Wise Empress Dowager (睿智皇后)

Overview

The translated histories identify Wise Empress Dowager as a consort, royal family member, and ruler. This record brings together 17 passages from 8 chapters across 1 history, with names, dates, relationships, offices, and events preserved as source-backed claims.

Names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Personal	Wise Empress Dowager	睿智皇后	Ruìzhì Huánghòu
Descriptive kinship	Daughter of Xiao Siwen	思溫女
Title	empress	皇后
Title	empress dowager	皇太后
Temple name	Empress Dowager Ruizhi	睿智皇后	Ruizhi huanghou
Title	Empress Dowager Ruizhi	睿智皇后
Temple	Empress Ruizhi	睿智皇后
Title	Empress Ruizhi	睿智皇后
Posthumous	Empress Ruizhi	睿智皇后	Ruìzhì Huánghòu
Temple	Empress Ruizhi	睿智皇后	Ruizhi Huanghou
Title	Sagacious Empress Dowager	睿智皇后	Ruìzhì Huánghòu
Title	the empress	皇后
Title	Wise Empress	睿智皇后	Ruìzhì huánghòu
Temple name	Wise Empress Dowager	睿智皇后	Ruìzhì Huánghòu
Title	Wise Empress Dowager	睿智皇后

Identity

Historicity: Historical
Identification: Named
Sex: Female

Sex: female
Explicit · liaoshi:061:s0096, liaoshi:065:s0067, liaoshi:067:s0053, liaoshi:074:s0141, liaoshi:078:s0049, liaoshi:084:s0018, liaoshi:107:s0016, liaoshi:109:s0030

Roles

Consort
Royal Family Member
Ruler

Life and dates

Attested activity

Source Date: Text: 統和十二年 · Reign Id: liao-tonghe · Regnal Year: 12 · Western Year: AD 994
Explicit event contextual date · liaoshi:107:s0015, liaoshi:107:s0016
Source Date: Text: 乾亨間 · Reign Id: liao-qianheng · Western Interval: Start: AD 979 · End: AD 983
Explicit event contextual date · liaoshi:074:s0137, liaoshi:074:s0141
Source Date: Text: 是年 · Reign Id: liao-qianheng · Western Year: AD 979
Explicit event contextual date · liaoshi:084:s0018
Source Date: Text: 睿智皇后南征 · Reign Id: liao-tonghe · Western Interval: Start: AD 983 · End: AD 1012
Explicit event contextual date · liaoshi:109:s0030
Source Date: Text: 統和初 · Reign Id: liao-tonghe · Western Year: AD 983
Explicit event contextual date · liaoshi:084:s0019
Source Date: Text: 保寧初 · Western Year: AD 969
Explicit event contextual date · liaoshi:078:s0049, liaoshi:078:s0048
Source Date: Text: 景宗 · Western Interval: Start: AD 969 · End: AD 1031
Explicit event contextual date · liaoshi:065:s0067
Source Date: Text: 景宗睿智皇后 · Western Interval: Start: AD 969 · End: AD 982
Explicit · liaoshi:067:s0053, liaoshi:067:s0056
Source Date: Text: 聖宗沖年嗣位 · Western Year: AD 982
Explicit · liaoshi:061:s0096

Family

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

Parent of Guanyinnü (觀音女)
Kinship Term: bore / 生 · Parentage: biological · Subject Role: parent · Object Role: child · Object Birth Order: 1
Parent of Changshounü (長壽女)
Kinship Term: bore / 生 · Parentage: biological · Subject Role: parent · Object Role: child · Object Birth Order: 2
Parent of Yanshounü (延壽女)
Kinship Term: bore / 生 · Parentage: biological · Subject Role: parent · Object Role: child · Object Birth Order: 3
Child of Siwen (思溫)
Kinship Term: daughter / 女 · Parentage: biological · Subject Role: father · Object Role: daughter
Kinship Term: father / 父 · Parentage: biological · Subject Role: father · Object Role: daughter
Spouse of Yelü Xian (耶律賢)
Union Category: marriage · Relationship State: active
Kinship Term: empress consort / 皇后 · Union Category: marriage
Kinship Term: empress / 後 · Union Category: marriage
Kinship Term: empress / 皇后 · Union Category: marriage · Subject Role: wife · Object Role: husband · Relationship State: active
Parent of Yelü Longxu (耶律隆緒)
Kinship Term: Wise Empress Dowager / 睿智皇后 · Parentage: biological · Subject Role: son · Object Role: mother
Kinship Term: empress dowager / 皇后 · Parentage: biological · Subject Role: mother · Object Role: son

Kinship Role: daughters · Count: 3
Explicit · liaoshi:065:s0067

Career and standing

Status: regent · Action: assumed
Explicit · liaoshi:084:s0019, liaoshi:084:s0036
Status: regent · Action: held
Explicit · liaoshi:061:s0096

Places and affiliations

Polity Id: liao · Relation: associated-with
Explicit · liaoshi:078:s0049, liaoshi:109:s0030
Polity Id: liao · Relation: ruled
Explicit · liaoshi:107:s0016
Polity Id: liao · Relation: served
Strongly inferred · liaoshi:067:s0053
Polity Id: liao · Relation: served
Explicit · liaoshi:074:s0141, liaoshi:084:s0018
Polity Id: liao · Relation: subject-of
Strongly inferred · liaoshi:065:s0067

Events and relationships

Kind: political · Role: authority · Action: appointed-heir · Other Person Id: Xiao Jixian (蕭繼先)
Explicit · liaoshi:067:s0056
Kind: political · Role: regent · Action: held-regency-and-urged-lenient-laws
Explicit · liaoshi:061:s0096
Kind: ritual · Role: bestower · Action: mourned Lady Chen and granted title · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 統和十二年 · Reign Id: liao-tonghe · Regnal Year: 12 · Western Year: AD 994
Explicit · liaoshi:107:s0016
Kind: political · Role: intercessor · Action: saved-from-execution · Other Person Id: Yelü Sha (耶律沙)
Explicit · liaoshi:084:s0018
Kind: military · Role: commander · Action: southern-campaign-and-child-castration-program
Explicit · liaoshi:109:s0030, liaoshi:109:s0031
Relation: fond-of · Person Id: Xiao Jixian (蕭繼先)
Explicit · liaoshi:078:s0052

Source notes

Field: name-character · Statement: Sheng corrected to Zhi in Ruizhi
Explicit · liaoshi:065:s0067
Historicity: historical
Explicit · liaoshi:065:s0067

References in the histories

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History of Liao, Chapter 61Volume 61 Treatises 31: Punishment and Law 1 · 1 passage

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聖宗沖年嗣位，睿智皇后稱制，留心聽斷，嘗勸帝宜寬法律。 Shengzong succeeded as a child; the Wise Empress Dowager held regency, attended carefully to judgments, and urged him to lighten the laws.

History of Liao, Chapter 65Volume 65 Tables 3: Princesses · 3 passages

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睿智皇后生三女：睿智皇后智原作「聖」。按卷七一本傳作知，紀、志、表、傳另見者並作智，據改。 Born to Empress Ruizhi, three daughters—the received text had "Sheng" for Zhi; the biography in vol. 71 and annals, treatises, tables, and biographies elsewhere all have Zhi, and the text is corrected accordingly.

皇后尤加愛，賜奴婢萬口。 The empress favored her above all and bestowed ten thousand bondservants upon her.

性沉厚，睿智皇后於諸女尤愛。甚得婦道，不以貴寵自驕。 She was calm and steadfast in character, and among all her daughters the empress loved her most. She fully upheld the duties of a wife and did not grow proud from rank and favor.

History of Liao, Chapter 67Volume 67 Tables 5: Families of Imperial Consorts · 2 passages

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景宗睿智皇后父思溫 Siwen, father of Empress Ruizhi, consort of Emperor Jingzong

北府宰相繼先。思溫無嗣，睿智皇后命為後。 Jixian, Northern Chancellor. As Siwen had no male heirs, Empress Ruizhi appointed him as his successor.

History of Liao, Chapter 74Volume 74 Biographies 4: Yelu Dila, Xiao Hendu, Kang Moji, Han Yanhui, Han Zhigu · 2 passages

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皇后引諸內戚徐為開解，上重違其請。 The empress and her kinsmen gradually pleaded for mercy; reluctant to refuse her, the emperor stayed his hand.

睿智皇后聞之，遣使臨吊，賻贈甚厚，後追贈尚書令。 When the Wise Empress heard, she sent envoys to mourn and gave lavish funeral gifts; later he was posthumously made Director of the Department of State Affairs.

History of Liao, Chapter 78Volume 78 Biographies 8: Yelu Yilage, Xiao Haili, Xiao Husi, Xiao Siwen, Xiao Jixian · 2 passages

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上冊思溫女為後，加尚書令，封魏王。 The emperor made Siwen's daughter empress, appointed him Minister-in-Chief, and enfeoffed him as Prince of Wei.

幼穎悟，叔思溫命為子，睿智皇后尤愛之。 Clever as a boy, he was adopted as a son by his uncle Siwen, and Empress Ruizhi was especially fond of him.

History of Liao, Chapter 84Volume 84 Biographies 14: Yelu Sha, Yelu Mozhi, Xiao Gan, Yelu Shanbu, Yelu Haili · 4 passages

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是年，復從韓匡嗣伐宋，敗績，帝欲誅之，以皇后營救得免。 That same year he again joined Han Kuangsi in a campaign against the Song and met with defeat; the emperor meant to put him to death, but the empress pleaded for him and he was spared.

睿智皇后稱制，召賜几杖，以優其老。 When the Sagacious Empress Dowager assumed the regency, she summoned him and granted him a folding stool and staff as marks of esteem for his advanced years.

時皇后以父呼幹。 The empress addressed him as "Father."

及後為皇太后稱制，幹數條奏便宜，多見聽用。 Later, when she ruled as empress dowager, Gan submitted one practical proposal after another, and many of his recommendations were adopted.

History of Liao, Chapter 107Volume 107 Biographies 37: Exemplary Women · 1 passage

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睿智皇后聞之，嗟悼，贈魯國夫人，刻石以表其行。 When Empress Dowager Ruizhi heard of her death, she sighed in grief, granted her the title Lady of Lu, and had a stone inscription carved to commemorate her conduct.

History of Liao, Chapter 109Volume 109 Biographies 39: Music and Imperial Officials · 2 passages

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睿智皇后南征，繼恩被俘。 When Empress Ruizhi marched south, Jien was taken prisoner.

初，皇后以公私所獲十歲已下兒容貌可觀者近百人，載赴涼陘，並使閹為豎，繼恩在焉。 Earlier the empress had gathered nearly a hundred children under ten, handsome boys taken in raids and by other means, sent them to Liangjin, and had them all castrated as palace attendants; Jien was one of them.