Empress Ande of Chen (), personal name Shen Miaorong () (535–605), was an

empress The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

of the Chinese

Chen dynasty The Chen dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Chen (南陳 / 南朝陳) in historiography, was a Dynasties in Chinese history, Chinese imperial dynasty and the fourth and last of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Southern dynasties, ...

. Her husband was Emperor Wen (Chen Qian), a nephew of the founding Emperor Wu (Chen Baxian).

Early life

Shen Miaorong was from Wuxing Commandery (吳興, roughly modern

Huzhou Huzhou (, ; Huzhou dialect: Romanization of Wu Chinese, ''ghou² cieu¹'') is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province (Hangzhou–Jiaxing–Huzhou Plain, China). Lying south of the Lake Tai, it borders Jiaxing to the east, Hangzho ...

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 ...

) as was her husband's clan. Her father Shen Fashen (沈法深) was an army officer during the

Liang dynasty The Liang dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Liang () or Xiao Liang () in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the third of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. It was pre ...

. Her mother's name was Gao (高), but Lady Gao's surname is lost to history. Shen Miaorong married Chen Qian when she was a teenager, and while the exact year is not known, the marriage took place during

Emperor Wu of Liang Emperor Wu of Liang () (464 – 12 June 549), personal name Xiao Yan (蕭衍), courtesy name Shuda (叔達), childhood name Lian'er (練兒), was the founding Emperor of China, emperor of the Chinese Liang dynasty, during the Northern and Souther ...

's ''Datong'' (大同)

era An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

(535-546). Chen Baxian was a Liang general, and after the Liang capital

Jiankang Jiankang (), or Jianye (), as it was originally called, was the capital city of the Eastern Wu (229–265 and 266–280 CE), the Jin dynasty (265–420), Eastern Jin dynasty (317–420 CE) and the Southern Dynasties (420–552), including the Ch ...

fell to the rebel general

Hou Jing Hou Jing (; died 26 May 552), courtesy name Wanjing (萬景), was a Chinese military general, monarch, and politician. He was a general of Northern Wei, Eastern Wei, and Liang, and briefly, after controlling the Liang imperial regime for severa ...

in 549, he participated in the campaigns against Hou. In response, Hou arrested not only Chen Baxian's wife Zhang Yao'er and son Chen Chang, but also arrested Chen Qian and Lady Shen. They were only released after

Emperor Yuan of Liang Emperor Yuan of Liang () (16 September 508 – 27 January 555), personal name Xiao Yi (), courtesy name Shicheng (), childhood name Qifu (), was an emperor of the Chinese Liang dynasty. After his father Emperor Wu and brother Emperor Jianwen w ...

's army, commanded by

Wang Sengbian Wang Sengbian () (5th century – 27 October 555), courtesy name Juncai (君才), was a Chinese military general and regent of the Liang dynasty. He came to prominence as the leading general under Emperor Yuan (Xiao Yi)'s campaigns against the r ...

and with Chen Baxian as Wang's lieutenant, defeated Hou in 552, and recaptured Jiankang.

Empress

In 557, Chen Baxian, then effectively in control of Liang's imperial government after Emperor Yuan's execution by

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 ...

forces in 555 and his own coup against Wang later that year, had Emperor Jing of Liang yield the throne to him, establishing Chen dynasty as Emperor Wu. Emperor Wu created Chen Qian the Prince of Linchuan and, particularly because Chen Qian was then his only close relative in Chen territory (Chen Chang and Chen Qian's brother Chen Xu having been taken captive to

Chang'an Chang'an (; zh, t=長安, s=长安, p=Cháng'ān, first=t) is the traditional name of the city now named Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic time ...

, the capital of Western Wei and its successor state

Northern Zhou Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties of China's ...

), relied on him heavily. Lady Shen became the Princess of Linchuan. When Emperor Wu died in 559 with Chen Chang still under Northern Zhou control and unable to return, Chen Qian took the throne as Emperor Wen. He crowned Princess Shen empress and her son Chen Bozong crown prince. Her other son, Chen Bomao (陳伯茂), was declared the Prince of Shixing to inherit the title that Chen Baxian had posthumously created for Chen Qian's father Chen Daotan (陳道譚). It is not known whether she bore Emperor Wen any daughters. Emperor Wen posthumously named Empress Shen's father the Marquess of Jiancheng and her mother Lady Gao the Marchioness of Sui'an.

Empress dowager

In 566, Emperor Wen died, and Chen Bozong succeeded to the throne as Emperor Fei. He honored his mother as

empress dowager Empress dowager (also dowager empress or empress mother; ) is the English language translation of the title given to the mother or widow of a monarch, especially in regards to Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese monarchs in the Chines ...

and established her residence at Ande Palace (安德宮). Pursuant to Emperor Wen's will, the government was in the hands of Chen Xu (whom Northern Zhou had allowed to return to Chen in 562), the Prince of Ancheng, and the officials Dao Zhongju (到仲舉) and Liu Shizhi (劉師知), and all three stayed in the palace. In spring 567, Liu, suspicious of Chen Xu's intentions, tried to remove him from power. However, Chen Xu's associate Mao Xi (毛喜), after confirming with Empress Dowager Shen and Emperor Fei that neither approved of Liu's actions, reported this to Chen Xu, who arrested Chen and forced him to commit suicide. Dao was demoted, and Chen Xu took full control of the imperial government. Empress Dowager Shen, unhappy about the result, instructed her

eunuch A eunuch ( , ) is a male who has been castration, castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2 ...

Jiang Yu (蔣裕) to encourage Zhang Anguo (張安國), a man from Jian'an Commandery (建安, roughly modern

Nanping Nanping; historically known as Yanping ( zh, s=延平, poj=Iân-pêng is a third-tier prefecture-level city in northwestern Fujian province of China, Province, China, People's Republic of China. It borders Ningde to the east, Sanming to the sou ...

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 ...

), to rebel, but after Zhang's rebellion was discovered and suppressed, she killed her attendants who knew about the plan. In winter 568, Chen Xu had an edict issued in the name of Emperor Wu's wife Grand Empress Dowager Zhang, deposing Emperor Fei and making himself emperor. Emperor Fei was demoted to the title of Prince of Linhai, while Chen Bomao, who had participated in Liu's plot and had publicly declared his disapproval of Chen Xu, was demoted in rank to Marquess of Wenma and exiled. Chen Xu subsequently had Chen Bomao killed, but did not kill the Prince of Linhai. He took the throne (as Emperor Xuan) formally in spring 569, and while not continuing to honor her as empress dowager, he honored her as Empress Wen. Little is known about her activities during the reigns of Emperor Xuan and his son Chen Shubao. In 589, Chen dynasty fell to rival

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty ( ) was a short-lived Dynasties of China, Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618. The re-unification of China proper under the Sui brought the Northern and Southern dynasties era to a close, ending a prolonged peri ...

's armies. Most members of Chen's imperial clan, including her, were taken to the Sui capital Chang'an. She returned to former Chen territory sometime during the reign of

Emperor Yang of Sui Emperor Yang of Sui (隋煬帝, 569 – 11 April 618), personal name Yang Guang (), alternative name Ying (), Xianbei name Amo (), was the second emperor of the Sui dynasty of China. Emperor Yang's original name was Yang Ying, but he was rena ...

(605-617), and died soon thereafter.

References

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