It is also unclear why, in the impression of many people, the cruel palace dispute only existed in the heyday of feudalism, that is, the Ming and Qing dynasties. As for the beginning of feudalism, the Qin and Han Dynasties, it is often considered that people have not yet accumulated much experience in "palace fighting", so the harem struggle looks far less cruel than in the future. So was the early emperor's backyard really as peaceful as we thought? At least Emperor Wen of Han couldn't agree.
I. Emperor Wen of Han: The Divine Turning Point from King to Emperor
As the third emperor of the Western Han Dynasty, Liu Heng's path to emperorship was different from that of Liu Bang, the ancestor of Han Gao, nor from the righteous words of Liu Che, the Emperor of Han Dynasty. Although he was Liu Bang's own son (fourth son), he was not born to Lü Hou. Even if his mother was not Lady Qi, who was regarded by Lü Yan as a thorn in her eyes, but Bo Ji, who had never had a sense of existence, because Liu Heng was the son of Liu Bang and said that he also had the qualifications to inherit the throne, Liu Heng was long ostracized by Lü Yan and took his mother to settle in the fiefdom early.
Originally, according to Liu Heng's honest personality, his whole life was probably to live his small life in peace and stability in the fiefdom, and did not participate in the deceit of the imperial court. However, because of the rising ambitions of Lü Yan and his family, many courtiers who followed Liu Bang to establish the Great Han believed that Lü Yan could no longer indulge Lü Yan. After all, Lü Yan was the righteous empress dowager, the original match entrusted by Liu Bang to his homeland, and the biological mother of Emperor Hui of Han. Therefore, the courtiers who were dissatisfied with the Lü clan could only survive until Lü Yan's death before uprooting the entire Lü clique.
However, after eliminating this foreign relative of the Lü clan, the courtiers encountered another big problem: the little emperor Liu Hong, established by Lü Yan, was too close to the Lü clique, and may not be the son of Emperor Hui of Han, and was not suitable to continue to take on big responsibilities... A group of courtiers chose to come and go, and finally they were chosen to be honest and generous Liu Heng.
Whether it is Yu Liu Heng or Yu Boji, suddenly becoming the most honorable person in the world is indeed a great surprise and a great test. It's just that they don't have the right to choose, and can only follow the expectations of the courtiers step by step from the daikoku to the capital Chang'an. Eight years after Gao (180 BC), Liu Heng succeeded to the throne as Emperor Wen of Han, and Bo Ji was honored as empress dowager, and the history of the Western Han Dynasty finally entered the next stage.
Second, the sinus chamber: the threat that comes after generation
Seeing this, you may feel that Liu Heng accidentally became the emperor who commanded the world from a prince, and Bo Ji also became an empress dowager from a concubine who even Lü Hou did not care to deal with, which should be a proper and fortunate thing, how can you say that Liu Heng's family life is not happy?
Just looking at Liu Heng's high ascension road, what we can see is indeed that he was lucky enough to be hit by the jackpot. However, if you look back at the transformation of Liu Hengzhi's small family from his reign as a substitute king to an emperor, it may be easier for you to draw another conclusion - "the most poisonous woman's heart".
During liu heng's reign as a king in the fiefdom, he had actually married his own princess at the right age. This princess, who had not been too much ink in the historical records, should be one of the rare princesses who were treated sincerely by her husband at that time. Because after Lü Hou came to power, in order to control Liu's sons and consolidate his rule, he forced many princes of the clan to marry Lü women. However, women of the right age were limited, and Liu Heng became one of the few princes who had a certain degree of autonomy in marriage.
And because the princess was the favorite girl he chose, Liu Heng had four sons with him after marriage, and the family life was happy - until Empress Lü was still relieved not to monitor Liu Heng, and then sent Liu Heng a "person out of the palace".
The so-called "out-of-the-palace people" in the feudal era were palace women who had reached the age of marriage and were pardoned to leave the palace and find another life. In ancient times, the release of the palace people was often regarded as a good deed of the emperor, a practice of virtue. But in fact, the indiscriminate coveting of the people who left the palace was exactly what Lü Hou planted eyeliner in the palaces of the princes. Liu Heng, who was honest and honest, could not refuse Lü Yan's "kindness", and could only accept dou Yifang, who had stirred up no peace in his palace in the future, to come to the daiguo.
Yes, the Empress Dowager Dou Yifang, who could be called Empress Dowager Lü's successor, was originally selected by Lü Yan and sent to the concubine room in Liu Heng's mansion. Before the arrival of Dou Yifang, Liu Heng was already a "wife, child, and hot kangtou", and in fact, there was no need for another concubine room. However, Dou Yifang was sent by Lü Hou, to put it bluntly, it was Lü Hou who was upholding great power in the eyeliner of daiguo, and Liu Heng had to suppress the dissatisfaction in his heart. And it was this helpless "connivance" that made Liu Heng's backyard quickly breed evil.
Dou Yifang came from a humble background, but later became a maid of Lü Hou and was sent to the daiguo, which was naturally not a fuel-saving role. And what she did was indeed not "ashamed" of her master, who was known for her cruelty—after the arrival of Dou Yifang, Liu Heng's princess and four sons died one after another, and the other women in the palace did not even leave a trace—so after Liu Heng was welcomed into Chang'an to succeed to the throne, Dou Yifang naturally became an empress, and the original acting queen did not even leave her name.
Third, tragedy: the background of the life of the western Han Dynasty concubines
Although Liu Heng's path to the throne was not paved with the corpses of his wife and four sons, his happy family, which he had enjoyed himself with, was indeed torn apart by the arrival of Dou Yifang. In addition to Bo Ji, who has always regarded obscurity as a protective color, Dou Yifang and Wang Jiao (the mother of Emperor Wu of Han), who have comparable means, and The lucky Empress Qiongcheng (the third empress of Emperor Xuan of Han), the Western Han Dynasty really has no concubines who have escaped the tragic fate.
In the harem, the life of the concubines revolved around the emperor from beginning to end. Therefore, competing for favors is not a skill that can only be mastered by the concubines of the Ming and Qing dynasties. In the harem of the Western Han Dynasty, Chen Ajiao, who sat in the middle palace and was pulled off the horse, was typical, but not the only one. Empress Xu who was poisoned, Empress Huo who was dealt with after poisoning the crown prince, Lady Qi, who was made a pet concubine by Empress Lü, Li Ji, who was jointly dealt with by the eldest princess and the emperor, and the Zhao Feiyan sisters who had to commit suicide after losing their backing... Compared with the sneaky za xiaoren and poisoning in later generations, the struggle in the harem of the Western Han Dynasty that often involved the emperor was obviously vicious and even more brutal.
And even if they were like Bo Ji, who could avoid most of the fighting concubines, in the end, they could not get rid of the ruthlessness of the emperor. Although she later lived away from the court and lived in the country, she had long been forgotten by Liu Bang in the deep palace, living in a lonely place in a secluded place, and almost never had a happy marriage...
Wives and concubines fight among themselves and place all their expectations of life on their husbands. And an emperor like Liu Heng, even if he is extremely honorable, he cannot guarantee the peace of the backyard, and even loses his wife and young son. Can it be said that it is lucky to have such a small family?
Resources:
ZHANG Xiaofeng. Lü Hou's Palace And Liu Heng, the Acting King, "Duxing Dou Ji"[J].Jinyang Academic Journal, 2009(01):79-83.
Chen Jinhua. The Tragic Colors of the Concubines of the Western Han Dynasty[J].Nandu Academy,2009,29(02):8-11.
Yang Li. The Flexible Leadership Thought of Empress Dowager Dou Yifang of the Western Han Dynasty and Its Contemporary Precepts[J].Leadership Science, 2020(09):84-86.
Kang Yanfang. Historical Investigation of the Concubine System in the Western Han Dynasty[D].Shaanxi Normal University,2016.]