Deposed Empress Wu
Deposed Empress Wu was a consort of the Ming dynasty and the wife of the Chenghua Emperor, Zhu Jianshen. Born in Beijing in the 15th century, she became empress shortly after the emperor’s accession in 1464. However, only a month after their wedding, she clashed with the emperor’s favorite concubine, Consort Wan, and ordered Wan to be whipped. The emperor supported Wan, and Wu was demoted and stripped of her title.
Wu spent the rest of her life living quietly in the Forbidden City’s gardens, though she still had some influence at court. From 1470 to 1475, she helped hide Consort Ji and her son, who would become the Hongzhi Emperor, to protect them from Consort Wan.
She died in 1509 and was buried in Jinshan, Beijing. Wu did not receive a posthumous name, and at her funeral she was treated as a regular consort, with cremation planned as for ordinary court ladies.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 01:41 (CET).