Xu Xinyue (; c. 902?''

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. 83.-August 1, 946''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms'', vol. 80.

Academia Sinica Academia Sinica (AS, la, 1=Academia Sinica, 3=Chinese Academy; ), headquartered in Nangang, Taipei, is the national academy of Taiwan. Founded in Nanking, the academy supports research activities in a wide variety of disciplines, ranging from ...

br>Chinese Western-Calendar Converter
), formally the Lady Renhui of Wuyue (吳越國仁惠夫人), was a concubine, possibly later a wife, of

Qian Yuanguan Qian Yuanguan (錢元瓘) (November 30, 887 – September 17, 941''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 282.), born Qian Chuanguan (錢傳瓘), formally King Wenmu of Wuyue (吳越文穆王), courtesy name Mingbao (明寶), was the second king of the state of W ...

(King Wenmu) (né Qian Chuanguan, name changed to Qian Yuanguan upon his succession to the throne), the second king of the

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

state

Wuyue Wuyue (; ), 907–978, was an independent coastal kingdom founded during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907–960) of Chinese history. It was ruled by the Haiyan Qian clan (海盐钱氏), whose family name remains widespread in t ...

of the

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen conc ...

, and the mother to his son and successor Qian Hongzuo (King Wenxian).

Background and acts before Qian Yuanguan's reign

Little is known about Lady Xu's background other than that she was from Tai Prefecture (台州, in modern Taizhou,

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

) and that she was possibly born in 903, during the reign of

Emperor Zhaozong of Tang Emperor Zhaozong of Tang (March 31, 867 – September 22, 904), né Li Jie, name later changed to Li Min and again to Li Ye, was the penultimate emperor of the Tang dynasty of China. He reigned from 888 to 904 (although he was briefly deposed ...

. It is not known when she became Qian Chuanguan's concubine, but it is known that she was well-versed in music and therefore was put in charge of music in his palace. When another concubine of his, Lady Fu, gave birth to his son

Qian Hongzun Qian Hongzun (錢弘僔) (925''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms''vol. 83 – June 7, 940),''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 282.Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter formally Heir Apparent Xiaoxian (孝獻世子, "the filial and w ...

— who would later become the designated heir until his untimely death in 940 at age 15 — in 925, Lady Fu became very honored in the palace and was created the Lady of Lu. (At that time, Qian Chuanguan was himself still serving under his father Qian Liu the king, but was already serving as acting military governor of Wuyue's main circuits, Zhenhai (鎮海, headquartered in modern

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...

) and Zhendong (鎮東, headquartered in modern Shaoxing,

), and therefore was commonly viewed as his heir.)''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms'', vol. 79. A Buddhist nun named Qiyun (契雲), who was in charge of offering incense in the palace and who was considered a good judge of character, however, stated to Lady Xu, "Lady Fu can never match you. You, lady, should take care of yourself." She subsequently gave birth to Qian Chuanguan's sixth son, Qian Hongzuo, in 928.

During and after Qian Yuanguan's reign

Sometime after Qian Chuanguan's becoming the ruler of Wuyue upon his father Qian Liu's death in 932 (and thereafter changed his name to Qian Yuanguan),''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 278. Lady Xu received the title of Lady of Wuyue — probably after the death of his then-wife Lady Ma in 939, because Lady Ma carried the title of Lady of Wuyue until her death.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 282. (The title of Lady of Wuyue might be an indication that Lady Xu effectively became Qian Yuanguan's wife by this point.) Qian Yuanguan died in 942, and Lady Xu's son Qian Hongzuo became king. She herself died in 945, and was given a

posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments or ...

of ''Renhui'' ("kind and benevolent").

Notes and references

* ''

'' (十國春秋), vol. 83. {{DEFAULTSORT:Xu, Xinyue 900s births 946 deaths Year of birth uncertain Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms imperial consorts People from Taizhou, Zhejiang Wuyue musicians Later Liang (Five Dynasties) musicians Later Tang musicians Later Jin (Five Dynasties) musicians Musicians from Zhejiang