Empress Zhang was the wife of Ming Xizong, and her whereabouts have always been a mystery in history, whether she was dead or alive.
Empress Zhang’s name is Zhang Yan, and her father is Zhang Guoji from the Qing Dynasty. Her parents have loved her very much since childhood. According to records, her appearance is very attractive, her posture is graceful, and she understands what to say and what not to say. As a result, she has gained the admiration of many men. Empress Zhang had already completed her engagement with Emperor Ming Xizong earlier. When they first got married, the two were very affectionate, and Emperor Ming Xizong immediately appointed Zhang Yan as the mother of the harem.
However, Ming Xizong was too playful and lacked the authority of a ruler, neglecting court affairs. At that time, he also had special trust in Wei Zhongxian and Ke Shi. Empress Zhang also had some understanding of court affairs and knew about some of the absurd things Wei Zhongxian had done in the court. Therefore, Empress Zhang was very dissatisfied with Wei Zhongxian. When she was alone with Ming Xizong, she had repeatedly pointed out Wei Zhongxian’s problems to him. However, Ming Xizong seemed to not take it to heart, and the two of them had a disagreement as a result.
Empress Zhang is a thoughtful person. Ke Shi, the wet nurse of Ming Xizong, often acted arrogantly in the palace, using her position as the emperor’s wet nurse to bully the concubines without reason. Empress Zhang could not escape her troubles. So, Empress Zhang repeatedly invited Lady Ke to the palace, hoping to kill her. Lady Ke was not a simple person, and she had long been wary of Empress Zhang. Therefore, Empress Zhang’s plan was never successful. From then on, Ke Shi, Wei Zhongxian, and Empress Zhang developed a grudge and kept trying to deal with her.
After Empress Zhang became pregnant, their opportunity came. Ke secretly replaced the palace maids in Empress Zhang’s palace with the aim of causing her to have an abortion. Afterwards, when the palace maid pounded Empress Zhang’s back, she intentionally exerted excessive force, and in the end, Empress Zhang unfortunately miscarried. In addition, the two also spread rumors that Empress Zhang was the daughter of a fugitive murderer, and that it was Zhang Guoji who deceived the emperor and adopted Empress Zhang. Upon learning of this news, Ming Xizong removed Zhang Guoji from his official position and prevented him from entering the court upon returning to his hometown.
For Empress Zhang, she chose to keep her by her side and take good care of her, not letting Ke Shi have the opportunity to harm her again. Of course, she also did not allow Empress Zhang to touch the trusted aides of Ke Shi and Wei Zhongxian. From then on, the conflict between the couple reached its peak, and their relationship gradually became distant. Ming Xizong had a very healthy body since childhood, but from the sixth year of the Tianqi era, he frequently fell ill and slept in bed every day. His temperament also underwent significant changes, and various symptoms appeared on his body. In the end, he even lost the strength to go to court.
Coincidentally, at this moment, there was news that Wei Zhongxian wanted to abdicate, causing panic among the court members. However, there was no one who could comfort them. As the mother of a country, Empress Zhang knew very well that she had to shoulder the courage for Emperor Ming Xizong. Having read poetry and books since childhood, Empress Zhang was still very familiar with politics. In response to the situation at that time, the empress believed that the most suitable candidate to find someone to inherit the throne was Zhu Youjian, the younger brother of Ming Xizong.
So she mentioned Zhu Youjian to Emperor Mingxi, believing that he was a wise and capable person who could sit in this position. She kept looking for opportunities for Zhu Youjian and Ming Xizong to meet, but Ke Shi and Wei Zhongxian sent many soldiers to guard outside the emperor’s palace, making it difficult for outsiders to enter and even harder for outsiders to leave. In the end, Empress Zhang, with her cleverness, successfully brought Ming Xizong and Zhu Youjian together. Under the persuasion of Empress Zhang and Emperor Ming Xizong, Zhu Youjian decided to shoulder the heavy burden of his brother who was bedridden and on the brink of death.
Subsequently, after the death of Emperor Xizong of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Zhang transmitted the imperial decree and informed the world that the throne would be passed on to Zhu Youjian. Zhu Youjian ascended to the throne smoothly and took court affairs very seriously, thus winning the hearts of the people. And he also has great respect for Empress Zhang. Until March 18th, the 17th year of the Chongzhen reign, when the peasant uprising led by Li Zicheng captured Beijing, Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself after killing his wife and daughter. After that, the historical records about Empress Zhang became chaotic, and people no longer knew her whereabouts.
There are several theories about her whereabouts:
The first theory is that she joined the rebel army because during her reign as empress, she repeatedly advised Ming Xizong to appoint talented individuals and fought against Wei Zhongxian and others, winning the hearts of the people. Afterwards, Li Zicheng led the people to rebel and stormed into Beijing, breaking into the palace. As Empress Zhang was a person for the people, the leader of the rebel army, Li Yan, did not harm her before she could escape, but instead helped her up. Empress Zhang thanked the rebel army for their mercy and ultimately decided to join them.
The second theory is that the rebel army killed Empress Zhang after entering the palace, which is recorded but cannot prove its authenticity. According to the “History of Ming”, Zhang Yan hanged herself in the palace and died as a martyr for the Ming Festival. In the first year of Emperor Shunzhi’s reign, Emperor Shunzhi ordered the joint burial of Zhang and Ming Xizong in Deling.
The third theory is that Empress Zhang escaped from Beijing during the war and went to live in a remote place. Some unofficial accounts have written about her residence, and it is said that someone also saw the escaped Empress Zhang. Even after the fall of the Ming Dynasty, a woman who claimed to be Empress Zhang surrendered to the Qing Dynasty.
However, the Qing Dynasty scholar Zhu Yizun once made a distinction about this, saying: “Wei Zhongxian adopted a daughter named Ren, who was given to Emperor Xizong and appointed as a noble consort. After the peasant army attacked Beijing, she circulated among the people and falsely claimed to be Empress Xizong. She was sent to the government and worshipped monthly at Guanglu Temple. Therefore, people say that Empress Zhang of Emperor Xizong has lost her virtue. There is no way to clear her name, so she is attached to Bai
There are so many claims, but none of them can guarantee their authenticity.
Boldly guessing, according to Empress Zhang’s personality, she should have died in the palace and could not have escaped, but this is just speculation. For the later whereabouts of Empress Zhang, there has never been a complete historical record found. Now, some claims are only legends, passed down from one legend to another, and it is difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood in the end. But whether dead or alive, Empress Zhang is considered a virtuous empress in the hearts of future generations.
reference material:
【 History of the Ming Dynasty, Volume 1 of Ji Xiaolan’s Collected Works: Biographies of Empress Yi’an of the Ming Dynasty, and Investigation into the Doubtful Cases of Empress Yi’an’s Death 】
