Empress Dowager Xiaoyi (

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 ...

: 孝翼皇太后; 1397 – 16 January 1462), of the Wu clan, was a concubine of the

Xuande Emperor The Xuande Emperor (16 March 1399 31 January 1435), personal name Zhu Zhanji (朱瞻基), was the fifth Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1425 to 1435. His era name "Xuande" means "proclamation of virtue". Ruling over a relatively ...

Biography

Records say she comes from the Wu clan from Zhejiang Province. Her family consisted of her father Wu Yanming, her mother Lady Shen, her four brothers Wu Xing, Wu Zhong, Wu Rong and Wu An and three sisters: Wu Meixiang, Wu Meiyin and Wu Meiqing. She entered court on the 10th year of Yongle (1412) when she was sixteen years old. At this time

Zhu Zhanji The Xuande Emperor (16 March 1399 31 January 1435), personal name Zhu Zhanji (朱瞻基), was the fifth List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1425 to 1435. His Chinese era name, era name "Xuande" mea ...

was the emperor's grandson, and she was assigned as his servant in Yuqing Palace. After this, the next record of her is when she gave birth to Zhu Qiyu in 1428 and was instated as Consort Xian that same year. It is rumored however that Zhu Qiyu is not the Xuande Emperor's child. After the death of the Xuande Emperor, his eldest son by his wife Empress Sun was enthroned as the

Zhengtong Emperor Emperor Yingzong of Ming (; 29 November 1427 – 23 February 1464), personal name Zhu Qizhen (), was the sixth and eighth Emperor of the Ming dynasty. He ascended the throne as the Zhengtong Emperor () in 1435, but was forced to abdicate in ...

. In 1449, the Zhengtong Emperor became a prisoner of the

Oirat Mongols Oirats ( mn, Ойрад, ''Oirad'', or , Oird; xal-RU, Өөрд; zh, 瓦剌; in the past, also Eleuths) are the westernmost group of the Mongols whose ancestral home is in the Altai region of Siberia, Xinjiang and western Mongolia. Histor ...

and because of this, Zhu Qiyu was enthroned as the

Jingtai Emperor The Jingtai Emperor (21 September 1428 – 14 March 1457), born Zhu Qiyu, was the seventh Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1449 to 1457. The second son of the Xuande Emperor, he was selected in 1449 to succeed his elder brother Emper ...

. He honored his mother as empress dowager. But after the deposition of the Jingtai Emperor, the Zhengtong Emperor demoted Empress Dowager Wu and gave her the title of Consort Xuanmiaoxian (宣廟賢妃). When she died she was given the posthumous title of Consort Rongsixian (榮思賢妃). After the enthronement of the

Hongguang Emperor The Hongguang Emperor (; 1607–1646), personal name Zhu Yousong (), childhood nickname Fuba (福八), was the first emperor of the Chinese Southern Ming dynasty. He reigned briefly in southern China from 1644 to 1645. His era name, ''Hongguang'' ...

, she was elevated to the rank of empress dowager and was given the posthumous title Empress Dowager Xiàoyì Chénhuì Shūshèn Círén Kuāngtiān Xīshèng (孝翼溫惠淑慎慈仁匡天錫聖皇太后)

Titles

*During the reign of the Hongwu Emperor (r. 1368–1398): **Lady Wu (吳氏; from 1397) *During the reign of the

Yongle Emperor The Yongle Emperor (; pronounced ; 2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), personal name Zhu Di (), was the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424. Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dyn ...

(r. 1402–1424) **Palace Lady (from 1412) *During the reign of the

(r. 1425–1435): **Consort Xian (賢妃; from September 1428) *During the reign of the

(r. 1435 – 1457): **Empress Dowager (皇太后; from 22 September 1449) *During the reign of the Tianshun Emperor (r. 1457–1464) ** Consort Xuanmiaoxian (宣廟賢妃; from 1457) **''Consort Rongsixian'' (榮思賢妃; from 1462) *During the reign of

(r. 1644–1645) **''Empress Dowager Xiàoyì Chénhuì Shūshèn Círén Kuāngtiān Xīshèng'' (孝翼溫惠淑慎慈仁匡天錫聖皇太后; from 1644)

Issue

*As Palace Lady: **Zhu Qiyu, the

(景泰帝朱祁鈺; 21 September 1428 – 14 March 1457), the Xuande Emperor's second son

Notes

# 明史/卷300 列傳第一百八十八　外戚 # ^ 參照《万历野获编》

References

* 荣思贤妃圹志 Concubines Zhejiang History of China {{China-history-stub