Empress Zhang (Xiao Dong)
Encyclopedia
Empress Zhang was briefly an empress of the Chinese
dynasty Liang Dynasty
.
She was the wife of Xiao Dong
the Prince of Yuzhang, a great-grandson of the founder of the dynasty Emperor Wu
, and she therefore was known as the Princess of Yuzhang. In 551, the general Hou Jing
, who controlled the imperial government at Jiankang
, in order to show off his power, deposed Xiao Dong's granduncle Emperor Jianwen
and made Xiao Dong emperor. By that time, Xiao Dong and Princess Zhang had long been under house arrest after Hou's capturing of Jiankang in 549, and when the imperial procession arrived to escort Xiao Dong, he and Princess Zhang were tending their garden to grow vegetables to supplement their diet (as the region had been suffering from a war-induced famine ever since Hou's rebellion and takeover of Jiankang). After Xiao Dong was made emperor, he created her empress. Two and a half months later, however, Hou forced him to yield the throne to Hou, who took the throne as Emperor of Han. Nothing further is known about Empress Zhang, including whether she survived her husband's killing by the general Zhu Maichen (朱買臣) in 552.
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History of China
Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
dynasty Liang Dynasty
Liang Dynasty
The Liang Dynasty , also known as the Southern Liang Dynasty , was the third of the Southern dynasties in China and was followed by the Chen Dynasty...
.
She was the wife of Xiao Dong
Xiao Dong
Xiao Dung , courtesy name Yuanji , sometimes known by his pre-ascension title of Prince of Yuzhang , was briefly an emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty...
the Prince of Yuzhang, a great-grandson of the founder of the dynasty Emperor Wu
Emperor Wu of Liang
Emperor Wu of Liang , personal name Xiao Yan , courtesy name Shuda , nickname Lian'er , was the founding emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty...
, and she therefore was known as the Princess of Yuzhang. In 551, the general Hou Jing
Hou Jing
Hou Jing , courtesy name Wanjing , was a general for the Chinese states Northern Wei, Eastern Wei, and Liang Dynasty, and briefly, after controlling the Liang imperial regime for several years, usurped the Liang throne, establishing a state of Han...
, who controlled the imperial government at Jiankang
Jiankang
Jiankang was the capital city of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and Southern Dynasties. Its walls are extant ruins in the modern municipal region of Nanjing.-History:...
, in order to show off his power, deposed Xiao Dong's granduncle Emperor Jianwen
Emperor Jianwen of Liang
Emperor Jianwen of Liang , personal name Xiao Gang , courtesy name Shizuan , nickname Liutong , was an emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty. He was initially not the crown prince of his father Emperor Wu, the founder of the dynasty, but became the crown prince in 531 after his older brother Xiao...
and made Xiao Dong emperor. By that time, Xiao Dong and Princess Zhang had long been under house arrest after Hou's capturing of Jiankang in 549, and when the imperial procession arrived to escort Xiao Dong, he and Princess Zhang were tending their garden to grow vegetables to supplement their diet (as the region had been suffering from a war-induced famine ever since Hou's rebellion and takeover of Jiankang). After Xiao Dong was made emperor, he created her empress. Two and a half months later, however, Hou forced him to yield the throne to Hou, who took the throne as Emperor of Han. Nothing further is known about Empress Zhang, including whether she survived her husband's killing by the general Zhu Maichen (朱買臣) in 552.
Reference
- Zizhi TongjianZizhi TongjianThe Zizhi Tongjian was a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084, under the form of a chronicles. In 1065 CE, Emperor Yingzong of Song ordered the great historian Sima Guang to lead with other scholars such as his chief assistants Liu Shu, Liu Ban and Fan Zuyu, the...
, vol. 164.
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