Qin and Han · Han Empress and consort of Emperor Wu

Empress Wei Zifu 衛子夫

Wei Zifu

First attested BC 141; died BC 91

Passages: 5
Chapters: 4
Histories: 3

Overview

Empress Wei Zifu was a Han Empress and consort of Emperor Wu.

Other names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Alternate name	Zifu	子夫

Life and dates

Death

BC 91 historical identification
Strongly inferred · Book of Han 70, passage 21

Attested activity

BC 141 to BC 87 武帝之世
Dated from the passage context · Book of Later Han 31, passage 10
BC 128 to BC 91 衛後
Directly stated · Book of Song 55, passage 14
BC 128 to BC 91 衛皇后
Strongly inferred · Book of Han 70, passage 21

Key source chapters

Career and standing

Empress Wei 衛皇后
Directly stated · Book of Han 74, passage 298

References in the histories

Book of Han, Chapter 70Volume 60: Du Zhou · 1 passage

周中廢，後為執金吾，逐捕桑弘羊、衛皇后昆弟子刻深，上以為盡力無私，遷為御史大夫。 Du Zhou was briefly stripped of rank, then appointed chief of police for the capital. He hunted down Sang Hongyang and the sons of Empress Wei's brothers with pitiless zeal. The emperor judged him tireless and impartial and raised him to imperial counselor.

Book of Han, Chapter 74Volume 64a: Yan, Zhu, Wuqiu, Zhufu, Xu, Yan, Zhong, Wang, and Jia 1 · 1 passage

尊立衛皇后及發燕王定國陰事，偃有功焉。 He had a hand in raising Empress Wei and in unmasking the crimes of Liu Dingguo, king of Yan.

Book of Later Han, Chapter 31Volume 28a: Biographies of Huan Tan; Feng Yan · 2 passages

譚進說曰：“昔武帝欲立衛子夫，陰求陳皇后之過，而陳後終廢，子夫竟立。 Huan Tan urged him: "When Emperor Wu wanted Lady Wei as empress, he secretly hunted faults in Empress Chen until she fell and Wei Zifu took her place.

今董賢至愛而女弟尤幸，殆將有子夫之變，可不憂哉！” Today Dong Xian and his sister hold the inner palace—you may face the same coup in reverse; can you afford not to worry!"

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

又衛後既廢，霍光追尊李夫人為皇后，配孝武廟，此非母以子貴之例，直以高、武二廟無配故耳。 Again, after Empress Wei was deposed, Huo Guang posthumously honored Lady Li as empress and paired her with Emperor Wu's temple; that was not an instance of a mother elevated through her son, but merely because the temples of Gaozu and Emperor Wu had lacked consorts.