Royals › Empress / Consort
Wu Jiang
Shen-born wife of Duke Wu of Zheng who backed her younger son's coup and was later reconciled with Duke Zhuang in a tunnel.
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 Lady Jiang · Wu Jiang of Zheng
- Roles
- Empress / Consort
Wu Jiang, of the Jiang surname, was the daughter of the Marquis of Shen and wife of Duke Wu of Zheng, known by her husband's posthumous title. She bore Wusheng (later Duke Zhuang) and the younger Duan. Disliking Zhuang because his breech birth had frightened her, she favoured Duan, pressed for him to be heir and won him the fief of Jing. When Duan plotted to seize the capital in 722 BCE she agreed to open the gates from within; after the plot failed Zhuang lodged her at Chengying, vowing not to see her again until the Yellow Springs. At Ying Kaoshu's suggestion they met in a tunnel dug down to a spring and were reconciled. She is the Lady Jiang of 'The Earl of Zheng Overcomes Duan at Yan'.
Life and times
Dates Dates unknown; active c. 761–722 BCE