Princess Baoqing

Princess Baoqing, the sixteenth daughter of Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, her mother was Lady Zhang. She was born on the first day of the second lunar month in 1395 and died on the eleventh day of the first lunar month in 1433. She was born in 1394 (the 28th year of Hongwu), her biological mother was Lady Zhang, and according to the records in the "Zui Wei Lu," Zhang Xuanmiao was from Shandong. Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang died in the 31st year of Hongwu (1398). At that time, more than forty consorts and palace women were granted death and buried with him. Some scholars speculate that her mother Lady Zhang was also granted to die with him, but the "Zui Wei Lu" states that Zhu Yuanzhang favored Princess Baoqing and exempted her from such mourning practices. During the Jingnan Campaign, Zhu Di discovered Lady Zhang holding Princess Baoqing in Nanjing. After Zhu Di ascended the throne, Empress Xu was appointed to care for the princess. On the first day of the second lunar month in the 11th year of the Yongle reign (1413), the princess was officially titled Princess Baoqing. The wedding was hosted by the Crown Prince, who married Zhao Hui, a man from a wealthy family; the bridal dowry was generous, and Emperor Zhu Di bestowed substantial gifts. Later, she followed Zhu Di’s nephew Ming Xuan Zong to ascend the throne and was titled Princess Baoqing Da Zhang Gong, enjoying generous rewards. The princess passed away in the 8th year of Xuande (1433) at the age of thirty-nine. Zhao Hui died in the 14th year of Chenghua (1478) at the age of eighty-one. In September 2008, her tomb was discovered in the southern suburbs of Nanjing; it had been damaged, with only the tombstone remaining, indicating her burial site was in Zhao Hui's family tomb. The tombstone records her birth year, posthumous titles, marriage, and date of death.