Consort Tang ( 189–190) was a consort of Liu Bian (Emperor Shao), the 13th and penultimate emperor of the

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

of ancient China.

Life

Consort Tang was from Yingchuan Commandery (潁川郡; around present-day Xuchang, Henan). Her father, Tang Mao (唐瑁), served as the Administrator (太守) of Kuaiji Commandery during the reign of Emperor Ling ( 168–189). She became a consort of Liu Bian (Emperor Shao), Emperor Ling's elder son and successor, in an unknown year. Following Emperor Ling's death on 13 May 189, Liu Bian became the new emperor on 15 May. However, he was deposed by the warlord Dong Zhuo on 28 September that year and replaced with his younger half-brother, Liu Xie (Emperor Xian). The deposed Emperor Shao became known as the Prince of Hongnong (弘農王) and was put under

house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...

along with the rest of his family. Some months later, in the spring of 190, a coalition of warlords started a campaign against Dong Zhuo in the name of freeing the Han central government from his control. As Dong Zhuo feared that the warlords might use Liu Bian as a figurehead to strengthen their legitimacy, on 6 March 190, he ordered his subordinate Li Ru to murder the prince. Realising that he could not escape death, Liu Bian wrote a poem before succumbing to his fate: Liu Bian then ordered Consort Tang to dance. She sang, Liu Bian then told Consort Tang, "You were once a consort of an emperor, so I hope you won't become the wife of a minor official or a commoner. With that, maintain your dignity." He then committed suicide by consuming poison. After Liu Bian's death, Consort Tang returned to her home in Yingchuan Commandery. Her father Tang Mao wanted her to remarry but she refused. Some years later in the early 190s, she was captured when the warlords Li Jue and Guo Si sent their troops to pillage the lands east of Hangu Pass. Li Jue wanted to make Consort Tang his concubine but she refused and never told him that she was a former concubine of an emperor. Jia Xu, an adviser to Li Jue, found out about it and informed Emperor Xian. Emperor Xian took pity on her and summoned her to Liu Bian's tomb, where he honoured her by awarding her the title "Princess Consort of Hongnong" (弘農王妃).

References

* Chen, Shou. ''

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records or History of the Three Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese name as the Sanguo Zhi, is a Chinese historical text which covers the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty (c. 184–220 AD) and the Three Kingdoms period (220– ...

'' (''Sanguozhi''). * Fan, Ye. ''

Book of the Later Han The ''Book of the Later Han'', also known as the ''History of the Later Han'' and by its Chinese name ''Hou Hanshu'' (), is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the history of the Han dynasty from 6 to 189 CE, a period known as the Later ...

'' (''Houhanshu''). * Pei, Songzhi. ''

Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms () by Pei Songzhi (372-451) is an annotation completed in the 5th century of the 3rd century historical text ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', compiled by Chen Shou. After leaving his native land, Pei ...

'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Tang, Consort Han dynasty imperial consorts 2nd-century Chinese women Year of death unknown Year of birth unknown 2nd-century Chinese people Chinese concubines 2nd-century Chinese poets 2nd-century Chinese women writers