Empress Cao (Dou Jiande's wife)
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Empress Cao (曹皇后, personal name unknown) was the wife of
Dou Jiande Dou Jiande (; 573 – 3 August 621) was a leader of the agrarian rebels who rose against the rule of Emperor Yang of Sui near the end of the Chinese Sui dynasty. Generally considered the kindest and most able of the agrarian rebel leaders ...
, an agrarian rebel leader who claimed the title of Prince of Xia at the end 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 ...
dynasty Sui Dynasty. Nothing is known about her personal background. She was said to be frugal in her living, as even after Dou conquered modern
Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and 0 ...
and had substantial holdings, she had no decoration on her clothing, and only had less than 10 maids attending her. After Dou defeated and killed
Yuwen Huaji Yuwen Huaji (; died March 22, 619) was a Chinese military general, monarch, and politician of the Sui Dynasty who, in 618, led a coup against and murdered Emperor Yang of Sui. He subsequently declared Emperor Yang's nephew Yang Hao emperor and ...
, who carried a large number of
ladies in waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...
of Emperor Yang of Sui in his possession, Dou disbanded the ladies in waiting. (Novels fictionalizing the era generally attribute Dou's disbanding of the ladies in waiting to his love for her and her jealousy, but nothing is recorded in history suggesting that she was, in fact, jealous.) Dou himself only claimed the title of prince, not
emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
, but after he heard in 619 that
Wang Shichong Wang Shichong (; 567– August 621), courtesy name Xingman (行滿), was a Chinese military general, monarch, and politician during the Sui dynasty who deposed Sui's last emperor Yang Tong and briefly ruled as the emperor of a succeeding state ...
had deposed the last emperor of Sui,
Yang Tong Yang Dong (; 600s–619), known in traditional histories by his princely title of Prince of Yue (越王) or by his era name as Lord Huangtai (皇泰主), posthumous name (as bestowed by Wang Shichong) Emperor Gong (恭皇帝), courtesy name Renji ...
, and declared himself the Emperor of Zheng, Dou cut off Wang and began to take on imperial style in his ceremonies, including referring to his orders as imperial edicts. It was likely that it was at this time that he let her take on the title of empress. In 621, with Wang's Zheng state under attack by the
Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...
general
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 ...
(the later Emperor Taizong), Wang sought aid from Dou. Dou, believing that if Li were able to conquer Zheng, that his Xia state would be next, decided to go to Wang's aid. As he approached Luoyang, his strategist Ling Jing (凌敬) suggested that instead of heading to Zheng's 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 ...
, which Li was sieging, that he attack Tang's Fen (汾州, roughly modern
Lüliang Lüliang or Lyuliang () is a prefecture-level city in the west of Shanxi province, People's Republic of China, bordering Shaanxi province across the Yellow River to the west, Jinzhong and the provincial capital of Taiyuan to the east, Linfen to ...
, Shanxi) and Jin (晉州, roughly modern
Linfen Linfen is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Shanxi province, China, bordering Shaanxi province to the west. It is situated along the banks of the Fen River. It has an area of and according to the 2020 Census, a population of 3,976, ...
, Shanxi) Prefectures and be poised to further attack Tang's capital
Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin S ...
in order to seize Tang territory as well as force Li to give up the siege on Luoyang. However, Wang's emissaries Wang Wan (王琬) and Zhangsun Anshi (長孫安世) persuaded Dou that Luoyang was about to fall and needed his aid immediately, and so Dou headed for Luoyang. When Empress Cao heard this, she tried to persuade Dou to accept Ling's plan, stating: :''The strategy of the Secretary General i.e., Ling)must be accepted, and I do not understand why Your Royal Highness would not accept it. Your Royal Highness should enter through Fukou 滏口, in modern Handan,
Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and 0 ...
)] into Tang's weak spot. Connect your camps and capture the area north of the Taihang Mountains. This, combined with Tujue's pillages against Guanzhong [(Tang's capital region)], will force Tang forces to withdraw to save themselves. Why worry that you cannot lift the siege on Luoyang? If you remain here, the officers and the soldiers will all be tired, and you will spend much material, and you will not be successful.'' Dou, however, responded: :''You women will not understand this. We came to save Luoyang, which is in dire straits and about to fall. If we abandon it and leave, we show that we are fearful of the enemy and turning our back on faith and righteousness. I cannot do this.'' He therefore continued to progress toward Luoyang, and he engaged Li at the
Battle of Hulao The Battle of Hulao () or Battle of Sishui (汜水之戰, Wade–Giles: Ssŭ Shui), on 28 May 621 was the main and final battle of the Luoyang–Hulao campaign between the rival Tang, Zheng, and Xia regimes during the transition from Sui to Ta ...
. Li defeated and captured him, and Wang surrendered. Li took both Dou and Wang back to Chang'an to be presented to his father
Emperor Gaozu of Tang 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-day ...
, who executed Dou. The Xia forces withdrew to the Xia capital at Mingzhou (present-day Guangfu) and considered declaring Dou's adopted son as prince.This implied that Dou did not have any sons with Empress Cao or any other woman, although this is not explicitly stated. In 611, Dou's family was slaughtered by Sui officials, so if he had any wives or children prior to that point, they would have likely been slaughtered. Historical records did make reference to her giving birth in spring 620, but did not state whether it was a live birth or what the gender the child was. The official Qi Shanxing (齊善行), however, persuaded the others that further resistance would be futile, and the treasures that the Xia state had previously obtained were distributed to the soldiers, who were then disbanded. Qi, the former Sui official
Pei Ju Pei Ju (547-627), birth name Pei Shiju, courtesy name Hongda, formally Duke Jing of Anyi, was a Chinese cartographer, diplomat, politician, and writer who lived in the Sui and Tang dynasties, briefly serving as a chancellor during the reign of ...
, and Empress Cao's brother Cao Dan (曹旦) then accompanied her, carrying the treasures and the imperial seals Dou took after defeating Yuwen, and they surrendered to Tang forces. Nothing further was said about her in history. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cao, Empress Sui dynasty people Tang dynasty people Chinese empresses Year of birth unknown 7th-century deaths Transition from Sui to Tang 7th-century Chinese women 7th-century Chinese people