Empress Xiaosu (1430 – 17 March 1504), of the Zhou clan, was the concubine of

Emperor Yingzong of Ming Emperor Yingzong of Ming (; 29 November 1427 – 23 February 1464), personal name Zhu Qizhen (), was the sixth and eighth Emperor of the Ming dynasty. He ascended the throne as the Zhengtong Emperor () in 1435, but was forced to abdicate in 1 ...

and the mother of the

Chenghua Emperor The Chenghua Emperor (; 9 December 1447 – 9 September 1487), personal name Zhu Jianshen, was the ninth Emperor of the Ming dynasty, who reigned from 1464 to 1487. His era name " Chenghua" means "accomplished change". Childhood Zhu Jianshen wa ...

Biography

Zhou was the daughter of Zhou Neng (周能), ''History of Ming, vol 300. Biographies no. 188, Consort kins'' (in Chinese) a poor farmer in Changping County. When Emperor Yingzong went hunting, he accidentally entered her home by mistake. The whole family was shocked and scared, but Zhou was the only one who acted comfortably. Because of this, she caught the eye of the emperor and entered the palace with the high rank of consort. In 1446, she gave birth to Zhu Qizhen's eldest daughter the Princess Chongqing and his eldest son, Zhu Jianshen (the future

). When Emperor Yingzong was captured by the Mongols in 1449, the Empress Dowager Sun ordered that Consort Zhou's eldest son would be named Crown Prince. But when Emperor Yingzong's younger brother

Zhu Qiyu The Jingtai Emperor (21 September 1428 – 14 March 1457), born Zhu Qiyu, was the seventh Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1449 to 1457. The second son of the Xuande Emperor, he was selected in 1449 to succeed his elder brother Emper ...

became emperor, he deposed Crown Prince Zhu Jianshen. In 1455, she gave birth to Zhu Qizhen's sixth son, Zhu Jianze. In 1457 when Zhu Qizhen was restored to the throne, she was given the rank of Noble consort. When her son the Chenghua Emperor ascended the throne, both she and

Empress Qian Empress Qian (; 1426 – 15 July 1468) was a Chinese empress consort during the Ming dynasty, married to the Zhengtong Emperor. She was addressed posthumously as Empress Xiaozhuangrui () Early life There is no record of Empress Qian's birth name, ...

received the rank of empress dowager. However, there was conflict on who to give the empress dowager's emblem since there were two empress dowagers. The eunuch Xia Shi, in an effort to please Noble Consort Zhou, sent an order to honor Zhou with the emblem of the empress dowager. Both the scholars Li Xian and Peng Shi fought hard on which empress dowager would be given an emblem while both Empress Qian and Zhou treated each other with respect. On April 23rd of Chenghua, Zhou was given the embelem and title of 'Empress Dowager Shengcirenshou' (聖慈仁壽皇太后). It was said that during the Chenghua Emperor's reign, Zhou was known to be extremely kind and treated everyone around her with respect. The Chenghua Emperor held his mother in high regard, and never dared to disobey her orders. In the Ming dynasty (before Yingzong) only the empress could be buried with the emperor. The name of the emperor and the empress were fixed before and could not be changed in any circumstance. When Empress Qian died, Zhou wanted to prevent Empress Qian from being buried together with Emperor Yingzong in Yuling. Zhou secretly changed the design of Emperor Yingzong's mausoleum so that she can be buried with him in the future. Although Empress Qian and Emperor Yingzong had the same tomb, they were entered through different tunnels. When the Hongzhi Emperor came to the throne, he honored Empress Dowager Zhou as Grand empress dowager and named Empress Wang as empress dowager. The Hongzhi Emperor was said to have been respectful and filial to Zhou. During winter in the eleventh year of Hongzhi, Qingning Palace was destroyed and Zhou moved to Renshou Palace.

Titles

*During the reign of the

Xuande Emperor The Xuande Emperor (16 March 1399 31 January 1435), personal name Zhu Zhanji (朱瞻基), was the fifth Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1425 to 1435. His era name "Xuande" means "proclamation of virtue". Ruling over a relatively p ...

(r. 1425–1435): **Lady Zhou (周氏; from 1430) *During the reign of the

Zhengtong Emperor Emperor Yingzong of Ming (; 29 November 1427 – 23 February 1464), personal name Zhu Qizhen (), was the sixth and eighth Emperor of the Ming dynasty. He ascended the throne as the Zhengtong Emperor () in 1435, but was forced to abdicate in 1 ...

(r. 1435 – 1449): **Palace Lady (from 1437) **Consort (妃; from unknown date) *During the reign of the

Jingtai Emperor The Jingtai Emperor (21 September 1428 – 14 March 1457), born Zhu Qiyu, was the seventh Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1449 to 1457. The second son of the Xuande Emperor, he was selected in 1449 to succeed his elder brother Emper ...

(r. 1449 – 1457): **Consort Emerita (太上妃; from 1449) *During the reign of the Tianshun Emperor (r. 1457–1464): **Noble Consort (貴妃; from February 1457) *During the reign of the

(r. 1464–1487) **Empress Dowager (皇太后; from 28 February 1464 ) **Empress Dowager Shengcirenshou (聖慈仁壽皇太后; from 1487) *During the reign of the

Hongzhi Emperor The Hongzhi Emperor () (30 July 1470 – 9 June 1505) was the tenth Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1487 to 1505. Born Zhu Youcheng, he was the eldest surviving son of the Chenghua Emperor and his reign as emperor of China is called t ...

(r. 1487–1505) **Grand Empress Dowager (太皇太后; from 1487) **''Grand Empress Dowager Xiàosù Zhēnshùn Kāngyì Guāngliè Fǔtiān Chéngshèng'' (孝肅貞順康懿光烈輔天承聖皇后; from 1504) *During the reign 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 ...

(r. 1521–1567) **''Empress Xiaosu Zhēnshùn Kāngyì Guāngliè Fǔtiān Chéngshèng'' (孝肅貞順康懿光烈輔天承聖皇后; from 1536)

Issue

*As a consort: **Princess Chongqing (重慶公主; 1446–1499), Emperor Yingzong's first daughter **Zhu Jianshen, the

(憲宗朱見深; 9 December 1447 – 9 September 1487), Emperor Yingzong's first son **Zhu Jianze, Prince Jian of Chong (崇簡王朱見澤; 2 May 1455 – 27 August 1505), Emperor Yingzong's sixth son

Death

In Ming, only the emperor and empress were allowed to be worshipped in ancestral temples. So when Empress Zhou died in 1504, courtiers were fighting if Empress Zhou should be worshipped in the Ancestral temples. Scholars Liu Juan, Xie Qian and Li Dongyang objected mentioning that Zhou was never an empress in her lifetime and therefore does not deserve to be worshipped in the ancestral temples and to be buried with the emperor. However, Zhou was still given a posthumous title for an empress and was buried together with Emperor Yingzong, as she wished. After Zhou had been buried, it was discovered that the tunnel to the tomb of Empress Qian was separated from Emperor Yingzong. Empress Qian was never reburied together with Emperor Yingzong. After Zhou's death, the birth mothers of future Ming emperors (even if they never held the rank of empress) were buried together with their husbands. The Hongzhi Emperor gave Zhou the posthumous title of: Grand Empress Dowager Xiàosùzhēnshùnkāngyìguānglièfǔtiānchéngshèng (孝肅貞順康懿光烈輔天承聖太皇太后) During the reign of the Jiajing Emperor, he granted Zhou a different posthumous title. Her final posthumous title was: Empress Xiàosùzhēnshùnkāngyìguānglièfǔtiānchéngshèng (孝肅貞順康懿光烈輔天承聖皇后)

Film and Television

He Saifei He Saifei (born 11 April 1963) is a Chinese actress of film and television, as well as a celebrated Yue opera performer of ''dan'' (female) roles. Internationally, she is best known for playing supporting roles in period films like ''Raise the R ...

as Empress Dowager Zhou in 2011 drama The Emperor's Harem * Sheng Langxi as Noble Consort Zhou in the 2016 drama '

The Imperial Doctress ''The Imperial Doctress'' () is a 2016 Chinese television series based on the story of Tan Yunxian, a female physician during the Ming dynasty in China. It stars Cecilia Liu as the titular character. The series aired every day at 7.30pm on Jiang ...

' * Qu Ni Tsering as Zhou Guifei in the 2019 drama '

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

' * Fang Xiaoli as Empress Dowager Zhou in the 2020 drama ' The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty'

References

{{Reflist Ming dynasty empresses dowager 1430 births 1504 deaths Chinese grand empresses dowager People from Beijing