Chinese by Ann Lin
Translated by Wandi Zhou

“Gentle” and “graceful.” Those are the words used to describe an ideal woman in “Fishhawk,” the first poem in the Classic of Poetry, China’s oldest poetry anthology. For nearly the entirety of China’s 5,000 years of history, gentle and graceful have been the definitive qualities of a beautiful woman.

A beautiful woman possesses more than just an alluring figure and a beautiful face. An elegant, composed, and virtuous nature and inner bearing are what truly makes a woman attractive. Since ancient times, how many women have been praised for possessing both striking beauty and remarkable virtue and talent? One of them is Empress Zhangsun, the wife of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. She left her mark in Chinese history as one of the most virtuous empresses.

Self-Disciplined and Virtuous

Empress Zhangsun married Emperor Taizong, then Prince Li Shimin, when she was 13 and he was 17. They stood by each other in times of turmoil, and together witnessed the ups and downs of the early Tang Dynasty. When Li Shimin went on military campaigns in the north and south, the then Princess Zhangsun was by his side. 

In the midst of life-threatening rivalry with his brothers, the sons of Emperor Gaozu, Li Shimin staged a coup d’etat. The night before the event, rival troops loomed outside the city gates like oppressive black clouds, and the tension in the air was as tight as a drawn bowstring. Everyone in the prince’s mansion was uneasy, yet Lady Zhangsun walked among the armored soldiers, displaying a woman’s unique capability of embodying the duality of grace and strength at the same time. Princess Zhangsun encouraged the soldiers, calmed their hearts, and performed the traditional wine ceremony to see them off. Li Shimin’s army was immediately emboldened. They were a force to be reckoned with, and Li Shimin was victorious.

Nine years into the reign of Emperor Gaozu, the Tang Dynasty’s founder and Li Shimin’s father, Li Shimin ascended to the throne and became Emperor Taizong. Thirteen days later, Princess Zhangsun was made empress. The benevolent new emperor and his virtuous empress brought out the best qualities in one another. Empress Zhangsun enjoyed reading; she could even be found with a scroll in her hand when she was getting dressed or when she was at her dressing table. This did not change after she became empress. Oftentimes, she would pore over books and discuss historical and current matters with her husband. Yet when the emperor asked for her opinion on political matters, the empress would say “A hen crowing at dawn would indicate imbalance within the family. As a woman, how dare I desire to get involved in political matters?” Reasoning that it was not her place, Empress Zhangsun declined to involve herself in political affairs.

The empress’s older brother, Zhangsun Wuji, was an advisor and close friend to Li Shimin before he was made crown prince. Zhangsun Wuji played an important role in the founding of the dynasty and had many military achievements. There were many times when Taizong wished to promote him to the role of prime minister, yet the empress was convinced that this would lead to problems. She believed that since she was made empress, her family had already enjoyed the greatest extent of imperial favor. Empress Zhangsun believed that members of her clan should not be the ones filling powerful political roles, as there had been incidents in history that proved this to be disastrous to the country and the court. 

Despite Empress Zhangsun’s objections, Taizong made Zhangsun Wuji chancellor and minister of civil service affairs. The empress asked her brother to resign from those positions to avoid misunderstandings within the court, and therefore Zhangsun Wuji repeatedly asked the emperor to allow him to resign. Eventually, a change in court rankings allowed her brother to hold an honorary position but without real power, and the weight was removed from Empress Zhangsun’s mind.On matters regarding her relatives, the empress used history as a reference. Even on her deathbed, she was still reminding her husband to avoid assigning her family members to prominent ranks. She wrote Important Principles for Young Women, a 30-volume anthology of stories about women—including empresses and concubines—with her own commentary. She did not want Taizong to know about the work during her lifetime because her main purpose in writing it was to discipline herself and remind herself not to overstep her authority. After her death, the book was presented to the emperor. Taizong was filled with sorrow at the sight of her work and said, “This book by the empress is worthy of educating later generations!” He ordered the book to be published and distributed, and Important Principles for Young Women became one of the first books to be printed using woodblock printing technology.

Internally Loving, Externally Virtuous

When it came to managing the imperial household and concubines, Empress Zhangsun had her own philosophy. She was not haughty, nor did she vie for attention and favor. She shared her medicine with ill concubines. If a concubine died during childbirth, the  empress would take the baby under her wing and raise it as her own. She did not see the safety and lives of the palace servants as lesser than her own. She never allowed anyone to be unjustly condemned, and if the emperor was angered by some insignificant affair, she would find wise ways to resolve it.

Once, Taizong’s beloved horse suddenly died. Taizong was furious at the stable hands and wanted to punish them by death. When Empress Zhangsun found out about the incident, instead of begging for the emperor’s mercy, she told him a story: During the Spring and Autumn period, Duke Jing of Qi wanted to kill the stable hand because his beloved horse had died. An old official named Yanzi decided to use this opportunity to chastise the stable hand.

“You have committed three crimes,” he said. “First, a perfectly fine horse died under your care. Second, you have turned our ruler into an unvirtuous man by putting in him the desire to kill a man over a horse. Third, our country will now be laughed at by all the other countries.” When Yanzi finished speaking, Duke Jing, who had been standing off to the side, realized his wrongdoing and immediately pardoned the stable hand.

When she finished telling her story, Empress Zhangsun asked the history-loving emperor, “Have you forgotten this story, Your Majesty?”

Taizong picked up on the empress’s meaning, and the stable hands were pardoned. Later, Taizong spoke of this incident with his chancellor Fang Xuanling. “The empress can always find ways to inspire and influence me, and has helped me greatly.”

In the eighth year of Taizong’s reign, Empress Zhangsun accompanied him on an imperial inspection of Jiucheng Palace. On the way back, she caught a cold, which triggered one of her former illnesses. Her condition worsened day by day. The crown prince requested pardoning all the prisoners and having them pray for the empress’s recovery, but Empress Zhangsun was against this.

“Life and death are up to fate; they are not things that can be changed by human endeavours. If cultivating virtues can prolong one’s life, I have never committed ill deeds; if doing good deeds are ineffective, then what use is there in praying for blessings? Pardoning prisoners is a serious affair of the state. I, a woman, must not be the reason for political upheaval.”

Empress Zhangsun was highly principled, and never allowed her own personal affairs to affect the affairs of the country. She believed that she had made no contributions to the empire, and on her deathbed, asked her husband for a simple burial and no tomb. Empress Zhangsun was 36 years old when she died. Taizong personally composed the words for her tombstone. He lamented to his officials the pains of losing his wife, and said: “It is not that I do not know that the empress’s death is Heaven’s will, and that it is time for our love to come to an end. Yet I cannot suppress my grief whenever I remember that I have lost a virtuous wife and a wonderful helper.” Taizong’s sorrow at losing his wife was indescribable, and he never had another empress. When he died, he was buried next to Empress Zhangsun in the Zhao Mausoleum.

A Timeless Paragon

Empress Zhangsun was conscientious throughout her life. She exemplified faithfulness and righteousness through her devoted marriage with Taizong. She exemplified virtuousness through her integrity and prudence while being an empress. She exemplified propriety through her abstinence from politics and restraint upon clan members with regard to holding political power. She exemplified kindness through her care and empathy toward Taizong’s concubines. Empress Zhangsun internalized the qualities of morality, righteousness, propriety, benevolence, and faithfulness. In her short lifetime, she won the love of the people and became an example for later generations of young women. Empress Zhangsun’s life was like a shooting star—short, yet brilliant.

The excellent qualities displayed by women such as Empress Zhangsun have continued to be a source of inspiration in the present day. New Tang Dynasty Television (NTD) will be holding its first Global Chinese Beauty Pageant, Miss NTD, based on the core values of traditional Chinese culture: morality, righteousness, propriety, benevolence, and faithfulness. The purpose of the pageant is to promote women’s traditional values and encourage a return to a traditional culture of pure authenticity, pure goodness, and pure beauty.

A Pageant to Find Miss NTD

The pageant is open to Chinese women, 18 to 30 years of age, from all over the world. Through this event, NTD hopes to discover young women who possess traditional Eastern beauty, and to display the timeless graceful bearing of Chinese women who are beautiful, intelligent, and virtuous. Every contestant will receive comprehensive training. The lessons will be centered on traditional Chinese culture, and will enable every contestant to be fully immersed in traditional values. In addition, there will be complete professional training in topics such as stage etiquette, attire, hair styling and makeup, social interaction, and public speaking, through which contestants will be able to gain valuable experience. NTD hopes that through this pageant, contestants will improve physically, mentally, and spiritually, and find ways to integrate traditional wisdom and elegance into modern life.

The pageant will have three stages: application and selection, online audition, and live competition. Applications are now open. The application deadline is May 1, 2023. NTD will broadcast the live competition from September 24 to October 1, 2023. The goal of this pageant is to reintroduce the world to traditional values, and to showcase the elegant beauty of the East. NTD hopes this pageant will inspire purity and beauty and be a rediscovery of elegance.

For updates and to learn more, please visit:https://missntd.org