Empress Xu (Ming dynasty)


Empress Renxiaowen, of the Xu clan, was the empress consort to the Yongle Emperor and the third empress of the Chinese Ming dynasty. She was well educated, compiling bibliographies of virtuous women, an activity connected with court politics.

Biography

Lady Xu was born in 1362, as the eldest daughter of Xu Da and Lady Xie, second daughter of Xie Zaixing. She had four brothers—Xu Huizu, Xu Tianfu, Xu Yingxu, and Xu Zengshou —and two younger sisters, who were the wives of Zhu Gui, Prince Jian of Dai and Zhu Ying, Prince Hui of An. On 17 February 1376, she married the Zhu Di, Prince of Yan, the Hongwu Emperor's fourth son. After Zhu Di ascended the throne as the Yongle Emperor on 17 July 1402, Consort Xu, as his primary wife, was created empress in December 1402.
A devout Buddhist, Xu is the first person credited with transcribing a Buddhist sutra from a dream revelation. The work is entitled Da Ming Ren xiao Huang hou meng kan Fo Shuo di yi xi yu da gong de jing . In her introduction to the sutra, the empress wrote that one night after meditating and burning incense, Guanyin appeared to her as if in a dream, and took her to a holy realm where the sutra was revealed to her in order to save her from disaster. After reading the sutra three times, she was able to memorize it and recall it perfectly upon awakening and writing it down. The sutra conveys conventional Mahayana philosophies, and the mantras for chanting were typical of Tibetan Buddhist practices.

Titles

  • During the reign of the Hongwu Emperor :
  • *Lady Xu
  • *Princess consort of Yan
  • During the reign of the Yongle Emperor :
  • *Empress
  • *Empress Renxiao
  • *''Empress Rénxiào Cíyì Chéngmíng Zhuāngxiàn Pèitiān Qíshèng Wēn''

Issue

  • As Princess consort of Yan:
  • * Zhu Gaochi, the Hongxi Emperor, the Yongle Emperor's first son
  • * Zhu Gaoxu, Prince of Han, the Yongle Emperor's second son
  • * Zhu Gaosui, Prince Jian of Zhao, the Yongle Emperor's third son
  • * Princess Yong'an, personal name Yuying, the Yongle Emperor's first daughter
  • ** Married Yuan Rong, and had issue
  • * Princess Yong'ping, the Yongle Emperor's second daughter
  • ** Married Li Rang, and had issue
  • * Princess Ancheng, the Yongle Emperor's third daughter
  • ** Married Song Hu in 1402, and had issue
  • * Princess Xianning, the Yongle Emperor's fourth daughter
  • ** Married Song Ying in 1403, and had issue