Empress Zhang (died July or August 237),[a] personal name unknown, formally known as Empress Jing'ai (lit. "Respectful and Lamentable Empress"), was an empress of the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period. She was a daughter of the Shu general Zhang Fei. She married Liu Shan in 221 and became the crown princess of Shu. In 223 when Liu Bei died, Liu Shan ascended the throne of Shu, and Zhang became the empress. She died in 237 and was buried in Nanling (南陵).[2] She was succeeded by her younger sister.
| Empress Zhang 張皇后 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Empress consort of Shu Han | |||||
| Tenure | 223 – July or August 237 | ||||
| Predecessor | Empress Wu | ||||
| Successor | Empress Zhang | ||||
| Born | Unknown | ||||
| Died | July or August 237[a] Chengdu, Sichuan | ||||
| Spouse | Liu Shan | ||||
| |||||
| Father | Zhang Fei | ||||
| Mother | Unknown[b] | ||||
In the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms she doesn't marry Liu Shan until after he becomes Emperor, with Zhuge Liang recommending her due to her prudence.
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ a b Liu Shan's biography in the Sanguozhi recorded that Empress Zhang died in the 6th month of the 15th year of the Jianxing era of Liu Shan's reign.[1] This month corresponds to 11 July to 8 August 237 in the Gregorian calendar.
- ^ It is not recorded which of the daughters (the elder or the younger) of Zhang Fei was the mother of the boy that Liu Shan commented was related to Xiahou Ba.
References
edit- Chen, Shou (3rd century). Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi).
- Pei, Songzhi (5th century). Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi zhu).
- Robert Joe Cutter and William Gordon Crowell. Empresses and Consorts: Selections from Chen Shou's Records of the Three States with Pei Songzhi's Commentary. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1999.