Chen Li Fei

Respectfully obedient, Rong Mu Li Fei, also known as Chen Li Fei, was born in the early 15th century and died in 1424. Her ancestral home was Shouzhou, Fengyang Prefecture, Nanzhili (present-day Shouxian County, Anhui Province). She was the daughter of the Marquis of Ningyang, Chen Mao, and the Li Fei (beautiful consort) of Ming Chengzu Zhu Di. According to the Stele of Chen Mao, God of Mingchengzu's posthumous title, during the spring of the 20th year of the Yongle era, Ming Chengzu led a northern expedition and Chen Mao accompanied the journey, receiving gifts. He was subsequently honored with an official invitation into the palace and enfeoffed as a Li Fei. The tomb epitaph of Lady Yan, wife of the Marquis of Ningyang, records that Chen Li Fei’s mother, Yan Miaojing, sent her daughter into the imperial palace and received generous rewards. During Chengzu’s reign, Chen Li Fei was often permitted to return to her natal home to visit her mother. Regarding her official title, the Ming Veritable Records do not provide explicit mention, and the reasons are unclear. Guo Lianghan, Assistant Director of the Ministry of Imperial Ancestral Worship, in the "Ming Eulogy Records" mentions her posthumous name as Gong Shun Rong Mu, referring to her as the Wenmiao Li Fei who died during the Yongle period. Her cause of death is unknown; some speculate that she was buried alive with Ming Chengzu upon his death in the 22nd year of Yongle (1424), possibly via hanging. According to the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, after Ming Chengzu’s death, those who accompanied him in death were first fed and later hanged in the palace halls.