Empress Song (170 - late 178) was an empress of the

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 Emperor Ling's first wife, and later became a victim of the powerful

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millenni ...

Family background and marriage to Emperor Ling

The later Empress Song was born into a clan that was honoured, but not particularly powerful, during the Eastern Han dynasty. Her father Song Feng (宋酆) was a grandnephew of

Consort Song A consort song was a characteristic English song form of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, for solo voice or voices accompanied by a group of instruments, most commonly viols. Although usually in five parts, some early examples of four-par ...

, the imperial consort of Emperor Zhang who gave birth to his first

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 wi ...

Liu Qing. During the early reign of Emperor Ling, Song Feng served as the commander of the capital (

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of 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 southeast, Nanyang ...

) defence forces. Her aunt was the consort of Liu Kui (劉悝), the Prince of Bohai (勃海王), a brother of Emperor Ling's predecessor Emperor Huan. In 170, Lady Song was selected to be an imperial consort with the rank of ''guiren''. In August or September 171, even though she was not a favoured consort, she was created empress, perhaps because of her noble lineage. Song Feng was created a marquis.

The Liu Kui incident, fall and death

However, even after becoming empress, Empress Song never had Emperor Ling's favour. This, combined with her weak personality, emboldened the

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...

s who wanted to replace her; these concubines then often defamed her. What proved to be more damaging to her was the "Liu Kui incident". In 165, Liu Kui had been demoted due to treason; he then approached powerful eunuch Wang Fu (王甫) and promised him a large sum of money if Wang Fu could persuade Emperor Huan to restore his title. In 167, Emperor Huan's posthumous edict restored Liu Kui to the title of Prince of Bohai. However, Liu Kui did not fulfill his promise. In return, Wang Fu falsely accused Liu Kui of treason in 172; Liu Kui was forced to commit suicide, and his entire household was executed. Thereafter, Wang Fu and his confederates became constantly concerned that if Empress Song became powerful, she would avenge her aunt, who was Liu Kui's consort. They therefore joined with the concubines to falsely accuse her of using witchcraft against Emperor Ling. In October or November 178, Emperor Ling finally believed them and deposed Empress Song. Empress Song was imprisoned and died in despair.(后自致暴室，以忧死) ''Houhanshu'', vol. 10 part 2 Her father Song Feng and her brothers were all executed. Song Qi (宋奇), formally the Marquis of Yinqiang (隐强侯), who was also executed, was probably a brother of the empress; and as his wife was a younger cousin of Cao Cao, Cao Cao was dismissed from his post as the Prefect of Dunqiu. Some of the eunuchs not involved in the plot who took pity on the late empress gathered her body and those of her family members and gave them proper burials, but as commoners.

References

*'' Book of the Later Han'', volume 8, volume 10, part II {{DEFAULTSORT:Song (Ling), Empress 178 deaths Han dynasty empresses 2nd-century Chinese women 2nd-century Chinese people Chinese people who died in prison custody Prisoners who died in Chinese detention Year of birth unknown