Chen Farong (; 455–479), also known as Chen Zaohua () was an imperial consort of the Chinese

Liu Song dynasty Song, known as Liu Song (), Former Song (前宋) or Song of (the) Southern dynasties (南朝宋) in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the first of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties peri ...

. She was 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 ...

of Emperor Ming, and during his reign, she carried the rank of ''Zhaohua'' (昭華), the sixth highest rank for Liu Song imperial consorts. Consort Chen was from the Liu Song capital

Jiankang Jiankang (), or Jianye (), as it was originally called, was the capital city of the Eastern Wu (229–265 and 266–280 CE), the Jin dynasty (265–420), Eastern Jin dynasty (317–420 CE) and the Southern Dynasties (420–552), including the Ch ...

, and she was regarded as the mother of Emperor Ming's son Liu Zhun (later Emperor Shun), born in August 469, but whether she was his biological mother is a matter of historical dispute. Historical accounts, written during the succeeding

Southern Qi Qi, known in historiography as the Southern Qi ( or ) or Xiao Qi (), was a Chinese imperial dynasty and the second of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties era. It followed the Liu Song dynasty and was succee ...

Dynasty, indicate that Emperor Ming was

impotent Erectile dysfunction (ED), also referred to as impotence, is a form of sexual dysfunction in males characterized by the persistent or recurring inability to achieve or maintain a penile erection with sufficient rigidity and duration for sati ...

, and that although he had 12 sons, those were the results of his having seized his brothers' pregnant

s and kept the children if they bore males, or his having had his concubines have sexual relations with others. (However, the fact that his wife Empress

Wang Zhenfeng Wang Zhenfeng (; 436 – 12 November 479), formally Empress Gong (恭皇后, literally "the respectful empress"), was an empress of the Chinese Liu Song dynasty. Her husband was Emperor Ming of Song (Liu Yu). She served as regent during the min ...

had two daughters, although no sons, may argue against such allegations, because it appeared rather unlikely that Emperor Ming would do this over female children—indeed, the allegations stated that he would only do this if his brothers' concubines bore males—or that the morally upright Empress Wang would engage in sexual relations with others, thus suggesting that the allegations were made to delegitimize Emperor Ming's sons, Emperor Houfei and Emperor Shun, vis-à-vis Southern Qi.) Those same accounts indicate that Liu Zhun was actually the biological son of Emperor Ming's brother Liu Xiufan (劉休範), the Prince of Guiyang and one of Liu Xiufan's concubines, and that Emperor Ming had her raise Liu Zhun. Emperor Ming died in 472, and was succeeded by his son Liu Yu (Emperor Houfei). Because Liu Zhun, as the emperor's brother, carried the title of Prince of Ancheng, Consort Chen was honored as the Princess Dowager of Ancheng. After the impulsive and violent Emperor Houfei was assassinated in 477, the general

Xiao Daocheng Emperor Gao of Southern Qi ((南)齊高帝; 427– 11 April 482According to Xiao Daocheng's biography in ''Book of Southern Qi'', he died aged 56 (by East Asian reckoning) on the ''renxu'' day of the 3rd month of the 4th year of the ''Jianyuan'' e ...

effectively took over the government and made Liu Zhun a puppet emperor. Consort Chen, as the emperor's mother, was honored as "Consort Dowager" (皇太妃) but not as

empress dowager Empress dowager (also dowager empress or empress mother; ) is the English language translation of the title given to the mother or widow of a monarch, especially in regards to Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese monarchs in the Chines ...

—that title belonged to Emperor Ming's wife Empress Wang. Xiao forced Emperor Shun to yield the throne to him in 479, ending Liu Song and starting Southern Qi, and Emperor Shun was created the Prince of Ruyin. Accordingly, Consort Chen became known as the Princess Dowager of Ruyin. Later that year, the former Emperor Shun was killed by soldiers who were supposed to protect him, and Xiao then ordered a general killing of the Liu clan. It appeared unlikely that Consort Chen would have been killed in the slaughter, although it is not known when she died. It is believed that she died during the beginning years of the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen Farong, Consort Liu Song imperial consorts Southern Qi people People from Nanjing Mothers of Chinese emperors