Empresses and consorts selections from Chen Shou's Records of the Three States with Pei Songzhi's commentary |
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| 2. | Chapter 2: Palace Women in the Early Empire |
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Chapter 2: Palace Women in the Early Empire
We use "early imperial China" to refer to the period from the beginning of
the Qin to the end of the Three States.
For example, Guo Moruo [OMITTED] labeled the Shang a matriarchal clan society
(Guo, Zhongguo gudai shehui yanjiu, 1-4, 271-272). Such notions were, of
course, based on the stages of historical development laid out in Friedrich
Engels' The Origins of the Family, Private Property and the State, which in
turn was based on Lewis Morgan, who wrote that the "gens" in its archaic
form embraced persons who traced descent from a common female ancestor
through females during a period when the paternity of children was uncertain
and their maternity afforded the only certain criterion of descent (Morgan,
Ancient Society, 67-68).
Mao shi 245. The utility of figures like the ones named by Chen Dongyuan
in arguing for the existence of a matriarchal or matrilineal society is diminished
somewhat, it would seem, by their archetypal nature. Supernatural conception
and birth are standard motifs in the pattern of a heroic life. See, for example,
de Vries, Heroic Song and Heroic Legend, 210-217. The culture hero Lord
Millet, as depicted in Mao shi 245, for example, passes through stages quite
like those outlined—at least for the early years—by de Vries for Indo-European
heroic legends. C. H. Wang has cogently and creatively argued that this poem,
along with numbers 250, 237, 241, and 236, constitute a set that forms a kind
of Chinese epic. He coins the term "Weniad," for these poems are informed
by the Chinese preference for wen [OMITTED] ("cultural eloquence") over wu [OMITTED]
("martial power"). See Wang, "Towards Defining a Chinese Heroism," 2629.
See also Cutter, "Brocade and Blood," 16; Cutter, The Brush and the Spur, 30; and Bodde, Chinese Thought, Society, and Science, 253, 299, 304.
Chen, Zhongguo funü shenghuo shi, 22; Ho, The Cradle of the East, 275278.
Ho (p. 277) cites twenty-four xing recorded in the Zuo zhuan [OMITTED] [Zuo
Tradition], sixteen of which contain the female radical. Any future citation of
the presence of the element for woman in such a large body of surnames as
evidence of the existence of Shang matrilineage will have to take into account
David N. Keightley's suggestion that "At a stage when male elites were likely
to have several consorts, as was the case in the Shang, . . . it would have been
offspring of which consort. . . . This suggests that the xing, written with its
female element, however it came to be used in later times, may in origin have
simply been a patriarchal notation used to distinguish within the larger
patriarchal unit the children born of different mothers" (Keightley, "Out of
the Stone Age," 21-22).
Duyvendak, Book of Lord Shang, 225; Shang jun shu, 7.15. See also Wang,
Zhuangzi jijie, 29.262; Watson, The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu, 327;
Xu, Lü shi chungiu jishi, 20.934; Wilhelm, Frühling und Herbst des Lü Bu
We, 346.
The debate over matrilineage/matriarchy in ancient China is succinctly
summarized in Hinsch, "Women in Early Imperial China," 494-505.
Keightley, "Out of the Stone Age;" Chang, Art, Myth, and Ritual, 9n; Chang,
Early Chinese Civilization, 185n. In the latter K. C. Chang (Zhang Guangzhi)
does admit the possibility of a matrilineal stage in Neolithic times. See also
his "Zhongguo yuangu shidai yishi shenghuo de ruogan ziliao." There has been
an effort to link Chinese tradition with Marxism on this point. It has been
suggested that the shift from succession according to merit seen in the Yao
[OMITTED]-Shun [OMITTED]-Yu [OMITTED] sequence to the hereditary succession practiced by Yu and
his descendants reflected the transition from a matrilineal society to a patrilineal
one (Wu, "Xia Yu chuanzi shi Zhongguo you muxi shizu shehui dao nanxi
shizu shehui de yi da zhuanbian," 11-16). Wang Ningsheng offers a rather
compelling description of how Chinese scholars have tried to bend
archeological evidence to support the existence of a Yangshao matrilineal
society, and he convincingly shows that such an interpretation is not sustained
by ethnoarcheological analysis of the data (Wang, "Yangshao Burial Customs
and Social Organization"). Richard Pearson also offers a clear warning of the
difficulties of drawing conclusions about Neolithic social structure—including
the position of women—from archeological excavations and the dangers of
relying too heavily on theory to the neglect of the data (Pearson, "Social
Complexity in Chinese Coastal Neolithic Sites").
Chang, Shang Civilization, 89-90, 171, 190. David N. Keightley has written,
"It is of no little social and political significance that, for the Shang elites, dead
consorts, in the role of ancestresses, were thought to play a role after death.
A dead woman presumably became an ancestress in the same way that a dead
man became an ancestor: by undergoing the proper burial rites, by the award
of a temple name, and by the offering of cult." Even so, one should not assume
from this that gender equality was obtained among Shang forebears. As
Keightley notes, "There is no doubt that the bulk of Late Shang cultic attention
was addressed to male ancestors rather than to ancestresses. . . . Most dead
consorts were not awarded temples in the first place, and no divinations were
ever performed in their precincts" (Keightley, "Out of the Stone Age," 1718,
19).
Hu, "Yin dai hunyin jiazu zongfa shengyu zhidu kao," 129-130, 133, 166169;
Keightley, "Out of the Stone Age," 15-16.
Hu, "Yin dai fengjian zhidu kao," 4; Creel, The Origins of Statecraft in China,
32-33. Chang Cheng-lang believes that not all of those so identified were
female officers at the Shang court, some of whom, because of their proximity
to the king, may have become his consorts. That Fu Hao [OMITTED] (Fu Zi in Chang's
rendering) possessed military authority was the result of her having been
elevated above the other fu through attaining Wu Ding's favors (Chang, "A
Brief Discussion of Fu Tzu," 111-113). Chang's interpretation does not
contradict the conclusion that women occupied positions of importance and
could exercise considerable authority during the Shang.
Creel, The Origins of Statecraft in China, 395; Pang, "Consorts of King Wu
and King Wen." The apparent importance of early Zhou queens would
seem to contradict the sentiments expressed by King Wu [OMITTED] in the oath
given at Muye [OMITTED] on the eve of the final battle against King Zhou [OMITTED]
of the Shang: "The ancients had a saying: `The hen should not call the
morning. If the hen calls the morning, the house should be ransacked for
baleful influences.' Now Zhou, the king of Shang, follows only the words of
a woman. He destroys and rejects his set-forth sacrifices, and does not show
any gratitude. He destroys and rejects his still living uncles and uterine
brothers and does not promote them. Thus, the great criminals and runaways
of the four quarters, them he honours, them he respects, them he trusts
and them he employs, them he has for dignitaries, ministers and officers, and
causes them to oppress the people and so commit villainy and treachery in
the city of Shang" (Karlgren, "The Book of Documents," 29 [modified]; Shu,
11.16b-17b.)
The Han commentator Kong Anguo [OMITTED] (fl. 126-117 B.C.) explained
the quoted saying as a metaphor for women becoming involved in external
affairs. When the hen replaces the rooster and crows, then the family is finished
(Sj, 4.122, 123 n. 11). The contradiction may be more apparent than real,
however. King Wu's criticism was probably directed less at Zhou's wives than
at Zhou's inability to ensure that they acted appropriately and did not usurp
the decision-making authority of the king.
Creel, The Origins of Statecraft in China, 130-131, 395. This same woman
has been identified by others as the queen of King Wu, King Kang [OMITTED], and
King Zhao [OMITTED], testimony to the difficulty of the sources for this period. See
Shaughnessy, Sources for Western Zhou History, 174-175, 208-209.
Shi, 12.6a; Legge, The Chinese Classics, 4:68. On the "Preface to the Mao
Version of the Shi" ("Mao shi xu" [OMITTED]), which has from early on been
divided into a "Major Preface" ("Da xu" [OMITTED]) and a "Minor Preface," see
Van Zoeren, Poetry and Personality, 80-115.
According to legend, Baosi was taken into King You's harem, and he became
infatuated with her. She never smiled, however, and he tried all manner of ways
to make her do so. Finally he lit the beacon fires intended to summon
subordinate rulers and their armies to the aid of the Zhou, and when they
arrived she was greatly amused by their perplexity at finding no enemy. To
make her laugh, the king repeatedly lit the beacon fires. Increasingly fewer
armies responded to his summons until, on the day he was genuinely threatened
[OMITTED] (127-200) did not think the poem referred to King You, his opinion was
rejected by others. See Ma, Mao shi zhuanjian tongshi, 2:611; Qu, Shi jing
shiyi, 250.
The Eastern Zhou can be divided into two subperiods—the Spring and Autumn
(770-464 B.C.) and the Warring States (463-222 B.C.). Scholars differ
somewhat on the dates, but the differences are not significant (Creel, The
Origins of Statecraft in China, 47 nn. 18, 19).
Melvin Thatcher has meticulously sifted these materials to produce an
extraordinarily well-researched and thoughtful description of these institutions
and practices. Our discussion owes much to his work. See Thatcher,
"Marriages of the Ruling Elite in the Spring and Autumn Period."
Thatcher, "Marriages of the Ruling Elite in the Spring and Autumn Period,"
29-32, 49 n. 8; Ruey, "The Similarity of the Ancient Chinese Kinship
Terminology to the Omaha Type," 14-15. Cf. Chen, Zhongguo funü shenghuo
shi, 34-35.
In a posthumous decree, Emperor Ping [OMITTED] (9 B.C.-A.D. 6) ordered, "Let there
be sent away the wives acquired through ying and all return home and be
allowed to marry as with the precedent of the time of Emperor Wen [OMITTED] [r.
180-157 B.C.]." The Tang commentator Yan Shigu [OMITTED] (581-645) explains
that " `wives acquired through ying' refers to those who came accompanying
the empress" (Hs, 12.360; Dubs, The History of the Former Han Dynasty,
2:86). Yan does not suggest that these women were in fact related to the
empress. Emperor Wen's posthumous decree referred to by Emperor Ping states
simply, "Return home those from lady on down to junior maids" (Hs, 4.132;
Dubs, The History of the Former Han Dynasty, 2:271).
Karlgren dated the Zhou li as we have it to the second century B.C. but
concluded that it contains material from a somewhat earlier period. See
Karlgren, "The Early History of the Chou Li and Tso Chuan Texts." See also
Boltz, "Chou li."
For example, a statement attributed to the mid-sixth-century statesman Zichan
[OMITTED] by Zitai Shu [OMITTED] in a discussion of propriety (li [OMITTED]) suggests a mature
theory about the "proper" role for women: "Propriety conforms to the
regulations of Heaven and the natural qualities of Earth, and to the actions
of people. Heaven and Earth set the regulations and the people imitate them.
They imitate the brilliance of Heaven and imitate the nature of Earth. . . . Ruler
and subject, superior and inferior are distinguished in imitation of the natural
quality of Earth [which submits to Heaven]; husband and wife, interior and
exterior [of the home] are distinguished to regulate the two kinds of work [i.e.,
zhuan, Zhao 25; cf. Couvreur, Tch'ouen ts'iou et tso tchouan, 3:379-381).
We are grateful to Melvin Thatcher for drawing our attention to this passage.
Bret Hinsch sees this shift as coming rather later, during the Han (Hinsch,
"Women in Early Imperial China," 238-239; cf. his statements on pp. 241-243).
Sanfu jiushi [OMITTED] [Ancient Happenings in the Three Capital Districts],
cited in Sj, 6.241 commentary.
Hs, 97A.3935; HHs, 10A.399 commentary. See also Hs, 4.134 commentary;
Dubs, The History of the Former Han Dynasty, 1:271n. HHs states that there
were eight ranks (ba pin [OMITTED]) for the Qin harem. Bielenstein says that in the
early Han, at first only the six ranks here listed existed below empress. He
does not count lady (furen) as a rank (Bielenstein, The Bureaucracy of Han
Times, 73, 176 n). The figure eight given for the Qin in HHs must include
both empress and lady.
Hs, 97A.3935. For a discussion of the institutions of empress and empress
dowager as well as the staffs under them, see Bielenstein, The Bureaucracy
of Han Times, 69-73.
Knechtges, "The Position of the Fu in Chinese Literature," 69. See Gong, Han
fu yanjiu, 32; Chen, Sanfu huangtu jiaozheng, 79.
HHs, 10A.399, 400 n. The outspoken grandee remonstrant Gong Yu [OMITTED]
(fl. 44 B.C.) criticized this extravagance in a memorial to Emperor Yuan. See
Hs, 72.3070-3071; Liu, Han dai hunyin zhidu, 17-18.
HHs, 10A.400; Bielenstein, The Bureaucracy of Han Times, 73-74; Bielenstein,
"Wang Mang, the Restoration of the Han Dynasty, and Later Han," 259. The
text also mentions palace maids (gongren [OMITTED]), but Bielenstein, The
Bureaucracy of Han Times, 177 n, points out that these were slaves. Cf. Wilbur,
Slavery in China during the Former Han Dynasty, 69-70.
Bielenstein, "Wang Mang, the Restoration of the Han Dynasty, and Later
Han," 259; See HHs, 10B.445, 62.2055. Bielenstein, The Bureaucracy of Han
Times, 74, writes, "When the harem exploded, some of the Former Han titles
for imperial concubines were revived."
Zhao, Nianer shi zaji, 3.47; Yang, "Dong Han de haozu," 1019; Ch'ü, Han
Social Structure, 81-82. See also Liu, Han dai hunyin zhidu, 79.
Cases in point are the remonstrances by Liu Fu [OMITTED] and Wang Ren [OMITTED]
with Emperor Cheng [OMITTED] (r. 33-7 B.C.), who wanted to make Favorite Beauty
Zhao [OMITTED] his empress. See Hs, 77.3251-3254; Hj, 26.2a; Liu, Han dai
hunyin zhidu, 19, 80. Dubs, The History of the Former Han Dynasty, 2:366372,
contains a good brief account of the episode.
Hs, 27A.1336-1337, 27Ba.1374, 27cb.1502; Liu, Han dai hunyin zhidu, 80.
Of course, women from prosperous families might come in for criticism, too.
Liu, Han dai hunyin zhidu, 81. On Empress Wei, see Sj, 49.1978-1980, 1983,
and Hs, 97A.3949-3951; on Lady Li, see Sj, 49.1980-1981, 1983-1984, and
Hs, 97A.3951-3956; on Favorite Beauty Yin, see Sj, 49.1981, 1984, and Hs,
97A.3950; on Empress Zhao, see Hs, 97B.3988-3999; on Favorite Beauty Wei,
whose original name was Li Ping [OMITTED], see Hs, 97B.3984. See also Watson,
Records of the Grand Historian: Han Dynasty, 1:332-334; Chavannes,
Mémoires historiques, 6.55-64; Watson, Courtier and Commoner in Ancient
China, 247-251, 265-277; Ch'ü, Han Social Structure, 56, 77-78, 221;
Loewe, "The Former Han Dynasty," 174-178, 214; and Knechtges, Wen xuan,
1:239.
Sj, 49.1981; Liu, Han dai hunyin zhidu, 81. Cf. Watson, Records of the Grand
Historian: Han Dynasty, 1:334; Chavannes, Mémoires historiques, 6:55.
Hs, 99A.4051; Dubs, The History of the Former Han Dynasty, 3:154-155;
Liu, Han dai hunyin zhidu, 81. Kings Wen and Wu were the exemplary first
two Zhou rulers. The Duke of Zhou was King Wu's brother and served as
the wise regent of King Cheng, who was King Wu's son and successor. "Full
marquis" was the title awarded for conspicuous merit in the service of the state.
See Hucker, A Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China, no. 3698;
Bielenstein, The Bureaucracy of Han Times, 180-181 n. 363.
Ch'ü, Han Social Structure, 210-219; Bielenstein, "Wang Mang and the
Restoration of the Han Dynasty, and Later Han," 259; Mansvelt Beck, "The
Fall of Han," 318-321.
On the selection of Later Han imperial women, see Bielenstein, "Wang Mang,
the Restoration of the Han Dynasty, and Later Han," 259, 276, 280-287;
Ch'ü, Han Social Structure, 74-75; Liu, Han dai hunyin zhidu; 82-83.
Marriage could, however, be used as a tool for dealing with foreign polities.
The most famous Han example is no doubt the case of Wang Zhaojun [OMITTED]
[OMITTED], one of the most famous beauties in Chinese history and one of five women
presented to the Xiongnu [OMITTED] leader when he visited the Han court in 33
B.C. See Bielenstein. "Wang Mang, the Restoration of the Han Dynasty, and
Later Han," 236; Yü, "Han Foreign Relations," 398. See also Eoyang, "The
Wang Chao-chün Legend."
An example of constructive influence (depending on one's point of view)
exercised by the emperor's relatives by marriage was that of Tian Fen [OMITTED],
who was younger brother of Emperor Wu's mother's stepfather, and Dou Ying
[OMITTED], who was related to Empress Dowager Dou [OMITTED] through a paternal
cousin. Both were strong proponents of Confucianism, which they successfully
promoted to Emperor Wu. See Xing, "Han Wudi shengming zhong de jige
nüren"; Dubs, The History of the Former Han Dynasty, 2:344.
"Hui," meaning "kind," "gentle," was the posthumous name given emperors
who had been ineffectual and manipulated, or even abused, by powerful and
ambitious officials and relatives.
Sj, 9.395-412, 49.1969-1970; Hs 2.85-92, 3.95-104, 97A.3937-3940; Dubs,
The History of the Former Han Dynasty, 1:167-210; Watson, Records of the
Han Dynasty," 135-136.
Holmgren, "Imperial Marriage in the Native Chinese and Non-Han State,"
60-76, provides an excellent discussion of the intricacies and ramifications of
imperial marriages. Bret Hinsch describes the activities of palace women in
terms of kin relations and says that when an empress dowager directed the
choice of a successor, she was assuming the status of head of the imperial kin
group, because, he says, early Chinese states were ruled by lineages rather than
isolated individuals (Hinsch, "Women in Early Imperial China," 246-247).
Huo Qubing's mother's younger sister, Wei Zifu [OMITTED], had entered the
harem and become one of Emperor Wu's favorites. She then brought her sister
and the young Huo Qubing to court (Hs, 68.2931; Watson, Courtier and
Commoner in Ancient China, 121-122).
Liu He allegedly refused to perform the mourning rituals properly, engaged
in debauchery with his boon companions from Changyi, on whom he freely
bestowed the trappings of office, and generally carried on in a highly
disrespectful and irresponsible fashion (Hs, 63.2764-2765, 68.2937; Watson,
Courtier and Commoner in Ancient China, 129; Dubs, The History of the
Former Han Dynasty, 2:180-183). It may be that Huo Guang's reasons for
wanting to get rid of Liu He, whose accession to the throne he had supported
over that of another claimant (Liu Xu [OMITTED], who was the only surviving son
of Emperor Wu and who had stronger bona fides), involved more than just
his dismay at Liu's behavior. Liu He was showing himself to be a free spirit,
having brought with him many of his followers and apparently being inclined
to bestow office and favors on them. Huo may have concluded that he would
not be able to control the new emperor and may therefore have seen him as
a grave threat to his own ability to continue dominating the imperial
government. The unenthusiastic response his proposal to dethrone Liu He
elicited from the high officials whom he sought to enlist in the effort suggests
that they might have been content to see Liu He remain.
An "illegitimate" precedent had of course been provided by Empress Lü. The
assumption of the power of decree by empresses dowager is discussed by Yang,
"Female Rulers in Imperial China," 53-60.
Loewe, Crisis and Conflict in Han China, 79-81; Loewe, "The Former
Han Dynasty," 181-184; Wallacker, "Dethronement and Due Process in
Early Imperial China;" Cutter, "Sex, Politics, and Morality at the Wei
Court."
Wang Mang's rise to power and the events surrounding his usurpation of the
throne are described in Hs, 99A.4039-4096; Dubs, The History of the Former
Han Dynasty, 3:44-259; and Bielenstein, "Wang Mang, the Restoration of the
Han Dynasty, and Later Han," 223-231. It is by no means certain that Wang
intended from the outset to replace the Han with his own dynasty, and he may
have been forced by events to take such extreme action.
On the problems facing affinal families in maintaining their positions across
generations, see Holmgren, "Imperial Marriage in the Native Chinese and
Non-Han State," 60-64.
Hs, 97B.3988-3998; Dubs, The History of the Former Han Dynasty, 2:365372;
Wilbur, Slavery in China during the Former Han Dynasty, 424-432;
Loewe, "The Former Han Dynasty," 214-215.
Ch'en, "A Confucian Magnate's Idea of Political Violence," 77-83; cf.
Bielenstein, The Bureaucracy of Han Times, 150-155. He Ziquan (Ho Tzechuan)
points out that the power struggle between eunuchs and imperial offices
was unique to the Later Han and was a reflection of the broader struggle
between the imperial government and powerful regional and local elites
("Dong Han huanguan he waiqi de douzheng").
The commandery of Nanyang had its seat in the vicinity of the city of the same
name in modern He'nan.
Ch'ü, Han Social Structure, 210; Bielenstein, "The Restoration of the Han
Dynasty," 4:122-127. As Bielenstein (127) and de Crespigny have correctly
pointed out, Etienne Balazs' and other's descriptions of these families, the Liang
in particular, as "nouveaux riches" are mistaken. See de Crespigny, "Political
Protest in Imperial China," 4-5 n. 1. Cf. Balazs, "Political Philosophy and
Social Crisis at the End of the Han Dynasty," 188-189.
The role of the imperial princesses in cementing linkages between the imperial
family and powerful families was extremely important and could reinforce the
connections established by having a daughter enter the harem. Indeed, the
families best able to sustain a position of power were those whose daughters
became imperial wives and whose sons married princesses. Being married to
a princess was not an unmixed blessing, however, since her status was higher
than that of her husband and she could act quite independently. This reversal
of what was considered the appropriate roles of yin and yang bothered some
and was criticized during the reign of Emperor Xuan by Wang Ji [OMITTED] and
later, under Emperor Huan, by Xun Shuang [OMITTED] (A.D. 128-190; see Hs,
72.3064; HHs, 62.2053; Bielenstein, "Wang Mang, the Restoration of the Han
Dynasty, and Later Han," 286; Ch'ü, Han Social Structure, 57-58, 86;
Holmgren, "Imperial Marriage in the Native Chinese and Non-Han State,"
67-69).
The rise and fall of the Liang clan and the part played by the Liang women
in these events is described in some detail in Young, "Court Politics in the Later
Han." Eunuchs played an extremely important role in court politics of the Later
Han, much greater than in the Former Han. There are no doubt several reasons
for this. One, of course, is the growth in the size of the harem, which brought
with it an increase in the numbers of eunuchs. More important, however, was
the policy begun under Emperor Guangwu of reserving offices in the palace
for eunuchs. Under Emperor He, a eunuch was ennobled for the first time as
marquis, and from A.D. 135 on, eunuchs were allowed to adopt sons who could
inherit their titles. Many of these adopted sons held significant regional and
central government posts. Because of their position in the inner apartments,
eunuchs became a natural source of allies for the emperor or for the empress(es)
dowager. The best study to date on Han eunuchs is Xiao, "Guanyu Han dai
de huanguan." See also Ch'ü, Han Social Structure, 232-243, and de
Crespigny, "Political Protest in Imperial China" for the role played by the
eunuchs in the demise of the Liang family and its resulting fallout.
Cao Cao, who was the founding father of the state of Wei and whose name
rise of the eunuchs. His grandfather Cao Teng [OMITTED] was castrated as a child
so that he might become a palace eunuch. While serving in a minor eunuch
office, Cao Teng was selected to be a companion to the heir apparent. From
then on, he advanced in office, serving four emperors during a period of over
thirty years (Leban, "Ts'ao Ts'ao and the Rise of Wei," 47; Sgz, 1.1, Pei quoting
Sima Biao's [OMITTED] [240-315] Xu Han shu [OMITTED] [History of the Posterior
Han]; see also Kroll, "Portraits of Ts'ao Ts'ao," 2-3). Cao Teng's adopted son
was Cao Song [OMITTED]. There were good reasons for a eunuch like Cao Teng
to adopt a son: The son could carry out sacrifices to the family ancestors and
to the father after his death, and he could beget his own sons to ensure that
these sacrifices continued. Also, as already pointed out, the adopted son of a
eunuch could inherit from his father, thereby allowing for the preservation of
the family position (see also Leban, "Ts'ao Ts'ao and the Rise of Wei," 48;
Bielenstein, "Wang Mang, the Restoration of the Han Dynasty, and Later
Han," 287-288).
Bielenstein, "The Restoration of the Han Dynasty," 4:119-120. This treatment
of Empress Guo was quite in contrast to the other three empresses divorced
during the Later Han, all of whom were jailed in the Drying House (Pu shi
[OMITTED]), where they died.
HHs, 10A.408-409, 24.842-844; Ch'ü, Han Social Structure, 212; Bielenstein,
"The Restoration of the Han Dynasty," 4:112-114.
Emperor He ascended the throne at age ten, Emperor An at age thirteen,
Emperor Shun at age eleven, Emperor Chong [OMITTED] (r. 144-145) at age two,
Emperor Zhi [OMITTED] (r. 145-146) at age eight, Emperor Huan at age fifteen,
Emperor Ling at age twelve, and Emperor Xian [OMITTED] (r. 190-220) at age nine.
Ch'ü, Han Social Structure, 217-219; de Crespigny, "The Harem of Emperor
Huan," 4-8; and Bielenstein, "Wang Mang, the Restoration of the Han
Dynasty, and Later Han," 286. Other Later Han empresses dowager who acted
as regents included Emperor Zhang's Empress Dou, who ruled for Emperor
He, son of Honorable Lady Liang, and Emperor He's Empress Dowager Deng,
who ruled for He's short-lived son and for Emperor An, grandson of Emperor
Zhang (Bielenstein, "The Restoration of the Han Dynasty," 4:124-127).
HHs, 62.2055. Rafe de Crespigny is doubtful about these figures, though he
concludes that Emperor Huan "did indeed have a very large harem, quite
possibly more than a thousand" (de Crespigny, "The Harem of Emperor
Huan," 21). The normally skeptical Bielenstein seems to accept the figure six
thousand, which he says was "twice as many as during the height of the
preceding dynasty" (Bielenstein, "Wang Mang, the Restoration of the Han
Dynasty, and Later Han," 259, 314). The actual size of the harem probably
cannot be known for certain. The attribution of a harem of ten thousand
women to the First Emperor is no doubt an exaggeration, the term "ten
thousand" simply connoting "a great many." In the case of Emperor Huan,
however, the amount five to six thousand appears in more than one place, one
being a quotation from a contemporary source, while another citation says
10B.455, 62.2055, 66.2161). Because the contemporary figures were contained
in submissions to the throne and could therefore easily have been disproved,
it seems likely they were not too far from the truth. As shall be seen, similar
figures are mentioned for the Three States.
HHs, 10B.445. De Crespigny speculates that Emperor Huan's choice of nine
companions, a number with special significance, may indicate a pursuit of
Daoist or tantric sexual practices aimed at achieving immortality. Given
Emperor Huan's known interest in Daoism, such an interpretation does not
seem unreasonable. For an idea of what these practices might have been like,
see Harper, "The Sexual Arts of Ancient China," and for another glimpse of
sexual life in a Han harem, see Hinsch, Passions of the Cut Sleeve, 174.
Huan's lack of interest in his empress was hardly unique. Bielenstein has
noted that no Later Han empress from Emperors Ming through Huan
produced a son. He concludes that the emperors must have eschewed sexual
relations with their empresses, who were chosen for political reasons and to
whom they had no romantic attachment (Bielenstein, "The Restoration of the
Han Dynasty," 4:127). One would think that, given the machinations behind
some of the marriages, those who orchestrated them would have been eager
to have empresses produce heirs. If Bielenstein is correct, this clearly suggests
that it was difficult, even for someone as powerful as Liang Ji, to extend political
will into the inner apartments.
| Empresses and consorts | |