Wang Shaoji () 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
Chinese Chen Dynasty. Her husband was
Emperor Fei (Chen Bozong).
Her father Wang Gu (王固) was a mid-level official during the
Liang and early Chen Dynasties, and was a nephew of Liang's founder
Emperor Wu of Liang. She married Chen Bozong in 560, when he was
crown prince under his father
Emperor Wen, and carried the title of Crown Princess. Her age at that time was not known, while he was either six or eight. In 566, she gave birth to the only son of his known to history, Chen Zhize (陳至澤).
Later in 566, Emperor Wen died, and Chen Bozong took the throne (as Emperor Fei). He created Crown Prince Wang empress and, in 567, he created her son Chen Zhize crown prince. Almost immediately, however, fights broke out between the officials that Emperor Wen put in charge of important matters. The victor, Emperor Fei's uncle
Chen Xu
Emperor Xuan of Chen (陳宣帝) (530–582), personal name Chen Xu (陳頊), also called Chen Tanxu(陳曇頊),《 新唐書·宰相世系表》 courtesy name Shaoshi (紹世), childhood name Shili (師利), was an emperor of the Chen dynasty o ...
the Prince of Ancheng, deposed Emperor Fei in winter 568 and took the throne himself in spring 569 (as Emperor Xuan). Emperor Fei was demoted to the title of Prince of Linhai, and the empress became the Princess of Linhai. In 570, the Prince of Linhai died, and Chen Zhize inherited the title of the Prince of Linhai. Presumably, she then became the Princess Dowager of Linhai. She died during Emperor Xuan's son
Chen Shubao's ''Zhide'' (至德) era (583-586), but the exact year of her death is not known.
References
* ''
History of the Southern Dynasties'',
vol. 12.
* ''
Zizhi Tongjian'',
vol. 169.
* ''Jiankang Shilu'' (建康實錄), vol. 19.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wang, Empress
Chen dynasty empresses
6th-century births
580s deaths