Empresses and consorts selections from Chen Shou's Records of the Three States with Pei Songzhi's commentary |
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The Book of Shu: Fascicle 34 |
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 | Empresses and consorts |  |
The Book of Shu: Fascicle 34
Xiao Pei or "Lesser Pei" was another name for Pei prefecture, administrative
seat of the kingdom of Pei, located at the modern city of Pei in the northern
part of modern Jiangsu. Liu Bei, the Former Sovereign (Xian zhu [OMITTED]), was
at this time (194-195) shepherd (mu [OMITTED]) of Yu province. The Shi yi ji [OMITTED]
[OMITTED] [Record of Collected Remnants] contains the following tale about Empress
Gan:
Empress Gan of the Former Sovereign was a native of Pei. She was
born of lowly origins in a small village. A physiognomist said of her,
ultimate palace (ji gong [OMITTED])." When the empress was grown, her
appearance was especially striking. When she reached eighteen, she
had a beautiful body and soft flesh, and she was seductive and
bewitching. The Former Sovereign summoned her within the silken
curtains. To anyone who gazed upon her from outside the window,
she was like drifted snow beneath the moon.
He'nan presented a jade figure that was three feet tall. The Former
Sovereign placed the jade figure in the empress's side apartments.
During the day he discussed military strategy and at night he
embraced the empress and amused himself with the jade figure. He
often exclaimed, "The nobility and virtue of jade is equal to that of
a gentleman (junzi [OMITTED]). How could it be made into the shape of
a person and one not amuse oneself with it?" The empress and the
jade figure were equally white and sleek, and people looking at them
nearly confused them. The favorites were not only envious of Empress
Gan but also of the jade figure. The empress often wanted to grind
it up and destroy it. She admonished the Former Sovereign, "In the
past, Zihan [OMITTED] did not consider jade precious, and the Spring and
Autumn Annuals praised him. Now, Wu and Wei have not yet been
exterminated; how can you continue to cherish a bewitching trifle?
Infatuation always gives rise to suspicion. Do not repeatedly fall into
it."
The Former Sovereign thereupon got rid of the jade figure. The
favorites all withdrew and remained distant from her. At the time
superior men spoke of Empress Gan as though she were a woman
of supernatural understanding.
chi and Its Relationship to the Genre Known as Chih-kuai hsiao-shuo,"
263-264)
The reference to Zihan comes from Zuo zhuan, Xian 15: "A man of Song
found a gem, and presented it to Zihan, who would not receive it. The man
said, `I showed it to a lapidary, who considered it to be valuable, and therefore
I ventured to offer it to you.' Zihan said, `What I consider valuable is not to
be covetous; what you consider valuable is your gem. If you give it to me,
we shall both lose what we consider to be valuable; we had better each keep
his own' " (Legge, The Chinese Classics, 5:470).
Being married to Liu Bei seems to have been a risky proposition. On two
occasions his wife of the moment was captured, once by Lü Bu and another
time by Cao Cao, and on this third occasion he was forced to abandon his
wife while fleeing Cao Cao's armies (Sgz, 9.277, 32.874, 875, 878, 38.969;
Hygz, 6.511-512, 515, 519). See also Chapter 4 above, in the section
"Marriage Patterns." Readers of this passage almost inevitably recall Xiang
Yu's [OMITTED] capture of Liu Bang's family. See Sj, 8.371; Watson, Records of the
Grand Historian: Han Dynasty, 1:68.
Dangyang was in the vicinity of the county by the same name in modern Hubei.
Changban has been identified as a site northeast of the modern county seat,
perhaps Mount Tianzhu [OMITTED]. See Su, San guo zhi jin zhu jin yi, 2:1861; Sgz
cidian, 230.
Zhao Yun originally served Gongsun Zan [OMITTED]. When Gongsun ordered
Liu Bei to help Tian Kai [OMITTED] stop Yuan Shao, Zhao Yun accompanied him
Liu Shan, Zhao became one of Liu Bei's generals and served him faithfully
until death (Sgz, 36.948-950).
Nanjun refers to the administrative seat of Nan commandery, also the seat
of Jing province. It was located on the Yangtze in the vicinity of modern
Jiangling [OMITTED], just south of where Liu abandoned Empress Gan. During his
struggles with Cao Cao and Sun Quan, Liu's activities were often centered in
this region.
Cf. Lj, 47.10b, which has mu [OMITTED] ("harmony") rather than the xiao [OMITTED] ("filial
piety") that appears here. Furthermore, the redaction in Shisan appears to have
an error here—jiao [OMITTED] ("teach") instead of the orthograpically similar jing [OMITTED]
("respect"). For another translation of the passage, see Legge, Lî Kî, 2:217.
The quotation is from the Gongyang Commentary under the year Yin 1. See
Chunqiu jingzhuan yinde, 1.
In fact it was not Emperor Gao who bestowed this title on his mother, but
Empress Lü. Emperor Gao posthumously gave her the title Lady of Illustrious
Spirit after he became emperor. Empress Lü added the title "empress" in the
seventh year of her reign (Hs, 1B.52, 3.99-100; Sgz jijie, 34.2a).
See HHs, 4.184. It is interesting that Zhuge Liang uses this example, for Lady
Liang had recently been stripped of the title empress, in 190, by Emperor Xian.
See Chapter 3, note 50.
Emperor Min refers to Emperor Xian (Liu Xie) of the Later Han. Min, which
means something like "beleaguered," was a posthumous title bestowed by Liu
Bei on Liu Xie after he was deposed by Cao Pi. Liu Bei adopted mourning
and treated the event as though the emperor had actually died (Sgz, 32.887;
Wang, Shi fa yanjiu, 53, 430-431). Following his death in 234, the Wei
bestowed on Liu Xie the title of Emperor Xian the Filial (HHs, 9.391), by
which title he was subsequently known. Zhuge Liang uses Min here in order
to deny the legitimacy of the Wei regime (Qian, San guo zhi bianyi, 2.2b). After
the title of Empress of Spiritual Recollection was bestowed, the empress was
reburied at Wenzhao Tumulus (Wenzhao ling [OMITTED]) with Emperor Ling
(HHs, 9.375, 10B.450).
"Cold springs" (han quan [OMITTED]) comes from the Classic of Poetry (Mao shi
32), a poem that is traditionally interpreted as having to do with the
appreciation due a mother. See Legge, The Chinese Classics, 4:42 (prole-gomena),
50-51.
See Lj, 6.4a. Ji Wuzi [OMITTED] of Lu [OMITTED] permitted a joint burial, but he pointed
out that it had not been the practice in high antiquity and this had not changed
since the Duke of Zhou.
Empress Wu's biography is also translated in Fang, The Chronicle of the Three
Kingdoms, 1:67. Chenliu occupied a portion of modern He'nan province.
Wu Yi, originally from Chenliu, went with Liu Yan to Shu, and he served as
leader of the gentlemen-of-the-household under Liu Zhang. He commanded
troops against Liu Bei at Fu [OMITTED] and surrendered to him. Once Liu Bei had
pacified Yi province, he made Wu Yi commissioner over the army (hu jun [OMITTED]
[OMITTED]) and general for punishing rebels (tao ni jiangjun [OMITTED]). Subsequently,
Shan until his death in 237/238 (Sgz, 45.1083-1084; Hygz, 6.536). Yi's name
was originally written [OMITTED] but seems to have been changed by Chen Shou to
avoid the taboo on Sima Yi's name (Hygz, 5.489n; Zztj, 69.2188; Fang, The
Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, 1:67-68).
Fa Zheng's home was in Fufeng [OMITTED], but at the beginning of the Jian'an period
he went to Shu to escape famine. He held several minor positions under Liu
Zhang, who sent him as an emissary to Liu Bei to persuade him to join in
attacking the religious rebel Zhang Lu in order to forestall Cao Cao's launching
a campaign into Yi province against Zhang. After Fa Zheng delivered the
message, he secretly advised Liu on how to displace Liu Zhang and take control
of Yi province. Subsequently, Fa became one of Liu Bei's supporters and
strategists in the struggle against Cao Cao. After Liu Bei became king of
Hanzhong [OMITTED], he made Fa Zheng his prefect of the masters of writing and
commissioner of the army.
The Palace of Enduring Joy (Changle gong [OMITTED]) was occupied by the
empresses dowager, who were commonly referred to by the name of the palace
as a means of respect.
Lady Sun was Sun Quan's younger sister, whom he gave in marriage to Liu
Bei when Liu was shepherd of Jing province, and who was apparently very
formidable (see also the discussion and note 3 in Chapter 4 above). She is said
to have been tough and to have had over a hundred female attendants who
went about armed. Every time Liu Bei saw her, "his heart turned cold." So
daunting was she that Fa Zheng advised Liu Bei to send her back, and Zhuge
Liang considered her capable of instigating an uprising in support of her
brother. When Sun Quan learned of Liu Bei's western campaign in 211, he
sent a boat to fetch her back. She tried to take Liu Shan with her but was
stopped by Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei (Yun biezhuan [OMITTED] [Alternative
Biography of Zhao Yun], quoted in Sgz, 36.949, commentary; Sgz, 37.960;
Hygz, 6.520, 525; Zztj, 66.2099, 2111; de Crespigny, To Establish Peace,
2:407, 431, 475; de Crespigny, Generals of the South, 294, 294-295n, 371).
Significantly, neither Chen Shou nor Chang Qu, author of Hygz, wrote a
biography for her.
This is a reference to an incident in the seventh century B.C. When the heir
apparent to the Jin throne, Ziyu, went to Qin as a hostage, the earl of Qin
gave him a wife named Ying [OMITTED]. Five years later, Ziyu fled to Jin, leaving the
wife behind. The following year, his father Duke Hui of Jin [OMITTED] died, and
Ziyu succeeded him as Duke Huai [OMITTED]. Chong'er, who was Ziyu's uncle (he
was a half brother of Duke Hui, his mother being a sister of Duke Hui's mother)
and a rival for the throne, fled to Qin. There the earl presented him with five
women, one of whom was this very Ying, who had been Ziyu's wife. Chong'er
was reluctant to accept her because he and Ziyu were of the same lineage.
One of his followers said to him, "You are going to attack his state. Why worry
about his former wife? If you accept her in order to cement relations with Qin,
then you can ask [Qin's help] in entering [Jin]. Would you insist on adhering
to a minor point of etiquette and forgetting a major shame?!" (Sj, 39.1660;
Spring and Autumn Period," 51-52n).
A non-Chinese of Cong [OMITTED] origins, Li Xiong was the ruler of a petty state,
Cheng Han [OMITTED], in what is now modern Sichuan. He declared himself
emperor in 304 and ruled for thirty years (Js, 121.3035-3040; Hygz, 9.661701;
Wang, Wei Jin Nanbeichao shi, 1:224-228).
The location of Nan Tumulus is unknown. Sgz, 33.897 gives the date of the
death of the Attentive and Lamented Empress Zhang as summer, the sixth
month (10 July-7 August) of Jianxing 15. For another rendering of her
biography, see Fang, The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, 1:548.
These were sacrifices normally offered by the Han emperors. The sacrifices at
the suburban altars (jiao [OMITTED]) were performed seasonally. Originally offered
to the Five Di, following the reforms of 31 B.C., they were done in honor of
Heaven and Earth. The Later Han continued to offer the sacrifices based on
the reforms. After the breakup of the Han into the Three States, each of the
three instituted its own altars for conducting suburban sacrifices. Altars to Soil
and Millet could be established not only at the national level but also in
kingdoms and marquisates. It was not necessary to set up both types of altars,
and the altar to Soil appears to have been more common, especially outside
the capital. The term "altars to Soil and Millet" was sometimes synonymous
with the state (Xu, Xi Han huigao 10:81-86, 11:92-93; DHhy, 3:27, 4:33,
5:41; Sghy, 11.202-206, 209; Yang, Han Wei zhidu congkao, 394-395;
Loewe, Crisis and Conflict in Han China, 167, 170, 174-175, 179, 183).
Xiang Lang was a prefectural magistrate in Jing province under Liu Biao.
Following Liu Biao's death, Xiang became one of Liu Bei's supporters, and
after Liu gained control of Shu, Xiang was successively administrator of several
commanderies. After Liu Bei died, Xiang held several offices under the Latter
Sovereign until he had a falling out with Zhuge Liang, after which he was
dismissed for a time. Following the death of Zhuge Liang, he was made general
of the left and appointed marquis of Xianming commune (Xianming tinghou
[OMITTED]). He died in Yanxi 10 (247/248; see Sgz, 41.1010).
Sgz, 33.897 says, "In spring, the fifth month of Yanxi 1 (February 238), [the
Latter Sovereign] made Madam Zhang empress. He declared a general amnesty
and changed the reign title. He made his son Xuan [OMITTED] heir apparent and his
son Yao [OMITTED] king of Anding [OMITTED]." Cf. Fang, The Chronicle of the Three
Kingdoms, 1:571, 588.
Following the Wei conquest of Shu, Liu Shan, his sons, and many of his
supporters were moved to Luoyang, where they were given sinecures (Sgz,
33.901-902).
Xu Jing, a native of Ru'nan, held office under Dong Zhuo when the latter
took control of the government following the death of Emperor Ling. Xu was
involved in recommending a number of persons for office, and once they had
assumed their posts, they began to oppose Dong. Xu was forced to flee for
his life. Because of Xu's ability, Liu Zhang invited him to Shu and appointed
him administrator of Ba and Guanghan. After Liu Bei conquered Shu, he
appointed Xu to a series of offices culminating, after Liu assumed the imperial
title, in grand tutor (Sgz, 38.963-967).
Green was the color associated with the East, where Lu was located. At the
time, the region was under control of the Wei. By nominally appointing Liu
Yong to a benefice there, Liu Bei was asserting his legitimacy over all the empire.
Sun Quan also followed this practice (Js, 14.414; Zztj, 69.2189).
Mt. Gui and Mt. Meng were synonymous with the Lu state. Mt. Gui is in
northeastern Sishui [OMITTED] county and Mt. Meng is in southern Mengyin [OMITTED]
[OMITTED] county, both in Shandong province. Both are part of the Mengshan range.
This line is an allusion to the Classic of Poetry (Mao shi 300).
This, too, is an allusion to Mao shi 300. Our rendering of the sentence follows
Imataka, Inami, and Kominami, Sangoku shi, 2:351 n. 5.
Ganling straddled the border between present-day Shandong and Hebei, and
at the time was under the control of Wei.
Huang Hao was a eunuch who became a favorite of Liu Shan. His baleful
influence over Liu and the government from about 258 on is credited with
contributing to Shu's decline (Sgz, 33.899, 39.987, 44.1066; Wang, Wei Jin
Nanbeichao shi, 1:96).
This is another case of appointing a scion of the Liu house to a kingdom that
was under the control of the Wei. Liang was in modern eastern He'nan near
Shangqiu [OMITTED] city.
Anping was in eastern Hebei in the vicinity of modern Anping, Hengshui [OMITTED]
[OMITTED], and neighboring counties. It, too, was under Wei control.
On Zhong Hui, see Fascicle 5, note 140 above. Liu Xuan's biography is also
in Fang, The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, 1:589.
Li Shi became ruler of the Cheng Han in 338, following the death of his father
Li Shou [OMITTED], who had emerged as ruler of the Cheng Han after the struggles
over the throne following the death of Li Xiong in 334. In 346/347, Huan
Wen [OMITTED] (312-373), then commander-in-chief and provincial inspector of
Jing province, took advantage of the internal political struggle and chaos in
Cheng Han and launched an expedition into Southwest China, destroying the
Cheng Han and forcing Li Shi to surrender (Js, 8.191, 98.2569, 121.30473048;
Wang, Wei Jin Nanbeichao shigang, 1:227-228). Sun says that Li
"spuriously appointed" Xuan because he did not consider Li to be the
legitimate ruler.
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