Empress Lü

Abstract

Empress Lü was the consort of Emperor Gaozu, founder of the Han dynasty (202 bce –220 ce ). As Empress Dowager – after Gaozu's death and during the reigns of his heir and two subsequent child emperors – she assumed the authority of the supreme ruler and became the first of three women who ruled the empire during over 2000 years of Chinese imperial history. The evaluation of her reign and character has relied heavily on the records made by Han historians Sima Qian and Ban Gu. Both portray, albeit with varying degrees of direct and indirect condemnation, the attempts of an Empress Dowager to retain and enhance the power of her own clan at the expanse of the ruling imperial clan – and perhaps in its stead. The stories these historians recount include some of the most horrific acts of violence and abuse in Chinese imperial history. In the literature from the Han onward, Lü's figure became a symbol of the ruthless greed for power that threatened the continuity of a dynastic line. Recent times, however, have seen an increase in diverging evaluations of Empress Lü as ruler and person, in both the academic arena and popular representations. A compilation of legal statutes and ordinances excavated in 1983 and dated to 186 bce adds to our knowledge of governance and administration during Lü's regime and may be further utilized in the emerging discourse of the first de facto female ruler in Chinese imperial history.