Sun Taizhen () (died 976)''

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. 82. was the first wife of

Qian Chu Qian Chu (29 September 929 – 7 October 988), courtesy name Wende, known as Qian Hongchu before 960, also known by his posthumous name as the King Zhongyi of Wuyue, was the last king of Wuyue during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period o ...

(King Zhongyi), the fifth and final king of

Wuyue Wuyue (; ) was a Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic state of China and one of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period#Ten Kingdoms, Ten Kingdoms during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period of History of China, Chinese history. It wa ...

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 ...

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.

Background

It is not known when Sun Taizhen was born, but it is known that she came from the

capital Qiantang (錢塘, in modern

Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

). The historical records did not state her heritage, but it is known that she had at least one younger brother, Sun Chengyou (孫承祐), who would later become a prominent general for Wuyue (and later, for

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

). She was said to be elegant, serious, intelligent, and wise. She was said to be proper and humble in her dealings with both her relatives by blood and by marriage. She was also said to be studious, being able to understand the Mao edition of the ''

Classic of Poetry The ''Classic of Poetry'', also ''Shijing'' or ''Shih-ching'', translated variously as the ''Book of Songs'', ''Book of Odes'', or simply known as the ''Odes'' or ''Poetry'' (; ''Shī''), is the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, co ...

'' and the Lu edition of the ''

Analects The ''Analects'', also known as the ''Sayings of Confucius'', is an ancient Chinese philosophical text composed of sayings and ideas attributed to Confucius and his contemporaries, traditionally believed to have been compiled by his followers. ...

''.''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms'', vol. 83. It is not known when she married Qian Hongchu (who later changed his name to Qian Chu) — whether it was before or after he became king in 948''

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. 287. — but she was said to be already "serving" him in her youth, suggesting that they were married early.

Queen consort

Around new year 948, Qian Hongchu took the throne after his brother and predecessor,

Qian Hongzong Qian Hongzong () (c. 928 – 971?), known as Qian Zong (錢倧) during Song, courtesy name Longdao (隆道), nickname Wanjin (萬金), also known by his posthumous name as the King Zhongxun of Wuyue (吳越忠遜王), was the fourth king of Wuyue d ...

, was overthrown in a coup led by the general

Hu Jinsi Hu Jinsi (胡進思) (died April 28, 948) was a general of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state Wuyue, becoming powerful during the reign of its third king Qian Hongzuo (King Zhongxian). After Qian Hongzuo's death, Hu had frequ ...

. Later in 948,

Liu Chengyou Liu Chengyou () (28 March 931Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter – 2 January 951), also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Yin of Later Han (), was the second and last emperor of the Later Han dynasty of China, dur ...

, the emperor of

Later Han Later Han (後漢) may refer to two dynastic states in imperial China: *Eastern Han (25–220), the second period of the Han dynasty, also called Later Han * Later Han (947–951), a dynasty during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period See al ...

, to which Wuyue was a vassal, created Qian Hongchu the King of Wuyue,''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 288. and, presumably, at that time or shortly after, created Sun Taizhen a lady. She was said to be frugal and did not wear elaborate jewelry except at feasts. Later, during Later Han's successor state

Later Zhou Zhou, known as the Later Zhou (; ) in historiography, was a short-lived Chinese imperial dynasty and the last of the Five Dynasties that controlled most of northern China during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Founded by Guo Wei ...

, she was given the title of Lady Xiande (i.e., "worthy and virtuous") of Wuyue. In 955, she gave birth to Qian Hongchu's first son,

Qian Weijun Qian Weijun () (October 22, 955''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms'', :zh:s:十國春秋 (四庫全書本)/卷081, vol. 81.Academia Sinica]Chinese Western-Calendar Converter – 991''History of Song (Yuan dynasty), History of Song'', :z ...

. In 972, by which time Later Zhou had been succeeded by Song dynasty, Song, Song's Emperor Taizu gave Lady Sun the greater title of Lady Xiande Shunmu (i.e., "worthy, virtuous, obedient, and concordant") of Wuyue. When Qian Hongchu (who had changed his name to Qian Chu by this point to observe

naming taboo A naming taboo is a cultural taboo against speaking or writing the given names of exalted persons, notably in China and within the Chinese cultural sphere. It was enforced by several laws throughout Imperial China, but its cultural and possibly ...

for Emperor Taizu's father

Zhao Hongyin Zhao Hongyin (899 – 3 September 956) was a Chinese general during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. After his death, his son Zhao Kuangyin founded the Song dynasty in 960. His other son Zhao Kuangyi would also become a Song emper ...

),'' History of Song'', vol. 480. as a Song vassal, attacked Wuyue's northwestern neighbor

Jiangnan Jiangnan is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, including the southern part of its delta. The region encompasses the city of Shanghai, the southern part of Jiangsu ...

's Chang Prefecture (常州, in modern

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 ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

) in 974,''

Xu Zizhi Tongjian ''Xu Zizhi Tongjian'' (續資治通鑑; "Continuation to ''Zizhi Tongjian''") was a book chronicling Chinese history of the Song dynasty between 960 and 1279 and the Yuan dynasty between 1279 and 1370. Credited to Bi Yuan (畢沅; 1730–1797), a ...

'', vol. 8. Lady Sun stayed at the capital Qiantang to oversee it. She frequently visited the generals who remained and the family members of the generals who followed Qian Chu on the campaign, to comfort them, and it was said that the people obeyed her as they did the king. Jiangnan fell in 975, and in 976, Qian Chu, whose Wuyue realm was now directly contiguous with Song proper, decided to go to the Song capital

Kaifeng Kaifeng ( zh, s=开封, p=Kāifēng) is a prefecture-level city in east-Zhongyuan, central Henan province, China. It is one of the Historical capitals of China, Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and ...

to pay homage to Emperor Taizu. Lady Sun and Qian Weijun went with him. Emperor Taizu gave Qian Chu great honors, and as part of honoring Qian Chu, created Lady Sun the queen of Wuyue. When they were departing Kaifeng, Qian Chu offered a tribute of gold coins to the Song emperor, and Queen Sun offered a tribute of gold vessels to Song's Empress Song. Queen Sun died in late 976.

Notes and references

* ''

'', vol. 83. * ''

'', vols. 8, 9. , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sun, Taizhen 10th-century births 976 deaths Year of birth uncertain People from Hangzhou Wuyue people Later Han (Five Dynasties) people Later Zhou people Song dynasty people