Empress He ( 176 - 30 September 189), personal name unknown,

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' (E ...

known as Empress Lingsi, was an empress of the Eastern Han dynasty. She was the second empress consort of Emperor Ling and the mother of Emperor Shao. After the death of Emperor Ling in 189, she became empress dowager when her young son, Liu Bian (Emperor Shao), became the new emperor. She was caught up in the conflict between her brother, General-in-Chief He Jin, and the eunuch faction, who were both vying for power in the Han imperial court. After He Jin's assassination and the elimination of the eunuch faction, the warlord

Dong Zhuo Dong Zhuo () (died 22 May 192), courtesy name Zhongying, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. At the end of the reign of the Eastern Han, Dong Zhuo was a general and powerful minist ...

took advantage of the

power vacuum In political science and political history, the term power vacuum, also known as a power void, is an analogy between a physical vacuum to the political condition "when someone in a place of power, has lost control of something and no one has repla ...

to lead his forces into the imperial capital and seize control of the Han central government. He subsequently deposed Emperor Shao, replaced him with Liu Xie (Emperor Xian), and had Empress Dowager He poisoned to death.

Family background and early years

Lady He was from Wan County (),

Nanyang Commandery Nanyang Commandery ( zh, 南陽郡) was a Chinese commandery that existed from the Warring States period to Tang dynasty. It was centered in present-day Nanyang, Henan. History Nanyang Commandery was established by Qin in the 35th year of King Z ...

(), which is in present-day Nanyang,

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

. Unlike most Han dynasty empresses, she was not of noble birth; her father, He Zhen (), was a butcher. Her mother's maiden family name is unknown, but her given name was "Xing" (). She had two half-brothers, He Jin (same father) and He Miao (same mother) (), and a younger sister who married the (adopted) son of the

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 ...

Zhang Rang The Ten Attendants, also known as the Ten Eunuchs, were a group of influential eunuch-officials in the imperial court of Emperor Ling ( 168–189) in Eastern Han China. Although they are often referred to as a group of 10, there were actually 12 ...

. According to legends, she joined Emperor Ling's imperial harem after her family bribed the eunuchs tasked with selecting women to serve the emperor. She was seven '' chi'' and one '' cun'' tall. In 176, she bore Emperor Ling a son,

Liu Bian Liu Bian (176 – 6 March 190), also known as Emperor Shao of Han and the Prince of Hongnong, was the 13th emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty in China. He became emperor around the age of 13 upon the death of his father, Emperor Ling, and ru ...

, who turned out to be the emperor's oldest surviving son because his other sons born before Liu Bian died in infancy or childhood. As Emperor Ling believed that he lost his previous sons due to bad luck, he ordered Shi Zimiao (), a Taoist, to raise his newborn son; Liu Bian was given the title "Marquis Shi" (). Lady He became highly favoured by Emperor Ling, who awarded her the rank of " Honoured Lady" (). Honoured Lady He was known for being jealous and cruel. The other women in Emperor Ling's harem were afraid of her.

As empress

On 8 January 181, Emperor Ling instated Honoured Lady He as Empress to replace Empress Song, whom he deposed in 178. The following year, the emperor bestowed titles on Empress He's parents to honour them: her deceased father, He Zhen, received the posthumous appointment "General of Chariots of Cavalry" () and the title "Marquis Xuande of Wuyang" (); her mother was given the title "Lady of Wuyang" (). Around the time, one of Emperor Ling's consorts, Beautiful Lady Wang (), became pregnant. As she feared that Empress He would harm her unborn child, she attempted to cause a miscarriage by consuming drugs but her child remained safe and she had dreams about the sun. In 181, after Beautiful Lady Wang gave birth to a son,

Liu Xie Liu Xie (, ca. 465–522), courtesy name Yanhe (), was a Chinese monk, politician, and writer. He was the author of China's greatest work of literary aesthetics, ''The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons'' (文心雕龍). His biography is inc ...

, Empress He ordered her to be poisoned to death. Emperor Ling was furious when he found out and he wanted to depose Empress He, but the eunuchs managed to persuade him to spare the empress. The motherless Liu Xie was raised by his grandmother, Empress Dowager Dong, and given the title "Marquis Dong" (). When his subjects asked him to name one of his sons as

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 wi ...

, Emperor Ling had a dilemma between Liu Bian and Liu Xie, his only two surviving sons. He felt that Liu Bian was unfit to be emperor because he was frivolous and unable to command respect, so he preferred Liu Xie. However, he was also worried that if he chose Liu Xie, Empress He would turn to her half-brother, He Jin, for help. He Jin held the position of General-in-Chief () and was a highly influential figure in the imperial court. He ultimately did not name either of his sons as crown prince.

As empress dowager

When Emperor Ling became critically ill in 189, he secretly entrusted his eight-year-old son

to close aide and eunuch, Jian Shuo. Upon Emperor Ling's death, Jian Shuo attempted to lure He Jin into a trap in the palace, assassinate him, and then install Liu Xie on the throne. However, Pan Yin (), a eunuch who was also an acquaintance of He Jin, warned the General-in-Chief of Jian Shuo's plot. He Jin returned to his military camp and pretended to be sick so he did not need to respond when summoned to enter the palace. Jian Shuo's plan to make Liu Xie emperor failed, so a 13-year-old Liu Bian was enthroned and became historically known as Emperor Shao. Empress He, as the emperor's mother, became empress dowager and attended imperial court sessions alongside her son. As Emperor Shao was still young, General-in-Chief He Jin and

Grand Tutor The Three Ducal Ministers (), also translated as the Three Dukes, Three Excellencies, or the Three Lords, was the collective name for the three highest officials in Ancient China and Imperial China. These posts were abolished by Cao Cao in 208 AD a ...

Yuan Wei () served as his

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

s. In the summer of 189, after Jian Shuo learnt that He Jin and his subordinates were plotting to eliminate him, he tried to persuade his fellow eunuchs to join him in his plan to assassinate He Jin. However, they were persuaded by Guo Sheng (), a eunuch close to Empress Dowager He, to reject Jian Shuo's idea. He Jin subsequently had Jian Shuo arrested and executed, and then took control of the military units previously under Jian's command. In the autumn of 189,

Yuan Shao Yuan Shao (, ; died 28 June 202), courtesy name Benchu (), was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. He occupied the northern territories of China during the civil wars that occurred t ...

suggested to He Jin to eliminate the eunuch faction and consolidate power. Empress Dowager He immediately rejected the idea because it required her to interact with men on a regular basis, which she found offensive and immodest. Empress Dowager He's mother (the Lady of Wuyang) and He Miao () had been bribed by the eunuchs to protect them, so they also strongly opposed He Jin's plan, saying that they owed much to the eunuchs. (Empress Dowager He became Emperor Ling's consort because the eunuchs helped her.) He Jin then heeded an alternative suggestion from Yuan Shao: he secretly instructed a few provincial military officials or warlords (

, Wang Kuang,

Qiao Mao Qiao Mao () (died 190), courtesy name Yuanwei, was an official and minor warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. In 190, he joined a coalition of warlords who launched a campaign against Dong Zhuo, a tyrannical warlord w ...

and Ding Yuan) to lead their troops to the vicinity of

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 ...

, the imperial capital, and openly demand that the eunuchs be executed – in the hope of pressuring Empress Dowager He to take action against the eunuchs. Empress Dowager He initially refused to harm the eunuchs, but as Dong Zhuo's forces approached Luoyang, she ordered the eunuchs to leave the palace and return to their marquisates. (Many of the eunuchs were made marquises by Emperor Ling.) Empress Dowager He's younger sister married the adopted son of

, the eunuch leader. Zhang Rang pleaded with her to help him, so she informed her mother (the Lady of Wuyang), who in turn spoke to Empress Dowager He. The empress dowager relented and summoned the eunuchs back to the palace. Around late August or September 189, the eunuchs hatched a plot to assassinate He Jin. They issued a fake imperial order in Empress Dowager He's name, instructing He Jin to enter the palace to meet her. He Jin fell into an ambush and died at the hands of the eunuchs, who declared him guilty of treason. After He Jin's death, his subordinates Wu Kuang () and Zhang Zhang (), along with

Yuan Shu Yuan Shu () (died July or August 199), courtesy name Gonglu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He rose to prominence following the collapse of the Han central government in 189 ...

and others, led their troops to storm the palace and kill the eunuchs in revenge. They indiscriminately slaughtered anyone who looked like a eunuch; some young men who had no facial hair, in desperation, dropped their pants in front of the soldiers to prove that they were not eunuchs. During the attack, the eunuchs took Empress Dowager He, Emperor Shao and the Prince of Chenliu (Liu Xie) hostage and tried to flee from the palace. Lu Zhi intercepted the eunuch Duan Gui () and saved the empress dowager from him. He Miao, who was sympathetic towards the eunuchs, was killed by Wu Kuang and Dong Zhuo's younger brother Dong Min (). Over 2,000 people died in the attack. Emperor Shao and the Prince of Chenliu, who were taken out of the palace by the eunuchs during the chaos, were eventually found near the riverbank and saved by Lu Zhi and Min Gong (), who brought them back safely.

Death

The warlord

ultimately led his forces into

, the imperial capital, and took advantage of the power vacuum to seize control of the Han central government. In 28 September 189, he deposed Emperor Shao (who was demoted to "Prince of Hongnong") and replaced him with Liu Xie (the Prince of Chenliu), who is historically known as

Emperor Xian 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 the Eastern Han dynasty in China. He reigned from 28 September 189 until 11 December 220. Liu Xie was a so ...

. A tearful Empress Dowager He watched as her son was forcefully pulled away from his throne, while the officials watched and did not dare to say anything for fear of antagonising Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo subsequently relocated Empress Dowager He to Yong'an Palace () and had her poisoned to death there. He also killed the empress dowager's mother, the Lady of Wuyang (). Dong Zhuo then forced Emperor Xian to attend the empress dowager's funeral on 29 October 189 at Fengchang Village (), a district of Luoyang. The officials who attended the funeral were dressed in plain colours but not proper mourning attire; the entire ceremony did not befit her status as an empress dowager. She was buried in the Wenzhao Mausoleum () with Emperor Ling as an empress instead of empress dowager, and posthumously honoured as "Empress Lingsi" ().(并州牧董卓被徵，將兵入洛陽，陵虐朝庭，遂廢少帝為弘農王而立協，是為獻帝。扶弘農王下殿，北面稱臣。太后鯁涕，羣臣含悲，莫敢言。董卓又議太后踧迫永樂宮，至令憂死，逆婦姑之禮，乃遷於永安宮，因進酖，弒而崩。在位十年。董卓令帝出奉常亭舉哀，公卿皆白衣會，不成喪也。合葬文昭陵。) ''Houhanshu'' vol. 10 (Part 2).

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