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This chapter treats Empress Zhang Wenxian of Liang, Empress Chi Wude of Liang, Honored Consort Ding, Lady of Cultivated Elegance Ruan, Empress Wang of Emperor Jianwen of Liang, Consort Xu of Emperor Yuan of Liang, Empress Dowager Xia the Reverent, Empress Wang the Reverent, Empress Zhang Xuan of Emperor Wu of Chen, Empress Shen of Emperor Wen of Chen, Empress Wang of the deposed emperor, Empress Liu Xuan of Emperor Xuan of Chen, and Empress Shen of the Chen last ruler.
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南朝梁
The Southern Liang.
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Empress Zhang Wenxian of Liang, whose personal name was Shangrou, came from Fangcheng in Fanyang. Her father Zhang Muzhi had married a paternal cousin of Emperor Wen of Liang, and it was from this union that the future empress was born. During the Yuanjia reign of Liu Song she entered the household of Xiao Shunzhi (Emperor Wen) as a consort, bearing Prince Yi of Changsha, titled Xuanwu, Prince Fu of Yongyang, titled Zhaowu, and later Xiao Yan, the future Emperor Wu of Liang. Once, while she was pregnant, she suddenly saw a calamus flower in the courtyard shining with an unearthly brilliance. Alarmed, she told the others, but every attendant insisted that nothing was there. The empress said, "I have often heard that whoever sees a calamus flower is destined for wealth and high rank." She plucked the flower and swallowed it, and in that same month she gave birth to the future Emperor Wu. On the night she went into labor, she saw what looked like an assembly of officials in caps and robes standing in the courtyard. She later bore Xiao Chang, Prince of Hengyang, titled Xuanwang, and Princess Lingyi of Yixing, titled Zhaochang. The empress died in 471, the seventh year of the Taishi era, at her home in Tongxia Village, Moling county, and was buried at Dongchengli Mountain in Wujin, Jinling.
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天監元年五月甲辰，追上尊號為皇后，諡曰獻。
On the jiachen day of the fifth month in 502, the first year of Tianjian, she was posthumously elevated to empress with the posthumous name Xian (Dedicated).
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Zhang Muzhi, courtesy name Sijing, was a sixth-generation descendant of Zhang Hua, Grand Marshal of Jin. In youth he was cultivated and discerning. He began as a supernumerary attendant in the outer retinue of cavalries and was warmly taken up by Liu Jun, Prince of Shixing. Muzhi saw the disaster Liu Jun would bring and asked to be sent away as administrator of Jiaozhi, where his rule won unusual praise. Emperor Wen of Song was on the point of making him inspector of Jiaozhou when Muzhi died of illness. His son Zhang Hongji, courtesy name Zhenyi, served in early Qi as staff officer to the army pacifying the west and died in that post. When Emperor Wu of Liang took the throne, he posthumously granted Muzhi the office of grand master of the palace with the golden seal and purple cord. He also posthumously granted Hongji the office of minister of justice. Hongji had no sons; his younger cousin Zhang Hongce had his own son Zuan continue the line — a separate biography treats them.
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Empress Chi Wude of Liang, personal name Hui, was a native of Jinxiang in Gaoping. Her grandfather Chi Shao had been national university administrator and mentor to the prince of Donghai under Liu Song. Her father Chi Ye was a staff member in the crown prince's household and died young. The empress's mother was Princess Xunyang, daughter of Emperor Wen of Song; while pregnant she dreamed she would bear a child of exalted rank. At the empress's birth a red light filled the room until every object gleamed, and the household was struck with wonder. A shaman said the girl's brilliance was too strong and would bring harm, so they performed a riverbank purification rite for her.
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As a girl she was quick and clever, wrote a fine clerical hand, and read histories. In needlework and domestic arts there was nothing she had not mastered. The deposed Emperor Fei of Song wished to make her empress, and in early Qi Liu Mian, prince of Anlu, also sought her hand; the Chi family declined both matches, pleading the girl's illness, and the proposals came to nothing. Near the end of the Jianyuan era she became a consort of the future Emperor Wu of Liang and bore the princesses Yuyao of Yongxing, Yuwan of Yongshi, and Yuhuan of Yongkang. While the future emperor was governor of Yong province, she died at the government quarters in Xiangyang, aged thirty-two. That year her body was brought back for burial at Dongchengli Mountain in Nan Donghai, Southern Xu province. In 502, the second year of Zhongxing, when Xiao Yan was duke of Liang, the Qi court posthumously enfeoffed her as his duchess. When he ascended the throne she was further honored as empress with the posthumous name De (Virtue). Her tomb was called Xiuling. Her father Chi Ye was posthumously made senior grand master of the palace with the golden seal and purple cord.
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The empress had been fiercely jealous; after death she was said to turn into a dragon that entered a well in the rear palace and visited the emperor in dreams. Sometimes she showed her form, radiant and dazzling. Whenever the emperor's health faltered, the dragon would churn the water into surging waves. They built a hall over the open well, piled garments there, and constantly set out a silver deer-shaped vessel and a golden vessel filled with a hundred delicacies as offerings. For this reason the emperor never installed another empress for the rest of his life.
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武丁貴嬪諱令光，譙國人也。 祖父從官襄陽，因居沔北五女村，寓於劉惠明廡下。 貴嬪生於樊城，初產有神光之異，紫氣滿室，故以「光」為名。 相者云：「當大貴」。 少時與鄰女月下紡績，諸女並患蚊蚋，而貴嬪弗之覺也。 鄉人魏益德將娉之，未及成，而武帝鎮樊城，嘗登樓以望，見漢濱五采如龍，下有女子擘絖，則貴嬪也。 又丁氏因人以相者言聞之於帝，帝贈以金環，納之，時年十四。 貴嬪生而有赤志在左臂，療之不滅； 又體多疣子，至是無何並失所在。 德后酷忌，遇貴嬪無道，使日舂五斛，舂每中程，若有助者，被遇雖嚴，益小心祗敬。 嘗於供養經案側，髣佛若見神人，心獨異之。 天監元年五月，有司奏為貴人，未拜；其年八月，又奏為貴嬪，居顯陽殿。 及太子定位，有司奏曰：「皇太子副貳宸極，率土咸執吏禮。既盡禮皇儲，則所生不容無敬。王侯妃主常得通信問者，及六宮三夫人雖與貴嬪同列，並應以敬皇太子之禮敬貴嬪。宋元嘉中，始興、武陵國臣並以吏敬敬王所生潘淑妃、路淑媛。貴嬪于宮臣雖非小君，其義不異，與宋泰豫朝議百官以吏敬敬帝所生，事義政同。謂宮僚施敬，宜同吏禮，詣神獸門奉箋致謁，年節稱慶，亦同如此。且儲妃作配，率由盛則，以婦踰姑，彌乖從序，謂貴嬪典章，一與太子不異。」 於是貴嬪備典章禮數，同乎太子，言則稱令。
Honored Consort Ding, personal name Lingguang, came from the state of Qiao. Her grandfather had served at Xiangyang and settled north of the Han at Wuniu Village, living in quarters lent by Liu Huiming. She was born at Fancheng; at birth supernatural lights appeared and purple vapor filled the room, whence she was named "Guang." A physiognomist said, "This girl is destined for the highest honor." As a girl she spun with neighbors under the moon; the others were tormented by mosquitoes, but she felt none. Wei Yide of the village was to marry her, but before the betrothal was settled the future Emperor Wu, then governing Fancheng, climbed a tower and saw five-colored light over the Han like a dragon, with a woman below breaking hemp — it was she. When a diviner's words reached him through the Ding clan, the prince gave her a gold ring and took her in; she was fourteen. She had been born with a red birthmark on her left arm that no treatment could remove. She had also borne many warts; now, without cause, both the mark and the warts disappeared. Empress De was fiercely jealous and abused her, setting her to pound five piculs of grain a day; she always finished on time, as though aided, and only grew more careful and reverent under the mistreatment. Once, beside the sutra table where she made offerings, she seemed dimly to see a divine figure and knew inwardly that she was marked for something extraordinary. In the fifth month of 502, the first year of Tianjian, the authorities memorialized to make her honored person, but the appointment was not conferred; that eighth month they memorialized again to make her honored consort, and she took up residence in Xianyang Hall. When the crown prince's position was fixed, the authorities memorialized: "The crown prince stands second to the throne, and all the realm performs official rites. Having paid full ritual to the heir, one cannot withhold respect from his mother. Princesses who may exchange correspondence, and the three ladies of the six palaces who share the honored consort's rank, should all observe toward her the same rites owed the crown prince. In the Yuanjia era of Song, retainers of Shixing and Wuling paid official respect to their princes' mothers, Consorts Pan and Lu. Though the honored consort is not the lesser lord to palace officials, the principle matches the Taiyu reign of Song, when officials were ordered to pay official respect to the emperor's mother. Palace staff should show respect as officials do, presenting memorials at the Divine Beast Gate and offering year-end congratulations in the same way. Moreover, the crown prince's consort is paired by grand precedent; for a daughter-in-law to outrank her mother-in-law would violate order. The honored consort's regulations should match the crown prince's in full." Thereupon the honored consort received regulations and ceremonial observances equal to the crown prince's, and in address her words were termed ling (command).
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By nature she was gentle and forgiving; in the palace everyone beneath her took delight in her. She cared nothing for finery; her utensils and dress held no precious ornament. She never used her position to seek private favors for relatives. When the emperor vigorously promoted Buddhism, she took the lead in offering vegetarian fare. On the day she received the precepts, sweet dew fell before the hall over an area about one zhang and five chi across. In the doctrinal works the emperor expounded she grasped the meaning at once and was especially versed in the Vimalakirti Sutra. On the gengchen day of the eleventh month in 526, the seventh year of Putong, she died; her coffin was placed in Linyun Hall in the eastern palace. She was forty-two. An edict ordered Zhang Zuan of the secretariat to compose the lament; the officials proposed the posthumous name Mu, burial at Ningling, and enshrinement in the lesser ancestral temple. When Emperor Jianwen took the throne she was posthumously honored as empress dowager.
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Her father Ding Daoqian, in the first years of Tianjian, served as administrator of Liyang. When Prince Wei of Luling was born, the emperor told him, "Your worthy daughter has borne another son." He answered, "Don't call him a pig's whelp." People at the time laughed at the remark. He later rose to inspector of Yan province and administrator of Xuancheng. Empress Dowager Ruan Xuan, personal name Lingying, came from Yuyao in Kuaiji. Her original surname was Shi. At first Xiao Yaoguang, prince of Shian of Qi, took her in marriage. When Yaoguang fell she entered the palace of Emperor Donghun. When Jiankang was pacified she became a palace woman of the future Emperor Wu of Liang. While pregnant she dreamed a dragon enfolded her bed. In the eighth month of 508, the seventh year of Tianjian, she bore the future Emperor Yuan in the rear palace. That day a general amnesty was proclaimed. Soon afterward she was appointed lady of cultivated elegance and granted the surname Ruan. She once accompanied the future Emperor Yuan when he went out to his princely fief. In the sixth month of 543, the ninth year of Datong, she died in the main chamber at Jiang province, aged sixty-seven. That eleventh month she was returned for burial at Tongwang Mountain in Jiangning county, with the temple name Xuan. When Emperor Yuan took the throne the authorities memorialized to posthumously honor her as Empress Dowager Wenxuan and restore her joint worship in the lesser ancestral temple.
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In 553, the second year of Chengsheng, they posthumously granted the empress dowager's father, Shi Lingbao, former presentation attendant of Qi, the offices of central cavalier attendant and left guard general and the marquisate of Wukang, and her mother Lady Chen as marchioness of Wukang. Empress Wang of Emperor Jianwen of Liang, personal name Lingbin, came from Linyi in Langye. Her grandfather Wang Jian had been grand marshal of Qi and duke Wenxian of Nanchang. Her father Wang Qian was senior grand master of the palace with the golden seal and purple cord and marquis of Nanchang. As a girl she was gentle and bright; her paternal uncle Wang Jian, younger brother of her father Qian, saw her and said, "She is the instructress of our house." In 512, the eleventh year of Tianjian, she was appointed princess of Jin'an. She bore the lamented crown prince Xiao Daqi, Xiao Dalian, prince of Nan commandery, and Princess Miaoqie of Changshan. In the tenth month of 531, the third year of Datong, she was appointed consort of the crown prince. In the third month of 549, the third year of Taiqing, she died in Yongfu Palace, aged forty-five. That year, when Emperor Jianwen took the throne, she was posthumously honored as empress with the posthumous name Jian. In the ninth month of 550, the first year of Dabao, she was buried at Zhuangling.
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元帝徐妃諱昭佩，東海郯人也。 祖孝嗣，齊太尉、枝江文忠公。 父緄，侍中、信武將軍。 妃以天監十六年十二月拜湘東王妃，生世子方等、益昌公主含貞。 妃無容質，不見禮，帝三二年一入房。 妃以帝眇一目，每知帝將至，必為半面妝以俟，帝見則大怒而出。 妃性嗜酒，多洪醉，帝還房，必吐衣中。 與荊州後堂瑤光寺智遠道人私通。 酷妒忌，見無寵之妾，便交杯接坐。 才覺有娠者，即手加刀刃。 帝左右暨季江有姿容，又與淫通。 季江每歎曰：「柏直狗雖老猶能獵，蕭溧陽馬雖老猶駿，徐娘雖老猶尚多情。」 時有賀徽者美色，妃要之於普賢尼寺，書白角枕為詩相贈答。 既而貞惠世子方諸母王氏寵愛，未幾而終，元帝歸咎於妃； 及方等死，愈見疾。 太清三年，遂逼令自殺。 妃知不免，乃透井死。 帝以屍還徐氏，謂之出妻。 葬江陵瓦官寺。 帝制金樓子述其淫行。 初，妃嫁夕，車至西州，而疾風大起，髮屋折木。 無何，雪霰交下，帷簾皆白。 及長還之日，又大雷震西州聽事兩柱俱碎。 帝以為不祥，后果不終婦道。
Consort Xu of Emperor Yuan of Liang, personal name Zhaopei, came from Tan in Donghai. Her grandfather Xu Xiaosi had been grand marshal of Qi and duke Wenzhong of Zhijiang. Her father Xu Wei was palace attendant and general of trustworthy martiality. In the twelfth month of 517, the sixteenth year of Tianjian, she was invested princess of Xiangdong and bore the heir apparent Fangdeng and Princess Hanzhen of Yichang. Plain in looks, she went without favor; the emperor visited her bed only once every two or three years. Knowing the emperor was blind in one eye, she would paint only half her face before his visits; when he saw her he would fly into a rage and storm out. She loved wine and often drank herself drunk; when the emperor came to her bed she would be sick on his garments. She carried on an affair with the monk Zhiyuan of Yaoguang Temple in the Jing provincial rear hall. Violently jealous, she would sit knee to knee and pass cups with any unfavored consort she saw. The moment she detected a pregnancy she would take a blade to the woman herself. Ji Jiang, one of the emperor's attendants, was handsome, and she took him as a lover as well. Ji Jiang would sigh, "Bo Zhi's dog may be old but still hunts; the horse of the Xiao of Liyang may be old but still runs; and Lady Xu, though old, is still amorous." There was also the handsome He Hui; she summoned him to Puxian Nunnery, and they exchanged poems written on pillows of white horn. Soon afterward Lady Wang, mother of the heir of pure favor Fangzhu, who had been favored, died; Emperor Yuan laid the blame on the consort. When Fangdeng died as well, his hatred for her only deepened. In 549, the third year of Taiqing, he forced her to kill herself. Seeing no escape, she threw herself into a well and died. The emperor sent her body back to the Xu clan, treating her as a wife who had been cast out. She was buried at Waguan Temple in Jiangling. The emperor set down her debauchery in his Golden Louzi. When she first married, as the bridal carriage reached Xizhou a violent wind sprang up, ripping off roofs and snapping trees. Soon snow and hail fell together until the curtains were white. On the day of her formal visit home thunder again split both pillars of the Xizhou audience hall. The emperor took these as evil portents, and in the end she failed to keep the way of a wife.
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南朝陳 敬夏太后，會稽人也。 普通中，納于湘東王宮，生敬帝。 承聖元年冬，拜晉安王國太妃。 紹泰元年，尊為太后。 明年冬，降為江陰國太妃。 敬王皇后，琅邪臨沂人也。 承聖元年十一月，拜晉安王妃。 紹泰元年十月，拜皇后。 明年，降為江陰王妃。 父僉自有傳。 陳武宣章皇后，諱要兒，吳興烏程人。 本姓鈕，父景明為章氏所養，因改姓焉。 后母蘇，嘗遇道士以小龜遺己，光采五色，曰：「三年有征」。 及期，后生，紫光照室，因失龜所在。 后少聰慧，美容儀，手爪長五寸，色並紅白。 每有期功之服，則一爪先折。 武帝先娶同郡錢仲方女，早卒，後乃聘后。 后善書計，能誦詩及楚辭。 帝為長城縣公，后拜夫人。 永定元年，立為皇后。 追贈后父梁散騎侍郎景明特進、金紫光祿大夫，加金章紫綬。 拜后母蘇安吉縣君。 二年，安吉君卒，與后父葬吳興。 明年，追封后父為廣德縣侯，諡曰溫。 武帝崩，后與中書舍人蔡景曆定計，秘不發喪。 時衡陽獻王昌未至，召文帝。 及即位，尊后為皇太后，宮曰慈訓。 廢帝即位，后為太皇太后。
The Southern Chen. Empress Dowager Xia the Reverent came from Kuaiji. During the Putong era she entered the household of the prince of Xiangdong and bore the future Reverent Emperor. In the winter of 552, the first year of Chengsheng, she was appointed grand consort of the principality of Jin'an. In 555, the first year of Shaotai, she was honored as empress dowager. The next winter she was demoted to grand consort of the principality of Jiangyin. Empress Wang the Reverent came from Linyi in Langye. In the eleventh month of 552, the first year of Chengsheng, she was appointed princess of Jin'an. In the tenth month of 555, the first year of Shaotai, she was appointed empress. The next year she was demoted to princess of Jiangyin. Her father Wang Qian has a separate biography. Empress Zhang Xuan of Emperor Wu of Chen, personal name Yao'er, came from Wucheng in Wuxing. Her original surname was Niu; her father Jingming was raised by the Zhang clan and took their surname. Her mother Lady Su once met a Daoist who gave her a small turtle glowing in five colors and said, "In three years there will be a sign." When the time came she was born; purple light filled the room, and the turtle vanished. As a girl she was clever and beautiful; her fingernails were five cun long, half red and half white. Whenever mourning garments of the closest degree were required, one nail would break first. The future Emperor Wu had first married a daughter of Qian Zhongfang of the same commandery, who died young; only afterward did he betroth her. She was skilled in writing and reckoning and could recite the Book of Songs and the Songs of Chu. When he was duke of Changcheng she was appointed lady. In 557, the first year of Yongding, she was made empress. Her father Zhang Jingming was posthumously made specially advanced senior grand master of the palace with the golden seal and purple cord. Her mother Lady Su was appointed lady of Anji county. In the second year Lady Anji died and was buried in Wuxing with her husband. The next year her father was posthumously enfeoffed as marquis of Guangde with the posthumous name Wen. When Emperor Wu died she and palace secretary Cai Jingli devised a plan and kept the death secret. As Chang, Prince Xian of Hengyang, had not yet arrived, they summoned the future Emperor Wen. When he took the throne he honored her as empress dowager and gave her Cixun Palace. When the deposed emperor took the throne she became grand empress dowager.
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In 568, the second year of Guangda, the empress issued an edict deposing the emperor as prince of Linhai and ordering Emperor Xuan to succeed. In 569, the first year of Taijian, she again became empress dowager. On the bingshen day of the third month in 570, the second year of Taijian, she died in Ziji Hall, aged sixty-five. Her final instructions required a spare funeral and forbade livestock in the offerings. That fourth month the ministers proposed the posthumous name Xuan, and she was buried with her husband at Wan'anling.
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No member of the empress's family held court office; only an elder clansman of her original Niu clan, Niu Qia, rose to grand master of palace leisure.
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Empress Shen of Emperor Wen of Chen, personal name Miaorong, came from Wukang in Wuxing. Her father Shen Fashen had been a Liang Anqian central recorder and staff officer. Before she was eleven, during the Datong era of Liang, she was married to Chen Qian, the future Emperor Wen. When Emperor Wu marched against Hou Jing, the future Emperor Wen was in Wuxing; she was captured with him and not freed until Hou Jing fell. After Emperor Wu took the throne, she became princess of Linchuan. When her husband became Emperor Wen of Chen, she was made empress. Her father Fashen was posthumously made grand master of the palace with the golden seal and purple cord, enfeoffed as marquis of Jiancheng with the posthumous name Gong. Her mother Lady Gao was posthumously made lady of Sui'an county with the posthumous name Ding. When the deposed emperor succeeded, she was honored as empress dowager and dwelt in Ande Palace.
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時宣帝與僕射到仲舉、舍人劉師知等，並受遺輔政。 師知與仲舉恒居禁中，參決眾事，而宣帝為揚州刺史，與左右三百人，入居尚書省。 師知忌宣帝權重，矯敕令還東府理州務。 宣帝將出，毛喜止帝曰：「今若出外，便受制於人，如曹爽願作富家公不可得也。」 宣帝乃稱疾，召師知留與語，使毛喜先入，言之於后。 后曰：「今伯宗年幼，政事並委二郎，此非我意。」 喜又言於廢帝，廢帝曰：「此自師知等所為，非朕意也。」 喜出報宣帝，帝因囚師知。 自入見后及帝，極陳師知之短。 仍自草敕請畫，以師知付廷尉，其夜於獄賜死。 自是政歸宣帝。 后憂悶，計無所出，乃密賂宦者蔣裕，令誘建安人張安國使據郡反，冀因此圖帝。 安國事發被誅，時后左右近侍頗知其事，后恐連逮黨與，並殺之。 宣帝即位，以后為文皇后。 陳亡入隋，大業初自長安歸於江南，頃之卒。
At that time Chen Xu, the future Emperor Xuan, shared the regency with vice director of the secretariat Dao Zhongju, staff member Liu Shizhi, and others under the late emperor's will. Shizhi and Zhongju constantly lived inside the palace and decided every matter, while Emperor Xuan, as governor of Yang, entered the secretariat with three hundred attendants and took up residence there. Jealous of his power, Shizhi forged an edict sending him back to the eastern headquarters to handle provincial business. As he was about to leave, Mao Xi stopped him and said, "Once you step outside you will be at their mercy — like Cao Shuang, you will not even be able to play the wealthy private citizen." Emperor Xuan feigned illness, kept Shizhi talking, and sent Mao Xi ahead to speak with the empress dowager. The empress dowager said, "Bozong is still a child; to hand all government to the second lord is not what I intend." Xi also spoke to the reigning emperor, who said, "This is Shizhi's doing, not mine." Xi reported back to Emperor Xuan, who at once had Shizhi arrested. He then went in to the empress dowager and the emperor and laid out Shizhi's crimes in full. He drafted the edict himself and had Shizhi sent to the minister of justice; that night Shizhi was ordered to die in prison. From then on power passed to Emperor Xuan. Distressed and at a loss, she secretly bribed the eunuch Jiang Yu to incite Zhang Anguo of Jian'an to rebel, hoping to turn the tables on the emperor. When the plot was discovered Anguo was executed; many of her attendants knew too much, and fearing exposure she had them killed as well. When Emperor Xuan took the throne she was made Empress Wen. After Chen fell and she entered Sui, in the early Daye era she returned from Chang'an to Jiangnan and soon died.
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Her elder brother Shen Qin inherited the marquisate of Jiancheng and served as left vice director of the secretariat. Qin had no talent and cared only for his own comfort. At his death he received the posthumous name Cheng. His son Shen Guan succeeded him, a man of learning who rose to imperial censor. Empress Wang of the deposed emperor came from Linyi in Langye. In 560, the first year of Tianjia, she became consort of the crown prince. When the deposed emperor took the throne she was made empress. When the deposed emperor became prince of Linhai she was demoted to princess consort. She died during the Zhide era. She bore Zhize, heir of Linhai. Jize became crown prince in 567, the first year of Guangda, and in 569, the first year of Taijian, inherited the title of heir of Linhai. When Chen fell he entered Chang'an. Her father Wang Gu has a separate biography.
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宣柳皇后諱敬言，河東解縣人也。 曾祖世隆，祖惲，父偃，並有傳。 后九歲，幹理家事，有若成人。 侯景之亂，后與弟盼往江陵，依梁元帝，帝以長城公主故，待遇甚厚，以配宣帝。 承聖二年，后生後主于江陵。 及魏克江陵，宣帝遷于關右，后與後主俱留穰城。 天嘉二年，與後主還朝，后為安成王妃。 宣帝即位，立為皇后。 后美姿容，身長七尺二寸，手垂過膝。 初，宣帝居鄉里，先娶吳興錢氏，及即位，拜貴妃，甚有寵。 后傾心下之，每尚方供奉物，其上者皆推于貴妃，而己御其次焉。 宣帝崩，始興王叔陵為亂，後主賴后與吳媼救而獲免。 後主即位，尊后為皇太后，宮曰弘範。 是時新失淮南地，隋師臨江，又國遭大喪，後主患創不能聽政。 其誅叔陵，供大行喪事，邊境防守及百司眾務，雖假後主之敕，實皆決之於后。 後主創愈，乃歸政焉。 后性謙謹，未嘗以宗族為請，雖衣食亦無所分遺。 陳亡，入長安。 隋大業十二年，薨於東都，年八十三。 葬於洛陽之芒山。
Empress Liu of Emperor Xuan of Chen, personal name Jingyan, came from Jie in Hedong. Her great-grandfather Liu Shilong, grandfather Liu Yun, and father Liu Yan each have separate biographies. At nine she already ran the household like a grown woman. During Hou Jing's rebellion she and her brother Pan fled to Jiangling and were sheltered by Emperor Yuan of Liang, who, for the sake of the princess of Changcheng, treated them well and gave her to the future Emperor Xuan. In 553, the second year of Chengsheng, she bore the future last ruler at Jiangling. When Wei took Jiangling, Emperor Xuan was taken west; she and the last ruler stayed behind at Rang. In 561, the second year of Tianjia, they returned to the Chen court and she became princess of Ancheng. When Emperor Xuan took the throne she was made empress. She was beautiful, stood seven chi two cun tall, and her hands reached below her knees. At first, while Chen Xu still lived in the countryside, he had first married a woman of the Qian clan of Wuxing; when he took the throne she was appointed honored consort and was greatly favored. The empress wholeheartedly deferred to her; whenever the imperial workshops sent tribute, the finest items went to the honored consort while she herself took what was second. When Emperor Xuan died Shuling, prince of Shixing, raised a rebellion; the last ruler was saved by the empress and an old woman of Wu and thereby escaped harm. When the last ruler took the throne he honored her as empress dowager and gave her Hongfan Palace. At that time the realm had newly lost Huainan, Sui armies stood on the Yangzi, and the state had also suffered a great bereavement; the last ruler, wounded, could not govern. In executing Shuling, supplying the grand mourning observances, defending the borders, and managing the myriad affairs of the hundred offices, though orders went out in the last ruler's name, in truth all were decided by the empress. When the last ruler's wounds healed he took government back from her. She was modest and cautious by nature; she never made requests on behalf of her clan, nor did she distribute clothing or food to them. When Chen fell she entered Chang'an. In 616, the twelfth year of Daye of Sui, she died in the eastern capital, aged eighty-three. She was buried at Mang Mountain in Luoyang.
21
Empress Shen Wuhua of the Chen last ruler came from Wukang in Wuxing. Her father Shen Junli has a separate biography. Her mother was Princess Kuaiji the Reverent, a daughter of Emperor Wu, who died early. Though still a child, she wasted away in mourning beyond what was expected. After mourning ended she wept alone at every new and full moon, moving all who saw her; kin and court alike marveled at her. In 569, the first year of Taijian, she was invested crown princess. When the last ruler took the throne she became empress.
22
Upright, quiet, and discerning, with few desires, she was quick-witted and well read in the classics and histories and wrote a fine hand. While her husband was crown prince her father Junli died; she mourned in a separate hall with a grief that exceeded the rites. The last ruler cared little for her while Zhang Guifei ruled the inner quarters; she remained calm and never showed envy. She lived plainly, wore no brocade, kept barely a hundred attendants, and passed her days with histories and Buddhist texts. Once during a drought she exposed herself and chanted sutras, and rain fell at once. Childless, she adopted the palace woman Sun's son Yin as her own. She remonstrated again and again; the last ruler meant to depose her for Zhang Guifei, but the fall of Chen prevented it, and she followed him to Chang'an. After his death she wrote the lament herself, its words sharp with grief.
23
24
Zhang Guifei, personal name Lihua, came from a soldier's family. Her father and brothers wove rush mats for a living. When the last ruler was crown prince she was selected for the palace. Gong Guifei was then a lady of the heir apparent's household; Lihua, ten years old, attended her. The crown prince noticed her, took her to bed, and she bore the heir apparent Shen. When he became emperor she was made honored consort. Clever and quick, she won extraordinary favor.
25
After the uprising of Prince Shuling of Shixing wounded him, the last ruler lay ill in Chenxiang Hall. No other consort was admitted; only Zhang Guifei nursed him. Empress Dowager Liu still lived in Bailiang Hall, the empress's proper hall. Empress Shen had never been loved and could not attend him, remaining at Qiuxian Hall.
26
至德二年，乃於光昭殿前起臨春、結綺、望仙三閣，高數十丈，並數十間。 其窗牖、壁帶、縣楣、欄檻之類，皆以沈檀香為之，又飾以金玉，間以珠翠，外施珠簾。 內有寶床寶帳，其服玩之屬，瑰麗皆近古未有。 每微風暫至，香聞數里，朝日初照，光映後庭。 其下積石為山，引水為池，植以奇樹，雜以花藥。 後主自居臨春閣，張貴妃居結綺閣，龔、孔二貴嬪居望仙閣，並復道交相往來。 又有王、季二美人，張、薛二淑媛，袁昭儀、何婕妤、江修容等七人，並有寵，遞代以遊其上。 以宮人有文學者袁大舍等為女學士。 後主每引賓客，對貴妃等游宴，則使諸貴人及女學士與狎客共賦新詩，互相贈答。 采其尤豔麗者，以為曲調，被以新聲。 選宮女有容色者以千百數，令習而歌之，分部疊進，持以相樂。 其曲有玉樹後庭花、臨春樂等。 其略云：「璧月夜夜滿，瓊樹朝朝新。」 大抵所歸，皆美張貴妃、孔貴嬪之容色。
In 584, the second year of Zhide, they built the Linchun, Jieqi, and Wangxian pavilions before Guangzhao Hall, each tens of zhang high with dozens of rooms. Windows, beams, and railings were of agarwood, inlaid with gold, jade, pearls, and kingfisher, and hung with pearl curtains. Inside were jeweled beds and canopies and ornaments of a splendor seldom seen before. A light breeze carried perfume for miles; at sunrise light filled the rear court. Below they piled rockeries, drew channels, and planted exotic trees and flowers. The emperor lived in Linchun, Zhang in Jieqi, Gong and Kong in Wangxian, linked by covered walkways. The beauties Wang and Ji, the fair ladies Zhang and Xue, Ladies Yuan, He, and Jiang, seven in all, all shared his favor and took turns on the terraces. Palace women of letters such as Yuan Dashe were made female academicians. At banquets with Zhang and the others he had court ladies and female scholars trade new poems with his intimates. The loveliest lines were set to new tunes. Thousands of pretty palace women learned the songs and sang them in ranks for his pleasure. Among the songs were Jade Tree in the Rear Court and Linchun Music. One refrain ran, "The jade moon is full each night; the jeweled trees are fresh each dawn." Nearly all praised the beauty of Zhang and Kong Guifei.
27
張貴妃髪長七尺，鬒黑如漆，其光可鑒。 特聰慧，有神彩，進止閑華，容色端麗。 每瞻視眄睞，光彩溢目，照映左右。 嘗於閣上靚妝，臨於軒檻，宮中遙望，飄若神仙。 才辯強記，善候人主顏色。 薦諸宮女，後宮咸德之，競言其善。 又工厭魅之術，假鬼道以惑後主。 置淫祀于宮中，聚諸女巫使之鼓舞。
Her hair was seven chi long, black as lacquer and bright as a mirror. Unusually clever and spirited, she moved with grace and her face was fair and composed. Each glance spilled light from her eyes onto those beside her. Once, dressed at the railing of a pavilion, she seemed a spirit to those watching from afar. Eloquent and quick to remember, she read the emperor's mood with ease. She spoke for other palace women, and the inner quarters all praised her kindness. She also practiced sorcery and deluded him with sham spirit rites. She set up illicit shrines in the palace and gathered witches to dance and chant.
28
Neglecting government, he let memorials pass through eunuchs Cai Lin'er and Li Shandu while he lay back with Zhang Guifei on his knee deciding them. What the eunuchs forgot she summarized without omission. She spied on the world outside as well; whatever was said in the streets she reported first, and her favor surpassed every rival. Kin of consorts who broke the law sought her favor; she had Li and Cai bring the case up, then spoke for them at leisure. Ministers who resisted were slandered, and the emperor never refused her. The Zhang and Kong clans blazed with power east and west; ministers bent to their wind. Eunuchs and flatterers wove a web of mutual promotion. Bribes flowed freely, rewards and punishments lost all rule, and government collapsed into chaos. When Sui took Taicheng she and the last ruler hid in a well; pulled out, Yang Guang had her beheaded at Zhongqiao on Qing Stream.
29
論曰：飲食男女，人之大欲存焉，故聖人順于人情而為之度。 王宮六列，士室二等，皆隨事升降，以立節文。 若夫義篤閫闈，政刑邦國，古先哲王有以之致化矣。 夫后妃專夕，配以德升，姬嬙並禦，進非色幸，欲使情有覃被，愛罔偏流，專貞內表，妖蠱外息，乃可以輔興君德，燮理陰政。
The historians comment: Food and sex are mankind's deepest urges; the sages therefore measure conduct to human feeling. The six ranks of the royal palace and the two grades of the gentry rise and fall with circumstance to set proper limits. When righteousness rules the household and law the state, sage kings of old achieved order thereby. When empresses are chosen for virtue, concubines for character rather than looks, and favor is shared without partiality, inner fidelity and outer restraint can support the throne and harmonize the inner court.
30
Song followed Jin's marriage code: betrothal had fixed forms, and empresses came from the great ministerial lines. After Yuanjia the inner staff grew; candidates came only from army offices, even from servants — unlike Jin, whose choices had reached the gentry. Yet favor stayed within the chambers, power never left the palace, and kin received no more than simple gifts at the seasons — a restraint to admire. When Emperor Wen of Song was bewitched by Lady Pan, even women were drawn into his plots. In the Daming era, Lady Yin's fall, with a consort matching the primary wife, brought ruin already extreme.
31
Empresses Xiao and Zhao of Qi were both wise; pity that they died young and never ruled as mothers of the state. One woman merely aped Zhou ritual while omens heaped empty glory on her name. When Gao Di of Qi took power, the palace was austere: no embroidered robes, no bright red, the women's quarters as bare as a common house. Emperor Wu of Qi enjoyed peace; early omens and late splendor filled the chambers with carved beams, incense wood, gold, and jewels, with music at hand — paid from private funds, not the treasury. Emperor Ming restored order but kept an affectation of harsh frugality in his personal habits unchanged. Emperor Donghun abandoned the Way, luxury ran wild, and a clever woman toppled the state — the same sign as Yin and Xia; the lesson hangs here. Liang Wu meant to be sparing; though the honored consort's splendid beauty was early manifest and she bore the heir and was richly honored, he never made her empress. Consort Xu's conduct deserved her ruin.
32
Chen Wu seized the turning fortune and founded an empire. In pairing with Heaven and aiding the throne, Empress Dowager Xuan was the admirable figure. The inner courts of Emperors Wen and Xuan heard no scandal of ruinous conduct. The last ruler inherited the realm and lost it in the women's quarters — the hen crowing at dawn that breaks a house.