Du Zhu

Du Zhu () was an

empress An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

of the

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

/ Jie state

Later Zhao The Later Zhao (; 319–351) was a dynasty of the Sixteen Kingdoms in northern China. It was founded by the Shi family of the Jie ethnicity. The Jie were most likely a Yeniseian people and spoke next to Chinese one of the Yeniseian languages.Vov ...

. She was

Shi Hu Shi Hu (; 295–349), courtesy name Jilong (季龍), formally Emperor Wu of (Later) Zhao ((後)趙武帝), was an emperor of the Jie-led Chinese Later Zhao dynasty. He was the founding emperor Shi Le's distant nephew, who took power in a coup ...

(Emperor Wu)'s second empress. Du Zhu was initially a family prostitute from a general of Jin, Wang Jun. After she was captured by the army of

, she was given by

Shi Le Shi Le (274–17 August 333), courtesy name Shilong, formally Emperor Ming of (Later) Zhao, was the founding emperor of the Jie-led Later Zhao dynasty of China. At a young age he was sold as a slave by Jin officials, but he later helped start a ...

to Shi Hu as a

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...

under Shi Hu's pleading, with the title Cairen (才人). When Shi Hu became "Heavenly Prince" (天王) she was given the title Zhaoyi (昭儀). Du Zhu was said to have a soft nature and mood. She bore Shi Hu at least two sons—Shi Xuan (石宣) and Shi Tao (石韜). Shi Xuan carried the title of Duke of Hejian, and Shi Tao the Duke of Qin. In 337, after Shi Hu's first

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

Shi Sui (石邃) was executed for having plotted his father's assassination, Shi Xuan, as the next son in age, was created crown prince. Shi Sui's mother

Empress Zheng Yingtao Zheng Yingtao (; died 349) was an empress of the Chinese/ Jie state Later Zhao. She was Shi Hu (Emperor Wu)'s first empress, but not his first wife. Life Zheng Yingtao became a concubine of Shi Hu's, apparently when he was in his late teens, ...

was deposed, and Consort Du was created empress to replace her. Nothing further was mentioned about Empress Du herself in historical records. In 348, after Shi Xuan killed Shi Tao after a dispute between the brothers, Shi Hu had him executed cruelly, ordered all his family killed and then deposed Empress Du, although he did not kill her. There was no further record of her in history, and it is not known when she died. Chinese female prostitutes Later Zhao empresses 4th-century Chinese women 4th-century Chinese people {{China-royal-stub