Noble Consort Chengmu ( zh, s=成穆贵妃孙氏, t=成穆貴妃孫氏,

1343 Year 1343 ( MCCCXLIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * January 14 – Arnošt of Pardubice becomes the last bishop of Prague and, subsequently, the first Archbishop of P ...

– 1374) of the Sun clan, was an imperial 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 ...

. 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 ...

Emperor Hongwu The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328– 24 June 1398), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Ming, personal name Zhu Yuanzhang, courtesy name Guorui, was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1368 to 1398. In ...

(Zhu Yuanzhang), the first ruler of the Ming dynasty.

Life

Her personal name was not recorded in history. Lady Sun's father, Sun Heqing, was an official of the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...

. Sun Heqing moved from Chen Prefecture to

Changzhou Changzhou is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu, China. It was previously known as Yanling, Lanling, and Jinling. Located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, Changzhou borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the west, Zhen ...

together with his wife and children. Lady Sun had two older brothers: Sun Dashi (孙大石) and Sun Fan (孫藩). Both of her parents died during the war in the late Yuan dynasty. She was adopted by Marshal Ma Shixiong (馬世熊) At the age of 18, because of her outstanding beauty, Sun was accepted as a concubine by

Zhu Yuanzhang The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328– 24 June 1398), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Ming, personal name Zhu Yuanzhang, courtesy name Guorui, was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1368 to 1398. In ...

, who was still fighting in the

Red Turban Rebellions The Red Turban Rebellions () were uprisings against the Yuan dynasty between 1351 and 1368, eventually leading to its collapse. Remnants of the Yuan imperial court retreated northwards and is thereafter known as the Northern Yuan in historiogr ...

. In 1360, she gave birth to Zhu Yuanzhang's first daughter, named Zhu Jingjing. In 1366, she gave birth to his sixth daughter, whose personal name was not recorded in the history. After Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne and established the

, Lady Sun was given the rank of ''Noble Consort'' (貴妃). As a noble consort, she gave birth to two more daughters, who did not survive to adulthood. In addition to her beauty, Concubine Sun was good at etiquette, behaved well, and assisted Empress Ma in managing the harem. Empress Ma also praised Noble Consort Sun to Zhu Yuanzhang as a rare virtuous woman. Noble Consort Sun died in the 9th month of the seventh year of Hongwu (1374) and was given the posthumous title of ''Noble Consort Chengmu'' (成穆貴妃)Ming Shilu, Vol 113 at the age of thirty-two. Later, she was buried in Xiaoling Mausoleum.

Titles

*During the reign of the Emperor Shun of Yuan (r. 1333–1368): **Lady Sun (孫氏; from 1343) **Concubine (from 1360) *During the reign of the

Hongwu Emperor The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328– 24 June 1398), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Ming, personal name Zhu Yuanzhang, courtesy name Guorui, was the List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, founding emperor of the Ming dyna ...

(r. 1368–1398): **Noble Consort (貴妃; from 1368) **''Noble Consort Chengmu'' (成穆貴妃; from 1374)

Issue

As Concubine: *Princess Lin'an (臨安公主; 1360 – 17 August 1421), personal name Jingjing (鏡靜), the Hongwu Emperor's first daughter *Princess Huaiqing (懷慶公主; 1366 – 15 July 1425), the Hongwu Emperor's sixth daughter As Noble Consort: *''The Hongwu Emperor's tenth daughter'' *''The Hongwu Emperor's thirteenth daughter''

References

{{Reflist *《明史卷一百十四列传第一》 Cheng, Consort Cheng, Consort Cheng, Consort People from Zhoukou