Empress Zhen

Historical Record

Empress Wenzhao Zhen was a native of Wuji in Zhongshan, a descendant of the Han Grand Tutor Zhen Han, from a family of officials at the two-thousand-bushel rank for generations. Her father Zhen Yi once served as magistrate of Shangcai; the empress lost her father when she was three. According to the *Weishu*, Empress Zhen was born on the dingyou day of the twelfth month of the fifth year of the Han Guanghe era. From childhood she was unlike others; when young, someone in the household once saw a jade garment covering her body, which was taken as a marvelous omen. The physiognomist Liu Liang once read the faces of Empress Zhen and the other children, and said of her that "her nobility is beyond words." ^c:12784

Empress Zhen from childhood did not care for play; at the age of eight, when her elder sisters all went up to the gallery to watch a display of horsemanship, she alone did not go. She held that this was not a thing for a woman to watch. At nine, she loved reading and had a memory that forgot nothing, often borrowing her elder brothers' brushes and inkstones. When a brother urged her to study women's work, she retorted that no worthy woman fails to study the successes and failures of those before her as a warning to herself, and that if she did not read, how was she to know of them. ^c:12784

At the end of the Eastern Han, the realm fell into chaos and famine spread; the people sold off their heirloom treasures. The Zhen family at the time held large stores of grain, and took the chance to buy up gold, silver, pearls, and jade. When Empress Zhen was a little over ten, she advised her mother: "In a chaotic age to buy many treasures—the common man is without fault, but possessing a jade is his crime. Moreover, those around us are all hungry and in want; better to use the grain to relieve our kinsmen and neighbors, and spread kindness widely." The whole family heeded her words and dispensed kindness widely. ^c:12784

In the Jian'an era, Yuan Shao took Empress Zhen as a wife for his second son Yuan Xi. After Yuan Xi went out to serve as Inspector of You Province, Empress Zhen remained at Ye to wait upon her mother-in-law. In the ninth year of Jian'an (204), Cao Cao breached Ye; Cao Pi entered Yuan Shao's residence and saw Empress Zhen of peerless beauty and bearing, whereupon he took her as a concubine. ^c:2835 She bore Cao Pi Emperor Ming, Cao Rui, and the Princess of Dongxiang. Empress Zhen was deeply favored by Cao Pi, yet she was all the more humble and self-restrained, encouraging the favored consorts and consoling those who had lost favor. She once urged Cao Pi to take many fair consorts in order to multiply heirs. When Cao Pi wished to dismiss Lady Ren, Empress Zhen pleaded on her behalf, holding that Lady Ren was of a distinguished family of their home district, fine in both virtue and looks, and should not be dismissed, but Cao Pi did not heed her. ^c:2835

In the first year of Yankang (220), in the first month, Cao Pi ascended the throne of King of Wei. In the tenth month of the same year, Cao Pi declared himself emperor, becoming Emperor Wen of Wei. However, as Empress Guo, Honored Lady Li, Honored Lady Yin, and others gained favor, Empress Zhen gradually fell out of favor and voiced complaints. In the second year of Huangchu (221), in the sixth month, Emperor Wen sent an envoy to bestow death upon Empress Zhen, and she was buried at Ye. ^c:2063 According to the *Weishu*, Emperor Wen once sent a sealed letter to summon Empress Zhen to Luoyang, but she three times submitted memorials declining, calling herself foolish, base, and ill. It was then the height of summer, and Emperor Wen had intended to fetch her when the autumn cooled; unexpectedly Empress Zhen fell gravely ill and died at Ye on the dingmao day of the sixth month. On hearing the news Emperor Wen grieved and posthumously conferred upon her the empress's seal and ribbon. Pei Songzhi, however, held that the matters of Emperor Wen not establishing Lady Zhen and bringing harm to her were borne out by solid evidence, and that the Wei history glossed over the wording, calling it a death by illness—which is truly not to be believed. ^c:2063

In the Novel

*Romance of the Three Kingdoms* gives no independent detailed depiction of Empress Zhen; her image attaches mainly to the historical record, with no notable literary shaping or divergence from the histories. The novel's mentions of Empress Zhen mostly serve to introduce the episode of Cao Pi taking Lady Zhen and the identity of her son Cao Rui. Thus, in *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, Empress Zhen is not a character with an independent storyline or distinct personality; her life essentially accords with the historical record, with no episodes or dialogue unique to the novel.

Key Relationships

* Cao Rui (parent_of): Empress Zhen was the birth mother of Emperor Ming of Wei, Cao Rui. After Cao Rui took the throne, he posthumously honored his mother as Empress Wenzhao. ^c:2834
* Yuan Xi (spouse_of): Empress Zhen was first married to Yuan Xi, the second son of Yuan Shao. After Yuan Xi went out to serve as Inspector of You Province, Empress Zhen remained at Ye to wait upon her mother-in-law. ^c:2835
* Cao Pi (spouse_of): After Cao Cao breached Ye, Cao Pi took Empress Zhen as a wife. She bore Cao Pi Cao Rui and the Princess of Dongxiang, and was once deeply favored, but in the end, owing to loss of favor and her complaints, she was bestowed death. ^c:2063

Iconic Scenes

* Wise in childhood, urging her mother to relieve famine: In her childhood Empress Zhen displayed exceptional wisdom and a benevolent heart. Amid the chaos of the realm and raging famine, she urged her mother to relieve their kinsmen and neighbors with the grain the family had stored rather than continue buying treasures, embodying her foresight and compassion. ^c:12784
* Taken at Ye, of peerless beauty and bearing: After Cao Cao breached Ye, Cao Pi was the first to enter Yuan Shao's residence and saw Empress Zhen with disheveled hair and tearful face. Her peerless beauty astonished Cao Pi, who took her as his concubine. This scene is recorded in both the *Weilüe* and the *Shiyu*, a key turning point in Empress Zhen's fate. ^c:2835
* Urging the emperor to take worthy consorts, pleading for Lady Ren: Even when favored, Empress Zhen remained humble, urging Cao Pi to take many fair consorts to multiply heirs. When Cao Pi wished to dismiss Lady Ren, she even wept and firmly pleaded on her behalf, displaying her virtue and tolerant character. ^c:2835
* Bestowed death at Ye, a tragic fate: After Cao Pi declared himself emperor, Empress Zhen gradually lost favor and was ultimately bestowed death at Ye. This end is the apex of her tragic fate and reflects the cruelty of the harem struggles of antiquity. ^c:2063