Wei Zifu


Wei Zifu, posthumously known as Empress Si of the Filial Wu or Wei Si Hou, was an empress consort during ancient China's Han dynasty. She was the second wife of the famous Emperor Wu and his spouse of 49 years, and stayed as his empress for 38 years, the second longest in Chinese history. She was the mother of Emperor Wu's heir apparent Liu Ju and the great-grandmother of Liu Bingyi, as well as the older half-sister of the famed general Wei Qing, the younger aunt of Huo Qubing, and the step-aunt of Han statesman Huo Guang.

Family background and early years

Wei Zifu was born of humble means to a serf family. She was the fourth child and the youngest daughter of a lowly housemaid/servant at the household of Princess Pingyang, Emperor Wu's older sister. Her father presumably died around the time of her birth, as there were little historic records of most of her family members. Her younger half-brother Wei Qing, born not long after her, was an illegitimate child from an extramarital affair by her mother with a low-level official serving the Princess's household. When Wei Zifu was still young, she was recruited as a singer at the princess' estate, where she was also trained in dancing and the Four Arts.

Encountering Emperor Wu and consortship

Emperor Wu's relationship with his newly-wed first wife, Empress Chen, started to strain not long after he ascended to the throne at age 16. Empress Chen was an older cousin who was at least 8 years his senior, and their union was arranged from the political alliance between his mother Consort Wang Zhi and his paternal aunt Eldest Princess Guantao, when he was barely 6 years old. The marriage was consummated at some point after Emperor Wu was then created the crown prince, but soon soured after Empress Chen was unable to bear him any children after many years. This tension further deteriorated after the young Emperor Wu, whose political survival at the time relied heavily on lobbying from his aunt/mother-in-law after the defeat of his ambitious reform in 140 BC by his grandmother Grand Empress Dowager Dou, was forced to submit to the spoilt and abusive behavior of Empress Chen.
After conducting an annual ceremonial ritual at Bashang in the spring of 139 BC, Emperor Wu took the opportunity to pay a casual visit to his older sister Princess Pingyang, whose household happened to be nearby. Princess Pingyang, intending to gain favour with her royal brother by imitating the deeds of their aunt Princess Guantao, had prepared a collection of young women to offer for her brother's concubinage to establish herself political leverage. However, the plan did not work – all her candidates failed to impress the young emperor. Realizing her brother was disappointed and bored, the Princess called in her in-house dancers for entertainment. This time, Emperor Wu set his eyes on Wei Zifu and had immediately fallen for her beauty. Taking the opportunity of visiting the restroom, the young emperor took advantage upon and consummated with the young singer, whom the observant Princess Pingyang had ordered to follow in and serve as a handmaid. Now excited over the romantic encounter, Emperor Wu immediately conferred a thousand sycees of gold to his sister as reward, who in turn offered the new girl to him as a gift. Emperor Wu then took Wei Zifu back to Chang'an, bringing along her younger half-brother Wei Qing as well to serve as a palace stableboy.
However, what Wei Zifu would later experience on was far from a lovely Cinderella story. Upon hearing the arrival of the new girl, the extremely jealous and intolerant Empress Chen threw a tantrum and made sure Emperor Wu would abandon his idea of keeping Wei Zifu as a concubine. Wei Zifu was then demoted to an insignificant palace maid and was largely neglected. More than a year later, feeling hopeless with her life inside the palaces, Wei Zifu blended into a queue of palace maids waiting to be expelled in the hope of getting out. Coincidentally, Emperor Wu happened to be there inspecting the expulsion process, and love soon re-flamed when he saw the tearful girl pleading to go home. By this point, Emperor Wu had just score his first political victory with the successful intervention of Dong'ou and consolidated enough power, and thus no longer needed to appease Empress Chen and Princess Guantao. Wei Zifu was made to stay and fell pregnant very shortly later.
Wei Zifu's pregnancy was exciting news for Emperor Wu, who was upset over himself being blamed for Empress Chen's infertility. His throne was previously under threat due to his political clash with conservative factions led by his grandmother during the failed 140 BC reform, and many nobles schemed of deposing him under the excuse of "being incapable of fathering children", and making his distant uncle Liu An the successor. This pregnancy cleared Emperor Wu's name and silenced his political enemies, and ensured Wei Zifu becoming favoured over Empress Chen.
Empress Chen became exceedingly jealous, but could now do little to Wei Zifu as she was under Emperor Wu's direct protection. Empress Chen's mother, Princess Guantao, then attempted to retribute by kidnapping and murder Wei Qing, who was then serving as a horseman in Jianzhang Camp. However, Wei Qing was rescued from the princess' estate by his friends – a group of palace guards led by Gongsun Ao, who also reported the entire incident to Emperor Wu. In response and as a sign of annoyance towards Empress Chen and her mother, Emperor Wu publicly made Wei Zifu a consort, and appointed Wei Qing the triple role of Chief of Jianzhang Camp, Chief of Staff and Chief Councillor, effectively making him one of Emperor Wu's closest lieutenants. Consort Wei then went on to monopolize Emperor Wu's love for over a decade, and bore him three daughters.
In 130 BC, Empress Chen was found to have resorted to witchcraft to curse other concubines in attempt to restore her husband's love to her. Following a huge investigation/crackdown under the widely feared prosecutor Zhang Tang, which saw the execution of more than 300 people, Empress Chen was officially deposed for this misconduct against imperial moral standards, and exiled out of Chang'an to the remote and lonely Long Gate Palace, a suburban household that Princess Guantao once offered to Emperor Wu as a gift for tolerating her scandalous relationship with her godson Dong Yan.

As Empress

The deposition of Empress Chen had left the position open, and Emperor Wu now had no official principal spouse. In 129 BC, Wei Qing, who was already a member of Emperor Wu's "insider circle" of government officials, led an army of 10,000 cavalry and scored the first proper Han victory against Xiongnu. The following year, Consort Wei gave birth to Emperor Wu's first son, Liu Ju, and the overjoyed Emperor Wu immediately made her empress later that year. Liu Ju was later created crown prince in 122 BC.
After Wei Zifu became Empress, Wei Qing, now considered part of Emperor Wu's extended family, would be entrusted to more prominent roles in the war effort against Xiongnu, and was appointed the Generalissimo of All Armed Forces after his crushing victory over Xiongnu's Worthy Prince of the Right in 124 BC. Empress Wei's nephew Huo Qubing was also a distinguished military tactician with a series of highly successful campaigns over the control of the Hexi Corridor. By 123 BC, the Wei family had five marquesses and achieved top family honour, a remarkable feat for a clan from serf background.
Despite the fact that the rise of the Wei family largely owed credit to the military talent of Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, Wei Zifu was often seen as the backbone of the family. A contemporary folk song sang:
Because the great achievements of this Wei family, many later Han emperors considered marrying concubines with the surname Wei as a way of attaining good fortune.
During her tenure, Wei Zifu was recorded as a modest, careful and low-key empress, who tried her best to keep her clan members in line and out of trouble. The legendary historian Sima Qian, despite often displaying a sceptical and condescending attitude towards Emperor Wu's extended families, described Empress Wei as "fine in virtues".
As the years went by, Emperor Wu's sexual attraction to Empress Wei faded and he began to favour other concubines, including Consort Wang, Consort Li and Lady Zhao. However, he continued to respect Empress Wei's judgment and entrusted her to govern palace affairs when he was absent from the capital, and assigned her son Crown Prince Liu Ju as the regent for governmental affairs.

The Crown Prince revolt and death

In his advanced age, Emperor Wu became paranoid and suspicious over the possible use of witchcraft against him. A series of witchcraft persecutions would begin, and large numbers of people, many of whom were high officials and their families, were accused of witchcraft and executed, usually with their clans. Soon, these witchcraft persecutions would become intertwined in the succession struggles and erupt into a major catastrophe.
In 94 BC, Emperor Wu's youngest son Liu Fuling was born to Lady Zhao, and Emperor Wu was ecstatic in having a child at the advanced age of 62. Lady Zhao herself was introduced to Emperor Wu by some warlock, and was also known as "Consort Fist" or "Consort Hook" due to legend that she was born with a contractured clenched fist, which somehow magically opened up when Emperor Wu massaged it, revealing a jade hook in her palm. Because her pregnancy with Liu Fuling purportedly lasted 14 months long – the same as the mythical Emperor Yao — Emperor Wu decided to name her household "Gate of Yao's Mother". This led to speculation that Emperor Wu wanted to get rid of the 38-year-old Liu Ju and replace him with the 3-year-old Liu Fuling as crown prince instead. While there was no evidence that Emperor Wu actually intended to do such a thing, over the next year conspiracies began against Crown Prince Liu Ju and Empress Wei.
One of the conspirators was Jiang Chong, a high-ranking legal official known for his ruthlessness and opportunism. Jiang once had a run-in with Liu Ju after arresting one of the crown prince's assistants for improper use of an imperial road, and feared that Liu Ju would seek payback after ascending to the throne. Another conspirator was Emperor Wu's chief eunuch Su Wen, who was in charge of managing Emperor Wu and Lady Zhao's living arrangements, and had previously tried to frame the Crown Prince by falsely accusing him of committing adultery with Emperor Wu's palace maids.
The first trial began in early 91 BC involving Prime Minister Gongsun Ao and his son, leading to their unexplained suicide in jail and the execution of their clan. Liu Ju's sisters Princess Zhuyi and Princess Yangshi as well as cousin Wei Kang were also accused of involvement in witchcraft and executed, effectively removing almost all of his political allies in the Han court. With the sanctioned witch-hunts underway, Jiang Chong and Su Wen decided to strike while the iron was hot and move against Liu Ju, once again with the accusation of witchcraft. Because the physically deteriorating Emperor Wu was then staying at his summer palace in Ganquan, he relied heavily on Jiang and Su for day-to-day information. Jiang, with the approval from Emperor Wu, searched through various palaces, planted voodoo dolls and pieces of cloth with mysterious writings in the house of the "perpetrators", then condemned the victims on the spot. Eventually he reached the palaces of Liu Ju and Empress Wei, engaged in so much digging that there were barely any space to lay a bed. He then announced that he found overwhelming evidence of crime particularly at the Crown Prince's household.
Liu Ju was shocked by this and forced to consult his close advisers. His teacher Shi De, invoking the infamous story of Zhao Gao's scheme to murder Ying Fusu and raising the possibility that Emperor Wu might already be deceased, suggested to Liu Ju to start an uprising to get rid of the villains. Liu Ju initially hesitated and wanted to speedily proceed to Ganquan Palace and explain himself to his father, but when he found out that Jiang Chong's messengers were already on their way to report the false accusations, he decided to accept Shi's suggestion. He sent an individual to impersonate a messenger from Emperor Wu, and arrested Jiang and his co-conspirators – except for Su Wen, who escaped. He then denounced and personally executed Jiang, and reported his actions to his mother. Empress Wei, faced with the dilemma between her husband and son, chose to support her son and authorized Liu Ju to rally her palace guards and recruit civilian militias in preparation to defend himself against retaliation by the conspirators.
At the same time, Su Wen ran to Ganquan Palace and told Emperor Wu that the Crown Prince was committing treason. Emperor Wu, not believing it and correctly concluding that Liu Ju were merely angry at Jiang Chong, send a messenger back to Chang'an to summon his son for an explanation. This messenger, a low-ranking eunuch, did not dare to proceed to the capital city, but instead returned and falsely reported to Emperor Wu that Liu Ju was going to kill him. By now enraged and really believing his son was going to overthrow him, Emperor Wu ordered his nephew, Prime Minister Liu Qumao, to lead the regular Han army and put down the rebellion. The two forces then battled in the streets of Chang'an for five days, but Liu Qumao's forces prevailed after it became clear that Prince Ju did not have his father's authorization. Liu Ju was forced to flee the capital with two of his sons, and the rest of his family were killed, except a months-old grandson, Liu Bingyi, who was thrown into prison.
Shortly after Liu Ju's escape, Emperor Wu sent two officials to Empress Wei's palace to seize her seal. Wei Zifu committed suicide in response, and was buried with a small coffin in Tongbai on the east side of an avenue outside Fu'ang Gate. Most of her clan members were wiped out in the turmoil. Crown Prince Liu Ju was later tracked down and cornered in Hu County by local officials eager for rewards, and committed suicide when it became obvious he could not escape. His two sons were also killed.

Posthumous rehabilitation

Not long afterwards, Emperor Wu began to realize that the witchcraft cases during 91 BC were often false accusations. In 89 BC, when Tian Qianqiu, then the superintendent of Emperor Gao's temple, filed a report claiming that "a white-haired old man" told him in a dream that for the offense of armed uprising, Liu Ju would at most be caned, not killed, as a punishment, Emperor Wu had a revelation about what really happened. Furious over the realization that the conspirators exploited his trust and plotted his son's death, he had Su Wen burned alive, Jiang Chong's immediate and extended family executed, and killed every official promoted for tracking down the Crown Prince. He also promoted Tian Qianqiu to prime minister, and made major policy change rectifying the ideals supported by his dead son. To express his regret over causing his son's death, Emperor Wu also built the Palace of Son-Grieving and Platform of Longing for Return, officially rehabilitating Liu Ju's name.
18 years after her death, her great-grandson Liu Bingyi ascended to the throne in 74 BC as Emperor Xuan. Emperor Xuan then had his great-grandmother's name officially cleared and rebuilt her tomb to a larger mausoleum cared by 1000 men, and gave her the posthumous title Wei Si Hou. Her new tomb, due to its remote location and relative humbleness, escaped the looting by tomb raiders later.

Family

  • Mother
  • * Madam Wei
  • Husband
  • * Emperor Wu of Han
  • Siblings
  • * Wei Zhangjun, eldest brother
  • * Wei Junru, also known as Wei Ru, eldest sister, later wife of Gongsun He
  • * Wei Shaoer, mother of Huo Qubing, older sister, later wife of Chen Zhang
  • * Wei Qing, born Zheng Qing, younger half-brother, the Marquess of Changping, Generalissimo of Han armies and Chief Defense Minister
  • * Wei Bu, younger half-brother
  • * Wei Guang, younger half-brother
  • Sister-in-law
  • * Princess Pingyang, eldest sister of Emperor Wu, also known as Eldest Princess Yangxin before her first marriage, later wife of Wei Qing
  • Children
  • * Eldest Princess Wei, also known as Princess Dangli
  • * Princess Zhuyi, executed in 91 BC
  • * Princess Shiyi
  • * Liu Ju, also known as Crown Prince Wei, heir apparent to Emperor Wu, committed suicide in 91 BC after being framed and forced into failed uprising, posthumously known as Crown Prince Li
  • Nephews
  • * Gongsun Jingsheng, son of Wei Junru, executed in 91 BC
  • * Huo Qubing, son of Wei Shaoer, the Marquess of Champion, posthumously Marquess of Jingheng
  • * Wei Kang, son of Wei Qing, Marquess of Changping, executed in 91 BC
  • * Wei Buyi, son of Wei Qing, Marquess of Yin'an
  • * Wei Deng, son of Wei Qing, Marquess of Fagan
  • Grandchildren
  • * Liu Jin, also known as Prince Grandson Shi, son of Liu Ju and father of Liu Bingyi, killed in 91 BC
  • Great-Grandchildren
  • * Liu Bingyi, son of Liu Jin, later renamed to Liu Xun after ascension to throne as Emperor Xuan of Han

    Media

  • Portrayed by Zhang Meng in the 2011 Chinese television series Beauty's Rival in Palace.
  • Portrayed by Wang Luodan in the 2014 Chinese television series The Virtuous Queen of Han.