Fu Shou (died 8 January 215[1]) was an empress of the Eastern Han dynasty of China. She was the first wife of Emperor Xian, the last Han emperor. She is best known for initiating a conspiracy against Cao Cao, the ruler of state of Cao Wei.
| Fu Shou 伏壽 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Empress consort of the Han dynasty | |
| Tenure | 20 May 195 – 8 January 215 |
| Predecessor | Empress Lingsi |
| Successor | Empress Xianmu |
| Born | Unknown |
| Died | 8 Jan 215 |
| Spouse | Emperor Xian |
| Issue | Liu Feng, Prince of Nanyang two other sons |
| Father | Fu Wan, Marquis of Buqi |
| Mother | Ying |
Empress Fu Shou is praised in the traditional point of view as one of the last defenders of the failed Han dynasty, alongside Lady Dong and Empress Xianmu in contrast to Emperor Xian's negligence.
Family background and marriage to Emperor Xian
editFu Shou's father was Fu Wan (伏完), a seventh generation descendant of the early Eastern Han official Fu Zhan (伏湛) and the hereditary Marquis of Buqi (不其侯). Fu Wan's wife was Princess Yang'an (陽安公主), a daughter of Emperor Huan, but she was not Fu Shou's biological mother as Fu Shou's mother was named Ying (盈). Fu Wan also had a wife with the family name Fan (樊), but it is not clear whether she was Ying. The Fu family descended from the prominent Confucian scholar Fu Sheng.[2]
In 190, as Emperor Xian was being forced by Dong Zhuo to move the capital west to Chang'an, Lady Fu became an imperial consort. On 20 May 195,[3] while Emperor Xian was largely under the control of Dong Zhuo's subordinates Li Jue and Guo Si, he designated Fu Shou as his empress consort.
As empress
edit
As Emperor Xian continued his reign of being constantly under the control of one warlord or another, he and Empress Fu were apparently in a loving relationship, but both saw their power increasingly becoming minimal. Later in 195, during Emperor Xian's flight back to the old capital Luoyang, Empress Fu was carrying silk, which were seized by soldiers ostensibly protecting her – such that even her own personal bodyguards were killed, and their blood spilled on her. When they returned to Luoyang, the imperial court was poorly supplied and while there is no record indicating that Empress Fu personally was under threat of starvation, a number of imperial officials died of hunger or were killed by robbers. Materially, the imperial court became much better supplied once the warlord Cao Cao arrived in 196 and took Emperor Xian and the imperial court under control. Cao Cao relocated the imperial capital to his headquarters in Xu County (present-day Xuchang, Henan).
.jpg)
Empress Fu was apparently not happy about Cao Cao's domination over the imperial court and central government. In February 200, Emperor Xian's concubine, Consort Dong, was forcibly executed by Cao Cao against the emperor's wishes after her father Dong Cheng was found guilty of masterminding a conspiracy to assassinate Cao Cao. After Consort Dong's death, Empress Fu became angry and fearful, so she wrote her father Fu Wan a letter accusing Cao Cao of cruelty and implicitly asking him to come up with a plan to eliminate Cao Cao. Fu Wan was fearful and did not act on the letter, but Empress Fu's letter was discovered in late 214. Cao Cao was so angry that he forced Emperor Xian to depose Empress Fu. When Emperor Xian was reluctant to do so, Cao Cao sent Hua Xin and close aides into the imperial palace to capture the empress. Empress Fu tried to hide behind a wall, but Cao Cao's men found her and dragged her out. As she was being taken away, she cried out to Emperor Xian to save her, but his only response was that he had no idea what would happen to him. She was incarcerated and killed along with her two sons (Liu Feng had predeceased his mother on 9 August 200[4]) and more than 100 members of the Fu clan, with her mother Lady Ying and 18 others exiled.[5]
Anecdotes
editAccording to "Chronicles of the Emperor Xian," after Fu Wan had written a letter, he entrusted it to Xun Yu and his brother-in-law Fan Pu. Fan Pu presented it to Cao Cao, which raised concerns for Xun Yu, fearing that it might bring trouble to himself. Xun Yu advised Cao Cao to marry his daughter to Emperor Xian. During the discussion between Cao Cao and Xun Yu on this matter, Xun Yu mentioned, "Empress Fu has no child." However, Pei Songzhi, when writing annotations, questioned the logic of Xun Yu's statement in this account. Due to the credibility issues with this entire passage, it is uncertain whether Empress Fu indeed had two children who were poisoned, and the birth dates of these two children may not necessarily be after Fu Wan's conspiracy.
Appraisal
editRepublic of China historian Lü Simian (吕思勉) had a different perspective on the case of Empress Fu's execution. He believed that given Cao Cao's status and temperament, he wouldn't simply harm Empress Fu because of a disrespectful letter she sent to her father. Furthermore, Emperor Xian would not have transferred his anger to Cao Cao just because of Dong Cheng's assassination (Dong Cheng himself wasn't a trustworthy loyalist). Lu Simian thought that there must have been "another reason" behind this case, something significant and not suitable for inclusion in official history records. He speculated that Empress Fu had a comprehensive political plan that was crucial to the overall situation, and therefore, Cao Cao had no choice but to take action.[6]
See also
editReferences
editCitations
edit- ^ According to Liu Xie's biography in Book of the Later Han, Empress Fu was executed on the dingmao day of the 11th month of Jian'an 19. This corresponds to 8 Jan 215 in the Julian calendar. [(建安十九年)十一月丁卯，曹操杀皇后伏氏...] Houhanshu, vol. 09
- ^ 伏胜 (in Chinese). Guoxue.com. 2012-06-25. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
- ^ jiawu day of the 4th month of the 2nd year of the Xing'ping era, per Emperor Xian's biography in Book of the Later Han
- ^ According to Zizhi Tongjian, Liu Feng died on the renwu day of the 7th month of the 5th year of the Jian'an Era of his father's reign. This corresponds to 9 Aug 200 on the Julian calendar. ([建安五年]秋，七月，立皇子冯为南阳王；壬午，冯薨。) Zizhi Tongjian vol. 63
- ^ (遂将后下暴室，以幽崩.所生二皇子，皆鸩杀之。后在位二十年，兄弟及宗族死者百馀人，母盈等十九人徙涿郡。) Houhanshu, vol.10, part 2
- ^ Lü Simian, in "Stories of the Three Kingdoms: Defending the Slander Against Emperor Wu of Wei," said, "That's why I believe that Empress Fu's assassination was undoubtedly part of a political conspiracy. However, the true facts may never have been passed down. Assuming that Empress Fu's assassination was part of a hidden plot, then Emperor Wu of Wei, since it involved the overall stability, had no choice but to eliminate her for the greater good. This is similar to a military commander not resigning or committing suicide just because there's a group within his army opposing him, disregarding the safety of the entire army."
Bibliography
edit- Chen Shou (3rd century). Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi).
- Fan Ye (5th century). Book of the Later Han (Houhanshu).
- Pei Songzhi (5th century). Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi zhu).