As Empress
Empress Yang's oldest son, Sima Gui (司馬軌), died in childhood, making her second son, Sima Zhong the legitimate heir, by traditional succession laws. However, Emperor Wu hesitated about selecting him as crown prince because he was developmentally disabled. Empress Yang was instrumental in persuading him to have her son designated crown prince anyway, arguing that tradition should not be abandoned easily. She was also instrumental in her son's selection of a wife, as Emperor Wu initially favored Wei Guan's daughter, but Empress Yang, friendly with Jia Chong's wife Lady Yang, praised Jia's daughter Jia Nanfeng greatly, leading to Jia Nanfeng's selection as crown princess.
In 273, when Emperor Wu was undergoing a major selection of beautiful women to serve as his concubines, he initially put Empress Yang in charge of the selection process. She preferred those with slender bodies and fair skin, but did not favor those who have beautiful faces. She also left off a beauty named Bian, whom Emperor Wu favored—stating that since the Bians have served as empresses for three generations during Cao Wei (Cao Cao's wife Princess Bian, Cao Mao's empress, and Cao Huan's empress) that it would be too degrading for her to be a concubine. These caused Emperor Wu to be displeased, and he took over the selection process himself. Despite this and her husband's obsession with accumulating concubines, however, they appeared to continue to have genuine affection for each other.
In 274, Empress Yang grew ill. She became concerned that whoever would be empress next—and she was particularly concerned about Consort Hu Fen (胡芬), whom Emperor Wu greatly favored—would not support her son. She therefore asked Emperor Wu to marry her cousin Yang Zhi. Emperor Wu, distressed over her illness, agreed. She died soon thereafter and was buried with honors due an empress, at the tomb that her husband was eventually buried at when he died in 290. Concubine Zuo Fen wrote a long song of mourning in her honour.
In 276, based on his promise to her, the emperor married Yang Zhi and created her empress.
Read more about this topic: Empress Yang Yan
Famous quotes containing the word empress:
“We never really are the adults we pretend to be. We wear the mask and perhaps the clothes and posture of grown-ups, but inside our skin we are never as wise or as sure or as strong as we want to convince ourselves and others we are. We may fool all the rest of the people all of the time, but we never fool our parents. They can see behind the mask of adulthood. To her mommy and daddy, the empress never has on any clothes—and knows it.”
—Frank Pittman (20th century)
“The Empress is Legitimist, my cousin is Republican, Morny is Orleanist, I am a socialist; the only Bonapartist is Persigny, and he is mad.”
—Napoleon Bonaparte III (1808–1873)