Deposed Empress Wu (吳廢后; 15th century – 1509) was a Chinese empress consort of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

, married to Zhu Jianshen, the

Chenghua Emperor The Chenghua Emperor (9 December 1447 – 9 September 1487), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Xianzong of Ming, personal name Zhu Jianshen, changed to Zhu Jianru in 1457, was the ninth emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1464 ...

. Empress Wu originated from the capital city of Beijing. In 1464, she was selected to be the first consort of the newly crowned emperor and chosen to become his empress. Soon after the wedding, she became involved in a conflict with the emperor's favorite concubine, Consort Wan, and ordered her to be whipped for impertinence. However, the emperor sided with his favorite consort, Wan, and had Empress Wu demoted and stripped of her title and position. All this occurred one month after the wedding. The former Empress Wu lived the rest of her life in obscurity in the garden of the Forbidden City. She still had influence in palace life. From 1470 until 1475, she cooperated with a group of loyal courtiers to hide concubine Consort Ji and her son, the future

Hongzhi Emperor The Hongzhi Emperor (30 July 1470 – 9 June 1505), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Xiaozong of Ming, personal name Zhu Youcheng, was the tenth emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1487 to 1505. He succeeded his father, the Ch ...

, in her room to protect them from Consort Wan.MOTE, Frederick W .. Den Ch'eng-hua och Hung-chih regerar, 1465-1505. I MOTE, Frederick W. Twitchett, Denis C. The Cambridge History of China Volym 7: Mingdynastin, 1368-1644, del 1 . Cambridge. Cambridge University Press, 1988. edan Mote (1988) . p. 343-402, p. 346 Lady Wu's funeral was treated as that of a consort, and she was not awarded a posthumous name. Initially, Lady Wu was to be cremated following the funeral rites of an ordinary court lady.

Titles

*During the reign of the

Zhengtong Emperor , succession = Emperor of the Ming dynasty , reign-type = First reign , reign = 31 January 1435 – 22 September 1449 , coronation = 7 February 1435 , cor-type = Enthronement , regent = , reg-type = Regents , ...

(r. 1435–1449): **Lady Wu (吳氏) *During the reign of the

(r. 1464–1487) **Empress (皇后; from 20 July 1464)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wu, Empress 15th-century births 1509 deaths Ming dynasty empresses 15th-century Chinese women 15th-century Chinese people 16th-century Chinese women 16th-century Chinese people People from Beijing