Princess Pingyi (馮翊公主), later honored as Empress Wenxiang (文襄皇后), formally posthumously honored as Empress Jing (敬皇后, literally "the respected empress") by

Northern Qi Qi, known as the Northern Qi (), Later Qi (後齊) or Gao Qi (高齊) in historiography, was a Dynasties in Chinese history, Chinese imperial dynasty and one of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties during the ...

, was a princess of the

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

Northern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei ( zh, c=北魏, p=Běi Wèi), Tuoba Wei ( zh, c=拓跋魏, p=Tuòbá Wèi), Yuan Wei ( zh, c=元魏, p=Yuán Wèi) and Later Wei ( zh, t=後魏, p=Hòu Wèi), was an Dynasties of China, impe ...

dynasty and its branch successor state

Eastern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Eastern Wei (), was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei dynasty. One of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Nor ...

. She was the sister of

Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei ((東)魏孝靜帝) (524 – 21 January 552), personal name Yuan Shanjian (元善見), was the founder and the only Emperor of China, emperor of China's Eastern Wei dynasty. In 534, the Emperor Xiaowu of Northern We ...

, and the wife of Eastern Wei's paramount official

Gao Cheng Gao Cheng (; 521 – 15 September 549), courtesy name Zihui (子惠), formally Prince Wenxiang of Bohai (勃海文襄王), later further posthumously honored by Northern Qi as Emperor Wenxiang (文襄皇帝) with the temple name Shizong (世宗), ...

, son of

Gao Huan Gao Huan () (496 – 13 February 547), Xianbei name Heliuhun (賀六渾), formally Prince Xianwu of Qi (齊獻武王), later further formally honored by Northern Qi initially as Emperor Xianwu (獻武皇帝), then as Emperor Shenwu (神武皇� ...

. It is not known when she was born to Yuan Dan (元亶) the Prince of Qinghe, a grandson of Emperor Xiaowen, but what is known is that during the reign of Emperor Xiaowu (532-535), she was created the Princess Pingyi. In 534, Emperor Xiaowu, seeking to escape the grasp of Gao Huan, fled west from the capital

Luoyang Luoyang ( zh, s=洛阳, t=洛陽, p=Luòyáng) is a city located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River in the west of Henan province, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zheng ...

to the domain of the independent general

Yuwen Tai Yuwen Tai () (505/7 – 21 November 556According to Yuwen Tai's biography in ''Book of Zhou'', he died aged 52 (by East Asian reckoning) on the ''yihai'' day of the 10th month of the 3rd year of the reign of Emperor Gong of Western Wei. This co ...

. Gao Huan subsequently made her brother Yuan Shanjian emperor (as Emperor Xiaojing), signifying a division of Northern Wei into Eastern Wei (with Emperor Xiaojing as emperor) and

Western Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Western Wei (), was an imperial dynasty of China that followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei. One of the Northern dynasties during the era of the Northern and Southern dynasties, it ruled the weste ...

(with Emperor Xiaowu as emperor). She was subsequently given to Gao Huan's son Gao Cheng as his wife, although the date of the marriage is not known. Princess Pingyi was said to be both beautiful and virtuous. In 541, she bore Gao Cheng a son, Gao Xiaowan (高孝琬). Emperor Xiaojing personally visited Gao Cheng and her to congratulate them. Later, she also bore him two daughters. Gao Cheng was assassinated by his servant Lan Jing (蘭京) in 549, and Gao Cheng's brother Gao Yang took over his position of power. In 550, Gao Yang forced Emperor Xiaojing to yield the throne to him, ending Eastern Wei and starting Northern Qi (as its Emperor Wenxuan). Emperor Wenxuan honored Gao Cheng as Emperor Wenxiang, and thus honored her as Empress Wenxiang, settling her at Jingde Palace (靜德宮). In 555, with Emperor Wenxuan growing increasingly unstable in his mental state, he forced her to move out of Jingde Palace. Further, alleging that Gao Cheng had previously forced his wife Empress

Li Zu'e Empress Li Zu'e ( zh, c=李祖娥) (545 - 581) was an empress of the Chinese dynasty Northern Qi, known at times semi-formally as Empress Zhaoxin () (due to her residence being Zhaoxin Palace). Her husband was Emperor Wenxuan (Gao Yang), the fir ...

to have sexual relations with Gao Cheng, Emperor Wenxuan forced her to have sexual relations with him. Nothing further concrete was recorded about her in history. She died sometime between 570 and 576 and was buried with Gao Cheng with honors due an empress.

References

* ''

Book of Northern Qi The ''Book of Northern Qi'' (), was the official history of the Chinese dynasty Northern Qi. It was written by the Tang dynasty historian Li Baiyao (李百藥) and was completed in 636. It is listed among the official Twenty-Four Histories of ...

'', vol. 9. * ''

History of the Northern Dynasties The ''History of the Northern Dynasties'' () is one of the official Chinese historical works in the '' Twenty-Four Histories'' canon. The text contains 100 volumes and covers the period from 386 to 618 CE: the histories of Northern Wei, Wester ...

'', vol. 14. * ''

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 ...

'', vols.

158 Year 158 ( CLVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Tertullus and Sacerdos (or, less frequently, year 911 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 158 for th ...

163 Year 163 ( CLXIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Laelianus and Pastor (or, less frequently, year 916 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 163 for this y ...

. Northern Wei people Northern Qi people 570s deaths Year of birth unknown Chinese princesses {{China-royal-stub