Life

Empress Li was born as Fengniang, daughter of general Li Dao, a military commissioner from Anyang. According to legend, a Daoist priest and matchmaker one day predicted that she was destined to be the mother of the people. After having made the prediction, the priest asked for an audience with the emperor, and successfully negotiated for her to be accepted as consort of the emperor's grandson Zhao Dun, the future Emperor Guangzong.

Marriage

Li was accepted as the consort of Prince Dun, and became Crown Princess when her spouse was elevated to the position of heir to the throne in 1170. Crown Princess Li was described as dominant and independent minded. She complained of the concubines of her husband to the retired Emperor Gaozong as well as to her father-in-law Emperor Xiaozong who became displeased with her and asked her to act in a more submissive way, such as the Empress Dowager Wu. Li refused to submit, however, and there are several stories illustrating how she came to dominate her husband.

Empress

In 1189, her spouse succeeded to the throne as Emperor Guangzong of Song. Empress Li Fengniang became notorious in Chinese history for being ruthless and shrewd, and for ruling the state through her husband, who became known a "henpecked weakling" dominated by his wife. During his reign, it was the Empress who de facto ruled the Song Empire. There is a legend to how this occurred. In 1191, Empress Li allegedly had the emperor's favorite concubine consort Huang killed, which caused the Emperor to react so badly that he became sick and bedridden, leaving the empress to handle the affairs of state by herself. Empress Li reportedly attempted to keep the emperor and his father separate, and often stopped the emperor from seeing his father. On one occasion, at the sickbed of the emperor, her father-in-law threatened to have her executed for not taking proper care of the monarch. When her spouse recovered, she told him about the threat, and also that she suspected that the medicine his father had left him was poisoned. This is given as the reason to why Emperor Guangzong did not visit his own father's funeral in 1194, which was blamed on Empress Li and led the Empress Dowager Wu to force Guangzong to abdicate.

After the abdication of her spouse, she was called "The Empress of the Retired Emperor". In 1197, she caused a last scandal by refusing to attend the funeral of Empress Dowager Wu.

生平

生于軍營

李氏生於宋高宗年間，為李道次女，傳說當年李道夫人產下次女前，軍營前飛來了一群黑鳳，徘徊不去，於是李道便為出生不久的女兒取名為李鳳娘。李鳳娘姿色豔麗，面相大貴，李鳳娘十七歲時，曾有道士皇甫坦來看她的面相，皇甫坦驚訝地說：「此女面相大貴，當母儀天下。」而不敢受拜，後來她的美貌為宋高宗所知，高宗即命其皇孫趙惇聘李鳳娘為妃。隆興二年（1164年）四月，聘為恭王妃，封榮國夫人。閏十一月，封定國夫人。乾道元年（1165年）六月，生長子趙挺，但不久早夭。四年（1168年）十月，生次子趙擴。據說，李鳳娘在懷孕前，曾夢見一個大太陽墜落到庭院裡，便用手承接它，李鳳娘從而懷孕有娠，在趙擴出生當天夜晚，祥光繞室。七年（1171年）二月，恭王被冊立為皇太子。三月，立為皇太子妃。李鳳娘被描述為工於心計、刁蠻善妒，在做恭王妃期間，尚能安分守己。直到恭王被立為太子後，李鳳娘開始顯露出她驕橫蠻悍的個性。她不斷在高宗、孝宗、太子三宮之間搬弄是非，高宗後悔不已，在與吳皇后的談話中，他認為自己受了皇甫坦的矇騙而撮合了這門親事。

絕世妒後

淳熙十六年（1189年）二月，冊立為皇后。成為皇后之後，李鳳娘越發越肆無忌憚，飛揚跋扈，仗恃光宗生性懦弱，又疏于朝政，正中李皇后下懷，于是皇權漸被其控制。一次光宗見給他端水的宮女，雙手生得白嫩，隨口說了一聲：「好！」這件事引起了李鳳娘嫉恨。次日李後給光宗送來了一盒點心，揭開蓋子一看，裡面裝的就是那位宮女的兩隻手，使光宗極其驚恐。當時光宗後宮除李皇后外，還有黃貴妃、張貴妃、符婕妤等妃嬪。黃貴妃本是孝宗謝皇后侍女，光宗初為太子時，孝宗因見他缺少姬妾服侍而把黃氏賜給他。黃氏姿色美麗，溫婉賢慧，光宗對黃氏寵愛有加，即位後便立為貴妃；結果李鳳娘藉光宗離宮祭祀之時派人將其殺害，當時黃貴妃有身孕。光宗聽到黃貴妃暴亡後，驚駭傷心，哭泣無節，後來李鳳娘和光宗祭祀黃貴妃時，雨電劈啪，光宗因此得病。而張貴妃、符婕妤兩人，也因李皇后嫉妒而被下令改嫁平民。他的父親宋孝宗聽說後便送來了藥丸，但李後卻造謠說那是毒藥，挑撥離間光宗與孝宗父子關係。

飛揚跋扈

唆使光宗封賞李氏外戚、建李氏家廟。李鳳娘封娘家三代為王，侄兒孝友、孝純官拜節度使，一次歸謁家廟就推恩親屬二十六人，一百七十二人授為使臣，下至李家門客，都奏補得官。李氏外戚恩蔭之濫，是南宋建立以來所沒有的，李鳳娘屬該朝少數權欲薰心的後宮女人，只因當時儒學價值和道德思想深入人心，她的行為才被控制在一定範圍之內，未能釀成大患。一次，成肅皇后謝氏好言規勸她注意禮儀，李鳳娘反駁道：「我是官家的結髮妻！這樣沒什麼不可以！」由于謝氏是由嬪妃冊為中宮，在場的宋孝宗聞此十分反感。宋孝宗也屢屢訓斥她：「你應該學太上皇后的后妃之德，若再插手太子事務，朕可要廢掉你！」然而孝宗的勸告也沒有起到震懾作用。一次宴會上，李氏當面向孝宗提出立嘉王為儲，孝宗沉吟不決，李鳳娘責問：「我是你趙家明媒正娶，正式聘來的，嘉王是我親生，為什麼不能立為太子？」孝宗見李鳳娘說話刁蠻無禮，大怒離去。李鳳娘回宮後，向光宗哭訴：「陛下不肯立擴兒為太子，且還想廢了你！」光宗至此和太上皇孝宗失和，接下來也不去重華宮朝見父母。

慘死宮中

當孝宗臨病死前，欲見光宗及兒媳最後一面，懦弱的光宗得不到李皇后的同意，不去探望臨死的父親，許多大臣上書要求光宗去看望孝宗，但光宗也不予理睬，至孝宗大殮之日兩人也同樣不理不聞，中書舍人陳傅良出班拉住光宗衣襟，李鳳娘杏眼圓睜，大聲呵斥道：「這裡是什麼去處！你們這些秀才要被砍頭嗎？」陳傅良只得大哭而出。大臣趙汝愚、趙彥逾、韓侂冑、葉適、徐誼、郭杲等不滿，在隆慈太皇太后同意之下，在大殮同日逼光宗讓位給其子嘉王趙擴。光宗與李鳳娘則成為太上皇和太上皇后。

光宗退位後，憤恨憂鬱，病情加重，與他一同失勢的李鳳娘一反常態，常以杯中物來寬解光宗心中的鬱結，李鳳娘還反覆叮囑內侍、宮女，不在光宗面前提起「上皇」和「內禪」等字眼。慶元二年（1196年）十月，上尊號曰壽仁太上皇后。六年（1200年）有卜卦之人指李鳳娘會有災厄，於是李鳳娘穿上道袍，在大內僻靜之處闢了一間精室，獨自居住，虔心禮佛；同年，李氏在精室中染病，卻沒人關心照顧。六月，崩于慈儀殿，年五十六。八月，謚號慈懿（視民如子曰慈 溫柔聖善曰懿）。李鳳娘死後，宮人到中宮為其取禮服，管理鑰匙的人拒不開中宮殿門，結果禮服沒有取到，宮人們只得用蓆子包裹尸體，抬回中宮治喪。半路上忽然丟下尸體散去。結果尸體在驕陽的曝曬下發出陣陣刺鼻惡臭。治喪時，宮人們只得置鮑魚，燃起數十餅蓮香，掩蓋難聞的氣味。