The fate of Empress Ruizhen is one of China’s most fascinating mysteries.[1] Empress Ruizhen is the only missing empress in Chinese history.[2] She was an imperial concubine to Emperor Daizong when he was still a prince.[3] She was also the mother of Emperor Dezong. Empress Ruizhen disappeared during the An Lushan Rebellion, and her body was never found.[4] Three Tang emperors tried to look for her, but all they could find were impostors.[5] Empress Ruizhen’s disappearance continues to fascinate people today.[6]
The birthdate of Empress Ruizhen is unknown.[7] Her personal name is unknown.[8] She was from Wuxing.[9] She was also from the prominent Shen clan.[10] Her father was Shen Yizhu. Her mother’s name is unknown.[11] Lady Shen eventually became an imperial consort to Prince Li Yu (the Prince of Guangping and the future Emperor Daizong).[12] In May 742, Imperial Consort Shen gave birth to a son named Prince Li Kuo (the future Emperor Dezong).[13]
In 755, General An Lushan rebelled against Emperor Xuanzong. This event was known as the An Lushan Rebellion (755-763). Emperor Xuanzong fled to Chengdu.[14] Crown Prince Li Heng (the future Emperor Suzong) and Prince Li Yu went to Lingwu (modern-day Ningxia Autonomous Region).[15] However, Imperial Consort Shen was left behind in Chang’an with other female members of the imperial family.[16] They became prisoners who were taken to Luoyang and were imprisoned in the palace jail.[17]
In 759, Prince Li Yu managed to recapture Luoyang.[18] It was the last time he saw Imperial Consort Shen.[19] However, Prince Li Yu did not take Imperial Consort Shen back to Chang’an with him because the An Lushan Rebellion was not yet over.[20] Prince Li Yu thought it was safer for Imperial Consort Shen to stay in Luoyang Palace.[21] He would never see Imperial Consort Shen again.[22] Shortly afterwards, the rebel leader, Shen Shiming, gained control of Luoyang.[23] When the Tang imperial family recaptured Luoyang in 762, Prince Li Yu could not find Imperial Consort Shen.[24]
On 18 May 762, Li Yu ascended the throne as Emperor Daizong. He made his son, Li Kuo, the Crown Prince.[25] However, Li Kuo’s mother, Imperial Consort Shen, was still missing.[26] Emperor Daizong sent out a widespread search for Imperial Consort Shen, but to no avail.[27] Instead, the widespread search only increased the number of impostors who claimed to be her.[28] In 765, a Buddhist nun named Guangcheng (who was once Crown Prince Li Kuo’s wet nurse) claimed to be Imperial Consort Shen.[29] When her true identity was discovered, Guangcheng was sentenced to be “whipped to death.”[30] Emperor Daizong failed to locate Imperial Consort Shen.[31] Without knowing Imperial Consort Shen’s whereabouts, he could not appoint an empress.[32]
On 10 June 779, Emperor Daizong died without appointing an empress.[33] On 12 June 779, Liu Kuo ascended the throne as Emperor Dezong. He immediately made his mother, Imperial Consort Shen, the posthumous empress.[34] He gave her the posthumous name of Empress Ruizhen.[35] Emperor Dezong still sent out a widespread search for his mother.[36] However, all he encountered were several impostors.[37] In one case, he did not even punish the impostor because he was afraid that no other woman would dare to come forward claiming to be her.[38] Emperor Dezong once said, “I’d rather have a hundred impostors, as long as there is hope that one of them might be her.”[39] Emperor Dezong continued to look for her, but still could not find her.[40] He died on 25 February 805.
On 28 February 805, Emperor Dezong’s son, Prince Li Song, ascended the throne as Emperor Shunzong. He also carried out a widespread search for Empress Ruizhen.[41] However, his search proved fruitless.[42] Emperor Shunzong died on 11 February 806. He was succeeded by his son, Prince Li Chun. He ascended the throne as Emperor Xianzong. Emperor Xianzong stopped the search for Empress Ruizhen because he believed that she had long been dead.[43] Because Emperor Xianzong could not find her body, he conducted a religious ritual and buried her cenotaph (which substituted as her remains) alongside Emperor Daizong in the Yuanjing Mausoleum.[44]
Empres Ruizhen’s fate remains a mystery.[45] However, it seems that Empress Ruizhen was a tragic victim of the An Lushan Rebellion.[46] The mystery of her disappearance has intrigued people for centuries.[47] There have been various novels that have been written about her that imagine Empress Ruizhen’s fate.[48] Many nunneries claimed that Empress Ruizhen lived out the rest of her days as a nun.[49] There is a popular 2017 Chinese television series called Glory of the Tang Dynasty, in which she is portrayed by Jing Tian, which is based on her life. Therefore, Empress Ruizhen’s fate continues to be one of China’s most enduring legends.[50]
Sources:
iMedia. (n.d.). “List and introduction of empresses of the Tang Dynasty”. Retrieved on December 13, 2025 from https://min.news/en/history/81e9574f9d62ba4172f3b6dfa3786131.html/2.
iMedia. (n.d.). “Shen Zhenzhu, the only missing queen in history, disappeared at the age of 27. Four generations of emperors searched for her for more than fifty years”. Retrieved on December 13, 2025 from https://min.news/en/history/1cde76bdb95d5230bc092ad84639dfe9.html.
Liu, N. & Cui, H. S. (trans.). (2014). “Zhang, Demoted Empress of Emperor Suzong of Tang.” Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women, Volume II: Tang Through Ming 618 – 1644. (Xiao, H. Lee, L., Ed. & Wiles, S., Ed.) NY: Routledge. pp. 578-579.
McMahon, K. (2013). Women Shall Not Rule: Imperial Wives and Concubines in China from Han to Liao. NY: Rowman and Littlefield.
[1] iMedia, n.d., “Shen Zhenzhu, the only missing queen in history, disappeared at the age of 27. Four generations of emperors searched for her for more than fifty years”
[2] iMedia, n.d., “Shen Zhenzhu, the only missing queen in history, disappeared at the age of 27. Four generations of emperors searched for her for more than fifty years”
[3] iMedia, n.d., “Shen Zhenzhu, the only missing queen in history, disappeared at the age of 27. Four generations of emperors searched for her for more than fifty years”
[4] iMedia, n.d., “Shen Zhenzhu, the only missing queen in history, disappeared at the age of 27. Four generations of emperors searched for her for more than fifty years”; McMahon, 2013
[5] iMedia, n.d., “Shen Zhenzhu, the only missing queen in history, disappeared at the age of 27. Four generations of emperors searched for her for more than fifty years”; McMahon, 2013
[6] iMedia, n.d., “List and introduction of empresses of the Tang Dynasty”; McMahon, 2013
[7] iMedia, n.d., “List and introduction of empresses of the Tang Dynasty”; McMahon, 2013
[8] iMedia, n.d., “List and introduction of empresses of the Tang Dynasty”; McMahon, 2013
[9] iMedia, n.d., “List and introduction of empresses of the Tang Dynasty”; McMahon, 2013
[10] iMedia, n.d., “Shen Zhenzhu, the only missing queen in history, disappeared at the age of 27. Four generations of emperors searched for her for more than fifty years”
[11] iMedia, n.d., “List and introduction of empresses of the Tang Dynasty”; McMahon, 2013
[12] iMedia, n.d., “Shen Zhenzhu, the only missing queen in history, disappeared at the age of 27. Four generations of emperors searched for her for more than fifty years”
[13] McMahon, 2013
[14] Liu, 2014
[15] Liu, 2014
[16] iMedia, n.d., “Shen Zhenzhu, the only missing queen in history, disappeared at the age of 27. Four generations of emperors searched for her for more than fifty years”
[17] iMedia, n.d., “Shen Zhenzhu, the only missing queen in history, disappeared at the age of 27. Four generations of emperors searched for her for more than fifty years”
[18] iMedia, n.d., “Shen Zhenzhu, the only missing queen in history, disappeared at the age of 27. Four generations of emperors searched for her for more than fifty years”
[19] iMedia, n.d., “Shen Zhenzhu, the only missing queen in history, disappeared at the age of 27. Four generations of emperors searched for her for more than fifty years”
[20] iMedia, n.d., “Shen Zhenzhu, the only missing queen in history, disappeared at the age of 27. Four generations of emperors searched for her for more than fifty years”
[21] iMedia, n.d., “Shen Zhenzhu, the only missing queen in history, disappeared at the age of 27. Four generations of emperors searched for her for more than fifty years”
[22] iMedia, n.d., “Shen Zhenzhu, the only missing queen in history, disappeared at the age of 27. Four generations of emperors searched for her for more than fifty years”
[23] iMedia, n.d., “Shen Zhenzhu, the only missing queen in history, disappeared at the age of 27. Four generations of emperors searched for her for more than fifty years”
[24] iMedia, n.d., “Shen Zhenzhu, the only missing queen in history, disappeared at the age of 27. Four generations of emperors searched for her for more than fifty years”
[25] iMedia, n.d., “Shen Zhenzhu, the only missing queen in history, disappeared at the age of 27. Four generations of emperors searched for her for more than fifty years”
[26] iMedia, n.d., “Shen Zhenzhu, the only missing queen in history, disappeared at the age of 27. Four generations of emperors searched for her for more than fifty years”
[27] iMedia, n.d., “Shen Zhenzhu, the only missing queen in history, disappeared at the age of 27. Four generations of emperors searched for her for more than fifty years”
[28] McMahon, 2013
[29] iMedia, n.d., “Shen Zhenzhu, the only missing queen in history, disappeared at the age of 27. Four generations of emperors searched for her for more than fifty years”; McMahon, 2013
[30] McMahon, 2013, p. 225
[31] iMedia, n.d., “Shen Zhenzhu, the only missing queen in history, disappeared at the age of 27. Four generations of emperors searched for her for more than fifty years”
[32] iMedia, n.d., “Shen Zhenzhu, the only missing queen in history, disappeared at the age of 27. Four generations of emperors searched for her for more than fifty years”
[33] McMahon, 2013
[34] iMedia, n.d., “Shen Zhenzhu, the only missing queen in history, disappeared at the age of 27. Four generations of emperors searched for her for more than fifty years”
[35] iMedia, n.d., “Shen Zhenzhu, the only missing queen in history, disappeared at the age of 27. Four generations of emperors searched for her for more than fifty years”
[36] McMahon, 2013
[37] McMahon, 2013
[38] McMahon, 2013
[39] McMahon, 2013, p. 225
[40] iMedia, n.d., “Shen Zhenzhu, the only missing queen in history, disappeared at the age of 27. Four generations of emperors searched for her for more than fifty years”
[41] iMedia, n.d., “Shen Zhenzhu, the only missing queen in history, disappeared at the age of 27. Four generations of emperors searched for her for more than fifty years”
[42] iMedia, n.d., “Shen Zhenzhu, the only missing queen in history, disappeared at the age of 27. Four generations of emperors searched for her for more than fifty years”
[43] iMedia, n.d., “Shen Zhenzhu, the only missing queen in history, disappeared at the age of 27. Four generations of emperors searched for her for more than fifty years”
[44] iMedia, n.d., “Shen Zhenzhu, the only missing queen in history, disappeared at the age of 27. Four generations of emperors searched for her for more than fifty years”
[45] iMedia, n.d., “Shen Zhenzhu, the only missing queen in history, disappeared at the age of 27. Four generations of emperors searched for her for more than fifty years”
[46] iMedia, n.d., “Shen Zhenzhu, the only missing queen in history, disappeared at the age of 27. Four generations of emperors searched for her for more than fifty years”
[47] iMedia, n.d., “List and introduction of empresses of the Tang Dynasty”; McMahon, 2013
[48] iMedia, n.d., “List and introduction of empresses of the Tang Dynasty”; McMahon, 2013
[49] iMedia, n.d., “List and introduction of empresses of the Tang Dynasty”; McMahon, 2013
[50] iMedia, n.d., “List and introduction of empresses of the Tang Dynasty”; McMahon, 2013
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