On April 20, 268, Wang Yuanji, empress dowager of the Western Jin Dynasty, died. During the Three Kingdoms period, the granddaughter of the Cao Wei scholar Wang Lang and the daughter of Wang Su, the wife of Sima Zhao, emperor of Jin, the biological mother of Sima Yan, emperor of Jinwu, and Sima You, the prince of Qi.
Wang Yuanji was born in Shuxiangmendi, and her grandfather Wang Lang and father Wang Su were famous scholars during the Three Kingdoms period. Wang Lang was the Marquis of Cao Wei and the Marquis of Fenglan Ling, and Wang Su was the leader of Cao Weizhong and the Marquis of Lanling.
When Wang Yuanji was eight years old, she was able to recite the Book of Poetry and the Analects, and was especially proficient in mourning ceremonies; As long as it has a literal meaning, after reading it again, it will definitely be remembered in the heart. When Wang Yuanji was nine years old, she encountered her mother Yang Shi's illness, and she served her mother without leaving her side, and for a long time she did not wear clothes. She often did things according to her will when she did not hear her parents' instructions, and behaved appropriately, so her parents let her manage the household affairs, and she always handled it reasonably. Grandfather Wang Lang loved her very much and said, "It must be this girl who makes our family prosperous, but unfortunately she is not a man!"
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In the second year of Taihe (228), when Wang Yuanji was twelve, Wang Lang died, and Wang Yuanji was very sad, weeping and weeping, from the heart, and her father Wang Su cherished and valued her even more.
In the fifth year of Taihe (231), the 15-year-old Wang Yuanji married Sima Yi's second son Sima Zhao. After their marriage, they had the later Emperor Sima Yan of Jinwu, Sima Dingguo the Prince of Liaodong, Sima You the Prince of Qixian, Sima Zhao the Prince of Chengyang, Sima Guangde the Prince of Guanghan, and Princess Jingzhao. Wang Yuanji did her best to treat her in-laws with modesty and prudence, and self-control over others, making the relationship between wives and concubines orderly.
In the first year of Ganlu (256), Wang Su died, and Wang Yuanji, while guarding the funeral for her father, was weak and thin, and she shed tears as soon as she spoke.
Wang Yuanji was a man of unique knowledge, and when Zhong Hui would see him with talent, Wang Yuanji often said to Sima Zhao: "Zhong Yuanji will forget righteousness and like to provoke incidents, and if his grace is too great, he will definitely cause chaos and cannot be entrusted with heavy responsibilities." Later, Zhong Hui did indeed rebel.
In the first year of Xianxi (265), Sima Zhao died, and the crown prince Sima Yan succeeded him as Xiangguo and Jin, and Wang Yuanji became the princess of Jin. In December of the same year (266), Sima Yan forced the Wei Emperor Cao Huan to establish the Western Jin Dynasty. After Sima Yan ascended the throne, King Yuanji was made empress dowager, and the palace where he lived was called Chonghua Palace. Officials in Chonghua Palace began to be set up, their positions were re-elected, and Taichang Zhuge Xu was appointed as a guard of Chonghua Palace, Liu Yuan, a servant of Chonghua Palace, and Cao Kai, Zongzheng, as a shaofu of Chonghua Palace.
In the early days of the founding of the Western Jin Dynasty, she advocated frugality, and although Wang Yuanji was honored as the empress, she did not forget her old profession and practiced it herself, personally taking the lead in spinning and weaving in the palace, and setting an example for the concubines in the palace. Her room did not have a single luxurious ornament, the utensils and costumes were simple and unsympathetic, she wore washed clothes, and she never paid attention to delicious food. Under her careful management, the clan relatives were friendly and harmonious, paid attention to the people of the world, and the speech must conform to the etiquette system, and there was never any slander.
In the third year of the Tai Dynasty (267), Sima Yan, because Wang Yuanji's mother Yang Shi was not honored with a title, issued an edict saying: "In the past, Emperor Wen of Han posthumously awarded the title of Lingwen, and Emperor Wu of Han and Emperor Xuan of Han also added the titles of Pingyuan and Boping, all in order to show respect for the ancestors and expand the kindness of love and affection. The late General Wei, the wife of The Marquis Jinghou of Lanling (Wang Su), yang shi, was born in a family of aristocrats for generations, and married into the palace of the marquis, observing the three virtues and never violating the law according to etiquette. However, he still suffered misfortune, lost his due title many times, raised many children, and finally achieved the family business. The indoctrination of the mother's rites, manifested in the clans of the kingdoms, opened the way of the holy light, and spread to all nations. However, she died at an early age and did not receive grace. The empress dowager's filial piety is pure and she will always miss her mother. I am grateful for the last precepts, and I am sentimental in the memory of the past, and I am now crowned as a county prince, and according to her virtue, I am given a title, and the person in charge can execute according to the old code. So he sent the guru He Rong as an envoy, and posthumously honored the Yang clan as the Jingjun of Pingyang.
In the fourth year of the Tai Dynasty (268), Wang Yuanji was seriously ill, and when she was dying, she said to Sima Yan with tears: "Tao Fu (Sima You) has an impatient temperament, and you, the brother, are not kind. If my illness does not get better, I am worried that you will not be able to tolerate him, so I advise you not to forget what I said. "On March 21 (April 20), Wang Yuanji died at the age of fifty-two, and was known as the Empress of Civilization. On the third day of April of the same year, Sima Yan buried Wang Yuanji and Sima Zhao together at Chongyang Mausoleum. When the funeral was about to be moved, Sima Yan personally listed Wang Yuanji's virtues and ordered the historian to write a lament.
After Wang Yuanji was buried, the relevant departments said: "The requiem sacrifice ceremony has been completed, and the mourning clothes can be removed," Sima Yan issued an edict: "I was caressed by my mother all my life, but I did not return it with a few years, and I could not bear it emotionally." The competent authorities insisted on asking Emperor Wu of Jin to remove his mourning clothes, and Emperor Wu of Jin issued an edict saying: "What I am worried about is that I will not be able to fulfill filial piety wholeheartedly, and you should not worry about my excessive sorrow." The content of the liturgical ceremonies of the previous generations was also different, so why should we use the modern system to restrict it and abolish the universal funeral rites?" The courtiers still begged, and Sima Yan obeyed, but still wore a white crown and ate vegetarian food, and insisted on it for three years, just as he guarded the funeral for his father Sima Zhao. Later, Sima Yan missed Wang Yuanji very much, so he issued an edict saying: "The great-grandmother, the wife of the late Situ Wang Lang, Yang Shi, is a relative of his uncle's family, and the two aunts of the Zheng clan and the Liu clan are successively beloved relatives and friends. Often remembering his virtues, the testament of kindness and harmony is the exclamation in Weiyang poetry, and it is far less than this long-term longing. Lady Feng Yang and her aunt were the townspeople, and there were 500 households each. ”
In the seventh year of Taikang (286), Sima Yan posthumously honored Wang Yuanji's stepmother Xiahou Shi as the Marquis of Xingyang.