Zang Aiqin

Biography

Family Background and Early Life

Zang Aiqin was born into an official family in Ju County, Dongguan Commandery. Her grandfather Zang Wang, courtesy name Shanfu, served in the Eastern Jin as a Gentleman of the Masters of Writing; her father Zang Jun, courtesy name Xuanyi, served as Officer of Merit of Dongguan Commandery. Her mother was Lady Shusun, a native of Gaomi, who was later posthumously granted the title Lady of Yongping Township. The Zang family was not among the highest aristocratic clans, but it was a locally prominent official family. Zang Aiqin had brothers Zang Tao and Zang Xi, both of whom later served in Liu Yu's regime.

When Zang Aiqin married, Liu Yu was still a commoner in Jingkou, present-day Zhenjiang, Jiangsu. His family was poor, and his combative and forceful temperament had given him a poor local reputation. Zang Aiqin nevertheless married into the Liu household, accepted the family's poverty, and managed its domestic affairs. Not long after the marriage, she gave birth to a daughter, Liu Xingdi. Before the child was grown, however, Liu Yu decided to leave home and join the army, beginning his military career.

Married Life with Liu Yu

After Liu Yu entered military service, he spent long periods campaigning away from home, while Zang Aiqin remained behind to raise their daughter. Liu Yu gradually distinguished himself in the army, rising from a junior officer to become a pillar of the Eastern Jin court. By the time he was about forty, he controlled the dynasty's military and political power and had become one of the most powerful figures of the age.

After Liu Yu rose to high rank, relatives who had once been unwilling to help the family came in large numbers to seek connections, flatter the household, and present gifts. Zang Aiqin remained unmoved. Although her husband had become a dominant minister, she continued to live frugally and did not pursue luxury. Relatives who hoped to obtain office and wealth through her all failed to do so. Her conduct earned Liu Yu's deep respect.

Zang Aiqin had only one child, Liu Xingdi, and no sons. Even in a society that placed great weight on male heirs, this did not diminish Liu Yu's affection for his first wife. Liu Yu later had seven sons, all born to other consorts.

Final Years and Death

Liu Yu spent much of his life away on campaign, and the couple were often separated. By the time he had achieved power and they could spend more time together, their reunion was short-lived. On the jiawu day of the first month of 408, the fourth year of Yixi, Zang Aiqin died of illness at Dongcheng, present-day Dingyuan County in Anhui, at the age of forty-eight.

At that time Liu Yu was still only Duke of Yuzhang under the Eastern Jin, so Zang Aiqin received the posthumous designation Lady of Yuzhang Commandery and was returned to Dantu for burial. Liu Yu was deeply grieved by the early death of his first wife.

Posthumous Honors

In 420, the first year of Yongchu, Liu Yu replaced the Jin and established Liu Song. He posthumously honored Zang Aiqin, who had died twelve years earlier, as Empress Wujing. The mothers of his seven sons, including Crown Prince Liu Yifu, were granted only consort titles, and Liu Yu did not appoint another empress during or after his reign.

When Liu Yu established the imperial ancestral temple system, he created a shrine for Zang Aiqin and included her spirit tablet alongside those of six generations of his male ancestors to form the emperor's Seven Temples. Creating a separate chamber for a deceased first wife and counting it among the Seven Temples was unprecedented. Zang Aiqin therefore became the first woman in Chinese history to be included among the founding emperor's Seven Temples.

In 422, the third year of Yongchu, Liu Yu left a final edict ordering that Zang Aiqin's coffin be brought from Dantu to Nanjing (Jiankang) so that she could be buried with him at Chuning Mausoleum.

Major Activities

First Female Occupant of an Imperial Ancestral Temple

After Liu Yu became emperor, he enshrined Zang Aiqin's spirit tablet in the Imperial Ancestral Temple so that it formed part of the Seven Temples together with shrines to six generations of his ancestors. Traditional ritual prescribed seven generations of male ancestors for the imperial temple system, so counting a woman as one generation within the Seven Temples was unprecedented. Later historians commented that treating a woman as one generation in this system was an extraordinary and startling ritual departure. Although historians such as Xiao Zixian and Wang Mingsheng later criticized and mocked the arrangement, Zang Aiqin was unquestionably the first woman in ancient Chinese history to be included among the Seven Temples of a founding emperor.

Wang Mingsheng argued that Liu Yu may have intended the arrangement to help secure for himself the temple name Taizu after death. Liu Yu ultimately received the temple name Gaozu instead. After Liu Yu's own spirit tablet entered the Imperial Ancestral Temple, Zang Aiqin became a companion object of sacrifice rather than the principal deity of a separate temple chamber.

Frugality and Moral Conduct

Zang Aiqin was noted for her frugality. After Liu Yu became a dominant minister of Eastern Jin, their household attracted crowds of opportunists and flatterers. Zang Aiqin remained unmoved, living simply, using plain clothes and utensils, and observing proper conduct. She refused to seek appointments for relatives, preventing those who hoped to profit through her from doing so. Shen Yue praised her in the Book of Song as respectful and careful in conduct.

Her Only Child

Zang Aiqin and Liu Yu had one child together, a daughter, Liu Xingdi. Liu Xingdi was later created Princess of Kuaiji and held a position within the Liu Song imperial family. Although Zang Aiqin bore no son, Liu Yu continued to honor her. After becoming emperor he granted only consort ranks to the mothers of his seven sons, while posthumously making Zang Aiqin empress and never appointing another empress, reflecting his enduring regard for his first wife.

Personal Relations

• Grandfather: Zang Wang, courtesy name Shanfu, Gentleman of the Masters of Writing under Eastern Jin.
• Father: Zang Jun, courtesy name Xuanyi, Officer of Merit of Dongguan Commandery; posthumously granted the title Grand Master for Splendid Happiness with Golden Seal and Purple Ribbon.
• Mother: Lady Shusun, a native of Gaomi; posthumously granted the title Lady of Yongping Township.
• Brothers: Zang Tao and Zang Xi.
• Nephew: Zang Zhi.
• Husband: Liu Yu, Emperor Wu and founding emperor of Liu Song.
• Daughter: Liu Xingdi, Princess of Kuaiji.

Historical Assessment

Northern and Southern Dynasties / Contemporary Period

• Shen Yue's Book of Song praised her as respectful and careful in conduct, affirming her upright character and adherence to the expected norms of womanhood.
• Xiao Zixian criticized Liu Yu's decision to include Zang Aiqin among the Seven Temples as a departure from established ritual precedent.

Song and Yuan Periods

• Later historians described Liu Yu's inclusion of Zang Aiqin among the Seven Temples as an extraordinary and startling departure from established ritual practice.

Ming and Qing Periods

• Wang Mingsheng argued that Liu Yu enshrined Zang Aiqin in the Imperial Ancestral Temple in the hope of securing the temple name Taizu for himself, but Liu Yu was ultimately given the temple name Gaozu.

Modern Scholarship

• Modern scholars have often focused on Zang Aiqin's distinctive position as the first female temple occupant of this kind in Chinese history, seeing the episode both as evidence of Liu Yu's deep attachment to his first wife and as an example of changes in ritual practice during the Southern Dynasties.