Empress Ma (Emperor Ming of Han)

Biography

Family Background and Early Years

Empress Ma belonged to the Ma clan of Fufeng and was a daughter of Ma Yuan, a founding meritorious general of the Eastern Han. Ma Yuan, courtesy name Wenyuan, was appointed Administrator of Longxi by Emperor Guangwu in 35, the 11th year of Jianwu. Empress Ma was born in 40, the 16th year of Jianwu, in Didao County, Longxi Commandery (present-day Lintao County, Dingxi, Gansu). Ma Yuan later campaigned south in Jiaozhi and north against the Wuhuan, received the title Marquis of Xinxia, and became one of the best-known generals of the Eastern Han. He was upright and incorruptible but poor at cultivating powerful connections, and he had repeated frictions with imperial relatives such as Liang Song and Dou Gu, sons-in-law or relatives of Emperor Guangwu.

In 48, the 24th year of Jianwu, Ma Yuan, then sixty-two, volunteered for a campaign against the Wuxi peoples and died in the army the following year. Liang Song, Dou Gu, and others then accused him of seizing valuables from local people in Jiaozhi. Emperor Guangwu became furious, confiscated the seals of the Marquis of Xinxia, and initially refused to allow Ma Yuan to be buried in the ancestral cemetery. Only after repeated petitions by Lady Lin was burial eventually permitted. Thereafter the Ma family declined and was repeatedly mistreated by powerful families.

Further misfortune followed. Empress Ma's elder brother Ma Keqing, who was considered exceptionally intelligent, died young, and her mother Lady Lin became mentally distressed from grief. At only ten years old, Ma had to take charge of household affairs. The Book of the Later Han, “Annals of Empresses,” records that she “managed household matters, controlled the servants, and was consulted inside and outside as though she were an adult,” handling domestic affairs so capably that those around her were astonished.

After the Ma family lost influence, families that had previously sought marriage alliances with them changed their attitudes. Empress Ma's cousin Ma Yan, angered by this treatment, informed Lady Lin that Ma's engagement to the Dou family should be ended and petitioned for Ma Yuan's three daughters to be selected for the inner palace. In his memorial he described his three cousins as having appearance and bearing “above the middle level,” being filial, cautious, gentle, quiet, and observant of propriety. He also cited the precedent of Ma Yuan's aunt or elder female relative having served as a jieyu under Emperor Cheng of Han. In 52, the 28th year of Jianwu, the thirteen-year-old Ma entered the crown prince's palace.

Entry into the Palace and Installation as Empress

After entering the palace, Ma served Empress Yin Lihua, mother of Crown Prince Liu Zhuang. She observed court etiquette carefully, lived harmoniously with the other consorts, and soon became especially favored by the crown prince, often residing in the rear hall of the Eastern Palace. Because the Eastern Palace lacked sufficient staff, Ma personally handled palace tasks and even cut and sewed long dance robes herself. Her hands became covered with chilblains, but she never mentioned this to the attendants, illustrating her restraint and discipline.

In 57, the second year of Jianwuzhongyuan, Emperor Guangwu died and Crown Prince Liu Zhuang became Emperor Ming of Han. Ma was made a Noble Lady. Although she was favored, she never bore a child. At the time, Lady Jia, a daughter of Ma's half-sister, had also entered the imperial household and gave birth to Emperor Ming's fifth son, Liu Da, later Emperor Zhang of Han. Because Ma had no child, Emperor Ming ordered her to raise Liu Da, telling her, “One need not give birth to a child oneself; the concern is only whether love and nurturing are sufficient.” Ma therefore raised Liu Da with complete devotion and worked harder for him than a mother might for her own child. Liu Da was naturally filial and sincere, and his gratitude toward his adoptive mother arose spontaneously. Their relationship remained close throughout their lives.

Ma also worried that Emperor Ming had too few sons and actively recommended palace women to serve him. She did not envy favored consorts; instead she comforted them and increased their treatment when they received repeated favor. Such lack of jealousy was regarded as unusual in the imperial harem.

In the spring of 60, the third year of Yongping, the responsible officials submitted a memorial requesting that an empress be chosen. Emperor Ming did not immediately decide. Empress Dowager Yin Lihua settled the matter, saying, “Noble Lady Ma's virtue surpasses the rear palace; she is the one.” Ma was then installed as empress.

Life as Empress

After becoming empress, Ma became even more humble and respectful. She was learned and widely read, could recite the Book of Changes, enjoyed the Spring and Autumn Annals and Songs of Chu, and was especially skilled in the Rites of Zhou and the writings of Dong Zhongshu. The histories describe her as seven chi two cun tall, with a square mouth, beautiful hair, and dignified bearing.

Empress Ma lived with extreme frugality. She often wore garments made of coarse silk and skirts without decorative borders. On the first and fifteenth days of each month, when consorts and princesses came to pay court, they would see from a distance what seemed to be fine patterned silk, only to discover on closer inspection that the empress wore coarse fabric and laugh in surprise. Ma explained, “This silk takes dye particularly well, so I use it.” The women of the six palaces all sighed in admiration. When Emperor Ming traveled to gardens and detached palaces, she often warned him against exposure to wind, cold, dew, and mist, and he usually listened. On one occasion the emperor summoned his ladies and the Prince of Xiapi to Zhuolong Garden and invited the empress to join the entertainment. She declined. Emperor Ming laughed and said, “This member of the family has no taste for amusement; even if she came, there would be no joy.”

Empress Ma was not only a moral exemplar but also an effective assistant to Emperor Ming in political matters. When generals submitted reports or senior ministers and high officials could not resolve disputes, the emperor often asked her to take part in deliberation. She could “separate and explain the tendencies and principles, giving each matter its true circumstances.” When discussing government while attending the emperor, she often contributed useful advice, but she never asked favors concerning her own family. Emperor Ming's affection and respect for her therefore deepened and never diminished.

In 72, the 15th year of Yongping, while Emperor Ming was examining maps in preparation for granting fiefs to the imperial princes, each fief was set at only half the size of those of other princes. Empress Ma remonstrated: “The princes' fiefs contain only a few counties. Is this not excessively frugal according to the institutions?” Emperor Ming replied, “How could my sons be equal to the sons of the former emperor? An annual provision of twenty million is enough.”

That same year, the treason case of Liu Ying, Prince of Chu, led to investigations that continued for years. Prisoners implicated one another, and very large numbers were arrested. Concerned that the case was spreading too broadly, Empress Ma took an opportunity to remonstrate with the emperor in sorrowful language. Emperor Ming was moved, rose during the night, and paced while considering her words. In the end, many people received leniency.

Empress Dowager and Later Years

In 75, the 18th year of Yongping, Emperor Ming died. Crown Prince Liu Da became Emperor Zhang of Han and honored Ma as empress dowager. Under palace regulations, the former noble ladies were to move to the Southern Palace. Remembering their long association and sadness at parting, Empress Dowager Ma gave each princely household red ribbons, comfortable carriages with teams of four horses, three thousand bolts of white Yue cloth, two thousand bolts of assorted silk, and ten jin of gold.

Empress Dowager Ma personally compiled the Court Diary of Emperor Xianzong, recording Emperor Ming's words and actions. She deliberately removed a passage mentioning that her elder brother Ma Fang had participated in managing medical affairs. Emperor Zhang did not understand and asked: “Maternal uncle Ma Fang attended morning and evening for nearly a year. There is neither praise of anything exceptional nor a record of his diligence. Is this not excessive?” The empress dowager replied, “I did not want later generations to hear that the former emperor frequently brought members of the imperial in-laws into close service, so I did not record it.”

She also paid attention to enlarging Emperor Zhang's harem. Hearing that Song Yang's two daughters, whose maternal grandmother was her own aunt, were both talented and attractive, she brought them into the palace and personally instructed them. At the end of Yongping, the two Lady Songs were selected for the crown prince's household and received much favor; after Emperor Zhang's accession both became Noble Ladies. Empress Dowager Ma also sought daughters of respectable families for the palace. The two daughters of Liang Song were selected into the inner palace, won Emperor Zhang's favor, and later gave birth to Liu Zhao, Emperor He of Han.

In 76, the first year of Jianchu, Emperor Zhang wished to ennoble several maternal uncles, but Empress Dowager Ma firmly refused. The following summer a severe drought occurred, and some argued that it had happened because the imperial relatives had not been ennobled. Officials submitted a memorial asking that old precedents be followed. The empress dowager issued a stern edict rejecting the proposal and enumerated disasters caused by maternal relatives in the Western Han: “Formerly the five marquises of the Wang clan were enfeoffed on the same day. At that time yellow mist filled the four directions, yet no timely rain was heard to result. Tian Fen and Dou Ying likewise became favored and overbearing, and the disasters that overturned them are transmitted by the world.” She noted that Emperor Ming had strictly guarded against imperial relatives and had “not allowed them into positions controlling the central mechanisms of government.” She described herself as leading the realm through frugality, while her relatives lived extravagantly, with “carriages flowing like water and horses like swimming dragons.” She concluded: “How could I above betray the former emperor's intention, below diminish the virtue of my ancestors, and once again repeat the disasters that destroyed the Western Capital?” She firmly refused.

Emperor Zhang read the edict with grief and admiration and petitioned again, noting that three maternal uncles were elderly or ill and expressing fear that regret would remain if they died without honor. Empress Dowager Ma still refused, saying: “I have repeatedly considered this matter and wish to preserve both sides. Do you think I merely seek a reputation for humility while causing the emperor to be criticized for withholding grace and titles from his maternal relatives?” She ultimately did not permit the enfeoffments.

On the guichou day of the sixth lunar month in 79, the fourth year of Jianchu (16 August), Empress Dowager Ma died of illness in Changle Palace at the age of forty. On the renxu day of the seventh lunar month (25 August), she was buried with Emperor Ming at Xianjie Mausoleum. Under the rules for posthumous titles, one who was “loyal, harmonious, pure, and good” was called “De,” and she therefore received the posthumous title Empress Mingde.

Empress Mingde, of the Ma family, whose personal name is lost to history, was a native of Maoling in Fufeng and the younger daughter of the famous general Ma Yuan. After Ma Yuan's death the family fell out of favor and suffered insults; at thirteen she was chosen into the heir's palace to attend Liu Zhuang, then heir apparent, and became a great favorite. When he took the throne as Emperor Ming she was made a favored lady and in 60 CE was invested as empress.

She loved the Spring and Autumn and the Songs of Chu and was especially versed in the Offices of Zhou and the writings of Dong Zhongshu; frugal in life, she wore coarse silk and disliked ornament. When Emperor Ming discussed government with her her analysis often had merit, and he adopted much of it. She bore no children of her own; Emperor Zhang, Liu Da, was born to the Favored Lady Jia and raised by her, the two being deeply attached.

On Ming's death Zhang took the throne and she was honored as empress dowager. Early in his reign Zhang meant to enfeoff her brothers as marquises, and she firmly opposed it, holding that the Mas stood no higher than the nine ministers and should receive no further honors; she also issued orders restraining the conduct of the Ma young, to prevent consort kin from growing overbearing. She died in 79 CE at over forty, with the posthumous name Mingde, and was buried with Emperor Ming at Xianjie.

She is one of the most highly regarded empresses of the Eastern Han; her prudence and her restraint of her own kin stand against the consort domination that came later in the dynasty, and her career, recorded in some detail in the empress chapters of the History of the Later Han, is important material for the study of the palace and consort families under that dynasty.

Certain details of her life with Emperor Ming are recorded in the empress chapters of the History of the Later Han. Ming loved letters and often discussed the classics and government with her, and her opinions usually hit the point. Once he gave her a batch of memorials to read and she weighed them one by one for urgency, after which he thought her judgment sound and consulted her regularly.

Her restraint of the Ma family is the most praised part of her life. When Emperor Zhang meant to enfeoff her brothers she firmly opposed it, holding that the Mas had neither military merit nor administrative achievement to justify further honors; she also issued orders repeatedly limiting their associations and expenditure, to prevent faction and extravagance. In the Jianchu years Zhang did finally enfeoff Ma Liao, Ma Fang, Ma Guang and others, and she remained anxious about it; the family indeed drew criticism later for arrogance, vindicating her judgment.

Her relation with Emperor Zhang is a peculiar case of dowager and successor in the Eastern Han: he was not her own son but was raised by her, and the two were deeply attached. He treated her with great respect, consulting her on major matters, while she took care not to interfere in the routine decisions of government — a manner contrasting with that of some later regent dowagers of the dynasty.

She was buried at Xianjie after her death. In the palace history of the Eastern Han her career matters chiefly as a positive example of relations between the inner palace and a consort family: kindly toward the children of others and restrained with her own kin, a manner rare among the empress dowagers of the dynasty.

Her learning and cultivation are connected with her family. Her father Ma Yuan was a founding minister of the Eastern Han, known for the phrase about wrapping the corpse in horsehide and for the pacification of Jiaozhi; after his death the family fell out of favor through false accusation, and the change taught her early the coldness of the world. She entered the heir's palace at thirteen already known for caution and modesty.

In her manner of life she was known for frugality: the History of the Later Han records that she wore coarse silk and dresses without borders, and at palace banquets her dress was plainer than the other consorts'. She extended this frugality through the palace, requiring the attendants to economize. State finances had not fully recovered in the early Eastern Han, and the manner matched the needs of the time.

In learning she loved the Spring and Autumn and the Songs of Chu and was especially versed in the Offices of Zhou and Dong Zhongshu; she is recorded discussing institutional questions in the Spring and Autumn and the Offices of Zhou with Emperor Ming, whose content she knew well. Her learning stood out among the consorts of the day, and some of their discussions survive in detail.

After Emperor He the power of consort kin and eunuchs rose in turn and dowager regencies became the norm. Against that background her conduct serves as a counter-example: she neither held the court nor allowed her kin to rise, and her career is therefore often used in later essays as material on the consort-family question.

In the palace of Ming's reign she was also known for handling its affairs well. The emperor had such consorts as the Lady Yu and the Favored Lady Jia, and she treated their children alike and cared for them; Emperor Zhang, once on the throne, remained respectful of the dowager who had raised him. Such an attitude was rare in Eastern Han palace relations, and rested on her own character and cultivation.

Her recorded sayings are scattered through the History of the Later Han and in later historians' citations, some views on consort families and government serving as material for the political thought of the dynasty. Taken as a whole, her career reflects the more settled side of early Eastern Han palace politics, in clear contrast with the alternation of consort kin and eunuch domination after Emperor He.

Her position under Emperor Zhang is connected with her practice of not intruding on government. He consulted her often, and she generally offered views on principle rather than intervening in particular appointments and decisions — a manner that kept her comparatively detached at court and avoided the conflicts with ministers common to regent dowagers of the dynasty.

The History of the Later Han says she was over forty at her death. She was buried with Emperor Ming at Xianjie with the posthumous name Mingde. Later Eastern Han empresses commonly took the character de into their titles, a usage answering to her place in the dynasty's assessment of its consorts.

The palace under Emperor Ming differed from Guangwu's time: the replacement of Guangwu's Empress Guo by the Yin lady had been an important change in the early Eastern Han palace, while under Ming the situation was comparatively settled and her relations with the Favored Lady Jia and others fairly calm — a change connected both with the emperor's character and with her own manner.

In handling palace business she took care to act by ritual. The emperor is recorded flying into a temper over palace matters and her quietly remonstrating afterward so that things were eased; when attendants erred she generally instructed rather than punished. Such conduct won her good will in the palace, and her reputation has accordingly remained high in Eastern Han accounts.

The fortunes of the Ma family under Ming and Zhang are a case in Eastern Han consort history. The family lapsed after Ma Yuan's death and rose again with her entry into the palace, its rise contrasting with her own modesty. After Emperor Zhang enfeoffed Ma Liao, Ma Fang and the others, Ma Fang at one point rose to general of chariots and cavalry before being dismissed; the family never achieved long domination in mid-Eastern Han politics, which is directly due to her restraint.

Fan Ye, author of the History of the Later Han, commends her checking of her own family and sets it against the consort troubles of the dynasty's later years. The judgment has shaped the general impression of her and gives her a distinct place among the empresses of the Eastern Han.

Her career matches the political temper of the early Eastern Han, her restraint of her consort kin cited by later ages as well.

Her standing among Eastern Han empresses is tied both to her times and to her own manner of conduct.

Her place among Eastern Han empresses, with the careers of Empress Guo and Empress Yin, makes up the picture of the early Eastern Han palace.

Her career is recorded in the empress chapters of the History of the Later Han.

She holds a high place in the Eastern Han assessment of its consorts.

Her posthumous name Mingde answers to the conduct of her life.

Major Activities

Political Contribution

Empress Ma was an important political figure in the early Eastern Han. Although she lived within the rear palace, she participated deeply in political deliberations. Under Emperor Ming, when generals submitted reports or senior ministers disagreed on matters that could not be settled, the emperor often invited her to deliberate. She “separated and explained the tendencies and principles, giving each matter its true circumstances,” and repeatedly aided the emperor's decisions. In 72, the 15th year of Yongping, when the case against Liu Ying, Prince of Chu, implicated too many people, she remonstrated at an opportune moment. Emperor Ming was moved and ultimately “granted reductions and pardons to many,” preventing a much larger miscarriage of justice.

After Emperor Zhang ascended the throne, Empress Dowager Ma exerted considerable influence on his style of rule. She discussed government with him daily and taught the Classics to the younger princes, effectively serving in the role of an imperial teacher. Her firm opposition to granting titles to maternal relatives restrained the early growth of consort-clan power and contributed to political stability during the first years of Emperor Zhang's reign.

Restraining Maternal Relatives

Empress Dowager Ma's resistance to the political elevation of her relatives was one of the defining features of her life. In 76, the first year of Jianchu, Emperor Zhang wanted to ennoble his maternal uncles, but she refused. The following year, during drought, officials used the occasion to request their enfeoffment. In her edict, the empress dowager listed the disasters associated with the five Wang marquises, Tian Fen, Dou Ying, and other Western Han relatives, described herself as “wearing coarse silk and seeking no delicacies” in order to lead the realm, criticized the relatives' luxury, and again rejected enfeoffment. Emperor Zhang petitioned repeatedly, but she never agreed.

She not only rejected titles for her relatives but deliberately removed from the Court Diary of Emperor Xianzong a record that her elder brother Ma Fang had participated in medical administration, so that later generations would not learn that Emperor Ming had drawn palace relatives into close service. Such conscious restraint of consort-clan power was highly unusual among imperial women.

Writings and Learning

Empress Ma was the first empress in Chinese history known to have compiled a court diary. Her Court Diary of Emperor Xianzong recorded the words and actions of Emperor Ming and represents an important early example of the qijuzhu historical genre. She was also learned: she could recite the Book of Changes, enjoyed the Spring and Autumn Annals and Songs of Chu, and was especially accomplished in the Rites of Zhou and the writings of Dong Zhongshu. She personally instructed Song Yang's two daughters after bringing them into the palace; they later became Noble Ladies of Emperor Zhang, showing her attention to the education of palace women.

Raising Emperor Zhang

Empress Ma had no child. Emperor Ming entrusted to her Liu Da, the son of Noble Lady Jia, and told her: “One need not give birth to a child oneself; the concern is only whether love and nurturing are sufficient.” Ma raised Liu Da with complete devotion and “labored and exhausted herself more than for one born of herself.” Liu Da likewise possessed “a pure and sincere filial nature, with affection arising naturally,” and there was “never the slightest gap between them from beginning to end.” Their relationship became a celebrated example within the Eastern Han court.

Recommending Palace Women

Because Empress Ma worried that Emperor Ming had too few heirs, she “recommended those around him, fearing only that she had not done enough.” Whenever a palace woman was summoned, Ma comforted and welcomed her; if a consort received repeated favor, Ma increased her treatment rather than becoming jealous. This lack of jealousy contributed to orderly relations within the harem. She also selected daughters of respectable families for Emperor Zhang. The two daughters of Liang Song entered the palace through this process and later gave birth to Liu Zhao, Emperor He of Han, continuing the Eastern Han imperial line.

Personal Relations

• Father: Ma Yuan, General Who Pacifies the Waves and Marquis of Xinxia, a founding meritorious general of the Eastern Han
• Mother: Lady Lin
• Brothers: Ma Liao, Ma Fang, Ma Guang, and Ma Keqing (died young)
• Half-sister: Ma Jiang, married Jia Wuzhong, son of Jia Fu
• Cousin: Ma Yan
• Mother-in-law: Yin Lihua, empress of Emperor Guangwu, who strongly supported installing Ma as empress
• Husband: Liu Zhuang, Emperor Ming of Han
• Adopted son: Liu Da, Emperor Zhang of Han
• Liang Song and Dou Gu: accused Ma Yuan, contributing to the decline of the Ma family

Historical Assessment

Eastern Han / Contemporary

The Dongguan Hanji stated that Empress Ma “at home was a daughter worthy of praise, and in the palace a wife worthy of praise,” giving high recognition to her conduct.

Emperor Zhang, Liu Da, deeply respected his adoptive mother. He repeatedly requested honors for her relatives, and although she refused, his petitions were regarded as evidence of his filial devotion.

Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties

Fan Ye, in the Book of the Later Han, “Annals of Empresses,” described her as “Empress Ma Mingde, whose virtue surpassed the rear palace,” and noted that she “could recite the Changes, enjoyed the Spring and Autumn Annals and Songs of Chu, and was especially skilled in the Offices of Zhou and the writings of Dong Zhongshu,” praising her learning.

Hua Qiao's Jin-period Book of the Later Han said that Empress Ma “at home could be held up for praise, and in the palace could serve as a model,” presenting her as an exemplar among empresses and consorts.

Tang and Song Periods

The Tang historian Liu Zhiji mentioned the Court Diary of Emperor Xianzong in the Shitong and regarded Empress Ma's court diary as an early beginning of the qijuzhu genre, recognizing her place in the history of historiography.

The Song Neo-Confucian Zhen Dexiu cited Empress Dowager Ma's refusal to ennoble her relatives in the Extended Meaning of the Great Learning and praised her as “clear about the greater principles of the state,” making her a model of imperial consort virtue.

Ming-Qing and Modern Periods

The late-Ming and early-Qing thinker Wang Fuzhi wrote in Du Tongjian Lun that Empress Ma “led all under Heaven through frugality and restraint and would not show private favor to her relatives,” saying that she “had the bearing of a great minister.”

The Qing scholar Zhao Yi, in Notes on the Twenty-Two Histories, discussed Eastern Han empresses and said that Empress Ma was “famed for frugal virtue.” Together with Empress Deng Sui, she was counted among the foremost virtuous empresses of the Eastern Han.

The modern historian Qian Mu mentioned her compilation of the Court Diary of Emperor Xianzong in Outline of National History, regarding it as an important early example of women's participation in historical writing in China. Lü Simian, in History of Qin and Han, praised her refusal to ennoble maternal relatives, saying that she “stood out with the bearing of a great minister, beyond what ordinary women could attain.”