Consort Zhao Hede

Consort Zhao Hede (趙合德) (died 7 BC) was an imperial consort, with the title Zhaoyi (昭儀), during the Han Dynasty. She was a consort to Emperor Cheng and sister to Empress Zhao Feiyan.

It is not known when Zhao Hede was born, but it is clear she was younger than her sister Feiyan. According to historical accounts, she was a daughter of two hereditary servants of imperial princes or princesses. Her father's name was Zhao Lin (趙臨). She was probably later assigned to the household of Princess Yang'a (陽阿公主), with her sister Zhao Feiyan, but that is not clear. What is clear is that when Emperor Cheng became enamored with her sister circa 19 BC, he took not only her sister, but also her, as imperial consorts, and they became highly favored, over Empress Xu and Consort Ban. In 18 BC, they falsely accused Empress Xu and Consort Ban of witchcraft; Empress Xu was deposed, and while Consort Ban was able to successfully plead her case, she did not wish to return to the same environment and instead became a lady in waiting for Empress Dowager Wang. The Zhao sisters now dominated the palace. Feiyan was created empress in 16 BC.

After Feiyan was created empress, she began to lose favor from Emperor Cheng, while her sister Hede received the nearly exclusive affection of Emperor Cheng. While the sisters initially were jealous of each other, they later reconciled, and continued to dominate the palace together. However, neither of them would produce any children who could serve as imperial heir -- something greatly troubling to Emperor Cheng (whose earlier favorites Empress Xu and Consort Ban were also childless, and no other consort of whom was known to have had children).

Emperor Cheng so loved Consort Zhao that the palace she lived in, Zhaoyang Palace (昭陽宮), was described in this way in the Book of Han:

Consort Zhao was also described to have been so perfect in her beauty that when she arrived at the palace, every person who saw her could not stop praising her beauty. A senior lady in waiting to Emperor Cheng's grandfather Emperor Xuan named Chuofang Cheng (淖方成), however, commented: "She is water of disaster, and will surely put out the fire!" (A symbol of Han Dynasty is fire, so Chuofang was expressing her belief that Consort Zhao would lead to the destruction of the Han Dynasty. The term that Chuofang used, huoshui (禍水), later became idiomatic to describe a woman who would lead to disaster, and is often extended to a longer form hongyan huoshui (红颜禍水) to describe women who were, fairly or not, viewed as the cause of their dynasties' destruction.)

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