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 Yingchuan Commandery ( zh, 潁川郡) was a Chinese commandery from the Warring States period to Tang dynasty, located in modern central Henan province. The name referred to the Ying River, which flowed through its territory. The commandery was es ...

(潁川郡; around present-day

Xuchang Xuchang (; postal: Hsuchang) is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province of China, province in Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the northwest, Kaifeng to the northeast, Zhoukou to the east, Luohe to the s ...

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

). Her father, Tang Mao (唐瑁), served as the Administrator (太守) of

Kuaiji Commandery Kuaiji Commandery (Chinese: t , s , p ''Kuàijī Jùn''), formerly romanized as K'uai-chi Commandery, was a former commandery of China in the area of Hangzhou Bay. When first established, its capital was at Wu (present-day ...

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 Dong Zhuo () (died 22 May 192), courtesy name Zhongying, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. At the end of the reign of the Eastern Han, Dong Zhuo was a general and powerful minist ...

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 The Campaign against Dong Zhuo was a punitive expedition initiated by a coalition of regional officials and warlords against the warlord Dong Zhuo in 190 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. The members of the coalition claimed that Dong had the ...

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 Li Ru ( 189–192), courtesy name Wenyou, was an official serving under the warlord Dong Zhuo during the Eastern Han dynasty of China. Life Li Ru was from Heyang County (), Zuopingyi (), which is in present-day Heyang County, Shaanxi. He serve ...

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 Guo Si () (died 197), also known as Guo Duo, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord serving under the warlord Dong Zhuo during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He assisted Dong Zhuo in his many campaigns and served as a su ...

sent their troops to pillage the lands east of

Hangu Pass Hangu Pass or Hanguguan is a pass separating the upper Yellow River and Wei valleys—the cradle of Chinese civilization and seat of its longtime capital Xi'an—from the fertile North China Plain. It lies on the south bank of the Yellow Rive ...

. 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 Jia Xu (147 – 11 August 223), courtesy name Wenhe, was an official of the state of Cao Wei during the early Three Kingdoms period of China. He started his career in the late Eastern Han dynasty as a minor official. In 189, when the warlord Don ...

, 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