Lady Helan ( zh, c=賀蘭氏, 7th century – 666 CE) was the Lady of Wei () during the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...
and the niece of
Wu Zetian
Wu Zetian (624 – 16 December 705), personal name Wu Zhao, was List of rulers of China#Tang dynasty, Empress of China from 660 to 705, ruling first through others and later in her own right. She ruled as queen consort , empress consort th ...
. The Lady of Wei was an honorific for relatives of the Emperor and Empress. She was involved in court politics during her lifetime.
She was killed by being poisoned at a dinner party.
Background
Lady Helan was the daughter of
Wu Shun
Wu Shun (武顺)courtesy name Mouze(某则)The courtesy name of Wu Shun according to the Tang dynasty historian Li Anqi 李安期 (623-665) was the Lady of Han during the Tang dynasty and the older sister of Wu Zetian. The Lady of Han was an hono ...
and Helan Yueshi. Wu Shun was the first daughter of
Wu Shiyue and Lady Yang, and the older sister of
Empress Wu. Helan Yueshi was the son of the Duke of Yingshan () and died early.
Lady of Wei
Lady Helan and her mother, Wu Shun, were favored by
Emperor Gaozong who gave her the title Lady of Wei and her mother that of Lady of Han.
Emperor Gaozong wanted to keep Lady Helan as a concubine, but Empress Wu found out and had the Lady of Wei killed by poisoning. She then blamed Wu Weiliang and Wu Huaiyun for the murder and they were executed. Lady Helan's brother, Helan Minzhi, suspected Empress Wu of murdering his sister and was exiled.
Modern Depictions
Lady Helan is well known in television series as Helan Minyue (). She is often portrayed as an antagonist.
*Portrayed by He Lin in the
Palace of Desire
*Portrayed by
Kathy Yuen
Kathy Yuen, better known as Tong Yee is an actress from Hong Kong. She is signed under the Emperor Entertainment Group label. She was cast as a helper girl in '' Beautiful Cooking'' in 2006 prior to becoming an actress. In 2021, Kathy announced h ...
in
Secret History of Empress Wu
*Portrayed by
Sandra Ma in
The Empress of China
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Helan, Lady
7th-century Chinese women
7th-century Chinese people
Tang dynasty imperial consorts
Wu Zetian