Empress Wang (王皇后, personal name unknown) (died 724) 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

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 ...

dynasty

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

. Her husband was Emperor Xuanzong. She was initially made empress after he became emperor in 712, but eventually lost favor to Consort Wu, partly because she never had a son. Her brother Wang Shouyi (王守一) tried to use magic to regain favor for her, but this was discovered, causing her to be deposed and Wang Shouyi to be forced to commit suicide in 724. She died soon thereafter.

Background

It is not known when the future Empress Wang was born. Her father Wang Renjiao (王仁皎) traced his ancestry to the

Liang Dynasty The Liang dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Liang () in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the third of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. It was preceded by the South ...

official Wang Shennian (王神念). She married Li Longji as his wife and princess while he was the Prince of Linzi during the reign of either his grandmother

Wu Zetian Wu Zetian (17 February 624 – 16 December 705), personal name Wu Zhao, was the ''de facto'' ruler of the Tang dynasty from 665 to 705, ruling first through others and then (from 690) in her own right. From 665 to 690, she was first empres ...

or his uncle Emperor Zhongzong. After Emperor Zhongzong died in 710, Emperor Zhongzong's wife Empress Wei took power as

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 ...

and

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

, but was soon overthrown by Li Longji and Emperor Zhongzong's sister

Princess Taiping Princess Taiping (, lit. "Princess of Great Peace", personal name unknown, possibly Li Lingyue (李令月)) (after 662 – 2 August 713) was a royal princess and prominent political figure of the Tang dynasty and her mother Wu Zetian's Zhou dynas ...

. It was said that as Li Longji was planning the coup, Princess Wang participated in the planning and supported him in the endeavor. After the successful coup, Li Longji's father Li Dan the Prince of Xiang, a former emperor, returned to the throne (as Emperor Ruizong). Li Longji was created

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

, and Princess Wang became crown princess. She did not have a son herself, so she raised his second son Li Siqian, born of his then-favorite consort Consort Zhao, as her son (''source''?).

As empress

In 712, Emperor Ruizong passed the throne to Li Longji, who took the throne as Emperor Xuanzong. Crown Princess Wang was created empress. Her father Wang Renjiao was made the minister of husbandry (太僕卿), and was eventually given the honorific title of ''Kaifu Yitong Sansi'' (開府儀同三司) and created the Duke of Qi. In 713, Empress Wang ceremonially harvested

mulberry ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of diverse species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 identif ...

leaves, to show the imperial household's attention to farming. In 716, Empress Wang's brother-in-law Zhangsun Xin (長孫昕), who had a running dispute with the chief imperial censor Li Jie (李傑), lay in wait for Li Jie along with his brother-in-law Yang Xianyu (楊仙玉) and battered Li Jie severely. Li Jie submitted a petition accusing Zhangsun and Yang of the crime, and Emperor Xuanzong, in anger, executed Zhangsun and Yang. In 719, Empress Wang's father Wang Renjiao died. Initially, Emperor Xuanzong approved a request by her brother Wang Shouyi, who had married Emperor Xuanzong's sister Princess Xue,''

New Book of Tang The ''New Book of Tang'', generally translated as the "New History of the Tang" or "New Tang History", is a work of official history covering the Tang dynasty in ten volumes and 225 chapters. The work was compiled by a team of scholars of the So ...

''
vol. 83
. that a grand tomb, on the scale built for Emperor Xuanzong's grandfather Dou Xiaochen (竇孝諶). However, the

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 ...

Song Jing Song Jing (宋璟) (663 – November 21, 737), formally Duke Wenzhen of Guangping (廣平文貞公), was a Chinese politician during the Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, serving as the chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Ruizong and ...

and Su Ting opposed, pointing out that Dou's tomb was overly wasteful and that it should not be repeated. Emperor Xuanzong agreed, and reduced Wang Renjiao's tomb to be the usual scale for an official of the first grade. Meanwhile, over the years, Empress Wang, because she had grown older and less beautiful, and also because she had not had a son, began to lose Emperor Xuanzong's favor. Consort Wu, the daughter of Wu Zetian's nephew Wu Youzhi (武攸止), began to be highly favored, and it was said that the ambitious Consort Wu had designs on the empress position. It was said that Empress Wang, displeased over her loss of favor, often argued with Emperor Xuanzong, drawing further disfavor from him. (However, on one occasion, when she reminded him that when they were still prince and princess, Wang Renjiao had, on one occasion, had to physically mill the flour to make noodle soup for his birthday, in such an exerting manner that Wang Renjiao's arms were purple with bruises, he was touched, but it did not reverse the trend.) In 722, Emperor Xuanzong secretly discussed with his close associate Jiang Jiao (姜皎) the possibility of deposing Empress Wang on account of her lack of a son. Jiang leaked the discussion, however, and Li Jiao (李嶠) the Prince of Teng (not the chancellor with the same name), a brother-in-law to Empress Wang, reported this to Emperor Xuanzong. In anger at Jiang's leaking the secret discussion, Emperor Xuanzong had the chancellor

Zhang Jiazhen Zhang Jiazhen (張嘉貞; 666 – September 19, 729), formally Marquess Gongsu of Hedong (河東恭肅侯), was a Chinese military general and politician. He was an official serving under Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty and served as a chancellor of Tan ...

submit an indictment against Jiang. Both Jiang and his brother Jiang Hui (姜晦) were exiled. After the Jiang Jiao incident, Empress Wang became even more fearful. It was said, however, that she was always gracious with the

ladies in waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

and

eunuchs A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

, so no one reported anything negative about her. Emperor Xuanzong hesitated about what he would do. Meanwhile, though, it became known in 724 that Wang Shouyi had engaged the Buddhist monk Mingwu (明悟) to offer sacrifices to the

Big Dipper The Big Dipper ( US, Canada) or the Plough ( UK, Ireland) is a large asterism consisting of seven bright stars of the constellation Ursa Major; six of them are of second magnitude and one, Megrez (δ), of third magnitude. Four define a "bowl" ...

and the ''Nandou'' (a Chinese constellation that is part of Sagittarius), and also had her wear an amulet made of wood struck by lightning, bearing the characters for heaven and earth, as well as Emperor Xuanzong's name, with the intent that these actions could perhaps help her have a son. Emperor Xuanzong deposed Empress Wang and housed her in a subsidiary palace. He also exiled Wang Shouyi, and on Wang Shouyi's way to exile, he ordered Wang Shouyi to commit suicide. Three months after Empress Wang was deposed, she died. It was said that the ladies in waiting and the eunuchs all mourned her bitterly, and that Emperor Xuanzong himself regretted his actions deeply. In 762, during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong's grandson Emperor Daizong, her empress honors were posthumously restored.

In fiction and popular culture

* Portrayed in ''

The Legend of Lady Yang ''The Legend of Lady Yang'' is a Hong Kong television series based on the romance between Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty and his consort Yang Yuhuan. The series was produced by TVB and it stars Anne Heung, Kwong Wa, Melissa Ng, Florence Kw ...

'' by Michelle Fung (2000) * Portrayed in ''

Deep in the Realm of Conscience ''Deep in the Realm of Conscience'' () is a 2018 Hong Kong television series produced by TVB, Tengent Penguin Pictures and by producer Mui Siu-ching. It is the sequel to the 2009 drama '' Beyond the Realm of Conscience.'' The drama aired five days ...

'' by

Nancy Wu Nancy may refer to: Places France * Nancy, France, a city in the northeastern French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle and formerly the capital of the duchy of Lorraine ** Arrondissement of Nancy, surrounding and including the city of Nancy ...

(2018)

Notes and references

;Notes ;Bibliography * ''

Old Book of Tang The ''Old Book of Tang'', or simply the ''Book of Tang'', is the first classic historical work about the Tang dynasty, comprising 200 chapters, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories. Originally compiled during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...

''
vol. 51
* ''

''
vol. 76
* ''

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. 210, 211,

212 Year 212 (Roman numerals, CCXII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Asper and Camilius (or, less frequently, year 965 '' ...

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