Empress Guo (Ming)
Encyclopedia
Empress Guo personal name unknown, formally known as Empress Mingyuan (明元皇后; literally: "The All-seeing and Discerning Empress"), was an empress of Cao Wei
during the Three Kingdoms
period of Chinese history
. She was married to Cao Rui
(Emperor Ming), the second emperor of Cao Wei; she was his third wife and second empress. What little is known about her appears to show that she was an intelligent woman who fought hard to try to prevent her empire from falling into the hands of the Sima clan (Sima Yi
and his sons Sima Shi
and Sima Zhao
) during the reigns of her adopted son Cao Fang
and his cousin Cao Mao
, but was unable to stem the tide.
, Qinghai
). Her family was a powerful clan in the area, but during the reigns of Cao Rui's father Cao Pi
(Emperor Wen), it was implicated in a rebellion, and she, among others in her family, was confiscated by the Cao Wei government. She somehow became a concubine of Cao Rui, and he greatly favored her.
In 237, Consort Guo was involved an incident that led to the death of Cao Rui's first empress (and second wife), Empress Mao
. Once, when Cao Rui was attending a feast hosted by Consort Guo, Consort Guo requested that Empress Mao be invited to join as well, but Cao Rui refused and further ordered that no news about the feast is to be given to Empess Mao. However, the news leaked, and Empress Mao talked about the feast with him anyway. He became exceedingly angry, and killed a number of his attendants whom he suspected of leaking the news to Empress Mao, and, inexplicably, ordered Empress Mao to commit suicide.
After Empress Mao's death, Consort Guo became the de facto empress, and her family members were given honorific titles (however, with little power). She was not created empress, however, until Cao Rui grew ill around the new year of 239. He died a month later, and Empress Guo became empress dowager, but not regent, over his adopted son Cao Fang
.
and Sima Yi
were regents, but Cao Shuang soon became the dominant figure in the government; while he put on an appearance of still respecting Sima, he effectively pushed Sima aside in governing the empire. How Empress Dowager Guo felt about this is not clear, for her political role during Cao Shuang's regency appeared to be minimal—even though Cao Shuang (and later the Simas) all at least formally submitted important matters to her, they decided on those matters without real input from her.
Cao Shuang was largely viewed as an incompetent regent who entrusted many of his associates who were equally lacking in ability. In 244, for example, under the advice of Li Sheng (李勝) and Deng Yang (鄧颺), Cao Shuang, lacking in military talent, nevertheless carried out an attack against Shu Han
, without carefully planning the logistics, and even though the battles were inconclusive, Cao Shuang was eventually forced to withdraw due to large number of deaths of livestock, and during the withdraw, many soldiers died in battle or of other causes. Cao Shuang also gathered great wealth for him and his associates, and also spent much time on tours, away from the important matters of state.
In 249, Sima, with support of officials who were tired of Cao Shuang's incompetence, (after issuing an edit in Empress Dowager Guo's name) carried out a coup d'etat
and deposed Cao Shuang, and later had him and his associates, as well as all their clans, slaughtered, and then took complete control of the government. (This shocked the officials who initially supported Sima, but by then it was too late to try to prevent it.) After Sima's death in 251, his son Sima Shi succeeded him and kept the government in as much control as his father did. In 254, Sima Shi carried out another round of slaughter of officials who resisted him. (It was suspected that these officials were plotting with the emperor Cao Fang and perhaps Empress Dowager Guo to try to counteract against the Simas, but a link was never clearly shown.) From that point on, any official who dared to be close to the emperor and the empress dowager was doing so at his peril.
Indeed, later in 254, Cao Fang himself would not be spared (although he was spared his life). Some of his associates had suggested to him to, when Sima Shi's brother Sima Zhao was at the palace to visit him, kill Sima Zhao and then seize his troops and attack Sima Shi. Cao Fang could not resolve to do it, but the news still leaked, and Sima Shi deposed Cao Fang. It was during this incident that Empress Dowager Guo would display her wisdom in a last ditch attempt to preserve some possibility of preventing a Sima takeover. When Sima Shi notified her that he intended to make Cao Pi's brother Cao Ju (曹據), the Prince of Pengcheng, emperor, she managed to persuade him that such a succession would be improper—that since Cao Ju was the uncle of her husband Cao Rui, such a succession would leave Cao Rui effectively sonless with no heir. Sima Shi was forced to agree with her, and he made, as she suggested, Cao Mao
the Duke of Gaoguixiang, the son of Cao Rui's younger brother Cao Lin (曹霖) the Prince of Donghai, emperor instead. (Cao Mao, although young (at age 13) was known for his intelligence, and Empress Dowager Guo might have believed that he, alone of the princes and dukes, might have had a chance of counteracting the Simas.) When Sima Shi asked her for the imperial seal, she again reasoned with him and refused politely, under the reasoning that she had met Cao Mao before and wanted to personally hand him the seal.
In 255, declaring that they had received a secret edict from Empress Dowager Guo, Guanqiu Jian
and Wen Qin
made a failed attempt to overthrow Sima Shi, by starting a rebellion from Shouchun (壽春, in modern Lu'an
, Anhui
). There was no real evidence that Empress Dowager Guo was actually in communication with them, however.
After Cao Mao became emperor, he gradually established a circle around him—a number of officials who were unquestioned in their support of the Simas, but who might also have something to gain from allegiance to the emperor, including Sima Shi's cousin Sima Wang
, Wang Chen (王沈), Pei Xiu
, and Zhong Hui
. By doing this, he was hoping that he could minimize suspicion against him but at the same time gradually win their heart. In 255, he made a failed attempt to capture power back—when Sima Shi died while at Xuchang
, Sima Zhao was at Xuchang as well. Cao Mao issued an edict which, under the rationale that Sima Shi had just defeated Guanqiu and Wen's rebellion and that the southeastern empire was still not complete pacified, ordered Sima Zhao to remain at Xuchang and that Sima Shi's assistant Fu Gu (傅嘏) return to the capital Luoyang
with the main troops. Under Fu and Zhong's advice, however, Sima Zhao returned to Luoyang anyway against edict, and was able to maintain control of the government. Indeed, from that point on, he would not let Cao Mao or Empress Dowager Guo to be out of his control, and when Zhuge Dan
made a failed rebellion in 257, believing that Sima Zhao would soon usurp the throne, Sima Zhao would insist on the emperor and the empress dowager accompanying him on the campaign against Zhuge.
In 260, Cao Mao, not being able to make much headway in his attempt to reduce Sima Zhao's hold on power, tried to start a coup d'état himself with the imperial guards loyal to him, and after initial successes near the palace, was nevertheless killed in battle. Empress Dowager Guo was forced to issue an edict posthumously deposing him. This time, further, Sima Zhao would completely ignore Empress Dowager Guo's wishes in determining Cao Mao's successor, and he made Cao Huan
, the Duke of Changdaoxiang, a grandson of Cao Cao
, emperor, even though Cao Rui's brothers still had issue. She died in 263 without being able to make any further impact against the power of the Simas, and Sima Zhao's son Sima Yan would usurp the throne in 265 and establish Jin Dynasty
.
Cao Wei
Cao Wei was one of the states that competed for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period. With the capital at Luoyang, the state was established by Cao Pi in 220, based upon the foundations that his father Cao Cao laid...
during the Three Kingdoms
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms period was a period in Chinese history, part of an era of disunity called the "Six Dynasties" following immediately the loss of de facto power of the Han Dynasty rulers. In a strict academic sense it refers to the period between the foundation of the state of Wei in 220 and the...
period of Chinese history
History of China
Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
. She was married to Cao Rui
Cao Rui
Cao Rui , formally known as Emperor Ming of Wei, was the second emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He was a son of Cao Wei's first emperor Cao Pi according to Liu Song dynasty historian, Pei Songzhi, but was a son of Yuan Xi according to modern...
(Emperor Ming), the second emperor of Cao Wei; she was his third wife and second empress. What little is known about her appears to show that she was an intelligent woman who fought hard to try to prevent her empire from falling into the hands of the Sima clan (Sima Yi
Sima Yi
Sima Yi was a general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He is perhaps best known for defending Wei from Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions...
and his sons Sima Shi
Sima Shi
Sima Shi , style name Ziyuan , was a military general and regent of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. In 249, he assisted his father Sima Yi in overthrowing the emperor Cao Fang's regent Cao Shuang, allowing the Sima family to become paramount authority in the state, and he...
and Sima Zhao
Sima Zhao
Sima Zhao was a military general, politician and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history...
) during the reigns of her adopted son Cao Fang
Cao Fang
Cao Fang , formally known as Duke Li of Shaoling, was the third emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He retained the title Prince of Qi after he was deposed by the regent Sima Shi...
and his cousin Cao Mao
Cao Mao
Cao Mao , formally known as the Duke of Gaogui, was the fourth emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He was a grandson of Cao Wei's first emperor Cao Pi. Described as intelligent and studious, Cao Mao made repeated attempts to seize back state power...
, but was unable to stem the tide.
Family background and marriage to Cao Rui
The future Empress Guo was from Xiping Commandery (西平, roughly modern XiningXining
Xining is the capital of Qinghai province, People's Republic of China, and the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau. It has 2,208,708 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 1,198,304 live in the built up area made of 4 urban districts.-History:...
, Qinghai
Qinghai
Qinghai ; Oirat Mongolian: ; ; Salar:) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake...
). Her family was a powerful clan in the area, but during the reigns of Cao Rui's father Cao Pi
Cao Pi
Cao Pi , formally known as Emperor Wen of Wei, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. Born in Qiao County, Pei Commandery , he was the second son of the late Han Dynasty warlord Cao Cao.Cao Pi, like his father, was a poet...
(Emperor Wen), it was implicated in a rebellion, and she, among others in her family, was confiscated by the Cao Wei government. She somehow became a concubine of Cao Rui, and he greatly favored her.
In 237, Consort Guo was involved an incident that led to the death of Cao Rui's first empress (and second wife), Empress Mao
Empress Mao (Ming)
Empress Mao , personal name unknown, formally known as Empress Mingdao , was an empress of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. She was married to Cao Rui , the second emperor of Cao Wei.Empress Mao became a concubine of Cao Rui's during the reign of his father, Cao Pi...
. Once, when Cao Rui was attending a feast hosted by Consort Guo, Consort Guo requested that Empress Mao be invited to join as well, but Cao Rui refused and further ordered that no news about the feast is to be given to Empess Mao. However, the news leaked, and Empress Mao talked about the feast with him anyway. He became exceedingly angry, and killed a number of his attendants whom he suspected of leaking the news to Empress Mao, and, inexplicably, ordered Empress Mao to commit suicide.
After Empress Mao's death, Consort Guo became the de facto empress, and her family members were given honorific titles (however, with little power). She was not created empress, however, until Cao Rui grew ill around the new year of 239. He died a month later, and Empress Guo became empress dowager, but not regent, over his adopted son Cao Fang
Cao Fang
Cao Fang , formally known as Duke Li of Shaoling, was the third emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He retained the title Prince of Qi after he was deposed by the regent Sima Shi...
.
As empress dowager
By Cao Rui's will, his distant cousin Cao ShuangCao Shuang
Cao Shuang , style name Zhaobo , was a military general, politician and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He was the son of Cao Zhen...
and Sima Yi
Sima Yi
Sima Yi was a general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He is perhaps best known for defending Wei from Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions...
were regents, but Cao Shuang soon became the dominant figure in the government; while he put on an appearance of still respecting Sima, he effectively pushed Sima aside in governing the empire. How Empress Dowager Guo felt about this is not clear, for her political role during Cao Shuang's regency appeared to be minimal—even though Cao Shuang (and later the Simas) all at least formally submitted important matters to her, they decided on those matters without real input from her.
Cao Shuang was largely viewed as an incompetent regent who entrusted many of his associates who were equally lacking in ability. In 244, for example, under the advice of Li Sheng (李勝) and Deng Yang (鄧颺), Cao Shuang, lacking in military talent, nevertheless carried out an attack against Shu Han
Shu Han
Shu Han was one of the three states competing for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period, after the fall of the Han Dynasty. The state was based on areas around Sichuan, which was then known as Shu...
, without carefully planning the logistics, and even though the battles were inconclusive, Cao Shuang was eventually forced to withdraw due to large number of deaths of livestock, and during the withdraw, many soldiers died in battle or of other causes. Cao Shuang also gathered great wealth for him and his associates, and also spent much time on tours, away from the important matters of state.
In 249, Sima, with support of officials who were tired of Cao Shuang's incompetence, (after issuing an edit in Empress Dowager Guo's name) carried out a coup d'etat
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
and deposed Cao Shuang, and later had him and his associates, as well as all their clans, slaughtered, and then took complete control of the government. (This shocked the officials who initially supported Sima, but by then it was too late to try to prevent it.) After Sima's death in 251, his son Sima Shi succeeded him and kept the government in as much control as his father did. In 254, Sima Shi carried out another round of slaughter of officials who resisted him. (It was suspected that these officials were plotting with the emperor Cao Fang and perhaps Empress Dowager Guo to try to counteract against the Simas, but a link was never clearly shown.) From that point on, any official who dared to be close to the emperor and the empress dowager was doing so at his peril.
Indeed, later in 254, Cao Fang himself would not be spared (although he was spared his life). Some of his associates had suggested to him to, when Sima Shi's brother Sima Zhao was at the palace to visit him, kill Sima Zhao and then seize his troops and attack Sima Shi. Cao Fang could not resolve to do it, but the news still leaked, and Sima Shi deposed Cao Fang. It was during this incident that Empress Dowager Guo would display her wisdom in a last ditch attempt to preserve some possibility of preventing a Sima takeover. When Sima Shi notified her that he intended to make Cao Pi's brother Cao Ju (曹據), the Prince of Pengcheng, emperor, she managed to persuade him that such a succession would be improper—that since Cao Ju was the uncle of her husband Cao Rui, such a succession would leave Cao Rui effectively sonless with no heir. Sima Shi was forced to agree with her, and he made, as she suggested, Cao Mao
Cao Mao
Cao Mao , formally known as the Duke of Gaogui, was the fourth emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He was a grandson of Cao Wei's first emperor Cao Pi. Described as intelligent and studious, Cao Mao made repeated attempts to seize back state power...
the Duke of Gaoguixiang, the son of Cao Rui's younger brother Cao Lin (曹霖) the Prince of Donghai, emperor instead. (Cao Mao, although young (at age 13) was known for his intelligence, and Empress Dowager Guo might have believed that he, alone of the princes and dukes, might have had a chance of counteracting the Simas.) When Sima Shi asked her for the imperial seal, she again reasoned with him and refused politely, under the reasoning that she had met Cao Mao before and wanted to personally hand him the seal.
In 255, declaring that they had received a secret edict from Empress Dowager Guo, Guanqiu Jian
Guanqiu Jian
Guanqiu Jian , style name Zhonggong , was a military general of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history.-Biography:...
and Wen Qin
Wen Qin
Wen Qin , style name Zhongruo , was a military general of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He served as the protector of Yang Province. Enraged at Sima Shi on the displacement of the emperor Cao Fang, then starting a rebellion with Guanqiu Jian. During the rebellion, Wen...
made a failed attempt to overthrow Sima Shi, by starting a rebellion from Shouchun (壽春, in modern Lu'an
Lu'an
Lu'an , is a prefecture-level city in western Anhui Province, People's Republic of China, with a population of 5,612,590 inhabitants at 2010 census. Its built up area is home to 1,482,729 inhabitants spread out on 2 urban districts...
, Anhui
Anhui
Anhui is a province in the People's Republic of China. Located in eastern China across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, it borders Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, and Shandong for a tiny...
). There was no real evidence that Empress Dowager Guo was actually in communication with them, however.
After Cao Mao became emperor, he gradually established a circle around him—a number of officials who were unquestioned in their support of the Simas, but who might also have something to gain from allegiance to the emperor, including Sima Shi's cousin Sima Wang
Sima Wang
Sima Wang was a military general of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He served the Jin Dynasty after the end of the Three Kingdoms period...
, Wang Chen (王沈), Pei Xiu
Pei Xiu
Pei Xiu , style name Jiyan , was a minister, geographer, and cartographer of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history, as well as the subsequent Jin Dynasty. Pei Xiu was very much trusted by Sima Zhao, and participated in the suppression of Zhuge Dan's coup...
, and Zhong Hui
Zhong Hui
Zhong Hui was a military general of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He was the son of Zhong Yao, a calligrapher and politician of Wei....
. By doing this, he was hoping that he could minimize suspicion against him but at the same time gradually win their heart. In 255, he made a failed attempt to capture power back—when Sima Shi died while at Xuchang
Xuchang
Xuchang is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province in Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the northwest, Kaifeng to the northeast, Zhoukou to the east, Luohe to the southeast, and Pingdingshan to the southwest....
, Sima Zhao was at Xuchang as well. Cao Mao issued an edict which, under the rationale that Sima Shi had just defeated Guanqiu and Wen's rebellion and that the southeastern empire was still not complete pacified, ordered Sima Zhao to remain at Xuchang and that Sima Shi's assistant Fu Gu (傅嘏) return to the capital Luoyang
Luoyang
Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...
with the main troops. Under Fu and Zhong's advice, however, Sima Zhao returned to Luoyang anyway against edict, and was able to maintain control of the government. Indeed, from that point on, he would not let Cao Mao or Empress Dowager Guo to be out of his control, and when Zhuge Dan
Zhuge Dan
Zhuge Dan , style named Gongxiu , was a military general of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. When he held military positions during his middle to late career, he got involved in all Three Rebellions in Shouchun, which aimed to drive the de facto ruler of Cao Wei, Sima...
made a failed rebellion in 257, believing that Sima Zhao would soon usurp the throne, Sima Zhao would insist on the emperor and the empress dowager accompanying him on the campaign against Zhuge.
In 260, Cao Mao, not being able to make much headway in his attempt to reduce Sima Zhao's hold on power, tried to start a coup d'état himself with the imperial guards loyal to him, and after initial successes near the palace, was nevertheless killed in battle. Empress Dowager Guo was forced to issue an edict posthumously deposing him. This time, further, Sima Zhao would completely ignore Empress Dowager Guo's wishes in determining Cao Mao's successor, and he made Cao Huan
Cáo Huàn
Cao Huan , formally known as Emperor Yuan of Wei, was the fifth and last emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history....
, the Duke of Changdaoxiang, a grandson of Cao Cao
Cao Cao
Cao Cao was a warlord and the penultimate chancellor of the Eastern Han Dynasty who rose to great power during the dynasty's final years. As one of the central figures of the Three Kingdoms period, he laid the foundations for what was to become the state of Cao Wei and was posthumously titled...
, emperor, even though Cao Rui's brothers still had issue. She died in 263 without being able to make any further impact against the power of the Simas, and Sima Zhao's son Sima Yan would usurp the throne in 265 and establish Jin Dynasty
Jìn Dynasty (265-420)
The Jìn Dynasty , was a dynasty in Chinese history, lasting between the years 265 and 420 AD. There are two main divisions in the history of the Dynasty, the first being Western Jin and the second Eastern Jin...
.