As Empress Dowager
Emperor Houfei honored Empress Wang as empress dowager and his mother Consort Chen as consort dowager. Empress Dowager Wang was titularly regent, but the authority was actually in hands of Emperor Ming's associates Yang Yunchang (楊運長) and Ruan Dianfu (阮佃夫), and the officials Xiao Daocheng, Yuan Can, Chu Yuan, and Liu Bing. Initially, the relationship between him and Empress Dowager Wang appeared cordial, and in 474, when Emperor Houfei's uncle Liu Xiufan (劉休範) the Prince of Guiyang rebelled and appeared to be on the verge of victory, Empress Dowager Wang held Emperor Houfei and wept. After Liu Xiufan was defeated, initially Emperor Houfei feared rebuke from Empress Dowager Wang and Consort Dowager Chen and therefore was careful in his actions, but eventually grew more and more frivolous and violent in his actions. At Duan Wu festival in 477, Empress Dowager Wang gave him a gift of a feather fan. He felt that it was insufficiently luxurious, and ordered the imperial physicals to brew poison to ready to poison her. He only stopped after his attendants reminded him that if he poisoned Empress Dowager Wang, he would have to observe a mourning period of three years and would not be able to spend time on fun and games.
On Qi Xi (Chinese Valentine's Day) in 477, after Emperor Houfei had tried to but then not actually killed Xiao Daocheng, Xiao Daocheng had Emperor Houfei's attendant Yang Yufu (楊玉夫) assassinate Emperor Houfei, and then, issuing an edict in Empress Dowager Wang's name, ordered Emperor Houfei posthumously deposed and his younger brother Liu Zhun installed as Emperor Shun. The general Shen Youzhi then rose against Xiao, also claiming to be acting with Empress Dowager Wang's approval. (There is no real evidence that Empress Wang was involved either with Xiao's assassination plot or with Shen's rebellion.) After Xiao's forces defeated Shen's (and also defeated a coup attempt by Yuan and Liu), in 479, he forced Empress Dowager Wang and Emperor Shun to yield imperial authority to him, ending Liu Song and establishing Southern Qi. He created the former Emperor Shun as the Prince of Ruyin and Empress Dowager Wang as princess dowager, but later that year had Emperor Shun and other members of the Liu clan slaughtered. The former Empress Dowager Wang died later that year and was buried with imperial honors, according to Liu Song customs, with her husband Emperor Ming.
| Chinese royalty | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Empress Lu |
Empress of Liu Song (Jiankang region) 465–472 |
Succeeded by Empress Jiang Jiangui |
| Empress of Liu Song (Most regions) 466–472 |
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| Empress of China (Northern Jiangsu) 466 |
Succeeded by Empress Feng Qing of Northern Wei |
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| Empress of China (Shandong) 466–469 |
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Wang Zhenfeng, Empress |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | Liu Song empress |
| Date of birth | 436 |
| Place of birth | |
| Date of death | 479 |
| Place of death | |
Read more about this topic: Empress Wang Zhenfeng
Famous quotes containing the word empress:
“We never really are the adults we pretend to be. We wear the mask and perhaps the clothes and posture of grown-ups, but inside our skin we are never as wise or as sure or as strong as we want to convince ourselves and others we are. We may fool all the rest of the people all of the time, but we never fool our parents. They can see behind the mask of adulthood. To her mommy and daddy, the empress never has on any clothes—and knows it.”
—Frank Pittman (20th century)