Introduction
The “Five Barbarians” (Wu Hu 五胡), a collection of five Inner Asian groups consisting of the Xianbei 鮮卑, Xiongnu 匈奴, Jie 羯, Di 氐, and Qiang 羌, established multiple short-lived dynastic states in North China in the fourth and fifth centuries, commonly known as the Sixteen Kingdoms period (304–439).Footnote 1 Founded by the Tuoba clan of the Xianbei, the Northern Wei (386–534) dynasty unified the fractured political order in North China, bringing the chaotic Sixteen Kingdoms period to a close by 439. Nearly a century later, internal conflict led to its division into the Eastern Wei (534–550) and Western Wei (535–557), which were soon followed by the Northern Qi (550–577) and Northern Zhou (557–581).
Gao Huan 高歡 (496–547), the progenitor of the Northern Qi, hailed from one of the Northern Wei garrison towns known as the Six Garrisons located in the Ordos region. This region had been alienated by the Northern Wei court after the capital was moved south from Pingcheng to Luoyang in 493. In the 520s, the garrisons, which consisted of elite Xianbei, led rebellions against the Luoyang court which caused the mass migration of northerners to the south and the collapse of the Northern Wei. Gao Huan started as a mere soldier on the frontier before the Northern Wei’s demise. By following the Xiongnu general Erzhu Rong 爾朱榮 (493–530), he steadily rose through the ranks and accumulated power in the Northern Wei and Eastern Wei courts. Gao Huan emerged as the de facto ruler of the Eastern Wei (534–550) following the elimination of the dominant Erzhu family. Although he never ascended the throne, his second son, Gao Yang 高洋 (r. 550–559), founded the Northern Qi dynasty and conferred the title of posthumous emperor, namely Emperor Shenwu 神武皇, to his father.Footnote 2
While Gao Huan’s contributions to the Northern Qi dynasty are well-documented, this article shifts focus to a lesser-known figure—his principal wife, Empress Dowager Lou 婁太后 (Lou Zhaojun 婁昭君, 501–562), also known as Empress Ming née Lou 明皇后 婁氏. I argue her role was equally, if not more, significant to the establishment and maintenance of the Northern Qi dynasty. Women of Inner Asian societies and states were known to have enjoyed considerably more freedom and authority than their Han counterparts.Footnote 3 In his book entitled Family Instructions of Master Yan (Yanshi jiaxun 顏氏家訓), sixth-century aristocrat Yan Zhitui 顏之推 (553–590s) offered crucial insight into the social practices of the Northern Qi.Footnote 4 In his brief reflections on the differences between northern and southern women, Yan Zhitui, who had lived in both Jiankang to the south and Ye to the north, portrayed northern women as wielding commanding authority in their family affairs unlike their counterparts east of the Yangzi River.Footnote 5 He pointed to examples such as their involvement in disputes and lawsuits, paying visits and receiving guests, frequenting official quarters, seeking jobs for their sons, and pleading to authority on behalf of their husbands—behavior he attributed to the influence of the Northern Wei dynasty. His observations on the active participation of northern women in societal affairs are especially valuable, as those of a contemporary who lived during the period, and serve as a key basis for exploring Northern Qi rule.
Lou Zhaojun epitomized the freedom and authority enjoyed by Inner Asian women but manifested these values to a far greater degree. Gao Huan’s miraculous rise from a mere soldier to general, and finally to regent of the Eastern Wei, was inconceivable without the support of his wife. Her social status and wealth played a crucial role in facilitating his rise within the political and military hierarchy. Lou Zhaojun was born into the rich and prominent Xianbei Lou family in the Northern Wei, which possessed thousands of servants and an abundance of cattle and horses. One day, she spotted Gao Huan laboring on a city wall in Pingcheng and decided to marry him. While it was unconventional at the time for women to propose to men, Empress Dowager Lou sent her maids to convey her proposal along with private monetary gifts. Through his marriage to Empress Dowager Lou, Gao Huan attained the necessary means to cast off his shackles as a laborer. After receiving his first horse from her, Gao Huan joined the military and became captain of a squad.Footnote 6 Exhausting her resources to support her husband, Lou Zhaojun also served as his most intimate advisor, participating in meetings and secret discussions on military affairs. Previous studies have touched on Empress Dowager Lou’s influence on Gao Huan’s political ascent in the Northern Wei and Eastern Wei courts. Jennifer Holmgren found that Gao Huan’s marriage to the Lou family provided him with two significant benefits—material support and connections to Duan Rong 段榮 (478–539) and Dou Tai 竇泰 (d. 537), both of whom became critical supporters in his rise to power.Footnote 7 Albert Dien concurred that Empress Dowager Lou’s dowry lent crucial support at the outset.Footnote 8
Expanding on these studies that examined her support of Gao Huan in the Northern Wei and Eastern Wei, this article explores Empress Dowager Lou’s influence at court, primarily through the examination of Northern Qi practices. The limited literature that recounts the imperial family and practices of the Northern Qi court often focuses on the “immoral” and chaotic aspects of the dynasty such as instances of incest and unstable succession, following traditional historiography in criticizing this period.Footnote 9 This article revisits these Northern Qi practices, uncovers new ones, and discusses how they can be interpreted afresh. It focuses on fraternal succession, “bifurcated” intermarriage practices, and “transformed levirate” marriage practices. Both “bifurcated” intermarriage practices and “transformed levirate” marriage practices are neologisms introduced in this study. “Bifurcated” intermarriage practices refer to a separation of marriage practices for emperors and for princes in the Northern Qi court, specifically the clear division in the backgrounds of their marriage partners. And the “transformed levirate” marriage practice describes a variation of the traditional levirate custom in which a man marries his brother’s or father’s widow. Northern Qi emperors took as wives women from the courts of conquered states, many of whom were later married to their successors as well.
A careful study shows that Empress Dowager Lou played a central role in the administration of these systems and practices which served as pillars of stability for the imperial family. She laid the groundwork well before the establishment of the Northern Qi dynasty during Gao Huan’s rule as the regent of the Eastern Wei. Wielding steadfast realpolitik during a time of uncertain power and diplomacy, Empress Dowager Lou not only stabilized the rule and non-Han identity of the Northern Qi imperial family through pragmatic policy decisions, but also consolidated her own power during the reigns of her husband and sons.Footnote 10 She implemented a political agenda centered around her Xianbei roots and threaded her influence into the fabric of rule of Northern Qi emperors. Through the enforcement of practices observed by prior Inner Asian states, her brand of politics established a hierarchy where non-Han (Xianbei) identity was elevated above Han identity.Footnote 11 Her attachment to Xianbei identity reinforces Chen Yinke’s 陳寅恪 “Xianbeinization” thesis regarding the Northern Wei and its successor states, while also contributing to ongoing scholarly debates over the Northern Qi’s purported Sinicization.Footnote 12
Early medieval China witnessed the rule of a handful of women, and much scholarly attention has been given to prominent figures such as Empress Dowagers Feng and Hu of the Northern Wei.Footnote 13 Keith McMahon comprehensively examined medieval imperial women and female rulers in his book, Women Shall Not Rule, which surveyed the rise of female rulership and their methods of legitimation, culminating with the reign of Wu Zetian.Footnote 14 In an article, McMahon also suggested that women of Inner Asian regimes presumably influenced the appearance of powerful women in the early Tang dynasty.Footnote 15 Bret Hinsch, in his book on the livelihoods of early medieval women, devotes a chapter to the political roles of imperial women, particularly those of empress and empress dowager.Footnote 16 Building on this body of scholarship, I argue that Empress Dowager Lou should be considered as a woman who wielded immense power. She diverges from the established mold of female rulers who generally stepped in when men were unfit or unavailable, with the usual reasons consisting of either the illness or death of her emperor-husband, or the young age of the successor.Footnote 17 Empress Dowager Lou instead came to power as the kingmaker of the Northern Qi court. She was the driving force behind her husband becoming the regent of the Eastern Wei, and after his death, she controlled the succession system and seated the emperors of the Northern Qi. She shaped the regime by positioning her Xianbei heritage at the core of Northern Qi identity and politics. Empress Dowager Lou held the reins at court and serves as a refutation of the traditional idioms that paint women as emblems of dynastic fall.Footnote 18
The Fraternal Succession System
The Northern Qi dynasty was officially established by Gao Yang 高洋 (r. 550–559), the second son of Gao Huan and Empress Dowager Lou. While the Northern Qi dynasty officially reigned for twenty-seven years, the Gao family’s regime can be considered to have lasted for forty-three years in light of Gao Huan’s and his sons’ overwhelming influence in the preceding Eastern Wei court. The Northern Qi court oversaw the reigns of eight emperors consisting of six living emperors and two posthumous emperors. Interestingly, among these eight emperors, four—Emperor Wenxiang 文襄 (521–549, Gao Cheng 高澄), Emperor Wenxuan 文宣 (r. 550–559, Gao Yang 高洋), Emperor Xiaozhao 孝昭 (r. 560–561, Gao Yan 高演), and Emperor Wucheng 武成 (r. 561–565, Gao Zhan 高湛)—were brothers.Footnote 19
Fraternal, or brotherly succession, was not uncommon and was observed among many prior non-Han societies and states. Notable cases occurred throughout the Sixteen Kingdoms period such as in the Former Zhao, Later Zhao, Dai, Western Yan, Northern Yan, Xia, Southern Liang, and in the early Tuoba regime.Footnote 20 Moreover, the Turkic empires to the north, contemporaneous with the Northern Qi, practiced a fraternal succession system.Footnote 21 Fraternal succession in the Northern Qi imperial family seems to follow this Inner Asian practice. Scholars have commonly accepted the Northern Qi fraternal succession phenomenon as a “succession crisis” that failed to follow the systemized primogeniture succession system.Footnote 22 However, the Northern Qi dynasty’s fraternal succession phenomenon was more organized than prior non-Han precedents and should be considered as a deliberate choice by the Gao family. Not only was the Northern Qi clearly much more settled and developed in terms of law and administrative systems than other states during the Sixteen Kingdoms period, but also, the Northern Qi court readily accepted the succession between brothers without resistance or debate.Footnote 23 Most importantly, the circumstances and extent of the Northern Qi’s use of fraternal succession reveal the blueprint of a carefully coordinated schema. This arrangement was tied to an element that the four brother-emperors, sons of Gao Huan, shared. These four brother-emperors shared the same mother, Empress Dowager Lou.
Empress Dowager Lou became the central figure in the affairs of the imperial family and spread her influence in court prior to the official reign of the Northern Qi dynasty. The first traces of Empress Dowager Lou in the succession process can be seen in the case of her first son, Gao Cheng.Footnote 24 When Gao Huan sought to replace the crown prince, Gao Cheng, with Gao You 高浟, his son with the concubine Lady Erzhu 爾朱, he was advised against the decision by his friend and chancellor Sima Ziru 司馬子如. Sima Ziru’s appeal largely rested on the pivotal role that the heir apparent’s mother, Empress Dowager Lou, had played in facilitating Gao Huan’s rise to power.Footnote 25 Without a doubt, Gao Huan’s political ascendancy was made possible, in large part, by the support and network of Empress Dowager Lou and her family.Footnote 26 Empress Dowager Lou’s first son, Gao Cheng was able to retain his status as Gao Huan’s successor due to his mother’s influence. Following the death of Gao Huan, Gao Cheng’s accession as the first brother-emperorFootnote 27 signals the start of a fraternal succession phenomenon rarely seen before in the Middle Kingdom.Footnote 28 The succession of the next brother and the second brother-emperor Gao Yang (Emperor Wenxuan) is portrayed as a natural progression of events in the record, which lacks relevant detail regarding his rise to the throne.Footnote 29 However, the next three cases give more insight into the tacit agreement established amongst the brothers under the supervision of their mother.
The first case features the Deposed Emperor Gao Yin 高殷 (r. 559–560), the first son of Gao Yang (Emperor Wenxuan). Although Gao Yin was installed as crown prince during Emperor Wenxuan’s reign, he was a ceaseless source of disappointment for his father. A record in the Annals of Deposed Emperor (Feidi ji 廢帝紀) in the History of the Northern Qi (Bei Qi shu 北齊書) reveals Emperor Wenxuan’s thoughts on his son.
Crown Prince [Gao] Yin, who was mild and sanguine from [his] youth, extended courtesy to scholars and liked learning; widely knowledgeable of the political situation of the time, he thus had a very good reputation. The emperor previously hated that the crown prince had the character of a Han family, not resembling himself, so he wanted to dethrone him. The emperor climbed the Golden Phoenix Terrace and called the crown prince, having him stab a convict; the crown prince, showing empathy, expressed [his] difficulty [in doing so], [trying] twice and three times, [he] eventually could not cut off the [convict’s] head. The emperor became furious, [so] he took a horsewhip and beat him; for this reason, the crown prince lost his vigor and stuttered his words and his mental state became unstable. When the emperor was drunk during banquets, he repeatedly said, “the crown prince’s character is weak [but] the state’s affairs are weighty, [so] eventually, [I] should give the throne to [the Prince of] Changshan.” The Junior Mentor of the Crown Prince, Wei Shou, said to Yang Yin, “The crown prince is the foundation of the state, so should not waver. [Whenever] the emperor drinks three times, he frequently says that [he will] give the throne to [the Prince of] Changshan, making the officials have two minds. If that is true, [he] should boldly proceed. These [his] words are not for fun, [so] I am afraid that it will only make the state unstable.” [As Yang] Yin conveyed [Wei] Shou’s word to the emperor, the emperor then stopped [saying it].
太子殷, 自幼溫裕開朗, 禮士好學, 關覽時政, 甚有美名。帝嘗嫌太子得漢家性質, 不似我, 欲廢之。帝登金鳳臺召太子, 使手刃囚; 太子惻然有難色, 再三, 不斷其首。帝大怒, 親以馬鞭撞之, 太子由是氣悸語吃, 精神昏擾。帝因酣宴, 屢云: 「太子性懦, 社稷事重, 終當傳位常山。」太子少傅魏收謂楊愔曰: 「太子, 國之根本, 不可動搖。至尊三爵之後, 每言傳位常山, 令臣下疑貳。若其實也, 當決行之。此言非所以為戲, 恐徒使國家不安。」愔以收言白帝, 帝乃止。Footnote 30
According to this record, Emperor Wenxuan resented that his son, Gao Yin, did not take after him but rather possessed the disposition of a Han individual. Gao Yin’s divergence in character was illustrated by his failure to execute a convict as instructed by his father. Next, a drunk Emperor Wenxuan disclosed to people at a banquet that he believed that Gao Yin was unfit to oversee the weighty affairs of the state because of his presumably weak Han character. He instead proposed to replace Gao Yin with his brother Gao Yan, the Prince of Changshan, who later became the third brother-emperor Emperor Xiaozhao. According to Wei Shou, the Junior Mentor of the Crown Prince, Emperor Wenxuan frequently spoke of bequeathing the throne to Gao Yan.Footnote 31 Emperor Wenxuan seemed to recognize his brother as his eventual successor even during his reign with court officials having full knowledge of his intent. With the Northern Qi in constant conflict with the Northern Zhou in the struggle to claim legitimacy as sole successor to the Northern Wei, Crown Prince Gao Yin’s gentle and scholarly personality, which was characterized as Han-like in this passage, must have been far from ideal to Emperor Wenxuan who himself was a warrior emperor in accordance with his Xianbei heritage.Footnote 32 Notably, these musings give a glimpse of what the imperial family thought about their identity. The implication is that Emperor Wenxuan considered himself different from a Han individual, seemingly treasuring his non-Han or Xianbei characteristics, and believed that those of Han temperament were unfit for the duties of a successor or emperor. The imperial family prized a Xianbei disposition in their rulers, which might explain their preference and adherence to many Inner Asian practices.
Towards the end of his reign, Emperor Wenxuan directed his brother Gao Yan (Emperor Xiaozhao) to take the throne after his death. The superstitious Emperor Wenxuan foresaw that Crown Prince Gao Yin would not succeed him because of his name—one character in Gao Yin’s style name, zheng 正, can be divided into yi 一 and zhi 止, which means “to stop.” By reason of this interpretation, Emperor Wenxuan anticipated that his son would never succeed him. After this explanation, Emperor Wenxuan told his brother Gao Yan: “[If you] take the throne, take it. Be sure not to kill him (Gao Yin).”Footnote 33 Although Emperor Wenxuan’s priority seemed to be his son’s safety, there was an understanding between the brothers that Gao Yan would take his brother’s place. Emperor Wenxuan passed away before the deposal of Crown Prince Gao Yin or the installation of his brother Gao Yan (Emperor Xiaozhao) as emperor. As the crown prince, Gao Yin was installed as emperor, albeit for only a short while. Empress Dowager Lou had always wanted her son Gao Yan to become emperor instead of Gao Yin, but was prevented from doing so by Yang Yin 楊愔 (511–560), the Director of the Department of State Affairs (shangshuling 尙書令), who resented Gao Yan.Footnote 34 Over the next few months, Empress Dowager Lou personally commanded the deposal of Gao Yin and installed him as the Prince of Ji’nan instead. She then oversaw her son Gao Yan’s entry into the court and installed him as emperor.Footnote 35 Empress Dowager Lou paved the path for her third son to become emperor and, for the first time, displayed her power as the principal figure in the enforcement of this system of fraternal succession. Her power at court and influence over internal affairs was acknowledged even by officials who tried to curtail her power.Footnote 36
The next case of brotherly succession concerned the fourth brother-emperor Emperor Wucheng (Gao Zhan) and started prior to Gao Yan’s (Emperor Xiaozhao’s) accession. As previously mentioned, Yang Yin blocked Gao Yan’s succession to the throne. In his preparations to kill Yang Yin to become emperor, Gao Yan explicitly promised his brother Gao Zhan to install him as crown prince-brother (huangtaidi 皇太弟) after the deed was done.Footnote 37 The promise between these brother-emperors indicates their recognition of the order of fraternal succession. However, in an intriguing turn of events, Emperor Xiaozhao reneged on his word and installed his own son, Gao Bainian 高百年, as crown prince, leaving his brother Gao Zhan in charge of military affairs in Ye, the nominal capital city. Jinyang was the de facto center of the Northern Qi, thus sending Gao Zhan to Ye was essentially exile. Yet, the manner in which Emperor Xiaozhao installed his own son instead of his brother demonstrated the intricacies of this fraternal succession system. When court officials asked Emperor Xiaozhao to install an heir apparent, he at first humbly rejected the offer. However, when asked a second time, Emperor Xiaozhao alleged that it was at Empress Dowager Lou’s request that he named his son as heir apparent.Footnote 38 It is uncertain whether Emperor Xiaozhao received permission from his mother to install his son as heir apparent. Either Emperor Xiaozhao directly sought his mother’s approval to install his son as crown prince, or he merely invoked her name to convince the court officials to accept his son’s installation. In either case, the emperor and court officials seem to acknowledge that any decision with regards to succession would have to go through Empress Dowager Lou. Furthermore, any well-informed or observant official would have recognized that Empress Dowager Lou favored her own sons in the line of succession, especially when considering her active involvement during the succession of Emperor Xiaozhao. The emperor and officials understood that Gao Bainian’s installation as crown prince diverged from prior instances of fraternal succession, and as such, would require the approval of Empress Dowager Lou. Empress Dowager Lou appears to have wielded more power than the emperor himself as the court seems to have prioritized her consent over the will of the emperor.
Even if Empress Dowager Lou consented to the appointment of Gao Bainian as crown prince, her approval was likely a political maneuver intended solely to appease Emperor Xiaozhao. Her true intentions are revealed almost two years later when Emperor Xiaozhao fell off his horse while hunting and sustained fatal injuries.
As a rabbit frightened [his] horse, the emperor fell and broke his ribs. Empress Dowager visited to see his injury and asked three times where [the Prince of] Ji’nan was, but the emperor did not reply. The empress dowager became angry, and said, “[You] killed him. You did not listen to me, so it is appropriate that you should die!” … [He] sent a person with an edict for the Prince of Changguang to succeed the throne and handwrote a letter saying, “My wife and son should be given a decent place to live. Do not follow the actions of our forebearers.”
有兔驚馬, 帝墜而絕肋。太后視疾, 問濟南所在者三, 帝不對。太后怒曰: 「殺去耶, 不用吾言,死其宜矣!」 … 遣使詔追長廣王入纂大統,手書云: 「宜將吾妻子置一好處, 勿學前人也。」Footnote 39
Empress Dowager Lou came to visit Emperor Xiaozhao on the pretense of checking on his injuries. However, her visit to inquire about his health seems anything but sincere as she interrogated him about the whereabouts of his nephew, Gao Yin, the Deposed Emperor and the current Prince of Ji’nan. Following Emperor Xiaozhao’s silence, Empress Dowager Lou, who seems to have already been informed that he had killed Gao Yin, furiously declared that he should die as he did not listen to her. Her power was on full display here with her telling the regnant emperor that he should die for going against her wishes.Footnote 40 Afterwards, Emperor Xiaozhao wrote an edict to have his brother, Gao Zhan (Emperor Wucheng), succeed the throne, and in a letter, asked Gao Zhan to not kill his wife and son.
Soon after, Emperor Xiaozhao died, and Emperor Wucheng (Gao Zhan) was crowned emperor with his installation overseen by his mother.
In the second year when Emperor Xiaozhao died, in accordance with his will, [they] called Emperor Wucheng to succeed the throne. Upon the arrival at Jinyang palace, the mourning ceremony was conducted in Chongde Hall. Empress Dowager commanded the officials-in-charge to read the will. Left Chancellor Hulü Jin led the assembled court in entreating Emperor [Wucheng] to accept the charge. After three entreaties, the emperor assented.
二年, 孝昭崩, 遺詔徵帝入統大位。及晉陽宮, 發喪於崇德殿。皇太后令所司宣遺詔, 左丞相斛律金率百僚敦勸, 三奏, 乃許之。Footnote 41
In this record, Empress Dowager Lou directed the court officials to Emperor Xiaozhao’s will which disclosed his wishes that his brother should succeed him. Starting from the installation of Gao Bainian as crown prince to the enthronement of Emperor Wucheng, this case illustrates an awareness at court of the fraternal succession system. Most importantly, it reveals Empress Dowager Lou’s firmly established role as kingmaker in the Northern Qi court, with the appointment of emperors and the fraternal succession system centered around her.
The final case pertains to the fifth brother, Gao Ji, who explicitly acknowledged and cited the fraternal succession system. Although the Prince of Boling, Gao Ji, failed to ascend the throne after Emperor Wucheng, this episode underscores the importance of Empress Dowager Lou to the continuance of this system.
In the fifth year of Tiantong (569), [the Prince of Boling, while in residence as Dingzhou governor] said, “Considering the order [of fraternal successions], I should be next in line.” [After] Emperor Houzhu heard of this, he secretly sent a man to kill him.
天統五年, 在州語人云:「計次第亦應到我。」後主聞之, 陰使人殺之。Footnote 42
After his nephew Emperor Houzhu (Gao Wei) was installed as emperor, Gao Ji declared that the throne should be his in accordance with the fraternal succession schema. Unfortunately, Empress Dowager Lou had died during Emperor Wucheng’s reign, leaving Gao Ji without the necessary means or support to take the throne. Following his mother’s death, Emperor Wucheng was able to successfully appoint and install his own son, Gao Wei, as his successor.
However, even after his mother’s death, Emperor Wucheng seemed to have been concerned about his son’s succession due to the custom of fraternal succession. The fraternal succession system brought about the deaths of the last two crown princes, the Deposed Emperor (Gao Yin) and the Prince of Leling (Gao Bainian), who were both killed by their uncles. In the fifth year of his reign (560), upon receiving a report of foreboding astronomical signs, Emperor Wucheng, yielded the throne and crowned his eight-year-old son, Emperor Houzhu (Gao Wei), as the fifth emperor of the Northern Qi.Footnote 43 Records show that this plan was devised behind the scenes by Emperor Wucheng’s favorite officials, Zu Ting 祖珽 and He Shikai 和士開.Footnote 44 They leveraged Emperor Wucheng’s concerns regarding his son’s succession to position themselves for the future by aligning with the empress and the crown prince. As they expected, Emperor Wucheng was openly receptive to Zu Ting’s idea of abdication. The Grand Astrologer’s timely observation of a comet, combined with the Northern Wei precedent of Emperor Xianwen’s 獻文 (r. 465–471) abdication to secure the throne for his son Emperor Xiaowen 孝文 (r. 471–499), likely served as convenient rationale for Emperor Wucheng to enthrone his own son as emperor. Recognizing that the system of fraternal succession still held considerable weight due to the precedent set by Empress Dowager Lou, his abdication was likely the most prudent course of action to ensure his son’s safety.Footnote 45 After Emperor Houzhu’s installation, Emperor Wucheng still held power as regent or Retired Emperor (taishang huangdi 太上皇帝) and was active in court politics until his death four years later.Footnote 46 Moreover, these four years proved to be invaluable for Emperor Houzhu to establish a solid foothold for his rule and preclude the challenge to the throne posed by his uncle, Gao Ji.
These cases present a fraternal succession system which seem to have been recognized by both the imperial family and the court. Among the six sons of Gao Huan and Empress Dowager Lou, five were aware of this tacit agreement, with the sixth son Gao Yu 高淯 being excluded due to his death at a young age.Footnote 47 Although contention arose during the succession process, these struggles also appear in other succession systems including primogeniture. Thus, the Northern Qi fraternal system should not be considered as a “succession crisis,” but rather should be recognized as a legitimate system of succession. But more markedly, these cases show that this system was very much dependent on, sanctioned by, and meticulously managed by Empress Dowager Lou.
Empress Dowager Lou, born into a prominent Xianbei family during the Northern Wei, was undoubtedly familiar with the custom of horizontal, or fraternal, succession in past Xianbei regimes and non-Han states.Footnote 48 Her adherence to Inner Asian customs highlights her attachment to her Xianbei identity, which presumably had considerable influence on her sons, one of whom is even recorded as having voiced his displeasure at his own son’s apparent Han disposition.Footnote 49 Outwardly, the imperial family’s role as rulers over the Middle Kingdom necessitated their association with and embracement of their Han identity for legitimation purposes, substantiated by their purported Han lineage tracing back to a Han noble family, the Gao clan of Bohai. Nevertheless, traces of the imperial family’s self-identification as Xianbei are discernible in these cases.
The fraternal succession system also offers insight into the power wielded by Empress Dowager Lou. Much of the scholarship on the power of empresses during the Northern Dynasties period (386–581) has connected maternal power to the old traditions of the Wuhuan 烏桓 and the Xianbei 鮮卑, which regarded mothers highly.Footnote 50 Empress Dowager Lou’s respected role in the Northern Qi court must have derived from such traditions and eventually evolved into her becoming kingmaker. While her role should be viewed as adherence to Xianbei customs, it should also be viewed as a calculated decision to keep power within the family. The fraternal succession system served to consolidate power in the imperial family centered around Empress Dowager Lou. The Northern Qi fraternal succession system substantially expanded in scope, with four brothers of matrilineal kinship rising to the throne. Empress Dowager Lou giving birth to several sons was an important source of her power. It was remarkable that so many sons were born to an empress, especially during this period. Not only were the biological mothers of emperors killed in the Northern Wei, but also in the Southern Dynasties during the Six Dynasties era, there were only a handful of sons born to empresses.Footnote 51 According to Bielenstein, only nine sons are known to have been born to empresses and just four out of the twenty-five emperors were sons of empresses in the Southern Dynasties.Footnote 52 Empress Dowager Lou’s use of fraternal succession maximized the political profit she could secure from her fecundity.
An empress dowager enforcing the fraternal succession system in the Northern Qi is particularly significant when considering the question of gender and rule. Holmgren observed that fraternal succession was a reliable method in which to decrease the influence of women, including that of empress dowagers.Footnote 53 Empress Dowager Lou directly challenges this interpretation by showing how fraternal succession could be used as a tool by women to consolidate power at court. Empress Dowager Lou wielded overwhelming power as kingmaker, eclipsing the rule of her son emperors.
“Bifurcated” Intermarriage Practice
In addition to the fraternal succession system, the Northern Qi court also implemented a separation of marriage practices for emperors and for imperial princes, which I refer to as a “bifurcated” intermarriage system.Footnote 54 A close examination into the backgrounds of empresses and princesses-consort reveals a stark contrast between the principal wives of emperors and those of imperial princes. Empresses, or principal wives of emperors, were primarily of non-Han background and princesses-consort, or principal wives of imperial princes, were primarily of Han background.
Among the nine empresses recorded in the History of the Northern Dynasties (Bei shi 北史), eight came from non-Han backgrounds, and only one, Empress Wenxuan née Li (文宣皇后 李氏), came from a Han family. As shown in Table 1, Empress Dowager Lou, the Rouran Princess, Empress Wenxiang née Yuan, Empress Wenxuan née Li, Empress Xiaozhao née Yuan, Empress Wucheng née Hu, Empress Houzhu née Hulü, Empress Houzhu née Hu, and Empress Houzhu née Mu are of non-Han origin with records clearly delineating the ethnic backgrounds of their families.
Table 1. Backgrounds of Northern Qi Empresses
* Posthumous Emperors.
For more detailed information, see the index in the Appendix. This is a summary table.
Empress Dowager Lou was a daughter of Lou Neigan 婁內干, whose father Lou Ti 婁提 was installed as the Marquis of Zhending 真定 during the reign of Emperor Taiwu (r. 423–452) in the Northern Wei. The Lou family, with a Xianbei background and surname, was known for their wealth and illustrious reputation. Empress Wenxiang née Yuan 文襄皇后 元氏 was a sister of Emperor Xiaojing 孝靜 of the Northern Wei.Footnote 55 Empress Xiaozhao née Yuan 孝昭皇后 元氏 was a daughter of the Area Commander (kaifu 開府) Yuan Man 元蠻.Footnote 56 Yuan Man was a son of the Prince of Jiangyang 江陽 whose lineage was connected to Emperor Daowu 道武 of the Northern Wei.Footnote 57 Empress Wucheng née Hu 武成皇后 胡氏 was a daughter of Hu Yanzhi 胡延之, who came from the same family as Empress Dowager Ling née Hu (靈太后 胡氏) of the Northern Wei.Footnote 58 The three empresses of Houzhu 後主 also had non-Han backgrounds. The first empress of Houzhu was Empress Hulü 斛律, whose father Hulü Guang 斛律光 was a great Northern Qi general.Footnote 59 After deposing Empress Hulü, Houzhu installed multiple empresses at the same time.Footnote 60 Empress Houzhu née Hu, who was a niece of Empress Wucheng née Hu, was appointed as Left Empress (zuo huanghou 左皇后), while Empress Houzhu née Mu, who was originally a maid of Empress Hulü, received the surname Mu and became Right Empress (you huanghou 右皇后).Footnote 61 Empress Wucheng née Hu, Empress Houzhu née Hu, and Houzhu née Mu should be considered to be of non-Han background. Empress Hu’s family were collateral relatives of Empress Dowager Hu of the Northern Wei, whose ancestors worked for the rulers of the Sixteen Kingdoms.Footnote 62 There is a possibility that the Hu family had a different non-Han surname before the enforcement of Emperor Xiaowen’s surname reformation policy in the Northern Wei, as people with the surname Hegu 紇骨 had changed their surname to Hu during the reformation.Footnote 63 And lastly, while Empress Mu’s surname is unknown, she was granted the surname Mu, a prominent non-Han surname, after her son became crown prince.Footnote 64 These cases strongly suggest that the Northern Qi imperial family had an implicit rule concerning the appointment of non-Han empresses.
In addition to this examination of the eight empresses of non-Han origin, the case of Empress Wenxuan née Li, the sole empress of Han origin, sheds more light on the Northern Qi policy of emperors marrying women from non-Han backgrounds. Before her appointment as empress, Empress Wenxuan née Li was formerly the Duchess of Taiyuan 太原公夫人, the legitimate wife of Emperor Wenxuan, who was then the Duke of Taiyuan 太原公. However, her appointment as empress was not met with fanfare or any semblance of pleasure by the court. Rather, her candidacy for empress was controversial even though precedent and court custom dictated that she should be concurrently appointed as empress alongside Emperor Wenxuan.
The taboo name of Empress Wenxuan née Li was Zu’e. She was a daughter of Li Xizong of Zhaojun. Her appearance and virtue were very beautiful. At first, she became a lady of the Duke of Taiyuan. When she was going to be appointed as empress, Gao Longzhi and Gao Dezheng said that a woman of Han origin should not become mother of all-under-heaven and he should select another appropriate spouse. However, Yang Yin firmly requested that the principal princess-consort could not be changed according to the practices of the Han and Wei dynasties. In opposition, [Gao] Dezheng insisted that the empress be dethroned and Lady of Luminous Deportment née Duan be appointed. He also wanted the nobles to support his request. But the emperor did not follow him in the end and appointed [Empress Li] as empress.
文宣皇后李氏, 諱祖娥, 趙郡李希宗女也。容德甚美。初為太原公夫人。及帝將建中宮, 高隆之、高德正言漢婦人不可為天下母, 宜更擇美配。楊愔固請依漢、魏故事, 不改元妃。而德正猶固請廢后而立段昭儀, 欲以結勳貴之援, 帝竟不從而立后焉。Footnote 65
This dispute in court is quite telling of the Northern Qi policy on the background of empresses. According to this record, court officials Gao Longzhi and Gao Dezheng expressed their indignation that a woman of Han origin would be appointed as empress, going as far as saying that a woman of Han origin could not become mother of “all-under-heaven” (tianxia 天下). They instead suggested Lady Duan as a substitute for Empress Wenxuan. Empress Dowager Lou might have been the figure behind this intervention as Lady Duan was in fact her niece, the daughter of her older sister. Court official Yang Yin makes another appearance and presented a counterargument to the court officials’ petition, but even he did not dispute their rationale that a person of Han origin should not be empress. Rather he stated that precedent during the Han and Wei dynasties dictated that the official principal princess-consort cannot be changed. Even though Emperor Wenxuan did not accept the request of Gao Dezheng, he must have realized the importance of an empress’s Inner Asian connections, as he sought to legitimate his Han wife as empress. In 559, after a decade of rule, Emperor Wenxuan installed Empress Li as “Qatun Empress” 可賀敦皇后.Footnote 66
Moreover, the next case demonstrates the enforcement of the policy. The Deposed Emperor Gao Yin, the son of Emperor Wenxuan (Gao Yang) and Empress Wenxuan née Li, became crown prince at the age of six and was enthroned as emperor after the death of his father. When he was crown prince, Gao Yin was married to a Lady Li, who was installed as crown princess. The background of this crown princess can be found in greater detail on an epitaph excavated in 1978 in Hebei Province.Footnote 67 According to this epitaph, Lady Li was married to the Deposed Emperor, who was crown prince at the time, and was installed as crown princess in the last year of Emperor Wenxuan’s reign. The Biography of Li Shun (Li Shun liezhuan 李順列傳) in Bei shi also confirms that she was the princess-consort of the Prince of Ji’nan, her husband’s official title at the time.Footnote 68 Authenticated by both records, Lady Li was of Han heritage, with her father being Li Zuxun 李祖勳, a brother of Empress Wenxuan. Her installation as crown princess could have been orchestrated by her aunt Empress Wenxuan as it would only be natural for Empress Wenxuan to desire the expansion of her family’s influence by designating her niece as future empress.
In accordance with precedents set by prior dynasties as well as earlier Northern Qi emperors, Lady Li should have been installed as empress soon after her husband’s accession as emperor. Typically, when Northern Qi emperors were officially installed, their official wives were appointed as empresses within a period of three months. After officially establishing the Northern Qi dynasty, Emperor Wenxuan bestowed upon his mother the empress dowager title and, a few weeks later, installed the empress and crown prince.Footnote 69 When Emperor Xiaozhao was enthroned in the eighth month of 560, he installed his princess-consort as empress and his son as crown prince in the eleventh month.Footnote 70 Similarly, after Emperor Wucheng was enthroned in the eleventh month in 561, he installed Princess-Consort née Hu as empress within two months’ time.Footnote 71
Intriguingly, no surviving records contain Lady Li’s installment as the empress of Gao Yin, despite her position as his principal wife. This omission may be attributed to one of two possible explanations. First, her installation may have been either unrecorded in both the official histories and the epitaph, whether by mistake or negligence, or intentionally purged from the records. This possibility seems unlikely for a role as prominent as that of an empress. Take for example the case of Empress Hulü of Houzhu. While the specific timing of her installation is unclear, her biography states that she was appointed as empress upon Emperor Houzhu’s accession.Footnote 72 Although she was deposed following the purge of her father, Hulü Guang, her tenure as empress remains documented in the official histories.
The second more likely possibility is that Lady Li was in fact never installed as empress. While myriad reasons can be attributed to Lady Li’s failure to become empress, an explanation may lie in viewing the matter from Empress Dowager Lou’s perspective. With her political capital, Empress Dowager Lou may have conspired with conservative court officials to thwart Lady Li’s elevation to empress, due to the growing influence of Empress Wenxuan and her family. Empress Wenxuan’s family had created several connections with the imperial family, posing a palpable threat to the maternal power of Empress Dowager Lou.Footnote 73 In addition to both Lady Li and Empress Wenxuan, one of the two daughters of Li Zuqin 李祖欽, a brother of Empress Wenxuan, became the Left Lady of Beautiful Flower (zuo eying 左娥英)Footnote 74 of Houzhu while the other daughter became the princess-consort of the Prince of Langye 琅邪.Footnote 75 Another example is a daughter of Li Qian 李騫, an uncle of Empress Wenxuan, who became the princess-consort of the Prince of Ande 安德.Footnote 76 Empress Dowager Lou would certainly not have been pleased with the growing power of her Han daughter-in-law, Empress Wenxuan, and would have felt an impending threat to both her influence and that of the imperial family. She would have most likely taken measures to at least hinder the expanding influence of Empress Wenxuan’s family. Nevertheless, Lady Li’s absence in the records as empress is extraordinary. In all, eight of the nine empresses came from non-Han background, and the cases of Empress Wenxuan and Lady Li shed light on prevailing attitudes within the Northern Qi court concerning the appropriate marital partners for emperors. The precondition that empresses be of non-Han origin appears to have been a commonly accepted and consistently enforced policy in the Northern Qi court.
Standing in stark contrast to the empresses, the princesses-consort or the principal wives of imperial princes, were predominantly of Han background, as shown in the Appendix. Such a concentration of Han princesses-consort was quite remarkable even among non-Han states.Footnote 77 Although the Northern Qi court fervently criticized the appointment of Han empresses as rulers over the Middle Kingdom, they could not completely disregard prominent Han families.Footnote 78 Thus, the Northern Qi imperial family actively conducted intermarriages with Han officials. While the role of empress was reserved for those of non-Han backgrounds, the roles of princesses-consort were convenient and vacant. In other words, while the role of the principal wife of the emperor was held in too high regard to be given to those of Han background, imperial princes were the perfect medium to create connections with the Han Great Families and other Han officials.
Details regarding the spouses of the imperial princes can be found in Bei shi and Bei Qi shu, and in epitaphs. As can be seen in the Appendix, twelve out of the sixteen known Northern Qi imperial princesses-consort were of Han background. Legitimate wives of Gao Huan’s fifteen sons were recorded in the official histories. Four of Gao Huan’s sons—all sons of Empress Dowager Lou—were installed as posthumous emperors or emperors, while the remaining sons were appointed as imperial princes.Footnote 79 Among these eleven imperial princes, no extant records survive for the wives of three. Of the eight remaining imperial princes whose princesses-consort were recorded, six were married to Han women. Notably, five of these princesses-consort appear to have come from the Han Great Families.Footnote 80
Among the sons of Gao Cheng, the second posthumous emperor and the oldest son of Gao Huan, those who were installed as princes were also married to Han women. For certain, three out of the six sons were married to princesses-consort who came from the Han Great Families, with one of his sons being married twice to women of Han origin. There are no extant records detailing the marriages of the remaining three. During the rule of Emperor Wucheng, records exist for the wives of only two imperial princes, and both princesses-consort were of Han background. The princesses-consort of the sons of Emperor Houzhu and Emperor Youzhu 幼主 were not recorded in the official histories.
Altogether, from the extant records, only four imperial princes appear to have married non-Han princesses-consort. Gao Huan’s son, the Prince of Pingyang (Gao Yan 高淹) married Lady Feng 馮, who came from Empress Dowager Feng’s family, one of the greatest consort-kin families of the Northern Wei.Footnote 81 Emperor Wenxuan’s son, the Prince of Fanyang (Gao Shaoyi), married another Lady Feng 封. In both cases, I consider the Ladies Feng to have been “Xianbeinized.” The third case is Gao Jun 高浚, who married Lady Lu 陸 of presumably non-Han background.Footnote 82 Emperor Wenxuan and his brother, future Emperor Wucheng, later eliminated Gao Jun because he was a potential threat to the throne.Footnote 83 The final case is Gao Bainian 高百年, the crown prince of Emperor Xiaozhao. Upon his appointment as crown prince, Gao Bainian was married to Lady Hulü, a daughter of the prominent general and chancellor Hulü Guang. Notably, the mother of the crown prince was a descendant of the Northern Wei imperial family. This exception likely reflects Emperor Xiaozhao’s intention to make his son emperor by aligning him with a woman from a powerful non-Han family.Footnote 84 Marrying Hulü Guang’s daughter would have satisfied the requirement in which the principal wives of emperors must come from non-Han origin. With the exception of these cases, the majority of imperial princes married women of Han background. Alongside the policy that empresses be of non-Han origin, there appears to have been a policy encouraging Northern Qi imperial princes to marry Han brides.
Overall, the bifurcated intermarriage practice for emperors and for imperial princes should be considered as a tool for creating an identity hierarchy. Out of the nine Northern Qi empresses, eight were of non-Han background, and out of the sixteen known princesses-consort, twelve were of Han background. Imperial princes served as an effective medium for the Northern Qi court to appease their Han subjects. Simultaneously, by installing non-Han empresses, the imperial family gave more prominence to non-Han identity, which in turn also placated their non-Han subjects.
The cases of Empress Wenxuan and Lady Li also suggest a connection between this intermarriage practice and Empress Dowager Lou. As empress dowager, she exerted influence over the appointment of empresses and the marriages of imperial princes, as can be seen in her directive for Prince Wenjian of Boling to marry Lady Cui.Footnote 85 Significantly, when the compiler recorded this episode, he used the character chi 勑 (edict) to describe Empress Dowager Lou’s decree ordering the marriage between the two. This particular form of “edict” appears to have been reserved exclusively for the sovereign. Gao Bainian, once crown prince, was executed merely for writing the character while practicing calligraphy.Footnote 86 Empress Dowager Lou’s use of this edict without repercussion demonstrates that her authority was at least on par with that of an emperor.Footnote 87 In orchestrating marriages between imperial princes and women of Han background, Empress Dowager Lou strategically prevented these princes from becoming emperors, since empresses were expected to be of non-Han background. On the other hand, Empress Dowager Lou continued her role as kingmaker by ensuring her own sons married women of non-Han background, giving them the necessary means to become emperor. In doing so, she laid a foundation for the fraternal succession system, and in turn, kept her position as empress dowager. Moreover, by filling the most desired position of empress with women of non-Han background, Empress Dowager Lou was able to preserve the imperial family’s Xianbei identity. The Northern Qi intermarriage practice simultaneously served all of Empress Dowager Lou’s perceivable objectives: to stabilize the imperial family’s rule over both their Han and non-Han subjects, to secure the imperial family’s non-Han identity, and to provide support to the fraternal succession system, while at the same time, keeping power within her grasp.
The “Transformed Levirate” Practice of the Northern Qi Court
The practice of levirate marriage is the custom whereby a man may be obliged to marry his brother’s or father’s widow, excluding of course his own biological mother. The practice of levirate marriage has been conducted historically across Eurasia from Jewish societies in the west to states and societies, especially Inner Asian groups, in the east. However, this practice was not regularly or officially practiced in the Middle Kingdom during the medieval period, as it was considered an exclusively steppe tradition.Footnote 88 The Xiongnu were particularly known for their practice of levirate marriage. According to a record in the Biography of the Xiongnu (Xiongnu liezhuan 匈奴列傳) in the Records of Grand Scribe (Shi ji 史記), the Xiongnu despised the old and infirm, and took their brothers’ wives when the brothers died.Footnote 89 From the perspective of Han court literati, scorning the old and marrying siblings’ spouses was considered not just vulgar but abhorrent. Moreover, levirate relations were often punished by the death penalty during the Han dynasty. For instance, Liu Xiao 劉孝, the great-grandson of Liu Bang 劉邦, was executed for commiting “adultery” (jian 姦) with his father’s “riding slave” (yubi 御婢), and the fourth Marquis of Yuyin 汝陰 committed suicide for the same transgression.Footnote 90 Both individuals received the death penalty as their relations with their fathers’ slave-concubines were defined as adultery according to law.Footnote 91 The practice of levirate marriage became a source of conversation between a Han-dynasty envoy and Zhonghang Yue 中行說, originally a eunuch of the Han dynasty who later defected to the Xiongnu.
The Han envoy said, “[I heard that] fathers and sons of the Xiongnu sleep together in the same tent. If the father dies, a son marries the father’s second wife; if a brother dies, the rest of the brothers take the brother’s wife. They do not have ornamentation of hats and waistbands, and rituals of the court.” Zhonghang Yue said, “…Taking their wives when fathers, sons, and brothers die, is to avoid the loss of their descent group. Because of this although the Xiongnu had turmoils they could certainly make one person from their own clan ruler. Although the people in the Middle Kingdom do not take the wives of fathers and brothers, the kinfolks become distant and kill one another, and cause a change of dynasty, which is all a result of this…”Footnote 92
漢使曰:「匈奴父子乃同穹廬而臥。父死, 妻其後母; 兄弟死, 盡取其妻妻之。無冠帶之飾, 闕庭之禮。」中行說曰: 「 … 父子兄弟死, 取其妻妻之, 惡種姓之失也。故匈奴雖亂, 必立宗種。今中國雖詳不取其父兄之妻, 親屬益疏則相殺, 至乃易姓, 皆從此類。 … 」
Here, the Han envoy criticized the Xiongnu tradition of levirate marriage. In response, Zhonghang Yue explained that the custom was intended to secure lineage continuity in Xiongnu society, ensuring that there would always be descendants. In addition, the practice of taking fathers’ or brothers’ wives was sanctioned solely for successors.Footnote 93 He further clarified that the absence of this practice in the Middle Kingdom had led to the deaths of kinsmen and the fall of dynasties.
The Xianbei also followed the Xiongnu practice of levirate marriage. According to Wuhuan and Xianbei ethnography, “[in accordance with] their customs, [they] marry their stepmother and widowed older brother’s wife, and when [the women] die, [they] return to their original husbands.”Footnote 94 Coming from Xianbei background, the Northern Qi imperial family similarly practiced levirate marriage, with the emperors marrying the wives of their brothers and fathers. In contrast to the Northern Zhou, which adopted the Rites of Zhou (Zhou li 周禮) as the basis for its administrative system, the Northern Qi imperial court instead turned to various Inner Asian traditions to reinforce its identity and consolidate power, one of which was the practice of levirate marriage.Footnote 95
Echoing the moralizing rhetoric of the Han dynasty, scholars have carried over a disdain for the practice of levirate marriage to the Northern Qi dynasty. Zhao Yi 趙翼 (1727–1814), a famous Qing scholar, commented on this practice in his Critical Notes on the Twenty-Two Histories (Nian’ershi zhaji 廿二史箚記) in the section titled “The Dirty Linen of the Northern Qi Palace Chambers” (Bei Qi gongwei zhi chou 北齊宮闈之醜). Zhao Yi not only characterized the practice as “dirty” adultery, but also drew a connection between this practice and a supposed “chaos” in the palace. Oblivious to political or socio-cultural analysis, he further explained that this phenomenon was the result of Gao Huan’s dearth of morality.Footnote 96 Compilers of the official histories generally used characters such as “accepted” (na 納) or “graced” (xing 幸) to denote instances of intimacy, but for cases of levirate marriage, they used the characters “conducted obscenity” (yinluan 淫亂) and “fornicated or commit incest” (zheng 蒸). “Accepted” and “graced” may be regarded as neutral descriptors, whereas “conducting obscenity” and “fornicated” reflect moral judgement and convey pejorative bias toward the practice.
Although the Northern Qi practice of levirate marriage has been viewed as immoral or “obscene,” it was, in fact, a necessary means of survival for the imperial family. The Northern Qi added another dimension to the typical levirate practice seen in steppe societies by combining the practice of levirate marriage with the custom of emperors taking and accepting imperial women, particularly princesses or empresses, of conquered states into their harems.Footnote 97 There were some earlier instances of this practice in the Middle Kingdom, such as in the Former Zhao 前趙 (304–329), one of the states during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. The fifth ruler of the Former Zhao, Liu Yao 劉曜, married Empress Xianwen née Yang 獻文皇后 羊氏, who was an empress of Emperor Hui 惠 (290–301) of the Jin dynasty. After the Disaster of Yongjia (Yongjia zhi luan 永嘉之亂) which forced the Jin dynasty to flee to the south, Liu Yao married her and appointed her as his empress. A well-known episode recounts how Liu Yao once asked the empress who was the better husband between Emperor Hui and himself, to which she readily chose Liu Yao, citing his great authority.Footnote 98 During the early Northern Wei period, the majority of empresses and concubines hailed from defeated groups and states.Footnote 99
The conjunction of this practice and the practice of levirate marriage, or altogether, the “transformed levirate” practice, underpinned the Northern Qi dynasty. As regent of the Eastern Wei court, Gao Huan supplanted emperors and purged many prominent aristocratic families. Thus, this practice served as a strategic means for the Gao imperial family to placate both the aristocracy and the conquered populations. By forging marital ties with the Yuan imperial family, Northern Qi emperors showcased their military triumphs while simultaneously cultivating an image of benevolent rule through the compassionate treatment of the conquered. Taken together, Northern Qi emperors married both Northern Wei imperial women and their deceased brothers’ and fathers’ empresses and consorts, who also happened to be subordinated imperial women of previous emperors and princes. The “transformed levirate” practice was a deliberate and ingenious policy to bring stability to the rule of the Gao imperial family after the collapse of the Northern Wei dynasty.
This Northern Qi practice started with Gao Huan marrying several Northern Wei imperial women. Gao Huan accepted as his concubines a Lady Erzhu (1) (da Erzhu shi, 大爾朱氏) who was formerly the empress of Emperor Xiaozhuang 孝莊 (r. 528–530) of the Northern Wei; another Lady Erzhu (2) (xiao Erzhu shi 小爾朱氏) who was previously the empress of the Prince of Donghai 東海, once called Emperor Jianming 建明; a Lady Zheng 鄭 who was the princess-consort of the Prince of Guangping 廣平; a Lady Feng 馮 who was the princess-consort of the Prince of Rencheng 任城; and a Lady Li 李 who was the princess-consort of the Prince of Chengyang 城陽. Two of them, Lady Erzhu (1) and Lady Zheng were subsequently appointed as Great Consorts (太妃) and gave birth to princes.Footnote 100 His marriages to the two Ladies Erzhu also helped secure the influence and connections of the Erzhu family.Footnote 101 Gao Huan’s successors married some of these prior empresses and concubines, as well as other Northern Wei imperial women. Gao Cheng married the Rouran 柔然 Princess who had been a wife of his father and subsequently gave birth to a daughter.Footnote 102 Emperor Wenxuan (Gao Yang) took his brother’s wife, Empress Wenxiang.Footnote 103 Emperor Wucheng (Gao Zhan) likewise espoused his brother’s empress, Empress Wenxuan, with whom he had a daughter.Footnote 104
Empress Dowager Lou emerged as the primary beneficiary of the levirate marriage practice. Not only did she endorse and facilitate such unions, but she also appeared to recognize their strategic importance to the imperial family’s reign. Her active involvement is evident when examining a record in Bei shi regarding the Rouran Princess.Footnote 105 According to this record, the powerful “Ruru,” commonly known as the Rouran, were contemplating an alliance with the Western Wei to defeat the Eastern Wei.Footnote 106 Gao Huan, intending to prevent their alliance, approached Anagui, the ruler of the Rouran, with a marriage proposal between his son, Gao Cheng, and the Rouran Princess. Anagui responded that he would only accept the request if Gao Huan himself married his daughter. Gao Huan seemed reluctant to marry her, but Empress Dowager Lou, Gao Cheng, and his brother-in-law Wei Jing were able to persuade him otherwise. After the death of Gao Huan, Gao Cheng married the Rouran Princess and had a daughter with her. The compiler stated that Gao Cheng “complied with the rule of Rouran” and “committed incest with the princess.” If Gao Cheng was forced into the marriage by the Rouran, the compiler would not have described the practice in such terms. Most likely, Gao Cheng voluntarily married the princess as he needed the strength of the Rouran. Notably, the compiler’s biased description of the levirate practice seems to have been based on the prejudice that the Rouran were “barbarians.”
Importantly, Empress Dowager Lou encouraged her husband Gao Huan to marry the Rouran Princess and even yielded her principal wife status, albeit temporarily. Empress Dowager Lou likely recognized that appointing the Rouran Princess as a mere concubine would lead to political unrest. When the Rouran Princess arrived, Empress Dowager Lou voluntarily “moved out of” the principal wife status and urged Gao Huan to refrain from seeing her again for the sake of the Rouran Princess.Footnote 107 While records do not reflect any change to her status, Empress Dowager Lou understood the political utility of her husband’s marriage to the Rouran Princess and gave her personal endorsement. She later also oversaw the first instance of levirate marriage within the Gao family between the Rouran Princess and Gao Cheng.
This practice of levirate marriage offered protection to the women concerned and facilitated prospects for interstate diplomacy. Given that the Rouran seemingly also practiced levirate marriage, Anagui likely understood that sending his daughter to Gao Huan would also position her favorably to marry his son, Gao Cheng, after his death. This would provide her with protection from the moment she arrived to well past Gao Huan’s death. Additionally, by sending his brother Tutujia with her and instructing him to return only after she bore a grandson, Anagui would be able to secure positive relations between the two states, intervene in the succession process of the Northern Qi, and ensure his daughter’s protection as a mother of a prince. Later, Tutujia also compelled a bedridden Gao Huan to visit her, which in turn provided her with protection.
Following this initial instance of levirate marriage, Northern Qi emperors carried on the “transformed levirate” practice under the supervision of Empress Dowager Lou. For Empress Dowager Lou, the “transformed levirate” practice was a strategic tool to not only stabilize the rule of the imperial family but also retain her hold on power. Generally, when the emperor died, the widow would be installed as empress dowager by his successor. However, while Empress Dowager Lou was alive, the records show that in several cases, the previous emperor’s widow became the wife of the succeeding emperor. By becoming the wife of the next emperor, the widows were prevented from gaining more influence and becoming empresses dowager, allowing Empress Dowager Lou to retain her title and position of power. If a widow became empress dowager, Empress Dowager Lou would have had to compete with another maternal power. This can be seen in the one exceptional case when Empress Wenxuan née Li was appointed as empress dowager and Empress Dowager Lou was appointed as grand empress dowager. At the time, Empress Wenxuan’s family was expanding their influence in court and mounting concerted opposition to Empress Dowager Lou and her family. To “return political affairs” to Empress Dowager Wenxuan, several court officials, including Yang Yin, conspired to relocate Grand Empress Dowager Lou to the Northern Palace while also sending Gao Yan (Emperor Xiaozhao) and Gao Zhan (Emperor Wucheng) away from the capital city to eliminate any potential threat.Footnote 108 Grand Empress Dowager Lou learned of this scheme and informed Gao Yan of their plot, leading to Yang Yin’s eventual demise. Subsequently, Empress Wenxuan was reappointed as empress and Grand Empress Dowager Lou recovered her previous title of empress dowager.Footnote 109 This episode likely strengthened Empress Dowager Lou’s resolve to institutionalize levirate marriage as a means of preempting future threats to her authority. The connection between this practice and Empress Dowager Lou becomes particularly evident when considering that the “transformed levirate” practice ended after her death, during the reign of Emperor Houzhu. The “transformed levirate” practice enabled Empress Dowager Lou to retain power throughout the reigns of several emperors and enjoy uncontested authority.
Conclusion
Empress Dowager Lou shaped the political landscape over the course of multiple reigns of emperors during the Northern Qi dynasty. Her story starts with her choosing her husband Gao Huan who she spotted laboring at a city wall. With her family’s wealth and connections, she supported Gao Huan, who hailed from a poor family, ultimately making him the de facto ruler of the Eastern Wei. Starting with her husband, her role as kingmaker was cemented as she established and supervised an unprecedented fraternal succession system, overseeing the installation of four of her sons as emperors within her lifetime. This fraternal succession system not only averted crises from the rule of young, incompetent rulers, but also centralized imperial power around Empress Dowager Lou and her immediate family.
Empress Dowager Lou’s overwhelming influence in the Northern Qi court can be seen through her involvement in the practices of paramount importance to dynastic rule. Faced with the complex task of integrating a populace consisting of both non-Han and Han peoples, the Northern Qi imperial family employed a “bifurcated” marriage practice, appointing empresses of non-Han origin and selecting Han women as princesses-consort. This served to maintain a delicate sociopolitical balance. Existing records of these intermarriages reveal that Empress Dowager Lou was actively involved in implementing this policy, which not only stabilized the rule of the imperial family, but also created the necessary foundation in which to support the fraternal succession system.
Moreover, Empress Dowager Lou’s influence is reflected amongst the instances of so-called “incest,” which have contributed to the Northern Qi’s notoriety. The Northern Qi dynasty adopted a “transformed levirate” practice which unified the usual levirate practice of marrying the widows of brothers or fathers with the custom of emperors marrying empresses or princesses of conquered states. This “transformed levirate” practice bolstered the intermarriage policy by helping integrate peoples of conquered territories into Northern Qi society. Beneath this practical reason lies another motive for the practice, namely, to consolidate Empress Dowager Lou’s power. By having successors marry the wives of the previous emperors, Empress Dowager Lou prevented the installation of other empress dowagers and precluded the rise of competing maternal powers.
The fraternal succession system, the “bifurcated” intermarriage policy, and the “transformed levirate” practice served as pillars of stability in times of uncertain power and diplomacy, and stemmed from Empress Dowager Lou’s desire to tie and reinforce the imperial family’s identity to that of her Xianbei roots. By enforcing systems calculated to elevate the status of non-Han identity, particularly that of Xianbei, Empress Dowager Lou simultaneously defined the core of Northern Qi identity while also skillfully fortifying her power in the Northern Qi court. With these practices discontinued after her death in 562, Empress Dowager Lou should not only be treated as a woman who wielded immense power, but also the embodiment of the essence of Northern Qi identity and politics.
Empress Dowager Lou held power as kingmaker of the Northern Qi for at least twenty-eight of the approximately forty-three years of the Gao imperial family’s reign, from the start of Gao Huan’s reign to the last brother-emperor Emperor Wucheng. Unlike other female rulers, Empress Dowager Lou did not gain power due to the illness or death of her husband, nor the young age of the successor. Rather, she paved the path for her husband to become regent of the Eastern Wei, installed her sons as emperors, and was the primary figure behind the establishment and governance of the Northern Qi dynasty. Perhaps the question can be posed whether the Northern Qi dynasty would have existed without her presence.
Competing interests
The author declares none.
Appendix
Sources:
BQS = Bei Qi shu
BS = Bei shi
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