Background

Her father and her brother Li Yannian were both skilled musicians. There is no exact information about the date of her birth.

Career

Li Furen's marriage to the emperor, Han Wudi, came about by the circumstance that her brother Li Yannian was a musician for Princess Pingyang and composed the song Jiaren Qu (literally, The Beauty Song) as an ode to her beauty. After hearing this song, Emperor Wu wanted to meet the woman who could inspire such a song. That is how Li Furen became one of Emperor Wu's concubines.

Li Furen bore him a son named Bo. Due to her popularity with the Emperor, her male relatives enjoyed favor with the Emperor.

However, Consort Li fell ill soon after giving birth and was bedridden. She refused to allow Emperor Wu to see her face, citing the loss of her beauty. Upon Emperor Wu's urging, Li went further and refused to even speak. She said that she did that for her brothers' sake, as she and her family earned the emperor's goodwill by virtue of her good looks. Without her beauty, she would lose Emperor Wu's goodwill and her brothers would too.

Soon Consort Li died. Emperor Wu had her buried with the honors appropriate to an empress. It is said that Emperor Wu loved her very much and never ceased grieving over her death. He ordered her portrait painted and hung in Ganquan Palace. He also employed a magician named Shao Weng, from the state of Qi, who claimed to be able to summon the spirits of the dead. He wrote a long rhapsody expressing his deep love and affection.

He appointed her brother Li Guangli Ershi General and Marquis of Haixi, and her brother Li Yannian Director of Imperial Music.

Achievements

• Li Furen was a famous character of Chinese literature. She was a source of inspiration for Emperor Wu who wrote a famous poem "Lady Li" where he mourns her.

Personality

Li Furen was a beautiful young woman who excelled at singing and dancing.

Connections

Li Furen was a wife of Emperor Han Wu. She bore him a son Liu Bo.

husband:

Che Liu

Emperor Wu of Han was the seventh emperor of the Han dynasty of China, ruling from 141 B.C. to 87 B.C.

Brother:

Li Yannian

Li Yannian was a Chinese musician during the Han Dynasty. Born into a musical family, he became a court musician during Emperor Wu's reign.

Brother:

Li Guangli

Li Guangli was a Chinese general of the Han dynasty and a member of the Li family favored by Emperor Wu of Han.

Son:

Liu Bo

Liu Bo was among the candidates for the title of crown prince. He was also known as Prince Ai of Changy.

Grandson:

Liu He

Liu He was an emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty with the era name Yuanping. He lost his original kingdom of Changyi and was demoted to the rank of marquis. He was given the new fief of Haihun in modern Jiangxi Province, and therefore became known as the Marquis of Haihun.

References

• Courtier and Commoner in Ancient China: Selections from the History of the Former Han by Pan Ku First edition by Gu Ban, Ku Pan Hardcover. Translated by Burton Watson.
  1977
• Crisis and Conflict in Han China This volume illustrates the growth of two attitudes towards government in China during the first century B.C., the one progressive, realist and forward-looking, the other conservative, idealist and harking back to the past. It demonstrates the close relationship that existed between political decisions, intellectual policy and the choice of religious observances of state, whilst showing how personal ambitions and the intrigues of the palace were intimately involved with the interplay of these two basis attitudes.
  1974
• Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: Antiquity Through Sui, 1600 B.C.E. - 618 C.E This new volume of the "Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women" spans more than 2,000 years from antiquity to the early seventh century. It recovers the stories of more than 200 women, nearly all of them unknown in the West.
  1998