Empress Wang (Chenghua) Explained

Empress Xiaozhenchun
Death Date:1518 (over age 60)
Spouse:Chenghua Emperor
Succession2:Empress consort of the Ming dynasty
Reign2:1464–1487
Reign-Type2:Tenure
Predecessor2:Empress Wu
Successor2:Empress Xiaochengjing
Birth Date:1440/1450
Birth Place:Shangyuan County, Zhili (present-day Nanjing)
Succession1:Empress dowager of the Ming dynasty
Reign1:1487–1505
Predecessor1:Empress Dowager Ciyi
Empress Dowager Shengci
Reign-Type1:Tenure
Successor1:Empress Dowager Zhaosheng
Empress Dowager Zhangsheng
Succession:Grand empress dowager of the Ming dynasty
Reign:1505–1518
Predecessor:Empress Xiaosu
Successor:Grand Empress Dowager Xiaohui
Reign-Type:Tenure
Posthumous Name:Empress Xiaozhen Zhuangyi Gongjing Renci Yintian Fusheng Chun (孝貞莊懿恭靖仁慈欽天輔聖純皇后)
House:Wang (王)
House-Type:Clan
Father:Wang Zhen (王鎮)

Empress Xiaozhenchun (1440/1450 –1518), of the Wang clan, was a Chinese empress consort of the Ming dynasty, married to the Chenghua Emperor.

Empress Wang was chosen by the emperor to the position of empress after her predecessor had been deposed due to a conflict with the emperor's favorite concubine, Consort Wan. Aware of the mistake of her predecessor, Wang was very anxious to avoid any conflict with the emperor's favorite. Consort Wan had no son with the emperor after her first son died in infancy, and feared the competition if any other of the emperor's consorts or concubines gave birth to a son. It was said that Empress Wang deliberately stayed childless to avoid such a conflict with Consort Wan. The efforts to avoid all conflicts with Consort Wan and to show herself submissive to her, did secure the position of Empress Wang at court.

In 1487, the Chenghua Emperor died, and Empress Wang was given the title Empress dowager. In 1510, she was further raised in rank by the then-reigning emperor, the Zhengde Emperor, who was the eldest son of the Hongzhi Emperor and the grandson of the Chenghua Emperor.

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