Consort Dowager An (; personal name unknown) (died 949) was the mother of

Shi Chonggui Shi Chonggui () (914–974), known in traditional Chinese historical sources as Emperor Chu of Later Jin (後晉出帝, "the exiled emperor") or Emperor Shao of Later Jin (後晉少帝, "the young emperor"), posthumously known in the Liao dynasty a ...

(Emperor Chu), the second and final emperor of the Chinese Later Jin dynasty. As he inherited his throne from his uncle (Lady An's brother-in-law)

Shi Jingtang Shi Jingtang ( zh, 石敬瑭; 30 March 892 – 28 July 942''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 283.), also known by his temple name Gaozu (), was the founding emperor of imperial China's short-lived Later Jin during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms pe ...

(Emperor Gaozu), he honored Shi Jingtang's wife Empress Li

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 also g ...

, leaving Lady An with the lesser title of consort dowager. After Later Jin's destruction by the Khitan-led

Liao dynasty The Liao dynasty (; Khitan: ''Mos Jælud''; ), also known as the Khitan Empire (Khitan: ''Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur''), officially the Great Liao (), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 916 and 1125, ruled by the Yelü ...

, she followed him into exile deep in Liao territory and died there.

Background

It is not known when Lady An was born. Little is known about her family background beyond that she was from the Daibei region (代北, i.e., the region around and north of modern

Xinzhou Xinzhou, ancient name Xiurong (秀荣), is a prefecture-level city occupying the north-central section of Shanxi Province in the People's Republic of China, bordering Hebei to the east, Shaanxi to the west, and Inner Mongolia to the northwest ...

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

). Her husband Shi Jingru (石敬儒)''

New History of the Five Dynasties The ''Historical Records of the Five Dynasties'' (''Wudai Shiji'') is a Chinese history book on the Five Dynasties period (907–960), written by the Song dynasty official Ouyang Xiu in private. It was drafted during Ouyang's exile from 1036 to ...

'', vol. 17. was a cavalry officer of

Li Cunxu Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang (), personal name Li Cunxu (), nickname Yazi (), stage name Li Tianxia (), was the ruling prince of the Former Jin dynasty (r. 908–923) and later became the founding emperor of the Later Tang dynasty (r. 923 ...

the Prince of Jin. She gave birth to their only known child,

, in 914. Shi Jingru died early, and so Shi Chonggui was raised by and adopted by his younger brother,

.''

Old History of the Five Dynasties The ''Old History of the Five Dynasties'' (''Jiù Wǔdài Shǐ'') was an official history mainly focus on Five Dynasties era (907–960), which controlled much of northern China. And it also includes some history of other south states during the ...

'', vol. 81.

During Later Jin

In 936, Shi Jingtang, then a

Later Tang Tang, known in historiography as the Later Tang, was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China and the second of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in Chinese history. The first three of the Later Tang's four ...

general, rebelled against Later Tang's final emperor

Li Congke Li Congke () (11 February 885 – 11 January 937), also known in historiography as the Last Emperor of Later Tang (), Deposed Emperor of Later Tang (), Wang Congke () (particularly during the succeeding Later Jin dynasty, which did not recogni ...

and founded

Later Jin Later Jin may refer to two states in imperial China: * Later Jin (Five Dynasties) (後晉; 936–947), one of the Five Dynasties * Later Jin (1616–1636) (後金; 1616–1636), precursor to the Qing dynasty See also * Jin (disambiguation) Jin ...

. He, with aid from Later Tang's northern rival

Khitan Empire The Liao dynasty (; Khitan: ''Mos Jælud''; ), also known as the Khitan Empire (Khitan: ''Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur''), officially the Great Liao (), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 916 and 1125, ruled by the Yelü ...

's Emperor Taizong, then destroyed Later Tang and took over its territory. In 938, he created Shi Chonggui the Prince of Zheng. At some point (presumably around that time), Lady An was created the Lady of Qin. In 942, Shi Jingtang died. Before his death, he had intended that his only surviving son Shi Chongrui (石重睿) inherit the throne and had entrusted Shi Chongrui to the senior

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Feng Dao Feng Dao () (882'' History of the Five Dynasties'', vol. 126.-May 21, 954Chinese-Western Calendar Converter ...

, but Feng, in consultation with the imperial guard general

Jing Yanguang Jing Yanguang () (892''Old History of the Five Dynasties'', vol. 88.-January 28, 947''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 286.Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), courtesy name Hangchuan (), was a general and official of the Chinese Five Dyn ...

, believed that the state needed an older emperor, and therefore supported Shi Chonggui, then the Prince of Qi, to succeed Shi Jingtang. Shi Chonggui honored Shi Jingtang's wife Empress Li as

(and Shi Jingtang's mother or stepmother Empress Dowager Liu as grand empress dowager), but did not immediately honor his own mother. In 943 (by which time Grand Empress Dowager Liu had died), he honored Lady An consort dowager. It was said that Shi Chonggui served both Consort Dowager An and Empress Dowager Li diligently, often attending to their meals. What, if any, influence she had on his governance, including his subsequent renouncing of subservience to the Khitan emperor (whose state had been renamed Liao by this point), was not recorded in history.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 283.

After Later Jin's destruction

In winter 946, Emperor Taizong personally led an army and, after defeating and forcing the surrender of the Later Jin general Du Wei (the husband of a sister of Shi Jingru's and Shi Jingtang's), advanced on then-Later Jin capital

Kaifeng Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the Nort ...

. Shi Chonggui surrendered, ending Later Jin.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 285. Emperor Taizong then prepared to send him and his family into exile, deep in desolate Liao proper.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 286. Consort Dowager An was said to be old and blind at that point, but was sent into exile with him, Empress Dowager Li, his wife Empress Feng, Shi Chongrui, and Shi Chonggui's adoptive sons (Shi Jingtang's biological grandsons) Shi Yanxu (石延煦) and Shi Yanbao (石延寶). (Emperor Taizong extended Empress Dowager Li an offer not to be exiled, but she declined, choosing to share Shi Chonggui's fate; Consort Dowager An was not said to have been given such an offer.) In 949, by which time Liao was ruled by Emperor Taizong's nephew Emperor Shizong, the Shi household had settled at Liaoyang (遼陽, in modern

Liaoyang Liaoyang () is a prefecture-level city of east-central Liaoning province, China, situated on the Taizi River. It is approximately one hour south of Shenyang, the provincial capital, by car. Liaoyang is home to Liaoning University's College of Fo ...

Liaoning Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...

), but was apparently separated from any ethnic

Han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

. Empress Dowager Li decided to go meet Emperor Shizong herself, asking to be resettled near a Han city and be given land for agriculture. Emperor Shizong agreed, and decided to move them to Jian Prefecture (建州, in modern Chaoyang,

). While they were on the trek to Jian, Consort Dowager An died. As she was dying, she gave the instruction, "You should burn my bones and toss the ashes to the south. May it be that my spirit may return to Han lands."''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 288. However, her instructions were not completely followed. Her body was burned (but as there were not sufficient plants for firewood around, a wagon or wagons had to be dismantled to be used as fuel), and either her ashes or charred bones were taken to Jian Prefecture. After Empress Dowager Li died not long after and her body was also burned, they were buried together.

Notes and references

* ''

'', vol. 17. * ''

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.

283 Year 283 ( CCLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Carus and Carinus (or, less frequently, year 1036 ''Ab urbe cond ...

, 286,

288 Year 288 ( CCLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Maximian and Ianuarianus (or, less frequently, year 1041 ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:An, Consort Dowager 9th-century births 949 deaths People from Shanxi Jin (Later Tang precursor) people born during Tang Later Tang people Later Jin (Five Dynasties) people Liao dynasty people