Empress Xiaomu

Empress Dowager Xiaomu, born in 1451 in Li Tang Village, Lianshan, Guangdong (now Hongyang Village, Zhongyuan, Yonghe Town), was orphaned at a young age and subsequently raised by relatives in Guiling, He County, Guangxi. In the second year of Chenghua (1466), during a palace campaign, Ji Shi was captured and brought into the palace, where she became a female scholar managing the imperial storerooms. Due to her literacy, beauty, and intelligence, she gained the favor of Ming Emperor Xianzong Zhu Jianshi, and in the sixth year of Chenghua (1470), she bore Crown Prince Zhu Yourang (later Emperor Xiaozong). While in the palace, Ji Shi was noticed when pregnant during Emperor Xianzong’s favor and was mistakenly led to conceal her pregnancy.

In the eighth year of Chenghua (1472), the emperor’s second son, Zhu Yuji, died young. In the eleventh year of Chenghua (1475), Emperor Xianzong, while summoning eunuch Zhang Min, learned of the secret upbringing of the prince and ordered the prince to be brought before him. The prince was carried out by Ji Shi, dressed in a small crimson robe, and showed affection upon seeing Xianzong. The prince was then established as Crown Prince, named Zhu Yourang, and granted the title of Prince of Yan. Subsequently, the Crown Prince was moved to Yongshou Palace and raised by his maternal grandmother, Empress Dowager Zhou.

During the growth of the Crown Prince, Consort Wan was jealous and attempted to frame him. After Ji Shi was honored as Empress Dowager, Emperor Xiaozong sought out her maternal family, granting them status and rewards, and posthumously titled Ji Shi as Empress Dowager Xiaomu. She was buried at Maoling. In the palace, Ji Shi only knew that she was from He County; later, Emperor Xiaozong investigated and confirmed her family’s origin from the Ji clan, honoring her through sacrifices and praise. She was ultimately posthumously titled Empress Xiaomu Cihui Gongke Zhuangxi Chongtian Chengsheng Huanghou.