Empress Dowager Bo
| Consort Bo | |||||
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Statue of Consort Bo (front), part of a series of statues depicting the The Twenty-four Filial Exemplars
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| Empress Dowager of China | |||||
| Reign | 180–157 BC | ||||
| Grand Empress Dowager of China | |||||
| Reign | 157–155 BC | ||||
| Predecessor | Empress Lü Zhi | ||||
| Successor | Empress Dou | ||||
| Died | 155 BC | ||||
| Spouse |
Wei Bao, Prince of Western Wei Emperor Gaozu of Han |
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| Issue | Emperor Wen of Han | ||||
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| Father | Lord Bo, Marquess of Linwen | ||||
| Mother | Lady Wei, Marchioness of Linwen | ||||
| Posthumous name | |
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| Empress Gao 高皇后 |
Empress Dowager Bo (薄太后) was an imperial concubine of Emperor Gao of Han (Liu Bang). She was also known as Consort Bo (薄姬) during the life of the Emperor, and more formally as either Empress Dowager Xiaowen (孝文太后) or (rarer) Empress Gao (高皇后). Despite being a concubine of lower standing, her son, Liu Heng, became Emperor Wen of Han, cementing her place in history. The year of her birth is not known. She died in 155 BC.
The future Empress Dowager Bo's father, Gentleman Bo (薄翁), came from Wu County (吳縣, in modern Suzhou, Jiangsu). He had an adulterous affair with a Lady Wei (魏媼), the daughter of a member of the Wei royal family. Empress Dowager Bo was born of this union.
According to Chinese historical works (with the exception the Book of Han, which tells a different version of her life), Lady Bo was, when she was young, the prettiest concubine of Wei Bao, the Prince of Wei. Wei Bao allied himself with Liu Bang to defeat Xiang Yu's force, but later betrayed Liu Bang by defecting to Xiang Yu's camp. Unlike other defectors who switched sides again after Liu Bang's final victory, Wei Bao remained loyal to Xiang Yu to the end. After Han Xin conquered Wei, Wei Bao and his entire family were brought in front of Liu Bang to await execution. Wei Bao begged for mercy, but the emperor was unreceptive until he offered Lady Bo as a gift to Liu Bang. Her beauty had captured the attention of the emperor, and she was taken as an imperial concubine. Her former husband was thus spared execution. Historical records did not provide the information on whether other members of Wei Bao's family were spared as well, but it was likely the case.
Lady Bo was not favored among the concubines, but she gave birth to a son, Liu Heng, who was made the Prince of Dai. The birth of her son elevated Lady Bo's status to Consort Bo. Unlike many other concubines, she was not confined to the palace and was allowed to accompany her son to the remote Principality of Dai (modern northern Shanxi and northwestern Hebei) to be the princess dowager. Dai was not a rich domain, and the region was under constant threats and attacks from the Xiongnu. Although Consort Bo could not live a luxurious lifestyle so far from the imperial palaces, she still managed to have a relatively comfortable life. Nonetheless, she had to work as a seamstress. Such rather difficult living conditions in comparison to other consorts had an unexpected benefit: unlike other consorts who became Empress Lü Zhi's victims due to her jealousy, Empress Lü Zhi was very sympathetic to Consort Bo. The empress never saw Bo and her son as a threat to her quest of power, and thus, the two were spared from the politics that killed many other concubines and princes.
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