Records of Wei 5: Biographies of Empresses and Consorts

Records of Wei 5: Biographies of Empresses and Consorts

Preface

序

The Book of Changes says, “The man takes his proper place without, the woman takes her proper place within; that man and woman are in their proper places is the great principle of Heaven and Earth.” Of the wise kings of antiquity, none failed to make clear the institutions for empresses and consorts and so accord with the virtue of Heaven and Earth. Thus when the two consorts were wed into the house of Gui, the Way of Yu flourished greatly; when Ren and Si were matched with the Ji, the house of Zhou shone bright. Rise and fall, survival and ruin, have always come from this. The Commentary on the Spring and Autumn says the Son of Heaven has twelve women and the feudal lords nine; weighed by reason and feeling, this is an unchanging rule.

易稱「男正位乎外，女正位乎內；男女正，天地之大義也」。古先哲王，莫不明后妃之制，順天地之德，故二妃嬪媯，虞道克隆，任、姒配姬，周室用熈，廢興存亡，恆此之由。春秋說云天子十二女，諸侯九女，考之情理，不易之典也。

But in later ages extravagance and license gave free rein to excessive desire, until men and women were left resentful and unmated and the harmony of the vital forces was disturbed. Beauty alone was prized and virtue and goodness were not made the root, so that moral teaching declined and the great bonds of order were destroyed. Is this not to be lamented? Alas! Those who hold a state or a house may take this as an everlasting mirror!

而末世奢縱，肆其侈欲，至使男女怨曠，感動和氣，惟色是崇，不本淑懿，故風教陵遲而大綱毀泯，豈不惜哉！嗚呼，有國有家者，其可以永鑒矣！

Under the Han system, the emperor's grandmother was called Grand Empress Dowager, the emperor's mother Empress Dowager, and the emperor's consort Empress, and the other palace women were of fourteen grades. Wei followed the Han law, and the titles of the empress mothers were all as in the old system, but from the Furen (Lady) downward there were additions and reductions from reign to reign. When Taizu founded his state, he first appointed a Queen, and below her five grades: the Furen, the Zhaoyi, the Jieyu, the Ronghua, and the Meiren. Emperor Wen added the Guipin, the Shuyuan, the Xiurong, the Shuncheng, and the Liangren.

漢制，帝祖母曰太皇太后，帝母曰皇太后，帝妃曰皇后，其餘內官十有四等。魏因漢法，母后之號皆如舊制，自夫人以下，世有增損。太祖建國，始命王后，其下五等：有夫人，有昭儀，有倢伃，有容華，有美人。文帝增貴嬪、淑媛、脩容、順成、良人。

Emperor Ming added the Shufei, the Zhaohua, and the Xiuyi, and abolished the post of Shuncheng. During the Taihe era the Furen was first appointed again, and her rank was raised above the Shufei.

明帝增淑妃、昭華、脩儀；除順成官。太和中始復命夫人，登其位於淑妃之上。

From the Furen downward there were twelve ranks in all. The Guipin and the Furen stood next to the Empress, and their rank had no outside equivalent. The Shufei's position corresponded to that of the Chancellor of State, and her rank was comparable to that of a king of the imperial house. The Shuyuan's position corresponded to the Imperial Counsellor, and her rank was comparable to a county duke. The Zhaoyi was comparable to a county marquis, the Zhaohua to a district marquis, the Xiurong to a village marquis, and the Xiuyi to a Marquis Within the Passes. The Jieyu corresponded to an official of full two thousand shi, the Ronghua to one of true two thousand shi, the Meiren to one of equivalent two thousand shi, and the Liangren to one of a thousand shi.

自夫人以下爵凡十二等：貴嬪、夫人，位次皇后，爵無所視；淑妃位視相國，爵比諸侯王；淑媛位視御史大夫，爵比縣公；昭儀比縣侯；昭華比鄉侯；脩容比亭侯；脩儀比關內侯；倢伃視中二千石；容華視真二千石；美人視比二千石；良人視千石。

Empress Bian (Wuxuan)

武宣卞皇后

Empress Bian (Wuxuan) was a native of Kaiyang in Langya and the mother of Emperor Wen. She came from a family of entertainers. When she was twenty, Taizu took her as a concubine at Qiao. Later she followed Taizu to Luoyang. When Dong Zhuo raised his disorder, Taizu slipped away east in plain clothes to escape the trouble. Yuan Shu sent word that Taizu had died, and Taizu's attendants who had come to Luoyang all wished to go home. The Empress stopped them, saying, “Lord Cao's fate is not yet known. If we go home today and tomorrow he turns out to be alive, with what face shall we see him again?

武宣卞皇后，琅邪開陽人，文帝母也。本倡家，¹年二十，太祖於譙納后爲妾。後隨太祖至洛。及董卓爲亂，太祖微服東出避難。袁術傳太祖凶問，時太祖左右至洛者皆欲歸，后止之曰：「曹君吉凶未可知，今日還家，明日若在，何面目復相見也？

Even if disaster comes, what hardship is there in dying together?” They followed her advice. When Taizu heard of it he thought well of her. At the beginning of Jian'an, when Lady Ding was set aside, Taizu made the Empress his principal wife. All his sons who had no mother Taizu had her raise. When Emperor Wen became Crown Prince, the chief attendants around her congratulated her, saying, “The General has been made Crown Prince and there is no one in the realm who does not rejoice. You ought to empty your storehouses in rewards.” She said, “The King chose Pi as his heir only because he is the eldest. I should count myself fortunate merely to have escaped blame for failing to teach and guide him. Why should I hand out lavish gifts?”

正使禍至，共死何苦！」遂從后言。太祖聞而善之。建安初，丁夫人廢，遂以后爲繼室。諸子無母者，太祖皆令后養之。¹文帝爲太子，左右長御賀后曰：「將軍拜太子，天下莫不歡喜，后當傾府藏賞賜。」后曰：「王自以丕年大，故用爲嗣，我但當以免無教導之過爲幸耳，亦何爲當重賜遺乎！」

The chief attendant returned and reported all this to Taizu. Taizu was pleased and said, “To show no change of face in anger and not to lose restraint in joy—this is the hardest thing of all.”

長御還，具以語太祖。太祖悅曰：「怒不變容，喜不失節，故是最爲難。」

In the twenty-fourth year she was made Queen. The patent read, “The Furen Lady Bian has nurtured and raised the sons and possesses the virtue of a mother's example. She is now raised to the rank of Queen. The Crown Prince and the marquises shall attend in their places, the ministers shall offer their wishes for her long life, and capital crimes within the state shall be reduced by one degree.” In the twenty-fifth year Taizu died and Emperor Wen took the royal throne; he honored her as Queen Dowager, and when he ascended the imperial throne he honored her as Empress Dowager, with the title Yongshou Palace. When Emperor Ming took the throne he honored her as Grand Empress Dowager.

二十四年，拜爲王后，策曰：「夫人卞氏，撫養諸子，有母儀之德。今進位王后，太子諸侯陪位，羣卿上壽，減國內死罪一等。」二十五年，太祖崩，文帝即王位，尊后曰王太后，及踐阼，尊后曰皇太后，稱永壽宮。¹明帝即位，尊太后曰太皇太后。

During the Huangchu era Emperor Wen wished to confer posthumous fiefs on the Empress Dowager's father and mother. The Master of Writing Chen Qun memorialized, “Your Majesty, by your sage virtue, has answered the turn of fortune and received the Mandate, founding the dynasty and reforming its institutions, and ought to set a model for all later ages. Examining the texts of the classics, there is no institution of dividing land and conferring rank upon women. In the rites, a wife takes her rank from her husband. Qin went against the ancient law and the Han followed it, but this was not a fine statute of the former kings.” The Emperor said, “This counsel is right. Let it not be carried out.

黃初中，文帝欲追封太后父母，尚書陳羣奏曰：「陛下以聖德應運受命，創業革制，當永爲後式。案典籍之文，無婦人分土命爵之制。在禮典，婦因夫爵。秦違古法，漢氏因之，非先王之令典也。」帝曰：「此議是也，其勿施行。

Have this made into an edict, sent down and stored in the Secretariat as a model for all later ages.” It was not until the spring of the fourth year of Taihe that Emperor Ming posthumously titled the Empress Dowager's grandfather Bian Guang as Marquis Gong of Kaiyang and her father Bian Yuan as Marquis Jing, enfeoffed her grandmother Lady Zhou as Lady of Yangdu, and, together with the wife of Marquis Jing, granted them all seals and ribbons. In the fifth month of that year the Empress died. In the seventh month she was buried jointly at Gaoling.

以作著詔下藏之臺閣，永爲後式。」至太和四年春，明帝乃追謚太后祖父廣曰開陽恭侯，父遠曰敬侯，祖母周封陽都君及敬侯夫人，皆贈印綬。其年五月，后崩。七月，合葬高陵。

Earlier, the Empress Dowager's younger brother Bian Bing had been enfeoffed for his merit as Marquis of a Chief District; in the seventh year of Huangchu he was promoted to Marquis of Kaiyang with a fief of twelve hundred households, and was made General of Brilliant Valor. When Bing died, his son Bian Lan succeeded him. Lan had talent and learning from his youth and became Commandant of Imperial Carriages and General of Roving Cavalry, with the added post of Regular Mounted Attendant. When Lan died, his son Bian Hui succeeded him. Bing's fief was also divided to enfeoff Lan's younger brother Bian Lin as a full marquis, and Lin rose to Colonel of Infantry. The daughter of Lan's son Bian Long became Empress to the Duke of Gaogui District, and as the Empress's father Long became Grand Master of Splendid Happiness with the status of Specially Advanced and was enfeoffed as Marquis of Suiyang District, while his wife, Lady Wang, was made Lady of Xianyang District.

初，太后弟秉，以功封都鄉侯，黃初七年進封開陽侯，邑千二百戶，爲昭烈將軍。¹秉薨，子蘭嗣。少有才學，²爲奉車都尉、游擊將軍，加散騎常侍。蘭薨，子暉嗣。³又分秉爵，封蘭弟琳爲列侯，官至步兵校尉。蘭子隆女爲高貴鄉公皇后，隆以后父爲光祿大夫，位特進，封睢陽鄉侯，妻王爲顯陽鄉君。

Long's former wife, Lady Liu, was posthumously enfeoffed as Lady of Shunyang District, because she was the Empress's birth mother. Lin's daughter also became Empress to the King of Chenliu; as Lin was already dead by then, his wife, Lady Liu, was enfeoffed as Lady of Guangyang District.

追封隆前妻劉爲順陽鄉君，后親母故也。琳女又爲陳留王皇后，時琳已沒，封琳妻劉爲廣陽鄉君。

Empress Zhen (Wenzhao)

文昭甄皇后

Empress Zhen (Wenzhao) was a native of Wuji in Zhongshan and the mother of Emperor Ming. She was a descendant of the Han Grand Guardian Zhen Han, and her family had held offices of two thousand shi for generations. Her father, Zhen Yi, was Prefect of Shangcai. She lost her father at the age of three. Later, when the realm fell into war and famine came on top of it, the common people all sold their gold, silver, pearls, jade, and other treasures. At that time the Empress's family had great stores of grain and bought up a good deal of them. The Empress, then a little over ten years old, said to her mother, “The world is now in chaos, yet we are buying up many treasures. A common man is guiltless, but holding a jade disc becomes his crime.

文昭甄皇后，中山無極人，明帝母，漢太保甄邯後也，世吏二千石。父逸，上蔡令。后三歲失父。 ¹後天下兵亂，加以饑饉，百姓皆賣金銀珠玉寶物，時后家大有儲谷，頗以買之。后年十餘歲，白母曰：「今世亂而多買寶物，匹夫無罪，懷璧為罪。

Besides, everyone around us is starving. It would be better to relieve our kin and neighbors with grain and spread our kindness widely.” The whole household praised her advice and followed it at once.

又左右皆飢乏，不如以穀振給親族鄰里，廣為恩惠也。」舉家稱善，即從后言。 ¹

During the Jian'an era Yuan Shao took her as wife for his second son, Yuan Xi. When Xi went out to You Province, she stayed behind to care for her mother-in-law. When Ji Province was pacified, Emperor Wen took her at Ye; she enjoyed his favor and bore Emperor Ming and the Princess of Dongxiang.

建安中，袁紹為中子熙納之。熙出為幽州，后留養姑。及冀州平，文帝納后於鄴，有寵，生明帝及東鄉公主。 ¹

In the first month of the first year of Yankang, Emperor Wen took the royal throne. In the sixth month he campaigned south, and the Empress stayed at Ye. In the tenth month of the first year of Huangchu the Emperor ascended the imperial throne. After he ascended, the Duke of Shanyang presented his two daughters as consorts to Wei, and Empress Guo and the Honored Ladies Li and Yin all enjoyed favor, so that the Empress lost favor all the more and spoke resentful words. The Emperor was furious, and in the sixth month of the second year he sent an envoy to order her death. She was buried at Ye.

延康元年正月，文帝即王位，六月，南征，后留鄴。黃初元年十月，帝踐阼。踐阼之後，山陽公奉二女以嬪於魏，郭后、李、陰貴人並愛幸，后愈失意，有怨言。帝大怒，二年六月，遣使賜死，葬於鄴。 ¹

When Emperor Ming took the throne, the officials requested a posthumous title for her. The Minister of Works Wang Lang was sent, bearing the imperial tally and the patent, to announce it at her tomb with a full sacrifice of ox, sheep, and pig, and a separate shrine was established for her.

明帝即位，有司奏請追諡，使司空王朗持節奉策以太牢告祠於陵，又別立寢廟。 ¹

In the third month of the first year of Taihe, Zhen Yi was posthumously enfeoffed with a thousand households of Ancheng District in Weichang, Zhongshan, and titled Marquis Jing; his grandson in the principal line, Zhen Xiang, inherited the title. In the fourth month, when work first began on the ancestral temple, a jade seal was dug up from the ground, one inch and nine-tenths square, bearing the inscription “The Son of Heaven longs for his loving parent.” Emperor Ming's expression changed at this, and he reported it to the temple with a full sacrifice. He had also once seen the Empress in a dream, and so he ranked his maternal relatives by closeness and standing and employed each of them accordingly, bestowing rewards amounting to tens of millions. He made Zhen Xiang General of the Household of the Tiger Guard.

太和元年三月，以中山魏昌之安城鄉戶千，追封逸，諡曰敬侯；適孫像襲爵。四月，初營宗廟，掘地得玉璽，方一寸九分，其文曰「天子羨思慈親」，明帝為之改容，以太牢告廟。又嘗夢見后，於是差次舅氏親疏高下，敘用各有差，賞賜累鉅萬；以像為虎賁中郎將。

That month the Empress's mother died; the Emperor put on the mourning garments of the fifth degree and attended the funeral, with all the officials present in their places. In the eleventh month of the fourth year, because the Empress's old tomb was low and mean, he had Zhen Xiang serve concurrently as Grand Commandant and go to Ye bearing the tally to make formal announcement to the Earth Sovereign; in the twelfth month she was reburied at the Zhaoyang Mausoleum. On his return Xiang was transferred to Regular Mounted Attendant. In the spring of the second year of Qinglong, the Empress's elder brother Zhen Yan was posthumously titled Marquis Mu of Ancheng District. In the summer, when the Wu bandits raided Yang Province, Xiang was made General Who Calms the Waves and, bearing the tally, supervised the generals on the eastern campaign; on his return he again became Colonel of Archers Who Shoot at a Sound.

是月，后母薨，帝制緦服臨喪，百僚陪位。四年十一月，以后舊陵庳下，使像兼太尉，持節詣鄴，昭告后土，十二月，改葬朝陽陵。像還，遷散騎常侍。青龍二年春，追諡后兄儼曰安城鄉穆侯。夏，吳賊寇揚州，以像為伏波將軍，持節監諸將東征，還，復為射聲校尉。

Xiang died in the third year and was posthumously made General of the Guard; his fief was changed to Weichang County and he was titled Marquis Zhen. His son Zhen Chang succeeded him. Chang's younger brothers Zhen Wen, Zhen Wei, and Zhen Yan were also all enfeoffed as full marquises. In the fourth year, the original fiefs of Zhen Yi and of the Empress's brother Zhen Yan were both changed to Marquis of Weichang, with their posthumous titles kept as before. Zhen Yan's wife, Lady Liu, was enfeoffed as Lady of Dongxiang, and Zhen Yi's wife, Lady Zhang, was posthumously enfeoffed as Lady of Anxi.

三年薨，追贈衛將軍，改封魏昌縣，諡曰貞侯；子暢嗣。又封暢弟溫、韡、艷皆為列侯。四年，改逸、儼本封皆曰魏昌侯，諡因故。封儼世婦劉為東鄉君，又追封逸世婦張為安喜君。

In the summer of the first year of Jingchu the officials deliberated and settled the Seven Temples. In winter they memorialized again: “When an emperor or king arises, there is a ruler who receives the Mandate, and also a sage consort in harmony with the spirits; only then can his line prosper and the royal enterprise be achieved. Of old, Gaoxin divined that the sons of his four consorts would all possess the realm, and Di Zhi, Taotang, Shang, and Zhou rose in turn. The men of Zhou traced their line back to Houji and matched him with August Heaven in sacrifice; recounting the origin of their kings, they rooted it in Jiang Yuan, built a special temple for her, and made offerings to her generation after generation. This is what the Rites of Zhou means by ‘Play the Yize pitch, sing to the Zhonglu pitch, and dance the Great Huo, to make offering to the ancestress.’

景初元年夏，有司議定七廟。冬，又奏曰：「蓋帝王之興，既有受命之君，又有聖妃協於神靈，然後克昌厥世，以成王業焉。昔高辛氏卜其四妃之子皆有天下，而帝摯、陶唐、商、周代興。周人上推后稷，以配皇天，追述王初，本之姜嫄，特立宮廟，世世享嘗，周禮所謂『奏夷則，歌中呂，舞大濩，以享先妣』者也。

The poet praised her: ‘She who first gave birth to our people
Was Jiang Yuan’—speaking of the root of royal transformation and the source from which the people came. And again: ‘The secluded temple is still and deep,
Solid and finely wrought;
Glorious is Jiang Yuan,
Her virtue never swerved.’ Such was the splendor of the house of Ji celebrated in the Odes and the Rites. The destiny of great Wei continues that of the Lord of Yu, yet it has exalted and broadened the imperial Way, growing ever more glorious over three reigns, and the number of its temples is in truth the same as that of Zhou. Now Empress Wuxuan and Empress Wende are each matched with the boundless blessings of the dynasty; as for Empress Wenzhao, she received the numinous token of Heaven and bore and raised a wise and sage ruler; her merit succors the people, her virtue fills the universe, and she opened the way for all later heirs—she is the source from which the Way's transformation arises.

詩人頌之曰：『厥初生民，時維姜嫄。』言王化之本，生民所由。又曰：『閟宮有侐，實實枚枚，赫赫姜嫄，其德不回。』詩、禮所稱姬宗之盛，其美如此。大魏期運，繼於有虞，然崇弘帝道，三世彌隆，廟祧之數，實與周同。今武宣皇后、文德皇后各配無窮之祚，至於文昭皇后膺天靈符，誕育明聖，功濟生民，德盈宇宙，開諸後嗣，乃道化之所興也。

The special sacrifices at her shrine are likewise the secluded temple of Jiang Yuan. Yet no rule has been set down that it shall never be removed, and we fear that the principle of honoring merit and repaying virtue may someday lapse over the ages; that is no way to make filial piety shine or to show it to later generations. The Temple of Wenzhao should receive sacrifices with music generation after generation, the same as the ancestral temples, and the statute that it is never to be removed should be set down for all time, so as to spread the influence of her sagely goodness.” This was then engraved on golden tablets together with the deliberation on the Seven Temples and stored in a golden casket.

寢廟特祀，亦姜嫄之閟宮也，而未著不毀之制，懼論功報德之義，萬世或闕焉，非所以昭孝示後世也。文昭廟宜世世享祀奏樂，與祖廟同，永著不毀之典，以播聖善之風。」於是與七廟議並勒金策，藏之金匱。

The Emperor never ceased to think fondly of his mother's family. Zhen Chang was still young, but at the end of Jingchu he was made Colonel of Archers Who Shoot at a Sound with the added post of Regular Mounted Attendant, and a great mansion was specially built for him, which the Emperor visited in person. In its rear garden a memorial temple was also built for Zhen Xiang's mother, and the ward was named Weiyang Ward, in remembrance of the Emperor's mother's kin. In the first month of the third year of Jiaping, Chang died; he was posthumously made General of Chariots and Cavalry and titled Marquis Gong. His son Zhen Shao succeeded him.

帝思念舅氏不已。暢尚幼，景初末，以暢為射聲校尉，加散騎常侍，又特為起大第，車駕親自臨之。又於其后園為像母起觀廟，名其里曰渭陽里，以追思母氏也。嘉平三年正月，暢薨，追贈車騎將軍，諡曰恭侯；子紹嗣。

In the sixth year of Taihe, Emperor Ming's beloved daughter Shu died. He posthumously enfeoffed and titled her Princess Yi of Pingyuan and built a temple for her. He had the Empress's late grandnephew Zhen Huang buried with her and posthumously enfeoffed Huang as a full marquis, and made Guo De, a younger cousin of the Furen Lady Guo, Huang's heir, taking the Zhen surname; De was enfeoffed as Marquis of Pingyuan and inherited the princess's rank. During the Qinglong era, the son of the Empress's elder cousin, Zhen Yi, and three of Zhen Xiang's younger brothers were also all enfeoffed as full marquises.

太和六年，明帝愛女淑薨，追封諡淑為平原懿公主，為之立廟。取后亡從孫黃與合葬，追封黃列侯，以夫人郭氏從弟德為之後，承甄氏姓，封德為平原侯，襲公主爵。 ¹青龍中，又封后從兄子毅及像弟三人，皆為列侯。

Zhen Yi submitted many memorials on the affairs of the day and rose to Colonel of Elite Cavalry. During the Jiaping era two of Zhen Chang's sons were again enfeoffed as full marquises. The granddaughter of the Empress's elder brother Zhen Yan became Empress to the King of Qi; since that Empress's father was already dead, her mother was enfeoffed as Lady of Guangle District.

毅數上疏陳時政，官至越騎校尉。嘉平中，復封暢子二人為列侯。后兄儼孫女為齊王皇后，后父已沒，封后母為廣樂鄉君。

Empress Guo (Wende)

文德郭皇后

Empress Guo (Wende) was a native of Guangzong in Anping. Her forebears had been senior local officials for generations. When she was small, her father, Guo Yong, thought her remarkable and said, “This one is a king among my daughters.” So she was given the courtesy name Nuwang, “Woman King.” She lost both parents early, wandered amid the upheavals, and ended up in the household of the Marquis of Tongdi. When Taizu was Duke of Wei, she was able to enter the Eastern Palace. She had wit and resourcefulness and from time to time offered counsel. When Emperor Wen was settled as heir, she had a hand in the planning. When the Crown Prince took the royal throne she became a Furen, and when he ascended the imperial throne she became a Guipin.

文德郭皇后，安平廣宗人也。祖世長吏。 ¹后少而父永奇之曰：「此乃吾女中王也。」遂以女王為字。早失二親，喪亂流離，沒在銅鞮侯家。太祖為魏公時，得入東宮。后有智數，時時有所獻納。文帝定為嗣，后有謀焉。太子即王位，后為夫人，及踐阼，為貴嬪。

The death of Empress Zhen came about because of this Empress's favor. In the third year of Huangchu, as she was about to be raised to empress and Emperor Wen wished to make her Empress, the Gentleman of the Household Zhan Qian memorialized: “When the emperors and kings of old governed the realm, they relied not only on help from without but also on aid from within; order and disorder came from it, and rise and decline followed it. Thus the lady of Xiling was matched with the Yellow Emperor, and Ying and E went down to wed into the house of Gui; all were wise and discerning, and their fame has come down from high antiquity. Jie fled to Nanchao, the step to his disaster being Mo Xi; Zhou used the roasting pillar to delight Daji.

甄后之死，由后之寵也。黃初三年，將登后位，文帝欲立為后，中郎棧潛上疏曰：「在昔帝王之治天下，不惟外輔，亦有內助，治亂所由，盛衰從之。故西陵配黃，英娥降媯，並以賢明，流芳上世。桀奔南巢，禍階末喜；紂以炮烙，怡悅妲己。

Therefore the sage and wise were careful in setting up a principal consort; they always took her from a family of hereditary standing in earlier generations and chose one of fine virtue to govern the Six Palaces, reverently serve the ancestral temple, and cultivate the teaching of the inner quarters. The Book of Changes says, ‘When the way of the household is correct, the realm is settled.’ To proceed from within to without is the fine statute of the former kings. The Spring and Autumn records the master of ceremonies Xin Xia saying that there is no rite for making a concubine the principal wife, and Duke Huan of Qi, in his oath at Kuiqiu, also declared, ‘Do not make a concubine a wife.’

是以聖哲慎立元妃，必取先代世族之家，擇其令淑以統六宮，虔奉宗廟，陰教聿修。易曰：『家道正而天下定。』由內及外，先王之令典也。春秋書宗人釁夏云，無以妾為夫人之禮。齊桓誓命於葵丘，亦曰『無以妾為妻』。

Now the favorite of the rear palace is always placed next to the imperial carriage. If she is raised to empress out of love, making a lowly person suddenly noble, I fear that in later ages those below will overbear those above, the lawless will be given free rein, and disorder will arise from the top.” Emperor Wen did not heed him and at length made her Empress.

今后宮嬖寵，常亞乘輿。若因愛登后，使賤人暴貴，臣恐後世下陵上替，開張非度，亂自上起也。」文帝不從，遂立為皇后。 ¹

Having lost her brothers early, the Empress made her elder cousin Guo Biao heir to Guo Yong and had him appointed Commandant of Imperial Carriages. When Liu Fei, a relative on her mother's side, arranged a marriage with someone from another region, the Empress heard of it and issued an order: “When my relatives marry, they should naturally do so with families of equal standing from their own home district, and must not use their influence to force marriages with people from elsewhere.” When her sister's son Meng Wu returned to his home district and sought a concubine, she stopped him. She then ordered the families, “Women are few in the world today and ought to be matched with officers and soldiers. You must not take them as concubines through your connections. Let each of you be careful, lest you be the first to be punished.”

后早喪兄弟，以從兄表繼永後，拜奉車都尉。后外親劉斐與他國為婚，后聞之，敕曰：「諸親戚嫁娶，自當與鄉里門戶匹敵者，不得因勢，強與他方人婚也。」后姊子孟武還鄉里，求小妻，后止之。遂敕諸家曰：「今世婦女少，當配將士，不得因緣取以為妾也。宜各自慎，無為罰首。」¹

In the fifth year, when the Emperor campaigned east, the Empress stayed at the Yongshi Terrace in Xuchang. At that time it rained for more than a hundred days and many of the city towers collapsed, so the officials requested that she move elsewhere. She said, “Of old, when King Zhao of Chu went on an outing, Zhen Jiang stayed at the Jian Terrace. When the river waters rose, an envoy came to fetch her but carried no tally, so she would not leave and in the end was drowned. Now the Emperor is far away, and I have fortunately not yet met such danger; how can I move at once?” None of the ministers dared speak again. In the sixth year, when the Emperor campaigned east against Wu and reached Guangling, the Empress stayed at the palace in Qiao.

五年，帝東征，后留許昌永始臺。時霖雨百餘日，城樓多壞，有司奏請移止。后曰：「昔楚昭王出遊，貞姜留漸臺，江水至，使者迎而無符，不去，卒沒。今帝在遠，吾幸未有是患，而便移止，奈何？」群臣莫敢復言。六年，帝東征吳，至廣陵，后留譙宮。

At that time Guo Biao remained behind on guard duty and wished to dam the water to catch fish. The Empress said, “The waterway must be kept open for grain transport, and timber is scarce besides; his slaves and retainers are not at hand, so he will again take government bamboo and wood privately to build a dam. Is it fish that the Commandant of Imperial Carriages lacks now?”

時表留宿衛，欲遏水取魚。后曰：「水當通運漕，又少材木，奴客不在目前，當復私取官竹木作梁遏。今奉車所不足者，豈魚乎？」

When Emperor Ming took the throne he honored her as Empress Dowager, with the title Yongan Palace. In the fourth year of Taihe an edict enfeoffed Guo Biao as Marquis of Anyang Village; he was further promoted to district marquis, his fief increased to a total of five hundred households, and he was transferred to General of the Central Fortifications. Biao's son Guo Xiang was made Chief Commandant of Cavalry. That year the Emperor posthumously titled the Empress Dowager's father Guo Yong as Marquis Jing of Anyang District and made her mother, Lady Dong, Lady of a Chief District. Biao was transferred to General of Manifest Virtue, given the gold seal and purple ribbon, and granted the status of Specially Advanced, and Biao's second son, Guo Xun, was made Chief Commandant of Cavalry.

明帝即位，尊后為皇太后，稱永安宮。太和四年，詔封表安陽亭侯，又進爵鄉侯，增邑並前五百戶，遷中壘將軍。以表子詳為騎都尉。其年，帝追諡太后父永為安陽鄉敬侯，母董為都鄉君。遷表昭德將軍，加金紫，位特進，表第二子訓為騎都尉。

When Meng Wu's mother died, he wished to give her a lavish burial and build an ancestral hall, but the Empress Dowager stopped him, saying, “Since the upheavals began, there is no tomb that has not been dug up, all because of lavish burials. The Shouyang Mausoleum should be your model.” In the spring of the third year of Qinglong, the Empress died at Xuchang. Her tomb was built in accordance with the Final Regulations, and on the gengyin day of the third month she was buried west of the Shouyang Mausoleum. The Emperor promoted Guo Biao to Marquis of Guanjin, adding five hundred households to make a thousand in all. Guo Xiang was transferred to Commandant of Attendant Cavalry.

及孟武母卒，欲厚葬，起祠堂，太后止之曰：「自喪亂以來，墳墓無不發掘，皆由厚葬也；首陽陵可以為法。」青龍三年春，后崩於許昌，以終制營陵，三月庚寅，葬首陽陵西。 ¹帝進表爵為觀津侯，增邑五百，並前千戶。遷詳為駙馬都尉。

In the fourth year Guo Yong's fief was posthumously changed to Marquis Jing of Guanjin, and his wife, Lady Dong, was made Lady of Tangyang. The Empress's elder brothers were posthumously enfeoffed and titled: Guo Fu as Marquis Dai of Liangli Village, Guo Du as Marquis Xiao of Wucheng Village, and Guo Cheng as Marquis Ding of Xinle Village; for each an envoy was sent bearing the patent to make offering with a full sacrifice. When Guo Biao died, his son Guo Xiang succeeded him, and Biao's fief was also divided to enfeoff Xiang's younger brother Guo Shu as a full marquis. When Xiang died, his son Guo Zhao succeeded him.

四年，追改封永為觀津敬侯，世婦董為堂陽君。追封諡后兄浮為梁里亭戴侯，都為武城亭孝侯，成為新樂亭定侯，皆使使者奉策，祠以太牢。表薨，子詳嗣，又分表爵封詳弟述為列侯。詳薨，子釗嗣。

Empress Mao (Mingdao)

明悼毛皇后

Empress Mao (Mingdao) was a native of Henei. During the Huangchu era she was selected to enter the Eastern Palace; Emperor Ming was then King of Pingyuan. She served him, enjoyed his favor, and rode in the same carriage with him wherever he went. When he took the imperial throne he made her a Guipin. In the first year of Taihe she was made Empress. Her father, Mao Jia, was appointed Chief Commandant of Cavalry, and her younger brother Mao Zeng a Gentleman of the Palace.

明悼毛皇后，河內人也。黃初中，以選入東宮，明帝時為平原王，進御有寵，出入與同輿輦。及即帝位，以為貴嬪。太和元年，立為皇后。后父嘉，拜騎都尉，后弟曾，郎中。

Earlier, when Emperor Ming was a king, he had taken Lady Yu of Henei as his consort, but when he took the throne she was not made Empress. The Grand Empress Dowager, Empress Dowager Bian, consoled and encouraged her. Lady Yu said, “The Cao family has always liked to raise up the lowly and has never been able to choose by what is right. Yet the empress manages the inner affairs while the ruler hears the outer government, and their ways depend on each other for success. If one cannot begin well, none has ever been able to end well. Surely this will lead to the loss of the state and the end of its sacrifices!”

初，明帝為王，始納河內虞氏為妃，帝即位，虞氏不得立為后，太皇卞太后慰勉焉。虞氏曰：「曹氏自好立賤，未有能以義舉者也。然后職內事，君聽外政，其道相由而成，苟不能以善始，未有能令終者也。殆必由此亡國喪祀矣！」

Lady Yu was then dismissed and sent back to the palace at Ye. Mao Jia was promoted to Commandant of Imperial Carriages and Mao Zeng to Chief Commandant of Cavalry, and the favors and gifts bestowed on them were lavish. Before long Jia was enfeoffed as Marquis of Boping District and transferred to Grand Master of Splendid Happiness, and Zeng became Commandant of Attendant Cavalry. Jia had originally been a carriage craftsman in the Dianyu office and had suddenly become rich and noble. When Emperor Ming had the court officials gather at his house for a banquet, his bearing and manners were exceedingly foolish and uncouth, and whenever he spoke he referred to himself as “this marquis,” which made him the laughingstock of the time. Later Jia was further given the status of Specially Advanced, and Zeng was transferred to Attendant Gentleman Cavalier.

虞氏遂絀還鄴宮。進嘉為奉車都尉，曾騎都尉，寵賜隆渥。頃之，封嘉博平鄉侯，遷光祿大夫，曾駙馬都尉。嘉本典虞車工，卒暴富貴，明帝令朝臣會其家飲宴，其容止舉動甚蚩騃，語輒自謂「侯身」，時人以為笑。 ¹後又加嘉位特進，曾遷散騎侍郎。

In the third year of Qinglong Mao Jia died; he was posthumously made Grand Master of Splendid Happiness, his fief was changed to Marquis of Anguo with five hundred households added to make a thousand in all, and he was titled Marquis Jie. In the fourth year the Empress's mother, Lady Xia, was posthumously enfeoffed as Lady of Yewang.

青龍三年，嘉薨，追贈光祿大夫，改封安國侯，增邑五百，並前千戶，諡曰節侯。四年，追封后母夏為野王君。

When the Emperor came to favor Empress Yuan of the Guo family, his love for the Empress waned by the day. In the first year of Jingchu the Emperor made an excursion to the rear garden and summoned the palace women of Cairen rank and above to a private banquet, enjoying himself to the full. Empress Yuan said, “The Empress ought to be invited,” but the Emperor refused. He then forbade those around him to let word of it out. The Empress learned of it, and the next day, when the Emperor saw her, she said, “Yesterday you feasted and made merry in the North Garden—did you enjoy it?” The Emperor, believing that his attendants had leaked it, had more than ten of them killed. He ordered the Empress to die, but still gave her a posthumous title and buried her at the Min Mausoleum.

帝之幸郭元后也，后愛寵日弛。景初元年，帝遊后園，召才人以上曲宴極樂。元后曰「宜延皇后」，帝弗許。乃禁左右，使不得宣。后知之，明日，帝見后，后曰：「昨日遊宴北園，樂乎？」帝以左右洩之，所殺十餘人。賜后死，然猶加諡，葬愍陵。

Mao Zeng was transferred to Regular Mounted Attendant, and later moved to General of the Household of the Yulin and Tiger Guards and Agricultural Commandant of Yuanwu.

遷曾散騎常侍，後徙為羽林虎賁中郎將、原武典農。

Empress Guo (Mingyuan)

明元郭皇后

Empress Guo (Mingyuan) was a native of Xiping, and for generations her family had been a great clan west of the Yellow River. During the Huangchu era her home commandery rebelled, and she was taken into the palace as the property of a condemned household. When Emperor Ming took the throne she was greatly loved and favored and was appointed Furen. Her father's younger brother Guo Li became Chief Commandant of Cavalry, and her uncle Guo Zhi General of the Household of the Tiger Guard. When the Emperor fell gravely ill, he at last made her Empress. When the King of Qi took the throne he honored her as Empress Dowager, with the title Yongning Palace; her father, Guo Man, was posthumously enfeoffed and titled Marquis Ding of Xidu, and Guo Li's son Guo Jian was made to continue his title.

明元郭皇后，西平人也，世河右大族。黃初中，本郡反叛，遂沒入宮。明帝即位，甚見愛幸，拜為夫人。叔父立為騎都尉，從父芝為虎賁中郎將。帝疾困，遂立為皇后。齊王即位，尊后為皇太后，稱永寧宮，追封諡太后父滿為西都定侯，以立子建紹其爵。

Her mother, Lady Du, was enfeoffed as Lady of Heyang. Guo Zhi was transferred to Regular Mounted Attendant and Colonel of Changshui, and Guo Li to General Who Proclaims Virtue, and both were enfeoffed as full marquises. Guo Jian's elder brother Guo De had gone out to be adopted into the Zhen family. De and Jian both became Generals Who Guard and Protect, were both enfeoffed as full marquises, and together commanded the palace guard. As the three rulers of that time were young and weak and the chief ministers directed the government, whenever a major matter of granting or taking away arose, they always consulted and reported to the Empress Dowager before carrying it out. When Guanqiu Jian, Zhong Hui, and others rebelled, they all used her command as their pretext. She died in the twelfth month of the fourth year of Jingyuan, and in the second month of the fifth year was buried west of the Gaoping Mausoleum.

封太后母杜為郃陽君。芝遷散騎常侍、長水校尉，¹立，宣德將軍，皆封列侯。建兄德，出養甄氏。德及建俱為鎮護將軍，皆封列侯，並掌宿衛。值三主幼弱，宰輔統政，與奪大事，皆先諮啟於太后而後施行。毌丘儉、鍾會等作亂，咸假其命而以為辭焉。景元四年十二月崩，五年二月，葬高平陵西。 ²

Appraisal

評

Appraisal: Though the families of Wei's empresses and consorts were rich and noble, none of them, as in the declining Han, occupied positions to which they had no right and carved up the government of the court. In learning from the past and changing course, Wei did well in this. Looking back on the counsel of Chen Qun and the argument of Zhan Qian, they are truly fit to serve as a rule for a hundred kings and to hand down a model to later ages.

評曰：魏后妃之家，雖云富貴，未有若衰漢乘非其據，宰割朝政者也。鑑往易軌，於斯為美。追觀陳群之議，棧潛之論，適足以為百王之規典，垂憲範乎後葉矣。