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

生于军营

李氏生于宋高宗年间，为李道次女，传说当年李道夫人产下次女前，军营前飞来了一群黑凤，徘徊不去，于是李道便为出生不久的女儿取名为李凤娘。李凤娘姿色艳丽，面相大贵，李凤娘十七岁时，曾有道士皇甫坦来看她的面相，皇甫坦惊讶地说：「此女面相大贵，当母仪天下。」而不敢受拜，后来她的美貌为宋高宗所知，高宗即命其皇孙赵敦聘李凤娘为妃。隆兴二年（1164年）四月，聘为恭王妃，封荣国夫人。闰十一月，封定国夫人。乾道元年（1165年）六月，生长子赵挺，但不久早夭。四年（1168年）十月，生次子赵扩。据说，李凤娘在怀孕前，曾梦见一个大太阳坠落到庭院里，便用手承接它，李凤娘从而怀孕有娠，在赵扩出生当天夜晚，祥光绕室。七年（1171年）二月，恭王被册立为皇太子。三月，立为皇太子妃。李凤娘被描述为工于心计、刁蛮善妒，在做恭王妃期间，尚能安分守己。直到恭王被立为太子后，李凤娘开始显露出她骄横蛮悍的个性。她不断在高宗、孝宗、太子三宫之间搬弄是非，高宗后悔不已，在与吴皇后的谈话中，他认为自己受了皇甫坦的蒙骗而撮合了这门亲事。

绝世妒后

淳熙十六年（1189年）二月，册立为皇后。成为皇后之后，李凤娘越发越肆无忌惮，飞扬跋扈，仗恃光宗生性懦弱，又疏于朝政，正中李皇后下怀，于是皇权渐被其控制。一次光宗见给他端水的宫女，双手生得白嫩，随口说了一声：「好！」这件事引起了李凤娘嫉恨。次日李后给光宗送来了一盒点心，揭开盖子一看，里面装的就是那位宫女的两只手，使光宗极其惊恐。当时光宗后宫除李皇后外，还有黄贵妃、张贵妃、符婕妤等妃嫔。黄贵妃本是孝宗谢皇后侍女，光宗初为太子时，孝宗因见他缺少姬妾服侍而把黄氏赐给他。黄氏姿色美丽，温婉贤慧，光宗对黄氏宠爱有加，即位后便立为贵妃；结果李凤娘藉光宗离宫祭祀之时派人将其杀害，当时黄贵妃有身孕。光宗听到黄贵妃暴亡后，惊骇伤心，哭泣无节，后来李凤娘和光宗祭祀黄贵妃时，雨电劈啪，光宗因此得病。而张贵妃、符婕妤两人，也因李皇后嫉妒而被下令改嫁平民。他的父亲宋孝宗听说后便送来了药丸，但李后却造谣说那是毒药，挑拨离间光宗与孝宗父子关系。

飞扬跋扈

唆使光宗封赏李氏外戚、建李氏家庙。李凤娘封娘家三代为王，侄儿孝友、孝纯官拜节度使，一次归谒家庙就推恩亲属二十六人，一百七十二人授为使臣，下至李家门客，都奏补得官。李氏外戚恩荫之滥，是南宋建立以来所没有的，李凤娘属该朝少数权欲薰心的后宫女人，只因当时儒学价值和道德思想深入人心，她的行为才被控制在一定范围之内，未能酿成大患。一次，成肃皇后谢氏好言规劝她注意礼仪，李凤娘反驳道：「我是官家的结发妻！这样没什么不可以！」由于谢氏是由嫔妃册为中宫，在场的宋孝宗闻此十分反感。宋孝宗也屡屡训斥她：「你应该学太上皇后的后妃之德，若再插手太子事务，朕可要废掉你！」然而孝宗的劝告也没有起到震慑作用。一次宴会上，李氏当面向孝宗提出立嘉王为储，孝宗沉吟不决，李凤娘责问：「我是你赵家明媒正娶，正式聘来的，嘉王是我亲生，为什么不能立为太子？」孝宗见李凤娘说话刁蛮无礼，大怒离去。李凤娘回宫后，向光宗哭诉：「陛下不肯立扩儿为太子，且还想废了你！」光宗至此和太上皇孝宗失和，接下来也不去重华宫朝见父母。

惨死宫中

当孝宗临病死前，欲见光宗及儿媳最后一面，懦弱的光宗得不到李皇后的同意，不去探望临死的父亲，许多大臣上书要求光宗去看望孝宗，但光宗也不予理睬，至孝宗大殓之日两人也同样不理不闻，中书舍人陈傅良出班拉住光宗衣襟，李凤娘杏眼圆睁，大声呵斥道：「这里是什么去处！你们这些秀才要被砍头吗？」陈傅良只得大哭而出。大臣赵汝愚、赵彦逾、韩侂胄、叶适、徐谊、郭杲等不满，在隆慈太皇太后同意之下，在大殓同日逼光宗让位给其子嘉王赵扩。光宗与李凤娘则成为太上皇和太上皇后。

光宗退位后，愤恨忧郁，病情加重，与他一同失势的李凤娘一反常态，常以杯中物来宽解光宗心中的郁结，李凤娘还反覆叮嘱内侍、宫女，不在光宗面前提起「上皇」和「内禅」等字眼。庆元二年（1196年）十月，上尊号曰寿仁太上皇后。六年（1200年）有卜卦之人指李凤娘会有灾厄，于是李凤娘穿上道袍，在大内僻静之处辟了一间精室，独自居住，虔心礼佛；同年，李氏在精室中染病，却没人关心照顾。六月，崩于慈仪殿，年五十六。八月，谥号慈懿（视民如子曰慈 温柔圣善曰懿）。李凤娘死后，宫人到中宫为其取礼服，管理钥匙的人拒不开中宫殿门，结果礼服没有取到，宫人们只得用席子包裹尸体，抬回中宫治丧。半路上忽然丢下尸体散去。结果尸体在骄阳的曝晒下发出阵阵刺鼻恶臭。治丧时，宫人们只得置鲍鱼，燃起数十饼莲香，掩盖难闻的气味。