Empress Fu

Historical Record

(No historical materials)

In the Novel

In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Empress Fu is the empress of Liu Xie, Emperor Xian of Han. Her image centers chiefly on her hatred of Cao Cao's usurpation of power, her helplessness at the decline of the House of Han, and her ultimately tragic end. She is first mentioned in Chapter 13, but truly enters the plot in Chapter 66. In that chapter, Cao Cao enters the palace bearing a sword while Emperor Xian sits together with Empress Fu; seeing Cao Cao arrive, Empress Fu hastily rises, while Emperor Xian trembles uncontrollably. Cao Cao questions him about Sun Quan and Liu Bei failing to honor the court, and Emperor Xian can only reply helplessly that "it is all for the Duke of Wei to decide," at which Cao Cao glares and storms out resentfully ^c:102.

Cao Cao's arrogance leaves Emperor Xian and Empress Fu deeply uneasy. When they hear that Cao Cao intends to make himself king and usurp the House of Han, the emperor and empress weep bitterly. Here Empress Fu shows her resolute side, declaring that rather than "sit each day and night as if on a bed of needles—to live like this is worse than an early death," and she resolves to write a letter, secretly plotting with her father Fu Wan to assassinate Cao Cao ^c:7012. Although Emperor Xian fears repeating the disaster of Dong Cheng's exposed plot, Empress Fu holds to her view and chooses the loyal and righteous eunuch Mu Shun to carry the secret letter. Grateful for the emperor and empress's kindness, Mu Shun resolutely agrees ^c:7012.

Things, however, do not go as hoped, and the conspiracy is at last uncovered. Xi Lü, on Cao Cao's orders, leads armored troops into the palace to seize the empress's seal and ribbon. Knowing the plot is exposed, Empress Fu hides in the double wall of the empress's chambers behind the hall. Then the Director of the Imperial Secretariat, Hua Xin, leads five hundred soldiers into the hall to search. With the palace attendants all claiming not to know where Empress Fu has gone, Hua Xin concludes she is hidden in the wall and orders his soldiers to break it open and search. In the end Hua Xin acts with his own hands, seizing Empress Fu by her hair and dragging her out. Empress Fu pleads for her life to be spared, but Hua Xin rebukes her, and she is pushed out by the soldiers, her hair loose and her feet bare ^c:7014.

When Empress Fu is brought to the outer hall, Emperor Xian, seeing her, comes down from the hall and embraces her, weeping bitterly. Through her tears Empress Fu asks the emperor, "Can you not save me and let me live?" and Emperor Xian replies in grief, "I myself do not know when my own life will end!" Forcibly escorted away by the soldiers, Empress Fu is taken off, while Emperor Xian beats his breast in great anguish, collapsing to the ground and lamenting, "Can there be such a thing under heaven!" ^c:7015 Empress Fu's tragic end profoundly reflects the powerlessness and decay of the House of Han under Cao Cao's might.

Key Relationships

* Liu Xie (Emperor Xian of Han): Empress Fu's husband. Under Cao Cao's oppression the two share a common misery, jointly bearing the pain of the House of Han's decline. To preserve the dynasty, Empress Fu plotted to assassinate Cao Cao, while Emperor Xian both supported and feared the plan. In the end, when Empress Fu is seized, the two display deep conjugal affection and a shared lament over their fate ^c:7015.
* Cao Cao: Empress Fu's greatest enemy. Cao Cao's usurpation of power and ambition to seize the Han directly drive Empress Fu's assassination plot and ultimately bring about her tragic end. Her hatred and fear of Cao Cao run through her portrayal in the novel ^c:102.
* Fu Wan: Empress Fu's father. Empress Fu wrote a secret letter ordering her father to plot the assassination of Cao Cao, showing the shared father-and-daughter stance against Cao Cao (unique to the novel) ^c:7012.
* Mu Shun: A loyal and righteous eunuch. Empress Fu trusted his loyalty and entrusted him to deliver the secret letter to Fu Wan; grateful for the emperor and empress's kindness, Mu Shun was willing to risk his life (unique to the novel) ^c:7012.
* Hua Xin: A henchman of Cao Cao. He was ordered to search out and seize Empress Fu, and dragged her from her hiding place by brute force—one of the direct executors of her tragedy (unique to the novel) ^c:7014.

Iconic Scenes

* Sitting with Emperor Xian, Trembling Before Cao Cao: Cao Cao enters the palace bearing a sword; Emperor Xian sits together with Empress Fu, who, seeing Cao Cao come, hastily rises, while the emperor, seeing Cao Cao, trembles uncontrollably. This scene vividly displays the fear and helplessness of the emperor and empress under Cao Cao's tyranny, and lays the groundwork for Empress Fu's later resolve to resist ^c:102.
* Plotting to Assassinate Cao, Writing to Fu Wan: Hearing that Cao Cao intends to usurp the throne, Empress Fu resolves that "to sit each day and night as if on a bed of needles—to live like this is worse than an early death," and writes a letter, secretly plotting with her father Fu Wan to assassinate Cao Cao. This scene highlights Empress Fu's fierce and resolute character and her determination to stop at nothing to preserve the House of Han (unique to the novel) ^c:7012.
* Hidden in the Double Wall, Dragged Out by Hua Xin: After the plot is exposed, Empress Fu hides in the double wall of the empress's chambers, and is finally found when Hua Xin orders his soldiers to break the wall open and search, then seizes her hair and drags her out with his own hands. This scene is highly visual, a concentrated expression of Empress Fu's tragic fate, and profoundly reveals the utter collapse of Han imperial authority (unique to the novel) ^c:7014.
* Parting from Emperor Xian: As Empress Fu is pushed out by the soldiers, Emperor Xian comes down from the hall to embrace her and weep; Empress Fu asks through her tears, "Can you not save me and let me live?" and the emperor laments, "I myself do not know when my own life will end!" This scene of parting in life and death displays the deep affection between emperor and empress and their shared grief in facing a hopeless end—the climax of Empress Fu's tragic conclusion (unique to the novel) ^c:7015.