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卷一百十六 列傳第三: 后妃二

Volume 116 Biographies 3: Empresses and Consorts 2

Chapter 116 of 元史 · History of Yuan
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Chapter 116
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Empresses and Consorts 2
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Empress Xianyi Zhuang Sheng of Emperor Ruizong Tolui was named Sorghaghtani Beki of the Kereit. She bore Möngke and Kublai, each of whom in turn became emperor. In 1265 she was given the posthumous title Empress Zhuang Sheng and enshrined in Emperor Ruizong's temple. In December 1309 her title was further augmented to Empress Xianyi Zhuang Sheng. In the tenth month of 1310 a jade book was presented again. Its text read: "The achievements of the ancestors and the virtue of the forefathers are proclaimed in eulogy to Heaven. The inner norms and the rites of the inner court receive their completion in the ancestral temple. Great deeds demand that a name shine forth; profound favor calls for abundant recompense. Above, to add luster to the achievement of assisting in the founding; below, to extend the filial piety of distant commemoration. Reverently considering Empress Zhuang Sheng: perspicacious and broadly accomplished, sagely, good, gentle, and excellent. She honored and matched Emperor Jingxiang Tolui; the teachings of the inner court were purely diffused. When she came to serve Empress Guangxian, she diligently cultivated the duties of a wife. Her merit was forthwith displayed in receiving Heaven's mandate; auspicious omens of two suns were divined in a dream of the sun. Tracing the sage succession, one sees the great source unfold by degrees and knows that deep benevolence and thick grace are boundless. The dark talisman arose from Mount Tu, yet the former excellence had not been fittingly honored; the azure register rose from the civil mother — how could posterity forget? Therefore the canonical classics were consulted and the great resplendent standard was raised high. The meaning of precious compassion was set forth and expounded, and the model for the blue annals was given form. We respectfully send the Acting Grand Commandant to present the jade book and jade seal and add the honorific posthumous title Empress Xianyi Zhuang Sheng. We humbly trust that your wise spirit will brightly descend and grant inspection and acceptance. Rites were solemn in the palace; music sang the yize mode. For ten thousand myriad years may blessings be received without end."
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Empress Huiren Yusheng of Emperor Yuzong Zhenjin was Bo'alaije'u, also called Kokejin, of the Hongjira clan. She bore Darmabala and Temür, who became Emperors Shunzong and Chengzong. Earlier, when Kublai went out hunting, he grew thirsty on the road, came to a tent, and saw a girl sewing camel hair. He asked her for kumiss. The girl said, "There is kumiss, but my parents and elder brothers are all away. As a girl alone I cannot easily give it to you." Kublai was about to leave. The girl said again, "I live here alone. For you to come and go by yourself is not proper. My parents will return shortly. Please wait." In a moment they did return. They brought out kumiss for Kublai to drink. After Kublai had gone, he sighed and said, "To obtain a girl like this as a wife for one's household — would it not be fine!" Later the empress and the ministers deliberated on choosing a crown princess, but Kublai would not approve any of them. An old minister had once heard what Kublai had said. Knowing that the girl was not yet betrothed, he spoke of it to Kublai. Kublai was greatly pleased and took her in as crown princess. The consort was by nature filial and careful and good at serving the inner palace. Kublai always called her a worthy and virtuous daughter-in-law. She attended Empress Zhaorui Shunsheng and never left her side. Even the paper used in the privy she rubbed with her face to soften before presenting it. One day Zhenjin was ill. Kublai went to visit and saw a brocaded gold sleeping mat on the bed. Kublai grew angry and said to her, "I once regarded you as worthy. How can you be like this?" The consort knelt and answered, "At ordinary times I never dared use it. Now, because the crown prince is ill, I feared dampness and therefore used it." She immediately had it removed.
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綿綿 西
When Kublai died, Temür arrived at Shangdu and all the princes assembled. Earlier the Censor-in-Chief Cui Yu had obtained the jade seal in the home of Shide, great-grandson of Prince Muqali. Its inscription read "Receiving the mandate from Heaven, long life and eternal prosperity." He presented it to the empress, and on this occasion she personally handed it to Temür. Upon assuming the imperial throne, he honored the empress as Empress Dowager. The investiture text read: "From the family to the state, the way of governance must have what comes first; establishing love begins with kin, and among the virtues of a ruler none comes before filial piety. How much more when favor is deep in nurturing me, and ritual weighs heavily in rectifying the name! Through successive dynasties, excellent precedents may be examined. Where the duty of a son lies, the mother of the realm should be honored. Reverently considering the Holy Mother: sagely goodness is rooted in Heaven-given nature, and stillness and concentration follow the way of Earth. Above, to uphold the weight of the ancestral tablets; below, to set in order the constants of human relations. She aided my forebears, keeping the anxious diligence of "Roll up your sleeves"; she protected my young heir and completed the harmonious solemnity of "Be like him." Now that the sacred vessel has its destination, we know that the grandson's design was long settled. Though the conferral follows the sequence of fate, the plan and model issued from the inner court. Therefore we lead and call forth the hearts of the multitude, proclaim the great measure, and cannot overcome our earnest great wish. We respectfully present the book and seal and raise the honorific title Empress Dowager. We humbly trust that long faith will be solemn and the Zhou lineage unending. Complete with the blessings granted in the Luo Document, resplendent as the compassionate pole in honoring Heaven. The jade chart and precious destiny — for ten thousand years." He ordered officials to be appointed and established the Bureau of Imperial Governance. An official of the rear palace had received as tribute seven hundred qing of land in western Zhejiang, registered under her station. The Empress Dowager said, "I am a widow living alone — food and clothing are already more than enough. Moreover, all the lands south of the Yangtze belong to the state. How dare I make them private?" She immediately ordered the Secretariat to replace entirely those bureau officials who had received such tribute. The empress's younger brother wished to seek office through her. The empress said to him, "If you wish to seek office, do it yourself. Do not involve me." Afterward his younger brother was indeed dismissed, and everyone admired the empress's foresight. In the second month of 1300 she died, was buried beside the former imperial tombs, posthumously titled Empress Yusheng, and installed in the temple of Emperor Yuzong. In the tenth month of 1310 the title was further raised to Empress Huiren Yusheng.
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使 使 使
Empress Zhaoxian Yuansheng of Emperor Shunzong Darmabala was named Daji of the Hongjira clan, daughter of Qundutemür, grandson of Anchannayan of the An clan. When Zhenjin resided at the Yan residence and at Chaohe, Darmabala was always in attendance. When he grew somewhat older, Kublai granted him the attendant Guo, and later he took Daji as consort. She bore Külüg Khan and Ayurbarwada, who became Emperors Wuzong and Renzong. In 1305 Chengzong fell ill. Empress Buluqan held power and sent Ayurbarwada and his mother out to reside at Huaizhou. In the twelfth month of 1306 the empress arrived at Huaizhou. In the first month of 1307 Chengzong died. At that time Külüg Khan commanded troops on the northern frontier. The Right Chancellor Daraqan Qaraqas secretly sent envoys to inform Ayurbarwada, and the empress and he rushed back to the capital. The empress and Ayurbarwada entered the palace to weep, then returned to their former residence, morning and evening entering to offer libations. They immediately sent envoys to welcome Külüg Khan back, and in the fifth month he took the throne. Earlier the Empress Dowager had given the nativities of the two crown princes to yin-yang masters to calculate and asked which should be established. They answered, "Chongguang and Dahuangluo have calamity; Zhanmeng and Zuo'e are long-lasting." Chongguang was Külüg Khan's birth year; Zhanmeng was Ayurbarwada's birth year. The Empress Dowager was rather swayed by their words and sent a close attendant, Dor, to convey her instruction to Külüg Khan: "You two brothers were both born of me. How could there be closeness or distance? What the yin-yang masters say about the length of fortune and fate — one cannot fail to consider it." Külüg Khan heard this and was silent. He advanced Kangli Toqto'a and said, "I have defended the northern frontier for ten years, and by birth order I am the elder. The Empress Dowager speaks of star-fate — it is obscure and hard to trust. If my measures accord with Heaven's mind and the people's hopes, even a reign of one day would be enough to leave a name for ten thousand generations. How can one go against the charge of the ancestors because of what yin-yang masters say!" Toqto'a reported this. The Empress Dowager was startled and said, "The talk of long and short reigns, though it comes from specialists, is my far-sighted concern for the crown prince. That is why I deeply love the crown prince. Since the crown prince has spoken thus, he should come quickly now." For details see the biography of Kangli Toqto'a.
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殿 退
In the fifth month, after Külüg Khan had been established, that same day he honored the Empress Dowager as Empress Dowager. He established Ayurbarwada as crown prince. The three palaces were in harmony. In the eleventh month the emperor attended upon the Empress Dowager at Longfu Palace and presented the jade book and jade seal of Empress Dowager. In the third month of 1308 the emperor built the Palace of Sagely Inception for the Empress Dowager and granted fifty thousand ingots of paper money and twenty thousand jin of silk. In the first month of 1309 the Empress Dowager visited Mount Wutai to perform Buddhist rites. An edict ordered King Ch'ang of Goryeo to accompany her. In the fourth month the General Directorate of Revenue for the Jiang-Huai Circuit of the Palace of Sagely Inception was established to administer the Empress Dowager's funds and grain. In the second month of 1310, because of the honorific title of Empress Dowager, announcement was made at the southern suburban sacrifice. In the fourth month four thousand households of the falconry office and the like of the Palace of Sagely Inception were distributed to Liaoyang, and a myriarchate office was established to govern them. On the wushen day of the tenth month the emperor led the crown prince, princes, and ministers to attend at the Palace of Sagely Inception and presented the honorific book and seal: Empress Dowager Yitian Xingsheng Ciren Zhaoyi Shouyuan. On the gengxu day the empress reverently thanked the Grand Temple. Because the Empress Dowager had received the honorific title, an edict amnestied the realm. In 1311 Ayurbarwada took the throne. In the third month of 1315 the emperor led the princes and officials to present the jade book and jade seal and add the honorific title Empress Dowager Yitian Xingsheng Ciren Zhaoyi Shouyuan Quande Taining Fuqing. In 1320 Yingzong took the throne. In the twelfth month he raised the honorific title Grand Empress Dowager. The investiture text read: "Before royal government, nothing surpasses filial piety; in the root of human relations, nothing is greater than honoring kin. Now at the beginning of my assuming rule, I first perform the ceremony of exaltation. Reverently considering Her Majesty the Grand Empress Dowager: benevolence is broadly diffused, and illumination reaches the subtlest hidden things. From the time she dwelt in the deep-hidden palace, she already had the expectation of mothering the realm. Just as Külüg Khan was hunting in the north, Chengzong became a guest of Heaven. Soon the Heavenly regency was restored and the ancestral tablets were again secured. Though the sequence of fate rested in one's person, in truth she managed the hardships of founding. Rites and forms were displayed in the compassionate quarter, and every movement accorded with the former emperor's plans. Who can fathom the wonder of mending Heaven? Truly it was like supporting the sun as it rises. Ascending to utmost honor, the two wings were formed by sage sons; succeeding to the great treasure, again she embraced and aided my slight person. Moreover, her virtue surpasses Mount Tu and her achievement is higher than the civil mother. Therefore four characters should be added to further extend the emblazoned title. We respectfully present the jade book and jade seal and add the honorific title Grand Empress Dowager Yitian Xingsheng Ciren Zhaoyi Shouyuan Quande Taining Fuqing Huiwen Chongyou. Alas! Though this touches upon forced naming, perhaps it can express fine praise. The nine provinces and four seas — nurturing is not enough for filial heart; ten thousand years and a thousand autumns — may blessings of longevity be forever received." On the bingchen day the Empress Dowager held court at Daming Hall and received congratulations. On the wuchen day announcement was made at the Grand Temple. The Empress Dowager saw that in youth Gegeen Khan had heroic spirit, while Buyantu was somewhat soft and timid. Various petty men thought that establishing Gegeen Khan would certainly be unfavorable to themselves and therefore supported Buyantu. When he had taken the throne, the Empress Dowager came to congratulate. Buyantu immediately showed it firmly in his expression. The empress withdrew and regretted, saying, "Did I not intend to raise this child!" She then drank resentment and fell ill. In the second month of 1323 she died and was installed in the temple of Emperor Shunzong for joint offerings.
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The empress was intelligent by nature. She assisted three reigns, taught all the palace maids to practice women's work, and personally handled mortar and pestle. Yet she did not restrain herself. From establishing her position in the Eastern Court, debauchery grew ever worse. Within, Heilümu and Yilieshiba held power; without, favorites Shiliesmen and Niulin and the chief minister Timur led one another in wickedness, even to beating the Pingzhang Zhang Gui and others — corrupting government affairs without limit. When Buyantu was established, the group of favorites were executed, and thereafter her power suddenly ceased.
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