Five Dynasties · Consort and Empress Dowager

Lady Cao 曹氏

Cao shi

First attested AD 908; died AD 925

Passages: 16
Chapters: 1
Histories: 1

Overview

Lady Cao was a consort and Empress Dowager.

Other names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Posthumous name	Zhenjian	貞簡	Zhenjian

Life and dates

Death

AD 925 同光三年七月
Cause Grief after Grand Consort Liu's death; refused food
Dated from the passage context · New History of the Five Dynasties 14, passages 245, 249

Attested activity

AD 925 同光三年七月
Dated from the passage context · New History of the Five Dynasties 14, passage 245
AD 908 曹氏封晉國夫人…生子莊宗
Strongly inferred · New History of the Five Dynasties 14, passage 237
AD 923 莊宗即位
Dated from the passage context · New History of the Five Dynasties 14, passage 240

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Parent of Zhuangzong (莊宗)
mother 母
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 14, passage 237
Spouse of Taizu (太祖)
secondary consort 次妃 · Secondary marriage
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 14, passage 3

Career and standing

Zhenjian 貞簡
AD 925 同光三年七月 · Posthumously granted
Dated from the passage context · New History of the Five Dynasties 14, passage 245
Empress Dowager 皇太后
AD 923 莊宗即位 · Received
Dated from the passage context · New History of the Five Dynasties 14, passage 240
Lady of Jin 晉國夫人
Received
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 14, passage 237
Enjoyed
Exclusive favor
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 14, passage 237

Places and affiliations

At Taiyuan 太原
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 14, passage 3
At Changshou Palace, Luoyang 長壽宮 · Relation Resided at
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 14, passage 243
At Kunling 坤陵 · Relation Buried at
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 14, passage 245

Events and relationships

Gave Lady Liu to Zhuangzong
Personal · Giver · With Lady Liu (劉氏)
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 14, passage 255
Taught music and dance
Personal · Teacher · With Lady Liu (劉氏)
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 14, passage 253
Wished to visit and bury Grand Consort Liu but was persuaded to stay
Personal · Intended visitor
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 14, passage 248

Assessments and attributes

Assessment effective calm remonstrator · Mode historian-judgment
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 14, passage 238

Source notes

Historicity historical
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 14, passage 3

References in the histories

Search passages

History

16 passages

New History of the Five Dynasties, Chapter 14Volume 14: Taizu of Later Tang's Family · 16 passages

太祖劉太妃貞簡皇后曹氏 Taizu’s Grand Consort Liu and Empress Zhenjian, Lady Cao

其次妃曹氏，太原人也。 his secondary consort was Lady Cao of Taiyuan.

夫人無子，性賢，不妒忌，常為太祖言：「曹氏相，當生貴子，宜善待之。」 Childless but kind and without jealousy, she often said: “Lady Cao’s face promises a noble heir—treat her well.”

而曹氏亦自謙退，因相得甚歡。 Lady Cao in turn was modest, and the two women grew close.

曹氏封晉國夫人，後生子，是謂莊宗，太祖奇之，曹氏由是專寵。 Lady Cao was titled Lady of Jin and later bore Zhuangzong. Taizu was delighted, and she became his favorite.

太祖性暴，怒多殺人，左右無敢言者，惟曹氏從容諫譬，往往見聽。 Taizu was violent and killed in anger; no one dared speak except Lady Cao, who calmly remonstrated and was often heard.

及莊宗立，事曹氏尤謹，其救趙破燕取魏博，與梁戰河上十餘歲，歲嘗馳省其母至三四，人皆稱其孝。 As ruler Zhuangzong treated Lady Cao with great devotion. Through campaigns in Zhao, Yan, and Weibo and more than ten years of war with Liang on the river, he rode to see her three or four times a year, and all called him filial.

莊宗即位，冊尊曹氏為皇太后，而以嫡母劉氏為皇太妃。 At his accession he made Lady Cao empress dowager and his chief mother, Lady Liu, grand consort.

太妃往謝太后，太后有慚色。 The grand consort came to pay respects; the dowager looked ashamed.

莊宗滅梁入汴，使人迎太后歸洛，居長壽宮，而太妃獨留晉陽。 After destroying Liang and entering Bian, Zhuangzong brought the dowager to Luoyang’s Changshou Palace; the grand consort stayed at Jinyang.

七月，太后薨，謚曰貞簡，葬于坤陵。 In the seventh month the dowager died, posthumously titled Zhenjian, and was buried at Kunling.

太妃與太后甚相愛，其送太后于洛也，涕泣而別，歸而相思慕，遂至不起。 The two women were deeply attached. Seeing the dowager off to Luoyang, the grand consort wept; home again, she pined until she took to her bed.

太后聞之，欲馳至晉陽視疾，及其卒也，又欲自往葬之，莊宗泣諫，羣臣交章請留，乃止。 Hearing of her illness, the dowager wanted to ride to Jinyang; when she died, she wished to attend the burial. Zhuangzong wept and pleaded, and officials begged her to stay—so she did not go.

而太后自太妃卒，悲哀不飲食，逾月亦崩。 After the grand consort’s death the dowager grieved without eating; within a month she too was gone.

后生五六歲，晉王攻魏，掠成安，裨將袁建豐得后，納之晉宮，貞簡太后教以吹笙歌舞。 At five or six she was taken when the Prince of Jin raided Cheng’an; Yuan Jianfeng brought her to the Jin palace, where Dowager Zhenjian taught her music and dance.

莊宗已為晉王，太后幸其宮，置酒為壽，自起歌舞，太后歡甚，命劉氏吹笙佐酒，酒罷去，留劉氏以賜莊宗。 When Zhuangzong was Prince of Jin, the dowager visited his palace for his birthday feast and danced for joy. She had Lady Liu play the sheng, and when she left she gave Liu to Zhuangzong.