Life-size painting

Empress Ma, Empress of Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty Ma was a virtuous and upright woman, never seeking personal gain. In 52 A.D., she was called into the crown prince Liu Zhuang’s palace. In 57 A.D., when Liu Zhuang succeeded to the throne and became Emperor Ming, he designated Ma as Worthy Lady....

Lady Ban, Consort of Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty She was a virtuous and talented woman good at writing poetry and rhyme prose. When Emperor Cheng mounted the throne in 33 B.C., Ban was summoned into the palace and designated as Lady of Handsome Fairness and was quite in the emperor’s favor. After going...

Zhao Feiyan, Empress of Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty Originally named Yizhu, Zhao Feiyan was adopted by Princess Yang’e. The princess trained her dance since her childhood. After years of training, Yizhu became famous for her lithe and graceful postures, and movements in dance. While moving around, she was as nimble as a swallow...

Lü Zhi, whose other given name was Exu, was a well-known stateswoman in Chinese history. In 202 B.C., Liu Bang proclaimed himself emperor of the Hang Dynasty and set up Lü Zhi as empress. Lü Zhi helped Liu Bang kill Han Xin, Peng Yue and other princes who were not Liu’s descendants, so as to...

Yu Ji was beautiful and good at sword dance. She admired Xiang Yu, who was bold and powerful, and married him as his concubine. Passionately attached to each other, they always stayed together. With the overthrown of the Qin Dynasty, Xiang Yu contested the throne with Liu Bang. They fought for four years. Eventually, Xiang...