Empress Zhang (221 – 264), personal name unknown, was the last empress of the state of

Shu Han Han (; 221–263), known in historiography as Shu Han ( ) or Ji Han ( "Junior Han"), or often shortened to Shu ( zh, t=蜀, p=Shǔ; Sichuanese Pinyin: ''Su'' < Middle Chinese: *''źjowk'' < Eastern Han Chinese: *''dźok''), was a Dynasties in ...

in the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...

period. She was a daughter of the Shu general

Zhang Fei Zhang Fei () (; died July or August 221 AD), courtesy name Yide (益德), was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Liu Bei in the late Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period ...

, and was a younger sister of Empress Jing'ai. In 237, she became an Imperial Consort () of the Shu emperor

Liu Shan Liu Shan (, 207–271), courtesy name Gongsi, was the second and last emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. As he ascended the throne at the age of 16, Liu Shan was entrusted to the care of the Chancellor Zhuge Liang ...

. She became empress in February 238, succeeding her elder sister, who had died in the previous year.

Life

Empress Zhang's father was the famous general

. She was the sister of Empress Jing'ai and Zhang Bao. She was brought to the harem in 237 as an honourable lady; in February 238, with Liu Shan making arrangements within the family including declaring his heir, she succeeded her late sister, with Xiang Lang sent to bestow the seal of office. In 249, following

Sima Yi Sima Yi (; ; 179 CE7 September 251 CE), courtesy name Zhongda, was a Chinese military general, politician, and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He formally began his political career in 208 under th ...

's coup d'etat against

Cao Shuang Cao Shuang (died 9 February 249), courtesy name Zhaobo, was a Chinese military general and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the eldest son of Cao Zhen, a prominent general of Cao Wei. He initially ...

, a fellow regent of

Cao Wei Wei () was one of the major Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic states in China during the Three Kingdoms period. The state was established in 220 by Cao Pi based upon the foundations laid by his father Cao Cao during the end of the Han dy ...

, Sima Yi recalled Xiahou Ba and famed relative Xiahou Xuan to the capital while sending Ba's rival Guo Huai to become commander in the west. While Xiahou Xuan accepted the orders, Xiahou Ba fled to Shu-Han despite his father's death fighting Shu-Han. With Ba badly injured in Hanzhong, Liu Shan sought to smooth potential tensions by pointing to a son (unclear which one) of Xiahou maternal blood to show they were kin and treated Xiahou Ba generously.及霸入蜀，禪與相見，釋之曰：「卿父自遇害於行閒耳，非我先人之手刃也。」指其兒子以示之曰：「此夏侯氏之甥也。」厚加爵寵''. Weilue'' in ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 9. In 264, after

was conquered by the rival state of

, Empress Zhang accompanied Liu Shan and her entire family to the Wei capital

Luoyang Luoyang ( zh, s=洛阳, t=洛陽, p=Luòyáng) is a city located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River in the west of Henan province, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zheng ...

.(後主張皇后，前後敬哀之妹也。建興十五年，入為貴人。延熙元年春正月，策曰：「朕統承大業，君臨天下，奉郊廟社稷。今以貴人為皇后，使行丞相事左將軍向朗持節授璽綬。勉脩中饋，恪肅禋祀，皇后其敬之哉！」咸熙元年，隨後主遷於洛陽。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 34.

In popular culture

Empress Zhang is first introduced as a playable character in the fifth instalment of Koei's ''

Dynasty Warriors is a series of Japanese hack and slash action video games created by Omega Force and Koei (now Koei Tecmo). The series is a spin-off of Koei's turn-based strategy '' Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' series, based upon the Chinese novel of ...

'' video game series. She was omitted from '' 6'', but was reintroduced in '' 7'' and has been present since. She is given the fictional name "Xingcai" (星彩) in the games. Although there is no mention of her sister throughout the series, the Scholar Quiz of ''Dynasty Warriors 7'' confirms that Xingcai is the second empress of Liu Shan.

Notes

References

* Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' is a Chinese official history written by Chen Shou in the late 3rd century CE, covering the end of the Han dynasty (220 CE) and the subsequent Three Kingdoms period (220–280 CE). It is regard ...

'' (''Sanguozhi''). * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''

Annotated Records of the Three Kingdoms ''Annotated Records of the Three Kingdoms'' () by Pei Songzhi (372–451) is an annotation completed in the 5th century of the 3rd century historical text ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', compiled by Chen Shou. After the fall of the Eastern Jin ...

'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). * Robert Joe Cutter and William Gordon Crowell. ''Empresses and Consorts: Selections from Chen Shou's Records of the Three States with Pei Songzhi's Commentary.'' Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1999. , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Empress Shu Han empresses

Life

In popular culture

See also

Notes

References