Empress Xiaolie – The Empress who was burned to death by her husband




Empress Xiaolie

The Jiajing Emperor of the Ming Dynasty had four Empresses. Yet, each of them suffered under his abuse and met a tragic end. One of them was Empress Xiaolie. She was the third Empress of the Jiajing Emperor. Empress Xiaolie saved him from an assassination plot. Yet, the Jiajing Emperor would burn her to death. Empress Xiaolie’s tragic story tells of an Empress who suffered from her abusive husband.

In 1516, Empress Xiaolie was born in Yingtian Prefecture in the Jiangning District (modern-day Nanjing in Jiangsu Province).[1] Her first name is unknown.[2] She was from the Fang family. Her father was Fang Yuezhi, the Marquis of Anping.[3] Her mother’s name is unknown.[4]

In 1534, Lady Fang became a consort of Emperor Jiajing. The Jiajing Emperor and Empress Chen had a strained relationship.[5] He turned his favours to Consort Zhang and Consort Fang.[6] One day in 1528, Consort Zhang Qijie and Consort Fang served tea to the pregnant Empress Chen and the Jiajing Emperor. When the Jiajing Emperor accepted the tea his consorts served him, he stared at them lustfully.[7] Empress Chen was furious when she noticed that the Jiajing Emperor was lusting after other women in her presence.[8] She threw her teacup to the ground and stood up to leave.[9] The Jiajing Emperor was enraged that Empress Chen was displeased with his behaviour.[10] He kicked Empress Chen several times, causing her to have a miscarriage.[11] Empress Chen never recovered and died a month later.[12]

After the death of Empress Chen, the Jiajing Emperor appointed Consort Zhang Qijie as his next Empress. Zhang Qijie was Empress of China for only six years.[13] In 1534, Empress Zhang Qijie interceded for Empress Dowager Zhang’s younger brother, with whom the Jiajing Emperor had a hostile relationship.[14] On 19 January 1534, the Jiajing Emperor deposed Empress Zhang Qijie.[15] He stripped off her crown dress.[16] Then, he whipped her and sent her to the cold palace.[17] The Jiajing Emperor chose Consort Fang to be his next Empress. On 28 January 1534, she was invested as Empress of China.

Empress Fang was said to love rituals and ceremonies.[18] The Jiajing Emperor quickly became tired of her.[19] He was also disappointed that Empress Fang remained childless.[20] He turned his attention to Consort Duan, who would be the love of his life.[21] It was said that the Jiajing Emperor was a cruel man and had many enemies.[22] He would often beat and sexually abuse his palace maids in order to increase his longevity.[23] The palace maids and Concubine Ning were fed up with the Emperor’s abuse.[24] They plotted to kill him.[25]

One night in October 1542, the Jiajing Emperor was sleeping in Consort Duan’s chambers. Consort Duan got out of bed and left the room.[26] As soon as she left, Concubine Ning and fifteen palace maids entered the room to assassinate the sleeping Emperor.[27] They tied a knot with a silken cord and hung it around his neck.[28] Then, they stabbed his groin with their hairpins.[29] Unfortunately, the knot they tied was an overhand.[30] Therefore, it was not tight enough to kill the Jiajing Emperor.[31] Instead, it only left him unconscious.[32]

One of the palace maids panicked when she realized she could not kill the Jiajing Emperor.[33] She ran to Empress Fang’s quarters and notified her of the assassination plot.[34] Empress Fang quickly summoned a physician who saved the Emperor’s life.[35] The Jiajing Emperor remained unconscious for a day and a half.[36] Empress Fang immediately executed all of the women involved in the assassination attempt.[37] In a state of jealousy, Empress Fang also executed Consort Duan (who was not involved in the plot).[38] The assassination attempt became known in history as the Palace Women’s Uprising of Renyin Year.

When the Jiajing Emperor learned that his beloved Consort Duan was executed, he was angry with Empress Fang and never forgave her.[39] In 1547, Empress Fang was trapped in a palace fire. The Jiajing Emperor refused to allow anyone to rescue her.[40] Empress Fang died of her burns.[41] She was thirty-one years old. Even though the Jiajing Emperor allowed her to be burned to death, he gave her an honourable funeral befitting an Empress.[42] This is because he owed her a debt for rescuing him during the Palace Women’s Uprising of Renyin Year.[43] He gave her the posthumous title of Empress Xiaolie, which means “filial martyr.” [44] He also let her be buried alongside him in the Yongling Mausoleum.[45]

Empress Xiaolie’s story is truly tragic. Empress Xiaolie was truly devoted to the Jiajing Emperor. She saved him when he was almost assassinated. Yet, her cruel husband allowed her to be burned to death. Like her two predecessors, it is unfortunate that she met a miserable end at the hands of her abusive husband.

Sources:

Dardess, J. W. (2012). Ming China, 1368-1644: A Concise History of a Resilient Empire. NY: Rowman & Littlefield.

iNews. (n.d.). “Emperor Jiajing set up three queens in succession, each of them couldn’t end well, and the queens were unbelievable.”. Retrieved on 16 August 2023 from https://inf.news/en/history/fd25cd37ddc5dde7f8d082a8c8e8317a.html.

iNews. (n. d.). “The most famous scumbag emperor in history, as long as the woman who has a relationship with him does not end well.”. Retrieved on 14 August 2023 from https://inf.news/en/history/1f8452ac40a3e4de432248aee9dc9e17.html.

Lin, Y & Lee, L. X. H. trans. (2014). “Chen, Empress of the Jiajing Emperor, Shizong, of Ming.” Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women, Volume II: Tang Through Ming 618 – 1644. (L. X. H. Lee, Ed.; A. D. Stefanowska, Ed.; S. Wiles, Ed.). NY: Routledge. pp. 28-29.

Lin, Y & Lee, L. X. H. trans. (2014). “Fang, Empress of the Jiajing Emperor, Shizong, of Ming.” Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women, Volume II: Tang Through Ming 618 – 1644. (L. X. H. Lee, Ed.; A. D. Stefanowska, Ed.; S. Wiles, Ed.). NY: Routledge. pp. 59-60.

McMahon, K. (2016). Celestial Women: Imperial Wives and Concubines in China from Song to Qing. NY: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.


[1] Lin and Lee, 2014

[2] Lin and Lee, 2014

[3] Lin and Lee, 2014

[4] Lin and Lee, 2014

[5] Lin and Lee, 2014

[6] Lin and Lee, 2014

[7] Lin and Lee, 2014

[8] iNews, n.d., “Emperor Jiajing set up three queens in succession, each of them couldn’t end well, and the queens were unbelievable.”

[9] Lin and Lee, 2014

[10] iNews, n.d., “Emperor Jiajing set up three queens in succession, each of them couldn’t end well, and the queens were unbelievable.”

[11] iNews, n.d., “Emperor Jiajing set up three queens in succession, each of them couldn’t end well, and the queens were unbelievable.”

[12] Lin and Lee, 2014

[13] iNews, n.d., “Emperor Jiajing set up three queens in succession, each of them couldn’t end well, and the queens were unbelievable.”

[14] iNews, n. d., “The most famous scumbag emperor in history, as long as the woman who has a relationship with him does not end well.”

[15] iNews, n. d., “The most famous scumbag emperor in history, as long as the woman who has a relationship with him does not end well.”

[16] iNews, n. d., “The most famous scumbag emperor in history, as long as the woman who has a relationship with him does not end well.”

[17] iNews, n. d., “The most famous scumbag emperor in history, as long as the woman who has a relationship with him does not end well.”

[18] Lin and Lee, 2014

[19] Lin and Lee, 2014

[20] Dardess, 2012

[21] Lin and Lee, 2014

[22] Lin and Lee, 2014

[23] Lin and Lee, 2014

[24] Lin and Lee, 2014

[25] McMahon, 2016

[26] Lin and Lee, 2014

[27] Lin and Lee, 2014

[28] Lin and Lee, 2014

[29] Lin and Lee, 2014

[30] Lin and Lee, 2014

[31] Lin and Lee, 2014

[32] Lin and Lee, 2014

[33] Lin and Lee, 2014

[34] Lin and Lee, 2014

[35] Lin and Lee, 2014

[36] Lin and Lee, 2014

[37] Lin and Lee, 2014

[38] Lin and Lee, 2014

[39] Lin and Lee, 2014

[40] McMahon, 2016

[41] Lin and Lee, 2014

[42] McMahon, 2016

[43] Lin and Lee, 2014

[44] Lin and Lee, 2014, p. 60

[45] Lin and Lee, 2014






About Lauralee Jacks 213 Articles
I am a former elementary teacher in Tennessee. I have a bachelor’s degree in Liberal and Civic Studies from St. Mary’s College of California, a master’s in Elementary Education from the University of Phoenix, and a doctorate in Educational Leadership from the College of Saint Mary. Because my family are from East Asia, I have a passion for historical Chinese and Korean television shows. I always wanted to separate fact from fiction in dramas. Writing articles from History of Royal Women gives me a chance to dig deeper and explore these royal women as they might have been in real life. Also, it gives me a chance to look at the history and culture of where my family originated. I love researching East Asian royalty because they rarely get enough attention in the West often being overshadowed by European royalty. I find these royal women to be just as fascinating and their stories deserve to be told. Thus, I am excited to write for History of Royal Women!

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