In Ban Gu’s “The Han History”, he recorded Emperor Wu and his relation with Lady Li. In this certain piece, Lady Li is said to be manipulating Emperor Wu. This may or may not be true as Ban was not present for the private conversation between Lady Li and her sister. However, Lady Li’s manipulating Emperor Wu is just. Emperor Wu loves Lady Li’s beauty and just her beauty. With this kind of love the Emperor harbours for her, she is able to use it against him to get what she wants: protection for her brothers and son. Along her manipulation, Lady Li is granted even more; this is all done through her beauty. In this essay, I will discuss that Lady Li’s beauty was key to manipulating Emperor Wu; in addition, I will also discuss that Lady Li’s manipulation…show more content… Knowing that Emperor Wu was in love with her appearance, Lady Li used it to her advantage. Before passing away, Lady Li made sure that the memory of her beauty is engraved into the Emperor Wu’s mind. He will remain in love with her, allowing her wish to have her brothers and son to be protected. His love for her beauty made him have a “stronger responsibility” (Ban 216) toward her brothers and their son. Not only were her brothers able to have higher statuses but Lady Li also was able to gain more status after death. Her beauty had such an influence on Emperor Wu that he appointed her as empress after his death. Lady Li’s manipulation can also be justified through Confucianism; Lady Li was only trying to fulfill her role of being responsible and maintaining social harmony. However, Lady Li’s manipulation can also be argued as portent. In Bret Hinsch’s The Criticism of Powerful Women by Western Han Dynasty Portent Experts, Hinsch look into the portent studies and the history of portent experts, especially Liu Xiang. One of the portent experts that Hinsch look into is Dong Zhongshu. Dong blames a fire on the chastity of Lady Bo. Lady Bo’s “chaste virtue was so intense that it […] gave way to […] strong yang, sparking fire” (Hinsch 19). This can be similar to Lady Li. After her death, her brothers were granted high status but in the end, “her entire family was exterminated” (Ban 218). Lady Li’s manipulation could have brought un-fortune to her family. Her manipulation could have even brought misery to the Emperor. This remains to be unknown as this was not recorded in her perspective. Lady Li may be viewed as manipulative, and maybe just a pretty face to Emperor Wu but through this text, Lady Li is proven to be more than that; she is an intelligent and caring being and should not succumb to being either a manipulative being or just a pretty
