Lady Li(, died between 104 and 101 BC) was a

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

concubine of Emperor Wu. Civil unrest broke out between her family and

Wei Zifu Wei Zifu (; died 9 September 91 BC), posthumous name, posthumously known as Empress Si of the filial piety, Filial Wu () or Wei Si Hou (衛思后, "Wei the Thoughtful Empress"), was an empress consort during ancient China's Han dynasty. She was ...

's family. Moreover, her siblings defected to the

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of Nomad, nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese historiography, Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, t ...

and became traitors to China. As a result, Emperor Wu ordered her relatives to be tried and executed, leading to the downfall of her and her family.

Biography

As concubine

She was allegedly the inspiration for ''The Beauty Song'', composed by her brother Li Yannian. Lady Li was born in an entertainer family,she was a dancer. Her parent and brother were also entertainers. Lady Li's brother Li Yannian was a musician for

Princess Pingyang Princess Pingyang (, formally Princess Zhao of Pingyang (, died March 623) was a Chinese princess and general. She was the only daughter of Li Yuan (later crowned as Emperor Gaozu), the founding emperor of the Tang dynasty, and his wife Empres ...

. After he performed ''The Beauty Song'' () for Emperor Wu, the Emperor asked Li Yannian if he knew of such a woman, to which Princess Pingyang responded that the song was about Li's sister. The Emperor thus requested to meet with Lady Li, and she became one of his concubines. She had one son named Bo (髆). However, although composed in the

persona A persona (plural personae or personas) is a strategic mask of identity in public, the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional Character (arts), character. It is also considered "an intermediary ...

of Han Wudi, there is doubt as to the actual authorship of this and similar poems.

Treason and execution of her family

In the civil unrest between the Li family and Empress

's family, several of Li's relatives were killed and executed. At the time Empress Wei Zifu was the head wife of Liu Che, and Wei and Li were jealous of each other.

Book of Han The ''Book of Han'' is a history of China finished in 111 CE, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. The work was composed by Ban Gu (32–92 CE), ...

Moreover,

Li Guangli Li Guangli (died 89 BC) was a Chinese military general of the Western Han dynasty and a member of the Li family favoured by Emperor Wu of Han. His brother Li Yannian was also close to Emperor Wu. With the suicide of Emperor Wu's crown prince Li ...

later surrendered to the

circa 90-89 BC and was accused of being a

traitor Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

. His grandson

Li Ling Li Ling (, died 74 BC), courtesy name Shaoqing (), was a Chinese military general of the Western Han dynasty who served during the reign of Emperor Wu. He later defected to the Xiongnu after being defeated in an expedition in 99 BC. Early lif ...

also defected to the Xiongnu. Li's family was then tried and executed for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

. With the suicide of Emperor Wu's crown prince

Liu Ju Liu Ju (; early 128 – 30 September 91 BC), formally known as Crown Prince Wei (衛太子) and posthumously as Crown Prince Li (戾太子, literally "the Unrepentant Crown Prince", "Li" being an unflattering name) was a Western Han dynasty crown ...

in 91 BC, her son Liu Bo was among the candidates for the title of crown prince. However, the title ultimately went to young

Liu Fuling Emperor Zhao of Han (; 94 – 5 June 74 BC),''guiwei'' day of the 4th month of the 1st year of the ''Yuan'ping'' era, per Emperor Zhao's biography in ''Book of Han'' born Liu Fuling (劉弗陵), was the eighth emperor of the Han dynasty from 87 ...

, who succeeded Emperor Wu as

Emperor Zhao of Han Emperor Zhao of Han (; 94 – 5 June 74 BC),''guiwei'' day of the 4th month of the 1st year of the ''Yuan'ping'' era, per Emperor Zhao's biography in ''Book of Han'' born Liu Fuling (劉弗陵), was the eighth emperor of the Han dynasty from 87 ...

. In any case, Liu Bo predeceased his father. Her grandson, Liu Bo's son,

Prince He of Changyi Liu He (; – 8 September 59 BC) was briefly the ninth Emperor of China, emperor of the Han dynasty. Originally King (or Prince) of Changyi Kingdom, Changyi (), he was installed by the powerful minister Huo Guang as emperor in 74 BC, but deposed ...

, was enthroned as emperor as Emperor Zhao's successor, but was removed from his position after 27 days by

Huo Guang Huo Guang (; died 21 April 68 BC), courtesy name Zimeng (子孟), posthumous name Marquess Xuancheng of Bolu (博陸宣成侯), was a Chinese politician and imperial regent who served as the dominant state official of the Han dynasty#Western Ha ...

. Li's grandson was impeached on 1127 charges of misconduct committed, and afterwards, Li's grandson was not included on the official historical list of Han emperors.

Death

At the end of her life, Lady Li became gravely ill. She refused to allow Emperor Wu to see her face, citing the loss of her beauty. Upon Wudi's urging, Li went further and refused to even speak. As such, Wudi left unhappily. The lady's sisters then admonished her for not allowing the emperor to see her face. The date of Lady Li's death is unrecorded, but is calculated to be between 104 and 101 BC, as her brother Li Guangli was sent to attack

Dayuan Dayuan (or Tayuan; ; Middle Chinese ''dâiC-jwɐn'' <

LHC

: ''dɑh-ʔyɑn'') is the Chinese

.M. Loewe, 53.

Remembrance

Because of her short but vibrant life, the emperor had her named the goddess of the Hollyhock blossom. She was said to be beautiful and sweet, just like the blossom.

Popular culture

* Portrayed by Zhan Jie in the 1990 TV series ''Han Wudi'' * Portrayed by He Jiayi in the 2000 BMN TV series '' The Prince of Han Dynasty'' * Portrayed by Gao Tingting in the 2005

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...

TV series ''

The Emperor in Han Dynasty ''The Emperor in Han Dynasty'', also released under the title ''The Emperor Han Wu'' in some countries, is a 2005 Chinese historical drama television series based on the life of Emperor Wu of Han, Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty. It uses the histori ...

'' * Portrayed by Zhang Xuan in the 2014 Zhejiang Huace Film and

Now TV Now (formerly Now TV and often stylised as NOW) is a subscription over-the-top streaming television service launched in the United Kingdom in 2012. It is operated by Sky Group in Europe, and Xfinity in the US; both owned by the American media ...

collaborative TV series ''

The Virtuous Queen of Han ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The' ...

'' * Portrayed by

Fala Chen Fala Chen (; born 24 February 1982) is a Chinese nationality law, Chinese and Americans, American actress. After winning the Miss Chinese International Pageant 2005, Chen made her debut as an actress in the Hong Kong cinema. She rose to prominen ...

in the 2014 HT TV series '' Sound of the Desert''

Notes

References

*M. Loewe, Crisis and Conflict in Han China * Rexroth, Kenneth (1970). '' Love and the Turning Year: One Hundred More Poems from the Chinese''. New York: New Directions. * ''

'', vol. 97, Part 1. *''

Records of the Grand Historian The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st ce ...

'', volume 49 {{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Furen 100s BC deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death uncertain 2nd-century BC Chinese women 2nd-century BC Chinese people Han dynasty posthumous empresses Chinese Gējìs