Empress Dowager Cao (Zhuangzong)
Encyclopedia
Empress Dowager Cao (died August 3, 925), formally Empress Zhenjian (貞簡皇后, "virtuous and humble"), was a concubine to the late Tang Dynasty
warlord Li Keyong
and the mother to his son Li Cunxu, who later established Later Tang Dynasty
as its Emperor Zhuangzong. After the establishment of Later Tang, she was honored as empress dowager
.
, then the capital of Tang Dynasty
's Hedong Circuit (河東), and that she was of commoner but not disrespectable birth. It is not known when she became Li Keyong
's concubine, but it was said that she was beautiful, humble, and intelligent, and thus was respected by Li Keyong's wife Lady Liu
, who was herself sonless, and who encouraged Li Keyong to treat her well. She gave birth to Li Keyong's oldest son Li Cunxu in 885. It was said that Li Keyong had many concubines, and he particularly favored Lady Zhang, who had previously been the wife of the warlord Li Kuangchou
, whom he defeated in 894, such that he no longer favored other women, but Lady Cao remained an exception. Li Keyong was harsh and impatient in his character, and whenever his attendants had faults, they would often be punished. Lady Cao often interceded on their behalf, and it was with her intercession that many were spared. At some point, Lady Cao received the title of Lady of Jin from the Tang imperial government.
had been forced to yield the throne to Li Keyong's archrival Zhu Quanzhong, who established a new Later Liang Dynasty
as its Emperor Taizu but whose legitimacy Li Keyong refused to recognize, Li Keyong died. Li Cunxu succeeded him as the Prince of Jin. Under Li Keyong's will, Li Keyong's brother Li Kening, the eunuch monitor Zhang Chengye
, Li Keyong's adoptive son Li Cunzhang (李存璋), the officer Wu Gong (吳珙), and the secretary general Lu Zhi were to assist Li Cunxu in his rule. Li Cunxu initially offered the Prince of Jin position to Li Kening instead, but Li Kening pointed out that it was Li Keyong's will that he inherit the title, so Li Cunxu accepted it. Lady Cao thereafter was known as the Lady Dowager of Jin.
However, Li Kening soon ran into conflicts with Zhang and Li Cunzhang. He thus requested that he be allowed to leave the Jin capital Taiyuan and be made the military governor of Datong Circuit (大同, headquartered in modern Datong
, Shanxi
), which would be carved out of Hedong Circuit. Li Cunxu agreed. However, during the meantime, Li Keyong's adoptive son Li Cunhao (李存顥), as well as other adoptive sons of Li Keyong who did not want to submit to the new prince, were lobbying Li Kening and Li Kening's wife Lady Meng that Li Kening take over the Jin throne himself. Li Kening finally agreed, and he and Li Cunhao plotted to, at a feast at his house, kill Zhang and Li Cunzhang, and then submit to Later Liang and deliver Li Cunxu and Lady Dowager Cao to the Later Liang capital Daliang (大梁, in modern Kaifeng
, Henan
). They tried to engage the officer Shi Jingrong (史敬鎔) in the plot, but Shi revealed the plot to Lady Dowager Cao. Lady Dowager Cao, initially not sure who the plotters were and apparently believing that Zhang might be part of the plot, summoned Zhang and confronted him. Zhang denied any knowledge, and Li Cunxu thereafter summoned Li Cunzhang, Wu, Li Keyong's adoptive son Li Cunjing (李存敬), and the officer Zhu Shouyin (朱守殷) to plan a counterplot. Thereafter, at a feast, they seized and killed Li Kening and Li Cunhao, ending their plot.
Li Cunxu subsequently wage a 15-year campaign against Later Liang's Emperor Taizu and his son and successor Zhu Zhen
, gradually seizing all of Later Liang's territory north of the Yellow River
. It was said that he was filially pious to his mother, such that despite his constant campaigns, he often returned to Taiyuan to see her. On an occasion in 917 when Li Cunxu got into a violent argument with Zhang, who was in charge of the principality's treasury and urged against wasteful spending, Li Cunxu threatened to kill Zhang. When Lady Dowager Cao heard this, she immediately summoned Li Cunxu to her palace and rebuked him. She also sent a messenger to Zhang, stating: "My young son has offended the Tejin [(特進, the Tang title that Zhang carried)]. I have already whipped him for this offense." The next day, she took Li Cunxu to see Zhang to apologize to him. When Zhang died in 922, she personally went to his mansion to mourn him, and she put on mourning clothes fit for a daughter or a niece.
, Hebei
) and thus establishing a new dynasty (commonly referred to as the Later Tang Dynasty
, even though Li Cunxu claimed to be the legitimate successor to Tang), as its Emperor Zhuangzong. He honored his mother Lady Cao as empress dowager
and honored Lady Liu only with the lesser title of consort dowager, despite the fact that Lady Liu was Li Keyong's wife and Lady Cao was his concubine. When the news arrived at Taiyuan, where Lady Cao and Lady Liu were at, the new Consort Dowager Liu went to congratulate the new Empress Dowager Cao. Empress Dowager Cao was embarrassed that she was given a greater title than Consort Dowager Liu. Consort Dowager Liu stated to her:
Later in the year, Emperor Zhuangzong captured the Later Liang capital Daliang (大梁, i.e., Bian Prefecture). Zhu Zhen committed suicide as the city fell, ending Later Liang. Later Tang took over all of Later Liang's territory, and Emperor Zhuangzong made the old Tang eastern capital Luoyang
his capital. In spring 924, he sent his brother Li Cunwo (李存渥) and his son Li Jiji to Taiyuan to escort Empress Dowager Cao and Consort Dowager Liu to Luoyang. Consort Dowager Liu refused to leave Taiyuan, stating that she needed to remain to attend to the graves and the temples of the deceased emperors (i.e., Li Keyong and his father Li Guochang
), and so Empress Dowager Cao headed to Luoyang by her own.
Meanwhile, Emperor Zhuangzong had wanted to create his favorite concubine, Lady Liu Yuniang (not related to Consort Dowager Liu), empress, over his wife Lady Han, but had hesitated because Empress Dowager Cao had disliked Lady Liu; Lady Liu's candidacy was also opposed by Emperor Zhuangzong's army chief of staff Guo Chongtao. By spring 924, however, Guo, who had feared that many of Emperor Zhuangzong's favorite eunuchs and actors (as Emperor Zhuangzong had a serious interest in acting) were submitting false accusations against him, decided to make Lady Liu an ally, and therefore endorsed her candidacy to be empress. Emperor Zhuangzong agreed, and created Lady Liu empress. It was said that after Empress Liu's creation, the orders that Empress Dowager Cao and Empress Liu issued were considered to carry the same legal weight as Emperor Zhuangzong's edicts, and the circuits followed them equally.
The separation between Empress Dowager Cao and Consort Dowager Liu, according to traditional accounts, was devastating to both of them, as they missed each other bitterly, and both grew sad. Consort Dowager Liu fell ill in summer 925, and Empress Dowager Cao sent a stream of doctors to Taiyuan to treat her, but she did not get better. Empress Dowager Cao considered returning to Taiyuan to care for her, but Emperor Zhuangzong dissuaded her on account of the summer heat; instead, Li Cunwo was dispatched to Taiyuan to attend to Consort Dowager Liu. Soon thereafter, Consort Dowager Liu died. Mourning her, Empress Dowager Cao fell ill as well, and would die a few months later.
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
warlord Li Keyong
Li Keyong
Li Keyong was a Shatuo military governor during the late Tang Dynasty and was key to developing a base of power for the Shatuo in what is today Shanxi Province in China...
and the mother to his son Li Cunxu, who later established Later Tang Dynasty
Later Tang Dynasty
The Later Tang Dynasty was a short-lived dynasty that lasted from 923 to 937 one of the five dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was also the first in a series of three dynasties ruled by the Shatuo Turks...
as its Emperor Zhuangzong. After the establishment of Later Tang, she was honored as empress dowager
Empress Dowager
Empress Dowager was the title given to the mother of a Chinese, Korean, Japanese or Vietnamese emperor.The title was also given occasionally to another woman of the same generation, while a woman from the previous generation was sometimes given the title of Grand empress dowager. Numerous empress...
.
Background
It is not known when Lady Cao was born, but it is known that she was from TaiyuanTaiyuan
Taiyuan is the capital and largest city of Shanxi province in North China. At the 2010 census, it had a total population of 4,201,591 inhabitants on 6959 km² whom 3,212,500 are urban on 1,460 km². The name of the city literally means "Great Plains", referring to the location where the Fen River...
, then the capital of Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
's Hedong Circuit (河東), and that she was of commoner but not disrespectable birth. It is not known when she became Li Keyong
Li Keyong
Li Keyong was a Shatuo military governor during the late Tang Dynasty and was key to developing a base of power for the Shatuo in what is today Shanxi Province in China...
's concubine, but it was said that she was beautiful, humble, and intelligent, and thus was respected by Li Keyong's wife Lady Liu
Consort Dowager Liu
Consort Dowager Liu was the wife of Li Keyong, the founder of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Jin...
, who was herself sonless, and who encouraged Li Keyong to treat her well. She gave birth to Li Keyong's oldest son Li Cunxu in 885. It was said that Li Keyong had many concubines, and he particularly favored Lady Zhang, who had previously been the wife of the warlord Li Kuangchou
Li Kuangchou
Li Kuangchou was a warlord late in the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, ruling Lulong Circuit from 893, when he overthrew his older brother Li Kuangwei, to his own defeat in late 894/early 895, as its military governor .- Background and takeover of Lulong Circuit :It is not known when Li Kuangchou...
, whom he defeated in 894, such that he no longer favored other women, but Lady Cao remained an exception. Li Keyong was harsh and impatient in his character, and whenever his attendants had faults, they would often be punished. Lady Cao often interceded on their behalf, and it was with her intercession that many were spared. At some point, Lady Cao received the title of Lady of Jin from the Tang imperial government.
During Li Cunxu's reign as Prince of Jin
In 908, by which time Tang's last emperor Emperor AiEmperor Ai of Tang
Emperor Ai of Tang , also known as Emperor Zhaoxuan , born Li Zuo, later Li Zhu , was the last emperor of the Tang dynasty of China. He reigned from 904 to 907. The Ai Emperor was the son of Emperor Zhaozong....
had been forced to yield the throne to Li Keyong's archrival Zhu Quanzhong, who established a new Later Liang Dynasty
Later Liang Dynasty
The Later Liang was one of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period in China. It was founded by Zhu Wen, posthumously known as Taizu of Later Liang, after he forced the last emperor of the Tang dynasty to abdicate in his favour...
as its Emperor Taizu but whose legitimacy Li Keyong refused to recognize, Li Keyong died. Li Cunxu succeeded him as the Prince of Jin. Under Li Keyong's will, Li Keyong's brother Li Kening, the eunuch monitor Zhang Chengye
Zhang Chengye
Zhang Chengye is a Chinese biathlete who competed in the 2006 Winter Olympics in both biathlon and cross-country skiing. He is set to compete for China at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Men's biathlon.-References:...
, Li Keyong's adoptive son Li Cunzhang (李存璋), the officer Wu Gong (吳珙), and the secretary general Lu Zhi were to assist Li Cunxu in his rule. Li Cunxu initially offered the Prince of Jin position to Li Kening instead, but Li Kening pointed out that it was Li Keyong's will that he inherit the title, so Li Cunxu accepted it. Lady Cao thereafter was known as the Lady Dowager of Jin.
However, Li Kening soon ran into conflicts with Zhang and Li Cunzhang. He thus requested that he be allowed to leave the Jin capital Taiyuan and be made the military governor of Datong Circuit (大同, headquartered in modern Datong
Datong
Datong is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi Province of North China, located a few hundred kilometres west by rail from Beijing with an elevation of...
, Shanxi
Shanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
), which would be carved out of Hedong Circuit. Li Cunxu agreed. However, during the meantime, Li Keyong's adoptive son Li Cunhao (李存顥), as well as other adoptive sons of Li Keyong who did not want to submit to the new prince, were lobbying Li Kening and Li Kening's wife Lady Meng that Li Kening take over the Jin throne himself. Li Kening finally agreed, and he and Li Cunhao plotted to, at a feast at his house, kill Zhang and Li Cunzhang, and then submit to Later Liang and deliver Li Cunxu and Lady Dowager Cao to the Later Liang capital Daliang (大梁, in modern Kaifeng
Kaifeng
Kaifeng , known previously by several names , is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, Central China. Nearly 5 million people live in the metropolitan area...
, Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
). They tried to engage the officer Shi Jingrong (史敬鎔) in the plot, but Shi revealed the plot to Lady Dowager Cao. Lady Dowager Cao, initially not sure who the plotters were and apparently believing that Zhang might be part of the plot, summoned Zhang and confronted him. Zhang denied any knowledge, and Li Cunxu thereafter summoned Li Cunzhang, Wu, Li Keyong's adoptive son Li Cunjing (李存敬), and the officer Zhu Shouyin (朱守殷) to plan a counterplot. Thereafter, at a feast, they seized and killed Li Kening and Li Cunhao, ending their plot.
Li Cunxu subsequently wage a 15-year campaign against Later Liang's Emperor Taizu and his son and successor Zhu Zhen
Zhu Zhen
Emperor Modi of Later Liang Zhu Youzhen was Emperor of China between 913 and 923. He was the third and last emperor of the first of the Five Dynasties - the Later Liang Dynasty and the youngest son of its founder, Zhu Quanzhong. He changed his name to Zhu Zhen during his time in office...
, gradually seizing all of Later Liang's territory north of the Yellow River
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He, formerly known as the Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into...
. It was said that he was filially pious to his mother, such that despite his constant campaigns, he often returned to Taiyuan to see her. On an occasion in 917 when Li Cunxu got into a violent argument with Zhang, who was in charge of the principality's treasury and urged against wasteful spending, Li Cunxu threatened to kill Zhang. When Lady Dowager Cao heard this, she immediately summoned Li Cunxu to her palace and rebuked him. She also sent a messenger to Zhang, stating: "My young son has offended the Tejin [(特進, the Tang title that Zhang carried)]. I have already whipped him for this offense." The next day, she took Li Cunxu to see Zhang to apologize to him. When Zhang died in 922, she personally went to his mansion to mourn him, and she put on mourning clothes fit for a daughter or a niece.
During Later Tang
In 923, Li Cunxu, who had by that point taken all of the Later Liang territory north of the Yellow River, declared himself the emperor of Tang at Daming (大名, in modern HandanHandan
Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwestern part of Hebei Province of China.- History :Handan was the capital of the State of Zhao during the Warring States period , after the capital moved from Zhongmu. The city was conquered by the State of Qin after the virtual annexation of...
, Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
) and thus establishing a new dynasty (commonly referred to as the Later Tang Dynasty
Later Tang Dynasty
The Later Tang Dynasty was a short-lived dynasty that lasted from 923 to 937 one of the five dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was also the first in a series of three dynasties ruled by the Shatuo Turks...
, even though Li Cunxu claimed to be the legitimate successor to Tang), as its Emperor Zhuangzong. He honored his mother Lady Cao as empress dowager
Empress Dowager
Empress Dowager was the title given to the mother of a Chinese, Korean, Japanese or Vietnamese emperor.The title was also given occasionally to another woman of the same generation, while a woman from the previous generation was sometimes given the title of Grand empress dowager. Numerous empress...
and honored Lady Liu only with the lesser title of consort dowager, despite the fact that Lady Liu was Li Keyong's wife and Lady Cao was his concubine. When the news arrived at Taiyuan, where Lady Cao and Lady Liu were at, the new Consort Dowager Liu went to congratulate the new Empress Dowager Cao. Empress Dowager Cao was embarrassed that she was given a greater title than Consort Dowager Liu. Consort Dowager Liu stated to her:
Later in the year, Emperor Zhuangzong captured the Later Liang capital Daliang (大梁, i.e., Bian Prefecture). Zhu Zhen committed suicide as the city fell, ending Later Liang. Later Tang took over all of Later Liang's territory, and Emperor Zhuangzong made the old Tang eastern capital Luoyang
Luoyang
Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...
his capital. In spring 924, he sent his brother Li Cunwo (李存渥) and his son Li Jiji to Taiyuan to escort Empress Dowager Cao and Consort Dowager Liu to Luoyang. Consort Dowager Liu refused to leave Taiyuan, stating that she needed to remain to attend to the graves and the temples of the deceased emperors (i.e., Li Keyong and his father Li Guochang
Li Guochang
Li Guochang , né Zhuye Chixin , courtesy name Dexing , posthumously honored by Later Tang Dynasty as Emperor Wenjing with the temple name of Xianzu , was a leader of the Shatuo Turks during the waning years of the Tang Dynasty.- Background :Zhuye Chixin's ancestors had been hereditary chiefs of...
), and so Empress Dowager Cao headed to Luoyang by her own.
Meanwhile, Emperor Zhuangzong had wanted to create his favorite concubine, Lady Liu Yuniang (not related to Consort Dowager Liu), empress, over his wife Lady Han, but had hesitated because Empress Dowager Cao had disliked Lady Liu; Lady Liu's candidacy was also opposed by Emperor Zhuangzong's army chief of staff Guo Chongtao. By spring 924, however, Guo, who had feared that many of Emperor Zhuangzong's favorite eunuchs and actors (as Emperor Zhuangzong had a serious interest in acting) were submitting false accusations against him, decided to make Lady Liu an ally, and therefore endorsed her candidacy to be empress. Emperor Zhuangzong agreed, and created Lady Liu empress. It was said that after Empress Liu's creation, the orders that Empress Dowager Cao and Empress Liu issued were considered to carry the same legal weight as Emperor Zhuangzong's edicts, and the circuits followed them equally.
The separation between Empress Dowager Cao and Consort Dowager Liu, according to traditional accounts, was devastating to both of them, as they missed each other bitterly, and both grew sad. Consort Dowager Liu fell ill in summer 925, and Empress Dowager Cao sent a stream of doctors to Taiyuan to treat her, but she did not get better. Empress Dowager Cao considered returning to Taiyuan to care for her, but Emperor Zhuangzong dissuaded her on account of the summer heat; instead, Li Cunwo was dispatched to Taiyuan to attend to Consort Dowager Liu. Soon thereafter, Consort Dowager Liu died. Mourning her, Empress Dowager Cao fell ill as well, and would die a few months later.