Du Lingyang (321–341), formally Empress Chenggong (成恭皇后) was an empress of the
Jin dynasty (266–420)
The Jin dynasty (; ) or the Jin Empire, sometimes distinguished as the (司馬晉) or the (兩晉), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed from 266 to 420. It was founded by Sima Yan (Emperor Wu), eldest son of Sima Zhao, who had pr ...
of China. Her husband was
Emperor Cheng of Jin
Emperor Cheng of Jin (; December 321 or January 322 – 26 July 342According to Emperor Cheng's biography in ''Book of Jin'', he died aged 22 (by East Asian reckoning) on the ''guisi'' day of the 6th month of the 8th year of the ''Xiankang'' era ...
. (Some historians believe that her name was simply Du Ling, and that imperial archivists mistakenly attached the character "yang" to her name later. They point out that while the name of a county with the character "ling" in its name was changed pursuant to
naming taboo
A naming taboo is a cultural taboo against speaking or writing the given names of exalted persons, notably in China and within the Chinese cultural sphere. It was enforced by several laws throughout Imperial China, but its cultural and possibly r ...
, many names of places with "yang" in their names were not changed. However, there can be other explanations for this.)
Du Lingyang was the daughter of Du Yi (杜乂), a mid-level official and the hereditary Marquis of Dangyang, the grandson of the general
Du Yu
Du Yu (223– January or February 285), courtesy name Yuankai, was a Chinese classicist, military general, and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the late Three Kingdoms period and early Jin dynasty.
Life
Du Yu was from Duling County ( ...
, who contributed much to
Emperor Wu of Jin
Emperor Wu of Jin (; 236 – 16 May 290), personal name Sima Yan (), courtesy name Anshi (安世), was the grandson of Sima Yi, nephew of Sima Shi and son of Sima Zhao. He became the first emperor of the Jin dynasty after forcing Cao Huan, ...
's
conquest
Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms.
Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, t ...
of
Eastern Wu
Wu ( Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' < : ''*ŋuɑ''), known in h ...
. Du Yi died early, and Du Lingyang, who did not have any brothers, was raised by her mother Lady Pei.
Du Lingyang was famed for her beauty and virtues, and Emperor Cheng married her as his empress in 336, when both of them were 15. He apparently favored her greatly, but she was childless. she died in 341, a year before he would die as well.
References
*
Fang, Xuanling. ''
Book of Jin
The ''Book of Jin'' is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty from 266 to 420. It was compiled in 648 by a number of officials commissioned by the imperial court of the Tang dynasty, with chancellor Fang X ...
'' (''Jin Shu'').
{{DEFAULTSORT:Du Lingyang, Empress
321 births
341 deaths
Jin dynasty (266–420) empresses
4th-century Chinese women
4th-century Chinese people
Du clan of Jingzhao