Background
Dou Yifang was born in 206 B.C. into a poor family in Qinghe (in modern Xingtai, Hebei) and was a daughter of Dou Chong, Marquis Ancheng.
猗房 竇
Dou Yifang was born in 206 B.C. into a poor family in Qinghe (in modern Xingtai, Hebei) and was a daughter of Dou Chong, Marquis Ancheng.
Dou Yifang was sent to the Principality of Dai and became a favorite of Liu Heng, the Prince of Dai (Liu Heng). After Prince Heng became emperor in the aftermaths of the Lü Clan Disturbance, then-Consort Dou, as the mother of his oldest son Prince Qi, was created empress in 179 B.C. Prince Qi became crown prince.
One of the first things that empress carried out was a search for her brothers. She managed to find both of them.
Not long after this, Empress Dou lost her sight as a result of illness. Emperor Wen no longer favored her, transferring his attention instead to Consort Shen. However, in 157 B.C. Emperor Wen died and the thirty-two-year-old Liu Qi, was installed as emperor. Empress Dou was made Empress Dowager Dou.
Empress Dowager Dou continued her deep involvement in court affairs. She influenced the reigns of her son Emperor Jing. Emperor Jing wanted to make Liu Guang, the younger brother of the prince, the new Prince of Wu and install Liu Li, son of the former Prince of Chu, as the new Prince of Chu. Empress Dowager Dou saw the dangers of this and dissuaded her son.
The emperor partially heeded her: he did not appoint Liu Guang as Prince of Wu, but did appoint Liu Li as Prince of Chu. She also dismissed Dou Ying, who was the Supervisor of the Household, from his post, expunged his name from the clan records, and forbade him to pay his respects at court. She did that only because Dou Ying made a remark that Emperor Jing's brother Liu Wu can't become the Emperor after Emperor Jing's death, as the throne has been handed down from father to son.
Dou Yifang supported her son Liu Wu, even when he committed the crime by killing officials. She persuaded Emperor Jing to pardon Liu Wu. In 144 B.C. Liu Wu died and Empress Dowager Dou greatly mourned him, and could not be consoled easily until Emperor Jing created all five sons of Prince Wu princes themselves.
When Emperor Jing died in 141 B.C., Empress Dowager Dou became grand empress dowager over his son and her grandson, Emperor Wu. She nevertheless retained her involvement in court affairs and wielded considerable authority. When Emperor Wu made Confucianism the official state ideology and replacing Taoism, Grand Empress Dowager Dou tried to resist.
In 139 B.C., when in response, Confucian officials Zhao Wan and Wang Zang advised the emperor to no longer consult the grand empress dowager, she had them investigated and tried for corruption, and they committed suicide. Grand Empress Dowager Dou was over seventy when she died in 135 B.C. She was buried with her husband Emperor Wen. In her will, she left her possessions to her daughter, Princess Liu Piao.
Empress Dou was a strict adherent to Taoist philosophy.
Dou Yifang seemed intent on using her maternal power, often in the form of tantrums, to influence succession and continue her family line.
Dou Yifang was the wife of Emperor Wen of Han. She bore him a daughter Liu Piao, and two sons, Liu Qi and Liu Wu.
Dou Chong was Marquis Ancheng.
Emperor Wen was the fifth emperor of the Han dynasty of ancient China from 180 B.C. to 157 B.C.
Dou Guangguo, in some sources Shaojun, had been sold as a slave several times over and had recently fled to Chang’an after surviving the collapse of the charcoal kiln in the mountains in Yiyang (present-day Henan Province).
Liu Piao, also known as Princess Guantao, was a wife of Chen Wu, a grandson of Chen Ying, Marquis of Tangyi.
Liu Qi, also known as Emperor Jing was the sixth emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty from 157 B.C. to 141 B.C.
Liu Wu, also known as Prince of Liang, was a Han prince.
