[Zhang Liang]

"When a crown prince is named, his mother, if still alive, must be forced to commit suicide. (Some historians do not believe this to be a Tuoba traditional custom, but believed it to be a tradition instititued by the founding emperor Emperor Daowu based on Emperor Wu of Han's execution of his favorite concubine Consort Zhao, the mother of his youngest son Liu Fuling (the eventual Emperor Zhao), before naming Prince Fuling crown prince.)"

just read some article regarding Northern Wei, I found it's quite amazing. coz during that times, if the crown Prince still have a mother, when he ascend for the throne. his mother must put to death. this tradition custom was follow based on Han Wudi's Execution for Consort Zhao (mother of Emperor Zhao)

is there any added information for this tradition...is it true? and for what purpose?

[snowybeagle]

The only reason I could imagine is to prevent the family members of the future emperor's mother from gaining undue influence and power.

History is replete with numerous examples of such cases. In the case of Han Dynasty, it began right at the start with Empress Dowager Lü, wife of the founder of the empire.

[Yun]

This custom did exist until the early 6th century. Scholarly opinion is divided between whether it was started by Tuoba Gui (Emperor Daowu, the first Northern Wei emperor), or was already present in Tuoba society in the earlier Dai state period. The latter view was argued, for example, by Valentin Golovachev in a 2002 article in Early Medieval China - he claimed it was a traditional steppe nomad practice. Jennifer Holmgren, on the other hand, argued in the late 1980s and early 1990s that Tuoba royal succession was mainly fraternal (between brothers) during the Dai period, and Tuoba Gui introduced the practice of killing the mother of the Crown Prince so as to switch from fraternal succession to dynastic primogeniture without giving a dangerous amount of power to Empress Dowagers (dangerous in that it could lead to usurpation by the Empress Dowager's family). According to Holmgren, Han Wudi's decision to kill Lady Gou'ge, the mother of his Crown Prince (later Emperor Zhao) was later borrowed by the Tuoba to explain Tuoba Gui's decision. Scott Pearce wrote an article in Early Medieval China 2003 to support Holmgren's argument and rebut Golovachev.

The matricide custom meant that no empress of the Northern Wei was the biological mother of the next emperor. However, this did not prevent Empress Dowager Feng, who was not Emperor Xianwen's biological mother, from exerting power over both him and his successor Emperor Xiaowu. She also elevated her Feng kinsmen to high positions and sidelined most members of the Tuoba imperial clan, and forced Emperor Xiaowu to take an empress from the Feng clan. Empress Dowager Feng made sure that the mother of Xiaowu's Crown Prince Tuoba Xun, Lady Lin, was forced to commit suicide. This was the last time the tradition was practiced, however.

Tuoba Xun was later charged with abetting a rebellion against his father, and executed. Another son named Tuoba Ke (or Yuan Ke - by this time the imperial surname had been changed to Yuan) was made Crown Prince, and his mother Lady Gao (who was of Koguryo origin) was called back to the new capital (Luoyang)from where she was living, in the old Wei capital at Pingcheng. But Empress Feng (the Empress Dowager's niece) sent someone to intercept Lady Gao and kill her.

This did not, however, prevent the Gao family from taking the place of the Feng family after Xiaowu's death. Empress Dowager Feng was already dead, and Xiaowu actually instructed his brothers to execute Empress Feng after his death, supposedly for sexual misdemeanours but possibly also to eliminate the power of the Feng family. Lady Gao's brother Gao Zhao rose to become Prime Minister under Yuan Ke.

However, it seems that the custom of killing mothers of the Crown Prince was not yet abolished. All of Yuan Ke's sons died in infancy until Lady Hu bore him Yuan Xu. It is said that all the concubines were praying that they would not bear a son, so that they could avoid being executed. Only Lady Hu prayed to bear a son to Yuan Ke. Perhaps because of this, and also partly because Yuan Ke feared his son would die early again, Lady Hu was not executed. After Yuan Ke died, Yuan Xu became emperor and Lady Hu became Empress Dowager. She banished the previous Empress Gao (who was Gao Zhao's niece) to a nunnery, and later had her murdered.

Historians have traditionally argued that it would have been better if Lady Hu had not been allowed to live, because she eventually monopolized politics, murdered her own son Yuan Xu, and caused the intervention of Erzhu Rong, which fatally destablilized the Northern Wei dynasty. But this is unfair because there were many other factors and people contributing to the fall of the dynasty, some far more than Empress Dowager Hu did.

[liuxing]

I wonder if these Crown Princes protested this rule or not. I mean, it's their mother. Don't they love their mother?

[Yun]

Actually, the first time it was practiced, the Crown Prince already protested. Tuoba Gui ordered Lady Liu to commit suicide, and the Crown Prince Tuoba Si who loved his mother deeply protested against the order. Tuoba Gui explained to him that Han Wudi did the same to protect the Han dynasty from the potential rise of an Empress Dowager's clan. But Tuoba Si wept bitterly, angering his father. Even after Tuoba Si returned to the Eastern Palace, he wept and wailed day and night. Tuoba Gui heard of this and summoned his son, but Tuoba Si's attendants advised him to go into hiding for a while lest his father killed him in a rage. Tuoba Si followed this advice and fled from the capital.

In 409, Tuoba Gui was assassinated by another son named Tuoba Shao. Only then did Tuoba Si return to the capital, execute Tuoba Shao, and become emperor.

In Lady Liu's biography in the Wei Shu, however, it is said that the killing of the Crown Prince's mother was "an old custom of the Tuoba". Hence the controversy over whether Tuoba Gui revived an old tradition or invented a new one.

[Zhang Liang]

Similar case also happened in Korea during Joseon Dynasty, when King SeongJong ruled (1457-1494) he ordered to poisoned his 2nd concubine Lady Yun (mother of King YeonSangun) however this punisment is due to Lady Yun cruelty and jealously behaviour. she killed one of the Seongjong concubine and once she was also attack the King himself. Queen Insu, goverment officials and many confucian scholars advised King SeongJeong to dealt with this and arrange for death penalty and King SeongJeong approved it.

Next, after YeonSangun (1476-1506) Took a throne, he discovered that his mother was put to death by his father, he so shocked and angry. he arrested many officials who supported the idea of executing his mother and put all of them to death; this incident in 1498 is called the First Literati Purge (무오사화). In 1504, he killed two of his father's concubines as well as his grandmother, Queen Insu. In the same year he killed many more Confucian scholars who had urged King Seongjong to depose his mother.

i just wonder that King YeonSangun who notorious for his cruelty behaviour maybe due to the fact that his beloved mother Lady Yun was executed by his own father. so maybe he's shocked and becoming cruel.

[Kenshinng]

Zhang Liang, on Apr 22 2006, 04:32 PM, said:

Similar case also happened in Korea during Joseon Dynasty, when King SeongJong ruled (1457-1494) he ordered to poisoned his 2nd concubine Lady Yun (mother of King YeonSangun) however this punisment is due to Lady Yun cruelty and jealously behaviour. she killed one of the Seongjong concubine and once she was also attack the King himself. Queen Insu, goverment officials and many confucian scholars advised King SeongJeong to dealt with this and arrange for death penalty and King SeongJeong approved it.

Next, after YeonSangun (1476-1506) Took a throne, he discovered that his mother was put to death by his father, he so shocked and angry. he arrested many officials who supported the idea of executing his mother and put all of them to death; this incident in 1498 is called the First Literati Purge (무오사화). In 1504, he killed two of his father's concubines as well as his grandmother, Queen Insu. In the same year he killed many more Confucian scholars who had urged King Seongjong to depose his mother.

i just wonder that King YeonSangun who notorious for his cruelty behaviour maybe due to the fact that his beloved mother Lady Yun was executed by his own father. so maybe he's shocked and becoming cruel.

This story was explored in The King and The Clown..and it seemed to portray the despot in a more symphathetic light and that his atrocities were due to him missing his mother and shocked by her death.