Princess Dowager Ma (馬太后, personal name unknown; died 362) was the mother 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 ...

state

Former Liang The Former Liang (; 320–376) was a dynastic state, one of the Sixteen Kingdoms, in Chinese history. It was founded by the Zhang family of the Han ethnicity. Its territories included present-day Gansu and parts of Ningxia, Shaanxi, Qinghai and X ...

's ruler

Zhang Chonghua Zhang Chonghua (; 327–353), courtesy name Tailin (), formally Duke Jinglie of Xiping (西平敬烈公, posthumous name given by the Jin dynasty) or Duke Huan of Xiping (西平桓公, posthumous name used internally in Former Liang) was a ruler ...

. She was a concubine of Zhang Chonghua's father Zhang Jun.

Life

Nothing is known about Lady Ma's acts during Zhang Jun's reign, other than her status as his

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

's mother. This implies that Zhang Jun's wife

Princess Yan Princess Yan (嚴王后, personal name unknown) was the wife of the Chinese state Former Liang's ruler Zhang Jun. It is not known when Zhang Jun married her, but it is known that she carried the title of princess even though Zhang, for most of ...

had no sons. After Zhang Jun's death in 346, Zhang Chonghua succeeded him and honored her as "Empress Dowager" while honoring Princess Yan as "Grand Empress Dowager." After Zhang Chonghua died in 353, his son

Zhang Yaoling Zhang Yaoling (; 344–355), courtesy name Yuanshu (), formally Duke Ai of Xiping, was briefly the ruler of the Chinese state Former Liang in 353 and early 354. Zhang Yaoling was the oldest son of his father Zhang Chonghua (Duke Jinglie) and th ...

carried the

Jin Dynasty (266–420) The Jin dynasty (; ) or the Jin Empire, sometimes distinguished as the (司馬晉) or the (兩晉), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed from 266 to 420. It was founded by Sima Yan (Emperor Wu), eldest son of Sima Zhao, who had pr ...

-created title Duke of Xiping and was the titular ruler, but actual power was in Empress Dowager Ma's and Zhang Chonghua's older brother

Zhang Zuo Zhang Zuo (; died 355), courtesy name Taibo (), formally Prince Wei of (Former) Liang () was a ruler of the Chinese state Former Liang. He was the only ruler of Former Liang to formally declare a break from Jin Dynasty (266–420), and histor ...

's hands. Most historians believed that she had an affair with Zhang Zuo, and later that year, she deposed Zhang Yaoling and replaced him with Zhang Zuo. In 355, however, the overly extravagant and cruel Zhang Zuo was deposed and killed by a coalition of officials, including Zhang Guan (張瓘) and

Song Hun Song Hun () (died 361), courtesy name Xuanyi (), was a regent of the Chinese Former Liang dynasty. During the reign of the violent and capricious Zhang Zuo, Song Hun served as a general, even though he constantly feared Zhang Zuo, because his ol ...

, and they pressured her into making Zhang Chonghua's younger son,

Zhang Xuanjing Zhang Xuanjing (張玄靚 or 張玄靖) (350–363), courtesy name Yuan'an (), formally Duke Jingdao of Xiping (西平敬悼公, posthumous name given by Jin Dynasty (266–420)) or Duke Chong of Xiping (西平沖公, posthumous name used interna ...

, the new ruler.Zhang Yaoling had been killed by Zhang Zuo earlier that year. Zhang Guan initially served as regent, but was killed in 359 by Song Hun, who served as regent until his death in 361. He was replaced by his brother Song Cheng (宋澄), who was in turn killed by Zhang Yong (張邕) later that year. It was said that Empress Dowager Ma also carried on an affair with Zhang Yong, who was in turn overthrown by Zhang Jun's youngest son

Zhang Tianxi Zhang Tianxi (; 346–406), original courtesy name Gongchungu (), later Chungu (), nickname Duhuo (), formally Duke Dao of Xiping (), was the last ruler of the Chinese state Former Liang. He was the youngest son of Zhang Jun (Duke Zhongcheng), a ...

late in the year. In 362, Empress Dowager Ma died.

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ma, Empress Dowager Former Liang princesses dowager 362 deaths Year of birth unknown 4th-century Chinese women 4th-century Chinese people