Li Lingrong (; ) (351 - 9 August 400), formally Empress Dowager Xiaowuwen (; literally "the filial, martial, and civil empress dowager") was an empress dowager during the Jin dynasty. She was a concubine of Emperor Jianwen and the mother of Emperor Xiaowu.
Life Li Lingrong was born of a humble origin, and she became a servant girl in the household of Sima Yu the Prince of Kuaiji. She was one of the servants involved with manufacturing textiles.
Concubine Sima Yu originally had a wife from high birth, Princess Wang Jianji (王簡姬). With her he fathered his heir apparent, Sima Daosheng (司馬道生), and Sima Yusheng (司馬俞生). However, Sima Daosheng was described as careless and frivolous. In 348, while Sima Yu was prime minister for his grandnephew Emperor Mu, Sima Daosheng was accused of unspecified crimes. He was deposed and died in imprisonment, while Princess Wang died in distress. Sima Yusheng and three other sons of Sima Yu all died early, leaving him without an heir, and his concubines were not conceiving any more. He hired a practitioner of physiognomy to look at his concubines and see which one could conceive an heir. The practitioner looked at all of them and opined that none was destined to give him an heir—but then he saw Li Lingrong, who was tall, dark-skinned and who was derogatorily referred to as "Kunlun". The practitioner, in surprise, yelled out, "She is the one!"(乃令善相者召诸爱妾而示之，皆云非其人，又悉以诸婢媵示焉。时后为宫人，在织坊中，形长而色黑，宫人皆谓之昆仑。既至，相者惊云：“此其人也。”) Jin Shu, vol.32 Sima Yu therefore took her as a concubine, and they had two sons—Sima Yao in 362 and Sima Daozi in 363. Sima Yao was subsequently named heir apparent. She also had a daughter with Sima Yu, who would later be Princess Poyang.
Empress dowager In 371, the paramount general Huan Wen, in order to showcase his power, deposed Sima Yu's nephew Emperor Fei and replaced him with Sima Yu (as Emperor Jianwen). Emperor Jianwen only ruled for about eight months, dying in September 372. He did not create her any special titles, but he did create her son Sima Yao crown prince. Sima Yao, after Emperor Jianwen's death, ascended the throne as Emperor Xiaowu. Initially, out of respect for his father's deceased wife Princess Wang and for Empress Dowager Chu, he did not honor Consort Li as empress dowager, but did progressively honor her with greater and greater imperial consort titles. In May 387, he honored her as Consort Dowager (皇太妃), with all ceremonial trappings of an empress dowager. In September 394, after a petition by Sima Daozi, she was finally honored as empress dowager.
Lady Li's influence during Emperor Xiaowu's reign appeared to be limited, as Empress Dowager Chu was regent early, and after she gave up regent authorities in 376, power was largely in the hands of Xie An until Emperor Xiaowu fully turned adult. She was described as often mediating conflicts between him and Sima Daozi, and throughout his reign, Sima Daozi had great authority as the emperor's brother and prime minister.
Grand empress dowager Emperor Xiaowu was killed by his concubine Honoured Lady Zhang in November 396 after humiliating her. He was succeeded by his developmentally disabled son Emperor An, and Empress Dowager Li was honored as grand empress dowager on 29 April 397. She died on 9 Aug 400 and was mourned with ceremony due an empress, but was not buried with Emperor Jianwen or worshipped with him in his temple, but instead was worshipped in the same temple that housed Emperor Jianwen's mother, Consort Zheng Achun (鄭阿春).
Descendants Through her daughter Princess Poyang, Li Lingrong was a great-grandmother of Wang Xianyuan.(孝武文李太后讳陵容....遂生孝武帝及会稽文孝王、鄱阳长公主。) Jin Shu, vol.32 (biography of Li Lingrong); (导六子：悦....悦无子，以弟恬子琨为嗣，袭导爵丹阳尹，卒，赠太常。子嘏嗣，尚鄱阳公主，.....) vol.65 (biography of Wang Dao); (后父偃，字子游，晋丞相导玄孙，尚书嘏之子也。母晋孝武帝女鄱阳公主...) Song Shu, vol.41 (biography of Wang Xianyuan). While Song Shu recorded that Princess Poyang was Emperor Xiaowu's daughter, given that he was about 40 years older than Poyang's son Wang Yan, it is more likely that the emperor was Wang Yan's maternal uncle.
Notes
References
Fang, Xuanling (ed.) (648). Book of Jin (Jin Shu). Sima, Guang (1084). Zizhi Tongjian.