During the Eastern Han Dynasty, after Emperor Guangwu's death, Emperor Mingdi Liu Zhuang ascended the throne. He appointed Lady Ma as empress, and her father was Ma Yuan, the meritorious official who helped restore the Han dynasty.
To honor the ministers who helped restore the Han dynasty, Emperor Ming of Han ordered their portraits painted on the Cloud Terrace of the Southern Palace. However, to avoid accusations of favoring his wife's family, he deliberately excluded his own father-in-law from the portraits. The humble and cautious Empress Ma deeply understood this decision, remarking, "Your Majesty's wisdom in putting the dynasty above personal ties is truly commendable."
Empress Ma had no sons of her own at the time, so Emperor Ming designated the son of Consort Jia as crown prince. Far from objecting, Empress Ma raised the boy with devoted care, and the two grew exceptionally close, like mother and son.
Empress Ma lived a remarkably frugal life, often wearing coarse cloth garments and skirts without embroidered hems. The palace maids, seeing her simplicity, felt deep respect for her. She also enjoyed reading classics like the *Spring and Autumn Annals* and the *Chu Ci*. One day, Emperor Ming of Han deliberately asked her to analyze a state affair. She explained it so clearly and logically that he was impressed. Yet, she never meddled in government matters.
After Emperor Ming died, the crown prince succeeded the throne, historically known as Emperor Zhang of Han. In 76 AD, Emperor Zhang, following his ministers' advice, wanted to grant titles and ranks to the Empress Dowager's brothers, but the Empress Dowager, adhering to Emperor Guangwu's rule that "the empress's family shall not be enfeoffed," firmly opposed it. Unable to proceed, Emperor Zhang dropped the matter.
The following summer, a severe drought struck. Several ministers eager to see the empress dowager's brothers enfeoffed submitted memorials claiming the disaster was divine punishment for failing to grant them titles the previous year, and they demanded immediate action.
When the Empress Dowager learned of this, she immediately issued a counter-edict, declaring, 'You propose granting titles only to curry favor with me and advance your own careers. The drought has nothing whatsoever to do with titles! During the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han, he enfeoffed five of his maternal uncles in a single day, yet the land still cracked and nothing grew. When I once passed by the Zhuolong Gate, I saw my maternal relatives out on an excursion—truly "carriages flowing like water, horses prancing like dragons." Such ostentatious display is truly unbecoming!'
The Empress Dowager then cited numerous historical examples of imperial relatives abusing their power and causing great disasters, firmly opposing the granting of noble titles.
Later, people used the idiom "Endless Stream of Carriages and Horses" to describe a bustling scene with constant traffic.
Source: *Book of the Later Han*, "Annals of Empress Ma of Mingde"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "车水马龙" came to describe a bustling scene with constant traffic.