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Empress Shen
Consort of Emperor Daizong and mother of Emperor Dezong of Tang
In a spring palace garden, a pavilion with round windows stands over a pond of goldfish; a peony-painted round fan, a zither and a lacquer box of pearl hairpins lie in the foreground, and one small figure in a long-sleeved gown stands at the far end of a covered walkway.
Also known as Empress Ruizhen · Lady Shen · Shen Zhenzhu
- Roles
- Empress / Consort
Lady Shen, from Wucheng in Wuxing, came of the Shen family of Wuxing and was chosen for the Eastern Palace in the late Kaiyuan years. She married Li Chu, Prince of Guangping and later Emperor Daizong, and in 742 bore Li Kuo, later Emperor Dezong. Held in Luoyang during the An Lushan rebellion, she remained there after its recovery in 757 and vanished after Shi Siming retook the city. Dezong honoured her as empress dowager in 780, and in 806 she was given the title Empress Ruizhen. The histories call her only Lady Shen; the name Zhenzhu comes from later fiction.
Life and times
Dates c. 730 - c. 780