Biography

Records say she comes from the Wu clan from Zhejiang Province. Her family consisted of her father Wu Yanming, her mother Lady Shen, her four brothers Wu Xing, Wu Zhong, Wu Rong and Wu An and three sisters: Wu Miaoxiang, Wu Miaoyin and Wu Miaoqing.

She entered court on the 10th year of Yongle (1412) when she was sixteen years old. At this time Zhu Zhanji was the emperor's grandson, and she was assigned as his servant in Yuqing Palace. After this, the next record of her is when she gave birth to Zhu Qiyu in 1428 and was instated as Consort Xian that same year. It is rumored however that Zhu Qiyu is not the Xuande Emperor's child.

After the death of the Xuande Emperor, his eldest son by his wife Empress Sun was enthroned as the Zhengtong Emperor. In 1449, the Zhengtong Emperor became a prisoner of the Oirat Mongols and because of this, Zhu Qiyu was enthroned as the Jingtai Emperor. He honored his mother as empress dowager. But after the deposition of the Jingtai Emperor, the Zhengtong Emperor demoted Empress Dowager Wu and gave her the title of Consort Xuanmiaoxian (宣廟賢妃). When she died she was given the posthumous title of Consort Rongsixian (榮思賢妃).

After the enthronement of the Hongguang Emperor, she was elevated to the rank of empress dowager and was given the posthumous title Empress Dowager Xiàoyì Chénhuì Shūshèn Círén Kuāngtiān Xīshèng (孝翼溫惠淑慎慈仁匡天錫聖皇太后).

Titles

• During the reign of the Hongwu Emperor (r. 1368–1398):

　• Lady Wu (吳氏; from 1397)

• During the reign of the Yongle Emperor (r. 1402–1424)

　• Palace Lady (from 1412)

• During the reign of the Xuande Emperor (r. 1425–1435):

　• Consort Xian (賢妃; from September 1428)

• During the reign of the Jingtai Emperor (r. 1435 – 1457):

　• Empress Dowager (皇太后; from 22 September 1449)

• During the reign of the Tianshun Emperor (r. 1457–1464)

　• Consort Xuanmiaoxian (宣廟賢妃; from 1457)

　• Consort Rongsixian (榮思賢妃; from 1462)

• During the reign of Hongguang Emperor (r. 1644–1645)

　• Empress Dowager Xiàoyì Chénhuì Shūshèn Círén Kuāngtiān Xīshèng (孝翼溫惠淑慎慈仁匡天錫聖皇太后; from 1644)

Issue

• As Palace Lady:

　• Zhu Qiyu, the Jingtai Emperor (景泰帝 朱祁鈺; 21 September 1428 – 14 March 1457), the Xuande Emperor's second son

References

• Empress_Dowager_Xiaoyi_(Ming) (Wikipedia)

生平

根據《榮思賢妃壙志》的記載，吳氏為南直隸鎮江府丹徒縣人，父親為吳彥名。洪武三十年五月十六日（1397年6月11日）出生，母親為神氏。吳氏「生而婉靜」，在永樂十年八月初二日（1412年9月7日）被選召掖庭，時年十六歲，「得侍宣宗章皇帝於青宮」。宣德三年八月初三日，吳氏生皇次子景泰帝朱祁鈺。同年，被冊封為賢妃。然而，明末清初史學家查繼佐私撰的紀傳體史書《罪惟錄》則指出吳氏本是明宣宗之叔父漢王朱高煦的侍妾，明宣宗殺死叔父後佔有吳氏，私生一子朱祁鈺，母子二人長期隱藏於宮外，至明宣宗死前才得到承認。此說法的真實性及可靠性存疑，待考。

宣德十年正月初三日（1435年1月31日），明宣宗駕崩，何惠妃，以及生前未被正式冊封的趙氏、吳氏、焦氏、曹氏、徐氏、袁氏、諸氏、李氏與何氏等人殉葬而死，吳賢妃被免於殉葬。正統十四年八月十五日（1449年9月1日），發生土木堡之變。明英宗朱祁鎮御駕親征北伐瓦剌後退途中，於北直隸宣府鎮土木堡（今河北省張家口市懷來縣境內）遭遇瓦剌軍襲擊，慘敗被俘。吳賢妃之子朱祁鈺即位，並在正統十四年十二月初七日奉寶冊，尊封吳賢妃為皇太后。

景泰八年正月十七日（1457年2月11日），趁景泰帝病重不能臨朝之機，手握重兵的武清侯石亨、副都御史徐有貞等人聯合太監曹吉祥，率死士攻入南宮，擁立明英宗復位。當天凌晨，英宗自東華門進入奉天殿復位，同日黎明時，打開宮門諭令百官，正月二十一日，改元天順，史稱「奪門之變」。明英宗復位之後，沒有立即廢黜景泰帝，導致兩位皇帝同時在位，直到天順二月初一日，才正式復廢景泰帝為郕王。同年二月初六日，明英宗命郕王所立皇太后吳氏復號宣廟賢妃，皇后汪氏復為郕王妃，懷獻太子朱見濟為懷獻世子，肅孝皇后杭氏及貴妃唐氏俱革除封號。二月十九日，郕王朱祁鈺去世，其後被賜謚為郕戾王。明英宗下令毀掉之前所營建的壽陵，以親王禮將郕戾王葬於北京金山（玉泉山景泰陵）。

天順五年十二月十六日（1462年1月16日），「宣廟賢妃吳氏」逝世，終年六十五歲。明英宗輟視朝一日，賜二字諡號「榮思」，稱吳氏為榮思賢妃，並且派遣中官致祭，命相關部門辦理喪葬事宜。天順六年，榮思賢妃下葬，葬地位於北京金山。萬曆四年十一月二十六日，內官監請求修繕榮思賢妃等人的墳墓，工部因財政拮据，建議將修繕規模減半，獲得明神宗朱翊鈞的認同。崇禎十七年十月，剛即位的南明弘光帝朱由崧為吳賢妃上尊諡曰孝翼溫惠淑慎慈仁匡天錫聖皇太后。

榮思賢妃至少有四位弟弟（吳行、吳忠、吳安、吳榮）和三位妹妹（吳妙香、吳妙音、吳妙清）。

衍生形象

電視劇

參考資料

• 孝翼皇太后 (維基百科)