Empress Su Xiao, born in the year Hang (? -1456), whose place of origin is unknown, was the second empress of Emperor Zhu Qiyu of the Ming Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Zhengtong, he was the concubine of Prince Zhu Qiyu. In the thirteenth year of Zhengtong (1448), he gave birth to Zhu Jianji, the only son of Emperor Daizong. In the fourteenth year of Zhengtong (1449), Prince Zhu Qiyu ascended to the throne and Lady Hang was conferred the title of Noble Consort. In the third year of Jingtai (1452), Empress Wang angered Emperor Jingtai by opposing the enthronement of Zhu Jianji as Crown Prince, and was deposed as a commoner. Lady Hang was enthroned as Empress based on her son’s nobility. Below, the history encyclopedia editor will bring you a detailed introduction. Let’s take a look together!
In the fourth year of Jingtai (1453), his son Zhu Jianji died young. In the seventh year of Jingtai (1456), Empress Hang passed away and was posthumously honored with the title of “Empress Su Xiao”. After the restoration of Emperor Yingzong, the title of empress was stripped and the tomb was destroyed. In the Ming Dynasty, only Empress Wang was recognized as the legitimate wife of Emperor Jingtai, and there was no recognition of the Hang family. Her identity as the Empress Dowager of the Ming Dynasty was not recognized by the official history of the Ming Dynasty, and she was considered a tragic figure among the imperial concubines of the Ming Dynasty.
rapidly go up in the world
Hang was born into the common people and was originally a concubine of Zhu Qiyu, the King of Han, before his accession to the throne. In the 13th year of the Zhengtong reign (1448), he gave birth to Zhu Jianji, the only son of Zhu Qiyu. The following year, Emperor Yingzong of Ming personally launched an expedition and was captured in Wala. At the time of national crisis, the court enthroned Zhu Qiyu, the younger brother of Emperor Yingzong, with the reign title “Jingtai” and the title of Ming Dynasty Emperor. Hang was conferred the title of Noble Consort.
Becoming the Empress
At the beginning of his reign, Emperor Daizong appointed Zhu Jianshen, the son of his elder brother Yingzong, as the Crown Prince. In the third year of Jingtai (1452), Emperor Daizong intended to depose Zhu Jianshen and appoint his own son Zhu Jianji as the Crown Prince. Empress Wang (the original consort of Emperor Daizong) firmly opposes and advises Emperor Daizong that the reason for his accession to the throne is purely a stroke of luck, and that Zhu Jianshen must not be deposed. Empress Wang was deposed as a result of angering Emperor Daizong, and later Zhu Jianshen was also deposed, with Zhu Jianji appointed as the Crown Prince. Consort Hang’s mother was honored as the empress due to the value of her son.
In just a few years, the Hang family went from being an ordinary commoner woman to becoming the empress of the dynasty, and her son was also the crown prince, truly achieving great success. Her father, Hang Yu, was appointed as the commander of the Jinyiwei. My elder brother Hang Ju bestowed upon me the title of ‘Thousand Houses of Golden Robes’. Empress Hang was immersed in happiness. However, life is unpredictable, and she only enjoyed this kind of scenery for a short four years.
die
In October of the fourth year of Jingtai (1453), Crown Prince Zhu Jianji passed away at the young age of 5. Empress Hang was heartbroken and unable to get up due to illness. She passed away quickly in February of the seventh year of Jingtai (1456). Emperor Daizong was also quite sad and posthumously honored her as “Empress Su Xiao”. He also built a tomb for her and named it “Shouling”. He appointed the empress’s older brother Hang Jing and younger brother Hang Min as the hundred households of the Jinyiwei.
It is worth mentioning that Hang served as the empress for several years, and it was not until his brother’s death that he was granted the title of one hundred households of the Jinyiwei. In the late period of Emperor Daizong’s reign, the favored concubine Tang Guifei, had not yet become a noble concubine, but her father Tang Xing repeatedly promoted her from a hundred households to a thousand households. In the year of the death of Empress Hang, Tang was conferred the title of Imperial Noble Consort, and her father was promoted from the rank of Commander in Chief of the Jinyiwei Qianhu. Another courtesan, Li Xier, who had just entered the palace when Empress Hang passed away, and her younger brother Li Shan were granted the title of “Jinyiwei Hundred Households” on July 18th of that year, and were given the “Incense Hall” in less than a month.
a sudden change in the situation
Chinese people place great emphasis on the principle of ‘a final verdict’, but unfortunately, even though Empress Hang has been buried, she has not found peace. Two years after her death, in 1457, Emperor Yingzong of Ming Dynasty was reinstated, and Emperor Zhu Qiyu was demoted to the rank of Prince of Han and placed under house arrest in Xiyuan. He died suddenly two days later at the age of only 29.
Everything has undergone earth shattering changes. Emperor Yingzong held a grudge against his son Zhu Jianshen for deposing him as crown prince at that time. He hated the mother and son of the Hang family very much and issued an edict to depose the posthumous title of “Empress Su Xiaohou” of the Hang family. At the same time, he also destroyed her tomb, and the whereabouts of the Empress’s Zigong and her remains are unknown. Apart from the destruction of the tomb, there are no surviving bones, and the status of the empress is not recognized by historians. At this time, the father and brother of the Hang family had passed away, and Emperor Yingzong stripped his younger brother Hang Min of his position and ordered him to return to his hometown. And Zhu Jianji, the son of the Hang family, was also demoted from ‘Crown Prince Huai Xian’ to ‘Crown Prince Huai Xian’.
In the history books of the Ming Dynasty, there is no independent biography of the Hang family, and her identity as the Empress Dowager of the Ming Dynasty is not recognized: anyone who recognizes the identity of Zhu Qiyu as Prince Li only regards Wang Fei as the Princess Li; Those who acknowledge the identity of Emperor Zong of the Ming Dynasty only recognize Wang as the empress. In short, whether as a concubine of King Han or a successor to Emperor Daizong, Hang was not recognized by the official history of the Ming Dynasty. However, it is undeniable that she was once the wife of Zhu Qiyu.
