吕太后本纪 — Shiji

Empress Dowager Lü was a concubine of Emperor Gaozu before he rose to power. She bore Emperor Hui and Princess Luyuan. When Gaozu became King of Han, he took Consort Qi of Dingtao as his favorite, and she bore him Zhao Yin Wang Ruyi. Emperor Hui was gentle and weak-willed, and Gaozu considered him unlike himself. He often wished to depose the Crown Prince and install Consort Qi's son Ruyi in his place—for Ruyi resembled him. Consort Qi, favored and doted upon, frequently accompanied the Emperor eastward, pleading day and night that her son be made heir. The Empress Dowager, now older, usually remained behind at the capital; she saw the Emperor rarely and grew ever more distant.

After Ruyi was installed as King of Zhao, several attempts were made to replace the Crown Prince, each time narrowly averted through the intervention of ministers and the counsel of Marquis Liu. Only with their combined efforts was the Crown Prince spared.

The Empress Dowager was resolute and decisive. She had assisted Gaozu in conquering the empire and had been instrumental in eliminating many powerful figures. Her elder brother died in service to the dynasty, and his son Lü Tai was enfeoffed as Marquis of Liyi, while another nephew, Lü Chan, became Marquis of Jiao; her second brother Lü Shizhi was made Marquis of Jiancheng.

The envoy went back and forth three times. The Chancellor of Zhao, Jianping Marquis Zhou Chang, said to the envoy: 'The High Emperor entrusted the King of Zhao to me. The King of Zhao is young. I have heard privately that the Empress Dowager resents Consort Qi and wishes to summon the King of Zhao to kill him together with her. I dare not send the king. Moreover, the king is also ill and unable to comply with the edict.' Empress Lü was furious and then sent someone to summon the Chancellor of Zhao. After the Chancellor of Zhao was summoned to Chang'an, she then sent someone to summon the King of Zhao again. The king set out but had not yet arrived. Emperor Hui, compassionate and benevolent, knew of the Empress Dowager's anger and went personally to Bashang to welcome the King of Zhao. He brought him into the palace and personally accompanied the King of Zhao in his daily living, eating and drinking.

The Empress Dowager wanted to kill him but could not find an opportunity. In the twelfth month of the first year of Emperor Hui, the emperor went out early in the morning to shoot. The King of Zhao was young and could not get up early. The Empress Dowager heard that he was alone, so she sent someone to make him drink poisoned wine. By dawn, when Emperor Hui returned, the King of Zhao was already dead. Thereupon, the King of Huaiyang, You, was transferred to become King of Zhao. In summer, an edict posthumously honored the father of the Marquis of Li with the title of Marquis Lingwu. The Empress Dowager then cut off Consort Qi's hands and feet, gouged out her eyes, burned her ears, forced her to drink a drug that made her mute, and had her live in the privy, calling her the 'human pig'. After several days, she summoned Emperor Hui to see the human pig. Emperor Hui saw her, asked, and then knew it was Consort Qi. Thereupon he wept greatly and fell ill, unable to rise for over a year.

He sent someone to tell the Empress Dowager: 'This is not what a human being should do. I am your son, and I can never govern the empire.' Henceforth Emperor Xiaohui gave himself every day to drink and debauchery, refused to attend to government, and pleaded illness. In the second year, King Yuan of Chu and King Daohui of Qi came to court. In the tenth month, Emperor Xiaohui and the King of Qi held a feast before the Empress Dowager. Since he considered the King of Qi his elder brother, Xiaohui gave him the seat of honor, treating him with the courtesy appropriate to family members. When the Empress Dowager learned of this she was displeased, and such a thing was never allowed again.

The Empress Dowager harbored deep resentment toward Consort Qi and her son, the King of Zhao. She ordered Consort Qi imprisoned in the Yongxiang detention quarters and summoned the King of Zhao to court. Three messengers were sent; each time Zhao Xiang Zhou Chang, the man Gaozu had assigned to protect the young prince, refused. "Gaozu entrusted me with the King of Zhao," he told the messenger. "The prince is young. I have heard that the Empress Dowager bears a grudge against Consort Qi and intends to summon the King of Zhao to destroy them both. I cannot send the prince. Besides, the king is ill and cannot obey the summons." The Empress Dowager flew into a rage and summoned the Prime Minister of Zhao instead. Once Zhou Chang arrived in the capital, she summoned the King of Zhao. He set out, but before he could reach the palace—

Emperor Hui, in his benevolence, learned of his mother's fury. He personally rode out to meet his brother at Baxia, brought him into the palace, and kept him at his side at all times, sharing his meals and quarters. The Empress Dowager could find no opportunity to strike.

In the twelfth month of the first year of Emperor Hui's reign, the Emperor went out early one morning for a hunt. Ruyi, still young, could not rise so early. While he lay alone, the Empress Dowager heard that his quarters were empty. She sent someone with poisoned wine. By dawn, when Emperor Hui returned, Ruyi was dead.

The Emperor then transferred his cousin Liu You from Huayang to be King of Zhao. That summer, an imperial decree honored the late Marquis of Liyi's father with the posthumous title Marquis Lingwu.

The Empress Dowager then ordered Consort Qi's hands and feet cut off, her eyes put out, her ears seared, and her voice silenced with a drug. She was placed in a latrine and called a "human pig." Days later, the Empress Dowager summoned Emperor Hui to witness this. He saw what it was, recognized Consort Qi, and burst into weeping. He fell gravely ill and was bedridden for more than a year.

When the emperor grew older, he heard that his mother had died and that he was not the true son of the Empress, so he said: 'How could the Empress Dowager kill my mother and then make me emperor? I am not yet grown. When I am grown, I will cause a rebellion.' The Empress Dowager heard this and worried, fearing he would cause unrest. She then confined him in the Yongxiang alley, claiming the emperor was seriously ill, and none of his attendants could see him. The Empress Dowager said: 'One who possesses the empire and governs for the sake of all the people should cover them like heaven and contain them like earth. When the ruler has a joyful heart and thereby brings peace to the hundred clans, the hundred clans will gladly serve their ruler; joy and goodwill flow between them and the empire is well governed. Now the emperor has been ill for a long time without recovering; he has become deranged and confused, unable to continue the line, perform the ancestral temple sacrifices, and cannot be entrusted with the empire. He should be replaced.' All the ministers kowtowed and said: 'The Empress Dowager has considered deeply for the people of the empire in order to secure the altars of the state. We ministers kowtow and accept the edict.'

He sent word to his mother: "This is not what a human being should do. As your son, I cannot rule the empire." From that time, Emperor Hui devoted himself to drinking and pleasure, refusing to govern. His illness came from this.

In the second year, the King of Chuyuan and the King of Qichui both came to court. In the tenth month, Emperor Hui hosted a banquet with the King of Qi. Believing the King of Qi to be his elder brother, he seated him above himself—a gesture of familial courtesy. The Empress Dowager was furious. She ordered two cups of poisoned wine poured and placed before the King of Qi, commanding him to toast her. The King of Qi rose; Emperor Hui rose as well, took a cup, and moved to join him in the toast. The Empress Dowager panicked and knocked the cup from Emperor Hui's hand. The King of Qi grew suspicious and dared not drink. He pretended to be drunk and left. When he learned the truth, he was terrified, certain he could not escape the capital alive.

The King of Qi surrendered the entire Commandery of Chengyang, elevated the princess to the rank of King's Mother. The Empress Dowager was pleased and agreed. She held a banquet at the Qi residence, and after a joyful evening, the King of Qi was allowed to return home.

In the third year, construction began on the walls of Chang'an. After four years, half the work was done; by the fifth year the project was nearly complete. All the regional lords came to attend the completion ceremony, and in the tenth month they presented their annual tribute.

"No," said the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister followed this counsel. The Empress Dowager's tears became genuine. From this, the power of the Lü clan began to rise. A general amnesty was proclaimed throughout the realm.

In the ninth month, Emperor Hui was buried. The heir apparent ascended the throne and performed the ancestral rites at the Gaozu Temple.

The Empress Dowager was displeased. She turned to Left Chancellor Chen Ping and Grand Marshal Zhou Bo. They answered: "Gaozu divided the realm among his brothers and sons. Now Your Majesty holds imperial authority—you may enfeoff your brothers and the Lü clan as you see fit."

She was pleased and ended the audience. Wang Ling reproached Chen Ping and Zhou Bo: "When Gaozu sealed the blood covenant, were you not present? Now Gaozu is dead and you support a woman's ambition to enfeoff the Lü clan, betraying the oath. How will you face Gaozu in the underworld?"

"Today, to speak plainly and challenge the throne in open court—these are things I cannot do as well as you. But to preserve the state and secure Liu's succession—neither can you do this as well as I."

Wang Ling had no answer.

When he passed by the residence of his aunt Lü Xu, she flew into a fury and said: 'You are a general, yet you abandon your army—now the Lü clan has no place left!' Then she brought out all her pearls, jade, and precious vessels and scattered them in the hall, saying: 'I will not keep guard over these for others!' The Left Chancellor Shen Yiji was dismissed. On the morning of the gengshen day of the eighth month, the Marquis of Pingyang, Cao Zhu, acting as Imperial Secretary, witnessed Chancellor Lü Chan consulting on state affairs.

She posthumously honored the late Marquis of Liyi as King Zhaowu, using this as the first step toward enfeoffing the Lü clan as kings.

In the fourth month, the Empress Dowager sought to honor the Lü clan with titles of nobility. She first ennobled Wu Ze, the Commander of the Gentlemen of the Palace, as Marquis of Bocheng, in recognition of his services to Gaozu.

When Princess Luyuan died, she was posthumously honored as Luyuan Taihou, and her son Yan was made Lu Wang. His father was Zhang Ao, Marquis of Xuanping.

The Empress Dowager ennobled Zhang, son of the King of Qichui, as Marquis of Zhuxu, and gave him Lü Lu's daughter in marriage. The Prime Minister of Qi, Shou, became Marquis of Pingding; the Lesser Treasurer, Yan, became Marquis of Wu.

She ennobled Lü Zhong as Marquis of Pei, Lü Ping as Marquis of Fuliu, and Zhang Mai as Marquis of Nangong.

In the second year, the King of Changshan died. His brother, the Marquis of Xiangcheng, was installed as King of Changshan, with his name changed to Yi.