Empress Xu

Empress Renxiaowen (仁孝文皇后), born on 5 March 1362 and deceased on 6 August 1407, was a Chinese empress of the Ming dynasty. She belonged to the Xu clan and was the principal consort of the Yongle Emperor, serving as his third empress. Her family background includes her father, Xu Da, a prominent figure, and her mother, Lady Xie, the second daughter of Xie Zaixing. She had four brothers—Xu Huizu, Xu Tianfu, Xu Yingxu, and Xu Zengshou—and two younger sisters. Notably, her sisters married into imperial relatives: one became the wife of Zhu Gui, Prince Jian of Dai, and the other married Zhu Ying, Prince Hui of An, both sons of the Hongwu Emperor.

In 1376, Lady Xu married Zhu Di, who was then the Prince of Yan and a son of the Hongwu Emperor. When Zhu Di ascended the throne as the Yongle Emperor on 17 July 1402, she was elevated to the status of empress in December of that year.

Throughout her life, she was known for her religious devotion, particularly to Buddhism. She is attributed with the first known transcription of a Buddhist sutra from a dream revelation. This work, titled "Da Ming Ren xiao Huang hou meng kan Fo Shuo di yi xi yu da gong de jing" (The sutra of great merit of the foremost rarity spoken by the Buddha which the Renxiao empress of the great Ming received in a dream), recounts how she was visited in a dream by Guanyin, who guided her to a holy realm where she received the sutra. After reciting the sutra three times, she was able to memorize it and subsequently wrote it down upon awakening. The sutra reflects Mahayana Buddhist philosophies and incorporates Tibetan Buddhist mantras.

During her lifetime, her titles included:

- Lady Xu (from her birth on 5 March 1362)

- Princess consort of Yan (from 1376)

- Empress (from July 17, 1402)

- Empress Renxiao (from 1407)

- Posthumously, her full formal title was "Rénxiào Cíyì Chéngmíng Zhuāngxiàn Pèitiān Qíshèng Wēn," conferred in 1424.

Her offspring with Zhu Di include several significant figures:

- Zhu Gaochi, who became the Hongxi Emperor (born 16 August 1378, died 29 May 1425)

- Zhu Gaoxu, Prince of Han (born 30 December 1380, died 6 October 1426)

- Zhu Gaosui, Prince Jian of Zhao (born 19 January 1383, died 5 October 1431)

- Four princesses: Princess Yong'an, Princess Yong'ping, Princess Ancheng, and Princess Xianning. Each princess married political and noble figures, and bore children, continuing her lineage.

Her ancestry links her to notable figures of the Ming dynasty’s early history, primarily through her family ties to the Hongwu Emperor and other distinguished relatives.