Empress Li (; personal name unknown) (died 944) was an

empress consort A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, and usually shares her spouse's social rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but historically she does not formally ...

of China's Min state. She was the wife of its fifth ruler,

Wang Yanxi Wang Yanxi () (died April 8, 944), known as Wang Xi () during his reign, also known by his temple name as the Emperor Jingzong of Min (), was an emperor of Min during China's Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. He became Min's ruler after a ...

(Emperor Jingzong).

Background

It is not known when the future Empress Li was born. It is known, however, that she was a daughter of the

Min Min or MIN may refer to: Places * Fujian, also called Mǐn, a province of China ** Min Kingdom (909–945), a state in Fujian * Min County, a county of Dingxi, Gansu province, China * Min River (Fujian) * Min River (Sichuan) * Mineola (Am ...

official Li Zhen (李真), who would eventually become

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

. It is not known when she married

— although, it appeared, given the sequence of events, that it was likely before his reign, although it was possible that the marital relationship came after he was enthroned. His only historically known son,

Wang Yacheng Wang Yacheng () (died 944) was an imperial prince of the Chinese Min state. He was the only historically known son of its fifth ruler Wang Yanxi (Emperor Jingzong). He held various noble titles throughout his life, including Prince of Langya (琅� ...

, was by her.''

Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms The ''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese title ''Shiguo Chunqiu'' (), is a history of the Ten Kingdoms that existed in southern China after the fall of the Tang dynasty and before the reunification of China ...

''
vol. 94
In 939, Wang Yanxi seized power in a coup in which his nephew and predecessor,

Wang Jipeng Wang Jipeng () (died August 29, 939), used the name Wang Chang () from 935 to 939, also known by his temple name as the Emperor Kangzong of Min (), was an emperor of Min during China's Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. He inherited the ...

(also known was Wang Chang, Emperor Kangzong) was killed. Contrary to the emperor title that Wang Jipeng claimed, Wang Yanxi (who then changed his name to Wang Xi) claimed only the title of King of Min at this point and was formally a vassal to

Shi Jingtang Shi Jingtang ( zh, 石敬瑭; 30 March 892 – 28 July 942''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 283.), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Gaozu of Later Jin (), was the founding emperor of the Later Jin dynasty of China during the Five Dynas ...

the emperor of Later Jin, even though he also took on imperial trappings. Historical accounts did not indicate his giving Lady Li any titles at this point, although her father Li Zhen, who was then in retirement, was recalled to the imperial government to serve as chancellor. Her son Wang Yacheng received progressively greater titles — initially the commander of the imperial guards and chancellor, later the Prince of Langye, then the Prince of Changle as well as the military governor (''

Jiedushi The ''jiedushi'' (, Old Turkic: Tarduş) or jiedu, was a regional military governor in China; the title was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of ''jiedushi'' has been translated as "military commissi ...

'') of Min's most important circuit, Weiwu Circuit (威武, headquartered at Min's capital Changle (長樂), in modern

Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

).''

Zizhi Tongjian The ''Zizhi Tongjian'' (1084) is a chronicle published during the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) that provides a record of Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning almost 1400 years. The main text is ...

'', vol. 282.

As empress

In 941, Wang Xi claimed the title of emperor. In 942, he created Lady Li empress. Her son Wang Yacheng received the title of Prince of Min. It was said that, as empress, she had a strong personality and liked drinking. Wang Xi was said to both favor and fear her.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 283. In 942, there was a time when Wang Xi commissioned the chancellor Yu Tingying to be the prefect of Quan Prefecture (泉州, in modern

Quanzhou Quanzhou is a prefecture-level city, prefecture-level port city on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, China, People's Republic of China. It is Fujian's largest most populous metropolitan region, wi ...

). Yu engaged in corruption upon arriving there, including taking women for himself while claiming that he was doing so under Wang Xi's orders, for the women to serve as consorts in Wang Xi's palace. When Wang Xi received reports of this, he sent imperial censors to investigate. In fear, Yu returned to Changle, trying to defend himself. Wang Xi was set to have him arrested, when Yu offered a large tribute of money. Wang Xi was pleased, and, after extracting a second tribute (on Empress Li's behalf), allowed Yu to return to Quan. Indeed, after this incident, the officials began to directly offer tributes to the empress. However, in 943, Wang Xi took the daughter of the general Shang Baoyin (尚保殷) as a concubine, and favored her greatly for her beauty, such that it was described that when he was drunk, he would do whatever Consort Shang wanted, including killing or sparing whomever she wanted. Empress Li was jealous, and wanted Wang Xi assassinated so that Wang Yacheng could be emperor. At that time, there were mutual suspicions between Wang Xi and the two imperial guard generals who were responsible for overthrowing Wang Jipeng,

Zhu Wenjin Zhu Wenjin () (died February 14, 945) was a general who later usurped the throne of Min, reigning from 944 to 945, during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period of China. In 944, he assassinated Wang Yanxi (Emperor Jingzong) and tried to ta ...

and

Lian Chongyu Lian Chongyu () (died February 14, 945''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 284.) was a general of the Chinese Min state. In 944, he and another general, Zhu Wenjin, assassinated the emperor Wang Yanxi (Emperor Jingzong). He then supported Zhu as the new emper ...

. She sent messengers to Zhu and Lian, informing of Wang Xi's suspicions toward them, to inflame them. At that time, her father Li Zhen happened to be ill, and Wang Xi decided to go visit him. As he left the palace on a horse, Zhu and Lian had him assassinated, and then slaughtered the imperial Wang clan,''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 284. including Empress Li and Wang Yacheng.

Notes and references

* ''

''
vol. 94
* ''

'', vols.

283 Year 283 ( CCLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Carus and Carinus (or, less frequently, year 1036 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 283 for this y ...

284 __NOTOC__ Year 284 ( CCLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Carinus and Numerianus (or, less frequently, year 1037 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Empress Min (Ten Kingdoms) empresses 10th-century births 944 deaths Year of birth unknown People executed by Min (Ten Kingdoms) Murdered Chinese royalty