Three Kingdoms and Six Dynasties · Empress; persecutor of Sima Yu

Empress Jia 賈后

Jia hou

Died AD 300

Passages: 31
Chapters: 1
Histories: 1

Overview

Empress Jia was an empress; persecutor of Sima Yu. It is not yet established whether this person is the same as similarly named people in other chapters.

Other names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Personal name	Nanfeng	南風	Nanfeng

Life and dates

Death

AD 300 及賈庶人死
Dead
Directly stated · Book of Jin 53, passage 131

Attested activity

Undated Source Attestation true · Event Empress Jia had long envied the crown prince's reputation and secretly ordered eunuchs to flatter him; no calendar date is stated.
Directly stated · Book of Jin 53, passages 15, 120
AD 300 三月
Directly stated · Book of Jin 53, passage 120
AD 300 十二月，賈后將廢太子
Directly stated · Book of Jin 53, passage 45

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Spouse of Emperor Hui (惠帝)
empress 賈后 · Primary marriage
Directly stated · Book of Jin 53, passages 15, 201
Child of Guo Huai (郭槐)
mother 母
Directly stated · Book of Jin 53, passage 34

Career and standing

Entered
Deposed commoner
Directly stated · Book of Jin 53, passage 131

Works and attributed material

Memorial · Author · Quote true
Directly stated · Book of Jin 53, passages 125-129

Events and relationships

Deposed crown prince
AD 300 十二月 · Political · Instigator · With Sima Yu (司馬遹)
Directly stated · Book of Jin 53, passages 45, 62
Ordered murder
AD 300 三月 · Assassination · Instigator · With Sima Yu (司馬遹)
Directly stated · Book of Jin 53, passages 119-120

Assessments and attributes

Assessment fierce-and-murderous · Mode historian-judgment
Directly stated · Book of Jin 53, passage 189

References in the histories

Search passages

History

31 passages

Book of Jin, Chapter 53Volume 53 Biographies 23: Crown Prince Minhuai · 31 passages

賈后素忌太子有令譽，因此密敕黃門閹宦媚諛于太子曰：「殿下誠可及壯時極意所欲，何為恆自拘束？」 Empress Jia had long envied the crown prince's fine reputation and therefore secretly ordered Yellow Gate eunuchs to flatter him: 'Your Highness may indeed indulge every whim while still young—why bind yourself so tightly?'

舍人杜錫以太子非賈后所生，而後性凶暴，深以為憂，每盡忠規勸太子修德進善，遠於讒謗。 Gentleman-of-the-Household Du Xi, because the crown prince was not Empress Jia's son and the empress was savage by nature, deeply worried; he repeatedly urged the crown prince to cultivate virtue and do good, standing far from slander.

詹事裴權諫曰：「賈謐甚有寵于中宮，而有不順之色，若一旦交構，大事去矣。 Household Superintendent Pei Quan remonstrated: "Jia Mi is deeply favored in the inner palace yet shows disrespectful looks—if they ever turn on you, the great enterprise is lost.

初，賈后母郭槐欲以韓壽女為太子妃，太子亦欲婚韓氏以自固。 Earlier, Empress Jia's mother, Guo Huai, had wanted Han Shou's daughter to become crown princess. The crown prince also hoped that marrying into the Han family would strengthen his position.

而壽妻賈午及後皆不聽，而為太子聘王衍小女惠風。 But Han Shou's wife Jia Wu and the empress both refused, and instead betrothed the crown prince to Wang Yan's younger daughter Huifeng.

太子聞衍長女美，而賈后為謐聘之，心不能平，頗以為言。 The crown prince heard Wang's elder daughter was beautiful while the empress betrothed her to Jia Mi; his heart could not rest easy and he spoke of it often.

謐嘗與太子圍棋，爭道，成都王穎見而訶謐，謐意愈不平，因此譖太子于後曰：「太子廣買田業，多畜私財以結小人者，為賈氏故也。 Once while playing go with the crown prince Mi quarreled over a move; Ying, Prince of Chengdu, saw and rebuked Mi; Mi grew more resentful and slandered the crown prince to the empress: "The crown prince buys fields wholesale, hoards private wealth, and courts petty men—all because of the Jia clan.

于時朝野咸知賈后有害太子意。 Then court and countryside knew the empress meant to harm the crown prince.

十二月，賈后將廢太子，詐稱上不和，呼太子入朝。 In the twelfth month, when Empress Jia would depose the crown prince, she falsely claimed the emperor was unwell and summoned the crown prince to court.

中宮又宜速自了； The empress too should quickly end her own life;

賈后使董猛矯以長廣公主辭白帝曰：「事宜速決，而群臣各有不同，若有不從詔，宜以軍法從事。」 Empress Jia had Dong Meng falsely relay Princess Changguang's words to the emperor: "Matters must be settled quickly while ministers disagree—whoever disobeys the edict should face military law."

明年正月，賈后又使黃門自首，欲與太子為逆。 The next first month Empress Jia again had a Yellow Gate confess plotting rebellion with the crown prince.

又曰：「南風起兮吹白沙，遙望魯國郁嵯峨，千歲髑髏生齒牙。」 Another went: 'South wind rises blowing white sand; far off Lu kingdom gloomy and tall; thousand-year skulls sprout teeth.'

南風，后名； 'South Wind' was the empress's name.

雖非中宮所生，奉事有如親母。 Though not born of the inner palace I served her as my own mother.

自道文病，中宮三遣左右來視，云：'天教呼汝。 Since Daowen fell ill, the empress sent attendants three times to see me, saying, "His Majesty summons you."

二十九日早入見國家，須臾遣至中宮。 On the twenty-ninth morning I entered and saw His Majesty; presently I was sent to the inner palace.

中宮左右陳舞見語：'中宮旦來吐不快。 Inner attendants Chen Wu told me: 'The empress vomited ill this morning.'

須臾中宮遣陳舞見語：'聞汝表陛下為道文乞王，不得王是成國耳。 Presently the empress sent Chen Wu to tell me: 'I hear you petitioned His Majesty to make Daowen a prince and were refused. A princely title means a territorial domain, after all.'

'中宮遙呼陳舞：'昨天教與太子酒棗。 The empress called to Chen Wu from a distance: "Yesterday His Majesty ordered wine and jujubes for the crown prince."

中宮遙呼曰：'汝常陛下前持酒可喜，何以不飲？ The empress called from a distance: 'You are always so pleasing when you hold wine before His Majesty; why will you not drink?'

'便答中宮：'陛下會同一日見賜，故不敢辭，通日不飲三升酒也。 I answered the inner palace: His Majesty granted ale one day—therefore I dared not refuse—but all day I never drank three sheng.

又未見殿下，飲此或至顛倒。 Besides, I had not yet seen Your Highness, and drinking this might leave me confused and unsteady.

而公奉事中宮，與賈后親密，太子之廢，皆云豫知，一旦事起，禍必及矣。 You serve the empress and are close to her. Everyone says you knew in advance of the prince’s deposition. If trouble breaks out, disaster will surely reach you too.

明公素事賈后，街談巷議，皆以公為賈氏之黨。 You have long served Empress Jia; everyone in the streets and lanes considers you a partisan of the Jia clan.

不若遷延卻期，賈后必害太子，然後廢賈后，為太子報仇，猶足以為功，乃可以得志。」 Better delay: Empress Jia is sure to harm the crown prince; then depose Jia, avenge the crown prince—merit enough to win your will."

秀因使反間，言殿中人欲廢賈后，迎太子。 Sun Xiu then had disinformation circulated, claiming that men in the palace wished to depose Empress Jia and bring the crown prince back.

賈后聞之憂怖，乃使太醫令程據合巴豆杏子丸。 When Empress Jia heard this, she became anxious and afraid. She ordered Cheng Ju, the chief court physician, to compound pills from croton and apricot kernels.

將以庶人禮葬之，賈后表曰：「遹不幸喪亡，傷其迷悖，又早短折，悲痛之懷，不能自己。 They proposed burying him by commoner rites; Empress Jia memorialized: "Yu has unfortunately died—I mourn his confusion and error and early cutting-off; grief overwhelms me.

及賈庶人死，乃誅劉振、孫慮、程據等，冊復太子曰：「皇帝使使持節、兼司空、衛尉伊策故皇太子之靈曰：嗚呼！ When Deposed Commoner Jia died, they executed Liu Zhen, Sun Lü, Cheng Ju, and others, and posthumously restored the crown prince; the edict read: "The emperor dispatches the credential-bearer, concurrent Director of Works, Commandant of the Guard Yi to announce by patent to the spirit of the late crown prince: Alas!

既而中宮凶忍，久懷危害之心，外戚諂諛，競進讒邪之說； Thereupon the inner palace proved fierce and cruel, long harboring murderous intent; outer kin flattered, competing to advance slander.