Han Dynasty: When Women Ruled the World
Out of all the dynasties in Chinese history, the Han dynasty (including both Eastern and Western) had the most empress regents. These women were ruthless and merciless within the harem, and once their husbands passed, became the most powerful person in the empire. Many of them ruled with compassion, but many also ruled with iron fists.
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Lü Zhi 呂雉 (241 BCE – 18 August 180 BCE), commonly known as Empress Lü 呂后 and formally Empress Gao of Han 漢高后, was the empress consort of Gaozu, the founding emperor of the Han dynasty. Empress Lü was the first woman to assume the title "Empress of China" as well as becoming its paramount. After Gaozu's death, she was honored as empress dowager and ruled as regent during the short reigns of Emperor Hui and his successors Emperor Qianshao and Emperor Houshao.
She played a role in the rise and foundation of her husband, his dynasty, as well as laws and customs he laid. Empress Lü, even in the absence of her husband from the capital, killed two prominent generals who played an important role in Gaozu's rise to power as a lesson for the aristocracy and other generals. In June 195 BCE, with the death of Gaozu, Empress Lü became Empress Dowager and had complete control over imperial China.
Less than a year after Emperor Hui's accession to the throne, in 194 BC, Lü had one of the late Emperor Gaozu's consorts whom she deeply hated, Concubine Qi, put to death cruelly (limbs chopped, eyes gouged, tongue, ears, and nose cut, muted by poison, dumbed by toxins, locked in a pigsty, and called the “human swine”), then fatally poisoned her son. Emperor Hui was shocked by his mother's cruelty and fell sick for a year, and thereafter no longer became involved in state affairs, giving more power to his mother. As a result, Empress Dowager Lü held regency, and became imperial China's first female paramount ruler.
With the untimely death of her 22-year-old son, Emperor Hui, Empress Dowager Lü subsequently proclaimed his two young sons emperor (known historically as Emperor Qianshao and Emperor Houshao respectively) and claimed regency for 8 years. She dominated the political scene for 15 years until her death in August 180 BCE.
Virtually unknown in the West, but Empress Lü's notoriety still reigns in the minds of East Asia. She was the first woman to rule an imperial China, reigning over China's first golden age, even without a crown, making her the most powerful woman of the world at that time. Many of her tactics were later studied and utilized by the future Wu Zetian.
Wang Zhengjun 王政君 (71 BCE – 3 February 13 CE), officially Empress Xiaoyuan 孝元皇后, later and more commonly known as Grand Empress Dowager Wang, was an empress during the Western Han dynasty of China, who played important roles during the reigns of five successive Han emperors (her husband, son, two stepgrandsons, and stepgreat-grandnephew) and later led to the usurpation of the throne by her nephew Wang Mang. She is largely viewed sympathetically by historians as an unassuming and benevolent if overly doting woman, whose carelessness led to the downfall of the Western Han dynasty.
Despite how historians viewed her, Wang Zhengjun was recorded as among the most politically powerful women in Chinese history, wielding unparalleled supreme imperial authority over regencies and state policies. Outliving multiple emperors, Wang Zhengjun became the de facto kingmaker, dictating who would be crowned.
As a filial woman, Wang Zhengjun used her powers to benefit her family, handing vast territories and government control to her male relatives. Her brothers and nephews, collectively called the Five Vassals, effectively dictated all military and civilian affairs of the empire while successive emperors operated as mere figureheads. Unfortunately, future Chinese would use her as an example of the danger of handing powers to women.
Her uninhibited distribution of power to her clan eventually allowed her nephew, Wang Mang, to rise to the highest levels of government and established his own dynasty, effectively ending the Western Han. Wang Zhengjun’s power was so absolute that even when Wang Mang established the Xin dynasty, he had to ask her to hand over the Heirloom Seal of the Realm, one of the emperor’s symbols of power. The Grand Empress, in a fit of rage, threw the Heirloom Seal to the ground, damaging it permanently.
Wang Zhengjun passed away in the spring of 13 CE, after years of disapproval of Wang Mang’s usurpation. Despite this, her nephew continued to shower her with gifts and titles, even implying that she was his new dynasty’s co-founder.
Empress Dou 竇皇后 (c. 63 – 8 October 97 CE), formally Empress Zhangde 章德皇后, was an empress of Emperor Zhang of the Eastern Han. She was already influential during her husband's reign, but became particularly highly powerful as empress dowager and regent between 88 and 92 CE for her adoptive son Emperor He after Emperor Zhang's death.
Historical records confirmed of Empress Zhangde's multiple orchestrations that forced suicides and deaths of at least 4 rival consorts out of jealousy. Consort Song's son was crown prince of Emperor Zhang, so the childless Empress Zhangde accused her of witchcraft in 79 CE. The consort and her sister (also an imperial consort) were then executed by poison. Later, Consort Liang gave birth to the new crown prince, so Empress Zhangde spread false accusations against the consort and her sister in 83 CE. As a result, their father died in prison, and both consorts passed from heartbreak. All of these plots were designed to further consolidate power. Despite having the most fatal flaw of her era as a woman (infertility), she managed to claw to absolute power.
Following the death of her husband, Empress Zhangde served as regent for her young adoptive son, Emperor He, from 88 to 92 CE. During this time, she held the highest authority in the empire and issued imperial edicts to dictate state policies. She heavily elevated her family members, ensuring her clan to dominate the political landscape. Her brother, Dou Xian, was appointed as General of Chariots and Cavalry, essentially placing the empire's military command directly into the hands of her family.
Because her family held ultimate control, entrenched officials and eunuchs from previous administrations were largely retained but were aligned with the Dou family's interests, consolidating absolute rule over the palace itself.
However, her family's expansive reach eventually became a threat to her adopted son, Emperor He. In 92 CE, Emperor He orchestrated a sudden coup d'état that toppled the Dou clan's influence. While she was stripped of her political power and regency, she was permitted to keep her honorary title of Empress Dowager until her death.
Deng Sui 鄧綏 (81 – 5 or 17 April 121 CE), formally Empress Hexi 和熹皇后, was an empress of the Eastern Han dynasty through her marriage to Emperor He of Han, and later its de facto ruler, acting as regent twice for Emperor Shang and Emperor An. Deng Sui was recognized as a merciful, intelligent leader who guided the dynasty well through a period of excessive natural disaster, disastrous famine, court intrigues, economic inflation and costly military conflicts, and she overcame all the problems and organized the government; as well as a staunch opponent of corruption and bribery, and an effective patron of education and the arts, which fostered growth and development in state. She is considered to be one of the Han dynasty’s last effective rulers.
After her husband passed, Deng Sui served as regent for 2 successive child emperors, becoming the Han dynasty’s de facto ruler, holding supreme authority for 16 years (106–121 CE). Despite wielding the throne during an era plagued by disastrous decade-long floods, droughts, famines, and rebellions, she successfully held the empire together. Imperial and local granaries were opened to provide immediate food assistance to starving populations in provinces affected by famine. She also directed and encouraged the dyke and dam repairs to mitigate future flooding.
Deng Sui also enacted sweeping reforms throughout the country, including cutting excessive palace expenses (halting the production of luxury crafts and focusing more on sponsorship of education), lowering taxes, and punishing corruption. Unlike other powerful dowagers who allowed their families to monopolize the government, Deng Sui fiercely curbed the power of her own clan, keeping them modest and free of corruption. She also instituted fair justice systems, extending appeals for the death penalty.
In terms of foreign diplomacy, Deng Sui successfully maintained peace along the northern borders by pacifying nomadic groups like the Xiongnu and the Qiang. When faced with raids by nomadic regimes and border disturbances, she focused on maintaining the defense of the empire instead of launching aggressive or costly military expansion. Rather than micromanaging regional campaigns herself, she relied on capable administrators and generals to manage outlying commanderies, ensuring corruption was punished to maintain the loyalty of the borderlands.
Empress Hexi was also highly educated and a strong advocate for scholarship. Under her rule, the standardization of classic books was overseen, and the official, widespread use of paper was heavily promoted across the empire. She served as a major patron of the prominent female scholar Ban Zhao, encouraging her to complete the landmark Book of Han. Original thinking and education were also actively sponsored as Deng Sui famously required 70 members of the imperial families to study the Confucian classics while she personally oversaw their examinations. Instead of accepting the customary lavish tributes usually given to an empress, she requested paper and ink, which led to the widespread usage and production of paper in the imperial palace, critically accelerating the world’s adoption of the material itself.
Yan Ji 閻姬 (died 28 February 126 CE), formally Empress Ansi 安思皇后, was wife to Emperor An of the Eastern Han dynasty (son to Deng Sui). Known for her conspiratorial and nepotistic behavior, both as empress and briefly as empress dowager regent, Yan Ji ruled for 7 months in 125 CE. However, her plan to hold on to power ultimately resulted in failure and the deaths of her clan members.
During most of Emperor An's reign, he was mostly overshadowed by his regent, Empress Dowager Deng Sui. But after she passed in April 121 CE, he asserted his authority and put a number of his trusted individuals in power to displace the late empress dowager's family, many of whom were forced to commit suicide. Among these entrusted individuals were 4 of Yan Ji's brothers. Yan Ji herself influenced her husband in his actions greatly, manipulating him to eliminate her opposition and establish her own clan in key positions. In 124 CE, she falsely accused the 9-year-old Crown Prince Bao of crimes, leading to his deposition.
In April 125 CE, Emperor An died suddenly while on a trip. The empress, who was with him, did not immediately announce his death, but conspired with her brothers and the powerful eunuchs to find an alternative to Prince Bao, who would otherwise appear to be his father's natural successor. They chose a young cousin of Emperor An’s, the young and gullible Marquess of Beixiang named Liu Yi, as the next emperor. The Yan clan then quickly moved to grab more power. They falsely accused some other of Emperor An's trusted individuals of crimes. Many were executed and exiled.
The eunuch Sun Cheng, believing that Prince Bao was the proper emperor, formed a conspiracy with Prince Bao's assistant Changxing Qu and a number of other eunuchs with intent to restore Prince Bao. When late in the year, the young emperor grew sick and died, Yan Ji and her brothers again did not announce his death but summoned the sons of the imperial princes to the capital, intending to again bypass Prince Bao. Several days later, Sun and 18 of his fellow eunuchs made a surprise attack on the palace with a successful coup d'état. They welcomed Prince Bao to the palace and declared him Emperor Shun. The Yan clan was slaughtered, while the Empress Dowager was confined to her palace, where she died in mourning.
Liang Na 梁妠 (116 – 6 April 150 CE), formally Empress Shunlie 順烈皇后, was wife to Emperor Shun of the Eastern Han dynasty. She later served as regent for his son Emperor Chong, and the two subsequent emperors from collateral lines, Emperor Zhi and Emperor Huan. As empress dowager and regent, she was noted to be diligent and honest, but was overly trusting of her violent and corrupt elder brother Liang Ji, whose autocratic nature would eventually draw a coup d'etat from Emperor Huan after her death, leading to the destruction of the Liang clan.
As empress, Empress Liang did not interfere significantly in her husband's administration, but Emperor Shun became very trustful of her relatives, eventually promoting her father to Grand Marshal despite lacking in abilities. Her brothers Liang Ji and Liang Buyi also became key officials. When the Grand Marshal passed, his position was given to Liang Ji, who would eventually stamp out all dissent, positioning himself as the most powerful individual in the imperial administration.
When Emperor Shun passed, his toddler son became emperor, elevating Liang Na to the status of the empress dowager regent. Empress Dowager was known to be diligent in governing over the empire, but her complete trust of Liang Ji led to his ascension to power. In 145 CE, the young Emperor Chong died. Empress Dowager and other key officials largely favored Liu Suan as the next successor, but Liang Ji convinced Liang Na to make the child Liu Zuan as emperor for easier control. The Empress Dowager continued to serve as regent.
In 146 CE, the young Emperor Zhi began to recognize Liang Ji’s corruption, so Liang Ji had him poisoned without the knowledge of Liang Na. He then persuaded the Empress Dowager to crown the 14-year-old Liu Zhi as Emperor Huan. She continued to serve as regent for the new child emperor.
In 150 CE, Empress Dowager Liang announced that she was stepping down as regent and returning imperial authority to Emperor Huan. She died later that year and was buried with her husband. However, Liang Ji remained in effective control of the government and now, without his sister to curb his power, became ever more violent and corrupt. This eventually drew a reaction from Emperor Huan, who conspired with eunuchs to overthrow Liang Ji in a coup d'état in 159 CE. The Liang clan was slaughtered.
Dou Miao 竇妙 (died 18 July 172 CE), formally Empress Huansi, was an empress of Emperor Huan of the Han dynasty. After his death, she served as regent for his successor Emperor Ling, assisted by her father Dou Wu and the Confucian scholar Chen Fan. Dou and Chen had a major confrontation with powerful eunuchs later in 168 CE, leading to her house arrest where she passed.
In January 168 CE, Emperor Huan died heirless, making Dou Miao the empress dowager and regent. She and her father examined the potential successors within the imperial Liu clan, and they settled on the 12-year-old Liu Hong, the Marquess of Jieduting, and he ascended the throne as Emperor Ling. Empress Dou continued to serve as regent, giving Chen Fan and Dou Wu great power. With this newfound power, she executed Emperor Huan’s highly-favored Consort Tian due to jealousy.
As regent, however, the Empress Dowager was recorded to be diligent and paid attention to many important matters, including the suppression of Qiang revolts. She supported general Duan Jiong, who successfully suppressed the Qiang with overwhelming force, completely ending the Qiang rebellions during the Han dynasty.
After becoming leading officials, Dou Wu and Chen Fan tried to clean up the government by recalling loyal officials to stamp out corruption, particularly by the clans of the powerful eunuchs. The eunuchs tried to counter this by constantly opposing the Empress Dowager. Eventually, Dou Miao and her allies began to set up a plan to exterminate the powerful eunuchs.
In the autumn of that year, the eunuchs discovered the plan and quickly formed a conspiracy with 17 eunuchs to strike back. They quickly took Emperor Ling into custody under claims of protection and issued edicts that eventually kidnapped the Empress Dowager. Chen Fan was captured and executed, while Dou Wu was defeated in battle. Dou Wu killed himself after defeat, and the Dou clan was slaughtered. Dou Miao was put under house arrest, although maintaining her title of empress dowager.
In 172 CE, Dou Miao died in the summer. The powerful eunuchs hated her so much that they had her body placed on a wagon for transporting luggage and exposed to the elements for a few days, then eventually wanted to bury her with the honors not of an empress dowager, but an imperial consort. At Emperor Ling's insistence, she was still buried with the ceremony of an empress dowager with her husband Emperor Huan.
Empress Dowager He 何太后 (died 30 September 189 CE), posthumously known as Empress Lingsi, was empress to consort of Emperor Ling of the Eastern Han. After the death of Emperor Ling in 189 CE, she became empress dowager when her young son, Liu Bian, became the new Emperor Shao. She was caught up in the conflict between her paternal half-brother, General-in-Chief He Jin, and the eunuch faction, who were both vying for power in the Han imperial court. After He Jin's assassination and the elimination of the eunuch faction, the warlord Dong Zhuo took advantage of the power vacuum to lead his forces into the imperial capital and seize control of the Han central government. Dong Zhuo subsequently deposed Emperor Shao, replaced him with Liu Xie and had Empress Dowager He poisoned to death.
During her time as the empress consort, Empress Lingsi was ruthless in the harem. One of Emperor Ling's consorts, Lady of Beauty Wang, became pregnant. As she feared that Empress He would harm her unborn child, she attempted to cause a miscarriage by consuming drugs, but her child remained safe. In 181 CE, after Lady Wang gave birth to a son, Liu Xie, Empress He ordered her to be poisoned to death. Emperor Ling was furious when he found out and he wanted to depose Empress He, but the eunuchs managed to persuade him to spare the empress. The motherless Liu Xie was raised by his grandmother, Empress Dowager Dong, and given the title Marquis Dong.
Upon Emperor Ling’s passing, Empress Lingsi became the Empress Dowager He, installing her son Liu Bian as the new emperor. Due to his frivolous nature, all powers belonged to the Empress dowager and her brother He Jin, giving the He clan absolute power. Empress Dowager He could issue imperial edicts, rule the empire through her son, and was able to balance her powers with the rising eunuch faction. However, in 189 CE, the eunuch faction plotted and succeeded in assassinating He Jin. In retaliation, He Jin’s subordinates stormed the palace with troops and killed the eunuch.
With a new power vacuum, the warlord Dong Zhuo led his forces to the capital, deposed Emperor Shao and installed another puppet emperor. Empress Dowager He was poisoned to death and buried with her husband, ushering in the age of the Three Kingdoms.