When did Consort Song of the Han Dynasty die?
Good question! I couldn’t find much on the actual date, but here’s some stuff to fill out the details. Ms. Song committed suicide after being tortured by Empress Dou’s eunich, Cai Lun. The charge was witchcraft. Song was ill and was using a “magical” liver tonic – a morning glory derivitive called cuscuta. Cai Lun, as you probably know, was quite an interesting guy on his own. He is credited with being the inventor of paper – and later was forced into suicide by Consort Song’s grandson. I’ve asked an Asian history expert, they should get back to me within a couple days, and I’ll post their info here. If they don’t know, you’ll be safe imagining any time of year. Update: The expert is still checking, but clearly it’s not an easy answer to find. If there’s more information before the time runs out on the question, I’ll post it here.
