Five Dynasties · Empress of Later Liang Founder

Empress Yuanzhen 元貞皇后張氏

Yuanzhen Huanghou Zhang shi

Attested AD 885 - AD 912

Passages: 13
Chapters: 2
Histories: 1

Overview

Empress Yuanzhen was an empress of Later Liang Founder.

Life and dates

Death

Died early
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 11, passage 30

Attested activity

AD 912 乾化二年十一月二十三日
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 11, passage 30
AD 908 開平二年
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 11, passage 30
AD 911 to AD 912 乾化中追諡
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 11, passage 28
AD 885 to AD 888 唐光啟中
Dated from the passage context · Old History of the Five Dynasties 12, passages 96, 98
AD 892 景福元年
Dated from the passage context · Old History of the Five Dynasties 12, passages 75, 81

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Spouse of Zhu Quanzhong (硃全忠)
empress 皇后 · Primary marriage
wife 婦 · Primary marriage
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 11, passages 28, 33; Old History of the Five Dynasties 12, passages 81, 98
Child of Zhang Rui (張蕤)
father 父
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 11, passage 31

Key source chapters

Career and standing

Worthy Consort 賢妃
AD 908 開平二年 · Posthumously enfeoffed
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 11, passage 30
Empress Yuanzhen 元貞皇后
AD 912 乾化二年十一月二十三日 · Posthumously invested
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 11, passage 30
Lady of Wei 魏國夫人
Held
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 11, passage 31

Places and affiliations

At Dangshan 碭山
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 11, passage 31

Works and attributed material

Speech · Speaker · Direct quotation
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 11, passages 39-40

Events and relationships

Consulted on military and state affairs
Political · Adviser
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 11, passages 36-37
Had Zhu Jin wife tonsured and supported
Personal · Benefactor · With Wife of Zhu Jin (朱瑾妻)
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 11, passage 41
Relation Sister in law to · Person Wife of Zhu Jin (朱瑾妻) · Kinship Term sister-in-law 吾姒
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 11, passage 39

Assessments and attributes

Assessment wise, clear, and observant of ritual; restrained Wen's brutality · Mode historian-judgment
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 11, passages 35, 43

References in the histories

Search passages

History

13 passages

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

元貞皇后張氏，乾化中追諡。 Empress Yuanzhen (Zhang) was posthumously honored during Qianhua.

〈（《五代會要》云：太祖皇后張氏早崩，開平二年，追封賢妃，至乾化二年十一月二十三日，追冊曰元貞皇后。 (The 《Five Dynasties Institutional Compendium》 records that Empress Zhang died young; in Kaiping 2 she was posthumously made Worthy Consort, and on 23 xi of month 11, Qianhua 2, was elevated to Empress Yuanzhen.

又，《北夢瑣言》云：梁祖魏國夫人張氏，碭山富室女，父蕤，曾為宋州刺史。 The 《Scattered Dreams of the Northern Quarter》 adds that Lady Zhang of Wei came from a rich Dangshan family; her father Rui had served as Songzhou prefect.

溫時聞張有姿色，私心傾慕，有麗華之歎。 Hearing of Zhang’s beauty, Wen secretly yearned for her and sighed like a man longing for Lady Lihua.

及溫在同州，得張於兵間，因以婦禮納之。 At Tongzhou Wen took Zhang from among the captives and married her properly.

張賢明有禮，溫雖虎狼其心，亦所景伏。 Zhang was intelligent and decorous; even Wen’s brutal nature bowed before her.

或已出師，中途有所不可，張氏一介請旋，如期而至，其信重如此。 If a campaign had to be recalled mid-march, a single word from Zhang brought the army back on time—such was her authority.

張氏遣人召之，瑾妻再拜，張氏答拜泣下，謂之曰：「兗、鄆與司空同姓之國，昆仲之間，以小故尋戈，致吾姒如此。 Zhang sent for her; Jin’s wife bowed low, Zhang bowed back in tears and said: "Yan and Yun share our house’s surname—brothers quarreled over a trifle, and you, my sister-in-law, suffer for it.

又泣下，乃度為尼，張恒給其費。 Weeping again, she had Jin’s wife take the veil and paid her upkeep.

張既卒，繼寵者非人，及僭號後，大縱朋淫，骨肉聚麀，帷薄荒穢，以致友珪之禍，起於婦人。 After Zhang’s death Wen’s favorites were unworthy; once emperor he plunged into orgies and incest until Yougui’s revolt—born of a woman’s grievance.

始能以柔婉之德，製豺虎之心，如張氏者，不亦賢乎！ At first, with soft grace she tamed a tiger’s heart—was Zhang not truly virtuous?

Old History of the Five Dynasties, Chapter 12Volume 12 Book of Later Liang 12: Biographies 2: Imperial Family · 2 passages

賴元貞皇后聞而召之，令束身歸汴，力為營救，太祖乃舍之，令權知許州。 Empress Yuanzhen intervened, had him return to Bian in custody, and secured his pardon; the Founder then put him in temporary charge of Xu.

是時，元貞皇后賢而有寵，帝素憚之，由是不果攜歸大梁，因留亳州，以別宅貯之。 The Founder feared his capable consort Yuanzhen and never brought the woman to the capital, keeping her in a separate house at Bozhou.