Imperial Consort Lu Meiniang was an imperial consort to both Emperor Shunzong and Emperor Xianzong of the Tang Dynasty.[1] She was most well-known for her remarkable textile skills.[2] Imperial Consort Lu Meiniang was given the name of the Divine Maiden.[3] She was later allowed to leave the imperial harem to become a Daoist nun.[4]
In 792, Imperial Consort Lu Meiniang was born in Nanhai (modern-day Guangzhou in Guangdong Province).[5] She was from the Lu family.[6] Her personal name is unknown.[7] She was called Meiniang (which means “Maiden with the Eyebrows”[8]) because when she was born, “her eyebrows were long and an iridescent black”[9].
Lu Meiniang’s family descended from Lu Jingzuo (an official of the Northern Wei Dynasty).[10] During the Tang dynasty, Lu Meiniang’s family fell on hard times.[11] In 805, the military governor of Nanhai selected Lu Meiniang to become an imperial consort to Emperor Shunzong of the Tang Dynasty.[12] Emperor Shunzong was greatly impressed with Imperial Consort Lu Meiniang.[13] He praised her for her “wisdom, spiritual accomplishments, and skills.”[14] She was most well-known for her textile skills, in which she “created three-dimensional microcosms in cloth, large but nearly weightless.”[15] Imperial Consort Lu Meiniang was also a skilled alchemist, and she made a “preservative to conserve her creations.”[16] Because of her “miraculous craftsmanship and asceticism”[17], she was named the Divine Maiden in the imperial palace.[18]
On 28 August 805, Emperor Shunzong abdicated in favour of his son, Prince Li Chun, after reigning for six months. On 5 September 805, Li Chun ascended the throne as Emperor Xianzong. Lu Meiniang became Emperor Xianzong’s imperial consort.[19] However, Imperial Consort Lu Meiniang was unhappy living in the imperial harem.[20]
In 813, Emperor Xianzong ordained Imperial Consort Lu Meiniang as a Daoist nun.[21] He gave her a golden phoenix bracelet as a departing gift and allowed her to return to Nanhai.[22] He also gave her a new name: Xiaoyao, which meant “Fancy Free.”[23] Imperial Consort Lu Meiniang became one of the Tang Dynasty’s royal women who became a Daoist nun after leaving the imperial harem.[24] Imperial Consort Lu Meiniang became celibate and adopted an ascetic lifestyle.[25] Imperial Consort Lu Meiniang returned to Nanhai.[26] Imperial Consort Lu Meiniang’s biographers claimed that she was visited by many deities throughout her asceticism.[27]
In 820, Imperial Consort Lu Meiniang died at the age of twenty-eight.[28] However, her biographers claimed that she transformed into a feathered deity.[29] “When it came time to bury her, her coffin was found to contain nothing but her old shoes, a sign that she achieved liberation by means of the corpse.”[30] Imperial Consort Lu Meiniang’s cult was associated with Mount Luofu (east of modern-day Guangdong).[31] Her biographers claimed that Imperial Consort Lu Meiniang was last seen “riding over the sea on a purple cloud.”[32]
Imperial Consort Lu Meiniang was respected by two emperors.[33] She was skilled in both textiles and alchemy.[34] After she left the imperial harem, she became an ascetic.[35] She has inspired a cult following, and they claim her as a female deity.[36] It is no wonder that Imperial Consort Lu Meiniang was respected during her lifetime and after her death.[37] The legend of Imperial Consort Lu Meiniang continues to live on and captures the people’s imaginations.[38]
Sources:
Cahill, S. (2008). “Lu Meiniang (792- c. 820). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History.
Chen, S., Wiles, S., & Lobg, L. (trans.). (2014). “Lu Meiniang”. Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women, Volume II: Tang Through Ming 618 – 1644. (Lee, L. X. H, Ed. & Wiles, S., Ed.) NY: Routledge. pp. 276-278.
[1] Chen and Wiles, 2014; Cahill, 2008
[2] Chen and Wiles, 2014; Cahill, 2008
[3] Chen and Wiles, 2014; Cahill, 2008
[4] Chen and Wiles, 2014; Cahill, 2008
[5] Chen and Wiles, 2014; Cahill, 2008
[6] Chen and Wiles, 2014; Cahill, 2008
[7] Chen and Wiles, 2014; Cahill, 2008
[8] Chen and Wiles, 2014, p. 276
[9] Chen and Wiles, 2014, p. 276
[10] Chen and Wiles, 2014
[11] Chen and Wiles, 2014; Cahill, 2008
[12] Chen and Wiles, 2014; Cahill, 2008
[13] Cahill, 2008
[14] Cahill, 2008, para. 3
[15] Cahill, 2008, para. 3
[16] Cahill, 2008, para. 3
[17] Cahill, 2008, para. 3
[18] Chen and Wiles, 2014; Cahill, 2008
[19] Chen and Wiles, 2014; Cahill, 2008
[20] Chen and Wiles, 2014; Cahill, 2008
[21] Chen and Wiles, 2014; Cahill, 2008
[22] Chen and Wiles, 2014; Cahill, 2008
[23] Cahill, 2008, para. 4
[24] Cahill, 2008
[25] Cahill, 2008
[26] Chen and Wiles, 2014
[27] Chen and Wiles, 2014; Cahill, 2008
[28] Chen and Wiles, 2014; Cahill, 2008
[29] Chen and Wiles, 2014; Cahill, 2008
[30] Chen and Wiles, 2014, pp. 276-277
[31] Chen and Wiles, 2014; Cahill, 2008
[32] Chen and Wiles, 2014, p. 277
[33] Chen and Wiles, 2014; Cahill, 2008
[34] Cahill, 2008
[35] Chen and Wiles, 2014; Cahill, 2008
[36] Chen and Wiles, 2014; Cahill, 2008
[37] Chen and Wiles, 2014; Cahill, 2008
[38] Chen and Wiles, 2014; Cahill, 2008
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