(Clearwisdom.net) "A true man should die on the battlefield at the
border defending one's country, with his body sent home wrapped in horse
leather." These are the famous words of General Ma Yuan. He was a very
famous general during the Eastern Han Dynasty. He contributed a lot to bringing
peace to the land of China under Emperor Liu Xiu, but because he offended Liang
Song (the favorite son-in-law of the emperor), when he died, he almost didn't
receive a proper burial.
Soon after General Ma Yuan's death, his young son also died. General Ma's wife
couldn't deal with the double loss and became mentally unstable. The third
daughter of Ma Yuan was only 13 years old at the time but she bravely stepped
forward to take care of the entire family. She was not only able to deal with
major and minor things in the household; she also ably represented the family
like an adult in dealing with other families.
In 52 A.D, at the age of 13, she was selected to join the court of Liu Zhuang,
the crown prince. After she entered the palace, she devoted herself to serving
Empress Yin. She also treated everyone else around her with a great deal of
respect and good manners, and gradually became beloved by all. In 57 A.D., Liu
Zhuang became the emperor and named her one of his royal concubines. In 60 A.D.,
he was about to select his empress and asked his mother, Empress Dowager Yin,
for advice. Empress Dowager Yin replied, "Royal Concubine Ma is the most
virtuous among all your wives. She should be your choice." So the emperor
named Ma as his empress. She is known in history as Empress Ma Mingde (Ming
means "clear" and de means "virtue.")
Empress Ma was not only virtuous; she was also learned. She could recite the Book
of Changes in its entirety. She also was very familiar with many classical
Confucian texts, including the Spring and Autumn Annuls, Chu Ci and
Zhou Li. Later on, she wrote a book called Notes on the Life of a Xian
Emperor.
Empress Ma was kind-hearted by nature. She was modest, frugal and didn't enjoy
pleasure-seeking. She was kind to everybody. She always wore clothes made of
cotton. Other than formal state occasions, she never wore expensive silk
clothing. Other concubines of the emperor respected and admired her.
She was a woman blessed with many virtues and talents, as well as good looks.
Even though she didn't want to interfere in the affairs of the country, she had
shrewd judgment. In 70 A.D., Liu Ying, the Duke of Chu and the half-brother of
the emperor were planning to overthrow the emperor and take over the throne.
After their plot was discovered, the emperor couldn't bear to execute them. He
only stripped Liu Ying's title and ordered him to move to Danyan County (in
today's Anhui Province). Liu Ying committed suicide once he arrived in Danyan
County. The emperor felt that certain followers of Liu Ying had urged and
encouraged his rebellion, so he ordered the arrest of Liu Ying's followers.
Large numbers of people were implicated. Several thousand officials were
arrested and sent to remote places. Many court officials urged the emperor to
stop the witch hunt, but the emperor refused to listen. After Empress Ma learned
that the vast majority of the people who had been arrested and punished were
innocent, she was very troubled. When the emperor went to visit her one day, she
urged him not to expand the scope of the investigation any more. She looked so
sad that the emperor was deeply moved. In February of 72 A.D., he granted
amnesty to the entire country. People who had committed treason were normally
not included in amnesties. Emperor Liu Zhuang made an exception and gave them
amnesty as well. A major case that could have resulted in the wrongful deaths of
many innocent people was quickly put to an end. Liu Zhuang was normally a very
strict emperor. Empress Ma was given a lot of credit for the quick and
benevolent closure of the case.
From then on, Emperor Liu Zhuang felt that the empress had a lot of unique and
insightful understandings of the political affairs of the country. She had the
ability to analyze the entire situation rationally and take many different
things into consideration. When he encountered things that he couldn't resolve
easily, he often asked Empress Ma for advice. Empress Ma was able to offer
insightful analysis and give constructive solutions. The emperor took her advice
seriously and accepted many of her suggestions, which closed a lot of gaps in
the way that the country was being run. Despite receiving such recognition from
the emperor, Empress Ma never once tried to promote her own family members. She
didn't even bring up the issue of the injustice that her own father had
suffered. Even though she felt very sad about it, she never brought the subject
up with the emperor, who in turn respected her even more.
Empress Ma didn't have any children of her own. After Madam Jia, one of the
emperor's royal concubines, gave birth to a son, the emperor gave the infant to
Empress Ma. The boy was named Liu Dan. When he put the infant boy into the arms
of his wife, Liu Zhuang said something to comfort her, "In this world, not
every woman is able to give birth to children. One shouldn't treat only the
children that she has given birth to as her own children. As long as you treat
him with kindness and love, this child who was borne by another woman, will
become a filial and devoted son of your own."
Empress Ma devoted herself to caring for Liu Dan. Even though she had a lot of
servants in the royal palace, she took care of the baby boy by herself and wore
herself out. The amount of care and motherly love that she gave to the boy as he
grew up surpassed what other royal concubines gave to their own natural
children. Empress Ma and Liu Dan were very close.
In 75 A.D., Emperor Liu Zhuang died. Liu Dan, the crown prince, ascended to the
throne. He named Empress Ma the Empress Dowager. He knew that Empress Ma wasn't
his birth mother, but he also knew how much love she had given him over the
years and treated her as his own mother in his heart. After he became the
emperor, he didn't give any special treatment to Madam Jia, his birth mother.
Madam Jia lived out the rest of her life in the royal palace as one of the many
royal concubines of the previous emperor. Her family also didn't receive any
special honor or recognition.
One year after Liu Dan ascended the throne, a major drought broke out. Certain
royal officials wanted to flatter Empress Dowager Ma's family using this
opportunity. They told the emperor that the drought had taken place because Ma's
family hadn't been properly honored, and urged the emperor to bestow the rank of
Marquis on the brothers of Empress Dowager Ma. Empress Dowager Ma refused to
grant the request. She wrote a harshly worded edict and denied the request. When
the emperor read the edict, he was very moved. He told his mother, "The Han
Dynasty is very prosperous. To honor my uncles is the same thing as giving my
sons the titles of duke. It is supposed to happen. You are so modest. Do you
want me to be an emperor who doesn't show the proper filial respect to his
uncles? Among my three uncles, one is elderly and two are ill. If something
happens to them before I give them the proper titles, I will regret it for the
rest of my life. We should find an auspicious time to honor them properly and
shouldn't wait too long."
Empress Dowager Ma replied, "I have thought about this issue quite a bit.
It is not that I want to have a reputation of modesty to the point where I'd
allow my son's reputation to suffer. It is just that the Ma family hasn't made
any contribution to the country. Right now there is a major drought and our
people are suffering. If we honor my family at such a time, it is against my
wishes, and it is not showing filial respect to me. If you must honor them, you
should wait until the weather is good and our border is calm."
Four years after Liu Dan ascended the throne, the country enjoyed great weather
and an excellent harvest. The border was also calm. The emperor then bestowed
his three uncles with the title of Marquis.
After Empress Dowager Ma learned about it, she felt that people shouldn't be
greedy, and she didn't want her brothers to exert too much influence at the
royal court. She let her wishes be known to her brothers. After they accepted
the title of Marquis, they resigned from their official posts and stopped
participating in the country's political affairs.
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, many emperors died young, leaving behind young
sons to inherit the throne. Most of the young Empress Dowagers relied on their
own families to run the country, resulting in many tragedies. Empress Dowager Ma
was the only exception. She learned from history and forbade her family from
holding too much power. She lived her entire life in a modest, low-key and
frugal way. She was a very learned person and possessed a sharp mind. She died
in 79 A.D. at the age of 41. She made huge contributions to the rule of her
husband and her son. Records of Upright Women Part II has the following
praises for her, "As a young girl, before she was married, she was an
example to all young girls. As the mother to the country, she was an example to
all empresses."
First published in English at:
http://www.pureinsight.org/pi/index.php?news=3837
Category: Traditional Culture