Zhao Ji (; Ji 姬 was an

ancestral name In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name, ...

of the Zhou royal family, which later evolved to generally mean "lady" in successive eras. But there are no more detailed mentions on her family at

Zhao Zhao may refer to: * Zhao (surname) (赵), a Chinese surname ** commonly spelled Chao in Taiwan or up until the early 20th century in other regions ** Chiu, from the Cantonese pronunciation ** Cho (Korean surname), represent the Hanja 趙 (Chine ...

(which was a Boyi-descent state and shared

origins Origin(s) or The Origin may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics and manga * ''Origin'' (comics), a Wolverine comic book mini-series published by Marvel Comics in 2002 * ''The Origin'' (Buffy comic), a 1999 ''Buffy the Vampire Sl ...

with Qin) except that it was "a prominent family." –228 BC) was the wife of King Zhuangxiang of Qin and the mother of

Qin Shi Huang Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of " king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Empero ...

, the first

emperor of China ''Huangdi'' (), translated into English as Emperor, was the superlative title held by monarchs of China who ruled various imperial regimes in Chinese history. In traditional Chinese political theory, the emperor was considered the Son of Heav ...

. Upon her marriage, she was the Lady Zhao; after the king's death, she was the Queen Dowager (). The daughter of a prominent family of

, she was a

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 ...

of the merchant

Lü Buwei Lü Buwei (291–235 BCE) was a Chinese merchant and politician of the Qin state during the Warring States period. Originally an influential merchant from the Wei () state, Lü Buwei met and befriended King Zhuangxiang of Qin, who was then a ...

, who gave her to his protégé, Prince Yiren of Qin. A year later, she gave birth to a son named Zheng; the historian

Sima Qian Sima Qian (; ; ) was a Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty (206AD220). He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his ''Records of the Grand Historian'', a general history of China covering more than two thousand years be ...

, ill-disposed towards the first emperor, claimed that the pregnancy was especially long and that the child was actually Lü's. The couple were living at the time in

Handan Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Hebei province, China. The southernmost prefecture-level city of the province, it borders Xingtai on the north, and the provinces of Shanxi on the west, Henan on the south and Shan ...

, the capital of Zhao, where Yiren was a hostage; when Qin laid siege to the city, Lü was able to bribe the prince's way out of town but Lady Zhao and her infant son were forced to hide among her family. Thanks to Lü's intervention and diplomacy, Prince Yiren subsequently ascended the Qin throne, becoming known to history by his

posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishm ...

King Zhuangxiang. When King Zhuangxiang died in 247 BC, Crown Prince Zheng ascended the throne and Lady Zhao became the

Queen Dowager A queen dowager or dowager queen (compare: princess dowager or dowager princess) is a title or status generally held by the widow of a king. In the case of the widow of an emperor, the title of empress dowager is used. Its full meaning is clear ...

. Sima Qian claimed she continued her affair with Lü Buwei but, facing exposure and persecution, he gave her a man named

Lao Ai Lao Ai (; died 238 BCE) was an imposter eunuch and official of the State of Qin during the late Warring States period. Allegedly falsifying his castration in order to gain entry into the court of Qin, he became the favorite of Queen Dowager Zhao, t ...

disguised as a

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 ...

. The couple produced two illegitimate children. After Lao Ai was killed during an attempted ''

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

'', the queen was imprisoned in her palace and the children were killed. In 237 BC, a Qi man named Mao Jiao persuaded King Zheng to welcome the Queen Dowager back from Yong to Ganquan Palace in

Xianyang Xianyang () is a prefecture-level city in central Shaanxi province, situated on the Wei River a few kilometers upstream (west) from the provincial capital of Xi'an. Once the capital of the Qin dynasty, it is now integrated into the Xi'an m ...

, for fear that other regional states would turn against the Qin if they heard that King Zheng exiled his own mother.''

Records of the Grand Historian ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese his ...

'', "Basic Annals of the First Emperor of Qin". quote: "十年，…… 齊人茅焦說秦王曰：「秦方以天下為事，而大王有遷母太后之名，恐諸侯聞之，由此倍秦也。」秦王乃迎太后於雍而入咸陽，復居甘泉宮。" By 221 BC, when King Zheng had unified China and become known as

Shi Huangdi Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of "king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Emperor ( ...

, the "First Emperor", the queen-dowager was already deceased. She was posthumously promoted as Empress Dowager ().Her title should be distinguished from the other Empresses Dowager starting from Empress Lü. Those successors were granted the slightly different title which can be also translated as

Empress Dowager Empress dowager (also dowager empress or empress mother) () is the English language translation of the title given to the mother or widow of a Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese emperor in the Chinese cultural sphere. The title was a ...

(). She was buried with King Zhuangxiang at Zhiyang.

Popular culture

In the manga and anime '' Kingdom'', she was described and introduced as a beautiful dancing girl and Lu Buwei's lover, before she was engaged to Zhuangxiang. After getting stranded in Handan and giving birth to Zheng, she was cold to her son, to the point of sadism. She escaped after her son and joined the court as a dowager. She knew

due to Lu's schemes and had children with him. In the aftermath of her attempt at a coup, she was imprisoned and her children with Lao Ai were secretly banished instead of killed. She is portrayed by Wu Jinyan in the Chinese television series '' The Legend of Haolan'' (2019) and by

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu (; born 19 July 1984) is a Chinese actress and singer. She rose to fame as a VJ on MTV China. Early life Zhu was born in a military family in Beijing on July 19, 1984, with her ancestral home in Linhai, Zhejiang, the daughter of Zhu H ...

in the series ''Qin Dynasty Epic''.

Footnotes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhao, Queen Dowager 3rd-century BC Chinese people 3rd-century BC Chinese women 280s BC births 228 BC deaths Qin royal consorts Qin Shi Huang