Yuan Leshang (; born 565), later Buddhist nun name Huasheng (華勝), was a concubine of the Emperor Xuan of the Northern Zhou dynasty of China. Yuan Leshang's father was Yuan Sheng (元晟), a Northern Zhou official and a descendant of the

Northern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei (), Tuoba Wei (), Yuan Wei () and Later Wei (), was founded by the Tuoba (Tabgach) clan of the Xianbei. The first of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties ...

's imperial Yuan clan. In 579, Yuan Leshang was selected to be an imperial consort for Emperor Xuan, with the title of ''Guifei'' (貴妃). A month later, Emperor Xuan passed the throne to his son Emperor Jing and took an atypical title for a retired emperor, "Emperor Tianyuan" (天元皇帝, ''Tianyuan Huangdi''). He subsequently decided that in addition to his wife Empress Yang Lihua, he would create three more empresses, and Consort Yuan was selected as one—with the title of Empress Tianyou (天右皇后, ''Tianyou Huanghou''), subsequently changed in spring 580 to ''Tianyou Da Huanghou'' (天右大皇后). Among the empresses, she was said to be closest to Chen Yueyi, as they entered the palace at the same time and were the same age, and they were also both favored by Emperor Xuan. Emperor Xuan died in summer 580, and Empress Yang's father Yang Jian became regent. Empress Yuan became a Buddhist nun with the name of Huasheng, and she outlived Yang Jian's subsequent

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and layi ...

. According to both the '' Book of Zhou'' and '' History of Northern Dynasties'', she was still alive as of the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang (626-649), but nothing further was recorded in either of those two official histories about her.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yuan, Leshang Northern Zhou empresses Northern Zhou Buddhists Sui dynasty Buddhists Tang dynasty Buddhists Chinese Buddhist nuns 6th-century Buddhist nuns 7th-century Buddhist nuns 565 births 7th-century deaths