Empress Dowager Huling, also known as Empress Xuanwuling, was a concubine of Emperor Xuanwu of Northern Wei and the biological mother of Emperor Xiaoming of Northern Wei. In 515, Empress Dowager Huling's son Yuan Xue succeeded to the throne as Emperor Xiaoming, and Hu was honored as empress dowager.
This was Empress Dowager Hu's first time to listen to the government, lasted for five years, and was later placed under house arrest; the second opportunity to govern was because of the struggle between Yuan Yi and Yuan Yong because of the entanglement of interests, and finally released Empress Hu Ling, which gave Empress Hu Ling a second chance to emerge.
Speaking of this, some people may have to wonder, didn't the Northern Wei Dynasty emulate Emperor Wu of Han from the beginning of Tuoba Jue, and once the successor was established, it was necessary to "go to the mother and keep the son" to prevent foreign relatives from interfering in politics? Why did Empress Dowager Hu Ling have the opportunity to listen to the government of the dynasty? Let me explain them to you one by one.
Before the Establishment of the Northern Wei Dynasty, in order to ensure the purity of blood, the marriage of other tribes in the Xianbei headquarters for generations did not have the rule of leaving mothers and children at that time.
The reason why Tuoba Jue, the founder of the Northern Wei Dynasty, was able to successfully ascend to the throne was because his mother's family was relatively powerful, and with the support of the forces of his mother's Helan Department, he had the ability to compete with others.
However, since Tuoba Jue established the Northern Wei regime, he also began to "think of danger in peace", taking into account the long-term consideration of the fact that when the matriarchal forces are strong, they can indeed bring help to themselves, but once successful, the matriarchal forces may also interfere in the imperial power.
In order to keep the power in the hands of the Xianbei Tuoba clan, he began to emulate Emperor Wu of Han and killed the child's mother immediately after establishing the crown prince.
The Book of Wei, Vol. XIII, Liechuan, And Empress Liechuan records: "The harem will give birth to a son who will be a prince, and his mother will die." ”
This method was so cruel that many women in the harem were reluctant to have their children made crown princes in order to survive more.
1. The life deeds of Empress Dowager Hu Ling before she entered the palace
Regarding Empress Huling, there is actually an anecdote about her.
Book of Wei, Vol. XIII, Liechuan No. 1: On the day after childbirth, the red light shines four times. There are Zhao Hu in Jingzhaoshan North County, who are good at buxiang, and Guozhen asks about it. Hu Yun: "Virtuous women have a noble cousin, Fang is the mother of heaven and earth, and gives birth to the lord of heaven and earth." Don't know it too. ”
Many strange people in Chinese history will always have some anecdotes around or on their bodies when they are born, and Empress Xuanwuling is no exception, although I don't know if this matter is true or not, but it also adds a legendary color to the life of Empress HuLing.
Regarding her life, the Book of Wei records: "The empress dowager is intelligent and versatile, and her aunt is a nun, and she relies on her young children to get a little righteousness in the Buddhist scriptures." ”
Empress Dowager Hu Ling's father was Situ Hu Guozhen, and her mother was the Emperor Fu of the Qin Taishang Emperor, who was also considered to be from a rich family. To have talent, to have good looks. Her aunt was a nun, so she worked as a nun with her aunt for several years when she was young.
Hu's aunt was very good at explaining Buddhism, so soon after Emperor Xuanwu ascended the throne, he invited Hu's aunt into the palace to teach Buddhism.
Although Aunt Hu is a monk, the six roots are not pure, and she attaches great importance to the worldly desire for power, she looks at her niece looking so good, and not entering the palace to seek a little welfare for the family is simply a tyrannical thing.
With a lively mind, she began to let the people around her deliberately say hu's appearance and virtue in front of the emperor, and moved the xuanwu emperor's mind, so she summoned the Hu clan into the palace, and after seeing it, she had a feeling of heartbeat, so she accepted the Hu clan as the wife of Chenghua Shi.
Empress Dowager Huling thus began her court career.
2. Various encounters after Empress Hu Ling entered the palace
After Empress Dowager Hu Ling entered the palace, she was very much loved by Emperor Xuanwu.
At that time, the Northern Wei Dynasty still adhered to the rule of executing the mother of the prince since Tuoba Jue established, that is, the system of "the death of the son and the noble mother", so the palace concubines in the court almost all hoped that the children they gave birth to could be kings and princesses, but they must not make their children crown princes.
But Hu Shi is a special person, she can be described as a person who is not afraid of life and death.
Before this, although Emperor Xuanwu had several children, they all died prematurely, so since Hu Entered the palace, there were no surviving princes in the palace. When Hu Shi was not yet pregnant with a child, he used to worry that the emperor had no one to succeed him, and often said to the other ladies in the palace: "How can the Son of Heaven be alone without a son, why is it afraid of his own death that the royal family does not raise the eldest son?" ”
After conceiving a child, although she was afraid and hesitated in the face of the suggestion that other palace people let her find a way to kill the child, she finally decided to give birth to a child, even if it was a boy, she was given death.
In 510, Hu finally gave birth to a crown prince, the later Emperor Yuan of Wei.
Because she had a meritorious son, she was promoted to the throne, and in 512 AD, under the careful care of the crown prince Yuan Xue was finally made crown prince, at this time, the Hu clan, who was originally the mother of the crown prince, should be given death according to the Northern Wei system of "death of the son and noble mother", but the Hu clan, with the help of the ministers Liu Teng, Yu Zhong, Cui Guang and others, was not only not given death according to the old practice, but was promoted to a noble concubine.
Of course, this is also indispensable to the support of Emperor Xuanwu, and without the approval of Emperor Xuanwu, how can such a barbaric way of leaving mothers and children be abolished?
Therefore, Empress HuLing was able to have two opportunities to govern after the death of Emperor Xuanwu, initially from Emperor Xuanwu of northern Wei.
Shortly after Hu's child Yuan Xue was made crown prince, that is, in 515 AD, Emperor Xuanwu died, and the young emperor at that time was only five years old, and the problem of government affairs could not be solved alone, so there was a matter of Empress Dowager HuLing's resignation.
During Empress Dowager Huling's second reign, she killed her own son Yuan Xue , and successively established Emperor Xiaoming 's daughter Yuan , the daughter of Pan Concubine , and Yuan Zhao , the son of Yuan Baohui the Prince of Lintao , but was eventually drowned by the Northern Wei chancellor Erzhu Rong in the Yellow River, and the Northern Wei court was thus purged, and the government was in chaos, and later it was directly split into Eastern Wei and Western Wei.
Reference Books: Book of Wei