Empress Feng (490s), also known as Empress Xiaowenfei (孝文废皇后), was an

empress An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

of the Xianbei-led Chinese Northern Wei dynasty. She was

Emperor Xiaowen An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...

's first empress. Lady Feng was a daughter of Feng Xi (馮熙) the Prince of Changli, who was a brother of the powerful Grand

Empress Dowager Feng Empress (Dowager) Feng (馮皇(太)后) (442 – 17 October 490), formally Empress (Dowager) Wenming (文明皇后, literally "the civil and understanding empress") was an empress of the Xianbei-led Northern Wei dynasty of China. Her husband was E ...

, the wife of Emperor Wencheng and regent over his son Emperor Xianwen and grandson Emperor Xiaowen. (Through her father, she was therefore also a great-granddaughter of the

Northern Yan Yan, known in historiography as the Northern Yan (; 407 or 409–436), Eastern Yan () or Huanglong (), was a dynastic state of China during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms. Some historians consider Gao Yun, a member of the Goguryeo royal family, to ...

emperor

Feng Hong Feng Hong (; died 438), courtesy name Wentong (文通), formally Emperor Zhaocheng of (Northern) Yan ((北)燕昭成帝), was the last monarch of the Chinese Northern Yan dynasty. He seized the throne in 430 when his brother Feng Ba (Emperor Wen ...

.) Her mother was probably Feng Xi's wife Princess Boling. She had two older half-sisters (by Feng Xi's

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 ...

Lady Chang) who were concubines of Emperor Xiaowen — Feng ''Zhaoyi'' and an unnamed sister, but the unnamed sister died early, and after Feng ''Zhaoyi'' had a major illness, she left the palace and became a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

nun. On 19 May 493, Emperor Xiaowen took Empress Xiaowenfei as his empress. She initially was much favored. However, after Emperor Xiaowen found out that Feng ''Zhaoyi'' had recovered, he took her back as a concubine. (There is some evidence, but not conclusive, that Empress Xiaowenfei might have been involved in her sister's being returned to the palace.) Feng ''Zhaoyi'', because she was Emperor Xiaowen's concubine earlier and an older sister, refused to submit to Empress Xiaowenfei, and tried to undermine Empress Xiaowenfei's position as an empress, including accusing her of being against Emperor Xiaowen's Sinicization program. On Empress Xiaowenfei's part, although she was not prone to jealousy, she often expressed shame and hatred at her elder half-sister's insolence. In August 496, Emperor Xiaowen deposed Empress Xiaowenfei. Because Empress Xiaowenfei was virtuous and much interested in Buddhism, she became a Buddhist nun and remained one for the rest of her life. She passed away at Yaoguang Temple at an unknown date.(后贞谨有德操，遂为练行尼。后终于瑶光佛寺。) ''Wei Shu'', vol.13 It is likely, but not conclusive, that she outlived her older half-sister (known posthumously as Empress You), who was killed in February 499.

References

, - style="text-align: center;" , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Qing, Empress Feng Feng Qing, Empress Feng Qing, Empress Feng Qing, Empress 5th-century Buddhist nuns Date of death unknown Year of birth unknown