Empress Gonghuai (恭怀皇后)

Overview

The translated histories identify Empress Gonghuai as a consort and royal family member. This record brings together 6 passages from 5 chapters across 3 histories, with names, dates, relationships, offices, and events preserved as source-backed claims.

Names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Personal	Empress Gonghuai	恭怀皇后	Gōnghuái huánghòu
Title	Empress Gonghuai	恭怀皇后
Title	Empress Gonghuai	恭怀后
Posthumous name	Empress Gonghuai	恭怀皇后	Gonghuai Huanghou
Posthumous name	Empress Gonghuai	恭懷皇后	Gōnghuái huánghòu
Title	Empress Gonghuai	恭懷皇后
Title	Empress Gonghuai	恭懷皇所
Title	Empress Liang	梁后	Liang Hou
Posthumous	Gonghuai	恭懷
Title	Honored Lady Liang	梁貴人	Liáng guìrén
Personal name	Lady Liang	梁贵人
Personal name	Lady Liang	梁貴人
Surname	Liang	梁
Descriptive kinship	mother of Emperor He	其母
Descriptive kinship	Mother of Emperor He
Title	Worthy Lady Liang	梁贵人

Identity

Historicity: Historical
Identification: Named
Sex: Female

Sex: female
Strongly inferred · houhanshu:110:s0121, houhanshu:125:s0085
Sex: female
Explicit · houhanshu:116:s0020, houhanshu:117:s0177, sanguozhi:034:s0018, songshu:055:s0010

Roles

Consort
Royal Family Member

Life and dates

Attested activity

Source Date: Text: 十二年 · Western Year: AD 100
Explicit event contextual date · houhanshu:116:s0020
Source Date: Text: 和帝即位 · Western Year: AD 88
Strongly inferred · houhanshu:125:s0085
Source Date: Text: 恭懷皇后 · Western Interval: Start: AD 88 · End: AD 105
Explicit · songshu:055:s0010
Source Date: Text: 永元中 · Western Interval: Start: AD 89 · End: AD 105
Explicit event contextual date · houhanshu:110:s0121
Source Date: Text: 章帝七八年间 · Western Year: AD 82
Explicit event contextual date · houhanshu:117:s0177, houhanshu:117:s0176
Source Date: Text: 章武二年追尊議論中引 · Western Year: AD 222
Explicit · sanguozhi:034:s0018

Family

Immediate source-linked family. Drag to pan, scroll or pinch to zoom, and select a person to open their record.

Parent of Emperor He (和帝)
Kinship Term: mother / 母 · Parentage: biological · Subject Role: son · Object Role: mother · Line: maternal
Kinship Term: mother / 母 · Parentage: biological · Subject Role: mother · Object Role: son · Line: maternal
Kinship Term: mother / 母 · Parentage: biological · Subject Role: mother · Object Role: son
Sibling of Dou Xian (窦宪)
Kinship Term: sibling / 兄/弟 · Shared Parentage: full · Line: maternal

Career and standing

Label: Empress Gonghuai / 恭怀皇后 · Action: posthumously-bestowed
Explicit · houhanshu:110:s0121

Places and affiliations

Place: Xiling / 西陵 · Relation: buried-at
Explicit · houhanshu:116:s0020

References in the histories

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Book of Later Han, Chapter 110Volume 99: Rituals and Worship Part Three · 2 passages

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永元中，和帝追尊其母梁贵人曰恭怀皇后，陵曰西陵。 In Yongyuan, Hedi posthumously raised his mother, Lady Liang, to Empress Gonghuai; her tomb was Xiling.

以窦后配食章帝，恭怀后别就陵寝祭之。 Empress Dou shared Zhangdi’s cult, but Empress Gonghuai was worshipped separately at her tomb lodge.

Book of Later Han, Chapter 116Volume 105: Five Elements Part Three · 1 passage

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一曰，先是恭怀皇后葬礼有阙，窦太后崩后，乃改殡梁后，葬西陵，征舅三人皆为列侯，位特进，赏赐累千金。 Another gloss ties the flood to the shabby obsequies for Empress Gonghuai, the belated reinterment of Empress Liang at Xiling after Dou's death, and the sudden enrichment of three uncles at the highest noble rank.

Book of Later Han, Chapter 117Volume 106: Five Elements Part Four · 1 passage

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是时，章帝用窦皇后谗，害宋、梁二贵人，废皇太子。 Zhang believed Dou's lies, destroyed the Song and Liang ladies, and cast down the crown prince.

Records of the Three Kingdoms, Chapter 34Volume 34: Book of Shu 4: Biographies of Concubines and Sons of the Two Lords · 1 passage

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昔高皇帝追尊太上昭靈夫人為昭靈皇后，孝和皇帝改葬其母梁貴人，尊號曰恭懷皇后，孝愍皇帝亦改葬其母王夫人，尊號曰靈懷皇后。 Gaozu of Han raised his mother to Empress Zhaoling; He-di reinterred Lady Liang as Empress Gonghuai; Min-di did the same for Lady Wang as Empress Linghuai.

Book of Song, Chapter 55Volume 55 Biographies 15: Zang Dao, Xu Guang, F Long · 1 passage

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後漢和帝之母曰恭懷皇所，安帝祖母曰敬隱皇后，順帝之母曰恭湣皇后，雖不系子為號，亦祭於陵寢。 In Later Han, Emperor He's mother was known as Empress Gonghuai, Emperor An's grandmother as Empress Jingyin, and Emperor Shun's mother as Empress Gongmin; although their titles were not framed through their sons' reign names, they likewise received sacrifice at the tomb shrines.