Guo Nüwang (8 April 184According to the ''Book of Wei'' by Wang Chen et al., Lady Guo was born on the ''yimao'' day of the 3rd month of the 1st year of the ''Zhongping'' era during the reign of Emperor Ling of Han. This corresponds to 8 April 184 on the proleptic Gregorian calendar. (后以汉中平元年三月乙卯生.) ''Wei Shu'' annotation in ''Sanguozhi'', vol.05 – 14 March 235), formally known as Empress Wende, was an empress of the state of
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...
period of China. She was married to
Cao Pi
Cao Pi () ( – 29 June 226), courtesy name Zihuan, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Cao Cao, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty, but the eldest ...
, the first emperor of Wei.
Family background and marriage to Cao Pi
Her father Guo Yong (郭永) came from a line of minor local officials. When she was young, she was known for her intelligence, and her father, impressed by her talent, gave her the unusual style name "Nüwang" (literally "
queen regnant
A queen regnant (plural: queens regnant) is a female monarch, equivalent in rank and title to a king, who reigns ''suo jure'' (in her own right) over a realm known as a "kingdom"; as opposed to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reignin ...
"). Her parents died when she was five, however, and she became a servant at the household of one Marquis of Tongdi. It is not known how it came about, but she eventually became a concubine of
Cao Pi
Cao Pi () ( – 29 June 226), courtesy name Zihuan, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Cao Cao, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty, but the eldest ...
when he was the heir apparent of the
vassal
A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...
kingdom of Wei under his father Cao Cao. She quickly became a favourite – so much so that he began to neglect his wife Lady Zhen, who was also known for her beauty. She gave Cao Pi shrewd political advice during the succession controversy that pitted Cao Pi against his brothers. Her biography goes further to state that when Cao Pi was finally designated heir, Guo Nuwang had a hand in planning it. She also further created tension between Cao Pi and Lady Zhen by planting seeds of suspicion in Cao Pi's mind that Lady Zhen's son
Cao Rui
Cao Rui () (204 or 206 – 22 January 239), courtesy name Yuanzhong, was the second emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. His parentage is in dispute: his mother, Lady Zhen, was Yuan Xi's wife, but she later rem ...
was not biologically Cao Pi's son, but rather the son of Lady Zhen's former husband
Yuan Xi
Yuan Xi (died December 20711th month of the 12th year of the ''Jian'an'' era, per Emperor Xian's biography in ''Book of the Later Han''. The month corresponds to 7 Dec 207 to 5 Jan 208 in the Julian calendar.), courtesy name Xianyi or Xianyong ...
, citing the fact that Cao Rui was apparently born only eight months after Cao Pi married Lady Zhen. Lady Zhen eventually lost Cao Pi's favour altogether by complaining that he favoured other women over her, and after he became emperor of Cao Wei in 220 (after forcing
Emperor Xian of Han
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 China, emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty in China. He reigned from 28 September 189 until 11 December 220. ...
to abdicate to him), he forced Lady Zhen to commit suicide in 221. In 222, he made Lady Guo empress.
As empress
After Guo Nüwang became empress, she was said to have been a good leader of the imperial consorts, treating them well and disciplining them appropriately when they acted improperly, while hiding their faults from Cao Pi. She also appeared to have lived thriftily. Also, in 226, at the urging of her mother-in-law Empress Dowager Bian, she interceded on
Cao Hong
Cao Hong (died 232), courtesy name Zilian, was a Chinese military general of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He started his career in the late Eastern Han dynasty under the warlord Cao Cao, who was his older secon ...
's behalf, allowing Cao Hong to be spared his life even though Cao Pi had previous grudges against him.
Empress Guo had no sons or recorded children. Cao Pi's eldest son Cao Rui, by Lady Zhen, was therefore considered the presumptive heir, but because of his mother's fate was not created
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 ...
, but only Prince of Pingyuan. (He was inconsistently described as having been raised by Empress Guo or by Cao Pi's concubine Consort Li.) While she was empress, she apparently had a cordial relationship with Cao Rui. There was no evidence that she opposed his candidacy when Cao Pi, seriously ill in 226, created him crown prince. Cao Pi died soon after, and Cao Rui ascended the throne.
As empress dowager
The new emperor, although he posthumously honoured his mother as an empress, honoured his stepmother as empress dowager, and he bestowed members of her family with wealth and titles. She died on 14 March 235 and was buried on 16 April 235 with honours befitting an empress alongside her husband Cao Pi. Her family remained honoured by her stepson.
How Empress Dowager Guo came to die, however, is a matter of historical controversy. An apparently reliable historical account (although not conclusive one) states that at some point during Cao Rui's reign, Consort Li told him Empress Dowager Guo's role in Lady Zhen's death – and further told him that after Lady Zhen died, it was at Empress Dowager Guo's suggestion that she was buried with her hair covering her face and her mouth filled with rice grain shells – so that even after her death she would be unable to complain. Cao Rui became enraged and confronted Empress Dowager Guo – who could not deny her involvement directly. He then forced her to commit suicide, and, while he buried her with the honours befitting an empress, he had her face covered with her hair (so that she would never see sunlight ever again), and her mouth filled with rice grain shells (so that she could never say anything in the afterlife).
However, even after her death, her family continued to be favoured by Cao Rui especially her cousin Guo Biao, who was granted succession to Guo Nuwang's father's posthumous fief and promoted to a general.