Imperial Consort Zhao Hede Zhaoyi – The Imperial Consort who was accused of killing Emperor Cheng of the Western Han Dynasty due to her wantonness
Imperial Consort Zhao Hede Zhaoyi is known to be one of China’s most wanton figures in history.[1] She was the favourite imperial concubine of Emperor Cheng of the Western Han Dynasty.[2] She is also known as Empress Zhao Feiyan’s notorious sister, whom she conspired with for her ruthless deeds.[3] She has been blamed by ancient chroniclers for killing Emperor Cheng because of her wantonness.[4] Did Imperial Consort Zhao Hede Zhaoyi deserve her negative reputation? It seems that her greatest sin was that she failed to give Emperor Cheng a son.[5]
The birthdate of Imperial Consort Zhao Hede Zhaoyi is unknown.[6] Her original name was Feng Hede.[7] Her father was Feng Wanli.[8] She had an older sister named Feng Yizhu (who would be known as Zhao Feiyan).[9] After her father’s death, she and her older sister were adopted by a man named Zhao Lin, and they changed their surnames to Zhao.[10] They grew up in Yang Anzhu’s mansion, where they learned to sing and dance.[11] Zhao Hede was said to be “fair-skinned and plump.”[12]
In 18 B.C.E., Emperor Cheng of the Western Han Dynasty visited Yang Anzhu’s mansion.[13] He watched Zhao Feiyan dance and was immediately smitten.[14] He also desired Zhao Hede.[15] Emperor Cheng brought both Zhao Feiyan and Zhao Hede to his palace.[16] He bestowed on the Zhao sisters the title of Jieyu (which was the second highest rank below the Empress position).[17]
The Zhao sisters created trouble in Emperor Cheng’s harem.[18] They accused Imperial Consort Ban Jieyu of witchcraft.[19] She quickly fell out of Emperor Cheng’s favour.[20] Then, they accused Empress Xu of witchcraft.[21] Emperor Cheng demoted Empress Xu.[22] In 16 B.C.E., Zhao Feiyan was invested as Empress. Imperial Consort Zhao Hede was given the title of Zhaoyi (the highest rank below the Empress position).[23] She was installed in Zhaoyang Palace, which was the most opulent residence in the imperial palace.[24]
The Zhao sisters did not have any children with Emperor Cheng.[25] Ancient chroniclers have accused them of killing all the Emperor’s children in order to secure their positions in the harem.[26] However, modern historians find this claim to be false.[27] This is because it seems to be a literary pattern for empresses with a negative reputation to kill their rivals’ children.[28] Ancient chroniclers have also claimed that both of the Zhao sisters had taken multiple lovers.[29] However, modern historians believe this claim to be false.[30] This was because they were cloistered in a strict imperial harem and would be watched constantly.[31]
On 7 April B.C.E., Emperor Cheng suddenly died while he was sexually intimate with Imperial Consort Zhao Hede Zhaoyi.[32] Modern historians believe he died of a stroke.[33] However, Imperial Consort Zhao Hede Zhaoyi was accused of killing Emperor Cheng due to sexual indulgence.[34] Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun called for an open investigation into her son’s death.[35] Since Imperial Consort Zhao Hede Zhaoyi could not prove her innocence, she committed suicide.[36]
Imperial Consort Zhao Hede Zhaoyi’s reputation continues to be blackened to this day. Therefore, it is hard to separate fact from fiction.[37] Imperial Consort Zhao Zhaoyi has been blamed by ancient chroniclers for monopolizing Emperor Cheng’s affections and eliminating the line of imperial succession.[38] They also blamed her for murdering Emperor Cheng because she was too “greedy for sex.”[39] Yet, her greatest sin was that she remained childless.[40] Therefore, Imperial Consort Zhao Hede Zhaoyi is still considered one of China’s most reviled figures in history.[41]
Sources:
McMahon, K. (2013). Women Shall Not Rule: Imperial Wives and Concubines in China from Han to Liao. NY: Rowman and Littlefield.
Milburn, O. (2021). The Empress in the Pepper Chamber: Zhao Feiyan in History and Fiction. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
Shen, J. & Che, W. W.(trans.). (2015). “Zhao Hede, Concubine of Emperor Cheng”. Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: Antiquity Through Sui, 1600 B.C.E. – 618 C.E..(L. X. H. Lee, Ed.; A. D. Stefanowska, Ed.; S. Wiles, Ed.). NY: Routledge. pp. 249-251.
Xiaoming, Z. (2015). “Zhao Feiyan, later Empress Xiaocheng, Western Han Dynasty”. Notable Women of China: Shang Dynasty to the Early Twentieth Century. (B. B. Peterson, Ed.; H. Yucheng, Trans.). London: Routledge. pp. 86-88.
[1] McMahon, 2013
[2] Shen and Che, 2015
[3] McMahon, 2013
[4] McMahon, 2013; Shen and Che, 2015
[5] Milburn, 2021
[6] Shen and Che, 2015
[7] Shen and Che, 2015
[8] Shen and Che, 2015
[9] Xiaoming, 2015
[10] Shen and Che, 2015
[11] Xiaoming, 2015
[12] Shen and Che, 2015, p. 250
[13] Xiaoming, 2015
[14] Xiaoming, 2015
[15] Xiaoming, 2015
[16] Shen and Che, 2015
[17] Shen and Che, 2015
[18] Shen and Che, 2015
[19] Shen and Che, 2015
[20] Shen and Che, 2015
[21] Shen and Che, 2015
[22] Shen and Che, 2015
[23] Shen and Che, 2015
[24] Shen and Che, 2015
[25] Shen and Che, 2015
[26] Xiaoming, 2015
[27] Milburn, 2021
[28] Milburn, 2021
[29] McMahon, 2013
[30] Milburn, 2021
[31] Milburn, 2021
[32] McMahon, 2013
[33] Milburn, 2021
[34] Shen and Che, 2015
[35] McMahon, 2013; Shen and Che, 2015
[36] McMahon, 2013; Shen and Che, 2015
[37] Milburn, 2013
[38] Shen and Che, 2015
[39] McMahon, 2013, p. 83
[40] Milburn, 2013
[41] Shen and Che, 2015
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