Li Lingrong

In this Chinese name, the family name is Li.

Li Lingrong (Chinese: 李陵容; 351^[1] - 9 August 400^[2]), formally Empress Dowager Xiaowuwen (孝武文太后, literally "the filial, martial, and civil empress dowager") was an empress dowager during Jin Dynasty (266–420). She was a concubine of Emperor Jianwen and the mother of Emperor Xiaowu.

Li Lingrong 李陵容
Grand empress dowager of the Eastern Jin Dynasty
Tenure	29 April 397 – 9 August 400
Empress dowager of the Eastern Jin Dynasty
Tenure	27 September 394 – 29 April 397
Predecessor	Empress Chu Suanzi
Consort dowager (皇太妃)
Tenure	6 May 387 – 27 September 394
Born	351
Died	9 August 400(400-08-09) (aged 48–49) Jiankang, Eastern Jin
Spouse	Emperor Jianwen of Jin
Issue	Emperor Xiaowu of Jin Sima Daozi Princess Foyang (鄱陽公主)

Life

Li Lingrong was born of a humble origin, and she became a servant girl in the household of Sima Yu the Prince of Kuaiji. She was one of the servants involved with manufacturing textiles.

Concubine

Sima Yu originally had a wife from high birth, Princess Wang Jianji (王簡姬). With her he fathered his heir apparent, Sima Daosheng (司馬道生), and Sima Yusheng (司馬俞生). However, Sima Daosheng was described as careless and frivolous. In 348, while Sima Yu was prime minister for his grandnephew Emperor Mu, Sima Daosheng was accused of unspecified crimes. He was deposed and died in imprisonment. Princess Wang died in distress. Sima Yusheng and three other sons of Sima Yu all died early, leaving him without an heir, and his concubines were not conceiving any more. He hired a practitioner of physiognomy to look at his concubines and see which one could conceive an heir. The practitioner looked at all of them and opined that none was destined to give him an heir—but then he saw Li Lingrong, who was tall, dark-skinned and who was derogatorily referred to as "Kunlun". The practitioner, in surprise, yelled out, "She is the one!"^[3] Sima Yu therefore took her as a concubine, and they had two sons—Sima Yao in 362 and Sima Daozi in 363. Sima Yao was subsequently named heir apparent. She also had a daughter with Sima Yu, who would later be Princess Poyang.

Empress dowager

In 371, the paramount general Huan Wen, in order to showcase his power, deposed Sima Yu's nephew Emperor Fei and replaced him with Sima Yu (as Emperor Jianwen). Emperor Jianwen ruled only for one year, dying in 372. He did not create her any special titles, but he did create her son Sima Yao crown prince. Sima Yao, after Emperor Jianwen's death, ascended the throne as Emperor Xiaowu. Initially, out of respect for his father's deceased wife Princess Wang, he did not honor Consort Li as empress dowager, but did progressively honor her with greater and greater imperial consort titles. In May 387, he honored her as Consort Dowager (皇太妃), with all ceremonial trappings of an empress dowager. In September 394, after a petition by Sima Daozi (by now the Prince of Kuaiji), she was finally honored as empress dowager.

Empress Dowager Li's influence during Emperor Xiaowu's reign appeared to be limited, as Emperor Mu's mother Empress Dowager Chu was regent early, and after she gave up regent authorities in 376, power was largely in the hands of Xie An until Emperor Xiaowu fully turned adult. She was described as often mediating conflicts between him and Sima Daozi, and throughout his reign, Sima Daozi had great authority as the emperor's brother and prime minister.

Grand empress dowager

Emperor Xiaowu was killed by his concubine Honoured Lady Zhang in 396 after humiliating her. He was succeeded by his developmentally disabled son Emperor An, and Empress Dowager Li was honored as grand empress dowager on 29 April 397.^[4] She died on 9 Aug 400 and was mourned with ceremony due an empress, but was not buried with Emperor Jianwen or worshipped with him in his temple, but instead was worshipped in the same temple that housed Emperor Jianwen's mother, Consort Zheng Achun (鄭阿春).

References

1. According to Record of Jiankang, Lady Li was 50 (by East Asian reckoning) when she died. (后讳陵容...崩，时年五十。) Jiankang Shilu, vol.10. Thus by calculation, her birth year should be 351.
2. According to Sima Dezong's biography in Book of Jin, Lady Li died on the renzi day of the 7th month of the 4th year of the Longan era of Dezong's reign. This corresponds to 9 Aug 400 in the proleptic Gregorian calendar. [(隆安四年)秋七月壬子，太皇太后李氏崩。] Jin Shu vol.10
3. (乃令善相者召诸爱妾而示之，皆云非其人，又悉以诸婢媵示焉。时后为宫人，在织坊中，形长而色黑，宫人皆谓之昆仑。既至，相者惊云：“此其人也。”) Jin Shu, vol.32
4. According to Sima Dezong's biography in Book of Jin, Lady Li was made grand empress dowager on the jiayin day of the 2th month of the 1st year of the Longan era of Dezong's reign. However, in the same line, it was recorded that Lady Wang was made empress on the wuwu day of the same month. The two days do not exist in the 2nd month of the 1st year of the Longan era, but do exist in the 3rd month of the same year. Thus, the (likely) correct date for Lady Li's coronation corresponds to 29 Apr 397 in the proleptic Gregorian calendar. [(隆安元年二月)甲寅，尊皇太后李氏为皇太后。戊午，立皇后王氏。] Jin Shu, vol.10