Who is Empress Dowager Gao? Next, the editor of History Encyclopedia will take you to learn the historical truth in detail. Let’s take a look together!
Gao Shi, Empress Yingzong of Song, named Gao Taotao, was the biological mother of Emperor Shenzong of Song. At the age of four, he was admitted to the palace and nurtured by Empress Cao. In 1065, she was conferred the title of Empress by Emperor Yingzong. He died of illness in 1093 at the age of 61 and was buried in Yongyu Mausoleum, alongside Emperor Shenzong.
Empress Dowager Gao, born in Mengcheng, Bozhou (now Mengcheng County, Anhui Province), was a famous general of the Song Dynasty. She was her great grandfather, Cao Bin was her maternal great grandfather, and Empress Cao, a virtuous queen of the Northern Song Dynasty, was her aunt. She grew up by her side from a young age.
In the eighth year of Yuanfeng (1085), Emperor Shenzong passed away, and Emperor Zhezong of Song succeeded to the throne. However, due to his young age, Emperor Zhezong was unable to govern himself, so Empress Dowager Gao and Empress Dowager Tai were appointed to oversee the government. During the reign of Empress Dowager Gao, there were no significant achievements, mainly supporting Sima Guang’s new policy of abolishing Emperor Shenzong of Song.
But the conscious suppression of the Gao family by Empress Dowager Gao is commendable, which is also a common feature of the Song Dynasty. Although successive empresses have been in power behind the scenes, there has been no phenomenon of relatives monopolizing power. Throughout her life, Empress Dowager Gao is still known to future generations for her perfect love with Emperor Yingzong of Song.
The famous poem by Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai goes, ‘Lang rode a bamboo horse and played with green plums around the bed.’ The love between childhood sweethearts, bamboo and horses, has made future generations of devoted men and women yearn for it immensely. Such love, which happened in the imperial family, is even more rare.
Emperor Yingzong of Song and Lady Gao were happy. Born into an imperial family, they also had such a pure love and were able to maintain their love for each other throughout their lives, which is even more admirable.
At the age of sixteen, Zhao Shu married Lady Gao under the supervision of Emperor Renzong of Song and Empress Cao. Later, due to the untimely death of Prince Renzong of Song and the support of Empress Cao, she was able to ascend to the throne as emperor, and Lady Gao naturally took over the central palace.
After the death of Emperor Yingzong of Song, Emperor Shenzong of Song succeeded to the throne, but his life was not long. In the eighth year of Yuanfeng (1085), Emperor Shenzong passed away, and Emperor Zhezong of Song succeeded to the throne. Due to Zhezong’s young age, he was appointed as the Empress Dowager of the Taitai clan.
Although Gao Shi did not have any outstanding achievements during his reign, he set a good example for future generations: during his reign, Gao Shi always strictly demanded his mother’s family, refused to exceed any etiquette, and did not cause any situation of relatives interfering in politics.
This had a great impact on the empresses who ruled behind the scenes in later generations. During the Song Dynasty, there were many empresses who ruled behind the scenes, but none of them, like Empress Lv and Empress Wu Zetian, had relatives involved in politics and even sought to usurp the throne.
The Gao family ensured the stability of the Zhao dynasty and preserved the reputation of the Gao family. Due to Empress Dowager Gao’s integrity and impartiality in handling affairs, during her period of rule from behind the scenes, the court was relatively clear, and she was therefore also known as Lady Yao and Shun.
Empress Dowager Gao refused the request to promote her younger brother. Gao Shilin, the younger brother of Gao Hou, served as an official in the inner palace for a long time. At that time, Emperor Yingzong of Song wanted to promote him to an official position, but Gao Hou refused, saying, “It is already an excessive favor for Shilin to become an official in court. How can we ask for more
Empress Dowager Gao refused the court’s request to build a mansion for the Gao family. During the reign of Emperor Shenzong of Song, several luxurious mansions were built for the Gao family, but Empress Dowager Gao refused. In the end, the court rewarded them with an empty space and they built their own houses with their own money, without using a penny from the national treasury. This was truly rare.
Empress Dowager Gao refused the request to promote her nephew. Both of Empress Dowager Gao’s nephews, Gao Gonghui and Gao Gongji, should have been promoted to the position of observer, but she insisted not to do so. On the one hand, she did not want to make a fuss about them, and on the other hand, she also wanted to save their lives. However, Emperor Zhezong of Song repeatedly requested that Empress Dowager Gao agree to be promoted to a higher rank.
Empress Dowager Gao refused the request to bestow titles upon her family. Once, Gao Gong submitted a memorial requesting the court to honor the family of Zhu Taifei, the birth mother of Emperor Zhezong, and Empress Dowager Gao.
Empress Dowager Gao knew that this was not an article written by Gao Gonghui and was worried that someone might be instigating her. So she summoned Gao Gonghui and asked, “Who asked you to write this memorial?” Seeing that Gao Gonghui couldn’t hide it, she revealed that it was Xing Shu who had the idea and drafted the memorial on her behalf. Empress Dowager Gao not only refused the invitation, but also expelled Xing Shu from the court.
The above are just a few examples, but from these examples we can see that whether it is to promote one’s own Gao family members, and the promoted officials are not important positions such as prime minister, or to give the Gao family a false title, Empress Dowager Gao did not allow it, which shows her integrity and righteousness.
In the autumn of the eighth year of Yuanyou (1093), Empress Dowager Gao fell seriously ill and passed away a few days later in Bianjing. At the age of 61, she was posthumously honored as Empress Xuanren Shenglie.
