Volume 51 Biographies 1: Empresses and Consorts 1

三代宮禁之職，《周官》最詳。自周已降，彤史沿革，各載本書，此不備述。唐因隋制，皇后之下，有貴妃、淑妃、德妃、賢妃各一人，為夫人，正一品；昭儀、昭容、昭媛、修儀、修容、修媛、充儀、充容、充媛各一人，為九嬪，正二品；婕妤九人，正三品；美人九人，正四品；才人九人，正五品；寶林二十七人，正六品；御女二十七人，正七品；采女二十七人，正八品；其餘六尚諸司，分典乘輿服御。龍朔二年，官名改易，內職皆更舊號。咸亨二年復舊。開元中，玄宗以皇后之下立四妃，法帝嚳也。而后妃四星，一為正后；今既立正后，復有四妃，非典法也。乃於皇后之下立惠妃、麗妃、華妃等三位，以代三夫人，為正一品；又置芳儀六人，為正二品；美人四人，為正三品；才人七人，為正四品；尚宮、尚儀、尚服各二人，為正五品；自六品至九品，即諸司諸典職員品第而序之，後亦參用前號。

The offices of the palace inner quarters across the Three Dynasties are described most fully in the Rites of Zhou. Since the Zhou, changes in the court record-keepers have been documented in their respective histories, which will not be rehearsed here in full. The Tang adopted the Sui framework: below the empress stood four consorts—Noble, Cultivated, Virtuous, and Worthy—each one person, titled Ladies of the first rank; nine ranks of consorts—Bright, Cultivated, and Fulfilling, each in Lady, Beauty, and Fair One grades, one holder apiece—forming the Nine Concubines at the second rank; nine Talented Fair Ones at the third rank; nine Beauties at the fourth rank; nine Talented Ladies at the fifth rank; twenty-seven Treasured Forests at the sixth rank; twenty-seven Imperial Maidens at the seventh rank; twenty-seven Selected Maidens at the eighth rank; The other Six Directorates and their offices separately managed the imperial carriage, wardrobe, and household supplies. In 662, official titles were revised and every inner-palace post was renamed. In 671 the old titles were restored. During the Kaiyuan reign, Xuanzong placed four consorts beneath the empress, emulating the precedent of Emperor Ku. Yet of the four stars symbolizing empress and consorts, only one is the principal empress; to install a principal empress and then add four consorts as well departed from canonical precedent. He therefore placed three consorts—Benevolent, Beautiful, and Splendid—below the empress in place of the three Ladies, all at the first rank; six Fragrant Companions were added at the second rank; four Beauties at the third rank; seven Talented Ladies at the fourth rank; two holders each for the Directors of Palace, Ceremonies, and Apparel at the fifth rank; From the sixth through the ninth ranks, personnel in the various bureaus were ranked accordingly; later reigns also drew on the earlier titles.

然而三代之政，莫不以賢妃開國，嬖寵傾邦。秦、漢已還，其流浸盛。大至移國，小則臨朝，煥車服以王宗枝，裂土壤而侯肺腑，洎末塗淪敗，赤族夷宗。高祖龍飛，宮無正寢，而婦言是用，釁起維城。大帝孝和，仁而不武，但恣池臺之賞，寧顧衽席之嫌？武室、韋宗，幾危運祚。東京帝后，歿從夫謚，光烈、和熹之類是也。高宗自號天皇，武氏自稱天后，而韋庶人生有翌聖之名，肅宗欲后張氏，此不經之甚，皆以凶終。玄宗以惠妃之愛，擯斥椒宮，繼以太真，幾喪天下。歷觀前古邦家喪敗之由，多基於子弟召禍。子弟之亂，必始於宮闈不正。故息隱鬩墻，秦王謀歸東洛；馬嵬塗地，太子不敢西行。若中有聖善之慈，胡能若是？《易》曰「家道正而天下定」，不其然歟！自後累朝，長秋虛位，或以旁宗入繼，母屬皆微，徒有冊拜之文，諒乏「關雎」之德。今錄其存於史冊者，為《后妃傳》云。

Yet across the Three Dynasties, worthy consorts had helped found states even as favored minions had toppled them. From the Qin and Han onward, the trend only intensified. At its height it could move the throne; at its lesser degree it could dominate the court—collateral kin bedecked in princely regalia, in-laws enfeoffed with carved-out domains—until, in the final collapse, entire clans were slaughtered and lineages extinguished. When Gaozu took the throne, the palace lacked a proper principal residence, women's counsel held sway, and strife broke out among the imperial sons. Emperor Xiaohé was humane but not forceful, lavishing rewards on pools and terraces while ignoring the dangers lurking in his own bedchamber. The Wu clan and the Wei faction nearly cost the dynasty its mandate. Eastern capital empresses took posthumous titles through their husbands after death—Guanglie and Hexi are cases in point. Gaozong styled himself Heavenly Emperor; Wu Zetian called herself Heavenly Empress; the common-born Wei was given the title Next Sage in her lifetime; Suzong wished to elevate Lady Zhang—all gross violations of propriety, and all ended in disaster. Xuanzong, infatuated with Benevolent Consort, cast aside his empress, then elevated Yang Guifei and nearly lost the empire. Looking back through history, the ruin of states often began when imperial sons invited disaster. Strife among imperial sons invariably began with disorder in the inner palace. When Suiyin and his brothers clashed at the palace wall, the Prince of Qin plotted to withdraw to Luoyang; at Mawei blood ran in the streets, and the crown prince dared not follow the emperor west. Had the inner palace held a mother of true wisdom and compassion, how could such things have happened? The Book of Changes says, "When the household is in order, the realm is secure"—and is that not exactly so! In later reigns the empress's seat often stood vacant; when collateral branches succeeded, the mothers' families were insignificant—there were investiture ceremonies on paper, but little of the virtue praised in "Guan Ju." Those preserved in the historical record are compiled here as the Biographies of Empresses and Consorts.

太穆皇后竇氏

Empress Taimu of the Dou Clan

高祖太穆皇后竇氏，京兆始平人，隋定州總管、神武公毅之女也。后母，周武帝姊襄陽長公主。

Gaozu's Empress Taimu, née Dou, came from Shiping in Jingzhao. She was the daughter of Dou Yi, Sui regional inspector of Dingzhou and Duke of Shenwu. Her mother was the Elder Princess of Xiangyang, a sister of Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou.

后生而髮垂過頸，三歲與身齊。周武帝特愛重之，養於宮中。時武帝納突厥女為后，無寵，后尚幼，竊言於帝曰：「四邊未靜，突厥尚強，願舅抑情撫慰，以蒼生為念。但須突厥之助，則江南、關東不能為患矣。」武帝深納之。毅聞之，謂長公主曰：「此女才貌如此，不可妄以許人，當為求賢夫。」乃於門屏畫二孔雀，諸公子有求婚者，輒與兩箭射之，潛約中目者許之。前後數十輩莫能中，高祖後至，兩發各中一目。毅大悅，遂歸於我帝。

At birth her hair already reached below her neck; by age three it was as long as she was tall. Emperor Wu of Zhou doted on her and raised her within the palace. The emperor had taken a Turkic woman as empress but showed her no favor. Though still young, the future empress whispered to him: "The borders are not yet secure and the Turks remain powerful. I beg you, Uncle, to restrain your feelings and treat her with kindness for the sake of the people. With Turkic support secured, the south and the eastern provinces cannot threaten us. The emperor took her counsel to heart. When Dou Yi heard of this, he told the Elder Princess, "With talent and beauty like hers, we must not give her away lightly—we should find a worthy husband. He painted two peacocks on the door screen. Whenever a young nobleman came to propose marriage, he was given two arrows; whoever hit the eyes in secret would win her hand. Several dozen suitors missed; when Gaozu came last, his two shots each struck one eye. Dou Yi was overjoyed and gave her to our emperor in marriage.

及周武帝崩，后追思如喪所生。隋文帝受禪，后聞而流涕，自投於床曰：「恨我不為男，以救舅氏之難。」毅與長公主遽掩口曰：「汝勿妄言，滅吾族矣！」

When Emperor Wu of Zhou died, she mourned him as though she had lost a parent of her own. When Emperor Wen of Sui accepted the abdication, she wept upon hearing the news and threw herself on the bed, crying, "I wish I were a man, so I could save my uncle's house from ruin. Dou Yi and the Elder Princess quickly clapped a hand over her mouth: "Do not speak such words—you will destroy our entire clan!"

后事元貞太后，以孝聞。太后素有羸疾，時或危篤。諸姒以太后性嚴懼譴，皆稱疾而退，惟后晝夜扶侍，不脫衣履者，動淹旬月焉。善書學，類高祖之書，人不能辯。工篇章，而好存規戒。大業中，高祖為扶風太守，有駿馬數匹。常言於高祖曰：「上好鷹愛馬，公之所知，此堪進御，不可久留，人或言者，必為身累，願熟思之。」高祖未決，竟以此獲譴。未幾，后崩於涿郡，時年四十五。高祖追思后言，方為自安之計，數求鷹犬以進之，俄而擢拜將軍，因流涕謂諸子曰：「我早從汝母之言，居此官久矣。」初葬壽安陵，後祔葬獻陵。上元元年八月，改上尊號曰太穆順聖皇后。

She served Empress Dowager Yuanzhen and was renowned for her filial devotion. The empress dowager had long suffered from a wasting illness and was sometimes near death. The other daughters-in-law, fearing the empress dowager's stern temper, all pleaded illness and withdrew. Only she attended day and night without removing her clothes or shoes, often for weeks on end. She was accomplished in calligraphy and scholarship; her handwriting resembled Gaozu's so closely that no one could tell them apart. She wrote well and liked to offer counsel and warnings. During the Daye reign, when Gaozu was prefect of Fufeng, he owned several fine horses. She often told him, "You know how fond the emperor is of hawks and horses. These are fit to present to court and must not be kept long—if word reaches the wrong ears, you will bring ruin on yourself. Think this through carefully. Gaozu hesitated, and in the end was punished for keeping them. Before long she died in Zhuo Commandery at the age of forty-five. Recalling her words, Gaozu devised a plan for his own safety, repeatedly presenting hawks and hounds to the court; soon he was promoted to general. Weeping, he told his sons, "Had I heeded your mother sooner, I would have held this rank long ago. She was first buried at Shou'an Mausoleum and later reinterred beside him at Xian Mausoleum. In the eighth month of 674, her posthumous honorific was raised to Empress Taimu the Sagely and Accomplished.

文德皇后長孫氏

Empress Wende of the Zhangsun Clan

太宗文德順聖皇后長孫氏，長安人，隋右驍衛將軍晟之女也。晟妻，隋揚州刺史高敬德女，生后。少好讀書，造次必循禮則。年十三，嬪於太宗。隋大業中，常歸寧於永興里，后舅高士廉媵張氏，於后所宿舍外見大馬，高二丈，鞍勒皆具，以告士廉。命筮之，遇《坤》之《泰》，筮者曰：「至哉坤元，萬物資生，乃順承天。坤厚載物，德合無疆。牝馬地類，行地無疆。變而之《泰》，內陽而外陰，內健而外順，是天地交而萬物通也。《象》曰：后以輔相天地之宜而左右人也。龍，《乾》之象也。馬，《坤》之象也。變而為《泰》，天地交也。繇協於《歸妹》，婦人之兆也。女處尊位，履中居順也。此女貴不可言。」武德元年，冊為秦王妃。時太宗功業既高，隱太子猜忌滋甚。后孝事高祖，恭順妃嬪，盡力彌縫，以存內助。及難作，太宗在玄武門，方引將士入宮授甲，后親慰勉之，左右莫不感激。九年，冊拜皇太子妃。

Taizong's Empress Wende the Sagely and Accomplished, née Zhangsun, came from Chang'an. She was the daughter of Zhangsun Sheng, a Sui general of the Right Xiaowei Guard. His wife was the daughter of Gao Jingde, Sui regional inspector of Yangzhou, who bore the future empress. From childhood she loved books and observed ritual propriety in every situation. At thirteen she entered Taizong's household as his consort. During the Sui Daye reign she often visited her family home in Yongxing Lane. Her uncle Gao Shilian's attendant Lady Zhang saw outside her quarters a great horse two zhang tall, fully saddled and bridled, and reported it to Shilian. He had divination performed. The result was Kun changing to Tai. The diviner said, "How supreme is Kun, source of all things, from which the myriad beings receive life—it follows and receives Heaven. Kun is thick and bears all things; its virtue joins with boundlessness. The mare belongs to the earth and traverses the earth without limit. Changing to Tai: yang within and yin without, strength within and compliance without—Heaven and Earth in communion and the myriad things in harmony. The Image says: the queen assists in harmonizing Heaven and Earth and thereby guides the people. The dragon is the image of Qian. The horse is the image of Kun. Changing to Tai means Heaven and Earth in communion. The line texts accord with Guimei—the omen of a great woman. A woman in the honored position, treading the center and dwelling in compliance. This woman's nobility is beyond words. In 618 she was invested as Princess of Qin. By then Taizong's achievements were already great, and the Hidden Crown Prince's suspicion grew ever sharper. She served Gaozu filially, treated the consorts with respect, and did all she could to mend relations within the household. When crisis broke out at Xuanwu Gate, Taizong was leading officers into the palace to arm them. She personally comforted and encouraged the troops, and all present were deeply moved. In 626 she was invested as consort of the crown prince.

太宗即位，立為皇后。贈后父晟司空、齊獻公。后性尤儉約，凡所服御，取給而已。太宗彌加禮待，常與后論及賞罰之事，對曰：「牝雞之晨，惟家之索。妾以婦人，豈敢豫聞政事？」太宗固與之言，竟不之答。時后兄無忌，夙與太宗為布衣之交，又以佐命元勛，委以腹心，出入臥內，將任之朝政。后固言不可，每乘間奏曰：「妾既托身紫宮，尊貴已極，實不願兄弟子侄布列朝廷。漢之呂、霍可為切骨之誡，特願聖朝勿以妾兄為宰執。」太宗不聽，竟用無忌為左武候大將軍、吏部尚書、右僕射。後又密遣無忌苦求遜職，太宗不獲已而許焉，改授開府儀同三司，后意乃懌。有異母兄安業，好酒無賴。獻公之薨也，后及無忌並幼，安業斥還舅氏，后殊不以介意，每請太宗厚加恩禮，位至監門將軍。及預劉德裕逆謀，太宗將殺之，后叩頭流涕為請命曰：「安業之罪，萬死無赦。然不慈於妾，天下知之，今置以極刑，人必謂妾恃寵以復其兄，無乃為聖朝累乎！」遂得減死。

When Taizong ascended the throne, she was installed as empress. Her father Zhangsun Sheng was posthumously made Minister of Works and Duke of Qixian. She was exceptionally frugal, taking only what she needed for dress and daily use. Taizong treated her with ever greater respect and often discussed rewards and punishments with her. She replied, "When the hen crows at dawn, the household is undone. I am only a woman—how dare I presume to hear of state affairs? Taizong pressed the point, but she would not answer. Her elder brother Zhangsun Wuji had been Taizong's friend since their commoner days and, as a founding merit-holder, was his closest confidant, with access even to the sleeping quarters. Taizong was about to place him at the head of government. She firmly objected and whenever she found an opening told him, "Having entered the Purple Palace, my honor is already complete. I truly do not wish my brothers and nephews spread throughout the court. The Lü and Huo clans of Han are a warning carved into the bone—I beg Your Majesty not to make my brother chief minister. Taizong would not listen and appointed Wuji General of the Left Martial Guard, Minister of Personnel, and Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs. Later she secretly had Wuji plead to resign his post. Taizong, unable to refuse, agreed and made him Grand Master of Splendid Happiness with the privileges of the Three Excellencies. Only then was she satisfied. She had a half-brother, Anye, who was a drunkard and a wastrel. When Duke Xian died, she and Wuji were still children. Anye had driven away their maternal kin, but she bore no grudge and repeatedly asked Taizong to treat him generously, until he rose to Gate Guard General. When he became implicated in Liu Deyu's rebellion and Taizong was about to execute him, she kowtowed with tears and pleaded: "Anye's crime deserves death a thousand times over. Yet he was never kind to me, and the whole realm knows it. If he is executed now, people will say I used my favor to avenge my brother—would that not bring shame on Your Majesty's court? He was spared execution.

后所生長樂公主，太宗特所鐘愛，及將出降，敕所司資送倍於長公主。魏徵諫曰：「昔漢明帝時，將封皇子，帝曰：『朕子安得同於先帝子乎！』然謂長主者，良以尊於公主也，情雖有差，義無等別。若令公主之禮有過長主，理恐不可，願陛下思之。」太宗以其言退而告后，后嘆曰：「嘗聞陛下重魏徵，殊未知其故。今聞其諫，實乃能以義制主之情，可謂正直社稷之臣矣。妾與陛下結髮為夫婦，曲蒙禮待，情義深重，每言必候顏色，尚不敢輕犯威嚴，況在臣下，情疏禮隔，故韓非為之說難，東方稱其不易，良有以也。忠言逆於耳而利於行，有國有家者急務，納之則俗寧，杜之則政亂，誠願陛下詳之，則天下幸甚。」后因請遣中使賫帛五百匹，詣徵宅以賜之。太子承乾乳母遂安夫人常白后曰：「東宮器用闕少，欲有奏請。」后不聽，曰：「為太子，所患德不立而名不揚，何憂少於器物也！」

Her daughter Princess Changle was especially dear to Taizong. When she was about to marry, he ordered officials to provide a dowry twice that given to an imperial princess by birth. Wei Zheng remonstrated: "When Emperor Ming of Han was about to enfeoff his sons, he said, 'How can my sons be treated the same as the former emperor's sons! Yet an imperial princess by birth ranks above a princess by marriage. Affection may differ, but propriety does not permit them to be treated as equals. If a princess by marriage receives greater honors than an imperial princess by birth, that cannot be justified. I beg Your Majesty to reconsider. Taizong withdrew and told her. She sighed and said, "I had heard Your Majesty valued Wei Zheng, but never understood why. Now I hear his remonstrance and see that he can restrain the sovereign's feelings through righteousness—he is truly a pillar of the state. I have been Your Majesty's wife from the beginning, graciously treated, our bond deep in feeling and duty. With every word I watch your expression and still dare not lightly offend you—how much harder for subjects below, distant in feeling and separated by ritual! Han Fei wrote on the difficulty of remonstrance, and Dongfang spoke of its hardship; they knew what they were talking about. Loyal words grate on the ear yet benefit conduct. For any ruler this is urgent: accept them and the realm is at peace; block them and governance falls into chaos. I earnestly beg Your Majesty to heed this—the realm will be greatly blessed. She then asked to send a palace envoy with five hundred bolts of silk to Wei's residence as a reward. Crown Prince Chengan's wet nurse, Lady Sui'an, often told her, "The Eastern Palace lacks furnishings and wishes to make a request. She refused and said, "As crown prince, what you should fear is that virtue is not established and fame not won—why worry about having too few furnishings!"

八年，從幸九成宮，染疾危惙，太子承乾入侍，密啟后曰：「醫藥備盡，尊體不瘳，請奏赦囚徒，並度人入道，冀蒙福助。」后曰：「死生有命，非人力所加。若修福可延，吾素非為惡。若行善無效，何福可求？赦者，國之大事；佛道者，示存異方之教耳，非惟政體靡弊，又是上所不為，豈以吾一婦人而亂天下法？」承乾不敢奏，以告左僕射房玄齡，玄齡以聞，太宗及侍臣莫不噓唏。朝臣咸請肆赦，太宗從之；后聞之，固爭，乃止。將大漸，與太宗辭訣，時玄齡以譴歸第，后固言：「玄齡事陛下最久，小心謹慎，奇謀秘計，皆所預聞，竟無一言漏泄，非有大故，願勿棄之。又妾之本宗，幸緣姻戚，既非德舉，易履危機，其保全永久，慎勿處之權要，但以外戚奉朝請，則為幸矣。妾生既無益於時，今死不可厚費。且葬者，藏也，欲人之不見。自古聖賢，皆崇儉薄，惟無道之世，大起山陵，勞費天下，為有識者笑。但請因山而葬，不須起墳，無用棺槨，所須器服，皆以木瓦，儉薄送終，則是不忘妾也。」十年六月己卯，崩於立政殿，時年三十六。其年十一月庚寅，葬於昭陵。

In the eighth year, while accompanying the emperor to Jiucheng Palace, she fell gravely ill. Crown Prince Chengan attended her and secretly reported: "Medicine has failed and Your Majesty does not recover. I beg to memorialize for amnesty of prisoners and ordination of people into the clergy, hoping for divine aid. She said, "Life and death are fated and lie beyond human power. If cultivating merit could extend life, I have never been wicked. If doing good is ineffective, what blessing can be sought? Amnesty is a great matter of state; Buddhism and Daoism merely show that foreign teachings exist—they undermine governance and are what the sovereign does not practice. How could I, one woman, overturn the laws of the realm? Chengan dared not memorialize this and told Left Vice Director Fang Xuanling. Xuanling reported it, and Taizong and all present were deeply moved. Court officials all requested a general amnesty, and Taizong agreed; when she heard, she firmly objected, and it was stopped. As her end approached, she took leave of Taizong. Fang Xuanling had been reprimanded and sent home. She firmly said, "Xuanling has served you longest—careful, cautious, privy to every secret plan, yet never a word leaked. Unless there is grave cause, do not cast him aside. My own clan rose through marriage, not merit, and easily treads on dangerous ground. For their lasting safety, never place them in positions of power—let them merely attend court as maternal kin, and that will be fortune enough. In life I was of no benefit to the age; in death I must not be expensively buried. Burial means concealment—one wishes not to be seen. From antiquity sages have honored frugality; only in lawless ages have great tombs been raised, exhausting the realm, to the laughter of the wise. Only bury me along the mountain contours, without raising a mound or using a coffin. Let vessels and garments be of wood and tile. A frugal funeral will be your way of remembering me. In the sixth month of 636, on the day jimao, she died in Lizheng Hall at the age of thirty-six. In the eleventh month of that year, on the day gengyin, she was buried at Zhaoling.

后嘗撰古婦人善事，勒成十卷，名曰《女則》，自為之序。又著論駁漢明德馬皇后，以為不能抑退外戚，令其當朝貴盛，乃戒其龍馬水車，此乃開其禍源而防其末事耳。且戒主守者曰：「此吾以自防閑耳。婦人著述無條貫，不欲至尊見之，慎勿言。」崩後，宮司以聞，太宗覽而增慟，以示近臣曰：「皇后此書，足可垂於後代。我豈不達天命而不能割情乎！以其每能規諫，補朕之闕，今不復聞善言，是內失一良佐，以此令人哀耳！」上元元年八月，改上尊號曰文德順聖皇后。

She once compiled good deeds of ancient women into ten scrolls entitled Standards for Women, writing the preface herself. She also wrote a treatise criticizing Empress Ma of Han, arguing that Ma failed to restrain her maternal kin, allowing them to dominate court, and only warned against dragon horses and water carts—opening the source of disaster while guarding against its consequences. She warned the custodian: "This is for my own self-restraint. A woman's writings lack systematic order. I do not wish the sovereign to see them—say nothing of this. After her death the palace reported this. Taizong read it and grieved more deeply, showing it to close ministers: "The empress's book can truly be handed down to posterity. Do I not understand Heaven's mandate yet cannot sever my feelings! She could always remonstrate and counsel, supplementing my shortcomings—now I hear no more good words. I have lost a fine counselor within, and that is heartbreaking! In the eighth month of 674, her posthumous honorific was raised to Empress Wende the Sagely and Accomplished.

賢妃徐氏

Worthy Consort of the Xu Clan

太宗賢妃徐氏，名惠，右散騎常侍堅之姑也。生五月而能言，四歲誦《論語》、《毛詩》，八歲好屬文。其父孝德試擬《楚辭》，云「山中不可以久留」，詞甚典美。自此遍涉經史，手不釋卷。太宗聞之，納為才人。其所屬文，揮翰立成，詞華綺贍。俄拜婕妤，再遷充容。時軍旅亟動，宮室互興，百姓頗倦勞役，上疏諫曰：

Taizong's Worthy Consort Xu Hui was the niece of Right Regular Attendant Xu Jian. At five months she could speak; at four she recited the Analects and Mao's Odes; at eight she loved to write. Her father Xiaode tested her by asking her to compose in the style of the Songs of Chu the line "One cannot long remain in the mountains"—her wording was elegant and refined. From then on she ranged through the classics and histories, never setting down her books. When Taizong heard of this, he took her into the palace as a Talented Lady. Whatever she wrote was completed at once, her prose splendid and rich. Soon she was made Talented Fair One, then promoted to Fulfilling Fair One. Military campaigns were frequent and palaces rose one after another; the people were weary of labor. She submitted a memorial of remonstrance:

「自貞觀已來，二十有二載，風調雨順，年登歲稔，人無水旱之弊，國無饑饉之災。昔漢武守文之常主，猶登刻玉之符；齊桓小國之庸君，尚圖泥金之事。望陛下推功損己，讓德不居。億兆傾心，猶闕告成之禮；雲亭佇謁，未展升中之儀。此之功德，足以咀嚼百王，網羅千代者矣。古人有云：「雖休勿休」，良有以也。守初保末，聖哲罕兼。是知業大者易驕，願陛下難之；善始者難終，願陛下易之。

Since the Zhenguan era, twenty-two years have passed with favorable weather and abundant harvests, the people free from flood and drought, the state free from famine. Even Emperor Wu of Han, a ruler who merely maintained established norms, performed the jade-inscription rite; even Duke Huan of Qi, a mediocre lord of a small state, aspired to the gold-inscription ceremony. I hope Your Majesty will attribute merit to others and yield virtue rather than claim it. The hundred million people look to you with devotion, yet the Report of Completion rite has not been performed; at Yun and Ting they await your arrival, yet the Mount Tai ascent ceremony has not been performed. Such merit and virtue surpass the hundred kings and encompass a thousand generations. The ancients said, "Though at rest, do not rest"—and they knew what they were talking about. Guarding the beginning and preserving the end—sages rarely achieve both. Great achievement breeds arrogance—I beg Your Majesty to guard against that; those who begin well find the end hard—I beg Your Majesty to make the end easy.

「竊見頃年已來，力役兼總，東有遼海之軍，西有昆丘之役，士馬疲於甲胄，舟車倦於轉輸。且召募役戍，去留懷死生之痛；因風阻浪，人米有漂溺之危。一夫力耕，卒無數十之獲；一船致損，則傾數百之糧。是猶運有盡之農功，填無窮之巨浪，圖未獲之他眾，喪已成之我軍。雖除凶伐暴，有國常規；然黷武玩兵，先哲所戒。昔秦皇並吞六國，反速危亡之基；晉武奄有三方，翻成覆敗之業。豈非矜功恃大，棄德而輕邦；圖利忘害，肆情而縱欲？遂使悠悠六合，雖廣不救其亡；嗷嗷黎庶，因弊以成其禍。是知地廣非常安之術，人勞乃易亂之源。願陛下布澤流人，矜弊恤乏，減行役之煩，增湛露之惠。妾又聞為政之本，貴在無為。竊見土木之功，不可兼遂。此闕初建，南營翠微，曾未逾時，玉華創制。雖復因山藉水，非無架築之勞；損之又損，頗有工力之費。終以茅茨示約，猶興木石之疲；假使和雇取人，不無煩擾之弊。是以卑宮菲食，聖主之所安；金屋瑤臺，驕主之為麗。故有道之君，以逸逸人；無道之君，以樂樂身。願陛下使之以時，則力無竭矣；用而息之，則人斯悅矣。

In recent years corvée labor has piled up: in the east the Liaohai campaign, in the west the Kunqiu expedition. Soldiers and horses are exhausted in armor; boats and carts wearied in transport. Recruits for garrison duty, whether departing or remaining, harbor the pain of life and death; wind and waves block the way, and men and grain face drowning. One man labors in the fields yet gains scarcely a tenth of the harvest; one ship lost spills grain enough to feed hundreds. This is like pouring finite farm labor into endless waves, seeking an enemy not yet defeated while losing our own army already in the field. Though punishing the vicious is the regular practice of any state; taking military affairs lightly is what the sages warned against. The First Emperor of Qin swallowed the six states, yet swiftly laid the foundation for his own ruin; Emperor Wu of Jin encompassed the realm, yet turned it into the enterprise of his own defeat. Was this not because they prized achievement and relied on greatness, abandoned virtue and treated the realm lightly; sought profit and forgot harm, indulged desire without restraint? Thus the vast realm, though wide, could not save them from ruin; the common people, through exhaustion, brought calamity upon themselves. Vast territory is not the path to lasting peace; exhausted people are the source of disorder. I beg Your Majesty to spread bounty and kindness, pity the exhausted and relieve the destitute, reduce corvée burdens, and increase your gracious care. I have also heard that the root of governance lies in non-action. Construction projects cannot all be completed at once. This palace was just built, the southern camp at Cuwei laid out, and before much time had passed, Yuhua was newly constructed. Though built along mountains and waters, there is still no lack of framing and construction; even when reduced again and again, labor costs remain considerable. Even thatched roofs to show restraint still exhaust wood and stone; even hiring paid labor brings harassment. Humble palaces and meager food are what sage rulers rest in; golden chambers and jasper terraces are what arrogant rulers make splendid. Rulers who possess the Way let the people rest; rulers without the Way take pleasure only in themselves. Employ labor at the proper seasons, and strength will not be exhausted; use it and then let it rest, and the people will be pleased.

「夫珍玩伎巧，乃喪國之斧斤；珠玉錦繡，實迷心之鴆毒。竊見服玩纖靡，如變化於自然；織貢珍奇，若神仙之所制。雖馳華於季俗，實敗素於淳風。是知漆器非延叛之方，桀造之而人叛；玉杯豈招亡之術，紂用之而國亡。方驗侈麗之源，不可不遏。作法於儉，猶恐其奢；作法於奢，何以制後？伏惟陛下明鑒未形，智周無際，窮奧秘於麟閣，盡探賾於儒林。千王治亂之蹤，百代安危之跡，興衰禍福之數，得失成敗之機，故亦苞吞心府之中，循環目圍之內，乃宸衷之久察，無假一二言焉。惟恐知之非難，行之不易，志驕於業泰，體逸於時安。伏願抑志裁心，慎終如始，削輕過以添重德，循今是以替前非，則令名與日月無窮，盛業與乾坤永大。」

Precious curios and clever crafts are the axe that destroys a state; pearls, jade, brocade, and embroidery are poison that bewilders the heart. Garments and playthings are refined to fineness, as if transformed by nature itself; woven tribute and rare objects seem made by immortals. Though they dazzle in the fashion of the age, they destroy the simplicity of pure custom. Lacquer vessels do not prolong loyalty—Jie made them and people rebelled; jade cups hardly invite ruin—Zhou used them and the state perished. The source of extravagance has been verified—it cannot go unchecked. Establish law in frugality and one still fears extravagance; establish law in extravagance—how can one restrain posterity? Your Majesty's clear perception reaches what is not yet formed, your wisdom without limit—you exhaust mysteries in the Unicorn Pavilion and probe the profound in the forest of scholars. How a thousand kings brought order or chaos, how safety and peril passed through a hundred generations, the calculus of rise and fall, fortune and disaster, gain and loss, victory and defeat — all of this already lies folded within Your Majesty's heart and passes before Your eyes. You have long pondered such things; a few words from me can add nothing. My fear is simply this: to know is easy, but to act is hard; when the realm thrives, ambition turns to pride; when the age is at peace, discipline gives way to ease. I humbly pray that Your Majesty will curb ambition and discipline the heart, guard the end as you guarded the beginning, shed small faults to add weight to your virtue, and let present right conduct replace past error — then your good name will endure with the sun and moon, and your great enterprise stand forever with heaven and earth.

太宗善其言，優賜甚厚。及太宗崩，追思顧遇之恩，哀慕愈甚，發疾不自醫。病甚，謂所親曰：「吾荷顧實深，志在早歿，魂其有靈，得侍園寢，吾之志也。」因為七言詩及連珠以見其志。永徽元年卒，時年二十四，詔贈賢妃，陪葬於昭陵之石室。

Emperor Taizong praised what she had said and bestowed rich favors upon her. After Taizong's death, she brooded on the grace he had shown her; grief and longing overwhelmed her. She fell ill and refused medical care. As the illness worsened, she told her intimates, "I owe him so much that I wish only to die soon. If my spirit has any power, my desire is to serve at his tomb. She then wrote heptasyllabic poems and linked-pearl verses to declare her resolve. She died in the first year of Yonghui, at the age of twenty-four. The court posthumously enfeoffed her as Worthy Consort and buried her in a stone chamber at Zhaoling.

廢后王氏

Deposed Empress Wang

高宗廢后王氏，并州祁人也。父仁祐，貞觀中羅山令。同安長公主，即后之從祖母也。公主以后有美色，言於太宗，遂納為晉王妃。高宗登儲，冊為皇太子妃，以父仁祐為陳州刺史。永徽初，立為皇后，以仁祐為特進、魏國公，母柳氏為魏國夫人。仁祐尋卒，贈司空。

Empress Wang, whom Emperor Gaozong deposed, came from Qi in Bingzhou. Her father Renyou had served as magistrate of Luoshan under Zhenguan. Princess Tong'an the Elder was the empress's grand-aunt. Seeing the girl's great beauty, the princess recommended her to Emperor Taizong, and she was taken into the Jin princely household as consort. When Gaozong was named heir, she was installed as crown princess, and her father Renyou was appointed prefect of Chenzhou. Early in Yonghui she was made empress; Renyou was granted Special Advancement and the title Duke of Wei, and her mother, Lady Liu, was enfeoffed as Lady of Wei. Renyou died soon afterward and was posthumously honored as Minister of Works.

初，武皇后貞觀末隨太宗嬪御居於感業寺，后及左右數為之言，高宗由是復召入宮，立為昭儀。俄而漸承恩寵，遂與后及良娣蕭氏遞相譖毀。帝終不納后言，而昭儀寵遇日厚。后懼不自安，密與母柳氏求巫祝厭勝。事發，帝大怒，斷柳氏不許入宮中，后舅中書令柳奭罷知政事，並將廢后，長孫無忌、褚遂良等固諫，乃止。俄又納李義府之策，永徽六年十月，廢后及蕭良娣皆為庶人，囚之別院。武昭儀令人皆縊殺之。后母柳氏、兄尚衣奉御全信及蕭氏兄弟，並配流嶺外。遂立昭儀為皇后。尋又追改后姓為蟒氏，蕭良娣為梟氏。

Earlier, in the late Zhenguan years, Wu — later empress — had lived at Ganye Temple as one of Taizong's consorts. The empress and her attendants repeatedly praised her, and Gaozong therefore recalled her to the palace and made her Concubine of Bright Deportment. Before long she won the emperor's favor, and she, the empress, and Lady Xiao the liangdi began to slander one another in turn. The emperor would not heed the empress, and the zhaoyi's favor grew day by day. Fearful and unsettled, the empress secretly joined her mother Lady Liu in seeking shamans and curse-magic. When the affair was exposed, the emperor flew into a rage, forbade Lady Liu the palace, and removed the empress's uncle, Chancellor Liu Shi, from office. He was on the point of deposing the empress when Zhangsun Wuji, Chu Suiliang, and others remonstrated forcefully, and he desisted. Before long he accepted Li Yifu's counsel. In the tenth month of the sixth year of Yonghui, the empress and Lady Xiao the liangdi were both reduced to commoners and confined in a separate courtyard. Wu the zhaoyi had them all strangled. The empress's mother Lady Liu, her brother Quanxin of the Palace Attendants Office, and the Xiao brothers were all banished beyond the Ling Mountains. The zhaoyi was then made empress. Soon afterward their surnames were retroactively changed — the empress to Mang, "Python," and Lady Xiao to Xiao, "Owl."

良娣蕭氏

Lady Xiao the liangdi

庶人良娣初囚，大罵曰：「願阿武為老鼠，吾作貓兒，生生扼其喉！」武后怒，自是宮中不畜貓。初囚，高宗念之，閑行至其所，見其室封閉極密，惟開一竅通食器出入。高宗惻然，呼曰：「皇后、淑妃安在？」庶人泣而對曰：「妾等得罪，廢棄為宮婢，何得更有尊稱，名為皇后？」言訖悲咽，又曰：「今至尊思及疇昔，使妾等再見日月，出入院中，望改此院名為『回心院』，妾等再生之幸。」高宗曰：「朕即有處置。」武后知之，令人杖庶人及蕭氏各一百，截去手足，投於酒甕中，曰：「令此二嫗骨醉！」數日而卒。

When the commoner lady was first imprisoned, she cursed loudly: "May that Wu become a rat and I a cat — life after life I shall choke her throat! Empress Wu was enraged, and from that time forward no cats were kept in the palace. Shortly after their imprisonment, Gaozong thought of them and strolled to their quarters. He found the rooms sealed tight, with only a small hole through which food vessels could pass. Moved to pity, Gaozong called out, "Where are the empress and the Pure Consort? Weeping, the commoner replied, "We have sinned and been cast out as palace maids — how can we still bear honored titles and be called empress?" She broke off in sobs, then said, "Now that Your Majesty remembers old days and has let us see daylight again, moving freely within this courtyard, we beg that it be renamed the Courtyard of Returning Hearts — that would be our rebirth." Gaozong said, "I shall see to it at once." When Empress Wu learned of this, she had the commoner and Lady Xiao each flogged one hundred strokes, their hands and feet cut off, and thrown into wine jars, saying, "Let these two crones get drunk to the bone!" Within a few days they were dead.

後則天頻見王、蕭二庶人披發瀝血，如死時狀。武后惡之，禱以巫祝，又移居蓬萊宮，復見，故多在東都。

Later Wu Zetian repeatedly saw the two commoners Wang and Xiao, hair loose and blood streaming, exactly as they had been at death. Empress Wu loathed the visions, sought relief through shamans, and moved to Penglai Palace, but still saw them — and so she spent much of her time in the eastern capital.

中宗即位，復后姓為王氏，梟氏還為蕭氏。

When Zhongzong ascended the throne, the empress's surname was restored to Wang and the Owl surname was changed back to Xiao.

和思皇后趙氏

Empress Zhao, the Harmonious-Reflecting Empress

韋庶人

Empress Wei, the Deposed Consort

帝在房州時，常謂后曰：「一朝見天日，誓不相禁忌。」及得志，受上官昭容邪說，引武三思入宮中，升御床，與后雙陸，帝為點籌，以為歡笑，醜聲日聞於外。乃大出宮女，雖左右內職，亦許時出禁中。上官氏及宮人貴幸者，皆立外宅，出入不節，朝官邪佞者候之，恣為狎遊，祈其賞秩，以至要官。時侍中敬暉謀去諸武，武三思患之，乃結上官氏以為援，因得幸於后，潛入宮中謀議，乃諷百官上帝尊號為應天皇帝，后為順天皇后。帝與后親謁太廟，告謝受尊號之意。於是三思驕橫用事，敬暉、王同皎相次夷滅，天下咸歸咎於后。后方優寵親屬，內外封拜，遍列清要。又欲寵樹安樂公主，乃制公主開府，置官屬。太平公主儀比親王。長寧、安樂二府不置長史而已。宜城公主等以非后所生，各減太平之半。安樂恃寵驕恣，賣官鬻獄，勢傾朝廷，常自草制敕，掩其文而請帝書焉，帝笑而從之，竟不省視。又請自立為皇太女，帝雖不從，亦不加譴。所署府僚，皆猥濫非才。又廣營第宅，侈靡過甚。長寧及諸公主叠相仿效，天下咸嗟怨之。

While the emperor was in exile at Fangzhou, he often told the empress, "When I see daylight again, I swear we shall place no restrictions on each other. Once he had his wish, he listened to the corrupt advice of Shangguan Zhaorong, brought Wu Sansi into the palace, and had him climb onto the imperial bed to play backgammon with the empress while the emperor kept score for their amusement. Scandalous reports spread day by day beyond the palace. He then released large numbers of palace women, and even inner attendants were permitted to leave the forbidden precincts from time to time. Shangguan and favored palace women all set up houses outside the palace and came and went without restraint. Sycophantic court officials waited on them, indulging in intimate revelry and seeking rewards and promotion — some even reaching the highest offices. At that time Vice-Director Jing Hui plotted to purge the Wu faction. Alarmed, Wu Sansi allied with Shangguan as his patron, won the empress's favor, and entered the palace in secret to plot. He then prompted the officials to petition that the emperor take the title Responding-to-Heaven Emperor and the empress Following-Heaven Empress. The emperor and empress personally visited the Imperial Ancestral Temple to announce and give thanks for the new honorific titles. Thereupon Sansi grew arrogant and wielded power. Jing Hui and Wang Tongjiao were destroyed one after another, and all under heaven laid the blame on the empress. The empress then showered favor on her kin, enfeoffing and promoting them within and without until they filled every exalted post. Seeking also to elevate Princess Anle, she decreed that princesses might establish offices and appoint staffs. Princess Taiping's ceremonial honors matched those of an imperial prince. The Changning and Anle establishments differed from a princely household only in lacking a chief secretary. Princesses such as Yicheng, who were not the empress's own daughters, each received half of Taiping's honors. Anle, secure in favor, grew arrogant and unrestrained. She sold offices and judgments until her power overshadowed the court. She often drafted edicts herself, covered the text, and asked the emperor to sign them. He laughed and complied, never even reading them. She also asked to be made heir in her own right as Grand Crown Princess. The emperor refused, but did not rebuke her. The officials she appointed to her household were all unworthy men without real ability. She also built mansions on a vast scale, with extravagance beyond all bounds. Changning and the other princesses followed suit one after another, and all under heaven sighed and resented them.

神龍三年，節湣太子死後，宗楚客率百僚上表，加后號為順天翊聖皇后。景龍二年春，宮中希旨，妄稱后衣箱中有五色雲出，帝使畫工圖之，出示於朝，乃大赦天下，百僚母妻各加邑號。右驍衛將軍、知太史事迦葉誌忠上表曰：

In the third year of Shenlong, after the death of Crown Prince Jiemin, Zong Chuke led the hundred officials in a memorial adding to the empress the title Following-Heaven Assisting-Sage Empress. In the spring of the second year of Jinglong, palace sycophants falsely claimed that five-colored clouds had issued from the empress's clothing chest. The emperor had painters depict the marvel and display it at court, then proclaimed a great amnesty and granted added fief titles to every official's mother and wife. General of the Right Xiaowei Guards and overseer of the Directorate of Astronomy, Ye Zhizhong, submitted a memorial saying:

「昔高祖未受命時，天下歌《桃李子》；太宗未受命時，天下歌《秦王破陣樂》；高宗未受命時，天下歌《側堂堂》；天后未受命時，天下歌《武媚娘》。伏惟應天皇帝未受命時，天下歌《英王石州》；順天皇后未受命時，天下歌《桑條韋也》。女行六合之內，齊首蹀足，應四時八節之會，歌舞同歡。豈與夫《簫韶》九成、百獸率舞同年而語哉！伏惟皇后降帝女之精，合為國母，主蠶桑以安天下，后妃之德，於斯為盛。謹進《桑條歌》十二篇，伏請宣布中外，進入樂府，皇后先蠶之時，以享宗廟。」

"In former times, before Emperor Gaozu received the Mandate, the realm sang Peach and Plum; before Taizong received the Mandate, the realm sang The Prince of Qin's Battle Array; before Gaozong received the Mandate, the realm sang Leaning Tall and Grand; before the Empress of Heaven received the Mandate, the realm sang Lady Wu Meiniang. I humbly consider that before the Responding-to-Heaven Emperor received the Mandate, the realm sang The Prince of Ying's Shizhou; before the Following-Heaven Empress received the Mandate, the realm sang Mulberry Branch and Wei. Women throughout the realm move in step, heads bowed and feet dancing, answering the gatherings of the four seasons and eight festivals in shared song and joy. Surely this belongs in the same breath as the nine movements of Shaoyao, when the hundred beasts led the dance! I humbly consider that the empress, born of an emperor's daughter, has become mother of the realm, presiding over sericulture to settle the world — in the virtue of empress and consort, nothing surpasses this. I respectfully submit twelve sections of the Mulberry Branch Song and humbly ask that it be proclaimed throughout the realm, entered into the Music Office, and performed when the empress leads the first sericulture rites, to be offered before the ancestral temple.

帝悅而許之，特賜誌忠莊一區、雜彩七百段。太常少卿鄭愔又引而申之，播於舞詠，亦受厚賞。兵部尚書宗楚客又諷補闕趙延禧表陳符命，解《桑條》以為十八代之符，請頒示天下，編諸史冊。帝大悅，擢延禧為諫議大夫。時上官昭容與其母鄭氏及尚宮柴氏、賀婁氏，樹用親黨，廣納貨賂，別降墨敕，斜封授官，或出臧獲屠販之類，累居榮秩。又引女巫趙氏出入禁中，封為隴西夫人，勢與上官氏為比。

The emperor was pleased and agreed, specially granting Zhizhong one estate and seven hundred bolts of assorted silks. Vice Director of the Court of Sacrificial Worships Zheng Yin further elaborated on it, spreading it in dance and song, and also received rich rewards. Minister of War Zong Chuke further prompted Reminder Zhao Yanxi to memorialize on portents, interpreting Mulberry Branch as a token of eighteen generations and asking that it be proclaimed throughout the realm and entered in the historical record. The emperor was greatly pleased and promoted Yanxi to Remonstrating Censor. At that time Shangguan Zhaorong, together with her mother Lady Zheng and the Chief of Palace Attendants Chai and Helou, promoted their kin and faction, accepted bribes on a wide scale, and issued supplementary edicts with slanting seals to sell offices — so that slaves, butchers, and peddlers rose in succession to honored rank. She also brought a witch surnamed Zhao in and out of the forbidden precincts, enfeoffing her as Lady of Longxi, whose power rivaled Shangguan's own.

三年冬，帝將親祠南郊，國子祭酒祝欽明、司業郭山惲建議云：「皇后亦合助祭。」太常博士唐紹、蔣欽緒上疏爭之。尚書右僕射韋巨源詳定儀注，遂希旨協同欽明之議。帝納其言，以后為亞獻，仍以宰相女為齊娘，以執籩豆。欽明又欲請安樂公主為終獻，迫於時議而止。四年正月望夜，帝與后微行市裏，以觀燒燈。又放宮女數千，夜遊縱觀，因與外人陰通，逃逸不還。時國子祭酒葉靜能善符禁小術，散騎常侍馬秦客頗閑醫藥，光祿少卿楊均以調膳侍奉，皆出入宮掖。均與秦客皆得幸於后，相次丁母憂，旬日悉起復舊職。時安樂公主與駙馬武延秀、侍中紀處訥、中書令宗楚客、司農卿趙履溫互相猜貳，叠為朋黨。

In the winter of the third year, as the emperor was about to perform the southern suburban sacrifice in person, Director of the Imperial Academy Zhu Qinming and Vice Director Guo Shanyin proposed, "The empress should also assist in the sacrifice. Academician-Readers Tang Shao and Jiang Qinxu submitted memorials disputing the proposal. Right Vice Director Wei Juyuan, charged with fixing the ritual regulations, sought to please the throne and sided with Qinming's proposal. The emperor accepted their advice. The empress served as second offerer, and a chancellor's daughter served as attendant maiden bearing the ritual baskets and vessels. Qinming also wished to request Princess Anle as final offerer, but desisted under pressure of public opinion. On the full-moon night of the first month of the fourth year, the emperor and empress went incognito into the city markets to watch the lantern festival. He also released several thousand palace women to roam at night and look about freely. Some secretly took lovers among outsiders and fled, never to return. At that time Director Ye Jingneng was skilled in talismanic arts and minor magic; Regular Attendant Ma Qinke was well versed in medicine; and Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices Yang Jun was trusted to prepare food — all of them moved in and out of the inner palace. Both Yang Jun and Ma Qinke won the empress's favor. When they successively entered mourning for their mothers, all were recalled to their former posts within ten days. At that time Princess Anle, her consort Wu Yanxiu, Vice Director Ji Chunna, Grand Secretary Zong Chuke, and Director of the Court of Imperial Granaries Zhao Lüwen distrusted one another in turn and formed rival factions.

六月，帝遇毒暴崩。時馬秦客侍疾，議者歸罪於秦客及安樂公主。后懼，秘不發喪，引所親入禁中，謀自安之策。以刑部尚書裴談、工部尚書張錫知政事，留守東都；又命左金吾大將軍趙承恩及宦者左監門衛大將軍薛崇簡帥兵五百人往筠州，以備譙王重福。后與兄太子少保溫定策，立溫王重茂為皇太子，召諸府兵五萬人屯京城，分為左右營，然後發喪。少帝即位，尊后為皇太后，臨朝攝政。韋溫總知內外兵馬，守援宮掖；駙馬韋捷、韋濯分掌左右屯營；武延秀及溫從子播、族弟璿、外甥高崇，共典左右羽林軍及飛騎、萬騎。播、璿欲先樹威嚴，拜官日先鞭萬騎數人，眾皆怨，不為之用。時京城恐懼，相傳將有革命之事，往往偶語，人情不安。臨淄王率薛崇簡、鐘紹京、劉幽求領萬騎及總監，丁未，入自玄武門，至左羽林軍，斬將軍韋璿、韋播及中郎將高崇於寢帳。遂斬關而入，至太極殿。后惶駭遁入殿前飛騎營，及武延秀、安樂公主皆為亂兵所殺。分遣萬騎誅其黨與韋溫、溫從子捷，及族弟嬰；宗楚客、弟晉卿，紀處訥，馬秦客，葉靜能，楊均，趙履溫，衛尉卿王哲，太常卿李【王曳】，將作少匠李守質及韋氏武氏宗族，無少長皆斬之。梟后及安樂公主首於東市。翌日，敕收后屍，葬以一品之禮，追貶為庶人；安樂公主葬以三品之禮，追貶為悖逆庶人。

In the sixth month, the emperor was poisoned and died suddenly. Ma Qinke was attending him at the time, and public opinion blamed Qinke and Princess Anle. The empress was afraid. She kept the death secret, summoned her intimates into the forbidden precinct, and plotted how to secure herself. She appointed Minister of Justice Pei Tan and Minister of Works Zhang Xi to direct state affairs and remain to guard the eastern capital; she also ordered General of the Left Jinwu Guard Zhao Chengen and the eunuch Left Supervisor of the Gates Guard Xue Chongjian to lead five hundred troops to Yunzhou to guard against Prince of Qiao Chongfu. The empress and her brother, Crown Prince's Junior Tutor Wei Wen, settled on a plan: install Prince Wen Chongmao as crown prince, summon fifty thousand garrison troops to camp at the capital in left and right divisions, and only then announce the funeral. The young emperor ascended the throne. The empress was honored as empress dowager and held court as regent. Wei Wen held overall command of inner and outer military forces and guarded the palace; Consorts Wei Jie and Wei Zhuo separately commanded the left and right encampments; Wu Yanxiu, Wen's nephew Bo, clansman Xuan, and maternal nephew Gao Chong together commanded the Left and Right Feathered Forest Armies, Flying Cavalry, and Ten Thousand Riders. Bo and Xuan sought first to establish their authority. On the day they took office they flogged several men of the Ten Thousand Riders. The men resented it and refused to obey them. At that time the capital was gripped by fear. Rumors spread of an impending dynastic upheaval; people whispered in pairs, and public morale was unsettled. The Prince of Linzi led Xue Chongjian, Zhong Shaojing, and Liu Youqiu at the head of the Ten Thousand Riders and grand directors. On the day dingwei they entered through the Xuanwu Gate, reached the Left Feathered Forest Army, and in the sleeping tent cut down Generals Wei Xuan and Wei Bo and Captain Gao Chong. They then broke through the gate and entered, reaching the Hall of Supreme Ultimate. The empress, terrified, fled into the Flying Cavalry camp before the hall. Wu Yanxiu and Princess Anle were all slain by the mutinous troops. They dispatched the Ten Thousand Riders in separate parties to execute her partisans Wei Wen, Wen's nephew Jie, and clansman Ying; Zong Chuke and his younger brother Jinqing, Ji Chunna, Ma Qinke, Ye Jingneng, Yang Jun, Zhao Lüwen, Director of the Court of Imperial Insignia Wang Zhe, Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices Li 【Wang Ye】, Assistant Director of the Directorate of Palace Construction Li Shouzhi, and the Wei and Wu clans — young and old alike were beheaded. The heads of the empress and Princess Anle were displayed at the Eastern Market. The next day an edict ordered the empress's body recovered and buried with first-rank rites, while posthumously demoting her to commoner status; Princess Anle was buried with third-rank rites and posthumously demoted to Treacherous Commoner.

上官昭容

Shangguan Zhaorong

中宗上官昭容，名婉兒，西臺侍郎儀之孫也。父庭芝，與儀同被誅，婉兒時在繈褓，隨母配入掖庭。及長，有文詞，明習吏事。則天時，婉兒忤旨當誅，則天惜其才不殺，但黥其面而已。自聖歷已後，百司表奏，多令參決。中宗即位，又令專掌制命，深被信任。尋拜為昭容，封其母鄭氏為沛國夫人。婉兒既與武三思淫亂，每下制敕，多因事推尊武后而排抑皇家。節湣太子深惡之，及舉兵，至肅章門，扣閣索婉兒。婉兒大言曰：「觀其此意，即當次索皇后以及大家。」帝與后遂激怒，並將婉兒登玄武門樓以避兵鋒，俄而事定。婉兒常勸廣置昭文學士，盛引當朝詞學之臣，數賜遊宴，賦詩唱和。婉兒每代帝及后、長寧安樂二公主，數首並作，辭甚綺麗，時人咸諷誦之。婉兒又通於吏部侍郎崔湜，引知政事。湜嘗充使開商山新路，功未半而中宗崩，婉兒草遺制，曲敘其功而加褒賞。及韋庶人敗，婉兒亦斬於旗下。玄宗令收其詩筆，撰成文集二十卷，令張說為之序。初，婉兒在孕時，其母夢人遺己大秤，占者曰：「當生貴子，而秉國權衡。」既生女，聞者嗤其無效，及婉兒專秉內政，果如占者之言。

Shangguan Zhaorong of Emperor Zhongzong, whose personal name was Wan'er, was the granddaughter of Vice Director of the Western Terrace Yi. Her father Tingzhi was executed together with Yi. Wan'er was still an infant and, following her mother, was assigned to the Palace Women Quarters. When she came of age, she possessed literary talent and was well versed in administrative affairs. During Wu Zetian's reign, Wan'er offended the throne and was due for execution. Wu Zetian prized her talent and spared her life, tattooing her face instead. From the Shenli era onward, memorials from the hundred offices were often submitted to her for review and decision. When Emperor Zhongzong ascended the throne, she was again placed in sole charge of drafting edicts and enjoyed his deep trust. Soon she was appointed Zhaorong, and her mother Lady Zheng was enfeoffed as Lady of Pei. Wan'er had already entered a licentious affair with Wu Sansi. Whenever she issued edicts, she often used the occasion to exalt Empress Wu and suppress the imperial clan. Crown Prince Jiemin deeply hated her. When he raised troops and reached Su Zhang Gate, he knocked on the gate and demanded Wan'er be handed over. Wan'er cried out, saying, "Judging by his intent, next he will demand the empress and the Great One." The emperor and empress were thus enraged. Both took Wan'er up onto the Xuanwu Gate tower to escape the fighting, and soon the affair was settled. Wan'er often urged the broad appointment of Zhaowen academicians and lavishly gathered the dynasty's literary officials. She repeatedly granted them banquets and outings, composing and exchanging poems with them. Wan'er often composed several pieces at once on behalf of the emperor, empress, and the Princesses of Changning and Anle. The language was richly ornate, and people of the time all recited her verses. Wan'er also had an affair with Vice Director of the Ministry of Personnel Cui Shi and had him brought into the conduct of state affairs. Shi had once served as envoy to open a new route through Mount Shang. The work was not yet half done when Emperor Zhongzong died. Wan'er drafted the death edict, bending the narrative to recount his merit and add praise and reward. When the Commoner of Wei fell, Wan'er was also beheaded beneath the army banner. Emperor Xuanzong ordered her poems and writings collected and compiled into a twenty-scroll collected works, and had Zhang Yue write the preface. Earlier, when Wan'er was in the womb, her mother dreamed that someone gave her a great scale. The diviner said, "You will bear a noble child who will hold the nation's scales of power." When a girl was born, those who heard laughed that the prophecy had failed. Yet when Wan'er came to hold sole sway over inner governance, it proved exactly as the diviner had said.

肅明皇后劉氏

Empress Suming, Lady Liu

睿宗肅明順聖皇后劉氏，刑部尚書德威之孫也。父延景，陜州刺史，景雲元年，追贈尚書右僕射、沛國公。儀鳳中，睿宗居籓，納后為孺人，尋立為妃，生寧王憲、壽昌代國二公主。文明元年睿宗即位，冊為皇后；及降為皇嗣，后從降為妃。長壽中，與昭成皇后同被譴，為則天所殺。景雲元年，追謚肅明皇后，招魂葬於東都城南，陵曰惠陵。睿宗崩，遷祔橋陵。以昭成太后故，不得入太廟配饗，常別祀於儀坤廟。開元二十年，始祔太廟。

Emperor Ruizong's Suming Shunsheng Empress, Lady Liu, was the granddaughter of Minister of Justice Dewei. Her father Yanjing had served as Prefect of Shaan Prefecture. In the first year of Jingyun he was posthumously granted Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs and Duke of Pei. During Yifeng, while Ruizong held a princely fief, he took her as Lady and soon established her as consort. She bore Prince of Ning Xian and the Princesses of Shouchang and Daiguo. In the first year of Wende, when Ruizong ascended the throne, she was invested as empress; When he was reduced to heir apparent, the empress was correspondingly reduced to consort. During Changshou, she and Empress Zhaocheng were both condemned and killed by Wu Zetian. In the first year of Jingyun she was posthumously titled Empress Suming and given a soul-summoning burial south of the Eastern Capital. Her mausoleum was called Huiling. When Ruizong died, her tablet was moved to be enshrined at Qiaoling. Because of Empress Dowager Zhaocheng, she could not enter the Grand Ancestral Temple for joint sacrifice and was regularly worshipped separately at Yikun Temple. In the twentieth year of Kaiyuan she was first enshrined in the Grand Ancestral Temple.

昭成皇后竇氏

Empress Zhaocheng, Lady Dou

睿宗昭成順聖皇后竇氏，將作大匠抗曾孫也。祖誕，大理卿、莘國公。父孝諶，潤州刺史，景雲元年，追贈太尉、邠國公。后姿容婉順，動循禮則，睿宗為相王時為孺人，甚見禮異。光宅元年，立為德妃。生玄宗及金仙、玉真二公主。長壽二年，為戶婢團兒誣譖與肅明皇后厭蠱咒詛。正月二日，朝則天皇后於嘉豫殿，既退而同時遇害。梓宮秘密，莫知所在。睿宗即位，謚曰昭成皇后，招魂葬於都城之南，陵曰靖陵。又立廟於京師，號為儀坤廟。睿宗崩，后以帝母之重，追尊為皇太后，謚仍舊，祔葬橋陵，遷神主於太廟。

Emperor Ruizong's Zhaocheng Shunsheng Empress, Lady Dou, was the great-granddaughter of the Director of Palace Construction Kang. Her grandfather Dan was Director of the Court of Judicial Review and Duke of Shen. Her father Xiaochen had served as Prefect of Run Prefecture. In the first year of Jingyun he was posthumously granted Grand Preceptor and Duke of Bin. The empress's bearing was graceful and compliant, and in all her conduct she followed ritual propriety. When Ruizong was Prince of Xiang she was his Lady and was treated with exceptional honor. In the first year of Guangzhai she was established as Virtuous Consort. She bore Emperor Xuanzong and the Princesses Jinxian and Yuzhen. In the second year of Changshou, the household maid Tuan'er falsely accused her and Empress Suming of sorcery and curses. On the second day of the first month they attended upon Empress Wu Zetian at Jiayu Hall. After withdrawing they were both killed at the same time. The disposition of the imperial coffin was kept secret, and no one knew where she lay. When Ruizong ascended the throne, she was posthumously titled Empress Zhaocheng and given a soul-summoning burial south of the capital. Her mausoleum was called Jingling. A temple was also established in the capital, named Yikun Temple. When Ruizong died, because of her status as the emperor's mother she was posthumously honored as Empress Dowager with her posthumous title unchanged, buried jointly at Qiaoling, and her spirit tablet moved to the Grand Ancestral Temple.

廢后王氏

Deposed Empress Wang

玄宗廢后王氏，同州下邽人，梁冀州刺史神念之後。上為臨淄王時，納后為妃。上將起事，頗預密謀，贊成大業。先天元年，為皇后，以父仁皎為太僕卿，累加開府儀同三司、邠國公。后兄守一以后無子，常懼有廢立，導以符厭之事。有左道僧明悟為祭南北斗，刻霹靂木，書天地字及上諱，合而佩之，且祝曰：「佩此有子，當與則天皇后為比。」事發，上親究之，皆驗。開元十二年秋七月己卯，下制曰：「皇后王氏，天命不祐，華而不實。造起獄訟，朋扇朝廷，見無將之心，有可諱之惡。焉得敬承宗廟，母儀天下？可廢為庶人，別院安置。刑於家室，有愧昔王，為國大計，蓋非獲已。」守一賜死。其年十月，庶人卒，以一品禮葬於無相寺。寶應元年，雪免，復尊為皇后。

Emperor Xuanzong's deposed Empress Wang was a native of Xiagui in Tong Prefecture and a descendant of Shennian, Governor of Ji Prefecture under Liang. When the emperor was Prince of Linzi, he took her as consort. When the emperor was about to launch his coup, she took part in the secret plotting and helped bring the great enterprise to success. In the first year of Xiantian she became empress. Her father Renjiao was made Director of the Court of the Imperial Stud and cumulatively promoted to Grand Master with Extraordinary Honors of the First Rank and Duke of Bin. The empress's elder brother Shouyi, fearing that her childlessness would lead to deposition, constantly led her into talismanic sorcery. A heterodox monk named Mingwu performed sacrifices to the Northern and Southern Dippers, carved thunderbolt wood, inscribed the characters for Heaven and Earth and the emperor's taboo name, joined them together for her to wear, and prayed, saying, "Wearing this will bring a son; she shall be the equal of Empress Zetian." When the affair came to light, the emperor personally investigated it, and all was verified. On the day jimao of the seventh month of autumn in the twelfth year of Kaiyuan, an edict was issued, saying, "Empress Wang — Heaven does not bless her; she is showy but empty. She stirs up lawsuits, factions the court, displays a mind for rebellion, and bears evils that cannot be concealed. How can she reverently uphold the ancestral temple and serve as mother model for the realm? She is hereby deposed to commoner status and placed in a separate residence. To punish her within the household shames the kings of old; for the great plan of state, this is surely not done willingly." Shouyi was ordered to take his own life. In the tenth month of that year the commoner died and was buried with first-rank rites at Wuxiang Temple. In the first year of Baoying her name was cleared and she was again honored as empress.

貞順皇后武氏

Empress Zhenshun, Lady Wu

玄宗貞順皇后武氏，則天從父兄子恆安王攸止女也。攸止卒後，后尚幼，隨例入宮。上即位，漸承恩寵。及王庶人廢後，特賜號為惠妃，宮中禮秩，一同皇后。所生母楊氏，封為鄭國夫人。同母弟忠，累遷國子祭酒；信，秘書監。惠妃開元初產夏悼王及懷哀王、上仙公主，並繈褓不育，上特垂傷悼。及生壽王瑁，不敢養於宮中，命寧王憲於外養之。又生盛王琦，咸宜、太華二公主。惠妃以開元二十五年十二月薨，年四十餘。下制曰：「存有懿範，沒有寵章，豈獨被於朝班，故乃施於亞政，可以垂裕，斯為通典。故惠妃武氏，少而婉順，長而賢明，行合禮經，言應圖史。承戚里之華胄，升後庭之峻秩，貴而不恃，謙而益光。以道飭躬，以和逮下，四德粲其兼備，六宮咨而是則。法度在己，靡資珩佩；躬儉化人，率先絺纮。夙有奇表，將加正位，前後固讓，辭而不受，奄至淪歿，載深感悼，遂使玉衣之慶，不及於生前；象服之榮，徒增於身後。可贈貞順皇后，宜令所司擇日冊命。」葬於敬陵。時慶王琮等請制齊衰之服，有司請以忌日廢務，上皆不許之。立廟於京中昊天觀南，乾元之後，祠享亦絕。

Emperor Xuanzong's Zhenshun Empress, Lady Wu, was the daughter of Prince of Heng'an Youzhi, a son of Wu Zetian's father's elder brother's line. After Youzhi died, she was still young and entered the palace according to custom. When the emperor ascended the throne, she gradually won his favor. When the Commoner Wang was deposed as empress, she was specially granted the title Consort Hui. Within the palace her ritual rank was the same as the empress's. Her birth mother, Lady Yang, was enfeoffed as Lady of Zheng. Her younger brother by the same mother, Zhong, was cumulatively promoted to Director of the Directorate of Education; Xin became Director of the Secretariat. In the early Kaiyuan era Consort Hui bore Prince Da of Xia, Prince Huai'ai, and Princess Shangxian. All died in infancy, and the emperor was especially grieved. When she bore Prince of Shou Mao, he did not dare rear him within the palace and ordered Prince of Ning Xian to raise him outside. She also bore Prince of Sheng Qi and the Princesses Xianyi and Taihua. Consort Hui died in the twelfth month of the twenty-fifth year of Kaiyuan, aged over forty. An edict was issued, saying, "In life there is virtuous example; in death there is favor's seal — not granted to the court ranks alone, but also extended to consorts of secondary rank. What can be handed down as lasting bounty — this is the universal norm. Thus Consort Hui, Lady Wu — gentle and compliant in youth, wise and discerning in maturity; her conduct accorded with the ritual classics, her speech matched the pattern histories. She inherited the splendid lineage of the imperial consort kin and rose to the exalted rank of the inner court. Noble yet not arrogant, humble yet all the more radiant. She ordered her person by the Way and reached those below with harmony. The four virtues shone in her combined fullness, and the Six Palaces looked to her as the standard. Law and measure were within herself; she had no need of pendant jades; Personally frugal, she transformed others, taking the lead in coarse hemp garments. Long she had shown a singular bearing; the principal rank was about to be conferred, yet again and again she firmly declined. Suddenly she passed away, and grief was deep. Thus the blessing of the jade garment did not reach her in life; the glory of ceremonial robes with symbolic patterns increased only after her death. She is hereby posthumously granted Empress Zhenshun. The relevant offices should choose a day for investiture." She was buried at Jing Mausoleum. At that time Prince of Qing Cong and others requested that hemp mourning garments be prescribed. The relevant offices requested that business be suspended on the anniversary of her death. The emperor refused all of these. A temple was established south of Haotian Abbey in the capital. After Qianyuan, sacrifices also ceased.

楊貴妃

Yang Guifei

玄宗楊貴妃，高祖令本，金州刺史。父玄琰，蜀州司戶。妃早孤，養於叔父河南府士曹玄璬。開元初，武惠妃特承寵遇，故王皇后廢黜。二十四年惠妃薨，帝悼惜久之，後庭數千，無可意者。或奏玄琰女姿色冠代，宜蒙召見。時妃衣道士服，號曰太真。既進見，玄宗大悅。不期歲，禮遇如惠妃。太真姿質豐艷，善歌舞，通音律，智算過人。每倩盼承迎，動移上意。宮中呼為「娘子」，禮數實同皇后。有姊三人，皆有才貌，玄宗並封國夫人之號：長曰大姨，封韓國；三姨，封虢國；八姨，封秦國。並承恩澤，出入宮掖，勢傾天下。妃父玄琰，累贈太尉、齊國公；母封涼國夫人；叔玄珪，光祿卿。再從兄銛，鴻臚卿。锜，侍御史，尚武惠妃女太華公主，以母愛，禮遇過於諸公主，賜甲第，連於宮禁。韓、虢、秦三夫人與銛、锜等五家，每有請托，府縣承迎，峻如詔敕，四方賂遺，其門如市。

Imperial Noble Consort Yang of Emperor Xuanzong — her ancestor Lingben had served as Prefect of Jin Prefecture under Emperor Gaozu. Her father Xuan Yan was Registrar of Shu Prefecture. The consort was orphaned early and was reared by her uncle Xuan Wei, Assistant in the Henan Prefecture office. In the early Kaiyuan era, Consort Hui Wu received special favor, and therefore Empress Wang was deposed. In the twenty-fourth year Consort Hui died. The emperor mourned her long, and among the several thousand women of the inner quarters, none pleased him. Someone memorialized that Xuan Yan's daughter's beauty surpassed her age and that she ought to be summoned for audience. At that time the consort wore Daoist robes and was styled Taizhen. Once she was presented in audience, Emperor Xuanzong was greatly pleased. Within less than a year she was honored with ceremony equal to Consort Hui. Taizhen was voluptuous and radiant in appearance. She danced and sang with skill, mastered musical theory, and her intelligence and shrewdness outstripped those around her. With every sidelong glance and show of welcome, she swayed the emperor's mood. The palace called her "My Lady," and the ceremonials accorded her were effectively those of an empress. She had three elder sisters, all accomplished and beautiful. Xuanzong enfeoffed them all as State Duchesses: the eldest, known as Elder Aunt, received Han; the third, as Duchess of Guo; and the eighth, as Duchess of Qin. They all basked in imperial favor, passing in and out of the inner palace until their influence tipped the whole world. The consort's father Xuan Yan was posthumously promoted in turn to Grand Commandant and Duke of Qi; her mother was enfeoffed as Duchess of Liang; Her uncle Xuan Gui served as Director of the Palace Banquets. Her second cousin Xian was Chamberlain for Dependencies. Qi served as Investigating Censor and married Princess Taihua, daughter of Martial Consort Hui. Favored by his mother, he received greater ceremonial honors than the other imperial sons-in-law and was granted a grand residence adjoining the palace grounds. The three duchesses of Han, Guo, and Qin, together with Xian, Qi, and the other five Yang households, had only to ask and prefectures and counties obeyed as sternly as if an edict had come down. Gifts poured in from every direction until their gates thronged like a market.

皇場五載七月，貴妃以微譴送歸楊銛宅。比至亭午，上思之，不食。高力士探知上旨，請送貴妃院供帳、器玩、廩餼等辦具百餘車，上又分御饌以送之。帝動不稱旨，暴怒笞撻左右。力士伏奏請迎貴妃歸院。是夜，開安興里門入內，妃伏地謝罪，上歡然慰撫。翌日，韓、虢進食，上作樂終日，左右暴有賜與。自是寵遇愈隆。韓、虢、秦三夫人歲給錢千貫，為脂粉之資。銛授三品、上柱國，私第立戟。姊妹昆仲五家，甲第洞開，僭擬宮掖，車馬僕禦，照耀京邑，遞相誇尚。每構一堂，費逾千萬計，見制度宏壯於己者，即撤而復造，土木之工，不舍晝夜。玄宗頒賜及四方獻遺，五家如一，中使不絕。開元已來，豪貴雄盛，無如楊氏之比也。玄宗凡有遊幸，貴妃無不隨侍，乘馬則高力士執轡授鞭。宮中供貴妃院織錦刺繡之工，凡七百人，其雕刻熔造，又數百人。揚、益、嶺表刺史，必求良工造作奇器異服，以奉貴妃獻賀，因致擢居顯位。玄宗每年十月幸華清宮，國忠姊妹五家扈從，每家為一隊，著一色衣，五家合隊，照映如百花之煥發，而遺鈿墜舄，瑟瑟珠翠，燦爛芳馥於路。而國忠私於虢國而不避雄狐之刺，每入朝或聯鑣方駕，不施帷幔。每三朝慶賀，五鼓待漏，艷妝盈巷，蠟炬如晝。而十宅諸王百孫院婚嫁，皆因韓、虢為紹介，仍先納賂千貫而奏請，罔不稱旨。天寶九載，貴妃復忤旨，送歸外第。時吉溫與中貴人善，溫入奏曰：「婦人智識不遠，有忤聖情，然貴妃久承恩顧，何惜宮中一席之地，使其就戮，安忍取辱於外哉！」上即令中使張韜光賜御饌，妃附韜光泣奏曰：「妾忤聖顏，罪當萬死。衣服之外，皆聖恩所賜，無可遺留，然髮膚是父母所有。」乃引刀翦髮一繚附獻。玄宗見之驚惋，即使力士召還。

In the seventh month of the fifth year of the Tianbao era, the Noble Consort was sent back to Yang Xian's residence over a minor rebuke. By midday he was already missing her and refused to eat. Gao Lishi discerned the emperor's mood and asked that more than a hundred cartloads of bedding, furnishings, playthings, and provisions be sent to the Noble Consort's residence. The emperor also sent dishes from his own table. Nothing around him pleased him; he flew into rages and had his attendants beaten. Lishi prostrated himself and asked that the Noble Consort be brought back to the palace. That night the gate of Anxing Ward was opened and she was admitted to the inner palace. She prostrated herself in apology, and the emperor received her back with evident joy. The next day the duchesses of Han and Guo sent food. Music played all day, and those around the emperor received sudden, lavish gifts. From then on her favor only grew. The three duchesses of Han, Guo, and Qin each received a thousand strings of cash every year for rouge and powder. Xian was made a third-rank official and Upper Pillar of the State, and ceremonial halberds were set up at his private residence. The five Yang households of sisters and brothers kept their grand mansions thrown wide, aping the inner palace. Chariots, horses, and retinues lit up the capital as they vied to outshine one another. Each new hall cost more than ten million cash. If they saw another house grander than theirs, they tore theirs down and built again. Construction went on without pause, day and night. Whatever Xuanzong granted and whatever gifts arrived from the four quarters, the five households shared equally, and palace envoys were constantly on the road. Since the Kaiyuan era, no clan had been so powerful and splendid as the Yang. Whenever Xuanzong traveled, the Noble Consort always accompanied him. When she rode, Gao Lishi held the reins and handed her the whip. Within the palace, seven hundred artisans wove brocade and embroidery for the Noble Consort's residence, and several hundred more worked in carving, casting, and metalwork. Prefects of Yangzhou, Yizhou, and the Lingnan region invariably sought master craftsmen to produce rare vessels and extraordinary garments, presenting them to the Noble Consort as tribute—and in this way won promotion to high office. Each tenth month Xuanzong visited Huaqing Palace, and Guozhong with the five Yang households followed in attendance. Each family marched in its own column dressed in one color; when the five columns merged, they blazed like a hundred flowers in bloom. Lost hairpins, fallen shoes, tinkling ornaments, pearls, and jade littered the road in glittering, perfumed profusion. Guozhong carried on a private affair with the Duchess of Guo without caring who might gossip, and when he went to court or they rode side by side in matched carriages, they did not even draw a curtain. At each thrice-monthly court celebration they waited before the fifth watch for the water-clock signal. Painted faces filled the lanes, and wax torches burned bright as noon. Marriages among the princes of the Ten Residences and the Court of Hundred Grandsons all went through Han and Guo as matchmakers. A bribe of a thousand strings was paid first, then the memorial was submitted—and every request won the emperor's approval. In the ninth year of Tianbao the Noble Consort again gave offense and was sent back to her residence outside the palace. At that time Ji Wen was close to an influential palace eunuch. Wen entered and said, "A woman's wit does not reach far, and she may have offended Your Majesty. Yet the Noble Consort has long enjoyed your favor. Why begrudge her a place in the palace? To leave her to die would be cruel enough; how can you bear to let her be shamed outside?" The emperor at once sent the palace envoy Zhang Taoguang with food from the imperial table. Through Taoguang the consort tearfully said, "Your servant has offended Your Majesty and deserves death ten thousand times over. Apart from my clothes, everything I have is your gift and cannot be returned. But hair and skin are what my parents gave me." She then took a knife, cut off a lock of hair, and sent it with her message. When Xuanzong saw it he was shaken and grieved, and at once sent Lishi to bring her back.

國忠既居宰執，兼領劍南節度，勢漸恣橫。十載正月望夜，楊家五宅夜遊，與廣平公主騎從爭西市門。楊氏奴揮鞭及公主衣，公主墮馬，駙馬程昌裔扶主，因及數撾。公主泣奏之，上令殺楊氏奴，昌裔亦停官。國忠二男昢、暄，妃弟鑒，皆尚公主，楊氏一門尚二公主、二郡主。貴妃父祖立私廟，玄宗御制家廟碑文並書。玄珪累遷至兵部尚書。天寶中，范陽節度使安祿山大立邊功，上深寵之。祿山來朝，帝令貴妃姊妹與祿山結為兄弟。祿山母事貴妃，每宴賜，錫賚稠沓。及祿山叛，露檄數國忠之罪。河北盜起，玄宗以皇太子為天下兵馬元帥，監撫軍國事。國忠大懼，諸楊聚哭，貴妃銜土陳請，帝遂不行內禪。及潼關失守，從幸至馬嵬，禁軍大將陳玄禮密啟太子，誅國忠父子。既而四軍不散，玄宗遣力士宣問，對曰「賊本尚在」，蓋指貴妃也。力士復奏，帝不獲已，與妃詔，遂縊死於佛室。時年三十八，瘞於驛西道側。

Once Guozhong became chief minister and also held the Jiannan governorship, his power grew ever more arrogant and overbearing. On the lantern festival night of the first month of the tenth year, the five Yang households went out after dark and clashed with the mounted escort of the Princess of Guangping at the West Market gate. A Yang household slave struck the princess's clothing with his whip, and she fell from her horse. Her consort Cheng Changyi helped her up and himself took several blows. The princess wept and reported the affair. The emperor ordered the Yang slave executed, and Changyi was also removed from office. Guozhong's two sons Pan and Xuan, together with the consort's younger brother Jian, all married princesses. The Yang clan as a whole had taken two princesses and two commandery princesses in marriage. The Noble Consort's ancestors were given a private temple, and Xuanzong personally composed and wrote the text of the family shrine stele. Xuan Gui rose in succession to Minister of War. During the Tianbao era An Lushan, military governor of Fanyang, won great victories on the frontier, and the emperor favored him deeply. When Lushan came to court, the emperor had the Noble Consort's sisters swear brotherhood with him. Lushan treated the Noble Consort as his adoptive mother, and at every feast the rewards he received were lavish and unceasing. When Lushan rebelled, he published an open proclamation listing Guozhong's crimes. When bandits rose in Hebei, Xuanzong made the Crown Prince supreme commander of all armies under Heaven to oversee military and state affairs. Guozhong was terrified. The Yang clan gathered and wept, and the Noble Consort petitioned with earth held in her mouth as a sign of abject humility. The emperor then abandoned the planned inner abdication. When Tong Pass fell and the court fled as far as Mawei, Chen Xuanli, chief general of the imperial guard, secretly urged the Crown Prince to execute Guozhong and his sons. The four armies still would not disband. Xuanzong sent Lishi to ask why, and they answered, "The root of the rebellion is still here"—meaning the Noble Consort. Lishi reported again. Unable to refuse, the emperor spoke with the consort by edict, and she was strangled in the Buddha hall. She was thirty-eight. She was buried beside the post road west of the station.

上皇自蜀還，令中使祭奠，詔令改葬。禮部侍郎李揆曰：「龍武將士誅國忠，以其負國兆亂。今改葬故妃，恐將士疑懼，葬禮未可行。」乃止。上皇密令中使改葬於他所。初瘞時以紫褥裹之，肌膚已壞，而香囊仍在。內官以獻，上皇視之淒惋，乃令圖其形於別殿，朝夕視之。

After the Retired Emperor returned from Shu, he sent palace envoys to offer sacrifices and ordered that she be reburied. Vice Minister of Rites Li Kui said, "The Dragon Martial guards executed Guozhong because he betrayed the state and brought on rebellion. If the former consort is now reburied with honor, the troops may grow suspicious and afraid. The funeral cannot be carried out yet." The plan was abandoned. The Retired Emperor secretly ordered palace envoys to move her burial to another place. At the first burial she had been wrapped in a purple quilt. The flesh had already decayed, but her perfumed pouch remained intact. Palace attendants brought it to him. The Retired Emperor looked on it with bitter grief and ordered her likeness painted in a separate hall, which he gazed at morning and evening.

馬嵬之誅國忠也，虢國夫人聞難作，奔馬至陳倉。縣令薛景仙率人吏追之，走入竹林。先殺其男裴徽及一女。國忠妻裴柔曰：「娘子為我盡命。」即刺殺之。已而自刎，不死，縣吏載之，閉於獄中。猶謂吏曰：「國家乎？賊乎？」吏曰：「互有之。」血凝至喉而卒，遂瘞於郭外。韓國夫人婿秘書少監崔峋，女為代宗妃。虢國男裴徽尚代宗女延安公主，女嫁讓帝男。秦國夫人婿柳澄先死，男鈞尚長清縣主，澄弟潭尚肅宗女和政公主。

When Guozhong was killed at Mawei, the Duchess of Guo heard trouble had broken out and galloped to Chencang. Magistrate Xue Jingxian led clerks and men in pursuit until she fled into a bamboo grove. They first killed her son Pei Hui and one daughter. Guozhong's wife Pei Rou said, "My Lady, do me the mercy of ending my life." She then stabbed her to death. She then cut her own throat but did not die. The county officers loaded her into a cart and shut her in jail. She still asked the officers, "Are you men of the state? Or rebels?" They answered, "A little of both." Blood clotted in her throat and she died. She was buried outside the city wall. Cui Xun, Vice Director of the Secretariat and son-in-law of the Duchess of Han, had a daughter who became a consort of Emperor Daizong. Pei Hui, son of the Duchess of Guo, married Emperor Daizong's daughter, the Princess of Yan'an; his daughter married a son of the Prince of Yielding. Liu Cheng, son-in-law of the Duchess of Qin, had already died. His son Jun married the Princess of Changqing, a commandery princess, and Cheng's younger brother Tan married Emperor Suzong's daughter, the Princess of Hezheng.

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