Lady Guo(empress of Emperor Xiaozong of Song)

Biography

Family and marriage

The History of Song describes Lady Guo as a native of Xiangfu in Kaifeng. Her grandfather Guo Zhiqing was a court official, and her family traced its roots to Taiyuan in Bingzhou and was related to the natal family of Emperor Zhenzong's Empress Zhangmu. Her father Guo Jian later served as a military commissioner and was posthumously made Prince of Rong; her mother, Lady Zhao, belonged to the imperial clan. Zhao Shen married Lady Guo while he was Prince of Pu'an. In 1144 (fourteenth year of Shaoxing), the Collected Draft of the Important Documents of the Song records her investiture as Lady of Xianning Commandery. Their sons were Crown Prince Zhao Qi, Zhao Kai, Zhao Dun, who later became Emperor Guangzong, and Zhao Ke. The Miscellaneous Records Since the Jianyan Era also records a daughter, Princess Jiaguo, who died young.

Death and posthumous elevation

Lady Guo died in 1156 (twenty-sixth year of Shaoxing), aged thirty-one. Zhao Shen did not become emperor until after her death, so she was never empress during her lifetime. She was posthumously elevated as Lady of Shuguo in 1160 (thirtieth year of Shaoxing) and as Lady of Fuguo in 1161 (thirty-first year). When Zhao became crown prince in 1162 (thirty-second year of Shaoxing), she was posthumously made crown princess; after he received the throne, she was posthumously made empress. Her first posthumous name was Gonghuai, soon changed to Anmu. In 1194 (fifth year of Shaoxi), the court changed it again to Chengmu while preparing the Fuling mausoleum and enshrined her with Emperor Xiaozong. The History of Song mentions her death and elevation as Lady of Shuguo in close succession, whereas the Collected Draft explicitly dates that elevation to 1160. It should not be presented as having occurred in the year she died.

Lady Guo was the posthumous Empress Chengmu, a native of Xiangfu in Kaifeng whose ancestral home was Taiyuan in Bingzhou. Her grandfather Guo Zhiqing rose to be a grand master of the honest sort, her father Guo Jian to be military commissioner of Zhaoqingjun and posthumously Prince of Rong, and her mother, Lady Zhao, was of the imperial clan; her sixth-generation ancestor was Guo Shouwen, Southern Bureau commissioner of the Northern Song, who served the Later Zhou and the Northern Song, took part in the conquests of the Southern Han, the Southern Tang and the Northern Han, and died as commissioner of Zhenzhou, posthumously Prince of Qiao with the name Zhongwu. The family thus had ties to the Northern Song consort clans, and the History of Song calls it the maternal house of Empress Zhangmu.

When Emperor Xiaozong was Prince of Pu'an he married Lady Guo and she was made commandery mistress of Xianning. She bore him four sons: Emperor Guangzong, Zhao Dun; the Heir Apparent Zhuangwen; Zhao Kai, Prince Xianhui of Wei; and Zhao Ke, Prince Daosu of Shao. In 1156 she fell ill and died at thirty-one, and the court posthumously made her commandery mistress of Shu; in 1161, on the occasion of the great Mingtang sacrifice, this was changed to mistress of Fu. When Zhao Shen was made heir apparent she was posthumously made his consort, and on his accession as Xiaozong in 1162 she was posthumously invested as empress with the name Gonghuai, soon changed to Anmu. In the tenth month of 1194, when the court built the Fuling tomb for Xiaozong, her name was changed again to Chengmu and her tablet placed with his in the ancestral temple.

The History of Song records that Xiaozong treated her with ever greater ceremony but would not give office to her kinsmen: her brothers Guo Shiyu and Guo Shiyuan held no more than military commissions, Shiyuan dying before he could be given a command, and only when Xiaozong was about to abdicate was Shiyu made a military commissioner, rising under Guangzong to grand guardian and Prince of Yongning. Under Ningzong he was repeatedly honored, first as commissioner for the tomb works, then as junior and then senior tutor, Prince of Yongning and in 1199 Prince of Guangling, and in 1258 under Lizong his grandson Guo Shanyong was made a vice director. These records show that while her kin were honored after her death, Xiaozong held his consort families to strict limits in his lifetime.

The posthumous investiture of empresses in the Southern Song followed a fixed procedure. In life Lady Guo was only the wife of a commandery prince, and each advance in her titles tracked a change in her husband's status: from mistress of Xianning to mistress of Shu and then of Fu, then consort of the heir apparent when Zhao Shen was made heir, and finally empress when he received the abdication. Her posthumous name changed repeatedly too, from Gonghuai to Anmu and then to Chengmu when the Fuling tomb was built for Xiaozong and her tablet placed with his in the ancestral temple. Each change corresponds to a ritual step such as the placing of the tablet or the building of the tomb, and the History of Song is consistent on this point in both the empress biographies and the annals of Emperor Ningzong.

A daughter of her sixth-generation ancestor Guo Shouwen was Empress Zhangmu of Emperor Taizong, so the History of Song calls the Guos the maternal house of Zhangmu. In the Northern Song the family produced a succession of high officials through its consort connections; by Xiaozong's time the court had set stricter limits on office for consort families. The biography records that Lady Guo's father Guo Jian rose only to military commissioner of Zhaoqingjun, posthumously Prince of Rong, and that her brothers Guo Shiyu and Guo Shiyuan held no more than military commissions, Shiyuan dying before receiving a command. Only when Xiaozong was about to abdicate was Shiyu made a military commissioner, after which he rose under Guangzong and Ningzong to grand guardian and junior tutor and was enfeoffed as Prince of Yongning and then of Guangling, while his grandson Guo Shanyong was made a vice director in 1258 under Lizong. These records show both the honor paid to her kin after her death and the earlier Southern Song principle of granting no office to consort families.

In the Southern Song, the posthumous investiture of an empress normally followed the pattern of honors conferred in life and titles granted after death: the rank she held while living tracked her husband's standing, and after her death the succeeding emperor changed her posthumous name by rule and placed her tablet in the temple. Lady Guo passed from commandery prince's wife to mistress of a state and then consort of the heir apparent, and was finally invested empress after death, each advance matching a stage in Zhao Shen's course from commandery prince to heir and then emperor — a comparatively complete case among Song empresses. Her name went from Gonghuai to Anmu to Chengmu, each change tied respectively to Xiaozong's accession, the placing of her tablet and the building of the Fuling tomb, and the change of the tenth month of 1194 came within days of the settling of Xiaozong's own posthumous name, showing how carefully the Southern Song court handled the ritual sequence of investiture and temple placement.

The History of Song sums up her case with the words that Xiaozong treated her with ever greater ceremony but would not grant office to consort families, and cites the careers of her brothers Guo Shiyu and Guo Shiyuan — no more than military commissions, Shiyuan dying before receiving a command, Shiyu made a commissioner only when the emperor was about to abdicate — as the illustration, a point often praised in Southern Song accounts of empresses and their kin.

The posthumous investiture of later Southern Song empresses generally followed this pattern.

Major Activities

The two encyclopedias and local historical texts primarily record Lady Guo's marriage, children, titles during life, and posthumous elevations. They do not clearly record her directing court affairs or pursuing an independent program of government. Her changing posthumous titles followed Zhao Shen's progression from prince to crown prince and emperor, and later arrangements for imperial ancestral rites. Her maternity of Emperor Guangzong and the other princes is documented in both the History of Song and the Collected Draft.

Personal Relations

• Guo Zhiqing: Her grandfather, a court official.
• Guo Jian: Her father, later a military commissioner and posthumously Prince of Rong; her mother Lady Zhao was of the imperial clan.
• Zhao Shen: Her husband, later Emperor Xiaozong.
• Zhao Qi, Zhao Kai, Zhao Dun, and Zhao Ke: Her four sons; Zhao Dun later became Emperor Guangzong.
• Princess Jiaguo: Her daughter, recorded in the Miscellaneous Records Since the Jianyan Era as having died young; neither encyclopedia lists her.
• Guo Shiyuan and Guo Shiyu: Her brothers. The History of Song states that their kinship did not automatically bring rapid promotion under Emperor Xiaozong.

Historical Assessment

The History of Song states that Emperor Xiaozong showed Lady Guo considerable respect but did not lavish offices and titles on her relatives. This mainly assesses Xiaozong's treatment of his in-laws, not Lady Guo's own political achievements. Little is preserved about her personal actions; her posthumous honors do not establish an independent political role or character judgment.