The Fubo general Ma Yuan, the founding hero of the Eastern Han Dynasty, had many military achievements, and was a great general who was enfeoffed. In the 25th year of the reign of Emperor Jianwu of Guangwu and 49 AD, during his march against the rebellion of the Wuling Mountain People, Ma Yuan contracted the plague and died. He was framed for disagreeing with his subordinates on the route of the army, resulting in the defeat in the war. After his death, the stripping of his title was still prosecuted, affecting his family, his wife and children were tied together with straw ropes, and they went to the imperial court to plead guilty, and the coffin did not even dare to enter the ancestral grave. It is unpredictable that after the death of General Fu Bo, the younger daughter finally became the empress of the Great Han Dynasty, and because of her virtuous name, it was widely passed on to future generations.
According to the "Zizhi Tongjian", Emperor Ming of Han, because he missed the heroes of the Han Dynasty, specially painted portraits of twenty-eight generals in the Nangong Yuntai, and later added four sons, a total of thirty-two, that is, there was no portrait of the Fubo general Ma Yuan. According to merit and contribution, Ma Yuan should be on the list, but because Ma Yuan is the father of Empress Ma, in order to avoid the suspicion of the relatives of the pepper house, only Ma Yuan is not on the list among the ZTE heroes. As an empress, not only is she not selfish, but she also does not dispute the honor that should be received in the family. Such virtue and mind are even more rare among high-level women in ancient China.
(1) His father was killed in battle and was tragically divorced
The Fubo general Ma Yuan was the founding general of the Guangwu Emperor Liu Xiu and made great contributions to Liu Xiu's jiangshan. After his death in battle, because he had offended Liang Song and was framed by him, emperor Guangwu listened to the rumors and revoked the martyr treatment that his family deserved, and his family life fell into difficulties. Ma Yuan's younger son died soon after because he missed his father, and his wife missed his younger son and was in a trance. The nobles in the capital saw that the Ma family had lost power and took the opportunity to bully the Ma family, and even the marriage of the younger daughter was stranded, and the in-laws were withdrawn. In that era, once divorced, the girl's family was miserable, and other families looked down on it like picking leftovers, and some would even be mistaken for life.
Without a source of income, the livelihood of the family has become a problem. Ma Yuan's thirteen-year-old daughter, at this time, dried her tears and began to deal with household chores, command servants, take care of her sick mother, and handle them in an orderly manner. The people in the neighbors were amazed.
(2) To maintain their livelihood and enter the palace as slaves
Empress Ma's brothers Ma Keqing and Ma Huimin both died prematurely, and her mother Lady Lin was overly sad and mentally confused, and she died of illness. Everything in the family was pressed on Ma Shi, who was ten years old at the time, managing the housework, summoning servants, internally and externally, consulting and praying, and being organized, like adults. At first, no one in the relatives and neighbors knew about Ma's ability, but when he heard about it, he was surprised. Ma Shi was once ill for a long time, and Mrs. Ma (Ma's grandmother) asked someone to divinate Ma Shi. The fortune teller said, "Although this woman is currently ill, her fate is very precious, and her omen is indescribable." On this matter, the Book of the Later Han Dynasty. The Tenth Book of Empresses is recorded as follows: "Empress Mingde Ma, the younger daughter of the Fubo general Ma Yuanzhi. Fewer bereavement of parents. Brother Qing Minhui was early in the morning, and Lady Lin was sad and panicked. Later, when he was ten years old, he did housework, made a subordinate, consulted inside and outside, and did the same thing as an adult. At first, those who did not know the family, after hearing it, sighed and sighed. After tasting a long illness, Mrs. Ling Zhengzhi said, "Although this woman has a condition of illness, she should be a great nobleman, and the omen cannot be said."
After the death of General Fu bo, the Ma family declined day by day, and was repeatedly bullied by the magnates. Ma Yan,Ma's cousin Ma Yan was very worried and angry, and told Lady Lin to break off her marriage contract with Dou and write to Emperor Guangwu, requesting that Ma Yuan's daughter be admitted to the palace as a palace maid, hoping to use this method to maintain her livelihood and desperately live. Emperor Guangwu may still remember Ma Yuan's old feelings, so he chose Ma Yuan's younger daughter to enter the tai womb. The thirteen-year-old girl was elected to the palace of Crown Prince Liu Zhuang, and after entering the palace, she was also given the opportunity to serve Empress Yin. Therefore, she served empress yin carefully, and her every move was in line with the requirements of feudal etiquette, and she was kind and amiable, and she got along very well with the whole palace, so she was deeply loved by empress yin. Remembering that after his father's death, he was framed by others, and the family was difficult to sustain, and he was fortunate to come to this palace, what reason did he not work hard? Although she has changed from the previous Miss Qianjin to a palace girl, her sacrifice allows the family to settle down, and everything is worth it. She is diligent, respectful, frugal, her clothes are very simple, and when she is free, she will read and study, and her favorite is "Zhou Guan" and "Dong Zhongshu Shu". When the prince saw this beautiful girl, his sense of closeness was doubled, and he saw that she was kind and simple and loved to learn, and handled things in an orderly manner, so he especially liked her.
(3) The daughter of the gatekeeper, the mother of the world
On February 19, the third year of the reign of Emperor Yongping of The Han Dynasty (60 AD), he made the noble Ma Shi empress and his crown prince Liu Ju crown prince. It was this daughter who inherited his father's wisdom and ability to deal with the world, and finally stood out in the harem, the mother of the world, and what is more precious is that she has the talent of fixing the country and assisting a generation of emperors.
Zizhi Tongjian. The 36th Book of the Han Dynasty records how Ma Shi became empress: "Jiazi, the noble Ma clan is made empress, and the crown prince is made crown prince." Later, the daughter of the aid, Guangwu Shi, was elected to the tai womb, and after being able to flatter the yin, she was in the same column, and the ceremony was repaired, and the upper and lower were safe, so that she could see the favor; and the emperor is on the throne, and he is a nobleman. Later, the former mother's sister Jia Shi was also elected and gave birth to the crown prince. After the emperor was childless, he was destined to raise him, which is said: Man may not be born of his own child, but he will not be able to raise him with love and then he will be nurtured with all his heart, and he will be born too much. The prince is also filial and pure, and the mother and child are loving. Always between fiber-free. Later, it is often the emperor's heir who is not widespread, and he recommends him to the left and right, if he can't bear it. There are people in the harem, and each one adds consolation: If the number is favored, the garon meets. And there is the Changqiu Palace, the emperor did not say, the empress dowager said: "Ma Guiren Deguan harem, that is, its people also." After the palace is in the right place, the more white and humble, good reading. Dressed in a big way, the skirt is not edged. Shuo looked at the lord of the ji and saw that the robe was loose and thick, thinking that it was a grain, and he looked at it and smiled. Later: This increase is particularly suitable for dyeing, so the ear is used. After the emperor tried it, he decomposed the interesting reasons and got his own feelings, but he did not try to do political affairs with his own furniture. The emperor is favored and always unfailing. Although this passage is not much, it records the character and ability of Empress Ma. Filial piety to the empress, filial piety as the greatest, this is the most important ethics in China: harmonious concubines, never fight for the wind and jealousy, this is a woman's very rare generosity and generosity: raising the prince, more conscientious than her own mother, showing the boundless broad mind of maternal love: frugality and simplicity, yes. A woman who was the mother of the country set an example of thriftiness for the country: when assisting the emperor in handling political affairs, she never mixed with private affairs, which showed the noble character of the empress. This is rare among the concubines of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and even among the concubines of the previous dynasties.
(4) Gentle and virtuous, de was harem
After Ma Shi entered the palace, he carefully served Empress Yin (Empress Yin Lihua of emperor Guangwu), which not only satisfied her mother-in-law, but also got along well with concubines of the same status, and the etiquette was very thoughtful, saying that she was good up and down, making Liu Zhuang unusually fond of her; After the HanMing Emperor Liu Zhuang ascended the throne, he crowned Ma Shi as a nobleman. At that time, Ma Guiren's aunt's daughter Jia Shi was also selected into the palace and gave birth to the crown prince Liu Yan, and Emperor Hanming, because Ma Guiren had no sons, let her raise Liu Tan and said to her: "People may not have to have sons themselves, but they are afraid that they will not be thoughtful enough to care for him!" Therefore, Ma Guiren devoted himself to raising the prince, and the hard work he paid exceeded the prince's birth mother. Liu Tan is also filial in heart, pure and generous, mother and child are loving, and there is always no gap. Ma Guiren often recommended the palace maids to the emperor for the reason that the emperor did not have many heirs, lest they do not do well enough. Wherever the women of the harem had any access, she gave arrangements for acceptance: if she could be summoned by the emperor many times, she also gave a heavy reward. When the official in charge of the empress dowager had not yet spoken, the empress dowager (i.e., Yin Lihua) spoke: "Ma Gui's character is the best in the harem, and the empress should be her."
After Empress Ma took the throne in the palace, she became more and more humble and loved to read. Empress Ma often wore a wide silk robe with no trimmings. When the first and fifteenth, when the princesses and princesses came to pay homage to ann, they saw the queen's robes loose in the distance, and thought it was a high-grade crepe, and when they looked closer, they all smiled, and it turned out to be inferior coarse silk. But the queen said, "This silk material is very suitable for dyeing, so I used it." Empress Ma's frugality made the six palace beauties all sigh. When the matters that the courtiers asked the emperor for were difficult to balance and solve, the emperor tried to ask the empress many times, and the empress could analyze the reasoning and deal with it according to the facts, so that the matter played could be reasonably resolved. But Empress Ma never interfered in political affairs on the basis of private family affairs. Therefore, Emperor Hanming was very fond of and respectful of Empress Ma, and this kind of favor did not fade from beginning to end.
(5) Assist the king, and leave his name in the history of Qingqing
Liu Ying, the king of Chu (Emperor Ming's half-brother), attempted to rebel, and after the matter was revealed, Emperor Ming, remembering his brotherhood, could not bear to be executed according to the law, but only deposed Liu Ying's prince and moved to Danyang County, which is now anhui, but did not expect Liu Ying to commit suicide in Danyang. Liu Ying's death caused big trouble. Emperor Ming believed that some villains had instigated the King of Chu to rebel and killed his brother, so he ordered his henchmen to be pursued. During severe torture, those who were arrested were tortured, but they were arbitrarily climbed and dragged, and as a result, countless people were subjected to torture, and they were examined for several years without results. The chancellor advised, but Emperor Ming did not listen at all, and Empress Ma knew that most of the people who were arrested were wronged and was very worried. One day when Emperor Ming returned to the palace, she took the opportunity to speak to Emperor Ming, asking not to expand the case, otherwise it would shake the foundation of the country, and she looked sad when she said this. Emperor Ming was deeply moved, and repeatedly remembered Empress Ma's words, so he released many people, and the case was quickly closed. The kind queen of horses has saved many families by herself.
Through this incident, Emperor Ming learned that his empress had the ability to handle the affairs of the state, and encountered difficult problems in the court, so he returned to the harem to try to let Empress Ma solve them. Empress Ma first analyzed the cause of the matter for him, and then proposed a solution, and Emperor Ming could always listen to it. Since then, Empress Ma has been at the side of Emperor Ming, helping him handle state affairs and making up for many shortcomings in the government. Empress Ma restrained her family and kept them away from the political center, and the family was very low-key. This is precisely for the sake of their families, to keep them away from the disaster, to avoid the catastrophe of the death of the dead like Lü Hou, which also reflects the excellent vision and insight of this female politician.
After the death of Emperor Ming of Han, Emperor Zhang of Han took the throne. In the first year of the jianchu dynasty, Emperor Zhang wanted to knight several uncles (Ma's brothers), but the empress dowager did not allow it. When a drought occurred the following summer, some courtiers believed that it was because there were no foreign relatives and that they should follow the previous canonical system. Empress Ma issued an edict refusing to seal foreign relatives. In the fourth year of the founding of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Zhang of Han made Ma Liao, Ma Fang, and Ma Guang the Marquis of Li. All three of them refused to resign, and after Empress Ma learned of it, she was educated, and the three brothers accepted the knighthood and then dismissed the knighthood and returned home. In the same year, Empress Ma fell ill in bed, during which she also issued several edicts prohibiting prayer and sacrifice. She died on June 30, at the age of more than forty, and was given the title empress Dowager Mingde.
The daughter of the gate, from the defeat of the family road to the palace as a slave, to the mother of the world to assist the emperor, became a model of The Chinese dynasty is the embodiment of Ma's wisdom life.