Empress Dowager Ling (靈太后)

Overview

Empress Dowager Ling was an empress Dowager.

Life and dates

Death

Cause Died
Directly stated · Book of Wei 93, passage 104

Attested activity

AD 520 元叉廢靈太后
Directly stated · Book of Wei 81, passage 68
AD 520 正光元年七月
Directly stated · Book of Wei 27, passage 143
AD 515 to AD 528 稚時背疽未愈，靈太后勞之曰：「卿疹源如此
Directly stated · Book of Wei 30, passage 126
AD 471 to AD 499 縣令喪亡
Dated from the passage context · Book of Wei 93, passage 104
AD 515 to AD 528 靈太后
Directly stated · Book of Wei 24, passage 78; Book of Wei 92, passage 108
AD 525 靈太后反政
Directly stated · Book of Wei 81, passage 154

Show 2 more source-backed claims

AD 515 to AD 528 靈太後令
Directly stated · Book of Northern Qi 36, passage 73
AD 386 to AD 534 魏世
Dated from the passage context · Book of Wei 98, passage 180

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Parent of Emperor Xiaoming of Wei (魏孝明帝)
empress dowager 太後
Strongly inferred · Book of Northern Qi 36, passages 21, 73
Kin of Yuan Cha (元叉)
sister's husband 妹夫
Directly stated · Book of Wei 27, passage 139

Key source chapters

Works and attributed material

Edict · Author · With Chen (琛)
Directly stated · Book of Wei 24, passage 78
order to plan Bright Hall founding work
Edict · Speaker · Direct quotation
Directly stated · Book of Northern Qi 36, passages 73-74
Order · Issuer · With Grand Consort Meng (任城國太妃孟氏) · Direct quotation · Mode direct-quotation Source Person Id Empress Dowager Ling (靈太后)
Directly stated · Book of Wei 98, passages 180-181

Events and relationships

Marked Li Xianda gate
Edict · Sovereign · With Li Xianda (李顯達)
Directly stated · Book of Wei 92, passage 108

References in the histories

Search passages

History

14 passages

Book of Northern Qi, Chapter 36Volume 36 Biographies 28: Xing Shao · 1 passage

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靈太後令曰：「配饗大禮，為國之本，此以戎馬在郊，未遑修繕。 Empress Dowager Ling ordered, "The great rite of matching sacrifice is the root of the state; war-horses at the suburbs left no leisure for repair.

Book of Wei, Chapter 24Volume 20: Emperor Wencheng's Five Princes · 1 passage

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及還朝，靈太后詔曰：「琛在定州，惟不將中山宮來，自餘無所不致，何可更復敍用。」 On his return Empress Dowager Ling issued an edict: "In Dingzhou Chen took everything but the Zhongshan Palace itself—how can he be used again?"

Book of Wei, Chapter 27Volume 22: Emperor Xiaowen's Five Princes · 5 passages

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後靈太后令愉之四子皆附屬籍，追封愉臨洮王。 Later Empress Dowager Ling had Yu's four sons entered on the clan register and posthumously enfeoffed Yu as Prince of Lintao.

靈太后詔給衣食，事力優重，使於城西之南，治療百姓病。 Empress Dowager Ling fed and clothed him lavishly and set him to treat commoners' illnesses south of the western city.

靈太后以懌肅宗懿叔，德先具瞻，委以朝政，事擬周霍。 Empress Dowager Ling, seeing Yi as Xiaoming's honored uncle and a man all eyes followed, entrusted government to him on the model of the Duke of Zhou and Huo Guang.

正光元年七月，叉與劉騰逼肅宗於顯陽殿，閉靈太后於後宮，囚懌於門下省，誣懌罪狀，遂害之，時年三十四。 In the first year of Zhenguang, seventh month, Cha and Liu Teng seized Xiaoming in Xianyang Hall, walled the dowager in the rear palace, jailed Yi in the Gate and Chamber office, forged charges, and killed him at thirty-four.

靈太后敕檢問之，引入，窮悅事故。 Empress Dowager Ling ordered an inquiry; the consort was brought in and Yue's conduct fully examined.

Book of Wei, Chapter 30Volume 25: Zhang Sunsong, Zhangsun Daosheng · 1 passage

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稚時背疽未愈，靈太后勞之曰：「卿疹源如此，朕欲相停，更無可寄如何？」 Zhi's back abscess was still unhealed; Empress Dowager Ling comforted him: "Your sore runs so deep; I would have spared you—yet whom else can I trust?"

Book of Wei, Chapter 81Volume 76: Lu Tong, Zhang Lie · 3 passages

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元叉之廢靈太后也，相州刺史、中山王熙起兵於鄴。 When Yuan Cha deposed Empress Dowager Ling, Prince Xi of Zhongshan, who was Inspector of Xiangzhou, raised an army at Ye.

靈太后反政，以同叉黨，除名。 When Empress Dowager Ling regained power, Tong was struck from the rolls as a member of Cha's faction.

後靈太后反政，以烈叉黨，出為鎮東將軍、青州刺史。 When Empress Dowager Ling later regained power, Lie was sent out as General Who Pacifies the East and Inspector of Qingzhou because he was counted among Cha's faction.

Book of Wei, Chapter 92Volume 86: Filial Piety: Zhao Yan, Zhang Sunlu, Qifu Bao, Sun Yide, Dong Luosheng, Yang Yin · 1 passage

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州牧、高陽王雍以狀奏，靈太后詔表其門閭。 Regional governor Prince Yong of Gaoyang submitted a report. Empress Dowager Ling decreed that his gate and hamlet be marked.

Book of Wei, Chapter 93Volume 87: Morality and Righteousness: Yu Shenmen, Duan Jin, Shi Wende, Ji Gu, Wang Xuanwei, Lou Ti, Liu Kehou · 1 passage

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吏部尚書李韶奏其節義，請加贈諡，以奬來者，靈太后令如所奏。 Li Shao, Minister of Personnel, memorialized Zuxing's loyalty and asked that a posthumous title be granted to encourage others. Empress Dowager Ling ordered that it be done as he proposed.

Book of Wei, Chapter 98Volume 92: Notable Women: Cui Lan's Consort Feng, Feng Zhuo's Consort Liu, Wei Pu's Consort Fang, Hu Changming's Consort Zhang · 1 passage

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靈太后後令曰：「鴻功盛美，實宜垂之永年。」 Empress Dowager Ling later ordered: "Such great merit and splendid virtue ought to be handed down through the ages."