Queen Dowager Xuan

Biography

Family Background and Early Life

Queen Dowager Xuan was from Chu and belonged to the Mi clan. Historical sources do not record her exact date of birth, parents, or early life. Later scholars have estimated that she was born around 344 BCE, the twenty-sixth year of King Xuan of Chu. In 329 BCE, the eleventh year of King Wei of Chu, King Huai of Chu, Xiong Huai, succeeded to the throne and entered a marriage alliance with Qin. Mi, then about sixteen years old, entered Qin and became a consort of King Huiwen of Qin, Ying Si. Her rank was Bazi, hence the name Mi Bazi. The Qin harem was divided into eight ranks: queen, furen, meiren, liangren, bazi, qizi, changshi, and shaoshi. Bazi was the fifth rank and was not especially high.

Mi Bazi bore King Huiwen three sons and one daughter. At about seventeen, she gave birth to her eldest daughter, who later married King Zhao of Yan. At about twenty, in 325 BCE, she gave birth to her eldest son Ying Ji. Her other sons were Ying Kui, later Lord of Gaoling, and Ying Fu, later Lord of Jingyang. In 311 BCE, the fourteenth year of the Gengyuan era of King Huiwen, King Huiwen died. Ying Dang, the legitimate eldest son of Queen Huiwen, succeeded as King Wu of Qin. Mi Bazi and her sons occupied an insecure position at court, and Ying Ji was sent to Yan as a hostage.

The Succession Struggle and Regency

In 307 BCE, the fourth year of King Wu of Qin, King Wu died at the age of twenty-three after injuring himself while lifting a tripod in Luoyang. He left no son, and his death triggered a struggle for the throne. Queen Huiwen of Wei and Left Grand Councilor Gan Mao supported the eldest secondary son Prince Zhuang, also known as Lord Ji, as king. King Wuling of Zhao, seeking to provoke internal disorder in Qin, adopted Yue Yi's proposal and ordered Zhao Gu, the chancellor of Dai, to escort Prince Ji back from Yan, where he had been held as a hostage. Mi Bazi, then about thirty-eight, conspired with her maternal half-brother Wei Ran and joined forces with Right Grand Councilor Chuliji to support Prince Ji. Gan Mao, seeing the change in circumstances, led the officials in switching sides, and Prince Zhuang and his full brother Prince Yong fled Xianyang.

In 306 BCE, the first year of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, Prince Ji succeeded to the throne. Because he was young and had not yet undergone the capping ceremony, he could not personally govern. Mi Bazi assumed power as queen dowager, took the title Queen Dowager Xuan, and appointed Wei Ran as general to guard Xianyang. In 305 BCE, the second year of King Zhaoxiang, Wei Ran suppressed the rebellion of Lord Ji, killed Prince Zhuang and King Zhaoxiang's half-brothers, and expelled King Wu's queen back to Wei, eliminating the opposition. Gan Mao, fearing execution, fled to Wei. Thereafter Queen Dowager Xuan appointed Wei Ran as Grand Councilor and enfeoffed him as Marquis of Rang; her full brother Mi Rong was made Lord of Huayang; her sons Ying Fu and Ying Kui were made Lord of Jingyang and Lord of Gaoling respectively. Together they formed the governing group known as the Four Nobles.

Government and Diplomacy

During Queen Dowager Xuan's regency, Qin pursued both external expansion and diplomacy. Around 300 BCE, the eighth year of King Zhaoxiang, Chu besieged Yongshi in Han, and King Xiang of Han sent the envoy Shang Jin to request Qin aid. Because her native state was Chu, Queen Dowager Xuan initially did not wish to send troops. She received Shang Jin and used the analogy “when I served the former king” to state directly that rescuing Han would require enormous expense without benefit to Qin. King Xiang then sent Zhang Cui to Qin. By arguing that if Han were pressed too hard it would break and join Chu, Zhang Cui persuaded Left Grand Councilor Gan Mao. Gan Mao explained to King Zhaoxiang that a Chu-Han alignment would harm Qin, and the king ordered troops to aid Han. The Chu army withdrew upon hearing the news.

In 287 BCE, the nineteenth year of King Zhaoxiang, Qi, Zhao, Han, Wei, and Chu formed a vertical coalition against Qin but failed to prevail, and the states halted at Chenggao. King Zhaoxiang wished to appoint Lord Chengyang, a Han prince, concurrently as Grand Councilor of Han and Wei, but the two states objected. Through Wei Ran, Queen Dowager Xuan advised the king that Lord Chengyang had once been stranded in Qi because of King Zhaoxiang and had not been employed while in hardship, and therefore would not necessarily be grateful merely because he now received favor. Moreover, appointing him against the wishes of Han and Wei would damage Qin's relations with those states. King Zhaoxiang abandoned the plan.

Luring and Killing the Ruler of Yiqu

Yiqu was a powerful Rong state active from north of the Jing River to the Ordos region and had long been an enemy of Qin. Under King Huiwen, Qin had repeatedly attacked Yiqu and seized twenty-five cities, but Yiqu retained considerable strength. After King Zhaoxiang's accession, the ruler of Yiqu came to court to offer congratulations. Queen Dowager Xuan entered an intimate relationship with him and bore him two sons, using this relationship to reduce Yiqu's vigilance. In 272 BCE, the thirty-fifth year of King Zhaoxiang, she lured the ruler of Yiqu into Qin and had him killed at Ganquan Palace. Qin then launched an army, destroyed Yiqu, and established the commanderies of Longxi, Beidi, and Shang in its former territory, completely removing the western frontier threat.

Loss of Power and Death

Queen Dowager Xuan governed for a long period, while Wei Ran, Mi Rong, Ying Fu, and Ying Kui—the Four Nobles—held great power. It was said that the people of Qin knew only the queen dowager and the Four Nobles and did not know the king. Fan Ju, a man of Wei, fled to Qin and gained the confidence of King Zhaoxiang. He warned the king that the dominance of the Four Nobles resembled the dangers posed by Nao Chi and Li Dui and that, if the situation continued, Qin would cease to be the king's Qin. In 266 BCE, the forty-first year of King Zhaoxiang, the king accepted Fan Ju's advice, removed Queen Dowager Xuan from power, and expelled Wei Ran, Mi Rong, Ying Kui, and Ying Fu from Xianyang.

In her later years, Queen Dowager Xuan favored her lover Wei Choufu. When gravely ill, she ordered that Wei Choufu be buried with her. Wei Choufu asked the persuader Yong Rui to remonstrate with her. Yong Rui argued that if the dead were unconscious, burial sacrifice would be useless; if they remained conscious, the former king, King Huiwen of Qin, had accumulated anger for a long time, and the queen dowager would scarcely have time to make amends, much less pursue a private relationship with Wei Choufu. Queen Dowager Xuan withdrew the order. In October 265 BCE, the forty-second year of King Zhaoxiang, she died and was buried at Mount Li in Zhiyang, in present-day Lintong District of Xi'an.

Major Activities

Exercising Rule as Queen Dowager

Queen Dowager Xuan was the first woman in Chinese history to exercise rule from court under the title “queen dowager.” When King Zhaoxiang succeeded to the throne, he was only nineteen and had not yet undergone the capping ceremony, so he could not personally govern. Queen Dowager Xuan therefore acted as regent in her capacity as the king's mother, establishing a precedent for later rule by queen dowagers. Fan Ye of the Southern Dynasties Liu Song wrote in the “Annals of Empresses” in the Book of the Later Han: “Only with Queen Dowager Mi of Qin did a queen dowager first take charge of governmental affairs.”

Suppression of Lord Ji's Rebellion

After King Wu died, Queen Huiwen and Gan Mao supported Prince Zhuang, while Queen Dowager Xuan and Wei Ran supported Prince Ji. In 305 BCE, the second year of King Zhaoxiang, Wei Ran led troops to suppress Lord Ji's rebellion, killed Prince Zhuang and King Zhaoxiang's half-brothers, and expelled King Wu's queen to Wei, consolidating King Zhaoxiang's rule.

Destroying Yiqu through Deception

Queen Dowager Xuan maintained an intimate relationship with the ruler of Yiqu for more than thirty years and bore him two sons, causing him to lower his guard. In 272 BCE, the thirty-fifth year of King Zhaoxiang, she lured him to Ganquan Palace and had him killed. Qin then destroyed Yiqu and established Longxi, Beidi, and Shang commanderies in its former territory. This completely eliminated Qin's western frontier threat and enabled Qin to concentrate on eastward expansion. The modern scholar Ma Feibai assessed this achievement as “no less than Zhang Yi and Sima Cuo's conquest of Ba and Shu.”

External Expansion

During Queen Dowager Xuan's rule, Qin “gained territory in the east and weakened the other states,” captured Yan and Ying from Chu in the south, defeated Qi in the east, and repeatedly pressured the three Jin states. She employed the famed general Bai Qi, helping lay the foundation for Qin's eastward advance. In 288 BCE, the nineteenth year of King Zhaoxiang, Qin “styled itself Western Emperor,” an action considered to have been personally planned and directed by Queen Dowager Xuan.

Employing the Four Nobles

During her rule, Queen Dowager Xuan relied heavily on her maternal half-brother Wei Ran, appointing him Grand Councilor and enfeoffing him as Marquis of Rang; her full brother Mi Rong was enfeoffed as Lord of Huayang; her sons Ying Fu and Ying Kui became Lord of Jingyang and Lord of Gaoling respectively. Together they formed the Four Nobles. Wei Ran governed for a long period and contributed significantly to Qin's expansion, but their dominance also produced a situation described as one in which people “knew only the queen dowager and the Four Nobles, not the king of Qin.”

Diplomatic Mediation

When dealing with the siege of Yongshi in Han, Queen Dowager Xuan used the analogy “when I served the former king” to state directly that military intervention required tangible benefit, reflecting a pragmatic and utilitarian political style. In the matter of Lord Chengyang's appointment, she advised King Zhaoxiang through Wei Ran and prevented a decision that would have damaged Qin's relations with Han and Wei.

Personal Relations

Family

• King Huiwen of Qin, Ying Si: husband and ruler of Qin
• King Zhaoxiang of Qin, Ying Ji: eldest son and ruler of Qin
• Ying Fu (Lord of Jingyang): second son
• Ying Kui (Lord of Gaoling): youngest son
• Eldest daughter: married King Zhao of Yan
• Wei Ran: maternal half-brother, Marquis of Rang, powerful Qin official
• Mi Rong: full brother, Lord of Huayang
• King Wu of Qin, Ying Dang: legitimate son of King Huiwen and half-brother of King Zhaoxiang

Ruler-Minister Relations

• King Zhaoxiang of Qin, Ying Ji: son; later removed her from power
• Fan Ju: adviser to King Zhaoxiang who brought about Queen Dowager Xuan's loss of power
• Chuliji: younger brother of King Huiwen, Right Grand Councilor, participant in supporting King Zhaoxiang's accession
• Gan Mao: Left Grand Councilor; initially supported Prince Zhuang, later switched sides, then fled to Wei out of fear of execution

Intimate Relationships

• Ruler of Yiqu: intimate partner with whom she had two sons; later lured to Ganquan Palace and killed
• Wei Choufu: favored lover in her later years; Queen Dowager Xuan once ordered that he be buried with her, but later rescinded the order

Historical Assessment

Warring States to Qin-Han Periods

• Fan Ju said that in Qin “one hears only of the queen dowager and the Marquis of Rang, and does not hear of the king,” criticizing the excessive concentration of power in her hands and providing the immediate argument for King Zhaoxiang's removal of the queen dowager. (Records of the Grand Historian, “Biographies of Fan Ju and Cai Ze”)
• King Zhaoxiang's removal of Queen Dowager Xuan and expulsion of the Four Nobles has been regarded as a crucial step in reclaiming royal authority and strengthening monarchical power. (Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance, “Chronicle of Zhou V”)

Han to Northern and Southern Dynasties

• Fan Ye of the Southern Dynasties Liu Song wrote: “Only with Queen Dowager Mi of Qin did a queen dowager first take charge of governmental affairs; hence the Marquis of Rang held more power than King Zhao, and his household was wealthier than the Ying state.” (Book of the Later Han, “Annals of Empresses”)
• Liu Xie of the Liang dynasty wrote: “Queen Dowager Xuan brought disorder to Qin, and the Lü clan endangered Han; not only is governmental power difficult to delegate, but titles and designations must also be treated with care.” (The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons, “Historical Accounts”)

Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Periods

• The Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance records in detail Fan Ju's persuasion of King Zhaoxiang to remove the queen dowager and treats the political dominance of Queen Dowager Xuan and the Four Nobles as a major danger in Qin politics.
• The Ming novel Chronicles of the Eastern Zhou Kingdoms depicts the dominance of Queen Dowager Xuan and the Four Nobles as a principal obstacle to King Zhaoxiang's personal rule, emphasizing her desire for power.

Modern Period

• Ma Feibai wrote: “Queen Dowager Xuan, relying on her honored status as the king's mother, sacrificed her own body in an intimate relationship with the ruler of Yiqu and then designed his killing, destroying Qin's great western threat in one stroke and allowing Qin to concentrate eastward without fear for its rear. Her achievement was no less than Zhang Yi and Sima Cuo's conquest of Ba and Shu.” (Collected History of Qin)
• Modern scholars generally acknowledge Queen Dowager Xuan's historical role in stabilizing Qin's political order, expanding its territory, and eliminating frontier threats, while also noting the limitations of her reliance on relatives and concentration of political power.