Queen Dowager Zhao

Queen Dowager Zhao (赵姬 / 赵太后; d. 228 BC; posthumously Empress Dowager Di 帝太后), native of Handan in Zhao, was the queen consort of King Zhuangxiang (King Zhuangxiang of Qin) and the mother of China’s First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇).

Renowned for striking beauty and seductive dance, she was originally a favored concubine of the wealthy merchant-statesman Lu Buwei. When the exiled Qin hostage Prince Zichu visited Lu Buwei’s banquet in Handan, he was captivated by her beauty; Lu Buwei surrendered her to Zichu, and in 259 BC she gave birth to Ying Zheng (Qin Shi Huang). When Qin forces besieged Handan in 257 BC, Zichu fled west, leaving Lady Zhao and young Ying Zheng in Handan, where she hid among her wealthy gentry relatives for six perilous years to escape Zhao vengeance.

Following King Zhuangxiang’s early death in 247 BC, she became Empress Dowager. Lu Buwei, fearing scandal, introduced the virile pretender Lao Ai (嫪毐) into her palace disguised as a eunuch. Queen Dowager Zhao secretly bore Lao Ai two sons and showered him with immense landed wealth as the Marquis of Shanyang. In 238 BC, when Lao Ai launched an armed coup to assassinate Ying Zheng and place his sons on the throne, Qin Shi Huang ruthlessly crushed the revolt, tore Lao Ai apart with five horses, executed the two illegitimate sons in sacks, and placed Queen Dowager Zhao under house arrest in Yongcheng. Convinced by wise counselor Mao Jiao that exiling his mother would alienate the empire, Qin Shi Huang brought her back to Xianyang, where she lived in royal honors until her death in 228 BC.

Role in History (Shiji)

Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji, vol. 85, Biography of Lu Buwei): “Lao Ai plotted with the Empress Dowager’s seal; King Zheng crushed the rebellion at Xianyang, tore Lao Ai apart at the crossroads, and shut the Empress Dowager in the palace of Yongcheng.”

Shiji (Biography of Mao Jiao): “Mao Jiao admonished the King: ‘Qin seeks to swallow the six states; if the empire hears you have cast out your mother, who will submit to your virtue?’ The King wept, mounted his chariot, and escorted the Empress Dowager back to Xianyang.”

Queen Dowager Zhao — Historical & Literary Timeline

Key Relationships

Family

• Son Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇, Tần Thủy Hoàng – First Emperor): Son who conquered China and was reconciled with her in filial duty.
• Husband King Zhuangxiang of Qin: Father of Qin Shi Huang.
• Paramour Lao Ai (嫪毐, Lao Ái – Marquis of Shanyang): Pretender executed by Qin Shi Huang for treason.

Friends

• Patron & Former Master Lu Buwei (吕不韦): Merchant-statesman who facilitated her royal ascent.
• Righteous Diplomat Mao Jiao (茅焦): Counselor who risked death to reconcile her with Qin Shi Huang.

Enemies

• Zhao Executioners Handan mob in 257 BC: Sought to lynch her and young Ying Zheng.
• Court Inquisitors Ministers who demanded her permanent banishment: Opposed by Mao Jiao.

Other

• Adoptive Mother-in-law Lady Huayang (华阳夫人): Senior dowager of the Qin inner court.