Teng Fanglan

Biography

Family Background and Early Years

Empress Teng came from the Teng clan. Her clansman Teng Yin was an important official of Eastern Wu who rose to the offices of Grand Ceremonial Minister and General of the Guards and supervised the affairs of the Masters of Writing. In 256, the first year of Taiping, Teng Yin lost a power struggle with the powerful official Sun Chen and his three kinship groups were exterminated. Because Teng Mu was only distantly related to Teng Yin, he was merely exiled to a frontier commandery. In 258, the first year of Yong'an, Sun Xiu ascended the throne and proclaimed a general amnesty, allowing Teng Mu to return to Jianye, where he became General of the Gentlemen of the Five Offices. That same year, Sun Hao was enfeoffed as Marquis of Wucheng and took Teng Mu's daughter as his consort. At the time Lady Teng became his consort, Sun Hao was about seventeen years old, and Lady Teng was of a similar age.

Appointment as Empress and Loss of Favor

In the seventh month of 264, the first year of Yuanxing, Sun Hao ascended the throne, and in the tenth month Lady Teng was made empress. In the twelfth month, Teng Mu was enfeoffed as Marquis of Gaomi and appointed General of the Guards and Supervisor of the Affairs of the Masters of Writing. After taking the throne, Sun Hao became violent and arrogant and indulged in wine and women, and Empress Teng gradually lost his favor. Because Teng Mu was the empress's father, court officials often encouraged him to submit remonstrances. Sun Hao consequently became dissatisfied with both father and daughter. He intended to depose the empress, but his mother Empress Dowager He frequently protected her. The Grand Astrologer also stated that, according to the calendrical signs, the empress should not be replaced. Sun Hao believed in shamans and therefore did not depose her. Thereafter Empress Teng often lived in Shengping Palace to attend on Empress Dowager He. She retained only the title of empress, while many favored women in the harem wore the seals and ribbons of an empress. Teng Mu was sent to Cangwu Commandery and died of grief on the way.

Accompanying the Western Expedition and the Fall of Wu

In the first month of spring 271, the third year of Jianheng, Sun Hao, believing the words of shamans, led an army westward because he wished to “enter Luoyang beneath the blue canopy and thereby accord with Heaven's mandate.” Empress Teng and several thousand members of the harem accompanied him. Heavy snow and a lack of military provisions forced the army to turn back. In 280, the fourth year of Tianji, Western Jin attacked Wu along six routes. Sun Hao surrendered, and Wu fell. Sun Hao was enfeoffed as Marquis Guiming, and Empress Teng, as his lady, moved with him to Luoyang. In 284, the fifth year of Taikang, Sun Hao died at the age of forty-two and was buried at Beimang Mountain north of Luoyang. Empress Teng personally composed a funeral lament in deeply mournful language. Not long afterward, she too died in Luoyang.

Major Activities

Political Activity

Empress Teng held the position of empress for seventeen years, but her political influence was limited. Her father Teng Mu was appointed General of the Guards and Supervisor of the Affairs of the Masters of Writing because of his status as an imperial relative, but he achieved little of note. After Sun Hao's favor toward her declined, Empress Teng retained the title of empress in name only, while favored women in the harem commonly wore an empress's seals and ribbons. She lived in Shengping Palace to attend on Empress Dowager He, which enabled her to retain her position.

Travels

In 271, the third year of Jianheng, Empress Teng accompanied Sun Hao on his westward expedition. The force departed Jianye, passed through Wuchang, and reached Xiling before turning back after being obstructed. The expedition was very large, and several thousand members of the harem accompanied it, although the detailed route is not known.

Relations with Contemporaries

Empress Teng had a close relationship with Empress Dowager He, who repeatedly protected her from deposition. She competed for favor with Sun Hao's favored women, although no direct conflict is recorded. She was close to her father Teng Mu; when he was sent to Cangwu and died of grief on the road, Empress Teng was unable to help him.

Personal Relations

Family

• Teng Yin (clansman): Grand Ceremonial Minister; his three kinship groups were exterminated.
• Teng Mu (father): General of the Guards and Supervisor of the Affairs of the Masters of Writing; died of grief.

Ruler and Household

• Sun Hao (husband): last ruler of Wu; husband and wife, though she later lost his favor.
• Empress Dowager He (mother-in-law): protected Empress Teng.

Contemporaries

• Sun Chen (powerful official): fought Teng Yin for power and exterminated Teng Yin's three kinship groups.
• Favored women of the harem (including Lady Zhang and others): competed with Empress Teng for favor.

Historical Assessment

Three Kingdoms / Contemporary Period

• Chen Shou in the Records of the Three Kingdoms: records her life without offering a direct evaluation, but phrases such as “her favor gradually declined” and “she often attended on [the empress dowager in] Shengping Palace” imply her passive position.
• Xu Song in the Jiankang Shilu: records that “she personally composed a funeral lament, its words extremely sorrowful,” indicating her literary ability and grief.

Song and Yuan Periods

• Sima Guang's Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance records Sun Hao's western expedition and mentions “the empress dowager, the empress, and several thousand members of the harem,” but gives no separate assessment of Empress Teng.
• Hu Sanxing, in his commentary on the Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance, commented on Sun Hao's harem institutions but did not discuss Empress Teng personally.

Ming and Qing Periods

• Wang Fuzhi, in Du Tongjian Lun, discussed Sun Hao's failures without directly evaluating Empress Teng, but stated that “given Hao's evils, Empress Teng was unable to correct him.”
• Lu Bi's Collected Explanations of the Records of the Three Kingdoms cites the notes of many scholars and examines details of Empress Teng's life without offering praise or blame.

Modern Period

• Lü Simian's Informal History of the Three Kingdoms mentions Sun Hao's harem and describes Empress Teng as “a pitiable woman,” without elaborating further.
• Tian Yuqing's Great Clans of Eastern Wu analyzes the Teng clan and regards Empress Teng as a victim of political marriage whose fate reflected the brutality of political struggles in late Eastern Wu.
• Modern scholars generally regard Empress Teng as a tragic figure who survived passively against the background of Eastern Wu's collapse.