Sui and Tang · Empress and Empress Dowager of Wucheng

Empress Hu of Wucheng 胡氏

Hu

Died AD 581

Passages: 22
Chapters: 1
Histories: 1

Overview

The translated histories identify Empress Hu of Wucheng as a consort and royal family member. This record brings together 22 passages from 1 chapter across 1 history, with names, dates, relationships, offices, and events preserved as source-backed claims.

Names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Personal	Empress Hu of Wucheng	胡氏	Hu
Title	Empress Dowager	皇太后	Huang Taihou
Title	Empress Hu of Wucheng	武成皇后胡氏
Surname	Hu	胡	Hu
Title	Princess Consort of Changguang	長廣王妃

Identity

Historicity: Historical
Identification: Named
Sex: Female

Sex: female
Explicit · beiqishu:009:s0097

Roles

Consort
Royal Family Member

Life and dates

Death

Date Context: Source Date: Text: 隋開皇中 · Western Interval: Start: AD 581 · End: AD 600
Explicit event contextual date · beiqishu:009:s0119

Attested activity

Source Date: Text: after Wucheng to Houzhu era · Western Interval: Start: AD 565 · End: AD 576
Strongly inferred · beiqishu:009:s0101, beiqishu:009:s0110
Source Date: Text: 天保初 · Western Year: AD 550
Explicit event contextual date · beiqishu:009:s0099
Source Date: Text: 隋開皇中 · Western Interval: Start: AD 581 · End: AD 600
Explicit event contextual date · beiqishu:009:s0119

Family

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

Parent of Gao Wei (高緯)
Parentage: biological
Kinship Term: bore Last Emperor / 產後主 · Parentage: biological
Sibling of Hu Changren (胡長仁)
Kinship Term: brother / 兄 · Shared Parentage: full
Child of Hu Yan (胡延之)
Kinship Term: daughter / 女 · Parentage: biological
Parentage: biological
Spouse of Prince Zhan of Changguang (長廣王湛)
Union Category: primary-marriage
Kinship Term: Empress Hu of Wucheng / 武成皇后 · Union Category: primary-marriage
Child of Mother of Empress Hu (胡母)
Kinship Term: mother / 母 · Parentage: biological
Parentage: biological
Kin of Empress Hu of Houzhu (胡氏)
Kinship Term: niece / 侄女

Career and standing

Label: made Tanxian Director of Buddhist Affairs / 昭玄統 · Action: appointed · Other Person Id: Tanxian (曇獻)
Explicit · beiqishu:009:s0108
Status: empress-dowager · Action: honored
Explicit · beiqishu:009:s0101

Places and affiliations

Place: Anding / 安定
Explicit · beiqishu:009:s0097
Place: Zhou / 周 · Relation: entered · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 齊亡 · Western Year: AD 577
Explicit event contextual date · beiqishu:009:s0118

Works and attributed material

Kind: speech · Role: addressee
Explicit · beiqishu:009:s0133

Events and relationships

Kind: political · Role: subject · Action: confined in Northern Palace · Other Person Id: Deng Changyang (鄧長顒)
Explicit · beiqishu:009:s0113
Relation: adulterer-with · Person Id: He Shikai (和士開)
Explicit · beiqishu:009:s0104
Relation: adulterer-with · Person Id: Tanxian (曇獻)
Explicit · beiqishu:009:s0105, beiqishu:009:s0107

Assessments and attributes

Item: precious decorated barbarian couch of Wucheng / 寶裝胡床 · Relation: bestowed-on · Other Person Id: Tanxian (曇獻)
Explicit · beiqishu:009:s0106

References in the histories

Open any source group to read the Chinese and English passage in context.

Book of Northern Qi, Chapter 9Volume 9 Biographies 1: Empresses and Consorts · 22 passages

武成胡后 Empress Hu of Wucheng

武成皇后胡氏，安定胡延之女。 Empress Hu of Wucheng was the daughter of Hu Yan of Anding.

天保初，選為長廣王妃。 At the opening of the Tianbao era she was selected as Princess Consort of Changguang.

武成崩，尊為皇太后，陸媼及和士開密謀殺趙郡王叡，出婁定遠、高文遙為刺史。 When Wucheng died she was honored as Empress Dowager; Nurse Lu and He Shikai secretly plotted to kill Prince Rui of Zhao Commandery and sent out Lou Dingyuan and Gao Wenyao as governors.

和、陸諂事太后，無所不至。 He and Lu fawned upon the empress dowager to every extreme.

初武成時，後與諸閹人褻狎。 In Wucheng's time the empress had been familiar with the eunuchs.

武成寵倖和士開，每與后握槊，因此與后姦通。 Wucheng favored He Shikai; he often played polo with the empress, and through this came to commit adultery with her.

僧徒遙指太后以弄曇獻，乃至謂之為太上者。 Monks from afar pointed at the empress dowager while jesting with Tanxian, even calling her the Grand Sovereign.

帝聞太后不謹而未之信，後朝太后，見二少尼，悅而召之，乃男子也，於是曇獻事亦發，皆伏法，並殺元、山、王三郡君，皆太后之所昵也。 The emperor heard that the empress dowager was unrestrained but did not yet believe it; later, attending upon the empress dowager at court, he saw two young nuns, was pleased and summoned them — they were men; thereupon Tanxian's affair also came to light; all were executed by law, and the three Ladies of Yuan, Shan, and Wang were also killed — all were favorites of the empress dowager.

帝自晉陽奉太后還鄴，至紫陌，卒遇大風。 The emperor himself escorted the empress dowager from Jinyang back to Ye; at Zimo they suddenly encountered a great wind.

帝詐云鄴中有急，彎弓緾槊，馳入南城，令鄧長顒幽太后北宮，仍有敕內外諸親一不得與太后相見。 The emperor feigned an emergency in Ye, strung his bow and wrapped his spear, galloped into the southern city, and ordered Deng Changyang to confine the Empress Dowager in the Northern Palace, with an edict forbidding all kin, near or distant, from seeing her.

久之，帝復迎太后。 After some time the emperor welcomed the Empress Dowager back.

太后初聞使者至，大驚，慮有不測。 When the Empress Dowager first heard that an envoy had come, she was terrified, fearing the worst.

每太后設食，帝亦不敢嘗。 Whenever the Empress Dowager set out a meal, the emperor dared not taste it.

胡太后失母儀之道，深以為愧，欲求悅後主，故飾后於宮中，令帝見之。 Empress Dowager Hu, ashamed at having failed as mother to the realm, wished to please Houzhu; she had the girl dressed and presented in the palace for the emperor to see.

斛律后廢，陸媼欲以穆夫人代之，太后不許。 When Empress Hulu was deposed, Lu Aun wished to install Lady Mu in her place, but the Empress Dowager refused.

陸媼既非勸立，又意在穆夫人，其後於太后前作色而言曰：「何物親侄女，作如此語言！」 Lu Aun, who had not supported the elevation and still favored Lady Mu, later appeared before the Empress Dowager with a dark look and said, "What sort of niece is this, to speak such words!"

太后問有何言，曰：「不可道。」 The Empress Dowager asked what had been said. Lu replied, "It cannot be spoken."

固問之，乃曰：「語大家云，太后行多非法，不可以訓。」 Pressed again, she finally said, "She told His Majesty that the Empress Dowager's conduct is mostly unlawful and cannot serve as an example."

太后大怒，喚後出，立剃其髮，送令還家。 The Empress Dowager flew into a rage, summoned the empress, had her head shaved on the spot, and sent her home.

武成時，為胡后造真珠裙袴，所費不可稱計，被火所燒。 Under Wucheng a pearl-embroidered skirt and trousers had been made for Empress Hu at immeasurable cost, only to be consumed by fire.

輕霄後自療面，欲求見，太后、陸媼使禁掌之，竟不得見。 Qingxiao later healed her face and sought to see her daughter; the Empress Dowager and Lu Aun had her imprisoned, and she never gained an audience.