Sui and Tang · Empress Dowager and Mother of Zhu Wen

Empress Dowager Wenhui 文惠皇太后王氏

Wenhui Huang Taihou Wang shi

Attested AD 907 - AD 907

Passages: 9
Chapters: 2
Histories: 2

Overview

Empress Dowager Wenhui was an empress Dowager and Mother of Zhu Wen.

Life and dates

Attested activity

AD 907 开平元年秋七月己亥
Dated from the passage context · New History of the Five Dynasties 2, passages 18, 22
AD 907 開平初
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 11, passage 1

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Parent of Zhu Quanzhong (硃全忠)
mother 妣
son 子
mother 母
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 2, passage 22; Old History of the Five Dynasties 11, passages 6, 11, 14
Parent of Zhu Yu (朱昱)
mother 母
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 11, passages 6, 11
Parent of Zhu Cun (朱存)
mother 母
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 11, passages 6, 11
Spouse of Zhu Cheng (朱誠)
Marriage
mother/wife 母
Strongly inferred · New History of the Five Dynasties 2, passage 22; Old History of the Five Dynasties 11, passages 5-6

Key source chapters

Career and standing

Grand Lady of Jin 晉國太夫人
AD 907 以溫貴 · Enfeoffed
Dated from the passage context · Old History of the Five Dynasties 11, passage 20
Wen Hui 文惠
Posthumously granted
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 2, passage 22
Empress Dowager Wenhui 文惠皇太后
AD 907 開平初 · Posthumously honored
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 11, passage 1

Places and affiliations

At Bian 汴 · Relation Resided at
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 11, passage 17

Works and attributed material

Speech · Speaker · Direct quotation
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 11, passages 14-15, 23-25

Events and relationships

Urged lighter punishments
Political · Intercessor · With Zhu Quanzhong (硃全忠)
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 11, passage 3
Welcomed to Bian
Personal · Subject · At Bian 汴
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 11, passages 13, 16-18

Assessments and attributes

Assessment initially-disbelieved-Wen's-rise · Mode named-source-report Source Work Scattered Dreams of the Northern Quarter 北夢瑣言
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 11, passages 14-15

References in the histories

Search passages

History

9 passages

Old History of the Five Dynasties, Chapter 11Volume 11 Book of Later Liang 11: Biographies 1: Empresses and Consorts · 8 passages

文惠皇太后王氏，開平初追諡。 Empress Dowager Wenhui (Wang) received her posthumous title early in the Kaiping era.

太祖性孝願，奉太后未嘗小失色，朝夕視膳，為士君子之規範。 The Founder was deeply filial: he never let his manner slip before the Empress Dowager and attended her at every meal, morning and night—a standard for the cultivated man.

帝嚴察用法，無纖毫假貸，太后言之，帝頗為省刑。 The Emperor enforced the law without mercy; when the Empress Dowager intervened, he often eased sentences.

母王氏，攜養寄於同縣人劉崇家。 Their mother Wang entrusted the boys to Liu Chong, a man of the same county.

他日與仲兄存入黃巢軍作賊，伯兄昱與母王氏尚依劉家。 Later Wen and his second brother Cun went off with Huang Chao’s rebels; the eldest, Yu, and Mother Wang remained with the Lius.

王氏惶恐，辭避深藏，不之信，謂人曰：「朱三落拓無行，何處作賊送死，焉能自致富貴？ Wang was afraid, refused, and hid; she told others: "That good-for-nothing Zhu Third is off robbing somewhere—how could he possibly have become rich and powerful?

使者具陳離鄉去裏之由，歸國立功之事，王氏方泣而信。 The envoy explained how Wen had left home, served the dynasty, and won distinction; at last Wang wept and believed.

王氏以溫貴，封晉國太夫人。 With Wen’s rise, Wang was created Grand Lady of Jin.

New History of the Five Dynasties, Chapter 2Volume 2 Later Liang Annals 2: Taizu 2 · 1 passage

考诚谥曰文穆，庙号烈祖，妣王氏谥曰文惠。 his father Cheng the name Wen Mu and temple name Ancestor Lie, and his mother of the Wang clan the name Wen Hui.