Empress Taimu (太穆皇后; 569?-613?) was posthumously honored the first Empress of the

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

. She was known as Duchess Dou or Lady Dou throughout her lifetime, and was the wife of Emperor Gaozu and mother of Emperor Taizong.

Background

Lady Dou was the daughter of Dou Yi and Princess Xiangyang. Dou Yi was the son of Dou Chi (竇熾), a high-level official for both

Northern Zhou Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern dynasties of China's Northern and Southern dynasties period, it succeeded the Western Wei dynasty and ...

and later Sui. Dou Yi also had a brother named

Dou Wei Dou Wei is a Chinese musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Music Dou Wei is a multi-instrumentalist and produces music across many genres. He first came to prominence as a member of the hard rock group Black Panther (Hei Bao, 黑豹). In ...

, a scribe for Yang Xiu, the Prince of Shu, who later served as chancellor during the early years of the Tang dynasty. Her mother Princess Xiangyang was the fifth daughter of

Yuwen Tai Yuwen Tai () (505 – 21 November 556According to Yuwen Tai's biography in ''Book of Zhou'', he died aged 52 (by East Asian reckoning) on the ''yihai'' day of the 10th month of the 3rd year of the reign of Emperor Gong of Western Wei. This corre ...

, Emperor Wen of Northern Zhou, and the sister of

Empress Yuwen Empress Yuwen (宇文皇后, personal name unknown) (died 554?) was an empress of the Xianbei-led Chinese Western Wei dynasty — a branch successor state of Northern Wei. Her husband was Emperor Fei (Yuan Qin), and her father was Western Wei's par ...

. As a young child, Lady Dou was raised in the palace and particularly favored by her uncle

Yuwen Yong Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou ((北)周武帝) (543 – 21 June 578), personal name Yuwen Yong (宇文邕), Xianbei name Miluotu (禰羅突), was an emperor of the Xianbei-led Northern Zhou dynasty of China. As was the case of the reigns of his brot ...

, Emperor Wu. She once recommended Yuwen Yong to establish a relationship between Northern Zhou and Tujue through the

Heqin ''Heqin'', also known as marriage alliance, refers to the historical practice of Chinese monarchs marrying princesses—usually members of minor branches of the ruling family—to rulers of neighboring states. It was often adopted as an appeaseme ...

system. As a result, Yuwen Yong married

Empress Ashina Empress Ashina (阿史那皇后, personal name unknown) (551–582) was an empress of the Xianbei-led Chinese Northern Zhou dynasty. She was the daughter of Göktürk's Muqan Qaghan, and her husband was Emperor Wu. Biography She was born in 5 ...

, the daughter of

Muqan Qaghan Muqan Qaghan (Old Turkic: 𐰢𐰆𐰴𐰣𐰴𐰍𐰣 Muqan qaγan, Chinese:木桿可汗/木杆可汗, Pinyin: mùgǎn kěhàn, Wade-Giles: mu-kan k'o-han or 木汗可汗, mùhàn kěhàn, mu-han k'o-han, personal name: 阿史那燕都, āshǐn� ...

. Yuwen Yong didn't favor Empress Ashina at first, but agreed after Lady Dou and her father reminded him of Tujue's power and that he still had to face the rivaling neighbor kingdoms

Northern Qi Qi, known as the Northern Qi (), Later Qi (後齊) or Gao Qi (高齊) in historiography, was a Chinese imperial dynasty and one of the Northern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties era. It ruled the eastern part of northern China ...

and Chen Dynasty. Lady Dou persuaded the general Zhangsun Sheng (長孫晟) to form a marriage alliance with the Tang household. Zhangsun Sheng's son

Zhangsun Wuji Zhangsun Wuji (; died 659), courtesy name Fuji (輔機), formally the Duke of Zhao, was a Chinese politician who served as a chancellor in the early Tang dynasty. He was Empress Zhangsun's brother, which made him a brother-in-law of Emperor Tai ...

would later become a prominent official and daughter Lady Zhangsun would become Lady Dou's daughter-in-law. After Yang Jian overthrew the Yuwen family and established the Sui Dynasty, Lady Dou lamented that she wasn't able to help her uncle and cousins. Her parents Dou Yi and Princess Xiangyang cautioned her to keep her mouth shut to live.

Duchess

As Lady Dou grew older, Dou Yi told Princess Xiangyang to marry their daughter to a wise and intelligent gentleman. Dou Yi placed two peacocks between an armorial screen and let the proposers shoot two arrows. The proposer who could shoot two arrows on the peacock's eye would be married to Lady Dou. Several proposers failed, except for a man named

Li Yuan Emperor Gaozu of Tang (7 April 566 – 25 June 635, born Li Yuan, courtesy name Shude) was the founding emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, reigning from 618 to 626. Under the Sui dynasty, Li Yuan was the governor in the area of modern-da ...

. Lady Dou and Li Yuan were married, and Li Yuan would later become the founding Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Lady Dou and Li Yuan were deeply in love and accompanied each other everywhere. Since Lady Dou grew up in the palace, she was familiar with politics and history books. She assisted her husband in his studies and raised their children. They had four sons,

Li Jiancheng Li Jiancheng (; 589 – July 2, 626, formally Crown Prince Yin (, literally, "the hidden crown prince"), nickname Vaishravana (; Sanskrit: Vaiśravaṇa), was the first crown prince of the Chinese Tang Dynasty. He was the oldest son of the foun ...

Li Shimin Emperor Taizong of Tang (28January 59810July 649), previously Prince of Qin, personal name Li Shimin, was the second emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649. He is traditionally regarded as a co-founder of the dynasty ...

, Li Xuanba, and

Li Yuanji Li Yuanji (李元吉) (603 – 2 July 626The date of the incident at Xuanwu Gate was the fourth day of the sixth month of the ''Wude'' era, which translates to July 2, 626, according to the Academia Sinicabr>), formally Prince La of Chao (巢剌� ...

, and one daughter who would become

Princess Pingyang Princess Pingyang (, formally Princess Zhao of Pingyang (, 590s–623) was the daughter of Li Yuan (later enthroned as Emperor Gaozu), the founding emperor of the Tang dynasty. She helped him to seize power and eventually take over the throne f ...

. Lady Dou established a close bond with her mother-in-law, Lady Dugu. Lady Dugu was the daughter of the prominent general

Dugu Xin Dugu Xin (Chinese: 獨孤信; 503 – 24 April 557), Xianbei name Qimitou (期彌頭), known as Dugu Ruyuan (獨孤如願) before 540, was a prominent general and official during the chaotic Northern and Southern dynasties period of imperial China ...

, and the sister of two Empresses from different dynasties, Empress Dugu and

Dugu Qieluo Dugu Qieluo or Dugu Jialuo (; 544 – September 10, 602), formally Empress Wenxian (文獻皇后), was an empress of the Chinese Sui dynasty. She was the wife of Emperor Wen, who, on account of his love and respect for her, as well as an oath t ...

. Li Yuan's father Li Bing had died early, leaving Lady Dugu in charge of the Li household. Lady Dugu suffered from poor health, and Lady Dou assisted her mother-in-law in managing household affairs. Once, Lady Dugu was extremely sick and due to her reckless personality, several of her daughter-in-laws refused to assist her. Only Lady Dou cared for Lady Dugu, and Lady Dugu recovered after a month. Lady Dugu was grateful and favored Lady Dou. Lady Dou died at the age of 45 (by East Asian reckoning). After Li Yuan overthrew the Sui Dynasty and established the Tang Dynasty, he honored Lady Dou as Empress Mu (穆皇后). When her son Li Shimin succeeded to the throne as Emperor Taizong, he honored Lady Dou as Empress Taimu (太穆皇后). She was further honored as Empress Taimu Shunsheng (太穆顺圣皇后).

Jack W. Chen Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, i ...

, ''The Poetics of Sovereignty: On Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty'', pp.14

Family

Parents *Father: Dou Yi, Duke Shenwu (河南竇毅; 519 – 3 January 583) *Mother: Princess Xiangyang (襄陽公主), **Maternal Grandfather:

(宇文泰, 507 – 556) Spouse and issue(s): *

(李淵, 7 April 566 – 25 June 635), Emperor Gaozu of Tang **

, Crown Prince Yin (隱皇太子李建成; 589–626) ** Princess Pingyangzhao (平陽昭公主; d. 623), ***Married

Chai Shao Chai Shao (588–638), courtesy name Sichang, posthumously known as Duke Xiang of Qiao, was a Chinese general who served under the emperors Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Gaozu and Emperor Taizong of Tang, Taizong in the early Tang dynasty. Chai Shao wa ...

, Duke Huo (d. 638), and had issue (two sons) **

, Emperor Taizong (太宗李世民; 598–649) ** Li Xuanba, Prince Weihuai (衛懷王李玄霸; 599–614) **

, Prince Chaola (巢剌王李元吉; 603–626)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taimu, Empress 7th-century Chinese women 7th-century Chinese people Emperor Taizong of Tang Tang dynasty posthumous empresses 569 births 613 deaths