Empress Chen Jinfeng (陳金鳳) (893''

Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms The ''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese title ''Shiguo Chunqiu'' (), is a history of the Ten Kingdoms that existed in southern China after the fall of the Tang Dynasty and before the reunification of China ...

'' (十國春秋)
vol. 94
– November 17, 935''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 279.Academia Sinica Chinese-Western Calendar Converter
) was the third known wife of

Wang Yanjun Wang Yanjun () (died November 17, 935), known as Wang Lin (王鏻 or 王璘) from 933 to 935, formally Emperor Huizong of Min (), used the name of Xuanxi () while briefly being a Taoist monk, was the third ruler of the Chinese Five Dynasties and T ...

(Emperor Huizong, also known as Wang Lin), a ruler 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 ...

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen conc ...

state

Min Min or MIN may refer to: Places * Fujian, also called Mǐn, a province of China ** Min Kingdom (909–945), a state in Fujian * Min County, a county of Dingxi, Gansu province, China * Min River (Fujian) * Min River (Sichuan) * Mineola (Amtrak ...

. Wang Yanjun, while not the first ruler of Min, was the first to claim imperial title, and Empress Chen was the first Empress of Min. When Wang Yanjun was assassinated in 935, she was also killed.

Background

According to her biography in the ''

'' (十國春秋), Chen Jinfeng was born in 893. Her father, legally, was Chen Yan, the governor of Fujian Circuit (福建, headquartered in modern

Fuzhou Fuzhou (; , Fuzhounese: Hokchew, ''Hók-ciŭ''), alternately romanized as Foochow, is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian province, China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute t ...

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...

) — yet the biography indicated that Chen Yan was not her biological father. Rather, Chen Yan had a homosexual affair with a young handsome man, Hou Lun (侯倫), who thereafter also had an affair with his concubine Lady Lu, leading to Lady Lu's pregnancy. After Chen Yan's death in or shortly after 891,''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 258. Lady Lu was initially taken into the household of his brother-in-law Fan Hui (范暉), who initially claimed the title of acting governor. While at Fan's household, Lady Lu gave birth to Chen Jinfeng (meaning, "golden phoenix") — as one night before Chen Jinfeng's birth, she dreamed of a

fenghuang ''Fènghuáng'' (, ) are mythological birds found in Sinospheric mythology that reign over all other birds. The males were originally called ''fèng'' and the females ''huáng'', but such a distinction of gender is often no longer made and ...

flying into her bosom. In 893,

Wang Shenzhi Wang Shenzhi (; 862 – December 30, 925), courtesy name Xintong () or Xiangqing (), formally Prince Zhongyi of Min () and later further posthumously honored as Emperor Taizu of Min (), was the founder of Min Kingdom on the southeast coastal prov ...

, then a general under his brother Wang Chao the prefect of Quan Prefecture (泉州, in modern

Quanzhou Quanzhou, postal map romanization, alternatively known as Chinchew, is a prefecture-level city, prefecture-level port city on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, China. It is Fujian's largest metrop ...

), captured Fujian's capital Fu Prefecture (福州), and Fan was killed in flight, allowing Wang Chao to take over control of the circuit. After Fan's defeat, Chen Jinfeng, then a child, was apparently lost among the common people, but was eventually taken in by her clansman Chen Kuangsheng (陳匡勝) and raised in his household.

As Wang Shenzhi's concubine

In 909, by which time Wang Shenzhi was the ruler of the circuit, now known as Weiwu Circuit (威武), he was also carrying the title of Prince of Min as a vassal of Later Liang. That year, he was selecting women from well-reputed households to be his concubines. At that time, Chen Jinfeng was 16, and, according to the ''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms'', was said to be beautiful and capable of dancing. Wang Shenzhi took her as a concubine, giving her the title of ''Cairen'' (才人). (However, the ''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms'' also acknowledged that according to the more formal ''

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...

'', she was said to be ugly and licentious, and also indicated that she was just a servant girl in Wang Shenzhi's palace, not a concubine.) According to the ''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms'', she was favored as much as

Lady Huang Lady Huang, also known in fiction and folklore as Huang Yueying, was the wife of Zhuge Liang, the Chancellor (China), chancellor and regent of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Her name was not recorded in history; ...

, and he built her a palace near a lake so that she could often see the lake.

As Wang Yanjun's concubine

Wang Shenzhi died in 925 and was succeeded by his son

Wang Yanhan Wang Yanhan ( zh, 王延翰) (died January 14, 927), courtesy name Ziyi (), was a ruler of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Min. He ruled briefly after the death of his father Wang Shenzhi (Prince Zhongyi) without a regal t ...

, who in turn was killed around the new year 927 by his adoptive brother

Wang Yanbing Wang Yanbing () (died 931), né Zhou Yanchen (), formally Prince Weisu of Wuping (), was an adoptive son of Wang Shenzhi (commonly considered the founding ruler of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state Min). After Wang Shenzhi's ...

and younger biological brother

, who then succeeded him. It was said that at one point, when he was on a palace gate, he saw Chen Jinfeng and was enticed by her, and thereafter made her a concubine and gave her the consort title of ''Shufei'' (淑妃), favoring her greatly.

As empress

In 933, Wang Yanjun claimed imperial title as the Emperor of Min (as Emperor Huizong). In 935, he created Consort Chen empress,The 935 date was given by the ''Zizhi Tongjian''; the ''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms'' gave the date as 933, at the time he declared himself emperor. bypassing his then-wife

Lady Jin Lady Jin (金氏, personal name unknown) was the second known wife of Wang Yanjun, a ruler of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Min. Very little was recorded in written history about her. Indeed, while her family name was gi ...

. He also made Chen Kuangsheng and another clansman, Chen Shou'en (陳守恩), officials in his palace. That year, it was said that Empress Chen's stepson (Wang Yanjun's son)

Wang Jipeng Wang Jipeng () (died August 29, 939), used the name Wang Chang () from 935 to 939, formally Emperor Kangzong of Min (), was an emperor of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Min. He inherited the throne after his father Wan ...

the Prince of Fu, was carrying on an affair with a

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

, Li Chunyan. Wang Jipeng revealed this to Empress Chen and requested her help; Empress Chen thus explained this to Wang Yanjun for him and persuaded Wang Yanjun to give Li to Wang Jipeng. Meanwhile, though, it was said that in his late years, Wang Yanjun had suffered from strokes, and Empress Chen thereafter carried on affairs with his close associate Gui Shouming (歸守明) and another official, Li Keyin (李可殷). As Li Keyin had falsely accused the guard officer Li Fang (李仿), and Chen Kuangsheng had been disrespectful to Wang Jipeng, both Li Fang and Wang Jipeng resented the current situation. As Wang Yanjun's illness progressed, both Li Fang and Wang Jipeng thought he would die and that Wang Jipeng would get the chance to succeed him. On November 16, 935, Li Fang sent several soldiers to assassinate Li Keyin, greatly shocking the people of the Min state. The next day (November 17), Wang Yanjun was less ill, and Empress Chen informed him of Li Keyin's death. Shocked, he took his seat in the imperial hall and ordered an investigation into Li Keyin's death. In fear, Li Fang mobilized his troop and had them enter the palace. The soldiers wounded Wang Yanjun severely and his ladies-in-waiting, not willing to see him suffer further, killed him. Li Fang and Wang Jipeng thereafter killed Empress Chen, Chen Shou'en, Chen Kuangsheng, Gui, and Wang Jipeng's younger brother Wang Jitao (王繼韜), whom Wang Jipeng had long had a rivalry with. Wang Jipeng then took over the throne.

Notes and references

* ''

'' (十國春秋)
vol. 94
* ''

'', vol. 279. {{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Jinfeng 893 births 935 deaths People from Fuzhou Min Kingdom people born during Tang Later Tang people Min Kingdom empresses Chinese female dancers Executed Min Kingdom people People executed by Min Kingdom Executed people from Fujian Murdered royalty