In human civilization, there was a period of matriarchal society in which women mastered the means of production as the dominant force of society. With the development of society, productivity has increased greatly, more able-bodied men have become the pillars of society, and human beings have entered patriarchal society. From this time on, women gradually became vassals of men and were treated unfairly. In the period of China's feudal society, women were mainly used as the carrier of blood inheritance, even if they were born in the family of the powerful, women only had some more value of marriage, becoming a link to safeguard family interests. Today Ziyuan introduced a woman to everyone, she became an empress at the age of 6, rose to the rank of empress dowager at the age of 15, and was honored as the empress dowager at the age of 40. Even if her status is so noble, she is also involuntary, and finally died alone at the age of 52.
▲ Han Dynasty women's stills
This woman is the youngest empress in Chinese history, Shangguan Shi. In his later years, Emperor Wu of Han was very fond of his young son Liu Fuling, and for this reason he made him crown prince despite his young age. At the same time, because the crown prince was young, Emperor Wu of Han was afraid that his mother was strong and her son was weak, and the harem would cause chaos in the imperial court, so he issued an edict to put Liu Fuling's biological mother Lady Hook Yi to death, and then handed Liu Fuling over to Princess Eyi (Liu Fuling's sister) to raise. At that time, Shangguan's grandfather Shangguan Jie was a general of the Left, and his grandfather Huo Guang was the Grand Sima (大司馬), both of whom were assistant ministers appointed by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Because of this in-law relationship, the Shangguan clan became the best candidate for the two families to maintain their power.
▲Shangguan's stills
When Shangguan was 6 years old, his father Shangguan An (then a che riding general) consulted with Princess Eyi and sent her to the harem, where she was made a concubine by Emperor Zhao of Han, and a few months later she was promoted to empress. In fact, the Shangguan clan could become an empress, and Princess Eyi's lover Ding Wairen contributed a lot. At that time, Shangguan An successfully sent the Shangguan clan to the Han Palace through The Ding Outsider and princess Eyi Chang. After that, in order to repay Ding's outsiders, the Shangguan family decided to obtain a marquis for him, because the Han Dynasty stipulated that non-marquises could not marry princesses. However, during the Western Han Dynasty, the title was very valuable, and non-military meritorious people were not allowed to be marquises, so the Shangguan family decided to take a walk through Huo Guang's back door. Huo Guang, however, did not give face at all, and directly rejected their request. After that, Huo Guang, fearing that the Shangguan family was too powerful, repeatedly prevented the relatives of the Shangguan family from sealing the official, resulting in the intensification of contradictions between the two families. On the other hand, the imperial master Sang Hongyang, who prides himself on his high merits and seeks an official position for the sons of the family, is ruthlessly vetoed by Huo Guang, coupled with the differences in the political views of the two, Sang Hongyang has a deep resentment towards Huo Guang.
▲Restoration of Weiyang Palace in the Western Han Dynasty
Soon after, Shangguan Jie, Sang Hongyang, Princess Eyi, and others joined forces to prepare to launch a coup d'état to get rid of Huo Guang. Unexpectedly, Huo Guang had already been aware of this, and sent soldiers with lightning speed to arrest them all, and then destroyed his family. When Shangguan Shi learned the news, he was very sad, but at the same time, he was also very afraid, afraid of Huo Guang's reckoning. However, Huo Guang remembered that he was his granddaughter and had a certain in-law relationship, which was conducive to controlling the harem of Emperor Han Zhao, so he did not move her. Although Emperor Han Zhao was young, his mentality was extremely mature, and after the deaths of auxiliary ministers such as Shangguan Jie and Sang Hongyang, Huo Guang's power was almost unmatched. In this situation, in order to sit on the throne, Emperor Han Zhao could only be gracious to Huo Guang and did not dare to disobey his wishes, on the other hand, he tried his best to suppress huo Guang's clique and curb the expansion of foreign ministers' power. Therefore, it was impossible for Emperor Han Zhao to let Empress Shangguan conceive a child until Emperor Han Zhao's death, and Shangguan was still innocent.
▲ Stills of Huo Guang, a powerful minister of the Western Han Dynasty
Since Emperor Han Zhao was childless, Huo Guang summoned hundreds of officials to discuss the matter of Emperor Si. After deliberation, they decided to make Liu He the Prince of Changyi the son of Emperor Zhao, and then made crown prince. A few months later, Liu He accepted the emperor's seal and inherited the emperor's honorific title as the new emperor of the Han Dynasty, while Shangguan was promoted to empress dowager. However, Liu He's throne did not last long, and in just 27 days, his various absurd and unscrupulous behaviors caused dissatisfaction among the courtiers, and then Huo Guang and his ministers deposed him.
▲ Statues of Emperor Wu of Han and Emperor Zhao of Han
After Liu He was deposed, Huo Guang chose one of the sons of the clan to inherit the throne, and this person was Liu Qing, the Emperor Xuan of Han. For Huo Guang's power, Emperor Xuan of Han was very jealous, so after he became emperor, he only secretly accumulated strength and did not confront Huo Guang, and Shangguan was still the empress dowager. A few years later, Huo Guang died of illness, and Emperor Xuan of Han began a purge of the Huo family, first cutting off Huo Yu (Huo Guang's son) and then gradually transferring Huo's sons. When Huo Yu launched a mutiny, Emperor Xuan of Han suppressed it with iron blood, and finally took advantage of the situation to cut off the Huo family. After the Huo Guang family was pulled out, the situation of the Empress Dowager Shangguan was very embarrassing--the status was respected but there was no support from any foreign ministers. Since then, the Shangguan clan has lived in the harem, cautious in words and deeds, but asked about the affairs of the imperial court and lived his life wholeheartedly.
▲ Han Xuan emperor stills
When Emperor Xuan of Han died, Shangguan was still in good health, so she was honored as empress dowager by the new emperor, Liu Yi, the Emperor of Han Yuan. After that, the Shangguan clan maintained a low-key, idyllic lifestyle until his death at the age of 52. Throughout Shangguan's life, although his status is noble, his fate has always been in the hands of others, like a thread doll. She has long been married as a woman, but she has no heirs, and she cannot enjoy the joy of heaven. While she was alive, the Shangguan family and the Huo family collapsed, and her husband died, leaving no relatives around, becoming a real lonely person, and finally had to die in loneliness.
Resources:
Book of Han, Volume 97, Biography of Foreign Relatives, Sixty-seventh