When reading history, we must clarify whether we are reading official history or literary stories created by ancient people, otherwise it is very likely to wrongly accuse a good person. And the female protagonist we are going to talk about today, Empress Dowager Liu E, has been blacklisted for a hundred years due to the story of “Tanuki for Crown Prince”. Although famous, the story of “Tanuki for Crown Prince” did not actually happen in history, and Liu E did not secretly replace Li Chenfei’s son. Liu E was a legendary empress of the Song Dynasty, and her peak of power was only one step away from her coronation. However, Liu E never took this step forward, so later generations mostly gave her a positive evaluation. To truly understand Liu E, one must read more official history in order to comprehend the truth behind her.
1. The illusion of a raccoon changing to a crown prince
The Tale of the Fox for the Crown Prince “is a literary story in the classic novel” Three Heroes and Five Righteousness “. It tells the story of Liu Fei and the eunuch Guo Huai conspiring during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song to exchange a skinned raccoon for the baby born to Li Chen Fei, who was subsequently sent to the cold palace. After Zhao Heng’s death, Emperor Renzong Zhao Zhen ascended to the throne, and Bao Zheng was ordered to investigate the fraud case of his uncle Pang Yu’s release of relief funds in Chenzhou. On the way, Bao Zheng accepted the wrongful case of Li Fei and cleared her name, welcoming her back to court. Due to its popularity, the story has been widely spread and praised by later generations. However, the story of “Tanuki for Crown Prince” is actually fictional, and the relationship between Empress Liu, Concubine Li Chen, and Emperor Renzong in history is not as such.
According to the “History of the Song Dynasty” and the “Chronicles of the Long Compilation of the Comprehensive Mirror”, Liu was a native of Huayang, Chengdu Prefecture, Xichuan Road. He came from a humble background and lost both of his parents when he was young. Later, he married the silversmith Gong Mei and went to Bianjing to seek a living together. He met Zhao Heng, who was still the crown prince at that time. Although Liu was favored by Zhao Heng, they were forced to separate due to their background and remarriage status. It was not until Zhao Heng ascended the throne that Liu was welcomed back into the palace.
But at this time, Liu was already old and unable to bear children, so the maid Li (also known as Li Chen Fei) gave birth to a son named Zhao Yishi (later renamed Zhao Zhen) for Emperor Zhenzong. Emperor Zhenzong publicly claimed that he was born to Liu and entrusted the young Zhao Yishi to be raised by Liu. Renzong, on the other hand, only found out after Liu’s death that his birth mother was Consort Li Chen.
2. Liu’s administration of court affairs
Starting from Emperor Zhenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty, all subsequent emperors succeeded to the throne at a young age. I believe every emperor in the Song Dynasty was quite clear about the doubts of the emperor and the country.
Due to the fact that all five princes of Emperor Zhenzong died at a young age, the only one who grew up to adulthood was Zhao Zhen, who gave birth to a son in his later years. Moreover, due to poor physical condition, Emperor Zhenzong was bedridden with a stroke and entrusted some of her political affairs to Liu for assistance. However, according to historical records, during the period of Dazhong Xiangfu, Zhenzong often referred to Liu’s opinions when reviewing memorials, which allowed her to accumulate a lot of ability and experience in handling court affairs. Although Liu’s family background was not high, historical records show that she was knowledgeable in poetry, history, and court affairs. This may be one of the reasons why Emperor Zhenzong was able to trust her to handle government affairs on his behalf after his fall.
Due to the posthumous edict of Emperor Zhenzong, Liu’s rule by the imperial court was legitimate, and she acted as the legitimate mother of the emperor, setting a precedent for the intervention of the Empress Dowager in court affairs during the Northern Song Dynasty. But it does not mean that all ministers are willing to cooperate with the Liu family. Scholars in the Song Dynasty were quite wary of the Liu family, who had political experience and skills, due to the political chaos caused by the imperial concubines in the Tang Dynasty. However, the Liu family not only strictly managed the internal palace, but also distinguished themselves, their descendants, the royal family, and ministers, and strictly adhered to the system.
During the more than ten years of Liu’s rule, although the decrees came from the inner palace, under his management, the stability and rules of the Zhenzong dynasty were still maintained. Through the discord among the courtiers, governance was able to proceed smoothly. For example, Prime Minister Ding Wei, who wanted to monopolize power, was demoted by the Liu family. Although Liu’s rewards and punishments were moderate and did not allow relatives to interfere in court affairs, most scholars still could not accept women in power, which is why there is the story of a raccoon cat replacing the crown prince.
