Du Lingyang Explained

Du Lingyang
杜陵陽
Birth Date:321
Death Place:Jiankang, Eastern Jin
Succession:Empress consort of the Eastern Jin dynasty
Reign:17 March 336 – 7 April 341
Reign-Type:Tenure
Predecessor:Empress Yu Wenjun
Successor:Empress Chu Suanzi
Father:Du Yi
Mother:Lady Pei
Spouse:Emperor Cheng of Jin
Posthumous Name:Empress Chenggong (成恭皇后)

Du Lingyang (; 321 – 7 April 341[1]), formally Empress Chenggong (成恭皇后) was an empress of the Jin dynasty (266–420) of China.[2] Her husband was Emperor Cheng of Jin.

Naming

Some historians believe that her name was simply Du Ling, and that imperial archivists mistakenly attached the character "yang" to her name later. They point out that while the name of a county with the character "ling" in its name was changed pursuant to naming taboo, many names of places with "yang" in their names were not changed. However, there can be other explanations for this.

Life

Du Lingyang was a daughter of Du Yi (杜乂), a mid-level official and the hereditary Marquis of Dangyang, a grandson of the general Du Yu, who contributed much to Emperor Wu of Jin's conquest of Eastern Wu. Du Yi died early, and Du Lingyang, who did not have any brothers, was raised by her mother Lady Pei.

Du Lingyang was famed for her beauty and virtues, and Emperor Cheng made her his empress on 17 March 336,[3] when both of them were 15. He apparently favored her greatly, but she was childless. She died in April 341, a year before his death.

After her death, her name was tabooed (meaning that other important people or places should not share her name) to honour her, and thus the name of the county Lingyang was changed to Guangyang. This is believed to be the first instance of a geographical name being changed due to a taboo of the name of an empress.[4]

References

Notes and References

  1. wuxu day of the 3rd month of the 7th year of the Xian'kang era, per Emperor Cheng's biography in Book of Jin
  2. Book: Venning, Timothy . A Compendium of World Sovereigns: Volume I Ancient . 2023-06-30 . Taylor & Francis . 978-1-000-86850-0 . en.
  3. xinhai day of the 2nd month of the 2nd year of the Xian'kang era, per Emperor Cheng's biography in Book of Jin
  4. Book: Adamek, Piotr . Good Son is Sad If He Hears the Name of His Father: The Tabooing of Names in China as a Way of Implementing Social Values . 2017-07-05 . Routledge . 978-1-351-56521-9 . en.