shu, reads "Anyang" instead of "Anling." Comment: Jin had no county named Anling, only Eastern Anling—the title here should probably be "Mistress of Anyang county."
51
「諱陵陽」考異：《宋書·州郡志》杜皇后諱陵，此衍「陽」字。 咸康四年以後諱改宣城之陵陽縣為廣陽，可證后名無「陽」字。
Variant note on "taboo name Lingyang": the Song Shu gazetteer records Empress Du's personal name as Ling only—the character yang is a later accretion. After the fourth year of Xiankang the taboo renamed Lingyang county in Xuancheng as Guangyang, confirming her name lacked yang.
52
「及哀帝、海西公之世，太后復臨朝稱制」李校：《哀帝紀》惟興寧二年帝以服藥致疾，崇德太后復臨朝攝政，至《海西公紀》不言有臨朝事，「世」字當是「際」字之誤。
Li's note on the passage about the reigns of Emperor Ai and the Duke of Haixi: the Annals of Emperor Ai mention Chongde's regency only in the second year of Xingning when illness from elixirs struck the emperor; the Annals of the Duke of Haixi record no regency—the graph shi (generation) should read ji (juncture), meaning at the turn between those reigns.
53
「以明尊卑」：《禮志·中》、《宋志·二》、《通典·八〇》、《通考·一二一》「尊卑」皆作「尊尊」，乃用穀梁傳文公二年「君子不以親親害尊尊」之義。 徐藻、徐邈父子治穀梁，此作「尊尊」為是。
For the phrase about clarifying precedence: the Jin Rites Treatise (middle), Song Treatise II, Tongdian 80, and Wenxian tongkao 121 all read zunzun (honoring hierarchical rank) rather than high versus low—invoking the Guliang gloss that the gentleman does not let private affection violate public precedence. Xu Zao and Xu Miao, father and son, specialized in the Guliang commentary—the reading zunzun is therefore correct.
54
元興三年崩：「元興」原作「永興」。 商榷：「永興」當作「元興」，自穆帝升平元年至安帝元興三年，正四十八年。 按：《安紀》、《建康實錄·一〇》皆在元興三年，今據改。
"Died in the third year of Yuanxing": the reign title was originally miswritten as Yongxing. Discussion: Yongxing should be Yuanxing—from the first year of Emperor Mu's Shengping through the third year of Emperor An's Yuanxing is exactly forty-eight years. Comment: the Annals of Emperor An and Jiankang shilu 10 both give the third year of Yuanxing; the text is emended accordingly.
55
「太元十一年海西公薨」：「十一年」原作「九年」。 《海西公紀》、《孝武紀》、《建康實錄·九》、《六朝事跡類編》俱作「太元十一年」，今據改。
"The Duke of Haixi died in the eleventh year of Taiyuan": the year number was originally given as the ninth. The Annals of the Duke of Haixi, Annals of Emperor Xiaowu, Jiankang shilu 9, and Classified deeds of the Six Dynasties all record the eleventh year of Taiyuan; the text follows them.
56
「簡文太后」斠注：當從《孝武紀》作「簡文宣太后」。 按：《冊府·二九》亦有「宣」字。
On "Empress Dowager Jianwen": follow the Annals of Emperor Xiaowu and read "Empress Dowager Jianwenxuan." Comment: Cefu yuan gui 29 likewise includes the character xuan.
57
「孔安國」：據《孔安國傳》，安國時為領軍，「孔安國」上疑脫「領軍」二字。
"Kong Anguo": his biography states he then served as commander of the imperial guard—the passage probably omitted the title lingjun before his name.