Consort Duan

Consort Duan (曹端妃; died 1542), of the Cao clan, was a concubine of the Ming dynasty Jiajing Emperor. She was one of the emperor's favored concubines and bore him two daughters. Her death resulted from her alleged involvement in an assassination attempt on the emperor, which was later shown to be unsubstantiated.

Born in Wuxi, in what is now Jiangsu Province, Cao was the daughter of an official. The precise date of her entry into the Ming Palace is not recorded. Initially, she was known as Lady Cao (淑人曹氏). She was granted the title Lady Cao during the early part of her life in the palace.

In 1536, Lady Cao gave birth to the emperor's first daughter, Shouying (壽媖), Princess Chang'an. Following this, she received a promotion to Imperial Concubine Duan (端嬪). Her father was appointed as a member of the Jinyiwei, a Ming imperial secret police and security organization, with authority over 1,000 households. A month after her daughter's birth, the emperor hosted a lavish celebration in her honor.

By 1537, she was elevated to the rank of Consort Duan (端妃). Two years later, in 1539, she gave birth to the emperor’s third daughter, Luzheng (禄媜), Princess Ning'an.

On November 27, 1542, a significant incident known as the Palace Women Uprising occurred. A group of palace women attempted to assassinate the Jiajing Emperor during his stay in Consort Duan’s quarters. They pretended to serve him but then tried to suffocate him with a rope. The attempt was thwarted thanks to Zhang Jinlian, a palace woman who alerted Empress Fang. The emperor was revived after being unconscious for several days. In response, Empress Fang ordered the execution of the palace women involved.

Because the attack took place in Consort Duan’s residence, she was initially suspected of complicity. As a result, she was sentenced to death by slow slicing in the marketplace, and her body was publicly displayed alongside those of other convicted palace women and a related palace eunuch. Ten members of her family faced execution, while twenty others were enslaved and assigned to ministers’ households. Subsequent investigations cleared her of involvement in the conspiracy; however, she was not granted a posthumous title.

Zhaosi Hall, near Shuofang in Wuxi New Area, is a site historically associated with her family. It was owned by her father. An archway adjacent to the hall, built in the style of an imperial memorial but without an inscription, is believed to have been erected in her memory. Local reports indicate the presence of a grave tumulus near the archway, which was leveled. The similarity between the word for cedar (楠, nán) and the local dialect’s word for daughter (囡, nān) led to the popular belief that Cao constructed the arch for her daughter’s memory.

Throughout her life, Cao held several titles: starting as Lady Cao (淑女) during the Zhengde Emperor’s reign, she was promoted to Concubine Duan (端嫔) around 1535, and later to Consort Duan (端妃) in 1537.

Her known issue includes Zhu Shaoying, Princess Chang'an (1536–1549), her first daughter by the Jiajing Emperor, and Zhu Luzheng, Princess Ning'an (1539–1607), her third daughter.