Consort Tang


Consort Tang was a consort of Liu Bian, the 13th and penultimate emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty of ancient China.

Life

Consort Tang was from Yingchuan Commandery. Her father, Tang Mao, served as the Administrator of Kuaiji Commandery during the reign of Emperor Ling. She became a consort of Liu Bian, Emperor Ling's elder son and successor, in an unknown year.
Following Emperor Ling's death on 13 May 189, Liu Bian became the new emperor on 15 May. However, he was deposed by the warlord Dong Zhuo on 28 September that year and replaced with his younger half-brother, Liu Xie. The deposed Emperor Shao became known as the Prince of Hongnong and was put under house arrest along with the rest of his family.
Some months later, in the spring of 190, a coalition of warlords started a campaign against Dong Zhuo in the name of freeing the Han central government from his control. As Dong Zhuo feared that the warlords might use Liu Bian as a figurehead to strengthen their legitimacy, on 6 March 190, he ordered his subordinate Li Ru to murder the prince.
Realising that he could not escape death, Liu Bian wrote a poem before succumbing to his fate:
Liu Bian then ordered Consort Tang to dance. She sang,
Liu Bian then told Consort Tang, "You were once a consort of an emperor, so I hope you won't become the wife of a minor official or a commoner. With that, maintain your dignity." He then committed suicide by consuming poison. After Liu Bian's death, Consort Tang returned to her home in Yingchuan Commandery. Her father Tang Mao wanted her to remarry but she refused.
Some years later in the early 190s, she was captured when the warlords Li Jue and Guo Si sent their troops to pillage the lands east of Hangu Pass. Li Jue wanted to make Consort Tang his concubine but she refused and never told him that she was a former concubine of an emperor. Jia Xu, an adviser to Li Jue, found out about it and informed Emperor Xian. Emperor Xian took pity on her and summoned her to Liu Bian's tomb, where he honoured her by awarding her the title "Princess Consort of Hongnong".