Empress Sun

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In this Chinese name, the family name is Sun (孫).
Empress Sun
孝恭章皇后 (1).jpg
Empress dowager of the Ming dynasty
Tenure7 February 1435 – 4 September 1462
Empress consort of the Ming dynasty
Tenure1428 – 31 January 1435
Bornc. 1403 (1403)
Zouping, Shandong Province
Died4 September 1462(1462-09-04) (aged 58–59)
Burial
3 November 1462
Jinling Mausoleum
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1417; died 1435)​
Issue
Names
Family name: Sun (孫)
Posthumous name
Empress Xiaogong Yixian Ciren Zhuanglie Qitian Peisheng Zhang
(孝恭懿憲慈仁莊烈齊天配聖章皇后)
HouseSun (by birth)
Zu (by marriage)
FatherSun Zhong

Empress Sun (Chinese: 孫皇后; pinyin: Sūn húanghòu; c. 1403 – 4 September 1462) was a Chinese Empress consort of the Ming Dynasty, married to the fifth Ming monarch, the Xuande Emperor. She was mother of Zhu Qizhen, the Yingzong Emperor. He became the sixth Ming emperor as a child, but then as a young man led a disastrous campaign against the Mongols during which hundreds of thousands of Ming warriors were killed, and he himself was captured during an event referred to as the Tumu Crisis. He was forced to abdicate in 1449, and his half-brother Zhu Qiyu was installed as the seventh Ming ruler, the Jingtai Emperor, for several years. After Qizhen's return from Mongol hands, he eventually led a coup against his half-brother and resumed his role as monarch in a newly named reign as Tianshun Emperor before passing away in 1464. Empress Sun remained known as "Empress Dowager" through the Yingzong, Jingtai, and Tianshun reigns, until her death in 1462.

Early life[]

Empress Sun was born in 1403 in Zouping in modern-day Shandong Province.[1][2] Her personal name is unknown. Her father was Sun Zhong, an assistant magistrate in Yongcheng District.[3][4] She had five brothers, the eldest of whom was[5] Sun Qizong[6][7][8] (1395 – 1480). He and his three brothers held the rank of guard commander, and another brother held the rank of assistant commander in the Embroidered Uniform Guard.[5]

Sun was known to be a local beauty. When Crown Princess Zhang (the future Empress Zhang, who also grew up in the Yongcheng District) visited her hometown, she heard about Sun's beauty. Curious about the young girl's beauty, the crown princess brought her to the palace. Here she received praise from the palace women.[3][4]

The Yongle Emperor ordered his wife, Empress Xu, to care for and educate the young girl. In 1417, Sun was selected to be a consort to Zhu Zhanji (future Xuande Emperor), who was the imperial grandson-heir.[3][4] In 1424, she gave birth to a daughter, the Princess Changde.[9] When Zhu Zhanji ascended the throne in 1425, she became Noble Consort Sun (Chinese: 孫貴妃; pinyin: Sūn guìfēi), which was the second-highest position after the empress.[3][4]

Empress[]

In 1427, she gave birth to a son. As Empress Hu had not given birth to a son, the son of Sun was made crown prince. In 1428, the emperor proposed to depose Empress Hu and install Sun as the new empress. At first, Sun refused and said that Empress Hu would eventually have a son that would take precedence over her own son.[3][4] However, the emperor insisted and finally, Sun agreed. Empress Hu was deposed, and Sun herself, the mother of the crown prince, was promoted to the position of empress (Chinese: 孫皇后; pinyin: Sūn húanghòu).[10][11]

The investiture of Empress Sun was a very grand affair.[12] Once her formal announcement was made, the palace held congratulatory banquets, one for the emperor and the other for the empress.[13]

After Sun was invested, she held court in her residence and regularly met with eunuchs and female officials. Her official duties included personnel evaluation, approving budgets, and planning royal marriages. The emperor's consorts and imperial princesses would make regular visits to her. She reported daily to her mother-in-law, Empress Zhang on family affairs. She also performed the rites at the ancestral altar. On special occasions, she would dine with the emperor at his residence.[14]

Empress dowager[]

After Xuande's unexpected death in 1435, their son Yingzong ascended the throne,[15] and Sun became the empress dowager (Chinese: 孫皇太后; pinyin: Sūn huáng tàihòu). A day before he died, Xuande issued instructions that the civil and military officials should guide the child, and they should petition his mother, Empress dowager Zhang and Sun on all important matters of the family and state.[16] She and her mother-in-law openly vied for supremacy. Ultimately Zhang prevailed and sidelined Sun.[17] Sun tried to influence certain government matters, and the imperial historians censured her, a custom acted to restrain palace women.[18]

After Zhang's death in 1442, Yingzong began to manage the matters himself. In 1449, he foolishly decided to lead a military expedition against the Mongols, and ended up being captured.[19] Sun and his consort Empress Qian immediately raised a ransom in jewels, and sent it off to secure his release.[20] At first it was decided that the court should retreat to the south. However, Li Yongchang won over the empress, and Yu Qian's party won the day, according to whom that those who advocated retreat should be executed.[21]

The officials despised Yingzong, and decided to make his younger brother Jingtai emperor.[19] He was first instructed by Sun to take charge of government affairs as regent, while the emperor's one year old son was made heir apparent.[22] On 15 September 1449, with Sun's assent, he was urged to ascend the throne in person, since the Emperor was in captivity and his one year old son was incapable of ruling.[23] He at first refused, since it would confuse the dynastic succession. Only after Sun's approval and Yu Qian's advocacy of the urgent national need for leadership eventually persuaded him.[22] On 23 September, only three weeks after the emperor's capture he ascended the throne, and the captive emperor was given the title of retired emperor.[24] Sun was given the title of high and sacred empress dowager (Chinese: 上聖皇太后; pinyin: Shàng shèng huáng tàihòu).[25]

The Mongols soon released Yingzong, knowing that the presence of two emperors would cause instability among their enemies. He was initially placed under house arrest. Six years later in 1457, Sun and her brothers lead a coup that dethroned Jingtai, and placed Yingzong back on the throne.[19] She was given the title of Empress dowager sheng lie ci shou (Chinese: 圣烈慈寿皇太后).[26]

Death[]

Empress Sun died of illness[27][28] on 4 September 1462,[29] and was given the posthumous title Empress Xiaogong Yixian Ciren Zhuanglie Qitian Peisheng Zhang (孝恭懿憲慈仁莊烈齊天配聖章皇后).[30] She was buried on 3 November 1462[29] in the Jinling Mausoleum.[27][28]

In popular culture[]

References[]

  1. ^ Lee & Wiles 2014, p. 381.
  2. ^ Lee & Wiles 2015, p. 381.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Lee & Wiles 2014, p. 382.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Lee & Wiles 2015, p. 382.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Papers on Far Eastern History. Department of Far Eastern History, Australian National University. 1988. p. 26.
  6. ^ Twitchett & Fairbank 1978, p. 374.
  7. ^ Asian Profile. Asian Research Service. 1984. p. 138.
  8. ^ Heer 1986, p. 140.
  9. ^ "The Xuande Emperor (宣德 [ɕɥántɤ̌]; Beijing, 16 March 1399– 31 January 1435) was Emperor of China from 1425 to 1435. His era name means "Proclamation of Virtue"". Chinese Monarchs. Retrieved 2021-05-22.
  10. ^ Lee & Wiles 2014, p. 134.
  11. ^ Lee & Wiles 2015, p. 134.
  12. ^ McMahon 2016, p. 91.
  13. ^ McMahon 2016, p. 91-92.
  14. ^ McMahon 2016, p. 92.
  15. ^ Twitchett & Fairbank 1978, p. 303.
  16. ^ John W. Dardess (2012). Ming China, 1368-1644: A Concise History of a Resilient Empire. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-4422-0490-4.
  17. ^ Hinsch 2021, p. 38.
  18. ^ Hinsch 2021, p. 32.
  19. ^ Jump up to: a b c Hinsch 2021, p. 39.
  20. ^ Twitchett & Fairbank 1978, p. 325.
  21. ^ Twitchett & Fairbank 1978, p. 325-26.
  22. ^ Jump up to: a b Twitchett & Fairbank 1978, p. 326.
  23. ^ Heer 1986, p. 26-27.
  24. ^ Twitchett & Fairbank 1978, p. 327.
  25. ^ Heer 1986, p. 44.
  26. ^ 陈华新 (1992). 中国历代后妃大观. 海天出版社. p. 412. ISBN 978-7-80542-467-5.
  27. ^ Jump up to: a b Lee & Wiles 2014, p. 383.
  28. ^ Jump up to: a b Lee & Wiles 2015, p. 383.
  29. ^ Jump up to: a b Li Shi. History of Ming Dynasty (Part I): 二十四史 明史. DeepLogic. p. 204.
  30. ^ 胡吉勋著 (1 January 2021). 中华书局出品--威柄在御：明嘉靖初年的皇权、经世与政争. Beijing Book Co. Inc. p. 335. ISBN 978-7-101-14849-7.
  31. ^ "Sun - The Blemished Reputation of a Ming Dynasty Empress". History of Royal Women. 2021-05-12. Retrieved 2021-05-22.

Sources[]

  • Keith McMahon (2016). Celestial Women: Imperial Wives and Concubines in China from Song to Qing. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 978-1-442-25502-9.
  • Bret Hinsch (28 April 2021). Women in Ming China. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-5381-5297-3.
  • Denis Crispin Twitchett; John King Fairbank (1978). The Cambridge History of China. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-24332-2.
  • Lily Xiao Hong Lee; Sue Wiles (13 March 2014). Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: Tang Through Ming, 618-1644. M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 978-0-7656-4316-2.
  • Lily Xiao Hong Lee; Sue Wiles (28 January 2015). Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women, Volume II: Tang Through Ming 618 - 1644. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-51562-3.
  • Ph. De Heer (1986). The Care-taker Emperor: Aspects of the Imperial Institution in Fifteenth-century China as Reflected in the Political History of the Reign of Chu Chʾi-yü. BRILL. ISBN 90-04-07898-3.
Chinese royalty
Preceded by
Empress Gongrangzhang 		Empress of China
1428–1435 		Succeeded by
Empress Xiaozhuangrui
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