Consort Mei (), born Jiang Caipin (), is a fictional imperial consort of

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (; 8 September 685 – 3 May 762), personal name Li Longji, was the seventh emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, reigning from 712 to 756 CE. His reign of 44 years was the longest during the Tang dynasty. In the ear ...

. Her name is not found in any

official history An official history is a work of history which is sponsored, authorised or endorsed by its subject. The term is most commonly used for histories which are produced for a government. The term also applies to commissions from non-state bodies includin ...

book and only in "Biography of Consort Mei" (), preserved in a

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongols, Mongol-led Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Division of the M ...

anthology and attributed to the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...

writer Cao Ye (). In 1927,

Lu Xun Zhou Shuren (25 September 1881 – 19 October 1936), better known by his pen name Lu Xun (or Lu Sun; ; Wade–Giles: Lu Hsün), was a Chinese writer, essayist, poet, and literary critic. He was a leading figure of modern Chinese literature. W ...

determined that the work was a

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...

forgery and should be considered no more than fiction. Later researchers have pointed out that her purported hometown, in the present-day coastal city of

Putian Putian or Putien (, Putian dialect: ''Pó-chéng''), also known as Puyang (莆阳) and Puxian (莆仙), historically known as Xinghua or Hing Hwa (), is a prefecture-level city in eastern Fujian province, China. It borders Fuzhou City to the n ...

, was actually under water during Emperor Xuanzong's time.

Story

She was one of Emperor Xuanzong's favorite

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...

, often known as Mei fei (with ''fei'' being a standard rank for imperial consorts during her lifetime). As her actual name was Jiang Caipin, she was originally called Consort Jiang. After being told by her that she greatly favored Plum-Blossom flowers (the flower is pronounced as ''mei'' in Chinese), Emperor Xuanzong began to fondly address her as Consort Mei. Consort Mei was initially selected by

Gao Lishi Gao Lishi () (684–762), formally the Duke of Qi (齊國公), was a Chinese eunuch and politician of the Tang dynasty and the Wu Zhou dynasty, becoming particularly powerful during Emperor Xuanzong of Tang's reign. He is believed to have been in ...

, a

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castration, castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2n ...

official of Emperor Xuanzong, to become one of Emperor Xuanzong's concubines in his harem. As Consort Mei was the most literate and talented concubines, she soon obtained Xuanzong's favors. To express the favors towards Consort Mei, Xuanzong commanded servants to plant Plum-Blossom trees all around her palace to please her interest. Xuanzong even lovingly complimented her beauty as more adorable than

Zhao Feiyan Zhao Feiyan (, ? – 1 BC),Peterson, Barbara Bennett & He Hong Fei & Han Tie & Wang Jiyu & Zhang Guangyu. (1999) ''Notable Women of China'' "M.E. Sharpe". pp. 87–90. . formally Empress Xiaocheng (孝成皇后), was an empress during the Han Dy ...

, and swore that he would never change his heart for her. However, in 737, after the death of Consort Wu, another favorite concubine of Xuanzong, Xuanzong was deeply depressed until

convinced him to try looking at Yang Yuhuan - the wife of prince Li Mao, Xuanzong's son with Consort Wu since her beauty was described as the most "irresistible". Being curious, Xuanzong ordered Yang Yuhuan to come and subsequently fell in love with her beauty. Since Yuhuan was still literally his daughter-in-law (as she was Li Mao's wife), emperor Xuanzong then stealthily arranged Yuhuan to become a Taoist nun, after a brief moment, Xuanzong eventually offered Yuhuan honorable title as

Yang Guifei Yang Yuhuan (; 26 June, 719 – 15 July 756Volume 218 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'' recorded that Yang was killed on the ''bingshen'' day of the 6th month of the 1st year of the Zhide era of Tang Suzong's reign. This date corresponds to 15 Jul 756 on t ...

(with ''Guifei'' being the highest rank for imperial consorts) after bestowing his son Li Mao a new wife. Yuhuan became Xuanzong's most beloved consort as Xuanzong soon forgot about Consort Wu's death. His favors towards Consort Mei also waned. In 755,

An Lushan An Lushan (; 20th day of the 1st month 19 February 703 – 29 January 757) was a general in the Tang dynasty and is primarily known for instigating the An Lushan Rebellion. An Lushan was of Sogdian and Göktürk origin,Yang, Zhijiu, "An Lush ...

began to create a rebellion (known as

An Lushan Rebellion The An Lushan Rebellion was an uprising against the Tang dynasty of China towards the mid-point of the dynasty (from 755 to 763), with an attempt to replace it with the Yan dynasty. The rebellion was originally led by An Lushan, a general off ...

) in the palace. Emperor Xuanzong decided to bring Yang Guifei and his cortege along to flee from the capital

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin ...

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese provin ...

. Consort Mei was left behind then murdered during the rebellion.

In popular culture

* ''Portrayed in

The Legend of Lady Yang ''The Legend of Lady Yang'' is a Hong Kong television series based on the romance between Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty and his consort Yang Yuhuan. The series was produced by TVB and it stars Anne Heung, Kwong Wa, Melissa Ng, Florence ...

by Melissa Ng. ''(2000) * ''Portrayed in The Legend of Yang Guifei by Chi Huaqiong.''(2010)

References

{{reflist Fictional characters from Fujian Fictional characters introduced in the 12th century