Noble Consort Chengmu ( zh, c=成穆贵妃孙氏,

1343 Year 1343 ( MCCCXLIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * January 14 – Arnošt of Pardubice becomes the last bishop of Prague and, ...

–

1374 Year 1374 ( MCCCLXXIV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * April 23 – In recognition of his services, Edward III of England grants the En ...

) of the Sun clan, was an imperial consort of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

. 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 ...

Emperor Hongwu The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 – 24 June 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang (), courtesy name Guorui (), was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398. As famine, plagues and peasant revolts in ...

(Zhu Yuanzhang), the first ruler of the Ming dynasty.

Life

Her personal name was not recorded in the history. Lady Sun's father, Sun Heqing, was an official of the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...

.Sun Heqing moved from Chen Prefecture to

Changzhou Changzhou ( Changzhounese: ''Zaon Tsei'', ) is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. It was previously known as Yanling, Lanling and Jinling. Located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, Changzhou borders the provin ...

together with his wife and children. Lady Sun had two older brothers: Sun Dashi (孙大石) and Sun Fan (孫藩).Both of her parent died in the war of the

.She was adopted by Marshal Ma Shixiong (馬世熊) At the age of 18, because of her outstanding beauty, Sun was accepted as a concubine by

Zhu Yuanzhang The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 – 24 June 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang (), courtesy name Guorui (), was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398. As famine, plagues and peasant revolts in ...

, who was still fighting in the

Red Turban Rebellions The Red Turban Rebellions () were uprisings against the Yuan dynasty between 1351 and 1368, eventually leading to its collapse. Remnants of the Yuan imperial court retreated northwards and is thereafter known as the Northern Yuan in historiogr ...

. After Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne and established the

, Lady Sun was given the rank of ''Noble Consort (贵妃)''. Im addition to her beauty, Concubine Sun was good at etiquette, behaved well, and assisted Empress Ma in managing the harem.Empress Ma also praised Noble Consort Sun to Zhu Yuanzhang as a rare virtuous woman. Noble Consort Sun died in September of the seventh year of Hongwu ( 1374 ) and was given the posthumous title of ''Noble Consort Chengmu (成穆貴妃)''Ming Shilu, Vol 113 at the age of thirty-two.Later, she was buried in Xiaoling Mausoleum.

References

*《明史卷一百十四列传第一》 Cheng, Consort Cheng, Consort Cheng, Consort People from Zhoukou {{China-bio-stub