Empress Wu (Ming dynasty)

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Empress Wu (15th century – 1509) was a Chinese empress consort of the Ming dynasty, married to the Chenghua Emperor.

Empress Wu originated from the capital of Beijing itself. In 1464, she was selected to be the first consort of the newly crowned emperor, and chosen to become his empress. Soon after the wedding, however, she became involved in a conflict with the emperor's favorite concubine, Consort Wan, and ordered her to be whipped for impertinence. The emperor, however, took the side of his favorite against the empress and had Empress Wu demoted and stripped from her title and position.^[1] All this occurred one month after the wedding.

The former Empress Wu lived the rest of her life in obscurity in the garden of the Forbidden City. She was not without influence in the palace life, however from 1470 until 1475, she, in cooperation with a group of loyal courtiers, hiding the concubine and her son, the future Hongzhi Emperor, in her room to protect them from Consort Wan.^[2]

Lady Wu's funeral was treated as that of an consort and she wasn't awarded with a posthumous name. Initially, Lady Wu was to be cremated following the funeral rites of an ordinary court lady .

Titles[]

• During the reign of the Zhengtong Emperor (r. 1435–1449):
  • Lady Wu (吳氏)
• During the reign of the Chenghua Emperor (r. 1464–1487)
  • Empress (皇后; from 20 July 1464)

Notes[]