Lady Xun

Lady Xun (Chinese: 荀; pinyin: Xún; died 335), formally Lady of Yuzhang (豫章君), was a concubine of Emperor Yuan of Jin (Sima Rui) while he was the Prince of Langye. Initially, he favored her greatly; the couple had two sons – Sima Shao (Emperor Ming) and Sima Pou (司馬裒).^[1] Because of the favor that she received, Sima Rui's wife Princess Yu Mengmu (虞孟母) was very jealous of her and mistreated her. Lady Xun, not happy about her low station and Princess Yu's mistreatment, often complained and was rebuked by Prince Rui. Eventually, he threw her out of the household. After Sima Shao succeeded to the throne as Emperor Ming in 323, he gave her a mansion and created her the Lady of Jian'an. Later that year, he welcomed her back to the palace. After he died and his son Emperor Cheng succeeded to the throne, she was treated as virtual empress dowager without the title, and she probably effectively raised Emperor Cheng, since Emperor Cheng's mother Yu Wenjun died in 328 in the midst of the Su Jun Disturbance, while Emperor Cheng was only seven. She died in 335 and was posthumously created the Lady of Yuzhang, and a temple was built for her. Some sources mention that she was a Xianbei, and that Sima Shao inherited her exotic looks.^[2]^[3]

References

^ According to the Book of Jin, Sima Pou was 18 (by East Asian reckoning) when he died (per his biography) on the dingwei day of the 10th month of the 1st year of the Jianwu era (per Emperor Yuan's biography), which corresponds to 18 December 317 in the Julian calendar.
^ Otto Maenchen-Helfen (1973). The world of the Huns: studies in their history and culture. University of California Press. p. 373. ISBN 0-520-01596-7. Retrieved February 9, 2012. When in 324 Emperor Ming, whose mother, nee Hsün, came from the Hsien-pei kingdom of Yen, heard about the rebellion of Wang Tun, he rode into the camp of the rebels to find out their strength. He rode in full gallop through the camp. His puzzled enemies though he was a Hsien-pei
^ According to vol.27 of Shishuo Xinyu, Wang Dun once called Emperor Ming "yellow-haired Xianbei slave" (黄须鲜卑奴). A Yi Yuan annotation could be the original source of the information quoted by Otto Maenchen-Helfen (〈异苑曰：“帝躬往姑孰，敦时昼寝，卓然惊悟曰：‘营中有黄头鲜卑奴来，何不缚取？’帝所生母荀氏，燕国人，故貌类焉。).

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[1] According to the Book of Jin, Sima Pou was 18 (by East Asian reckoning) when he died (per his biography) on the dingwei day of the 10th month of the 1st year of the Jianwu era (per Emperor Yuan's biography), which corresponds to 18 December 317 in the Julian calendar.

[2] Otto Maenchen-Helfen (1973). The world of the Huns: studies in their history and culture. University of California Press. p. 373. ISBN 0-520-01596-7. Retrieved February 9, 2012. When in 324 Emperor Ming, whose mother, nee Hsün, came from the Hsien-pei kingdom of Yen, heard about the rebellion of Wang Tun, he rode into the camp of the rebels to find out their strength. He rode in full gallop through the camp. His puzzled enemies though he was a Hsien-pei

[3] According to vol.27 of Shishuo Xinyu, Wang Dun once called Emperor Ming "yellow-haired Xianbei slave" (黄须鲜卑奴). A Yi Yuan annotation could be the original source of the information quoted by Otto Maenchen-Helfen (〈异苑曰：“帝躬往姑孰，敦时昼寝，卓然惊悟曰：‘营中有黄头鲜卑奴来，何不缚取？’帝所生母荀氏，燕国人，故貌类焉。).

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