Lady Ma (馬夫人, personal name unknown) (890''

Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms The ''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese title ''Shiguo Chunqiu'' (), is a history of the Ten Kingdoms that existed in southern China after the fall of the Tang Dynasty and before the reunification of China ...

'' (十國春秋)
vol. 83
– November 28, 939

Academia Sinica Academia Sinica (AS, la, 1=Academia Sinica, 3=Chinese Academy; ), headquartered in Nangang, Taipei, is the national academy of Taiwan. Founded in Nanking, the academy supports research activities in a wide variety of disciplines, ranging from ...

br>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter
), formally the Lady Gongmu of Wuyue (吳越國恭穆夫人), was a wife of

Qian Yuanguan Qian Yuanguan (錢元瓘) (November 30, 887 – September 17, 941''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 282.), born Qian Chuanguan (錢傳瓘), formally King Wenmu of Wuyue (吳越文穆王), courtesy name Mingbao (明寶), was the second king of the state of W ...

(King Wenmu) (né Qian Chuanguan, name changed to Qian Yuanguan upon his succession to the throne), the second king of the

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

state

Wuyue Wuyue (; ), 907–978, was an independent coastal kingdom founded during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907–960) of Chinese history. It was ruled by the Haiyan Qian clan (海盐钱氏), whose family name remains widespread in t ...

of the

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen conc ...

Background

Lady Ma was born in 890, during the reign of

Emperor Zhaozong of Tang Emperor Zhaozong of Tang (March 31, 867 – September 22, 904), né Li Jie, name later changed to Li Min and again to Li Ye, was the penultimate emperor of the Tang dynasty of China. He reigned from 888 to 904 (although he was briefly deposed ...

. Her father Ma Chuo was an officer serving under

Qian Liu Qian Liu (10 March 852Academia Sinica Chinese-Western Calendar Converter

, a warlord who then controlled the region around Hang Prefecture (杭州, in modern

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

), who would eventually found

as King Wusu. (She was said to be from Anguo County (安國), which might have been referring to Qian Liu's hometown Yijin Base (衣錦軍, in modern Hangzhou), as it was also known as Anguo Yijin Base.) Ma Chuo was, either by familial relations or by personal relations, was very close to Qian, as, because of those relations, he married one of Qian's younger sisters. At some point, Qian also took Lady Ma to be the wife of his son

Qian Chuanguan Qian Yuanguan (錢元瓘) (November 30, 887 – September 17, 941''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 282.), born Qian Chuanguan (錢傳瓘), formally King Wenmu of Wuyue (吳越文穆王), courtesy name Mingbao (明寶), was the second king of the state of ...

. (Qian Chuanguan had been forced to marry the daughter of another late-Tang warlord,

Tian Jun Tian Jun (; 858''New Book of Tang'', vol. 189.-December 30, 903''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 264.Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), courtesy name Dechen (), was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord during the late m ...

the military governor of Ningguo Circuit (寧國, headquartered in modern

Xuancheng Xuancheng () is a city in the southeast of Anhui province. Archeological digs suggest that the city has been settled for over 4,000 years, and has been under formal administration since the Qin dynasty. Located in the lower Yangtze River drainage ...

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

) as a political marriage and was taken to Ningguo, in 902, and was not able to return to Qian Liu's domain until Tian's downfall in 903, so his marriage to Lady Ma would have come after.)

Marriage to Qian Yuanguan

As Qian Chuanguan's wife, Lady Ma was said to be intelligent, wise, and diligent. During Qian Liu's reign, he banned officials from having

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. As Qian Chuanguan and Lady Ma did not have any sons even past the age of 30, Lady Ma became concerned. She went to her father-in-law Qian Liu to ask for an exemption on Qian Chuanguan's behalf. Qian Liu responded to her happily, "My family's future bloodline is in your hands." He thus allowed Qian Chuanguan to have concubines, and they bore him a large number of sons, whom Lady Ma treated as her own sons. She had a silver deer made and placed before her seat, and was accustomed to happily watch the children play on and around it.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 282. Over the years, apparently after Qian Chuanguan succeeded Qian Liu upon Qian Liu's death in 932 (at which time he changed his name to Qian Yuanguan),''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 277. Lady Ma received titles from the emperors of

Later Tang Tang, known in historiography as the Later Tang, was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China and the second of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in Chinese history. The first three of the Later Tang's four e ...

and the subsequent

Later Jin Later Jin may refer to two states in imperial China: * Later Jin (Five Dynasties) (後晉; 936–947), one of the Five Dynasties * Later Jin (1616–1636) (後金; 1616–1636), precursor to the Qing dynasty See also * Jin (disambiguation) Jin ...

, whom Qian Yuanguan was formally a vassal to. She was initially created the Lady of Yue, and later Lady Zhuangmu of Wuyue. She died in 939, while Qian Yuanguan was still king, and was posthumously honored by

Emperor Gaozu of Later Jin Shi Jingtang ( zh, 石敬瑭; 30 March 892 – 28 July 942''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 283.), also known by his temple name Gaozu (), was the founding emperor of imperial China's short-lived Later Jin during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms pe ...

as Lady Gongmu ("respectful and solemn").

Notes and references

* ''

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...

'', vol. 282. * ''

'' (十國春秋)
vol. 83
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ma, Lady 890 births 939 deaths Wuyue people born during Tang Later Tang people Later Jin (Five Dynasties) people People from Hangzhou