Empress Xiaoduanxian (; 7 November 1564 – 7 May 1620), personal name Wang Xijie (), was empress consort of the

Wanli Emperor The Wanli Emperor (; 4 September 1563 – 18 August 1620), personal name Zhu Yijun (), was the 14th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1572 to 1620. "Wanli", the era name of his reign, literally means "ten thousand calendars". He was the ...

. She was the longest serving empress consort in Chinese history.

Early life

Wang was born in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

to Wang Wei (王偉) of

Yuyao Yuyao () is a county-level city in the northeast of Zhejiang province, China. It is under the jurisdiction of the sub-provincial city of Ningbo. It is located west of central Ningbo, east of Hangzhou, bordering Hangzhou Bay in the north. Yuyao ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

. In the first month of 1577, Empress Dowager Rensheng and

Empress Dowager Xiaoding Empress Dowager Xiaoding (1545 – 18 March 1614), of the Li clan, was the mother of the Wanli Emperor. She was the nominal Regent of China during the minority of her son from 1572 to 1582. She became known in history under her posthumous name, Xiao ...

held a selection event to choose an empress for the

. The 12-year old Wang Xijie entered the selection process and was successfully chosen to be the empress. In the first month of 1578, she was formally married to the

at the age of 13. The grand secretary

Zhang Juzheng Zhang Juzheng (; 26 May 1525 – 9 July 1582), courtesy name Shuda (), pseudonym Taiyue (), was a Chinese politician who served as Senior Grand Secretary () in the late Ming dynasty during the reigns of the Longqing and Wanli emperors. He rep ...

wrote to both empress dowagers, arguing that Wang Xijie and the Wanli Emperor were too young. Initially, Wang's father was made a member of the

Jinyiwei The Embroidered Uniform Guard () was the imperial secret police that served the emperors of the Ming dynasty in China. The guard was founded by the Hongwu Emperor in 1368 to serve as his personal bodyguards. In 1369 it became an imperial milit ...

with authority over 1,000 households as a result of his daughter's success. In 1579, the Wanli Emperor also conferred the rank of Count (伯) of Yongnian on him. Since the time of the

Jiajing Emperor The Jiajing Emperor (; 16September 150723January 1567) was the 12th List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1521 to 1567. Born Zhu Houcong, he was the former Zhengde Emperor's cousin. His father, Zhu You ...

, inheritance of a feudal title by

lineal descendants A lineal descendant, in legal usage, is a blood relative in the direct line of descent – the children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc. of a person. In a legal procedure sense, lineal descent refers to the acquisition of estate by in ...

was not permitted. To show favour to Wang Xijie, her brother Wang Dong (王棟) was granted the countship on their father's death. When Wang Dong died, his mother Lady Zhao (趙) begged the emperor to extend the countship to Wang Dong's children, which was promptly done. Only the family of

had previously received similar honours.

Empress

The

History of Ming The ''History of Ming'' or the ''Ming History'' (''Míng Shǐ'') is one of the official Chinese historical works known as the ''Twenty-Four Histories''. It consists of 332 volumes and covers the history of the Ming dynasty from 1368 to 1644. It ...

records that the empress was extremely solemn and her

filial piety In Confucianism, Chinese Buddhism, and Daoist ethics, filial piety (, ''xiào'') (Latin: pietas) is a virtue of respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors. The Confucian ''Classic of Filial Piety'', thought to be written around the late W ...

made her a favourite of her mother-in-law

. During the period when the succession was undecided, the emperor's eldest son by Lady Gong was attacked at his palace in the east of the imperial city. Empress Xiaoduanxian organised for more guards and protections to be installed at his residence. The historian

Ray Huang Ray Huang (; 25 June 19188 January 2000) was a Chinese-American historian and philosopher who was an officer in the National Revolutionary Army and fought in the Burma Campaign. In 1964, Huang earned a Ph.D. in history from the University of M ...

comments: :''"She was, from her wedding day, permanently encased in palatial pomp and comfort; yet, by cruel exigency of tradition, her marriage was only a state necessity, reducing her to an accessory to an institution, entitled to all kind of meaningless honors but to little satisfaction as a wife. She bore the emperor a daughter and lived almost as long as he did. But at no time did she in any way affect the course of his life. As the principal daughter-in-law to jen-sheng, the emperor's principal mother, she had both the privilege and the obligation of attending her in public, such as helping her from her sedan chair, a task Hsiao-tuan performed exactly as required, thus earning for herself a reputation for filial piety. Inside the palace, however, she was better remembered as a ruthless mistress who frequently ordered her chambermaids beaten, sometimes to death."'' Empress Xiaoduanxian had one daughter in 1582 named Zhu Xuanying, formally titled the

Princess Rongchang Princess Rongchang (1582–1647) was a Chinese princess, the eldest child of the Ming dynasty Wanli Emperor and his primary wife's, Empress Xiaoduanxian, only child. Biography In 1596, Zhu Xuanying was given the title of Princess Rongchang. In Ma ...

, who married a military commander named Yang Chunyuan (楊春元).Qian (1700), volume 31.

Titles

*During the reign of the

(r. 1521–1567): **Lady Wang (王氏; from 7 November 1564) *During the reign of the

(r. 1572–1620): **Empress (皇后; from 1578) **''Empress Xiàoduān Zhēnkè Zhuānghuì Rénmíng Pìtiān Yùshèng Xiǎn'' (孝端贞恪庄惠仁明媲天毓圣显皇后; from 1620)

Issue

*As empress: **

(榮昌公主; 1582–1647), personal name Xuanying (軒媖), the Wanli Emperor first daughter ***Married Yang Chunyuan (; 1582–1616) in 1597, and had issue (five sons)

Tomb

The empress was buried at

Dingling The Dingling ( (174 BCE); (200 BCE); Eastern Han Chinese: *''teŋ-leŋ'' <

Old Chinese

: *''têŋ-rêŋ'') were ancient people ...

, where her husband was later interred. During the excavation of Dingling in 1956, many treasures from Empress Xiaoduanxian's burial were unearthed. These included her

phoenix crown (), also known as phoenix coronet or phoenix hat, is a type of (a type of Chinese traditional headgear) for women in . It was worn mainly by noblewomen for ceremonies or official occasions. It is also traditional headgear for brides and could be ...

, which the empress would have worn when visiting and making sacrifices in the ancestral temple. The crown features three phoenixes, six dragons, and weighs 2.96 kg. It now forms part of the collections of the

National Museum of China The National Museum of China () flanks the eastern side of Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. The museum's mission is to educate about the arts and history of China. It is directed by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People's Republic ...

Gallery

File:明朝孝端皇后.jpg, In ceremonial dress File:孝端顯皇后.jpg, In court dress

Notes

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Xiaoduanxian, Empress 1560s births 1620 deaths Ming dynasty empresses People from Ningbo 16th-century Chinese women 16th-century Chinese people 17th-century Chinese women 17th-century Chinese people