An Analysis of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty"Born in Pingcheng Zigong":On the Mother-Son Relationship between Empress Dowager FENG and Emperor Xiaowen
It was said in Wei Shu that Emperor Xiaowen was"born in Pingcheng Zigong"which was completely dif-ferent from the descriptions of the birthplaces of other Emperors.Zigong,also known as Purple Palace,was the Chi-nese abbreviation for the Purple Forbidden Enclosure and was considered the residence of the Great Emperor of Heaven.The astrological changes of the Purple Palace were believed to correspond to the changes of human emper-ors.As history went by,Zigong evolved into a synonym for Queen or Empress Dowager.It was said that Empress Dowager FENG was taking her ease in the Zigong by the inscriptions on The Stele of Huifu Temple set up by eunuch who served Emprss Dowager FENG and Emperor Xiaowen,which provided us with conclusive evidence that Empress Dowager FENG could be called Zigong.So the historical materials of Wei Shu told us that Emperor Xiaowen's moth-er was in fact Empress Dowager FENG.
Empress Dowager FENGEmperor XiaowenZigong(紫宫)The Stele of Huifu Temple
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