Empress He (Han dynasty)
| Empress Lingsi | |||||||
| Chinese | 靈思皇后 | ||||||
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| Literal meaning | The Unattentive and Deep-thinking Empress | ||||||
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| Empress He | |||||||
| Chinese | 何皇后 | ||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
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| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Língsī Huánghòu |
| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Hé Huánghòu |
Empress He (died 189), personal name unknown, formally known as Empress Lingsi (靈思皇后; literally: "the Unattentive and Deep-thinking Empress") was an empress of the Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. She was Emperor Ling's second wife. Along with her brother He Jin, she was able to temporarily dominate power at the imperial court after the death of Emperor Ling in 189 as empress dowager.
Unlike most Han Dynasty empresses, Empress He was not from a noble family; rather, her father He Zhen (何真) was a butcher in Nanyang (南陽, in modern Nanyang, Henan). Her mother was named Xing (興). It is not known when she was selected as an imperial consort. According to legends, she was selected to be an imperial consort after her family paid bribes to the eunuchs selecting imperial consorts. She was said to be far taller than the average woman and very beautiful. In 176, she gave birth to Emperor Ling's oldest surviving son Liu Bian. (Emperor Ling had previous sons but all died in infancy or childhood.) Based on customs of the time, in order to let Prince Bian avoid the fate of his older brothers, he was entrusted to the magician Shi Zimiao (史子眇) and known by the circumspect title "Marquess Shi." In 180, Emperor Ling made Consort He empress to replace his first wife Empress Song, who was deposed in 178.
As empress, Empress He was said to be greatly favored by Emperor Ling. She was also described as very jealous and very cruel, and the imperial consorts were all fearful of her. After she became empress, her mother Lady Xing was created the Lady of Wuyang, and her brothers He Jin and He Miao (何苗) began to be promoted quickly.
In 181, a concubine of Emperor Ling, Consort Wang, gave birth to a son named Liu Xie. The jealous Empress He assassinated her by poisoning her rice porridge. Emperor Ling was enraged and wanted to depose her, but the eunuchs pleaded on her behalf, and she was not deposed. Prince Xie was raised personally by Emperor Ling's mother Empress Dowager Dong and known by the circumspect title "Marquess Dong."
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