Background

The future Empress Zhangsun was born on 15 March 601. Her father was the Sui dynasty general Zhangsun Sheng (長孫晟), and her mother was Zhangsun Sheng's wife Lady Gao, the daughter of the official Gao Jingde (高敬德). She had at least four older brothers—Zhangsun Sheng's oldest son Zhangsun Xingbu (長孫行布, who was killed in 604 while resisting the rebellion of Emperor Yang of Sui's brother Yang Liang the Prince of Han), Zhangsun Heng'an (長孫恆安), Zhangsun Anye (長孫安業), and Zhangsun Wuji. (Zhangsun Wuji was also born of Lady Gao, while Zhangsun Anye was not; who Zhangsun Xingbu's and Zhangsun Heng'an's mothers were was not recorded in history.) Zhangsun Sheng died in 609, and Zhangsun Anye, instead of raising his younger brother and sister, expelled them, as well as his stepmother Lady Gao, from the Zhangsun household and sent them back to Lady Gao's brother Gao Shilian, and Gao Shilian raised them. The future Empress Zhangsun was said to be studious and proper in her actions. In 613, she married Li Shimin, the second son of the general Li Yuan the Duke of Tang. Li Shimin was 15, and she was 13 (both ages are by East Asian reckoning).

It was written that the ancestors of Zhangsun family traced their origin to the Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei's founding emperor Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei's 17th generation ancestor Tuoba Kuaili (拓拔儈立) — that their ancestor was Tuoba Kuali's third son, who took the surname Baba (拔拔), eventually changed to Zhangsun when Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei changed Xianbei surnames to Han surnames in 496.

As Princess of Qin and crown princess

In 617, Li Yuan, aided by Li Shimin and his older brother Li Jiancheng, among others, rebelled at Taiyuan (太原, in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi), and later that year captured the capital Chang'an, declaring Emperor Yang's grandson Yang You the Prince of Dai emperor (as Emperor Gong). In 618, after news arrived that Emperor Yang had been killed in a coup at Jiangdu (江都, in modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu) led by the general Yuwen Huaji, Li Yuan had Yang You yield the throne to him, thus establishing the Tang dynasty. Li Yuan became the first Tang ruler, Emperor Gaozu. He appointed his son, Li Shimin, as the Prince of Qin, his wife as the Princess of Qin. The couple would eventually have three sons – Li Chengqian, Li Tai, and Li Zhi – and at least three daughters, who were later named the Princesses Changle, Jinyang, and Xincheng.

Li Shimin was Tang's most capable general in its campaigns to reunite China following Sui's collapse, defeating the major enemies Xue Rengao the Emperor of Qin, Liu Wuzhou the Dingyang Khan, Wang Shichong the Emperor of Zheng, and Dou Jiande the Prince of Xia. In doing so, he overshadowed his older brother Li Jiancheng, the crown prince. The brothers developed an intense rivalry. Princess Zhangsun was said to serve her father-in-law Emperor Gaozu carefully, forming friendships with his concubines which she would use to cover up the mistakes of her husband and his faction.

Sources state that in 626, the crown prince Li Jiancheng and another brother, Li Yuanji the Prince of Qi, who supported Li Jiancheng, set out to ambush the rising Li Shimin. But Li Shimin heard about this trap, and organized a counter-coup, walking into the trap with several of his own most trusted and skilled soldiers. When Li Shimin mobilized his personal troops within his mansion, and as he did so, Princess Zhangsun was said to have personally made an appearance before the troops to encourage them. Her brother Zhangsun Wuji was one of Li Shimin's major strategists in this matter. Li Shimin was able to counter Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji at Xuanwu Gate and kill them, and then essentially forced Emperor Gaozu to appoint him crown prince. Princess Zhangsun was accordingly named crown princess. Two months later, on 4 September, Emperor Gaozu yielded the throne to Li Shimin, who took the throne as Emperor Taizong. Princess Zhangsun, consequently, became empress, and their oldest son, Li Chengqian, became crown prince.

As empress

As empress, Empress Zhangsun was said to be frugal and not wasteful, taking only the supplies that she needed without living luxuriously. When Li Chengqian's wet nurse the Lady Sui'an stated that his palace lacked sufficient goods and requested more, she replied, "All a crown prince should worry about is not having enough virtues or enough fame. Why worry about not having enough goods?" It was also said that she rarely got angry with the ladies in waiting and eunuchs who served her. She often gave Emperor Taizong examples from history to inspire him to rule better, and if there was a problem with the decision of Emperor Taizong about the administration, or for the officials and officers, she respectfully asked him to change the decision. Her influence over him was such that she interceded on behalf of condemned criminals and changed his harmful decisions with gentle counsel. One time, when Emperor Taizong got angry at a servant, she pretended to be angry as well and asked to personally interrogate them and hold them in custody; she then waited until his anger had subsided, and then begin to plead on their behalf, thus reducing improper punishments within the palace. It was said that whenever Emperor Taizong's concubines would be ill, she would personally visit them and reduce her own expenditures to treat them. When one of Emperor Taizong's concubines died giving birth to a daughter, Empress Zhangsun raised the daughter, Princess Yuzhang, as her own.

Emperor Taizong always loved Empress Zhangsun. After ascending the throne, he often showed more favor to the Empress family than allowed. Because of Empress Zhangsun, he granted extrajudicial favors to Zhangsun Anye, Zhangsun Shunde, and Zhangsun Chang for their illegal acts, and he lavishly gave gifts, grants and wealth to all empress relatives and friends to such an extent that many courtiers even the empress herself and some of her relatives objected to it. Emperor Taizong would at times try to discuss with empress matters of award and punishment and the suggestions of the officials on important matters and even confidential government information to see what she opined, but each time she refused to do so, stating that it was not her place to do so. She to him replied, "The crowing of hens in the morning is a sign of family trouble. As a woman, how dare I be informed of government affairs and give an opinion about it?"; However, Taizong's insistence forced her to tell him what she thought. As her brother Zhangsun Wuji was a major strategist who contributed much to his victory over Li Jiancheng, he wanted to make Zhangsun Wuji a chancellor, and Empress Zhangsun declined on Zhangsun Wuji's behalf, stating:

:I have the opportunity to be here in the palace, reaching the highest of honors. I do not wish to see my brothers and nephews wield power. What happened to the households of Han dynasty's Empress Lü Zhi and Huo Guang are cruel examples of what might happen. I pray that Your Imperial Majesty will not make my brother chancellor.

Emperor Taizong initially disagreed and made Zhangsun Wuji chancellor anyway in fall 627, but with Zhangsun Wuji himself also repeatedly declining, Emperor Taizong relented in spring 628 and removed Zhangsun Wuji from the chancellor position.

Also in 627, Empress Zhangsun's other brother Zhangsun Anye was implicated in a treasonous plot, along with the generals Li Xiaochang (李孝常), Liu Deyu (劉德裕), and Yuan Hongshan (元弘善). Initially, Zhangsun Anye, like the other conspirators, were to be put to death, but Empress Zhangsun interceded on his behalf, stating that even though Zhangsun Anye deserved death, the people would have thought that she was retaliating for his ill treatment of her and Zhangsun Wuji when they were little. Emperor Taizong agreed and spared Zhangsun Anye, only exiling him to Xi Prefecture (巂州, roughly modern Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan).

In 632, Emperor Taizong was about to marry the Princess Changle to Zhangsun Wuji's son Zhangsun Chong (長孫沖). As the princess was born of Empress Zhangsun and was his favorite daughter, Emperor Taizong ordered that her dowry had to exceed that for his sister, the Princess Yongjia. The chancellor Wei Zheng advised against it, pointing out that this was contrary to Emperor Ming of Han's observation that his sons should not be as honored as his brothers. Emperor Taizong agreed and also informed Empress Zhangsun, who was greatly impressed with Wei's honest advice, and therefore, after receiving permission from Emperor Taizong, she had her eunuchs send rewards of money and silk to Wei, praising him for his honesty. On another occasion, after Emperor Taizong returned from an imperial gathering, he was angry and yelled, "Let me find a chance to kill this country-bumpkin!" Empress Zhangsun asked whom he was referring to, and he replied, "I am referring to Wei Zheng. He always finds a way to insult me in front of everyone in the imperial hall!" Empress Zhangsun retreated to her bedchambers and put on the official empress gown; standing solemnly, she prepared to bow to Emperor Taizong. He was surprised, and asked her what the reason was. She responded, "I have heard that only a most able emperor will have subordinates who have integrity. Wei shows this much integrity because you are an able emperor. How can I not congratulate you?" Emperor Taizong's anger turned to happiness, and he did not punish Wei. Later that year, on an occasion when Emperor Taizong and she personally visited Emperor Gaozu (who had then taken the title of Taishang Huang (retired emperor)) at his Da'an Palace (大安宮), they personally served a feast to him.

Emperor Taizong, for several years, had often suffered from severe illnesses, and Empress Zhangsun often attended to him day and night, carrying poison within her belt and resolving to commit suicide if the emperor should die. Empress Zhangsun herself was said to suffer from severe asthma, and her conditions were exacerbated in 634 when she was ill, but nevertheless attended to Emperor Taizong when he was forced to wake up in the middle of the night and put on armor and weapons due to an emergency report by his brother-in-law, Chai Shao (柴紹) the Duke of Qiao. By 636, her conditions were severe, and Li Chengqian suggested to her that, as the doctors appeared to have done everything they could, Emperor Taizong declare a general pardon and encourage commoners to become Buddhist or Taoist monks, to try to gain divine favor. Empress Zhangsun, knowing that Emperor Taizong had long disapproved of Buddhism and Taoism and herself believing overuse of pardons to be improper, refused. Li Chengqian instead told the idea to the chancellor Fang Xuanling, who reported it to Emperor Taizong. Emperor Taizong considered issuing a general pardon, but Empress Zhangsun again refused. As she came close to death (at a time that Fang had drawn anger from Emperor Taizong and was temporarily relieved of his post and returned to his mansion), she bid Emperor Taizong goodbye with these words;

:Fang Xuanling has served Your Imperial Majesty for a long time. He is careful, and all of his wonderful strategies and secret plans were not revealed to anyone. Unless there is a particularly good reason, I hope that you will not abandon him. As to my Zhangsun clan, many of them enjoy high salaries and high positions on account of our marriage, not because of their great virtues, and therefore they can crumble easily. In order to preserve the Zhangsuns, I hope that you will not put them in powerful positions, and that they would be satisfied with seeing you at imperial gatherings the first and 15th day of each month. During my lifetime, I made no contributions to the people, and I should not harm them in my death. I hope that you will not build a tomb to cause the people to labor and the empire to waste resources. Make a hill my tomb, and only use brick or wooden implements in the tomb. I hope that Your Imperial Majesty will continue to be close to honest men and stay away from those lacking virtues; that you will accept faithful words and reject wicked flattery; that you will decrease labor and stop hunting. Even as I go into the underworld, if these things happen, I will have no regrets. It is not necessary to summon the sons and daughters back here; if I see them mourn and cry, I will only be saddened.

She died in 636. After she died, the palace authorities submitted Empress Zhangsun's writings—a 10-volume compilation of the good deeds of ancient women titled Examples for Women (女則, Nü Ze), and a commentary criticizing Han dynasty's Empress Ma – to Emperor Taizong. When Emperor Taizong read her works, he was greatly saddened, and he stated:

:This book, written by the empress, is capable of being an example to generations. It is not that I do not know the will of heaven and mourn uselessly, but now, when I enter the palace, I can no longer hear her corrective words. I have lost a wonderful help, and I cannot forget her.

He summoned Fang back to his chancellor position, and then he buried her with honors due an empress, but reduced the expenditures as much as possible, as she wished. He himself would eventually be buried at the same tomb, after his own death in 649.

Issue

Empress Zhangsun produced seven children with Emperor Taizong:

• Sons

　• Li Chengqian (619-5 January 645), Crown Prince (created 627, deposed 643), posthumously Prince Min of Hengshan

　• Li Zhi, Emperor Gaozong of Tang (21 July 628,– 27 December 683), formerly Crown Prince (created 643), formerly Prince of Jin (created 631)

　• Li Tai (618-15 December 652), Prince Gong of Pu

• Daughters

　• Li Lizhi, the Princess Changle

　• Princess Chengyang

　• Li Mingda, the Princess Jinyang

　• Princess Xincheng

In Popular Culture

Consort Chen is portrayed by Hong Kong actress Margie Tsang in TVB's 1987 series The Grand Canal (大運河)

早年

長孫皇后先世是鮮卑拔拔氏，北魏帝室十姓之一，魏孝文帝時漢化改革，改為長孫氏。父親長孫晟是隋右驍衛將軍、著名外交家，平突厥之功臣。生母高氏，為北齊宗室後裔，是清河王高岳之孫女，樂安王高勱之女。長孫皇后的伯父長孫熾在北周擔任通道館學士，曾聽說過神武公竇毅的女兒竇氏年幼時期勸說周武帝宇文邕撫慰突厥皇后，長孫熾記下了此事，長孫熾經常對長孫晟說：「這是個聰穎明智的人，必定有奇特的兒子，不能不設法結為婚姻。」。于是長孫晟與竇氏結為姻親。大業五年（609年），長孫晟去世，長孫氏和同母兄長孫無忌與母親高氏，被異母兄長長孫安業趕出家門，得舅父高士廉收容。大業九年（613年），在高士廉安排下，時年十三的長孫氏嫁給唐國公李淵次子李世民為妻。唐朝建立後，李世民被立為秦王，長孫氏則為秦王妃。武德末年，她竭力爭取李淵後宮對李世民的支持，玄武門之變當天，她親自勉慰諸將士。之後拜太子妃。

皇后生涯

武德九年（626年）七月發生玄武門之變，李世民被立為皇太子，長孫氏隨之成為太子妃，八月八日，李世民登基為帝，年號：貞觀。李世民稱帝僅十三天，即冊封長孫氏為皇后。

長孫皇后喜愛看書籍圖傳，即便是梳妝打扮時也手不釋卷。善借古喻今，經常與唐太宗一起共執書卷，談古論今，從容以對，發表獨特見解，對唐太宗與朝政大有裨益，與唐太宗感情極好。

唐太宗常與長孫皇后討論國家大事，起初她以自己是一介女流為由不肯說出自己的看法，而後在唐太宗的一再請求和命令下終肯為他出謀劃策。長孫皇后多次讓其兄長、位列凌煙閣二十四功臣第一的長孫無忌向唐太宗辭官，同時也多次勸唐太宗不要重用她哥哥，准其辭官。她語重心長地告誡長孫無忌，前朝外戚掌權多危害社稷，切不可重蹈覆轍。在妹妹的告誡下，長孫無忌多次向太宗請辭，為此唐太宗向皇后解釋說他用長孫無忌並非因其為皇親國戚，而是因為他的才能。然而在長孫皇后的一再請求下，唐太宗無奈，只得改任長孫無忌為開府儀同三司。貞觀七年（633年），唐太宗冊拜長孫無忌為司空。

唐太宗對長孫皇后一向愛重。登基之後，對長孫家族常常恩遇逾制。因為長孫皇后的原因，多次對長孫安業，長孫順德，長孫敞的違法行為法外開恩。

長孫皇后深以盈滿為誡，說服胞兄讓位，在唐太宗恩准下，長孫無忌得以閒職高薪退避宰執之位。 長孫皇后還利用自身對丈夫的影響力來護慰朝廷賢良，匡正丈夫的過失。長孫皇后一方面欣賞「庇護」著魏徵那些敢于直言的忠臣，另一方面也在不斷地提醒著唐太宗要行仁政。 她以女性特有的力量在男權至上的封建社會發揮著獨特的作用，輔佐皇帝丈夫，使得初唐出現了有利的政治局面。君明后賢臣直，文治武功，春風和睦，親切包容。大唐初期迎來了它令後世魂縈夢繞的理想境界「貞觀之治」。

依據現存史料，在唐太宗所有后妃中，長孫皇后所生子女人數是最多的，生下三子四女，共七人。唐太宗的第一個兒子（即太子承乾）和最後一個女兒（即新城公主）都是她所生。

在她死後，李世民多次建廟度人入道為長孫皇后祈福，不再立皇后，甚至此親自撫養她所生的晉王李治和晉陽公主李明達二人，故晉陽公主是目前為止唯一能考証由皇帝親養的公主。

因病去世

貞觀八年（634年），長孫皇后陪同太宗在九成宮避暑期間，身染重疾。皇太子請求大赦並度人入道，為妻子健康憂慮的唐太宗立即應允，但遭到長孫皇后的堅決反對，無奈唐太宗只好請普光寺法師曇藏入宮為妻子祈福，或是天子誠意所致，長孫皇后病情旋即康複。

九年（635年）皇太子李承乾納妃蘇氏，然而喜悅之後卻連接著悲傷，此後接踵而來的生身母親趙國太夫人的薨逝以及太上皇李淵的駕崩，給長孫皇后和李世民這對夫妻又一次沉重打擊。雙重喪期的哀痛，誘發了長孫皇后早年罹患並時常發作的氣疾（疑似為現代醫學稱氣喘病又叫哮喘病），次年，病勢加重，藥石皆不見效。

早年，太宗駕幸太原，長孫皇后生病，他曾親自到石壁寺禮謁禪師，並解眾寶名珍，為妻子供養啟願。 于是太宗決定再次求助于佛家。十年四月，李世民下詔修複天下名勝古寺392座為皇后祈福，著名的善寂寺，修定寺便在此列。雖然太宗期待佛家的福祉能夠又一次給妻子帶來好運，但是，幸運沒有再次眷顧。

貞觀十年（636年）六月己卯，長孫皇后崩逝于太極宮立政殿，時年三十六。其年十一月庚寅，葬於昭陵。太宗悲傷不已，遵從皇后遺願，營山為陵，是為昭陵。縱觀長孫皇后的一生，她與太宗從少年結髮，一起互相扶持，走過了二十三載，于情伉儷情深，于政相輔相成，一與之齊，終身不改。

長孫皇后曾著書《女則》共十篇，輯錄歷代婦女事跡，作為效法古賢之鑑，已佚。今存詩一首：「上苑桃花朝日明，蘭閨艷質動春情。井上新桃偷面色，簷邊嫩柳學身輕。花中來去看舞蝶，樹上長短聽啼鶯。林下何須遠借問，出眾風流舊有名。」她死後與唐太宗合葬于昭陵。

長孫皇后在位期間，積極履行皇后職務，曾兩次行先蠶禮。

子女

子

• 皇太子李承乾（619年—645年1月5日【武德二年——貞觀十七年~十九年】）得年24~26歲

• 魏王李泰（620年—652年【武德三年——永徽三年】）得年32歲

• 高宗李治（初為晉王，628年7月19日—683年12月27日【貞觀二年六月十三日——弘道元年十二月四日】）享年55歲

女

• 長樂公主，李麗質（621年—643年8月10日【武德四年——貞觀十七年八月十日】）

• 城陽公主，李月貌（約630年—671年【貞觀四年——咸亨二年】）

• 晉陽公主，李明達（633年—644年【貞觀七年——貞觀十八年】）

• 新城公主（634年—663年【貞觀八年——龍朔三年】）

• 豫章公主（約621年—約642年【約武德四年——約貞觀十六年】，為長孫后所養，本非長孫后親生）

名字

正史中沒有記錄長孫皇后的名字，後蜀何光遠所著《鑒誡錄》稱長孫皇后號「觀音婢」，並難產而亡。並無其他史書記載長孫皇后死于難產。

當代影視劇中，編劇使用「長孫無垢」一名。在2008年由山西人民出版社出版、柏楊編著的《中國帝王皇后親王公主世系錄》一書中，稱其為「長孫無垢」，同時此書的台北版中無「長孫無垢」之名。「長孫無垢」的出處是由山西人民出版社添加，還是柏楊添加，皆不得而知。

電視劇

動畫片

• 《隋唐英雄傳》（2003年）

注釋