Empress Dowager Gou
Encyclopedia
Empress Dowager Gou was an empress dowager
of the Chinese
/Di
state Former Qin
. Her husband was Fu Xiong (苻雄), the Prince of Donghai and brother of the founding emperor Fu Jiàn
. She became empress dowager in 357
after her son Fu Jiān
(note different tone) seized power in a coup from his tyrannical cousin Fu Sheng
(Fu Jiàn's son) and claimed the title "Heavenly Prince" (Tian Wang
). In addition to Fu Jiān, she had at least one other son with Fu Xiong, Fu Shuang (苻雙) the Duke of Zhao.
Empress Dowager Gou had been widowed in 354
when Fu Xiong died. It is commonly believed that after her husband's death, she carried on an affair with her cousin Li Wei (李威), whom Fu Jiān treated effectively like a second father.
Around the new year 358
, Empress Dowager Gou saw that Fu Jiān's older brother Fu Fa (苻法) the Duke of Donghai (not her son) had many visitors, and she became concerned that if he became increasingly powerful, he would pose a threat to Fu Jiān, and therefore she, after consulting with Li, ordered Fu Fa to commit suicide. This incident showed that she had substantial power during Fu Jiān's early reign. However, after this incident, her power appeared to begin to gradually dissipate, and few references were made of her from this point on. In late 367
, Fu Shuang, in conjunction with Fu Sheng's brothers Fu Liu (苻柳) the Duke of Jin, Fu Sou (苻廋) the Duke of Wei, and Fu Wu (苻武) the Duke of Yan, rebelled and sought Former Yan
aid, threatening to tear Former Qin
apart, but after Former Qin's regent
Murong Ping
refused them aid, the rebels collapsed in 368
-- and after the incident, Fu Liu's family was killed, while Fu Wu and Fu Shuang's sons were spared but not allowed to inherit their titles—while Fu Sou, who was ordered to commit suicide, had all of his sons spared and created dukes, and this led to one of the few references to her, as she questioned Fu Jiān why he did not permit Fu Shuang's title to be retained while permitted Fu Sou's sons to have duke titles. Fu Jiān's response was that the empire was built by Fu Jiàn, and that his sons must all have heirs, and that Fu Shuang, in rebelling, abandoned both his empire and his mother and therefore did not deserve an heir.
No other act of Empress Dowager Gou was mentioned in history. The final reference to her was in 371
, when Fu Jiàn was out hunting and stayed at the hunt for more than 10 days, and an actor named Wang Luo (王洛) tried to persuade him to end his hunt by telling him that he should be mindful of the empress dowager's welfare, implying that she was still alive then. It is not known when she died.
Empress Dowager
Empress Dowager was the title given to the mother of a Chinese, Korean, Japanese or Vietnamese emperor.The title was also given occasionally to another woman of the same generation, while a woman from the previous generation was sometimes given the title of Grand empress dowager. Numerous empress...
of the Chinese
History of China
Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
/Di
Di (ethnic group)
The Di were an ethnic group in China from the 8th century BCE to approximately the middle of the 6th century CE. Note that the character Di is used to differentiate this group from the Beidi , a generic term for "northern barbarians". They lived in areas of the present-day provinces of Gansu,...
state Former Qin
Former Qin
The Former Qin was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms in China. Founded by the Fu family of the Di ethnicity, it completed the unification of North China in 376. Its capital had been Xi'an up to the death of the ruler Fu Jiān. Despite its name, the Former Qin was much later and less powerful than...
. Her husband was Fu Xiong (苻雄), the Prince of Donghai and brother of the founding emperor Fu Jiàn
Fu Jiàn
Fú Jiàn , originally named Pú Jiàn , courtesy name Jianye , formally Emperor Jingming of Qin , was the founding emperor of the Chinese/Di state Former Qin....
. She became empress dowager in 357
357
Year 357 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Iulianus...
after her son Fu Jiān
Fu Jian
Fu Jian may refer to:* Fú Jiàn , founding emperor of Former Qin, posthumous name Emperor Jingming* Fú Jiān , ruler of Former Qin, posthumous name Emperor Xuanzhao-See also:...
(note different tone) seized power in a coup from his tyrannical cousin Fu Sheng
Fu Sheng
Fu Sheng , originally named Pu Sheng , courtesy name Changsheng , formally Prince Li of Yue , was an emperor of the Chinese/Di state Former Qin...
(Fu Jiàn's son) and claimed the title "Heavenly Prince" (Tian Wang
Tian Wang
Tian Wang , translatable as either "heavenly prince" or "heavenly king," was a Chinese regal title that was most frequently used during the Sixteen Kingdoms era, among the kingdoms founded by members of the Wu Hu tribes, often used as an intermediate stage from claiming a prince/king title to an...
). In addition to Fu Jiān, she had at least one other son with Fu Xiong, Fu Shuang (苻雙) the Duke of Zhao.
Empress Dowager Gou had been widowed in 354
354
Year 354 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Constantius...
when Fu Xiong died. It is commonly believed that after her husband's death, she carried on an affair with her cousin Li Wei (李威), whom Fu Jiān treated effectively like a second father.
Around the new year 358
358
Year 358 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Datianus and Cerealis...
, Empress Dowager Gou saw that Fu Jiān's older brother Fu Fa (苻法) the Duke of Donghai (not her son) had many visitors, and she became concerned that if he became increasingly powerful, he would pose a threat to Fu Jiān, and therefore she, after consulting with Li, ordered Fu Fa to commit suicide. This incident showed that she had substantial power during Fu Jiān's early reign. However, after this incident, her power appeared to begin to gradually dissipate, and few references were made of her from this point on. In late 367
367
Year 367 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Lupicinus and Iovanus...
, Fu Shuang, in conjunction with Fu Sheng's brothers Fu Liu (苻柳) the Duke of Jin, Fu Sou (苻廋) the Duke of Wei, and Fu Wu (苻武) the Duke of Yan, rebelled and sought Former Yan
Former Yan
The Former Yan was a state of Xianbei ethnicity during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China.Initially, Murong Huang and his son Murong Jun claimed the Jin Dynasty -created title "Prince of Yan," but subsequently, in 352, after seizing most of the former Later Zhao territory, Murong Juan would...
aid, threatening to tear Former Qin
Former Qin
The Former Qin was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms in China. Founded by the Fu family of the Di ethnicity, it completed the unification of North China in 376. Its capital had been Xi'an up to the death of the ruler Fu Jiān. Despite its name, the Former Qin was much later and less powerful than...
apart, but after Former Qin's regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
Murong Ping
Murong Ping
Murong Ping was a regent of the Chinese/Xianbei state Former Yan during the reign of Murong Wei , after the death of the previous, far more capable regent Murong Ke...
refused them aid, the rebels collapsed in 368
368
Year 368 was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Valens...
-- and after the incident, Fu Liu's family was killed, while Fu Wu and Fu Shuang's sons were spared but not allowed to inherit their titles—while Fu Sou, who was ordered to commit suicide, had all of his sons spared and created dukes, and this led to one of the few references to her, as she questioned Fu Jiān why he did not permit Fu Shuang's title to be retained while permitted Fu Sou's sons to have duke titles. Fu Jiān's response was that the empire was built by Fu Jiàn, and that his sons must all have heirs, and that Fu Shuang, in rebelling, abandoned both his empire and his mother and therefore did not deserve an heir.
No other act of Empress Dowager Gou was mentioned in history. The final reference to her was in 371
371
Year 371 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Petronius...
, when Fu Jiàn was out hunting and stayed at the hunt for more than 10 days, and an actor named Wang Luo (王洛) tried to persuade him to end his hunt by telling him that he should be mindful of the empress dowager's welfare, implying that she was still alive then. It is not known when she died.