Lady Wang, Princess Consort

The Queen Consort, surname Wang, birth and death years unknown, died in 1395. She was the princess consort of Ming Dynasty Prince Qin Zhu Shuang and the sister of the Yuan Dynasty general Wang Baobao. Her father was the important Yuan military leader Wang Baobao, and her mother was Folen. Her father was Sa'in Chidahu, who passed away in 1365. Among her brothers were Tu Yinti Muer and Nai Lu. In 1368, Wang Baobao surrendered to the Ming Dynasty. In 1370, Wang Baobao was defeated at Shen'er Valley and only he and his wife escaped. Zhu Yuanzhang praised her as “a remarkable man under heaven.” In September 1371, she was established as Zhu Shuang’s princess consort. Their marriage was likely a political strategy, possibly to gain the support of Mongol nobles; there are no clear records of children. Zhu Shuang died three years later, and Wang was buried with him. In 1970, the Palace Museum published a record claiming that Zhu Yuanzhang wrote a funeral ode for Zhu Shuang, criticizing him for imprisoning Wang and treating her poorly. Legend holds that the prototype of Wang is believed to be Zhao Min from the wuxia novel “The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre,” and her sister, Guan Yin Nu, is thought to be her original name. Members of Wang’s family fled with their father after defeat; his wife, Mao Shi, was not captured.