Hanzi

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Ma Shi, the youngest daughter of the famous general Ma Yuan, became an orphan at a young age. Despite this, she managed her family's affairs with great order and was praised by relatives and friends for her capability.

At thirteen, she entered the palace and served Empress Yin, gaining much favor. After Emperor Guangwu's death, Prince Liu Zhuang ascended the throne as Emperor Ming, and Ma Shi was made a noble consort. As she had no children of her own, she adopted Liu Da, a son of Concubine Jia. In 60 AD, due to the Empress Dowager's deep affection for her, Ma Shi was made Empress.

Empress Ma led a very frugal life, often wearing coarse clothing and skirts without ornate trims. When other concubines came to pay respects, they initially thought her attire was made of specially fine materials, only to realize upon closer inspection that they were very ordinary. This earned her even greater respect.

Empress Ma was well-read, often studying works like "like Spring and Autumn Annals" and "Songs of Chu." Once, Emperor Ming showed her a minister's memorial and asked for her opinion, to which she gave a pertinent response. However, she never actively interfered in state affairs afterward.

After Emperor Ming's death, Liu Xuan ascended as Emperor Zhang, and Empress Ma was honored as Empress Dowager. Emperor Zhang, at the suggestion of some ministers, planned to bestow titles upon the Empress Dowager's brothers. However, Empress Ma strictly adhered to Emperor Guangwu's rule that relatives of empresses and consorts should not be granted marquisates, firmly rejecting the proposal.

The following summer, a severe drought occurred. Some ministers again petitioned, arguing that the drought was due to the failure to grant titles to the empress's relatives the previous year, and once more requested honors for Ma Shi's maternal uncles. Empress Ma still disagreed and issued a special edict, stating: "All who propose titles for imperial relatives are merely trying to flatter me and seek benefits for themselves. What does a severe drought have to do with bestowing titles? We must remember the lessons of previous dynasties; favoring powerful relatives leads to great disaster. The late Emperor prevented imperial relatives from holding important positions precisely to guard against this. How can we allow the Ma family to repeat past mistakes?"

The edict continued: "My Ma uncles are all very wealthy. As Empress Dowager, I still do not seek fine delicacies for food, nor elaborate clothing, and the palace maids around me also practice frugality. My purpose in doing this is to set an example for those below, so my relatives can reflect upon themselves when they see it. Yet, instead of self-reflection, they ridicule my frugality. A few days ago, I passed by the gate of my maternal family's residence at Zhuolong Garden and saw carriages flowing like water and horses coming and going like a continuous dragon, a truly ostentatious display of visitors paying respects. Their servants were neatly dressed in green clothes with snowy white collars and cuffs, while our own carriages were far less impressive. At that moment, I tried my best to control myself and did not reprimand them. They only know how to enjoy themselves, without any concern for the country's worries. How then can I agree to grant them more official ranks and titles?"