Princess Qingdou

Princess Qingdu, named Zhu Yuantong, was born on October 9, 1409. She was the second daughter of Emperor Renzong of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Gaochi, and her mother was Concubine Zhao Hui. She was born on the first day of the ninth lunar month in the seventh year of the Yongle era (September 28, 1409), and on the seventh day of the fourth lunar month in the first year of Hongxi (May 18, 1421), she was granted the title Princess Qingdu. On the second day of the eleventh lunar month in the third year of Xuande (December 1, 1428), she married Jiao Jing. On the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month in the second year of Zhengtong (August 8, 1437), she was promoted to the position of Princess Grand Protector of Qingdu. The princess passed away on the thirteenth day of the fifth lunar month in the fifth year of Zhengtong (June 7, 1440), at the age of 32. In August of the same year, she was buried in the plain of Black Stone Mountain in Beijing, which is the Black Stone Mountain cemetery area. Her husband, Jiao Jing, died on January 20, 1467. During Emperor Xianzong’s reign, court meetings were temporarily suspended for Princess Qingdu’s funeral, and the funeral arrangements were subsequently granted royal recognition. It is reported that in 2008, a “Epitaph of Princess Grand Protector of Qingdu” was discovered in the Black Stone area of Beijing, though further details are not recorded.