Empress Dowager Dong (156 - 7 July 189), personal name unknown, formally known as Empress Xiaoren, was an

empress dowager Empress dowager (also dowager empress or empress mother) () is the English language translation of the title given to the mother or widow of a Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese emperor in the Chinese cultural sphere. The title was also g ...

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 China. She was never empress throughout her early life because she was the wife of a marquis; she only became empress dowager because her son, Liu Hong (Emperor Ling), became the emperor by chance. During her son's reign, she developed a rivalry with her daughter-in-law, Empress He, because she wanted Emperor Ling's younger son,

Liu Xie Liu Xie (, ca. 465–522), courtesy name Yanhe (), was a Chinese monk, politician, and writer. He was the author of China's greatest work of literary aesthetics, ''The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons'' (文心雕龍). His biography is incl ...

, to be

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

while Empress He wanted her own son,

Liu Bian Liu Bian (176 – 6 March 190), also known as Emperor Shao of Han and the Prince of Hongnong, was the 13th emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty in China. He became emperor around the age of 13 upon the death of his father, Emperor Ling, and ru ...

to succeed his father. Emperor Ling died in 189 before he managed to designate either of his two sons as crown prince. Liu Bian eventually took the throne as Emperor Shao; Empress Dowager Dong, as the emperor's grandmother, became grand empress dowager, while her daughter-in-law became empress dowager. Empress Dowager He eventually conspired with her brother, General-in-Chief

He Jin He Jin () (died 22 September 189), courtesy name Suigao, was a Chinese military general and politician. He was the military Grand Marshal and regent of the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was an elder half-brother of Empress He, the emp ...

, to unseat her mother-in-law from power. Grand Empress Dowager Dong died of illness shortly after her downfall; the common people held Empress Dowager He and her family responsible for the grand empress dowager's death.

Life

Lady Dong was from

Hejian Commandery Hejian Kingdom, also translated as Hejian Principality ( zh, 河閒國), was a kingdom in early Imperial China, located in present-day southern Hebei province. History In early Han dynasty, Hejian was part of the Zhao Kingdom. The kingdom was cr ...

(河間郡; around present-day

Cangzhou Cangzhou () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Hebei province, People's Republic of China. At the 2020 census, Cangzhou's built-up (''or metro'') area made of Yunhe, Xinhua districts and Cang County largely being conurbated had a populatio ...

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...

). She was the wife of Liu Chang (劉萇), the Marquis of Jiedu Village (解犢亭侯). (Liu Chang was a great-grandson of Liu Kai (劉開), the sixth son of Emperor Zhang.) In 156, she bore Liu Chang a son, Liu Hong. It is not known whether she had any other children. In 168, after Emperor Huan died without a son to succeed him, his wife Empress Dou (later empress dowager) selected a 12-year-old Liu Hong, the Marquis of Jiedu Village, to be the new emperor. He is historically known as Emperor Ling. The newly crowned Emperor Ling awarded his late father the

posthumous title A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments or ...

"Emperor Xiaoren" (孝仁皇) and named his father's burial place "Shen Mausoleum" (慎陵); he also gave his mother the title " Honoured Lady of Shen Garden (慎園貴人)" in April or May 168. In 169, following the downfall of Empress Dowager Dou and her clan, Emperor Ling sent his attendants to fetch his mother from Hejian Commandery to live in Yongle Palace (永樂宮) in

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...

, the imperial capital. He also honoured her as "Empress Xiaoren" (孝仁皇后) on 17 April 169, and appointed his mother's elder brother, Dong Chong (董寵), as Bearer of the Mace (執金吾). Dong Chong was later imprisoned for lying that he was acting on Empress Dowager Dong's order; he died in prison. Empress Dowager Dong was not involved in state affairs until after Empress Dowager Dou's death in 172. She encouraged Emperor Ling to start the practice of selling government offices for money; this practice severely damaged the Han civil service system and led to widespread corruption. In 188, her nephew, Dong Zhong (董重), was promoted from Minister of the Guards (衛尉) to General of Agile Cavalry (驃騎將軍) and put in command of over 1,000 troops. In 181, one of Emperor Ling's consorts, Beautiful Lady Wang (王美人), bore him a son, Liu Xie (Emperor Xian). Beautiful Lady Wang was subsequently poisoned to death by Emperor Ling's empress, Empress He, so the motherless Liu Xie was raised by his grandmother. Empress Dowager Dong often urged Emperor Ling to designate one of his only two surviving sons, Liu Xie and

(born to Empress He), as

. Empress He and Empress Dowager Dong became engaged in a rivalry because they wanted Liu Bian and Liu Xie respectively to be crown prince. Emperor Ling died in 189 before he could name one of them as his successor. Despite the machinations of

Jian Shuo Jian Shuo (died 189) was the leader of the eunuch faction in the imperial court during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Along with Zhang Rang, Jian Shuo eventually became a leading member of the Ten Attendants, who became the most powerful ...

(a eunuch and close aide of Emperor Ling) to put Liu Xie on the throne, Empress He and her brother, General-in-Chief

, succeeded in making Liu Bian emperor; Liu Bian is historically known as Emperor Shao. As the mother of the reigning emperor, Empress He became empress dowager, while Empress Dowager Dong became grand empress dowager. The empress dowager and grand empress dowager started vying for influence in court politics; their respective pillars of support, He Jin and Dong Zhong, were also locked in a power struggle. Grand Empress Dowager Dong contemplated getting Dong Zhong to help her eliminate He Jin. When Empress Dowager He heard about it, she informed He Jin and another brother of hers, He Miao (何苗). They decided to take preemptive action against the grand empress dowager. One day, He Jin, He Miao and their supporters found an excuse to remove Grand Empress Dowager Dong from Yongle Palace and send her back to her hometown in Hejian Commandery, so they raised their idea in the imperial court. The court officials and Empress Dowager He approved the idea. He Jin then sent his troops to surround Dong Zhong's residence and arrest him; he committed suicide later. Grand Empress Dowager Dong sank into paranoia and depression after hearing news of Dong Zhong's death and died of illness in 189 after being in power for about 22 years. The common people blamed Empress Dowager He and her family for the grand empress dowager's death. Grand Empress Dowager Dong's remains were transported back to Hejian Commandery and buried alongside her husband's in the Shen Mausoleum.(進與三公及弟車騎將軍苗等奏：「孝仁皇后使故中常侍夏惲、永樂太僕封諝等交通州郡，辜較在所珍寶貨賂，悉入西省。蕃后故事不得留京師，輿服有章，膳羞有品。請永樂后遷宮本國。」奏可。何進遂舉兵圍驃騎府，收重，重免官自殺。后憂怖，疾病暴崩，在位二十二年。民間歸咎何氏。喪還河閒，合葬慎陵。) ''Houhanshu'' vol. 10 (Part 2).

Notes

References

* Fan, Ye (5th century). ''

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''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Dong, Empress Dowager Han dynasty empresses dowager 2nd-century births 189 deaths 2nd-century Chinese women 2nd-century Chinese people Suicides in the Han dynasty

Life

See also

Notes

References