Princess Kong Bo Ji has had a negative reputation in Chinese history. Ancient chroniclers have described her as “a lustful concubine.”[1] Her lust has caused disorder in her State of Wei.[2] However, Kong Bo Ji was a very powerful Princess. She was able to depose one ruler and enthrone another. Her power has been depicted as a threat in ancient China.[3]
Princess Kong Bo Ji was born in the fifth century B.C.E. She lived during the Spring and Autumn period, which lasted from 771 to 453 B.C.E. During this period, Chinese states were declaring their own independence from the ruling Zhou Dynasty to form their own dynasties.[4] She was a Princess of Wei.[5] Her father was Duke Ling of Wei. Her mother is unknown.[6] She had a younger brother named Prince Kuai Kui (the future Duke Zhuang II of Wei).
Princess Kong Bo Ji married a Wei minister named Kong Wenzi. She bore a son named Kong Li. In 493 B.C.E., Kong Bo Ji’s father, Duke Ling of Wei, died. Her brother, Prince Kuai Kui, was the heir apparent of the State of Wei.[7] However, he was not chosen to be the next Duke of Wei.[8] It was Prince Kuai Kui’s son (who was also Princess Kong Bo Ji’s nephew) who was chosen to be the next Duke of Wei instead.[9] Prince Kuai Kui’s son ascended the State of Wei’s throne as Duke Chu of Wei. Duke Chu of Wei appointed Princess Kong Bo Ji’s son, Kong Li, as Minister of the Ancestral Temple.[10]
Kong Wenzi died.[11] Princess Kong Bo Ji began to have an affair with a minor official named Hun Liangfu.[12] Princess Kong Bo Ji plotted with Hun Liangfu to depose Duke Chu of Wei and make Prince Kuai Kui, the next Duke of Wei instead.[13] In 481 B.C.E., Prince Kuai Kui and Hun Liangfu dressed as women and entered Princess Kong Bo Ji’s chambers.[14] Princess Kong Bo Ji forced Kong Li at spearpoint to help put her brother on the throne.[15] The four of them managed to expel Duke Chu of Wei.[16] Then, they installed Prince Kuai Kui on the Wei throne as Duke Zhuang II.[17]
The first action that Duke Zhuang II of Wei did was to execute Hun Liangfu.[18] In 478 B.C.E., Duke Zhuang II of Wei died. In 477 B.C.E., Duke Chu was restored to the State of Wei throne. In 476 B.C.E., Duke Chu of Wei executed Princess Kong Bo Ji.
Princess Kang Bo Ji has had a negative reputation among ancient Chinese historians.[19] Ancient chroniclers have depicted her as the Princess who caused “disorder among five generations”[20] and also caused her own downfall.[21] In Biographies of Eminent Women, her biography is categorized in “Biographies of Pernicious and Depraved Women.”[22] Thus, she continued to be reviled for over two thousand years. However, modern historians have seen Princess Kong Bo Ji in a more sympathetic light. Princess Kong Bo Ji was very powerful and influential.[23] She used her power for her own gain. She was able to manipulate and influence events in ancient China.[24] Thus, she was seen as a political threat that should be eliminated.[25] Her story has been used by Confucian scholars for thousands of years to show that women should never be able to wield immense power.[26]
Sources:
Cook, C. A. (2015). “Kong Bo Ji”. Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: Antiquity Through Sui, 1600 B.C.E. – 618 C.E. (L. X. H. Lee, Ed.; A. D. Stefanowska, Ed.; S. Wiles, Ed.). NY: Routledge. pp. 38-40.
Eno, R. (2010). 1.7. Spring and Autumn China (771-453). Indiana University, PDF.
Liu, X., Kinney, A. B. (2014). Exemplary Women of Early China: The Lienü Zhuan of Liu Xiang. United Kingdom: Columbia University Press.
[1] Cook, 2015, p. 40
[2] Cook, 2015
[3] Cook, 2015
[4] Eno, 2010
[5] Cook, 2015
[6] Cook, 2015
[7] Liu & Kinney, 2014
[8] Liu & Kinney, 2014
[9] Liu & Kinney, 2014
[10] Cook, 2015
[11] Cook, 2015
[12] Liu & Kinney, 2014
[13] Liu & Kinney, 2014
[14] Liu & Kinney, 2014
[15] Cook, 2015
[16] Cook, 2015
[17] Cook, 2015
[18] Liu & Kinney, 2014
[19] Cook, 2015
[20] Cook, 2015; p. 40
[21] Cook, 2015
[22] Cook, 2015, p. 39
[23] Cook, 2015
[24] Cook, 2015
[25] Cook, 2015
[26] Cook, 2015
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