Qin and Han · Filial Widow and Legal Victim

Filial Woman of Donghai 東海孝婦

Died BC 74

Passages: 7
Chapters: 1
Histories: 1

Overview

Filial Woman of Donghai was a Filial Widow and Legal Victim.

Life and dates

Death

BC 74 昭帝時
Wrongful execution
Directly stated · Book of Han 82, passage 91

Attested activity

BC 74 昭帝時
Directly stated · Book of Han 82, passages 83, 88

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Spouse of Husband of Filial Woman of Donghai (孝婦亡夫)
husband 夫 · Widowed
Strongly inferred · Book of Han 82, passage 83
Kin of Mother-in-Law of Filial Woman (孝婦姑)
mother-in-law 姑
Directly stated · Book of Han 82, passages 83-84
Parent of Deceased Son of Filial Woman (孝婦亡子)
son 子
Directly stated · Book of Han 82, passages 83-84

Places and affiliations

Polity Han · Relation Subject of
Directly stated · Book of Han 82, passage 83
At Donghai 東海
Directly stated · Book of Han 82, passage 83

References in the histories

Book of Han, Chapter 82Volume 71: Jun, Shu, Yu, Xue, Ping and Peng · 7 passages

東海有孝婦，少寡，亡子，養姑甚謹，姑欲嫁之，終不肯。 Donghai had a famously dutiful daughter-in-law: widowed young and childless, she cared for her mother-in-law with devotion; when the old woman tried to marry her off, she refused.

姑謂鄰人曰：「孝婦事我勤苦，哀其亡子守寡。 The mother-in-law told a neighbor, "She slaves for me out of pity—she lost her child and stays a widow for my sake.

吏捕孝婦，孝婦辭不殺姑。 Officers seized the daughter-in-law, who swore she had not harmed her mother-in-law.

吏驗治，孝婦自誣服。 Under interrogation she broke and confessed to a crime she had not committed.

太守竟論殺孝婦。 In the end the grand administrator had the innocent woman executed.

後太守至，卜筮其故，於公曰：「孝婦不當死，前太守強斷之，咎黨在是乎？」 A new grand administrator cast divinations to learn the cause. Lord Yu said, "That woman should never have died; the last magistrate forced a verdict—perhaps the blame lies there?"

於是太守殺牛自祭孝婦塚，因表其墓，天立大雨，歲孰。 The magistrate sacrificed an ox at her grave and had the tomb marked; rain fell at once and the harvest ripened.