Empress Wang Zhengjun - Role During Reign of AI

Role During Reign of Ai

When Emperor Ai ascended the throne, Empress Dowager Wang received the title that she is later most known for—Grand Empress Dowager Wang. Initially, out of respect for her, Emperor Ai, while consolidating his own power base, left the Wangs, including Wang Mang, largely in the posts that they had been in.

However, the influences of Emperor Ai's grandmother Consort Fu would soon be shown. Consort Fu was not content with her title of Princess Dowager of Dingtao; rather, she also wanted to be empress dowager. Grand Empress Dowager Wang was willing to let her have the title, and it was by her edicts that Consort Fu was also given the title Grand Empress Dowager (with a difference—Fu had the unique title, not again to be used, of Ditaitaihou (帝太太后) compared with Wang's regular title of Taihuangtaihou (太皇太后)); in an analogous manner, Emperor Ai's mother Consort Ding was also given the title of Empress Dowager (Ditaihou, 帝太后; cf. Zhao Feiyan's title of Huangtaihou, 皇太后)).

Consort Fu was not content with titles, however, but did everything she could to control her grandson's administration. Part of her agenda involved the removal of the Wangs from government. Grand Empress Dowager Wang had no desire to contend with Fu, however, and voluntarily ordered members of the Wang family to resign and turn over power to the Fus and the Dings. Her humility and willingness to yield greatly impressed the people and the officials in government, and as the incompetence of Emperor Ai became apparent, the people and the officials—who were largely against the Wangs during the reign of Emperor Cheng—all clamored for the return of the Wangs. This yearning came partly from a thorough miscarriage of justice perpetrated by Consort Fu in 6 BC when she, still bearing a grudge from her struggles with her former romantic rival Consort Feng Yuan (who by that time was Princess Dowager of Zhongshan and the grandmother of Prince Liu Jizi of Zhongshan), falsely accused Consort Feng of practicing magic, forced her to commit suicide, and executed and exiled a large number of her family. In response, in 2 BC, Emperor Ai recalled Wang Mang to the capital to attend to Grand Empress Dowager Wang.

In 1 BC, Emperor Ai died without an heir, and this left the imperial household in immediate turmoil—during which Grand Empress Dowager Wang would play an important role.