Becoming Queen Thanks to Eunuch's Mistake

That palace maid was Empress Dou (205 - 135 BC), whose maiden name was Dou Yifang. She was the only reigning empress of Emperor Wen of Han, Liu Heng, and had a great influence on the golden age of the Han Dynasty.

According to Sima Zhen's Anecdotes of the Grand Historian during the Tang Dynasty, Dou Yifang came from a poor commoner family. In order to have money to take care of herself and her family, Dou Yifang relied on her natural beauty to enter the palace and become a palace maid serving the noble women in the harem.

The luckiest palace maid in history: Became queen thanks to a eunuch's mistake - 1 — To escape poverty, Dau Y Phong entered the palace to become a palace maid. (Photo: Sohu)

Dou Yifang entered the palace and was assigned to serve Lu Zhi, who had become Empress Dowager Lu. Because she was gentle and virtuous, Dou Yifang quickly became a maid who was loved and trusted by Lu Zhi. Although she was always afraid of being punished by her master, compared to the days of hunger, her life now was like heaven. Her job was quite leisurely, cleaning the rooms and making tea and water in Empress Dowager Lu's bedchamber every day. Since entering the palace, Dou Yifang lost contact with her family.

After the death of Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, Empress Lu became the regent Empress Dowager Lu, with extraordinary power. In order to please the princes, Empress Lu decided to give beautiful women to the princes. When Dou Yifang heard this news, she used all her savings to bribe the eunuchs. She hoped to go to Zhao to find her relatives.

The eunuch who received money from Dou Yifang did not pay attention to his work. He mistakenly wrote the country of Zhao as the country of Dai when writing the document, so Dou Yifang was sent to the faraway country of Dai. Unable to disobey the order, Dou Yifang had no choice but to accept her fate. However, this incident completely changed her life.

After arriving in Dai, Dou Yifang became the concubine of King Liu Heng - the fourth son of Han Gaozu Liu Bang. Thanks to her beauty, virtue, and understanding of etiquette, Dou Yifang became increasingly loved by Liu Heng. Later, she gave birth to a daughter, Liu Piao, and two sons, Liu Kai and Liu Yu, for King Liu Heng.

The luckiest palace maid in history: Became queen thanks to a eunuch's mistake - 2 — A scene from the film about Queen Dou Yifang. Dou Yifang had a great influence on two emperors, Emperor Jing of Han and Emperor Wu of Han. (Illustration: Sohu)

After Empress Dowager Lu died, the ministers rose up, eliminated the entire Lu family, and deposed Empress Dowager Lu's nephew, Emperor Shao of Han. The country could not be without an emperor, so the ministers decided to enthrone King Liu Heng, who became Emperor Wen of Han.

At the time Liu Heng ascended the throne, his position as the main palace was still vacant, so he had no empress. A year later, Emperor Wen of Han Liu Heng established Liu Kai as crown prince. A few months later, Dou Yifang became the empress of the Great Han, his daughter Liu Piao was granted the title of Princess Guantao, and his second son Liu Yu was granted the title of Great King, later changed to King Liang.

In 157 BC, Emperor Wen of Han Liu Heng passed away and was succeeded by Crown Prince Liu Kai, who became Emperor Jing of Han. The era of Emperor Wen of Han and Emperor Jing of Han was called the Wenjing era by later generations, and the country was prosperous and the people lived in comfort and ease.

In 141 BC, Emperor Jing of Han, Liu Kai, passed away at the age of 47. Crown Prince Liu Che ascended the throne, that is, Emperor Wu of Han. Empress Dowager Dou was honored as the Grand Empress Dowager. At this time, because Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, was still young, Empress Dowager Dou actively participated in politics. Empress Dowager Dou had a great influence on the political decisions of Emperor Wu of Han - the emperor was considered talented, did many things to consolidate the rule and open up to the outside world. During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, the Han Dynasty had great developments in politics and the military.

Quoc Thai (Source: Sohu)

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