Fu Shou (died 8 January 215) was an empress of the

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

of China. She was the first wife of

Emperor Xian Emperor Xian of Han (2 April 181 – 21 April 234), personal name Liu Xie (劉協), courtesy name Bohe, was the 14th and last emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty of China. He reigned from 28 September 189 until his abdication and subsequent end ...

, the last Han emperor. She is best known for initiating a conspiracy against

Cao Cao Cao Cao (; ; ; 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde, was a Chinese statesman, warlord, and poet who rose to power during the end of the Han dynasty (), ultimately taking effective control of the Han central government. He laid the foundation f ...

, regent of Emperor Xian and Duke of Wei. Empress Fu Shou is praised in the traditional point of view as one of the last defenders of the failed Han dynasty, alongside Lady Dong and Empress Xianmu in contrast to Emperor Xian's negligence.

Family background and marriage to Emperor Xian

Fu Shou's father was Fu Wan (), a seventh generation descendant of the early Eastern Han official Fu Zhan () and the hereditary Marquis of Buqi (). Fu Wan's wife was Princess Yang'an (), a daughter of Emperor Huan, but she was not Fu Shou's biological mother as Fu Shou's mother was named Ying (). Fu Wan also had a wife with the family name Fan (), but it is not clear whether she was Ying. The Fu family descended from the prominent

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Founded by Confucius ...

scholar Fu Sheng. In 190, as Emperor Xian was being forced by

Dong Zhuo Dong Zhuo () (c. 140s – 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 ...

to move the capital west to

Chang'an Chang'an (; zh, t=長安, s=长安, p=Cháng'ān, first=t) is the traditional name of the city now named Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic time ...

, Lady Fu became an imperial consort. On 20 May 195, while Emperor Xian was largely under the control of Dong Zhuo's subordinates 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 ...

, he designated Fu Shou as his empress consort.

As empress

As Emperor Xian continued his reign of being constantly under the control of one warlord or another, he and Empress Fu were apparently in a loving relationship, but both saw their power increasingly becoming minimal. Later in 195, during Emperor Xian's flight back to the old capital

Luoyang Luoyang ( zh, s=洛阳, t=洛陽, p=Luòyáng) is a city located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River in the west of Henan province, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zheng ...

, Empress Fu was carrying silk, which were seized by soldiers ostensibly protecting her – such that even her own personal bodyguards were killed, and their blood spilled on her. When they returned to Luoyang, the imperial court was poorly supplied and while there is no record indicating that Empress Fu personally was under threat of starvation, a number of imperial officials died of hunger or were killed by robbers. Materially, the imperial court became much better supplied once the warlord

arrived in 196 and took Emperor Xian and the imperial court under control. Cao Cao relocated the imperial capital to his headquarters in Xu County (present-day

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

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

). Empress Fu was apparently not happy about Cao Cao's domination over the imperial court and central government. In February 200, Emperor Xian's concubine, Consort Dong, was forcibly executed by Cao Cao against the emperor's wishes after her father Dong Cheng was found guilty of masterminding a conspiracy to assassinate Cao Cao. After Consort Dong's death, Empress Fu became angry and fearful, so she wrote her father Fu Wan a letter accusing Cao Cao of cruelty and implicitly asking him to come up with a plan to eliminate Cao Cao. Fu Wan was fearful and did not act on the letter, but Empress Fu's letter was discovered in late 214. Cao Cao was so angry that he forced Emperor Xian to depose Empress Fu. When Emperor Xian was reluctant to do so, Cao Cao sent

Hua Xin Hua Xin (157 – 30 January 232), courtesy name Ziyu, was a Chinese politician who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms period of China. He initially served directly under the central government of the Eastern Han dynast ...

and close aides into the imperial palace to capture the empress. Empress Fu tried to hide behind a wall, but Cao Cao's men found her and dragged her out. As she was being taken away, she cried out to Emperor Xian to save her, but his only response was that he had no idea what would happen to him. She was incarcerated and killed along with her two sons (Liu Feng had predeceased his mother on 9 August 200) and more than 100 members of the Fu clan, with her mother Lady Ying and 18 others exiled.

Anecdotes

According to ''Chronicles of the Emperor Xian'' (献帝春秋; ''Xiandi Chunqiu''), after Fu Wan had written a letter, he entrusted it to

Xun Yu Xun Yu (163–212), courtesy name Wenruo, was a Chinese military official and politician who served as an adviser to the warlord Cao Cao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Early life Xun Yu was from Yingchuan Commandery (around ...

and his brother-in-law Fan Pu. Fan Pu presented it to Cao Cao, which raised concerns for Xun Yu, fearing that it might bring trouble to himself. Xun Yu advised Cao Cao to marry his daughter to Emperor Xian. During the discussion between Cao Cao and Xun Yu on this matter, Xun Yu mentioned, "Empress Fu has no child." However,

Pei Songzhi Pei Songzhi (372–451), courtesy name Shiqi, was a Chinese historian and politician who lived in the late Eastern Jin dynasty and the Liu Song dynasty. His ancestral home was in Wenxi County, Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanizati ...

, when annotating Xun Yu's biography in vol.10 of ''

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' is a Chinese official history written by Chen Shou in the late 3rd century CE, covering the end of the Han dynasty (220 CE) and the subsequent Three Kingdoms period (220–280 CE). It is regard ...

'', questioned the logic of Xun Yu's statement in this account. Due to the credibility issues with this entire passage, it is uncertain whether Empress Fu indeed had two children who were poisoned, and the birth dates of these two children may not necessarily be after Fu Wan's conspiracy.

Appraisal

Republic of China historian Lü Simian (吕思勉) had a different perspective on the case of Empress Fu's execution. He believed that given Cao Cao's status and temperament, he wouldn't simply harm Empress Fu because of a disrespectful letter she sent to her father. Furthermore, Emperor Xian would not have transferred his anger to Cao Cao just because of Dong Cheng's assassination (Dong Cheng himself wasn't a trustworthy loyalist). Lu Simian thought that there must have been "another reason" behind this case, something significant and not suitable for inclusion in official history records. He speculated that Empress Fu had a comprehensive political plan that was crucial to the overall situation, and therefore, Cao Cao had no choice but to take action.Lü Simian, in "Stories of the Three Kingdoms: Defending the Slander Against Emperor Wu of Wei," said, "That's why I believe that Empress Fu's assassination was undoubtedly part of a political conspiracy. However, the true facts may never have been passed down. Assuming that Empress Fu's assassination was part of a hidden plot, then Emperor Wu of Wei, since it involved the overall stability, had no choice but to eliminate her for the greater good. This is similar to a military commander not resigning or committing suicide just because there's a group within his army opposing him, disregarding the safety of the entire army."

References

Citations

Bibliography

Chen Shou Chen Shou ( zh , t = 陳壽 ; 233–297), courtesy name Chengzuo (), was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer who lived during the Three Kingdoms period and Jin dynasty of China. Chen Shou is best known for his most celebrated work, the ...

(3rd century). ''

'' (''Sanguozhi''). * 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 Lat ...

'' (''Houhanshu''). *

(5th century). ''

Annotated Records of the Three Kingdoms ''Annotated 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 the fall of the Eastern Jin ...

'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Fu, Shou 2nd-century births 215 deaths Han dynasty empresses Imperial family during the end of the Han dynasty 2nd-century Chinese women 2nd-century Chinese people 3rd-century Chinese women 3rd-century Chinese people Murdered Chinese royalty Executed Han dynasty people People executed by the Han dynasty 3rd-century executions People from Zhucheng