1
后妃一
Empresses and Consorts I
2
太祖光獻翼聖皇后，名孛兒臺旭真，弘吉剌氏，特薛禪之女也。 特薛禪與子按陳從太祖征伐有功，賜號國舅，封王爵，以統其部族。 有旨：「生女為后，生男尚公主，世世不絕。」 世祖至元二年十二月，追謚光獻翼聖皇后。 冊文曰：「尊祖宗，致誠孝，實王政之攸先； 法天地，建鴻名，亦母儀之克稱。 肆先虔於太室，庸昭示於后昆，體茲至公，節以大惠。 欽惟光獻皇后，宅收淵靜，稟德柔嘉，當聖神創業之初，有夙夜求賢之助。 功施社稷，垂慈訓於景襄； 慶衍宮闈，流徽音於莊聖。 協贊龍飛之運，永詒燕翼之謀。 惟周人著稱《思齊》，亦推本興王之跡； 在漢世始謚光烈，蓋篤申追遠之情。 是用稽迪舊章，增崇遺美。 謹遣攝太尉某，奉玉冊玉寶，加上尊謚曰光獻翼聖皇后。 伏惟淑靈降格，典禮備膺，於億萬年，茂隆丕祚。」 升祔太祖廟。 其餘后妃，有四斡耳朵四十餘人，不記氏族，其名悉見於《表》。 后皆仿此。
Taizu's empress posthumously titled Guangxian Yisheng was Börte, styled Lady Ujin, of the Kongirat clan and daughter of Dei Sechen. Dei Sechen and his son Anchün served Taizu on campaign with distinction, were granted the title Imperial Uncle and enfeoffed as kings, and were placed over their tribal division. An imperial order declared: "Daughters born to this house shall be empresses; sons born shall marry imperial princesses—thus from age to age without end." In the twelfth month of Zhiyuan 2, Kublai posthumously enfeoffed her as Empress Guangxian Yisheng. The enfeoffment text read: "Honoring the ancestors and practicing utmost filial piety are truly the first duties of kingship; taking heaven and earth as one's model and establishing a great name is likewise what fully befits the standard of a mother of the realm. We therefore first offer sincerity in the Grand Temple, broadly proclaim this to posterity, embody supreme impartiality, and temper it with great grace. Reverently considering Empress Guangxian, who dwelt in deep stillness and was endowed with gentle excellence: at the beginning of the sage founder's enterprise she lent the aid of laboring through the nights to seek out the worthy. Her merit reached the altars of state; she bestowed kindly instruction upon Jingxiang; her blessing spread through the inner palace and passed down fine renown to Zhuang Sheng. She assisted the fortune of the dragon's ascent and forever bequeathed the plan of sheltering the fledglings. The Zhou gave renown to the 《Si Qi》 and likewise traced their rise back to the founding king; in Han they first posthumously titled Guanglie, truly deepening the feeling of honoring those long gone. Therefore we examine and follow the old statutes and augment the praise of her departed excellence. We respectfully send the Acting Grand Master of Ceremonies to present jade registers and jade seals and add the honorific posthumous title Empress Guangxian Yisheng. Humbly: may her pure spirit descend, the rites be fully received, and through ten thousand years your great fortune flourish abundantly." Her tablet was elevated to join Taizu in the ancestral temple. As for the other empresses and consorts, in the four ordas there were more than forty women whose clans are not recorded; their names all appear in the 《Tables》. The accounts of empresses below all follow this pattern.
3
太宗昭慈皇后，名脫列哥那，乃馬真氏，生定宗。 歲辛丑十一月，太宗崩，后稱制攝國者五年。 丙午，會諸王百官，議立定宗。 朝政多出於后。 至元二年崩，追謚詔慈皇后，升祔太宗廟。
Taizong's Empress Zhaoci was named Töregene, of the Naiman clan, and bore Dingzong. In the eleventh month of the xinchou year Taizong died; the empress held the regency and governed the realm for five years. In the bingwu year she convened the princes and officials to deliberate on establishing Dingzong as emperor. Most affairs of state issued from the empress. She died in Zhiyuan 2 and was posthumously enfeoffed as Empress Zhaoci; her tablet was elevated to join Taizong in the ancestral temple.
4
定宗欽淑皇后，名斡兀立海迷失。 定宗崩，后抱子失列門垂簾聽政者六月。 至元二年，追謚欽淑皇后。
Dingzong's Empress Qinshu was named Ögul Qaimish. When Dingzong died, the empress held her son Shiremun on her lap and ruled from behind the curtain for six months. In Zhiyuan 2 she was posthumously enfeoffed as Empress Qinshu.
5
憲宗貞節皇后，名忽都臺，弘吉剌氏，特薛禪孫忙哥陳之女也，蚤崩，后妹也速兒繼為妃。 至元二年，追謚貞節皇后，升祔憲宗廟。
Xianzong's Empress Zhenjie was named Qututai, of the Kongirat clan and daughter of Manggechen, grandson of Dei Sechen; she died young, and her younger sister Yesuer succeeded as consort. In Zhiyuan 2 she was posthumously enfeoffed as Empress Zhenjie and her tablet was elevated to join Xianzong in the ancestral temple.
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世祖昭睿順聖皇后，名察必，弘吉剌氏，濟寧忠武王按陳之女也。 生裕宗。 中統初，立為皇后。 至元十年三月，授冊寶，上尊號貞懿昭聖順天睿文光應皇后。 一日，四怯薛官奏割京城外近地牧馬，帝既允，方以圖進。 后至帝前，將諫，先陽責太保劉秉忠曰：「汝漢人聰明者，言則帝聽，汝何為不諫？ 向初到定都時，若以地牧馬則可，今軍蘸俱分業已定，奪之可乎？」 帝默然，命寢其事。 后嘗於太府監支繒帛表裏各一，帝謂后曰：「此軍國所需，非私家物，后何可得支？」 后自是率宮人親執女工，拘諸舊弓弦練之，緝為綢，以為衣，其韌密比綾綺。 宣徽院羊臑皮置不用，后取之，合縫為地毯。 其勤儉有節而無棄物，類如此。 十三年，平宋，幼主朝於上都。 大宴，眾皆歡甚，唯后不樂。 帝曰：「我今平江南，自此不用兵甲，眾人皆喜，爾獨不樂，何耶？」 后跪奏曰：「妾聞自古無千歲之國，毋使吾子孫及此，則幸矣。」 帝以宋府庫故物各聚置殿庭上，召后視之，后遍視即去。 帝遣宦者追問后，欲何所取。 后曰：「宋人貯蓄以遺其子孫，子孫不能守，而歸於我，我何忍取一物耶！」 時宋太后全氏至京，不習北方風土，后為奏令回江南。 帝不允，至三奏，帝乃答曰：「爾婦人無遠慮，若使之南還，或浮言一動，即廢其家，非所以愛之也。 茍能愛之，時加存恤，使之便安可也。」 后退，益厚待之。 胡帽舊無前檐，帝因射日色炫目，以語后，后即益前檐。 帝大喜，遂命為式。 又制一衣，前有裳無衽，后長倍於前，亦無領袖，綴以兩襻，名曰比甲，以便弓馬，時皆仿之。 后性明敏，達於事機，國家初政，左右匡正，當時與有力焉。
Shizu's Empress Zhaorui Shunsheng was Chabi, of the Kongirat clan and daughter of Anchün, loyal and martial King of Jining. She bore Yuzong. At the beginning of Zhongtong she was established as empress. In the third month of Zhiyuan 10 she received registers and seals and was given the honorific title Empress Zhenyi Zhaosheng Shuntian Ruìwen Guangying. One day an official of the four keshig memorialized to allot nearby land outside the capital for pasturing horses; the emperor had already assented and the map was about to be submitted. The empress came before the emperor intending to remonstrate; she first openly rebuked Grand Guardian Liu Bingzhong: "You are a clever Han man, and when you speak the emperor listens — why did you not remonstrate? When we first chose the site for the capital, grazing there would have been fine; but now the military households and postal stations have all been assigned their occupations — can we take the land away?" The emperor fell silent and ordered the matter shelved. The empress once drew from the Directorate of Palace Supplies one bolt each of outer and lining silk; the emperor told her, "These are needed for army and state, not private goods — how can the empress draw on them?" From then on the empress led the palace women in needlework herself, collected old bowstrings and boiled them down, wove them into cloth, and made garments whose toughness and density rivaled damask. Sheep-flank hides set aside unused by the Xuanhui Court she took and stitched together into carpets. Her diligence, thrift, and refusal to waste usable materials were all of this kind. In the thirteenth year Song was pacified and the young Song ruler came to court at Shangdu. At a great banquet everyone was exceedingly joyful; only the empress was not pleased. The emperor said, "I have now pacified the south; from this time forth we need no more arms and armor; everyone is pleased — you alone are not. Why?" The empress knelt and said, "Your servant has heard that from antiquity no state has lasted a thousand years; if only our sons and grandsons do not come to this, it will be fortune enough." The emperor had the old goods from the Song treasury gathered in the palace courtyard and summoned the empress to view them; she looked them all over and left at once. The emperor sent a eunuch after the empress to ask what she wished to take. The empress said, "The Song stored these up for their sons and grandsons; their sons and grandsons could not keep them, and they have come to us — how could I bear to take a single thing!" At that time Empress Dowager Quan of Song had come to the capital and was unaccustomed to the northern climate; the empress memorialized to have her sent back to the south. The emperor did not consent; after three memorials he answered, "You women lack far-sightedness; if we sent her south, a single rumor might at once bring ruin on her house — that is not how to show love. If we truly love her, we need only show care and relief from time to time and make her comfortable — that will suffice." The empress withdrew and treated her all the more generously. Mongol caps formerly had no front brim; while shooting the emperor found the sunlight dazzling and told the empress, who at once added a front brim. The emperor was greatly pleased and ordered it made the standard pattern. She also devised a garment with a skirt panel in front but no overlapping lapel, the back twice as long as the front and likewise without collar or sleeves, fastened with two loops and called a bijia, to facilitate archery and horsemanship; everyone at the time copied it. The empress was intelligent and clear by nature and adept at affairs; in the founding government of the state she corrected matters on every side, and at the time she wielded real influence.
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十八年二月崩。 三十一年，成宗即位，五月，追謚昭睿順聖皇后，其冊文曰：「奉先思孝，臣子之至情； 節惠易名，古今之大典。 惟殷娥有明德之號，而周任著《思齊》之稱。 爰考舊章，式崇尊謚。 恭惟先皇后，厚德載物，正位承天。 隆內治於公宮，綱大倫於天下。 曩事龍潛之邸，及乘虎變之秋。 鄂渚班師，洞識事機之會； 上都踐祚，居多輔佐之謀。 先物之明，獨斷於衷； 進賢之志，允葉於上。 左右我聖祖，建帝王之極功； 撫育我前人，嗣社稷之重托。 臣下之勸勞灼見，生民之疾苦周知。 儷宸極二十年，垂慈範千萬世。 惟全美聖而益聖，宜顯冊書而屢書。 不勝惓藐懇懇之誠，敬展尊尊親親之義，以揚盛烈，以對耿光。 謹遣某官某奉玉冊玉寶，上尊謚曰昭睿順聖皇后。 欽惟淑靈在天，明鑒逮下。 增輝煒管，茂揚徽懿之音； 合饗太宮，益衍壽昌之福。」 升祔世祖廟。
She died in the second month of the eighteenth year. In the thirty-first year Chengzong took the throne; in the fifth month she was posthumously enfeoffed as Empress Zhaorui Shunsheng. The enfeoffment text read: "Serving the former and thinking of filial piety are the utmost feeling of subject and child; restraining grace during mourning and changing names are the great statutes of antiquity and today. Yin E bore the title of Bright Virtue, and Zhou Ren gave renown to the 《Si Qi》. We therefore examine the old statutes and exalt the honorific posthumous title. Reverently considering the late empress: her thick virtue bore all things; she took the correct position and received heaven. She elevated inner governance in the palace and set the great bonds in order throughout the realm. Long ago she served in the lodge of the hidden dragon; when the season of the tiger's transformation came she was there. When the army withdrew at Ezhou she deeply understood the moment of opportunity; when the throne was taken at Shangdu she largely supplied plans of assistance. Foreknowledge of things — she alone decided in her heart; her will to advance the worthy truly accorded with her lord above. She assisted our sage ancestor and established the utmost merit of emperors and kings; she nurtured our forebear and succeeded to the heavy charge of the altars of state. The toil and merit of officials were clearly seen; the suffering of the people was fully known. She matched the apex of heaven for twenty years and bestowed a model of kindness for ten thousand generations. Only when fully beautiful in sagehood and ever more sage should registers be displayed and written again and again. With insupportable earnest devotion we respectfully unfold the principle of honoring the honored and cherishing the near, to exalt the great achievement and answer the bright glory. We respectfully send an official to present jade registers and jade seals and bestow the honorific posthumous title Empress Zhaorui Shunsheng. Reverently: may her pure spirit be in heaven and her bright mirror reach below. Add radiance to the brilliant pipes; abundantly raise the sound of fine virtue; join in offering at the Grand Temple and further extend the blessing of long life and prosperity." Her tablet was elevated to join Shizu in the ancestral temple.
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南必皇后，弘吉剌氏，納陳孫仙童之女也。 至元二十年，納為皇后，繼守正宮。 時世祖春秋高，頗預政，相臣常不得見帝，輒因后奏事焉。 有子一人，名鐵蔑赤。
Empress Nanbi, of the Kongirat clan, was the daughter of Xiantong, grandson of Nachin. In Zhiyuan 20 she was taken in as empress and succeeded to the principal palace. At that time Kublai was advanced in years and the empress often participated in government; chief ministers frequently could not see the emperor and would present affairs through the empress instead. She had one son, named Temürchik.
9
卜魯罕皇后，伯嶽吾氏，駙馬脫裏思之女。 元貞初，立為皇后。 大德三年十月，授冊寶。 成宗多疾，后居中用事，信任相臣哈剌哈孫，大德之政，人稱平允，皆后處決。 京師創建萬寧寺，中塑秘密佛像，其形醜怪，后以手帕蒙覆其面，尋傳旨毀之。 省院臺臣奏上尊號，帝不允。 車駕幸上都，后方自奏請。 帝曰：「我病日久，國家大事多廢不舉，尚寧理此等事耶！」 事遂寢。 大德十年，后嘗謀貶順宗妃答吉與其子仁宗往懷州。 明年，成宗崩。 時武宗在北邊，恐其歸，必報前怨，后乃命取安西王阿難答失裏來京師，謀立之。 仁宗自懷州入清宮禁，既誅安西王，並構后以私通事，出居東安州。
Empress Buluqhan, of the Bayaut clan, was the daughter of the imperial son-in-law Tolisi. At the beginning of Yuanzhen she was established as empress. In the tenth month of Dade 3 she was invested with registers and seals. Chengzong was often ill; the empress held power from the center, trusted Chief Minister Qalaqashun, and the government of the Dade era — which people called even and fair — was all decided by the empress. When Wanningsi was built in the capital, an esoteric Buddha image was molded within; its form was ugly and grotesque; the empress covered its face with a handkerchief and soon transmitted an order to destroy it. Ministers of the Secretariat, the Censorate, and the Bureau memorialized to bestow an honorific title; the emperor did not consent. When the imperial carriage went to Shangdu, the empress herself memorialized the request. The emperor said, "My illness has been long; great affairs of state are largely neglected — how can I still bother with matters like this!" The matter was then shelved. In Dade 10 the empress once plotted to demote Shunzong's consort Daji and her son Renzong and send them to Huaizhou. The next year Chengzong died. At that time Wuzong was on the northern frontier; fearing that if he returned he would surely repay old grievances, the empress ordered Prince Ananda of Anxi brought to the capital and plotted to establish him as emperor. Renzong entered from Huaizhou and cleared the inner palace; after Prince Ananda was executed he also fabricated against the empress a charge of illicit relations and sent her to reside at Dong'an Prefecture.
10
武宗宣慈惠聖皇后，名真哥，弘吉剌氏，脫憐子迸不剌之女。 至大三年四月，冊為皇后，其文曰：「乾為天，坤為地，四時由是以相成，日宗陽，月宗陰，萬象以之而並著。 后職有關於世教，先猷具載於邦彜。 惟慈旨之親承，亦僉言之允若。 咨爾皇后弘吉剌氏，睿聰淑哲，端懿誠莊。 寶婺分輝，源天潢之自出； 纓徽迪慶，系紱組以相仍。 〈（後逸）〉」 皇慶二年，立長秋寺，掌皇后宮政，秩三品。 泰定四年十一月崩，上尊謚曰宣慈惠聖皇后，升祔武宗廟。
Wuzong's Empress Xuanci Huisheng was named Zhenge, of the Kongirat clan and daughter of Bongbular, son of Tolian. In the fourth month of Zhide 3 she was enfeoffed as empress. The text read: "Qian is heaven and Kun is earth; the four seasons thereby achieve mutual completion; the sun honors yang and the moon honors yin; the ten thousand images thereby all appear together. The office of empress bears on worldly instruction; the ancient plans are fully recorded in the statutes of the state. You have personally received the compassionate will, and the unanimous counsel likewise accords. We address you, Empress of the Kongirat clan—wise and perceptive, pure and sagacious, upright, gracious, sincere, and dignified. A star of the harem shares its radiance; your line springs from the imperial clan itself; court insignia carry on the auspicious line; rank and favor bind one generation to the next. (text lost)" In Huangqing 2 the Changqiu Directorate was established to manage the empress's palace affairs, at the third grade of rank. In the eleventh month of Taiding 4 she died. She was given the posthumous title Empress Xuanci Huisheng, and her tablet was placed beside Wuzong in the ancestral temple.
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速哥失裏皇后，按陳哈兒只之女、真哥皇后之從妹也。
Empress Sugabala was the daughter of Ochen Harqishi and a cousin of Empress Zhenge.
12
妃二人：亦乞烈氏，奴兀倫公主之女，實生明宗，天歷二年追謚仁獻章聖皇后； 唐兀氏，生文宗，天歷二年追謚文獻昭聖皇后。
He had two consorts: one of the Yiqilie clan, daughter of Princess Nuwulun, who bore Mingzong and was posthumously titled Empress Renxian Zhangsheng in Tianli 2; and one of the Tangut clan, who bore Wenzong and was posthumously titled Empress Wenxian Zhaosheng in Tianli 2.
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仁宗莊懿慈聖皇后，名阿納失失裏，弘吉剌氏，生英宗。 皇慶二年三月，冊為皇后，上冊寶，遣官祭告天地於南郊及太廟。 改典內院為中政院，秩正二品。
Renzong's Empress Zhuangyi Cisheng was named Anashili, of the Kongirat clan, and bore Yingzong. In the third month of Huangqing 2 she was enfeoffed as empress. Registers and seals were bestowed, and officials were sent to announce the event to Heaven and Earth at the southern suburb and at the Grand Temple. The Directorate of the Inner Palace was renamed the Central Directorate of Palace Affairs, at the upper second grade of rank.
14
英宗即位，上尊號皇太后，其冊文曰：「坤承乾德，所以著兩儀之稱； 母統父尊，所以崇一體之號。 故因親而立愛，宜考禮以正名。 恭惟聖母，溫慈惠和，淑哲端懿。 上以奉宗祧之重，下以敘倫紀之常。 恢王化於二南，嗣徽音於三母。 輔佐先考，憂勤警戒之慮深； 擁佑眇躬，撫育提攜之恩至。 迨於今日，紹我丕基。 規摹一出於慈闈，付托益彰於祖訓。 致天下之養以為樂，未足盡於孝心； 極域中之大以為尊，庶可稱其懿美。 式遵貴貴之義，用罄親親之情。 謹遣某官某奉冊，上尊號曰皇太后。 伏惟周宗綿綿，長信穆穆，備《洛書》之錫福，粲坤極之儀天。 啟佑后人，永錫胤祚。」 明日，受百官朝賀於興聖宮。 至治二年崩，上謚莊懿慈聖皇后，其冊文曰：「致孝所以揚親，易名所以表行。 矧為天下母而養弗逮，履天子位而報則豐。 曷勝孺慕之心，必盡欽崇之禮。 欽惟先皇太后，夙明壸則，克嗣徽音。 輔佐先朝，有恭儉節用之實； 誕育眇質，有劬勞顧復之恩。 九族咸育於仁，四海仰遵其化。 昊天不吊，景命靡融。 愴聖善之長違，念風猷之未泯。 是用揄揚於彤史，正宜敷繹於寶慈。 爰據彜經，追嚴徽號。 謹遣攝太慰某官某奉玉冊玉寶，上尊號曰莊懿慈聖皇后。 伏惟淑靈如在，合饗太宮。 鑒格孔昭，膺茲巨典。 陰相丕祚，億萬斯年。」 升祔仁宗廟。
When Yingzong took the throne, she was given the honorific title Empress Dowager. The register text read: "Kun receives Qian's virtue, thereby setting forth the designation of the two pillars; the mother outranking the father, thereby exalting the title of a single bond. Therefore through kinship one establishes love; it is fitting to examine ritual and set the title aright. Reverently: the Holy Mother is warm, compassionate, harmonious, pure, sagacious, upright, and gracious. Above she upholds the weight of the ancestral temple; below she orders the bonds of kinship. She has restored royal transformation in the inner quarters and continued the fine repute of the exemplary mothers of antiquity. In assisting our late father, her anxious toil and vigilant care ran deep; in embracing and protecting me in my youth, her nurturing kindness reached its utmost. Down to this day she has continued our great foundation. The plan and model issued from the empress dowager's palace; the entrustment is all the clearer in our ancestors' instruction. To offer the nourishment of all under Heaven as joy is not enough to fulfill filial devotion; to take the greatest honor within the realm may suffice to match her excellence. Following the principle of honoring the honored, we exhaust the feeling of cherishing those close to us. We respectfully dispatch an official to present the registers and bestow the honorific title Empress Dowager. Humbly: may the Zhou house endure long, Everlasting Faith stand solemn and still, the blessing of the 《Luoshu》 be yours, and the Kun pole brilliantly mirror heaven. Open and protect your descendants and forever bestow the succession." On the following day she received the court's homage at Xingsheng Palace. In Zhizhi 2 she died. She was given the posthumous title Empress Zhuangyi Cisheng. The register text read: "Filial devotion exalts one's kin; a posthumous name displays one's conduct. How much the more for the mother of all under Heaven, whom we could not fully nurture in life—yet on the Son of Heaven's throne our repayment is abundant. How can we bear this childlike longing? We must fully perform the reverent and exalted rites. Reverently: the late Empress Dowager was from of old clear in the standards of the inner palace and fully continued the fine repute. In assisting the former court she showed real respectful thrift and measured use; in bearing and nurturing me in my youth there was the grace of laborious care and restoration. The nine clans were all nurtured in benevolence; the four seas looked up and followed her example. High Heaven did not spare her; the bright mandate did not hold. Grieving her long departure, we recall that her exemplary conduct has not yet vanished. Therefore we praise her in the court histories; it is fitting to unfold her excellence in the precious and compassionate title. Accordingly we follow the constant statutes and add the solemn honorific title. We respectfully send the Acting Grand Master of Ceremonies, an official, to present jade registers and jade seals and bestow the honorific title Empress Zhuangyi Cisheng. Humbly: may her pure spirit be as if present and join in offering at the Grand Temple. May she inspect and accept this manifestly bright great ceremony. In the yin aspect assist the great fortune for ten thousand years and more." Her tablet was placed beside Renzong in the ancestral temple.
15
英宗莊靜懿聖皇后，名速哥八剌，亦啟烈氏，昌國公主益裏海涯女也。 至治元年，冊為皇后。 泰定四年六月崩，謚曰莊靜懿聖皇后。
Yingzong's Empress Zhuangjing Yisheng was named Sogabala, also of the Yiqilie clan and daughter of Princess Yilihaiya of Changguo. In Zhizhi 1 she was enfeoffed as empress. In the sixth month of Taiding 4 she died and was given the posthumous title Empress Zhuangjing Yisheng.
16
妃二人：一曰必罕，一曰速哥答裏，皆弘吉剌氏，兗王買住罕之女也。 文宗天歷初，俱安置東安州。
He had two consorts, Bihan and Sogadari, both of the Kongirat clan and daughters of Prince Yan Buyughan. At the beginning of Wenzong's Tianli era, both were settled at Dong'an Prefecture.
17
明宗貞裕徽聖皇后，名邁來迪，生順帝而崩。 文宗立，謚貞裕徽聖皇后。
Mingzong's Empress Zhenyu Huisheng was named Mailaiti. She bore Shundi and then died. When Wenzong took the throne, she was given the posthumous title Empress Zhenyu Huisheng.
18
八不沙皇后，成宗甥壽寧公主之女也。 侍明宗潛邸，生寧宗。 天歷二年，立寧徽寺，掌明宗皇后宮事，以鈔萬錠、幣帛二千匹，供後宮費用。 十一月，后請為明宗資冥福，命帝師率諸僧作佛事七日於大天源延聖寺，道士建醮於玉虛、天寶、太乙、萬壽四宮，及武當、龍虎二山。 至順元年，敕有司供明宗後宮幣帛二百匹。 是年四月崩。
Empress Babusha was the daughter of Princess Shouning, a niece by marriage of Chengzong. She attended Mingzong while he was still heir and bore Ningzong. In Tianli 2 the Ninghui Temple was established to manage Mingzong's empresses' palace affairs, with ten thousand ingots of paper money and two thousand bolts of silk and cloth supplied for the rear palaces. In the eleventh month the empress requested merit for Mingzong's salvation in the afterlife. The emperor ordered the Imperial Preceptor to lead monks in seven days of Buddhist rites at the Great Tianyuan Yansheng Temple, and Daoist masters to perform offerings at the Yuxu, Tianbao, Taiyi, and Wanshou palaces and on Mount Wudang and Mount Longhu. In Zhishun 1 an edict ordered the relevant offices to supply two hundred bolts of silk and cloth to Mingzong's rear palaces. She died in the fourth month of that year.
19
文宗卜答失裏皇后，弘吉剌氏，父駙馬魯王雕阿不剌，母魯國公主桑哥剌吉。 文宗居建業，后亦在行。 天歷元年，文宗即位，立為皇后。 二年，授冊寶。 十一月，后以銀五萬兩助建大承天護聖寺。 至順元年，以籍沒張珪家田四百頃，賜護聖寺為永業。 后與宦者拜住謀殺明宗后八不沙。 三年八月，文宗崩於上都，后導揚末命，申帝初誌，遂立明宗次子懿璘質班，是為寧宗。 十一月，奉玉冊玉寶尊皇后為皇太后。 十二月，禦興聖殿受朝賀。 寧宗崩，大臣請立太子燕貼古思。 后曰：「天位至重，吾子尚幼，明宗長子妥歡帖睦爾在廣西，今十三歲矣，理當立之。」 於是奉旨迎至京師，以明年六月即位，是為順帝。 元統元年，尊為太皇太后，仍稱制臨朝。 至元六年六月，詔去尊號，安置東安州，尋崩。
Wenzong's Empress Budashiri was of the Kongirat clan. Her father was the imperial son-in-law Prince Lu Diaobula, and her mother was Princess Lu Sangoraji. When Wenzong was at Jianye, the empress accompanied him. In Tianli 1 Wenzong took the throne and she was established as empress. In the second year registers and seals were bestowed. In the eleventh month she gave fifty thousand taels of silver toward building the Great Chengtian Husheng Temple. In Zhishun 1 four hundred qing of fields confiscated from Zhang Gui's household were granted to the Husheng Temple as perpetual property. The empress conspired with the eunuch Baiju to have Mingzong's empress Babusha killed. In the eighth month of the third year Wenzong died at Shangdu. The empress guided his final command and declared the emperor's original intent, establishing Mingzong's second son Yishiliban as emperor—this was Ningzong. In the eleventh month jade registers and jade seals were presented to honor her as Empress Dowager. In the twelfth month she received homage at the Hall of Sagacious Birth. When Ningzong died, the chief ministers asked that Crown Prince Yantiegusi be enthroned. The empress said, "The throne is of the utmost weight; my son is still young. Mingzong's eldest son Toghon Temür is in Guangxi and is now thirteen. By right he should be enthroned." Thereupon, by imperial order, he was welcomed to the capital. In the sixth month of the following year he took the throne—this was Shundi. In Yuantong 1 she was honored as Grand Empress Dowager and still held the regency at court. In the sixth month of Zhiyuan 6 an edict stripped her honorific title. She was settled at Dong'an Prefecture and soon died.
20
寧宗答裏也忒迷失皇后，弘吉剌氏。 至順三年十月，立為后。 至正二十八年崩，升祔寧宗廟。
Ningzong's Empress Darayetemishi was of the Kongirat clan. In the tenth month of Zhishun 3 she was established as empress. In Zhizheng 28 she died, and her tablet was placed beside Ningzong in the ancestral temple.
21
順帝答納失裏皇后，欽察氏，太師平王燕鐵木兒之女。 至順四年，立為后。 元統二年，授冊寶，其冊文曰：「天之元統二氣，配莫厚於坤儀； 月之道循右行，明周貞於乾曜。 若昔帝王之宅後，居多輔相之世勛。 蓋選德於亢宗，亦疇庸於先正。 造周資任、姒之化，興漢表馬、鄧之功。 咨爾皇后欽察氏，雍肅惠慈，謙裕靜淑。 乃祖乃父，夙堅翼亮之心； 於國於家，實獲修齊之助。 朕纘丕圖之初載，親承太后之睿謨。 眷我元臣，簡茲碩媛。 相嚴禘而率典，奉慈極以愉顏。 用彰祎翟之華，式著旗常之舊。 令攝太尉某官授以玉冊寶章，命爾為皇后。 備成嘉禮，宏賁太猷。 於戲！ 嵩高生賢，予篤懷於良佐； 《關雎》正始，爾勉嗣於徽音。 永錫壽康，昭示悠久。」 三年，后兄御史大夫唐其勢以謀逆誅，弟塔剌海走匿后宮，后以衣蔽之，因遷后出宮，丞相伯顏鴆后於開平民舍。
Shundi's Empress Danashiri was of the Qipchaq clan and daughter of the Grand Preceptor and Prince of Ping, El Temür. In Zhishun 4 she was established as empress. In Yuantong 2 registers and seals were bestowed. The register text read: "Heaven's primal union of the two qi—none pairs more richly than the Kun regalia; the moon's way follows the rightward course; its brightness completes its constancy at the Qian radiance. Of old when emperors chose consorts, many came from families of chief ministers who had served for generations. They selected virtue from the eminent clan and also rewarded the merit of former ministers. Zhou was aided by the transformation of Ren and Si; Han displayed the achievement of Ma and Deng. We address you, Empress of the Qipchaq clan—dignified, solemn, gracious, and compassionate; humble, ample, quiet, and pure. Your grandfathers and fathers long held firm the heart of loyal assistance; for state and family they truly won the help of self-cultivation and good governance. At the beginning of my continuing the great design I personally received the Empress Dowager's wise counsel. Honoring my Yuan minister, I have chosen this great lady. Together we solemnly perform the suburban rites and lead the statutes, serving the empress dowager with a pleased countenance. Thus we display the splendor of the ceremonial robes and show forth the old glory of banner and tablet. Let the Acting Grand Master of Ceremonies, an official, confer the jade registers, seal, and insignia and command you to be empress. Complete the auspicious ceremony and grandly adorn the great design. Alas! As Songgao bore the worthy, I deeply cherish a good helper; as the 《Guanju》 sets the beginning, strive to continue the fine repute. Forever bestow long life and health; manifest endurance through the ages." In the third year the empress's elder brother, Censor-in-Chief Tangqishi, was executed for treason. Her younger brother Talahai fled into the empress's palace, and she hid him beneath her robes. She was therefore removed from the palace, and Chancellor Bayan poisoned her at a lodge in Kaiping.
22
伯顏忽都皇后，弘吉剌氏，宣慈惠聖皇后真哥侄毓德王孛羅帖木兒之女也。 至元三年三月，立為皇后。 其冊文曰：「帝王之道，齊其家而天下平； 風教所基，正乎位而人倫厚。 爰擇配以承宗事，若稽古以率典常。 咨爾弘吉剌氏，淑哲溫恭，齊莊貞一。 屬選賢於中壸，躬受命於慈闈。 勖帥來嬪，蹈榘儀之有度； 動容中禮，謹夙夜以無違。 茲表式於宮庭，宜推崇其位號。 乃蠲吉旦，庸舉彜章，遣攝太尉某持節授以玉冊寶章，命爾為皇后。 於戲！ 乾施坤承，克順成於四序； 日明月儷，久照臨於萬方。 朕欲躋世於乂安，爾其助予之德化，共禦亨嘉之運，益延昌熾之期。 勉爾徽音，聿修內治。」 生皇子真金，二歲而夭。 后性節儉，不妒忌，動以禮法自持。 第二皇后奇氏素有寵，居興聖西宮，帝希幸東內。 后左右以為言，后無幾微怨望意。 從帝時巡上京，次中道，帝遣內官傳旨，欲臨幸，后辭曰：「暮夜非至尊往來之時。」 內官往復者三，竟拒不納，帝益賢之。 帝嘗問后：「中政院所支錢糧，皆傳汝旨，汝還記之否？」 后對曰：「妾當用則支。 關防出入，必己選人司之，妾豈能盡記耶？」 居坤德殿，終日端坐，未嘗妄逾戶閾。 至正二十五年八月崩，年四十二。 奇氏後見其所遺衣服弊壞，大笑曰：「正宮皇后，何至服此等衣耶！」 其樸素可知。 逾月，皇太子自冀寧歸，哭之甚哀。
Empress Bayan Qudu was of the Kongirat clan and daughter of Prince Yude Boluotiemuer, nephew of Empress Xuanci Huisheng Zhenge. In the third month of Zhiyuan 3 she was established as empress. The enfeoffment text read: "The way of emperors and kings is to order the family and thereby bring peace to the realm; custom and instruction have their foundation; when the position is correct, human bonds grow strong. We therefore choose a consort to undertake the ancestral charge and examine antiquity to follow the constant statutes. We address you of the Kongirat clan: pure, wise, warm, and respectful; even, dignified, chaste, and unified. When worthies were chosen for the inner palace, you personally received the mandate from the empress dowager. Urged and led, you came as consort and trod the compass of ritual with measure; your bearing accorded with rites; you were careful from morning to night without violation. Now you display the model in the palace court; it is fitting to exalt your position and title. We therefore choose an auspicious day and duly perform the constant statutes, sending the Acting Grand Master of Ceremonies with credentials to confer jade registers, seals, and insignia and command you to be empress. Alas! Heaven bestows and earth receives, achieving compliance and completion in the four seasons; the sun and moon pair in brightness, long illuminating the ten thousand regions. We wish to raise the age to governance and peace; you must assist our moral transformation, together withstand the fortunate season, and further extend the age of flourishing brilliance. Strive in your fine repute and diligently cultivate inner governance." She bore Prince Zhenjin, who died at the age of two. The empress was frugal by nature and not jealous; in all her conduct she upheld herself with ritual and law. The second empress, Lady Ki, had long enjoyed favor; she dwelt in the western palace of Xingsheng, while the emperor rarely visited the eastern inner quarters. Those around the empress spoke of this to her, but she showed not the slightest resentment or longing. Following the emperor on a tour to Shangdu, they halted midway; the emperor sent a palace eunuch wishing to visit her quarters. The empress declined: "Evening and night are not the time for the supreme lord to come and go." The palace eunuch went back and forth three times; she finally refused admission, and the emperor esteemed her all the more. The emperor once asked the empress, "The funds and grain disbursed by the Central Palace Administration all pass on your order — do you still remember them?" The empress replied, "Your servant disburses when there is need. Seals for passage in and out must be managed by persons I myself select — how could your servant remember them all?" She dwelt in the Kunde Hall, sitting upright all day and never rashly crossing the threshold. She died in the eighth month of Zhiping 25, aged forty-two. Later Lady Ki saw the worn and tattered clothes she had left behind and laughed loudly: "The principal-palace empress — how could she wear clothes like these!" Her plain simplicity can thus be known. After more than a month the crown prince returned from Jining and wept for her with great grief.
23
完者忽都皇后奇氏，高麗人，生皇太子愛猷識理達臘。 家微，用后貴，三世皆追封王爵。 初，徽政院使禿滿叠兒進為宮女，主供茗飲，以事順帝。 后性穎黠，日見寵幸。 後答納失裏皇后方驕妒，數箠辱之。 答納失裏既遇害，帝欲立之，丞相伯顏爭不可。 伯顏罷相，沙剌班遂請立為第二皇后，居興聖宮，改徽政院為資正院。 后無事，則取《女孝經》、史書，訪問歷代皇后之有賢行者為法。 四方貢獻，或有珍味，輒先遣使薦太廟，然后敢食。 至正十八年，京城大饑，后命官為粥食之。 又出金銀粟帛，命資正院使樸不花於京都十一門置冢，葬死者遺骼十餘萬，復命僧建水陸大會度之。 時帝頗怠於政治，后與皇太子愛猷識理達臘遽謀內禪，遣樸不花諭意丞相太平，太平不答。 復召太平至宮，舉酒賜之，自申前請，太平依違而已，由是后與太子銜之。 而帝亦知后意，怒而疏之，兩月不見。 樸不花因后而寵幸，既被劾黜，后諷御史大夫佛家奴為之辯明。 佛家奴乃謀再劾樸不花，后知之，反嗾御史劾佛家奴，謫居潮河。 初，奇氏之族在高麗者，怙勢驕橫，高麗王怒，盡殺之。 二十三年，后謂皇太子曰：「汝何不為我復讎耶？」 遂立高麗王族人留京師者為王，以奇族之子三寶奴為元子。 遣同知樞密院事崔帖木兒為丞相，用兵一萬，並招倭兵，共往納之。 過鴨綠水，伏兵四起，乃大敗，余十七騎而還，后大慚。 二十四年七月，孛羅帖木兒稱兵犯闕，皇太子出奔冀寧，下令討孛羅帖木兒。 孛羅帖木兒怒，嗾監察御史武起宗言后外撓國政，奏帝宜遷后出於外，帝不答。 二十五年三月，遂矯制幽於諸色總管府，令其黨姚伯顏不花守之。 四月庚寅，孛羅帖木兒逼后還宮，取印章，偽為后書召太子。 后仍回幽所，后又數納美女於孛羅帖木兒，至百日，始還宮。 及孛羅帖木兒死，召皇太子還京師，后傳旨令廓擴帖木兒以兵擁皇太子入城，欲脅帝禪位。 廓擴帖木兒知其意，至京城三十里外，即遣軍還營，皇太子復銜之。 事見《擴廓帖木兒傳》。 會伯顏忽都皇后崩，十二月，中書省臣奏言，后宜正位中宮，帝不答。 又奏改資正院為崇政院，而中政院亦兼主之，帝乃授之冊寶，其冊文曰：「坤以承乾元，人道莫先於夫婦； 后以母天下，王化實始於家邦。 典禮之常，古今攸重。 咨爾肅良合氏，篤生名族，來事朕躬。 儆戒相成，每勤於夙夜； 恭儉率下，多歷於歲年。 既發祥元子於儲闈，復流慶孫枝於甲觀。 眷若中宮之位，允宜淑配之賢。 宗戚大臣，況僉言而敷請； 掖庭諸禦，咸傾望以推尊。 乃屢遜辭，尤可嘉尚。 今遣攝太尉某持節授以玉冊玉寶，命爾為皇后。 於戲！ 慎修壸政，益勉爾輔佐之心； 昭嗣徽音，同保我延洪之福。 其欽寵命，以衍壽祺。」 二十八年，從帝北奔。
Empress Wonjeonghodu, née Ki, was Korean and bore Crown Prince Ayushiridara. Her family was humble; after she became empress they were ennobled, and three generations were all posthumously enfeoffed as kings. At first Tumen Die'er, commissioner of the Xuanhui Court, presented her as a palace woman in charge of serving tea; she attended Emperor Shun. The empress was clever and sharp; day by day she gained favor. Later, when Empress Danashili was arrogant and jealous, she repeatedly beat and humiliated her. After Danashili was murdered, the emperor wished to establish her as empress; Chancellor Bayan argued that it could not be done. When Bayan was dismissed from the chancellorship, Sharaban then requested that she be established as second empress; she dwelt in Xingsheng Palace, and the Xuanhui Court was renamed the Zizheng Court. When the empress had no affairs, she would take the 《Classic of Filial Piety for Women》 and historical books and inquire after empresses of past ages who had practiced worthiness, taking them as models. When tribute came from the four quarters with rare delicacies, she would first send envoys to offer them at the Grand Temple and only then dare to eat. In Zhiping 18 there was great famine in the capital; the empress ordered officials to provide gruel for the people to eat. She also contributed gold, silver, grain, and silk and ordered Po Buhua, commissioner of the Zizheng Court, to set up burial mounds at the eleven gates of the capital, interring the exposed bones of more than a hundred thousand dead; she further ordered monks to perform a great water-and-land assembly to deliver their souls. At that time the emperor was rather slack in government; the empress and Crown Prince Ayushiridara hastily plotted an inner abdication and sent Po Buhua to convey their intent to Chancellor Toqto'a, who did not reply. They again summoned Toqto'a to the palace, raised wine and bestowed it on him, and personally renewed the former request; Toqto'a only hesitated and equivocated, and therefore the empress and the crown prince bore resentment against him. The emperor also knew the empress's intent; he was angry and kept her at a distance, not seeing her for two months. Po Buhua, through the empress, enjoyed favor; after he was impeached and dismissed, the empress hinted to Censor-in-Chief Foxianu to plead his case. Foxianu then plotted to impeach Po Buhua again; when the empress learned of it, she in turn incited censors to impeach Foxianu, who was demoted and sent to reside at Chaohe. Earlier, Ki's clan in Korea had relied on their power and acted arrogantly; the king of Korea was enraged and killed them all. In the twenty-third year the empress said to the crown prince, "Why do you not avenge me?" They then established as king a member of the Korean royal clan who remained in the capital and made Sanbaonu, son of the Ki clan, heir apparent. They sent Cui Tiemuer, associate administrator of the Bureau of Military Affairs, as chancellor, with ten thousand troops and also recruiting Japanese soldiers, to go together and install him. When they crossed the Yalu River, ambush troops rose on all sides; they suffered a great defeat and returned with only seventeen horsemen remaining, and the empress was deeply ashamed. In the seventh month of the twenty-fourth year Bolu Temür raised troops and attacked the palace; the crown prince fled to Jining and issued orders to campaign against Bolu Temür. Bolu Temür was enraged and incited Supervising Censor Wu Qizong to say that the empress interfered in state affairs from outside; he memorialized that the emperor should transfer the empress outside, but the emperor did not reply. In the third month of the twenty-fifth year he forged an order and had her confined at the Office of the Commissioner for All Colors, ordering his partisan Yao Bayanbuqa to guard her. On the gengyin day of the fourth month Bolu Temür forced the empress back to the palace, took the seals, and forged a letter in the empress's hand summoning the crown prince. The empress still returned to the place of confinement; later she repeatedly presented beautiful women to Bolu Temür, and only after a hundred days did she return to the palace. When Bolu Temür died, the crown prince was summoned back to the capital; the empress transmitted an order for Köke Temür to escort the crown prince into the city with troops, intending to coerce the emperor to abdicate. Köke Temür knew her intent; when he reached thirty li outside the capital he at once sent the army back to camp, and the crown prince again bore resentment against him. The matter is treated in the 《Biography of Köke Temür》. When Empress Bayan Qudu died, in the twelfth month ministers of the Secretariat memorialized that the empress should take the principal palace; the emperor did not reply. They again memorialized to change the Zizheng Court to the Chongzheng Court and have the Central Palace Administration also jointly administer it; the emperor then invested her with registers and seals. The enfeoffment text read: "Earth receives the origin of heaven; in human relations nothing comes before husband and wife; the empress mothers the realm, and kingly transformation truly begins in family and state. The constants of ritual are weighty in antiquity and today alike. We address you of the Sukorghatas clan, born of a renowned house, come to serve our person. Admonition and caution complete one another; you are diligent from morning to night; respectful and frugal, you lead those below, having passed through many years. You have already sent forth auspicious signs with the eldest son in the heir's quarters and further spread blessing to the grandson-branch in the eastern palace. Cherishing the position of the principal palace, you are truly fit to be the worthy consort. Kinsmen and great ministers, moreover, unanimously spoke and broadly petitioned; all the attendants of the inner quarters alike inclined their hopes to exalt you. You repeatedly declined with modest words — especially worthy of praise. Now we send the Acting Grand Master of Ceremonies with credentials to confer jade registers and jade seals and command you to be empress. Alas! Be careful in cultivating inner governance and further strive in your heart to assist; make manifest the continuation of fine repute and together preserve our far-reaching blessing. Reverently receive the favored mandate to extend long life and good fortune." In the twenty-eighth year she followed the emperor in flight to the north.