Empress Renxiaowen( nhân hiếu văn Hoàng hậu; 5 March 1362 – 6 August 1407), of the Xu clan, was theempress consortto theYongle Emperorand the third empress ofChina'sMing dynasty.She was well educated, compiling bibliographies of virtuous women, an activity connected with court politics.[1]
| Empress Renxiaowen Nhân hiếu văn Hoàng hậu | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Empress consort of the Ming dynasty | |||||
| Tenure | 17 July 1402 – 6 August 1407 | ||||
| Predecessor | Empress Xiaominrang | ||||
| Successor | Empress Chengxiaozhao | ||||
| Princess consort of Yan | |||||
| Tenure | 1376–1402 | ||||
| Born | 5 March 1362 Yingtian(present-dayNanjing,Jiangsu,China) | ||||
| Died | 6 August 1407(aged 45) Forbidden City,Nanjing | ||||
| Burial | Chang Mausoleum,Ming tombs | ||||
| Spouse | Yongle Emperor | ||||
| Issue |
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| Clan | Xu ( từ ) | ||||
| Father | Xu Da, Prince of Zhongshan | ||||
| Mother | Lady Xie ( Tạ thị ) | ||||
Biography
Lady Xu was born in 1362, as the eldest daughter ofXu Daand Lady Xie ( Tạ thị ), second daughter of Xie Zai xing ( tạ lại hưng ). She had four brothers—Xu Huizu ( từ huy tổ ), Xu Tianfu ( từ thêm phúc ), Xu Yingxu ( từ ưng tự ), and Xu Zengshou ( Từ Tăng Thọ )—and two younger sisters, who were the wives of Zhu Gui, Prince Jian of Dai (thirteenth son of theHongwu Emperor) and Zhu Ying, Prince Hui of An (twenty-second son of the Hongwu Emperor). On 17 February 1376, she married theZhu Di, Prince of Yan,the Hongwu Emperor's fourth son. After Zhu Di ascended the throne as theYongle Emperoron 17 July 1402, Consort Xu, as his primary wife, was created empress in December 1402.
A devoutBuddhist,Xu is the first person credited with transcribing a Buddhist sutra from a dream revelation. The work is entitledDa Ming Ren xiao Huang hou meng kan Fo Shuo di yi xi yu da gong de jing (The sutra of great merit of the foremost rarity spoken by the Buddha which the Renxiao empress of the great Ming received in a dream).In her introduction to the sutra, the empress wrote that one night after meditating and burning incense,Guanyinappeared to her as if in a dream, and took her to a holy realm where the sutra was revealed to her in order to save her from disaster. After reading the sutra three times, she was able to memorize it and recall it perfectly upon awakening and writing it down. The sutra conveys conventional Mahayana philosophies, and the mantras for chanting were typical of Tibetan Buddhist practices.[2]
Titles
- During the reign of theHongwu Emperor(r. 1368–1398):
- Lady Xu ( Từ thị; from 5 March 1362)
- Princess consort of Yan ( Yến vương phi; from 1376)
- During the reign of theYongle Emperor(r. 1402–1424):
- Empress ( Hoàng hậu; from 17 July 1402)
- Empress Renxiao( nhân hiếu văn Hoàng hậu; from 1407)
- Empress Rénxiào Cíyì Chéngmíng Zhuāngxiàn Pèitiān Qíshèng Wēn( nhân hiếu từ ý thành minh trang hiến xứng thiên tề thánh văn Hoàng hậu; from 1424)
Issue
- As Princess consort of Yan:
- Zhu Gaochi, theHongxi Emperor( Hồng Hi đế Chu Cao Sí; 16 August 1378 – 29 May 1425), the Yongle Emperor's first son
- Zhu Gaoxu,Prince of Han( Hán Vương chu cao húc; 30 December 1380 – 6 October 1426), the Yongle Emperor's second son
- Zhu Gaosui,Prince Jian of Zhao( Triệu giản vương chu cao toại; 19 January 1383 – 5 October 1431), the Yongle Emperor's third son
- Princess Yong'an( Vĩnh An công chúa; 1377–1417), personal name Yuying ( ngọc anh ), the Yongle Emperor's first daughter
- Married Yuan Rong ( Viên dung ), and had issue (one son, three daughters)
- Princess Yong'ping ( Vĩnh Bình công chúa; 1379 – 22 April 1444), the Yongle Emperor's second daughter
- Married Li Rang ( Lý làm ), and had issue (one son)
- Princess Ancheng ( an thành công chúa; 1384 – 16 September 1443), the Yongle Emperor's third daughter
- Married Song Hu ( Tống hổ ) in 1402, and had issue (one son)
- Princess Xianning ( hàm ninh công chúa; 1385 – 27 July 1440), the Yongle Emperor's fourth daughter
- Married Song Ying ( Tống anh; d. 1449) in 1403, and had issue (one son)
Ancestry
| Xu Wusi | |||||||||||||||||||
| Xu Siqi | |||||||||||||||||||
| Lady He | |||||||||||||||||||
| Xu Liusi | |||||||||||||||||||
| Lady Zhou | |||||||||||||||||||
| Xu Da(1332–1385) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Lady Cai | |||||||||||||||||||
| Empress Renxiaowen (1362–1407) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Xie Zai xing | |||||||||||||||||||
| Lady Xie | |||||||||||||||||||