Li Furen

Lady Li (, died between 104 and 101 BC) was a Han dynasty concubine of Emperor Wu. Civil unrest broke out between her family and Wei Zifu's family. Moreover, her brother Li Guangli defected to the Xiongnu and became a traitor to China. As a result, Emperor Wu ordered her relatives to be tried and executed, leading to the downfall of her and her family.

Biography

As concubine She was allegedly the inspiration for The Beauty Song, composed by her brother Li Yannian.

Lady Li was born in an entertainer family; she was a dancer. Her parents and brothers were also entertainers. Lady Li's brother Li Yannian was a musician for Princess Pingyang. After he performed The Beauty Song for Emperor Wu, the Emperor asked Li Yannian if he knew of such a woman, to which Princess Pingyang responded that the song was about Li's sister. The Emperor thus requested to meet with Lady Li, and she became one of his concubines. She had one son named Bo (髆).

Treason and execution of her family In the civil unrest between the Li family and Empress Wei Zifu's family, several of Li's relatives were killed and executed. At the time Empress Wei Zifu was the head wife of Liu Che, and Wei and Li were jealous of each other.

Moreover, Li Guangli later surrendered to the Xiongnu circa 90-89 BC and was accused of being a traitor. Li's family was then tried and executed for treason.

Popular culture Portrayed by Zhan Jie in the 1990 TV series Han Wudi Portrayed by He Jiayi in the 2000 BMN TV series The Prince of Han Dynasty Portrayed by Gao Tingting in the 2005 CCTV TV series The Emperor in Han Dynasty Portrayed by Zhang Xuan in the 2014 Zhejiang Huace Film and Now TV collaborative TV series The Virtuous Queen of Han Portrayed by Fala Chen in the 2014 HT TV series Sound of the Desert