CONCLUSION
Had one of Wu Ding's wives been transported through time to the
court of Emperor Huan, she would surely have been astounded at the
condition of her Later Han counterparts and wondered at the changes
that had brought them there. The transformation in the situation of
palace women, particularly the consorts of rulers, in the intervening
period must be considered radical, even allowing for concurrent social,
economic, and political changes. These latter, of course, had much to
do with the former.
The most far-reaching change was the relocation of the sphere of
political activity for palace wives from the outer court (or even beyond
the court) to the inner court. As we have seen, this transfer was already
underway by Spring and Autumn times and thus must have begun
much earlier, perhaps by the middle Western Zhou. Assuming that the
condition of palace wives in some way reflected the situation in the
wider society, the implications of this change are very significant.
Certainly this would have been so for the elite classes, who would have
sought to emulate the court. This shift was evident at the courts of the
subordinate states during the Eastern Zhou, and it set the boundaries
of activity for women at the Han court. Combined with the patriarchal
nature of the imperial structure, this development at the center must
have contributed to the general subordination of women.
The development of the inner court and the creation of the imperial
structure completely altered the nature of political activity. Now such
activity was centered on a single male in an unprecedented way. Political
competition focused on this individual, whether it was competition
among the palace women for favor or among court and government
factions for ascendancy. Even in the latter case, the struggle could be
waged through the women, who were the agents—or pawns—of
particular factions. The possibilities for mischief became legion, and the
ramifications of such mischief were potentially fatal to the imperial
house. With comprehension of this reality came a change in the view
of palace women and, ultimately, of women in general.
