Empress Dowager Zhao Gouyi was the mother of Emperor Zhao of the Western Han Dynasty. She was once the favourite imperial concubine of Emperor Wu.[1] When her son became the obvious choice for Crown Prince, Emperor Wu began to fear that she would try to gain power through her son.[2] Under Emperor Wu’s orders, Empress Dowager Zhao Gouyi was murdered.[3] Empress Dowager Zhao Gouyi’s story shows a cruel emperor who murdered an innocent woman due to his irrational fears.[4]
In 133 B.C.E., Empress Dowager Zhou Gouyi was born in Hejian (located east of modern-day Xian District in Hebei Province).[5] Her surname was Zhao, but her personal name is unrecorded.[6] Her father was punished for a crime he committed, and he was castrated.[7] He became a palace eunuch.[8]
During a hunting expedition, an astrologer told Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty that “a person of significance”[9] was in the northeast. The person the astrologer described was a young woman from the Zhao family.[10] Emperor Wu summoned her, and Zhao came to him with both fists clenched tight.[11] Emperor Wu then stroked her hands until she unclenched them.[12] Emperor Wu made her his Imperial Consort.[13] Emperor Wu also named her Gouyi (which meant “Fists”).[14] She quickly became his favourite.[15] Imperial Consort Zhao Gouyi was promoted to the rank of Jieyu (the second highest rank below the Empress position).[16] She lived in Gouyi Palace.[17]
In 94 B.C.E., Imperial Consort Zhao Gouyi bore Emperor Wu a son named Prince Liu Fuling (the future Emperor Zhao). In 91 B.C.E., Crown Prince Liu Ju was implicated for witchcraft and committed suicide.[18] The death of the Crown Prince left Prince Liu Fuling a major candidate for the Crown Prince position.[19] Emperor Wu’s two other surviving sons, Prince Liu Dan and Prince Li Xu, were not chosen as potential candidates for the Crown Prince position.[20] This was because of their open displays of disobedience and disloyalty to their father.[21]
Emperor Wu chose Prince Liu Fuling as his heir because he thought of him as “sturdy and knowledgeable.”[22] He also thought that Prince Liu Fuling was like him.[23] Emperor Wu had already decided to make Prince Liu Fuling the Crown Prince.[24] However, he was afraid to make a formal declaration regarding the Crown Prince position.[25] This was because he was afraid that Imperial Consort Zhao Gouyi might try to gain power through her son after his death.[26]
In 88 B.C.E., Emperor Wu fell ill. He was concerned about Imperial Consort Zhao Gouyi trying to rule through her son, Prince Liu Fuling.[27] He summoned her and scolded her for wanting power.[28] Imperial Consort Zhao Gouyi removed her hair ornaments, knelt, and begged forgiveness.[29] Emperor Wu immediately ordered her to be taken to the women’s prison.[30] Before she left Emperor Wu’s chambers, Imperial Consort Zhao Gouyi turned to look back at Emperor Wu.[31] She hoped that he would change his mind.[32] However, Emperor Wu said to her: “Out, quickly! You cannot be saved!”[33] Soon after she was imprisoned, she was killed under Emperor Wu’s orders.[34] Emperor Wu rejoiced over her death.[35]
On 30 March 87 B.C.E., Liu Fuling ascended the Chinese throne as Emperor Zhao of the Western Han Dynasty. He made his mother, Zhao Gouyi, the posthumous Empress Dowager.[36] He used 20,000 soldiers to build her a burial mound at Yunling.[37] He established a township to tend to her burial mound.[38] He made her father the Marquis of Shuncheng.[39]
Empress Dowager Zhao Gouyi suffered an unjust death at the hands of her husband, Emperor Wu.[40] Ancient chroniclers have been “either accusing Emperor Wu of cruelty or admiring him for his foresight”[41]for killing her. Modern scholars have blamed Emperor Wu’s murder of Empress Dowager Zhao Gouyi for his “hypocrisy.”[42] This was because “he [Emperor Wu] himself behaved as wantonly and willfully as any empress dowager.”[43] Thus, Empress Dowager Zhao Gouyi’s story is one of injustice.[44] Her son, Emperor Zhao, gave his mother the respect that she was deprived of in life.[45]
Sources:
Wong, Y. L. & Che, W. W.(trans.). (2015). “Zhou Gouyi, Concubine of Emperor Wu”. Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: Antiquity Through Sui, 1600 B.C.E. – 618 C.E.. (L. X. H. Lee, Ed.; A. D. Stefanowska, Ed.; S. Wiles, Ed.). NY: Routledge. pp. 247-249.
McMahon, K. (2013). Women Shall Not Rule: Imperial Wives and Concubines in China from Han to Liao. NY: Rowman and Littlefield.
[1] McMahon, 2013; Wong and Che, 2015
[2] McMahon, 2013; Wong and Che, 2015
[3] McMahon, 2013; Wong and Che, 2015
[4] McMahon, 2013; Wong and Che, 2015
[5] Wong and Che, 2015
[6] Wong and Che, 2015
[7] McMahon, 2013; Wong and Che, 2015
[8] Wong and Che, 2015
[9] Wong and Che, 2015, p. 247
[10] Wong and Che, 2015
[11] Wong and Che, 2015; McMahon, 2013
[12] Wong and Che, 2013; McMahon, 2013
[13] Wong and Che, 2015; McMahon, 2013
[14] Wong and Che, 2015, p. 248
[15] McMahon, 2013; Wong and Che, 2015
[16] Wong and Che, 2015
[17] Wong and Che, 2015
[18] Wong and Che, 2015
[19] Wong and Che, 2015
[20] Wong and Che, 2015
[21] Wong, 2015
[22] Wong and Che, 2015, p. 248
[23] McMahon, 2013; Wong and Che, 2013
[24] Wong and Che, 2015; McMahon, 2013
[25] Wong and Che, 2015; McMahon, 2013
[26] Wong and Che, 2015; McMahon, 2013
[27] Wong and Che, 2015
[28] Wong and Che, 2015
[29] Wong and Che, 2015
[30] Wong and Che, 2015
[31] Wong and Che, 2015
[32] Wong and Che, 2015
[33] Wong and Che, 2015, p. 248
[34] McMahon, 2013; Wong and Che, 2015
[35] McMahon, 2015
[36] Wong and Che, 2015
[37] Wong and Che, 2015
[38] Wong and Che, 2015
[39] Wong and Che, 2015
[40] McMahon, 2013
[41] Wong and Che, 2015, p. 249
[42] Wong and Che, 2015, p. 249
[43] Wong and Che, 2015, p. 249
[44] McMahon, 2013; Wong and Che, 2015
[45] Wong and Che, 2015
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