The Interaction Between The Empress Ma Of Eastern Han Dynasty And Her Family

The most decisive influence Consort clan in the Eastern Han Dynasty is Fufeng Ma Family.As the Empress Ma had been into the palace,she became the major link between the imperial household and Ma Family.Discussing the interaction relationship between Empress Ma and her family is beneficial for the study of the noblewomen and her aristocratic family in the Eastern Han Dynasty,as well as learning more about “The Ruling Measures of Ming and Zhang Emperor”.Ma Family showed the beginning of the decline for a time after Mayuan’s death,but Mayuan’s daughter was still selected to the palace relying on the good education,excellent appearance,the background of her familial military exploit and a member of Ma Family becoming an imperial concubine with the Western Han Dynasty Emperor.It was a new way of political marriage to promote Ma Family’s development.In this process,Ma Family was a great power of supporting Empress Ma depending on its military force.Empress Ma endured the changes in politics from Ming Emperor who is her husband to Zhang Emperor who is her nominal son with no interbreed.This different identities transformation brought different influence to the Ma Family’s destiny.Ma Family developed the clan force because of the two identities-the Empress Family in the Emperor Ming and the Uncle identity in the Emperor Zhang.Empress Ma played an important role in the process of the Mayuan’s political rehabilitation.In addition,Mafang was able to be a general in the war between Han Dynasty and the Qiang ethnic minority on account of the Empress Ma.The success of battle promote prosperity of Ma Family and made Mafang’s brother become Knighthood which is a huge honor.At the same time,Empress Ma refrained from the development of the clan force consciously for fear of her family collapse.The contradiction between Ma Family and imperial authority deepen step by step after the death of Empress Ma.Losing the support of the court,Ma Family’s activity space in the political was greatly condensed.As a result,Ma Family’s development road changed again by returning to the regional with military exploit and evolving to the aristocracy by studying Confucian classics gradually.Ma Family used the scholarship and the military exploit to manifest the influence of the clan.Ma Family obtained great development by two different ways of political marriage with imperial household and military exploit.But this tendency was stopped abruptly after the death of Empress Mawhich restricted the familial development and making political influence descending rapidly in the middle and later period of the Eastern Han Dynasty.Fanye gave Empress Ma a highly praise of“明德既升,家祚以兴”,which pointed it out well that becoming Empress was an lasting influence to the Ma Family.But after the death of Empress Ma,Ma Family was deprived of many things which originally belonged to them undoubtedly.