Empress Dowager Zheng (鄭太后, personal name unknown) (died December 26, 865), formally Empress Xiaoming (孝明皇后, "the filial and understanding empress"), 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 a ...

of the Chinese dynasty

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 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 ...

to Emperor Xianzong and, after her son

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 re ...

became emperor, she became empress dowager and continued to serve in that role until her death, during the reign of her grandson Emperor Yizong (when she was grand empress dowager).

Background

It is not known when the future Empress Dowager Zheng was born, and little is known about her family. According to 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 Kingd ...

'', at the time that that history was compiled, the old records were missing as to her family origins or how she entered the palace.''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 52. However, according to 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 ...

'', she was from Danyang (丹楊, in modern

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and t ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with it ...

), and her surname might have been originally Erzhu (). Further according to the ''New Book of Tang'', early in the ''Yuanhe'' era (806–820) of Emperor Xianzong, when her home region was ruled by 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 ...

'') Li Qi, a fortuneteller prophesied that she would give birth to an emperor. Hearing this, Li Qi decided to take her as a

.''New Book of Tang'', vol. 77. After Li Qi was defeated and executed in 807, she was confiscated and taken into the imperial palace, where she became a servant girl of Emperor Xianzong's wife Consort Guo.

As imperial consort

At some point, Emperor Xianzong had sexual relations with Lady Zheng, and she gave birth to the 13th of his 20 sons, Li Yi. It was implied by the ''Old Book of Tang'' that she was then made an imperial consort with the relatively low rank of ''Yunü'' ().

As consort dowager

Emperor Xianzong died in 820, and his son by Consort Guo,

Li Heng Emperor Suzong of Tang (''yihai'' day, 711 – 16 May 762; r. 756 – 762), personal name Li Heng, né Li Sisheng (), known as Li Jun () from 725 to 736, known as Li Yu () from 736 to 738, known briefly as Li Shao () in 738, was an emperor of t ...

became emperor (as Emperor Muzong). In 821, he created a number of his brothers princes, and it was at that time that Li Yi was created the Prince of Guang.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 241. Consort Zheng thus became Consort Dowager of Guang. Her activities during this time were not recorded in history, although it was said that, in 846, her younger brother Zheng Guang () dreamed of a wagon bearing the sun and the moon, and six lighted candles uniting into one. A fortune teller informed him that this was a sign of great fortune to come.

As empress dowager

Later in 846, Li Yi's nephew Emperor Wuzong (Emperor Muzong's son) was seriously ill, and the powerful

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 millenni ...

s inside the palace, believing that Li Yi would be easily controlled, issued an edict in Emperor Wuzong's name creating Li Yi

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 w ...

and renaming him to Li Chen. When Emperor Wuzong died shortly thereafter, Li Chen became emperor (as Emperor Xuānzong). He honored Consort Dowager Zheng as an

.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 248. (There were thus three empresses dowager at that time, with Emperor Muzong's mother Consort Guo then being grand empress dowager, and the mother of Emperor Wuzong's brother and predecessor Emperor Wenzong, Empress Dowager Xiao known as Empress Dowager Jiqing (as she resided at Jiqing Palace ()), until her death in 846.) Zheng Guang, on account of his being Empress Dowager Zheng's brother, was initially made a general, and then the military governor of Pinglu Circuit (平盧, headquartered in modern

Weifang Weifang () is a prefecture-level city in central Shandong province, People's Republic of China. The city borders Dongying to the northwest, Zibo to the west, Linyi to the southwest, Rizhao to the south, Qingdao to the east, and looks out to ...

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in His ...

). In 848, Grand Empress Dowager Guo died — purportedly murdered by Emperor Xuānzong. Empress Dowager Zheng had long resented Grand Empress Dowager Guo from the days when she was a servant girl under then-Consort Guo. It was said that because of this, and because Emperor Xuānzong suspected Grand Empress Dowager Guo of being complicit in Emperor Xianzong's suspicious death, Emperor Xuānzong did not accord Grand Empress Dowager Guo great respect, causing her to be distressed, almost committing suicide. On one occasion, she nearly jumped off a tower, and it was said that Emperor Xuānzong was greatly displeased and had her murdered. Emperor Xuānzong eventually wanted to allow his mother to be buried with his father Emperor Xianzong, and so initially, he would not let Grand Empress Dowager Guo be buried with Emperor Xianzong. However, after a controversy erupted, he relented. It was said that Emperor Xuānzong served his mother in a filially pious way, and because she did not want to reside anywhere else, she remained at his Daming Palace. Also because of her, after Zheng Guang served as military governor of Pinglu, Zheng Guang was given another term as military governor of Hezhong Circuit (河中, headquartered in modern

Yuncheng, Shanxi Yuncheng is the southernmost prefecture-level city in Shanxi province, People's Republic of China. It borders Linfen and Jincheng municipalities to the north and east, and Henan (Luoyang and Jiyuan to the east, Sanmenxia to the south) and Sha ...

). On an occasion when Zheng Guang was at the capital

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin ...

to give homage to Emperor Xuānzong, however, Emperor Xuānzong asked him for advice and was distressed to hear what he thought to be unworthy responses. He kept Zheng Guang at Chang'an, giving him a general title. Empress Dowager Zheng repeatedly told him that Zheng Guang was poor, and the emperor responded by awarding Zheng Guang great wealth, but did not again allow Zheng Guang to govern the people.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 249.

As grand empress dowager

Emperor Xuānzong died in 859 and was succeeded by his son Li Cui (as Emperor Yizong). Emperor Yizong honored Empress Dowager Zheng as grand empress dowager. She died in 865. As Empress Dowager Guo was already buried with Emperor Xianzong and enshrined at his temple, she was neither; rather, she was buried near Emperor Xianzong's tomb and enshrined in a separate temple.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 250.

Styles

*Lady Zheng *Concubine Zheng *Princess Dowager of Guang 光王太妃 (820–846) *Empress Dowager Zheng (846–859) *Grand Empress Dowager Zheng (859–865)

In fiction

Played by

Mary Hon Mary Hon is an actress from TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main ...

, a fictionalized version of Empress Dowager Zheng was portrayed in 2009 Hong Kong's TVB television series,

Beyond the Realm of Conscience ''Beyond the Realm of Conscience'' is a 2009 Hong Kong television series. Produced by Mui Siu-ching, the serial is one of two TVB productions to celebrate along with the channel's 42nd anniversary, the other being '' Born Rich''. The drama ai ...

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.

248 __NOTOC__ Year 248 ( CCXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Philippus and Severus (or, less frequently, year 1001 '' ...

, 249, 250. {{DEFAULTSORT:Zheng, Empress Dowager 8th-century births 865 deaths Tang dynasty empresses dowager People from Nanjing Chinese grand empresses dowager