Qin and Han · Consort and Empress Dowager

Lady Ding 丁姬

Dīng jī

First attested c. BC 27; died BC 5

Passages: 7
Chapters: 3
Histories: 1

Overview

Lady Ding was a consort and Empress Dowager.

Life and dates

Death

BC 5 historical identification
Strongly inferred · Book of Han 70, passage 201
BC 5 建平二年六月庚申
Directly stated · Book of Han 12, passage 81

Attested activity

c. BC 27 to c. BC 5 丁後
Strongly inferred · Book of Han 70, passage 201
BC 5 建平二年六月庚申
Dated from the passage context · Book of Han 12, passage 81
BC 7 綏和二年
Dated from the passage context · Book of Han 12, passage 33

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Parent of Emperor Ai of Han (漢哀帝)
birth mother 帝母
Directly stated · Book of Han 70, passage 201
Spouse of Prince Gong of Dingtao (定陶恭王)
consort of the king 王丁後 · Secondary marriage · Ended
Directly stated · Book of Han 70, passage 201
Child of Marquis Baode (褒德侯)
Ding's father 丁父
Directly stated · Book of Han 12, passage 34
Spouse of Liu Kang (康)
lady/consort 姬 · Concubinage
Strongly inferred · Book of Han 12, passage 2
Sibling of Zhong (忠)
mother's brother 舅 · Uncertain siblings
Strongly inferred · Book of Han 12, passages 35-36
Sibling of Ding Ming (丁明)
mother's brother 舅 · Uncertain siblings
Strongly inferred · Book of Han 12, passage 35
Parent of Emperor Ai (孝哀皇帝)
mother 母
Directly stated · Book of Han 12, passage 2

Key source chapters

Book of Han, Chapter 12 Volume 11: Annals of Emperor Ai 5 passages
Book of Han, Chapter 70 Volume 60: Du Zhou 1 passage
Book of Han, Chapter 96 Volume 85: Gu Yong and Du Ye 1 passage

Places and affiliations

BC 5 建平二年
At Dingtao 定陶 · Relation Buried at
Directly stated · Book of Han 12, passage 90

Events and relationships

帝母
Type mother · Person Emperor Ai of Han (漢哀帝)
Directly stated · Book of Han 96, passage 327

References in the histories

Book of Han, Chapter 12Volume 11: Annals of Emperor Ai · 5 passages

母曰丁姬。 His mother was Lady Ding.

詔曰：「春秋『母以子貴』，尊定陶太后曰恭皇太后，丁姬曰恭皇后，各置左右詹事，食邑如長信宮、中宮。」 An imperial edict declared: 'As the Spring and Autumn Annals teach, "The mother gains honor through her son." The Empress Dowager of Dingtao shall be honored as Empress Dowager Gong, and Lady Ding as Empress Gong. Each shall have their own attendants, with estates equal to the Changxin Palace and the imperial residence.'

恭皇后曰帝太后，稱中安宮。 Empress Gong shall be honored as Imperial Empress Dowager, residing in the Zhong'an Palace.

六月庚申，帝太后丁氏崩。 In the sixth month, on the day gengshen, Imperial Empress Dowager Ding died.

帝太后宜起陵恭皇之園。」 The Imperial Empress Dowager should be buried in the grounds of Emperor Gong's tomb.'

Book of Han, Chapter 70Volume 60: Du Zhou · 1 passage

時，高昌侯董宏亦言宜尊帝母定陶王丁後為帝太后。 About the same time Dong Hong, marquis of Gaochang, argued that Emperor Ai's birth mother, Lady Ding, consort of the king of Dingtao, should receive the title empress dowager.

Book of Han, Chapter 96Volume 85: Gu Yong and Du Ye · 1 passage

是時，帝祖母定陶傅太后稱皇太太后，帝母丁姬稱帝太后，而皇后即傅太后從弟子也。 At the time, the emperor's grandmother, Empress Dowager Fu of Dingtao, bore the title Grand Empress Dowager, while his mother, Lady Ding, was titled Empress Dowager. The empress herself was the daughter of a younger male cousin of Empress Dowager Fu.