Du Zhu () was an

empress The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

of the

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

/ Jie state

Later Zhao Zhao, briefly known officially as Wei (衛) in 350 AD, known in historiography as the Later Zhao (; 319–351) or Shi Zhao (石趙), was a dynasty of China ruled by the Shi family of Jie ethnicity during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. Among the ...

. She was

Shi Hu Shi Hu (; 295 – 26 May 349), courtesy name Jilong (季龍), also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Wu of Later Zhao (後趙武帝), was an emperor of the Jie-led Chinese Later Zhao dynasty. He was the founding emperor Shi Le (Em ...

(Emperor Wu)'s second empress. Du Zhu was initially a family

courtesan A courtesan is a prostitute with a courtly, wealthy, or upper-class clientele. Historically, the term referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other powerful person. History In European feudal society, the co ...

from a general of Jin, Wang Jun.崔鸿《三十国春秋后赵录》曰：石虎杜皇后，名珠，不知何许人。平幽州，在王浚妓中，虎见而悦之，因请于勒，勒引见，号曰才人，以赐虎。性恭惠柔婉，宠幸亚于郑后也。 After she was captured by the army of

, she was given by

Shi Le Shi Le (; 274 –17 August 333), courtesy name Shilong, also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Ming of Later Zhao, was the founding emperor of the Jie-led Later Zhao dynasty of China. He was initially sold as a slave by Western Jin ...

to Shi Hu as a

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal relationship, interpersonal and Intimate relationship, sexual relationship between two people in which the couple does not want to, or cannot, enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarde ...

under Shi Hu's pleading, with the title Cairen (才人). When Shi Hu became "Heavenly King" (天王) she was given the title Zhaoyi (昭儀). Du Zhu was said to have a soft nature and mood. She bore Shi Hu at least two sons—Shi Xuan (石宣) and Shi Tao (石韜). Shi Xuan carried the title of Duke of Hejian, and Shi Tao the Duke of Qin. In 337, after Shi Hu's first

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

Shi Sui (石邃) was executed for having plotted his father's assassination, Shi Xuan, as the next son in age, was created crown prince. Shi Sui's mother

Empress Zheng Yingtao Zheng Yingtao (; died 349) was an empress consort of China's Jie-led Later Zhao dynasty. She was Shi Hu (Emperor Wu)'s first empress, but not his first wife. Life Zheng Yingtao became a concubine of Shi Hu's, apparently when he was in his late ...

was deposed, and Consort Du was created empress to replace her. Nothing further was mentioned about Empress Du herself in historical records. In 348, after Shi Xuan killed Shi Tao after a dispute between the brothers, Shi Hu had him executed cruelly, ordered all his family killed and then deposed Empress Du, although he did not kill her. There was no further record of her in history, and it is not known when she died.

References

Chinese Gējìs Later Zhao empresses 4th-century Chinese women 4th-century Chinese people {{China-royal-stub