Empress Dowager Wang (Taichang)
| Empress Dowager Xiaojing 孝靖太后 | |||||||
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| Born | 27 February 1565 | ||||||
| Died | 18 October 1611 (aged 46) Jingyang Palace, Forbidden City, Beijing | ||||||
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| Spouse | Wanli Emperor | ||||||
| Issue |
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| Clan | Wang (王) | ||||||
| Father | Wang Chaocai (王朝寀) | ||||||
| Mother | Lady Ge (葛氏) | ||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||
| Chinese | 孝靖太后 | ||||||
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Empress Dowager Xiaojing (27 February 1565 – 18 October 1611), of the Wang clan, was a Ming dynasty concubine of the Wanli Emperor and the biological mother of the Taichang Emperor.
Biography
[edit]Lady Wang was born in 1565 and began working as a maid (宮人) in the household of Empress Dowager Li, mother of the Wanli Emperor, in 1578. In late 1581, the emperor became attracted to the young maid during one of his visits to her mother, and she soon became pregnant by him.[1] Although the Wanli Emperor initially wanted nothing to do with the child, his mother convinced him to acknowledge paternity through records of his visits[1] and arranged for Lady Wang to be promoted to the emperor's concubine with the title of Consort Gong (恭妃). In August 1582, Lady Wang gave birth to a son, Zhu Changluo, who was the emperor's first child.[2] Two years later, in 1584, the Wanli Emperor's interest in Lady Wang diminished as he became more enamored with another concubine, Lady Zheng, who also gave birth to a son, Zhu Changxun, in 1586.[1]
Lady Wang lived in seclusion and isolation within the Forbidden City, neglected by the emperor. Even her own son was rarely allowed to visit her.[3] Despite being the emperor's eldest, he was not immediately named as heir to the throne. Instead, the Wanli Emperor and Lady Zheng favored Zhu Changxun, while government officials and the emperor's mother advocated for Zhu Changluo's appointment. It was not until 1601, after prolonged disputes and discussions, that Zhu Changluo finally became the designated heir.[1][4] Five years later, in 1606, after the birth of Zhu Changluo's first son (the future Tianqi Emperor), Lady Wang was finally granted the title of Imperial Noble Consort (Huang Guifei),[1][5] a fitting recognition for the mother of an heir.[5]
She died in 1611 and was buried on Tianshou Mountain.[1] Her son ascended the throne in 1620 but died after only one month of reign. Her grandson, the Tianqi Emperor, upon assuming the throne, bestowed upon her the posthumous name Empress Dowager Xiaojing and reburied her in the Wanli Emperor's tomb, Ding Mausoleum, in the Ming tombs outside Beijing.[1]
Titles
[edit]- During the reign of the Jiajing Emperor (r. 1521–1567):
- Lady Wang (王氏; 27 February 1565)
- During the reign of the Wanli Emperor (r. 1572–1620):
- Palace Lady (宮人; from 1578)
- Consort Gong (恭妃; from 5 July 1582)
- Imperial Noble Consort (皇貴妃; from 1605)
- Imperial Noble Consort Wensu Duanjing Chunyi (温肃端靖纯懿皇贵妃; from 1611)
- During the reign of the Tianqi Emperor (r. 1620–1627)
- Empress Dowager Xiàojìng Wēnyì Jìngràng Zhēncí Cāntiān Yìnshèng (孝靖溫懿敬讓貞慈參天胤聖皇太后; from 1621)
Issue
[edit]- As Consort Gong:
- Taichang Emperor (泰昌帝 朱常洛; 28 August 1582 – 26 September 1620), the Wanli Emperor's first son
- Princess Yunmeng (雲夢公主; 1584–1587), personal name Xuanyuan (軒嫄), the Wanli Emperor's fourth daughter
References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g Lin (2014), pp. 409–410.
- ^ McMahon (2016), p. 131.
- ^ Zhang (2020), pp. 60–61.
- ^ Dardess (2002), p. 9.
- ^ a b McMahon (2016), p. 132.
Works cited
[edit]- Lin, Yanqing (2014). "Wang, Empress Dowager of Ming". In Lee, Lily Xiao Hong; Wiles, Sue (eds.). Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women, Volume II: Tang Through Ming 618–1644. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 9780765643148.
- McMahon, Keith (2016). Celestial Women: Imperial Wives and Concubines in China from Song to Qing. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781442255029.
- Zhang, Dewei (2020). Thriving in Crisis: Buddhism and Political Disruption in China, 1522–1620 (1 ed.). New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231551939.
- Dardess, John W (2002). Blood and History in China: The Donglin Faction and Its Repression, 1620-1627. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 9780824825164.