Empress Dou (Zhang) - Family Background

Family Background

Lady Dou's father Dou Xun (竇勳) was a grandson of the statesman Dou Rong (竇融). Her mother was Princess Piyang (沘陽公主), a daughter of Liu Jiang (劉疆), the Prince of Donghai, who was a highly-honored older brother to Emperor Ming and was Emperor Guangwu's first crown prince; therefore, she was created a princess even though her father was not an emperor. Dou Xun was able to marry a princess because the Dous were a powerful noble family at the time, although he himself would eventually be accused of bribing other officials and would die in prison.

Read more about this topic:  Empress Dou (Zhang)

Famous quotes containing the words family and/or background:

    It is best for all parties in the combined family to take matters slowly, to use the crock pot instead of the pressure cooker, and not to aim for a perfect blend but rather to recognize the pleasures to be enjoyed in retaining some of the distinct flavors of the separate ingredients.
    Claire Berman (20th century)

    They were more than hostile. In the first place, I was a south Georgian and I was looked upon as a fiscal conservative, and the Atlanta newspapers quite erroneously, because they didn’t know anything about me or my background here in Plains, decided that I was also a racial conservative.
    Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)