Ren Neiming () (865 – July 2, 918),

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theob ...

Zhaohua (), formally Lady Shangxian of Wei (),Tombstone of Lady Shangxian of Wei, Lady Ren of Jin'an
was the wife of

Wang Shenzhi Wang Shenzhi (; 862 – December 30, 925), courtesy name Xintong () or Xiangqing (), formally Prince Zhongyi of Min () and later further posthumously honored as Emperor Taizu of Min (), was the founder of Min Kingdom on the southeast coastal pro ...

(Prince Zhongyi), the founding ruler of

Min Min or MIN may refer to: Places * Fujian, also called Mǐn, a province of China ** Min Kingdom (909–945), a state in Fujian * Min County, a county of Dingxi, Gansu province, China * Min River (Fujian) * Min River (Sichuan) * Mineola (Am ...

, a state during 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 ...

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen conc ...

Traditional sources

Very little was recorded about Lady Ren in extant sources, which indicated that her geographic origins and her family background had been lost to history even when the sources were written. She was created a lady (國夫人, ''Guo Furen'') during Wang Shenzhi's reign as the Prince of Min. She carried that title for several years before her death. She was buried on the backside of Mount Fengchi () in Fu Prefecture (福州, in modern Fuzhou,

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 cap ...

).''

Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms The ''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese title ''Shiguo Chunqiu'' (), is a history of the Ten Kingdoms that existed in southern China after the fall of the Tang Dynasty and before the reunification of China ...

'' (十國春秋)
vol. 94
After Wang Shengzhi himself died in 925,''

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song (960–1127), Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959&n ...

'', vol. 274. he was buried with her. In the ''Longqi'' era of Wang Shenzhi's son

Wang Yanjun Wang Yanjun () (died November 17, 935), known as Wang Lin (王鏻 or 王璘) from 933 to 935, formally Emperor Huizong of Min (), used the name of Xuanxi () while briefly being a Taoist monk, was the third ruler of the Chinese Five Dynasties and ...

(who had claimed imperial title by that point), who was born of his primary concubine

Lady Huang Lady Huang, also known in fiction and folklore as Huang Yueying, was the wife of Zhuge Liang, the chancellor and regent of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Her name was not recorded in history; "Huang Yueying" is s ...

, Wang Shenzhi and Lady Ren were posthumously honored emperor and empress.

Tombstone

Lady Ren's tombstone, which had been discovered in modern times, however, provided her name, title, and more background information. She was said to be from Jin'an (晉安, i.e., Fuzhou). Her father was named Ren Hui (), and mother was a Lady Luo. She had two brothers, Ren Yanwen () and Ren Yanzhang (). She died on July 2, 918, at the age of 53. Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter
As her tombstone listed only five sons and three daughters (which would have included Wang Shenzhi's children who were not actually born of her) and Wang Shenzhi's listed 12 sons and eight daughters,
. presumably, seven of his sons and five of his daughters were born after her death.

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ren, Neiming 865 births 918 deaths Min Kingdom people born during Tang People from Fuzhou Min posthumous empresses