| Lady Li 李夫人 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 An illustration of Lady Li from theQing dynasty bookBaimei xinyong tuzhuan | |||||
| Born | Zhongshan | ||||
| Died | between 104 and 101 BC | ||||
| Burial | Yingling, nearMaoling | ||||
| Spouse | Emperor Wu of Han | ||||
| Issue | Liu Bo, Prince Ai of Changyi | ||||
| |||||
| Clan | Li (李) | ||||
| Relatives | Li Yannian (brother) Li Guangli (brother) Liu He (grandson) | ||||
Lady Li[note 1](Chinese:李夫人;pinyin:Lǐ Fūrén, died between 104 and 101 BC) was aHan dynasty concubine ofEmperor Wu. Civil unrest broke out between her family andWei Zifu's family. Moreover, her siblings defected to theXiongnu and becametraitors to China. As a result, Emperor Wu ordered her relatives to be tried and executed, leading to the downfall of her and her family.
She was allegedly the inspiration forThe Beauty Song, composed by her brotherLi Yannian.[1]
Lady Li was born in an entertainer family,she was a dancer. Her parent and brother were also entertainers.[2][3] Lady Li's brotherLi Yannian was a musician forPrincess Pingyang.[4] After he performedThe Beauty Song (Chinese:佳人曲;pinyin:jiārén qǔ) forEmperor Wu, the Emperor asked Li Yannian if he knew of such a woman, to which Princess Pingyang responded that the song was about Li's sister. The Emperor thus requested to meet with Lady Li, and she became one of his concubines. She had one son named Bo (髆).[1]
However, although composed in thepersona of Han Wudi, there is doubt as to the actual authorship of this and similar poems.[5]
In the civil unrest between the Li family and EmpressWei Zifu's family, several of Li's relatives were killed and executed. At the time Empress Wei Zifu was the head wife of Liu Che, and Wei and Li were jealous of each other.[6]
Moreover,Li Guangli later surrendered to theXiongnu circa 90-89 BC and was accused of being atraitor. His grandsonLi Ling also defected to the Xiongnu. Li's family was then tried and executed fortreason.[6]
With the suicide of Emperor Wu's crown princeLiu Ju in 91 BC, her son Liu Bo was among the candidates for the title of crown prince. However, the title ultimately went to youngLiu Fuling, who succeeded Emperor Wu asEmperor Zhao of Han. In any case, Liu Bo predeceased his father. Her grandson, Liu Bo's son,Prince He of Changyi, was enthroned as emperor as Emperor Zhao's successor, but was removed from his position after 27 days byHuo Guang. Li's grandson was impeached on 1127 charges of misconduct committed, and afterwards, Li's grandson was not included on the official historical list of Han emperors.[6]
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At the end of her life, Lady Li became gravely ill. She refused to allow Emperor Wu to see her face, citing the loss of her beauty. Upon Wudi's urging, Li went further and refused to even speak. As such, Wudi left unhappily. The lady's sisters then admonished her for not allowing the emperor to see her face.
The date of Lady Li's death is unrecorded, but is calculated to be between 104 and 101 BC, as her brother Li Guangli was sent to attackDayuan twice during this period, and it was recorded that Lady Li had passed away before Li Guangli returned from his second expedition. But soon later Li Guangli and Li Ling defected to the Xiongnu, and her family was executed fortreason.[7]
Because of her short but vibrant life, the emperor had her named the goddess of the Hollyhock blossom. She was said to be beautiful and sweet, just like the blossom.