Five Dynasties · Consort and Empress

Lady Cao 曹氏

Cao shi

Attested AD 926 - AD 930

Passages: 14
Chapters: 1
Histories: 1

Overview

Lady Cao was a consort and Empress.

Other names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Posthumous name	Empress Hewuxian	和武憲皇后	Hewuxian huanghou

Life and dates

Attested activity

AD 926 天成元年
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 15, passage 4
AD 930 長興元年
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 15, passage 5

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Parent of Jin State Princess (晉國公主)
bore 生
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 15, passage 1
Spouse of Li Siyuan (李嗣源)
empress 皇后
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 15, passages 1, 5, 24

Career and standing

Chaste Consort 淑妃
AD 926 天成元年 · Appointed
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 15, passage 4
Empress 皇后
AD 930 長興元年 · Appointed
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 15, passages 5, 24
Lady of Chu 楚國夫人
Held
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 15, passage 4

Works and attributed material

Speech · Speaker · With Lady Wang (王氏)
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 15, passages 22, 42

Events and relationships

Burned to death
Death · Subject
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 15, passage 43

Assessments and attributes

Assessment plain-spoken and unassuming · Mode historian-judgment
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 15, passage 21

References in the histories

Search passages

History

14 passages

New History of the Five Dynasties, Chapter 15Volume 15: Mingzong of Later Tang's Family · 14 passages

明宗三后一妃：和武憲皇后曹氏生晉國公主；昭懿皇后夏氏生秦王從榮、湣帝；宣憲皇后魏氏，潞王從珂母也；淑妃王氏，許王從益之慈母也。 Mingzong had three empresses and one consort: Empress Hewuxian, Lady Cao, bore the Jin State Princess; Empress Zhaoyi, Lady Xia, bore Congrong, Prince of Qin, and the Last Emperor; Empress Xuanxian, Lady Wei, was mother of Congke, Prince of Lu; Chaste Consort Lady Wang was foster mother to Congyi, Xu Wang.

曹氏、夏氏皆不見其世家。 Neither Lady Cao nor Lady Xia appears in the genealogies.

明宗天成元年，封楚國夫人曹氏為淑妃，追封夏氏晉國夫人。 In Mingzong's first year Tiancheng, Lady Cao of Chu was made Chaste Consort and Lady Xia was posthumously enfeoffed Lady of Jin.

長興元年，立淑妃為皇后，而夏氏所生二子皆已王，乃追冊為皇后，謚曰昭懿。 In Changxing 1 the Chaste Consort was enthroned as empress; as both of Lady Xia's sons were already princes, Xia was posthumously canonized empress with the posthumous name Zhaoyi.

明宗和武憲皇后曹氏昭懿皇后夏氏 Mingzong; Empress Hewuxian, Lady Cao; and Empress Zhaoyi, Lady Xia

而夫人曹氏為人簡質，常避事，由是王氏專寵。 Lady Cao was plain-spoken and unassuming and usually kept out of palace business, so Wang held favor alone.

明宗即位，議立皇后，而曹氏當立，曹氏謂王氏曰：「我素多病，而性不耐煩，妹當代我。」 When Mingzong became emperor, the court debated the empress; Cao was the rightful choice. She told Wang: “I have been sick for years and cannot endure the burden—sister, you should take my place.”

乃立曹氏為皇后，王氏為淑妃。 Cao was enthroned as empress and Wang was made Chaste Consort.

妃事皇后亦甚謹，每帝晨起，盥櫛服御，皆妃執事左右，及罷朝，帝與皇后食，妃侍，食徹乃退，未嘗少懈，皇后心亦益愛之。 The consort served the empress with equal devotion: each dawn she attended Mingzong’s washing, combing, and dressing; after court she waited at their meals and withdrew only when they finished—never once slackening—and the empress came to love her in return.

湣帝即位，冊尊皇后為皇太后，妃為皇太妃。 When the Last Emperor succeeded, the empress became empress dowager and the consort imperial consort dowager.

湣帝聞之，大怒，賜司衣王氏死，而事連太妃，由是心不悅，欲遷之至德宮，以太后素善妃，懼傷其意而止，然待之甚薄。 The Last Emperor heard, flew into a rage, and ordered the wardrobe attendant’s death; the affair implicated the consort dowager, and he turned against her. He meant to banish her to Zhide Palace, but held back lest he wound the dowager, who had always favored the consort—still, his treatment grew harsh.

妃謂太后曰：「事急矣，宜少回避，以俟姑夫。」 The consort told the dowager: “All is lost—withdraw for now and wait for our uncle-by-marriage.”

太后曰：「我家至此，何忍獨生，妹自勉之！」 The dowager answered: “Our house has come to this—how could I live on alone? Sister, save yourself!”

太后乃與帝俱燔死，而妃與許王從益及其妹匿於鞠院以免。 The dowager burned with the emperor, while the consort hid with Congyi, Xu Wang, and his sister in the hospital ward and survived.