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卷四十九 唐書25: 后妃列傳一

Volume 49 Book of Later Tang 25: Biographies 1 - Empresses and Consorts

Chapter 49 of 舊五代史 · Old History of the Five Dynasties
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Chapter 49
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1
姿退 姿
Empress Zhenjian, née Cao, consort of Emperor Wu and mother of Emperor Zhuangzong, was a native of Taiyuan who entered Li Keyong's harem as a woman of respectable family. Graceful and beautiful in appearance, modest and clear-minded by nature, she was held in high regard by the Lady of Qin. She would often say to Li Keyong in an easy tone, "I can see that Lady Cao is no ordinary woman. You would do well to treat her generously." Li Keyong kept many favorites in the inner palace. In the early Qianning era, after he pacified Yan and Ji, he took Li Kuangchou's wife Zhang into his household. Her beauty was unrivaled in her day, and no other consort enjoyed such exclusive favor. Consorts and attendants now filled the palace, and Lady Cao seldom gained access to the emperor's bedchamber, yet the empress dowager's favor toward her never diminished. Li Keyong was stern and quick to punish. When those around him transgressed, he dealt out harsh penalties and no one dared speak up—only the empress dowager, by calmly interceding and remonstrating, could soften his anger. When Zhuangzong was born, his bearing and appearance were remarkable. Li Keyong was struck by the child and doted on him. Lady Cao grew ever more favored and honored; the other consorts all ranked below her. She was also respectful and diligent in managing the household, and those around her praised her.
2
忿 退 便 使 使
Imperial Grand Consort Liu was Li Keyong's principal wife. (Note: The biography of Grand Consort Liu is missing from the original text. According to the 《Miscellaneous Notes from Northern Dreams》, Liu, wife of Li Keyong, Prince of Jin, often accompanied the army on campaign and contributed greatly to military affairs. Earlier, after the incident at Shangyuan Post Station in Bianzhou, Li Keyong, filled with anger, wanted to turn the army around and attack the city. Lady Liu said, "You are campaigning on behalf of the state to suppress rebels. To turn back over a private grudge about a cup of wine—if you insist on attacking the city, the wrong will be on our side. Better to withdraw the army. The court still exists, and the matter can be laid before it." The army thereupon withdrew in formation. During the Tianfu era, Zhou Dewei was defeated by the Bian army and the three armies broke and scattered. As the Bian forces pressed their advantage, Li Keyong was alarmed and, together with Li Cunxin, discussed abandoning their position and retreating to Yunzhou. Lady Liu said, "Cunxin was originally a shepherd boy from the northern frontier. What does he care whether we succeed or fail! You often mocked Wang Xingyu for abandoning his city, losing his power, and being cut down by others. Why do you now want to do the same? Only a few years ago you took refuge beyond the frontier and nearly came to harm. You were able to return only because the court was beset by turmoil. If you leave the city now, unforeseen disaster will follow at once. You would never get far!" Li Keyong abandoned the plan. Within a few days the scattered troops reassembled and the garrison city was stabilized—thanks to Lady Liu. The 《Institutional Essentials of the Five Dynasties》 records that in the fourth month of the first year of Tongguang she was enfeoffed as imperial grand consort. The 《History of Ouyang》 records that when Zhuangzong took the throne, he enfeoffed Lady Cao as empress dowager and made his principal mother Lady Liu imperial grand consort. The grand consort went to thank the empress dowager, who looked ashamed. The grand consort said, "I only wish that my son may reign forever. If I can die and follow my late lord, that will be fortune enough for me. What more is there to say!" After Zhuangzong destroyed Liang and entered Luoyang, he sent men to bring the empress dowager to Luoyang, where she took up residence in Changshou Palace, while the grand consort alone remained in Jinyang. In the fifth month of the third year of Tongguang, the grand consort died.)〉
3
姿 滿 沿
Empress Shenminjing Liu, consort of Emperor Zhuangzong. (Note: The biography of Empress Liu is missing from the original text. According to the 《Miscellaneous Notes from Northern Dreams》, Empress Liu of Zhuangzong was a native of Cheng'an in Weizhou from a humble family. When Li Keyong attacked Weizhou and took Cheng'an, he obtained the future empress, who was then five or six years old. She was brought to the Jinyang palace, where she served the empress dowager and was taught to play the sheng. When she came of age, her beauty surpassed all others, and she was also accomplished in music and performance. The empress dowager gave her to Zhuangzong as an attendant to the Lady of Han. Later she bore the prince Li Jiji, and her favor grew day by day. One day a man of Cheng'an named Liu Sou came to the Ye palace to see the emperor and claimed to be the empress's father. The inner attendant Liu Jianfeng recognized him as the yellow-bearded old man of former days—he was indeed the empress's father. The empress was then contending for favor with the principal wife, each boasting of her family status. Ashamed of her humble origins, she told Zhuangzong, "When I left my home district, my father was killed by disorderly soldiers. I wept over his body where it lay. I truly have no father. What rustic old man is this, to deceive us so brazenly!" She then had him flogged at the palace gate. In truth the empress was the old man's eldest daughter. Zhuangzong loved actors. On idle days in the palace he would carry a diviner's bag and medicine case on his back, with Jiji following along, impersonating the empress's father Liu Sou, who made his living as a physician and diviner. The empress was napping when he entered her bedchamber, calling himself Magistrate Liu come to visit his daughter. She was furious and had Jiji flogged. Yet because the empress dowager showed her no courtesy, and because the Lady of Han held the position of principal wife, there was no way to make the matter public. Ministers, seeking to please him, requested that Lady Liu be enfeoffed as empress. Critics noted that she came from humble origins and loved to pursue profit and amass wealth. When she was first at Ye, she had people set up petty trading schemes, and even the firewood, kindling, fruit, and vegetables they sold were marketed under the empress's name. After she took the throne as empress, all tribute first entered the inner palace. She gave only copied Buddhist scriptures to Buddhist nuns and bestowed nothing else. The armies at the capital were destitute, and wives and children starved to death. The chief ministers requested that the inner treasury be opened for distribution, but the empress produced only two silver basins from her toilet set and the three princes Manxi and others, ordering them sold to supply the army. In the end she brought rebellion, the destruction of the state, and the extinction of her clan—no different from Baosi and Daji. Earlier Zhuangzong himself performed as an actor under the name Li Tianxia, mingling among painted players and variety performers. At times the other actors would wrestle with him, support him, slap him, and strike him. In the end he was brought down by a wicked woman and vile actors—should not rulers take this as a warning! Lady Liu, carrying a bag with four gold boxes and rhinoceros-horn belts, planned to build a temple at Taiyuan and become a nun. Along the way she again took up with the emperor's younger brother Cunwo and slept with him under one mat. When Mingzong heard of her debauchery, he ordered her to kill herself. The 《History of Ouyang》 names the adjutant Yuan Jianfeng as the one who obtained the future empress and brought her into the Jin palace, while the 《Miscellaneous Notes from Northern Dreams》 names the inner attendant Liu Jianfeng—these are differing hearsay accounts.)〉
4
使簿
Pure Consort Han was Zhuangzong's principal wife. (Note: The biography of Pure Consort Han is missing from the original text. The 《Institutional Essentials of the Five Dynasties》 records that in the twelfth month of Tongguang 2 she was enfeoffed, with chief ministers Dou Luge and Wei Shuo as commissioners. They went out Yingtian Gate, mounted the road chariot with guards and musicians leading, descended at Yongfu Gate, entered through the Right Yintai Gate, proceeded to Pure Consort Han's palace, and received the patent within while civil and military officials stood in formation to congratulate her.)〉
5
使 · 使簿
Virtuous Consort Yi was Zhuangzong's second wife. (Note: The biography of Virtuous Consort Yi is missing from the original text. According to the 《Miscellaneous Notes from Northern Dreams》, Zhuangzong's principal wife Lady Han later became pure consort, and Lady Yi became virtuous consort. It also mentions Lady Xia, who later married Li Zanhua—the so-called Prince of Dongdan, eldest son of Abaoji—who was cruel and vicious; for the slightest fault of a serving maid he would cut her with a knife or burn her with fire. Lady Xia had grown up in the palace and could not bear his cruelty. She sought a divorce and returned to the household of Xia Luqi, military governor of Heyang, and later became a nun. The 《History of Ouyang》, Biographies of the Imperial Family, records that when Mingzong took the throne, he released all the palace women from Zhuangzong's reign. Lady Xia, Lady of the State of Guo, returned to Xia Luqi's household and was later bestowed upon Li Zanhua. This differs slightly from the 《Miscellaneous Notes from Northern Dreams》. The 《History of Liao》 also treats Lady Xia as Zhuangzong's empress, which is probably an error. The 《Institutional Essentials of the Five Dynasties》 also lists inner palace offices under Zhuangzong: Palace Lady of Bright Deportment Hou as Lady of Qian; Palace Lady of Bright Charm Bai as Lady of Yi; Palace Lady of Envoy Beauty Xuan Deng as Lady of Xu; Palace Lady of Correct Deportment Chuzhen Zhang as Lady of Liang; Palace Secretary Demei Zhou as Lady of Song; Attendant Zhen Wu as Lady of Yanling Commandery; Talented Lady Yi Wang as Lady of Taiyuan Commandery; Xianyi Han as Lady of Changli Commandery; Yaofang Zhang as Lady of Qinghe Commandery; Virtuous Lady Yi Wang as Lady of Langya Commandery; Xuanyi Ma as Lady of Fufeng Commandery—all by edict in the eleventh month of Tongguang 2.)〉
6
便 仿 西
Empress Xuanxian Wei. (Note: The biography of Empress Wei is missing from the original text. The 《Examination of Differences in the Comprehensive Mirror》, citing the 《Veritable Records of the Deposed Emperor of Tang》, records that Empress Xuanxian Wei was a native of Pingshan in Zhenzhou. At the end of the Zhonghe era, Mingzong campaigned in Shandong, garrisoned Pingshan, and obtained the future Empress Wei. It also says that when Mingzong was a junior officer, he was open and easygoing and could not manage the household economy; Empress Cao was also negligent in such matters. Their livelihood depended solely on Xuanxian. The 《Institutional Essentials of the Five Dynasties》 records that she was first enfeoffed as grand lady of the state of Lu. In the second month of Qingtai 2, the Secretariat and Chancellery memorialized: "We have heard that when Emperor Zhao of Han succeeded to the throne, he honored his mother with a posthumous title at Yunyang; Emperor Ming of Wei succeeded and maintained the institutions, honoring his mother's family at the Zhen Pavilion; both pursued posthumous titles and enshrined them in the ancestral temple, emulating the principle of revering one's roots and fulfilling the duty of loving one's kin. We have also reviewed the national histories and observe that the mother of Emperor Xuanzong was Empress Zhaocheng Dou, and the mother of Emperor Daizong was Empress Dowager Zhangjing Wu. They first entered the princely household as consorts and were soon confined in the inner palace. Once enlightened rulers succeeded to the throne, honored titles were posthumously conferred upon them. We respectfully note that the Lady of Lu received her auspicious origin at Shalu and bequeathed her blessing at Hezhou. Of the three queens, the most worthy—the mother of Zhou—fulfilled the mandate of heaven; Of the four consorts who bore sons, the Tang palace first laid the imperial foundation. Reflecting the ruler's feelings on the throne, we feel ever more deeply the longing expressed in the Cold Spring. For long the solemn offerings have been neglected, and we fear this damages the imperial design. We respectfully submit the posthumous honorific title Empress Dowager Xuanxian and request that, following the precedent of Empress Dowager Zhaocheng, a day be chosen and the full rites of enfeoffment be prepared. Furthermore, we have heard that the former empress dowager's tomb has not been enshrined with the ancestral temple, so at the capital it would be difficult to establish a separate temple. Since a posthumous title is being pursued, a memorial palace should be established. According to Han dynasty precedent, park-tombs were not in the royal domain, or a tomb-shrine might conveniently be established at the burial site. After deliberation, we propose that following the posthumous enfeoffment a shared temple be provisionally established to perform the rites of announcement and offering, while the rites of joint enshrinement should be deferred to a later year." The request was approved. The 《History of Ouyang》 records that they deliberated on building a tomb-palace, but when Shi Jingtang rebelled at Taiyuan, they instead established a tomb-palace east of the capital in Henan Prefecture. The 《Institutional Essentials of the Five Dynasties》 also lists inner palace offices under Mingzong: Virtuous Consort Wang, enfeoffed in the first month of Tiancheng 3, advanced to pure consort in the fourth month of Changxing 2, enfeoffed as grand consort on the thirteenth day of the intercalary first month of Yingshun 1, and posthumously honored as worthy consort in the fourth month of Guangshun 1 under Zhou. Palace Lady of Bright Deportment Wang was enfeoffed as Lady of Qi; Palace Lady of Bright Countenance Ge as Lady of Zhou; Palace Lady of Bright Charm Liu as Lady of Zhao; Sun as Lady of Chu; Palace Lady of Correct Deportment Zhang as Lady of Cao; Palace Keeper Guo as Lady of Wei; Palace Commendation Yu as Lady of Zheng; Director of Imperial Garments Wang as Lady of Wei; Palace Recorder Cui as Lady of Cai; Palace Provisioner Zhai as Lady of Teng; Palace Brewer Wu as Lady of Ju; Talented Lady Gao as Lady of Bohai Commandery; Beautiful Lady Shen as Lady of Taiyuan Commandery; Palace Lady of Correct Attendance Zhu as Lady of Wu Commandery; Palace Lady of Adornment Liao as Lady of Yingchuan Commandery; Palace Lady of Garments Liu as Lady of Pengcheng Commandery; Palace Lady of Medicine Meng as Lady of Xianyang Commandery; Palace Lady of Combs and Mirrors Zhang as Lady of Qinghe Commandery; Palace Lady of Garments Wang as Lady of Taiyuan Commandery; Palace Lady of Combs and Mirrors Fu as Lady of Yingchuan Commandery; Palace Hostess Zhang was granted the title Director; the late Lady Jiang was posthumously enfeoffed as Lady of Jiyang Commandery. All of the above were by edict in the ninth month of Changxing 3. Their titles were all modeled by the Secretariat and Chancellery after the inner palace offices in the 《Six Canons》. Inner palace woman Li was enfeoffed as Lady of Longxi County; Cui as Lady of Qinghe County; Li as Lady of Chengji County; Tian as Lady of Xianyang County; Bai as Lady of Nanyang County—all by edict in the second month of Changxing 4. Inner palace offices of former ages had no rite of enfeoffing ladies as county mistresses. This was an institution of the moment.)〉
7
使
Empress Liu of the Last Emperor was a native of Yingzhou. During the Tiancheng era, she was enfeoffed as Lady of the State of Pei. At the beginning of Qingtai, officials submitted memorials three times requesting that an empress be installed, and she was thereupon made empress. The empress was fierce and obstinate, and the Last Emperor greatly feared her. Her younger brother Yanhao rose from a garrison officer at Fengxiang to commissioner of palace affairs and then military governor of Ye within a single year—all through the empress's influence at court. When Yanhao was driven out by Zhang Lingzhao, the chief ministers requested that court law be applied. The empress forcibly blocked it, and he was merely dismissed from office. Gaozu of Jin entered Luoyang. The empress and the Last Emperor both perished by fire.
8
使 西 使
The historiographer says: In antiquity the rise and fall of the Three Dynasties, though owing to the emperors, were also tied to consorts and empresses. Thus Xia rose because of Tushan, and when it fell, because of Moxi; Shang rose because of Jiandi, and when it fell, because of Daji; Zhou rose because of Queen Wen, and when it fell, because of Baosi. As for Lady Zhenjian, though she cannot be ranked with the great consorts of antiquity, she in no way fell short of exemplary virtue. But Empress Liu, like a hen crowing at dawn, brought down the imperial enterprise—and in this she resembled the rise and fall of the Three Dynasties. The rest had no virtue of advancing the worthy and assisting the ruler. What more is there to say of them! (Note: The 《History of the Five Dynasties》 has no Biographies of Imperial Relatives. According to the 《Institutional Essentials of the Five Dynasties》, the Martial Emperor's eldest daughter, Princess Chang of Qionghua, was married to Meng Zhixiang and enfeoffed in the twelfth month of Tongguang 3. The second daughter, Princess Chang of Yaoying, was married to Zhang Yanzhao and enfeoffed in the twelfth month of Tongguang 3. Mingzong's eldest daughter, Princess Yongning, was married to Gaozu of Jin. The thirteenth daughter, Princess Xingping, was married to Zhao Yanshou, enfeoffed in the fourth month of Tiancheng 3, changed to Princess of Qi in the ninth month of Changxing 4, and advanced to Princess Chang of Yan in the second month of Qingtai 3. The fourteenth daughter, Princess Shou'an, was enfeoffed in the sixth month of Changxing 4. The fifteenth daughter, Princess Yongle, was enfeoffed in the sixth month of Changxing 4. Examining what the 《Institutional Essentials》 records, there are also many discrepancies. For example, Princess Qionghua—in various books of the 《Spring and Autumn of the Ten States》 she is treated as the daughter of the Founding Emperor's younger brother Ke Rang, while the 《Institutional Essentials》 treats her as the Martial Emperor's eldest daughter. These are differing hearsay accounts. Zhuangzong's daughter, Princess Yining, was married to Song Tinghao. Tinghao served as prefect of Fangzhou; in the early Jin era he was commissioner of Sishui Pass; when Zhang Congbin rebelled, he died in battle. See the 《Outline History of the Eastern Capital》 and the 《History of Song》. Further, Wang Yucheng's 《Collected Writings of Lesser Livestock》 contains the 《Spirit Way Stele of Song Wo》, which says that his mother was Princess Yining. During the Tianfu era, Gaozu of Jin, because he had once served Zhuangzong, accorded her the courtesy due a former lord's consort; whenever the honored princess came for audience, she was permitted not to bow. At that time warfare was raging and funds were insufficient; only the princess's household received lavish grants, and when they were exhausted they were replenished again—yet she showed no weariness. One day Gaozu of Jin said calmly to the honored princess, "I hold nothing back from Your Highness's household, but the court has many affairs and the treasury is very depleted, as Your Highness knows. Now in the capital, the cost of living is a burden. You may have Wo take a separate post in the Western Capital, so that he may live comfortably while supporting you." He thereupon sent them off with generous gifts and ordered the resident commissioner to supply everything needed for daily life and seasonal festivals—even pickles and sauces were all provided. The 《Institutional Essentials》 does not record Zhuangzong's daughters; this is one of its omissions. Only Mingzong's daughters are recorded there, with some detail; yet examining the 《Biography of Zhao Yanshou》 in Xue's History, he married Mingzong's youngest daughter as his second wife. The 《History of Ouyang》 also says that Yelu Deguang had Yanshou marry Congyi's younger sister, who was Princess Yong'an. But the 《Institutional Essentials of the Five Dynasties》 does not record this; its omissions are indeed many.)〉
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