Empress Dowager Xiao () (died June 1, 847According to Empress Dowager Xiao's biography in the ''

Old Book of Tang The ''Old Book of Tang'', or simply the ''Book of Tang'', is the first classic historical work about the Tang dynasty, comprising 200 chapters, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories. Originally compiled during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...

'', she died in the middle of Emperor Wuzong's ''Huichang'' era (841–846), but that contradicted the other accounts about her death, which indicated that her death was in 847, during the reign of

Emperor Xuānzong Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (July 27, 810 – September 7, 859) (reigned April 25, 846 – September 7, 859) was an emperor in the latter part of the Tang dynasty of China. Personally named Li Yi, later renamed Li Chen (), and known before his rei ...

. Further confusing the situation was the ''date'' of her death in 847. Her biography in the ''

New Book of Tang The ''New Book of Tang'', generally translated as the "New History of the Tang" or "New Tang History", is a work of official history covering the Tang dynasty in ten volumes and 225 chapters. The work was compiled by a team of scholars of the So ...

'' indicated that she died in 847 but did not give a date. The chronicle of Emperor Xuānzong's reign in the ''Old Book of Tang'' gave her death as being in the fourth month of the

lunar calendar A lunar calendar is a calendar based on the monthly cycles of the Moon's phases (synodic months, lunations), in contrast to solar calendars, whose annual cycles are based only directly on the solar year. The most commonly used calendar, the Gre ...

but did not give a day. The ''Zizhi Tongjian'' gave her death as being on the ''Jiyou'' day of the ''third'' month of 847, which did not exist in the

sexagenary cycle The sexagenary cycle, also known as the Stems-and-Branches or ganzhi ( zh, 干支, gānzhī), is a cycle of sixty terms, each corresponding to one year, thus a total of sixty years for one cycle, historically used for recording time in China and t ...

for dating. The chronicle of Emperor Xuānzong's reign in the ''New Book of Tang'', which indicated "the Empress Dowager" died on the ''Jiyou'' day of the fourth month of 847 but did not specify which empress dowager it was (although it indicated later, at the time of her burial, that it was "Empress Dowager Zhenxian" (i.e., Empress Dowager Xiao)), the only major traditional account that gave an actual date of her death, is thus used here. Compare ''Old Book of Tang'', vols. 18, part 2 hronicle of Emperor Xuānzong's reign 52 iographies of empresses ''New Book of Tang'', vols. 8 hronicle of Emperor Xuānzong's reign 77 iographies of empresses and ''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 248.), formally Empress Zhenxian (貞獻皇后, "the virtuous and wise empress"), known at times in her life as Empress Dowager Jiqing (), was an

empress dowager Empress dowager (also dowager empress or empress mother) () is the English language translation of the title given to the mother or widow of a Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese emperor in the Chinese cultural sphere. The title was also g ...

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 ...

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

. She was the mother of Emperor Wenzong and 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 ...

of Emperor Muzong.

Background

It is not known when the future Empress Dowager Xiao was born, but it is known that she was from 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 ...

).''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 52. She became a

of Li You, a son of

Emperor Xianzong Emperor Xianzong of Tang (4 March to 1 April 778''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 14. – 14 February 820; r. 805 – 820), personal name Li Chun, né Li Chun (), was an emperor of the Chinese Tang Dynasty. He was the eldest son of Emperor Shunzong ...

, while Li You was the Prince of Jian'an.''New Book of Tang'', vol. 77. At the time she left home, her parents had already died, and the only family member remaining at her home was a younger brother. She bore Li You a son, Li Han, in 809, when he was the Prince of Sui. In 821, by which time Li You's name had been changed to Li Heng and he had become emperor (as Emperor Muzong), Li Han was created the Prince of Jiāng, although it is not known what title she carried during Emperor Muzong's reign or the subsequent reign of Li Han's older brother Emperor Jingzong following Emperor Muzong's death in 824.

As empress dowager

During Emperor Wenzong's reign

In 826, Emperor Jingzong was assassinated, purportedly by his

polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...

players, led by Su Zuoming (). The

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

Liu Keming () initially supported Emperor Muzong's younger brother Li Wu the Prince of Jiàng (note different tone) to succeed Emperor Jingzong, but soon the eunuch army commanders Wang Shoucheng, Yang Chenghe (), Wei Congjian (), and Liang Shouqian () killed Liu and Li Wu, supporting Li Han instead (as Emperor Wenzong, with his name changed from Li Han to Li Ang). Emperor Wenzong honored his mother

while honoring Emperor Jingzong's mother Empress Dowager Wang "Empress Dowager Baoli" ("Baoli" () being Emperor Jingzong's era name). There were thus three empresses dowager in the palace at the time (along with Emperor Muzong's mother and Emperor Wenzong's grandmother Grand Empress Dowager Guo). It was said that Emperor Wenzong was filially pious and honored the three empresses dowager properly. Whenever he received valuable food items, he would first submit them to the ancestral temples, then the empresses dowager, before receiving them himself.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 243. Emperor Wenzong created Empress Dowager Xiao's older sister the Lady of Xu. He also ordered that the governor of Fujian Circuit carry out a search for Empress Dowager Xiao's younger brother, whom she had not seen since her departure from home. The governor, however, could not locate her younger brother. There happened to be a worker at a tea shop, Xiao Hong (), who claimed to have a lost sister. The merchant Zhao Zhen () introduced Xiao Hong to the Lady of Xu's son-in-law Lü Zhang () and through him, Xiao Hong met the Lady of Xu. The Lady of Xu could not tell whether he was their brother or not, and further introduced him to Empress Dowager Xiao. Emperor Wenzong came to believe that Xiao Hong was in fact his uncle, and therefore made him a member of the staff of the

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 ...

in 828.However, there was no crown prince at the time, so the title was entirely honorary. Xiao Hong later served as a general of the imperial guards, then as the military governor (''

Jiedushi The ''jiedushi'' (), or jiedu, was a title for regional military governors in China which was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of ''jiedushi'' has been translated as "military commissioner", "legate", ...

'') of Heyang Circuit (河陽, headquartered in modern Jiaozuo,

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

) and then of Fufang Circuit (鄜坊, headquartered in modern

Yan'an Yan'an (; ), alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several counties, including Zhidan (formerly Bao'an ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichu ...

). Later, however, Emperor Wenzong's

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Li Xun came to find out that Xiao Hong was not truly Empress Dowager Xiao's brother. Xiao Hong, fearful that Li Xun would report him, ingratiated Li Xun by inviting Li Xun's brother Li Zhongjing () as a staff member. At that time, whenever the

-commanded Shence Army () officers went sent out to serve as military governors, the other Shence Army officers paid for their travel expenses but required that they pay back threefold after they took office. One of Xiao's predecessors as the military governor of Fufang was a Shence Army officer, but died before he could pay back. The creditors were not satisfied and wanted Xiao to pay for his predecessor, but Xiao refused. When the creditors tried to collect from the predecessor's son, Xiao taught the son to seek intervention from Li Xun. Li Xun subsequently ruled that the son could refuse to pay the debts. After Li Xun was killed in the

Ganlu Incident The Sweet Dew incident () was a failed coup on December 14, 835 Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 245. by Emperor Wenzong of the Chinese Tang dynasty to seize power from the eunuchs. The emperor p ...

—a failed attempt by Emperor Wenzong, Li Xun, and Zheng Zhu to massacre the eunuchs—in 835, the powerful eunuch Qiu Shiliang, who commanded one of the two Shence Armies, thus came to resent Xiao Hong deeply.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 245. Meanwhile, Empress Dowager Xiao's real brother remained at Fujian Circuit, but was said to be so weak in personality that he did not dare to assert himself as her brother. One of his acquaintances, Xiao Ben (), through conversations with him, came to know details about the names of his family members. Xiao Ben informed Qiu and accused Xiao Hong of falsely claiming to be Empress Dowager Xiao's brother. In 836, Xiao Hong was thus exiled to Huan Prefecture (驩州, in modern Nghệ An Province,

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

), but before he could reach Huan Prefecture, he was ordered to commit suicide. Emperor Wenzong, believing Xiao Ben to be his real uncle, made Xiao Ben a member of the staff of his son and crown prince, Li Yong. In 837, Fujian Circuit submitted a report that one Xiao Hong (蕭弘, note different character than the Xiao Hong referred to above) claimed to be Empress Dowager Xiao's real brother. Emperor Wenzong ordered an investigation by the office of the imperial censors (御史台, ''Yushi Tai''). Later that year, the office of the imperial censors concluded that Xiao Hong's claim was fraudulent. Emperor Wenzong sent him home but did not punish him. In 839,

Liu Congjian Liu Congjian () (803–843''New Book of Tang'', vol. 214.), formally the Duke of Pei (), was a Chinese military general and politician of the Tang Dynasty who is most known for his term as the military governor (''Jiedushi'') of Zhaoyi Circuit (昭 ...

the military governor of Zhaoyi Circuit (昭義, headquartered in modern Changzhi,

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

), where Xiao Hong had gone subsequently, submitted a petition vouching for Xiao Hong and claiming that the prior investigators ruled against him because Xiao Ben had the backing of the Left Shence Army (). Emperor Wenzong ordered further investigations by not only the office of the imperial censors, but also by the ministry of justice (刑部, ''Xingbu'') and the supreme court (大理寺, ''Dali Si''). Later in the year, the three agencies submitted reports concluding that neither Xiao Ben nor Xiao Hong was Empress Dowager Xiao's brother. Xiao Ben was exiled to Ai Prefecture (愛州, in modern Thanh Hóa Province,

), while Xiao Hong was exiled to Dan Prefecture (儋州, headquartered in modern

Danzhou Danzhou () is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of the Chinese island province of Hainan. Although called a "city", Danzhou administers a large area which was called Dan County or Danxian () until 1993. The administrative seat and urban ...

Hainan Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...

). Meanwhile, Empress Dowager Xiao's real brother remained in Fujian, and was never able to meet her.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 246.

During Emperor Wuzong's and Emperor Xuānzong's reigns

In 840, Emperor Wenzong died and was succeeded by his brother Emperor Wuzong. Empress Dowager Xiao moved to Jiqing Hall () and thereafter became known as Empress Dowager Jiqing. She died in 847, during the reign of Emperor Wuzong's successor (a younger brother of Emperor Muzong's)

Notes and references

* ''

'', vol. 52. * ''

'', vol. 77. * ''

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 ...

'', vols.

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. {{DEFAULTSORT:Xiao, Empress Dowager 8th-century births 847 deaths Tang dynasty empresses dowager People from Fujian