Empress Dowager of Cao Wei (184-235)
Guo Nuwang
(8 April 184
[3]
? 14 March 235), formally known as
Empress Wende
, was an empress of the state of
Cao Wei
during the
Three Kingdoms
period of China. She was married to
Cao Pi
, the first emperor of Wei.
Family background and marriage to Cao Pi
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Her father Guo Yong (郭永) came from a line of minor local officials. When she was young, she was known for her intelligence, and her father, impressed by her talent, gave her the unusual
style name
"Nuwang" (literally "
queen regnant
"). Her parents died when she was five, however, and she became a servant at the household of one Marquis of Tongdi. It is not known how it came about, but she eventually became a concubine of
Cao Pi
when he was the heir apparent of the
vassal
kingdom of Wei under his father
Cao Cao
. She quickly became a favourite ? so much so that he began to neglect his wife
Lady Zhen
, who was also known for her beauty. She gave Cao Pi shrewd political advice during the succession controversy that pitted Cao Pi against his brothers. Her biography goes further to state that when Cao Pi was finally designated heir, Guo Nuwang had a hand in planning it. Lady Zhen eventually lost Cao Pi's favour altogether by complaining that he favoured other women over her, and after he became emperor of Cao Wei in late 220 (after forcing
Emperor Xian of Han
to abdicate to him), he forced Lady Zhen to commit suicide in August 221. In October 222, he made Lady Guo empress.
As empress consort
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After Guo Nuwang became empress, she was said to have been a good leader of the imperial consorts, treating them well and disciplining them appropriately when they acted improperly, while hiding their faults from Cao Pi. She also appeared to have lived thriftily. Also, in 226, at the urging of her mother-in-law
Empress Dowager Bian
, she interceded on
Cao Hong
's behalf, allowing Cao Hong to be spared his life even though Cao Pi had previous grudges against him.
Empress Guo had no sons or recorded children. Cao Pi's eldest son Cao Rui, by Lady Zhen, was therefore considered the presumptive heir, but because of his mother's fate was not created
crown prince
, but only Prince of Pingyuan. (He was inconsistently described as having been raised by Empress Guo or by Cao Pi's concubine Consort Li.) While she was empress, she apparently had a cordial relationship with Cao Rui. There was no evidence that she opposed his candidacy when Cao Pi, seriously ill in 226, created him crown prince. Cao Pi died soon after, and Cao Rui ascended the throne.
As empress dowager
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The new emperor, although he posthumously honoured his mother as an empress, honoured his stepmother as empress dowager, and he bestowed members of her family with wealth and titles. She died on 14 March 235
[a]
and was buried on 16 April 235 with honours befitting an empress alongside her husband Cao Pi. Her family remained honoured by her stepson.
How Empress Dowager Guo came to die, however, is a matter of historical controversy. An apparently reliable historical account (although not conclusive one) states that at some point during Cao Rui's reign, Consort Li told him Empress Dowager Guo's role in Lady Zhen's death ? and further told him that after Lady Zhen died, it was at Empress Dowager Guo's suggestion that she was buried with her hair covering her face and her mouth filled with rice grain shells ? so that even after her death she would be unable to complain. Cao Rui became enraged and confronted Empress Dowager Guo ? who could not deny her involvement directly. He then forced her to commit suicide, and, while he buried her with the honours befitting an empress, he had her face covered with her hair (so that she would never see sunlight ever again), and her mouth filled with rice grain shells (so that she could never say anything in the afterlife).
However, even after her death, her family continued to be favoured by Cao Rui especially her cousin Guo Biao, who was granted succession to Guo Nuwang's father's posthumous fief and promoted to a general.
See also
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Notes
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- ^
a
b
Cao Rui's biography in the
Sanguozhi
recorded that Guo Nuwang died on the
dingsi
day of the 2nd month of the 3rd year of the Qinglong era of Cao Rui's reign.
[2]
This date corresponds to 14 March 235 in the Gregorian calendar.
References
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- ^
gengzi
day of the 9th month of the 3rd year of the
Huang'chu
era, per Cao Pi's biography in
Sanguozhi
- ^
([?龍三年二月]丁巳,皇太后崩。)
Sanguozhi
vol. 3.
- ^
According to the
Book of Wei
by Wang Chen et al., Lady Guo was born on the
yimao
day of the 3rd month of the 1st year of the
Zhongping
era during the reign of Emperor Ling of Han. This corresponds to 8 April 184 on the proleptic Gregorian calendar. (后以?中平元年三月乙卯生.)
Wei Shu
annotation in
Sanguozhi
, vol.05
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