Empress Dowager Du

Office recordsCBDB

FamilyCBDB

AliasesCBDB

• 昭憲 諡號

AssociationsCBDB

Citations

1. [1] Name, dates, and status Du Shi lived from 902 to 961, was a Song-dynasty empress dowager, and was later posthumously titled Zhaoxian.
   • CBDBDu Shi (Wife of Zhao Hong Yin ) (40289)The person entry gives the name Du Shi, the Chinese name Du Shi, the years 902 and 961, the Song affiliation, and Zhaoxian as a posthumous title.
   • Souyun杜太后 (27730)The profile and biographical texts give her dates, identify her with the Song period, call her empress dowager, and name her as Zhaoxian Du, with Mingxian and Zhaoxian as posthumous titles.
   • WikidataEmpress Dowager Du (Q8259161)The entity labels her Empress Dowager Du, supplies Du Shi and Zhaoxian as English names, describes her as a Song Dynasty empress dowager, and gives Zhaoxian as a posthumous-name claim.
2. [2] Hometown, marriage, and motherhood Du Shi came from Anxi in Dingzhou, married Zhao Hongyin after reaching marriageable age, and was the mother of Taizu and Taizong.
   • CBDBDu Shi (Wife of Zhao Hong Yin ) (40289)The biographical relationships give Anxi as her basic domicile and identify Zhao Hongyin as her husband.
   • Souyun杜太后 (27730)The profile and biographies place her in Dingzhou Anxi, state that she married Zhao Hongyin after reaching marriageable age, and identify her as the mother of Taizu and Taizong.
   • WikidataEmpress Dowager Du (Q8259161)The entity contains a spouse relationship claim, supporting her marriage relationship with Zhao Hongyin.
3. [3] Father Du Shuang was Du Shi’s father.
   • CBDBDu Shi (Wife of Zhao Hong Yin ) (40289)The kinship entry explicitly identifies Du Shuang as her father.
   • Souyun杜太后 (27730)The biography directly states that her father was Du Shuang.
   • WikidataEmpress Dowager Du (Q8259161)The entity includes a father relationship claim, supporting the paternal relationship.
4. [4] Mother Fan Shi was Du Shi’s mother.
   • CBDBDu Shi (Wife of Zhao Hong Yin ) (40289)The kinship entry identifies Fan Shi as Du Shi’s mother.
   • WikidataEmpress Dowager Du (Q8259161)The entity includes a mother relationship claim, supporting the maternal relationship.
5. [5] Brothers Du Shi’s brothers were Du Shenqi and Du Shenqiong, who lived from 893 to 927 and from 897 to 966 respectively.
   • CBDBDu Shi (Wife of Zhao Hong Yin ) (40289)The kinship entries list her two brothers, Du Shenqi and Du Shenqiong, together with their birth and death years.
   • WikidataEmpress Dowager Du (Q8259161)The entity contains two sibling relationship claims, corroborating the presence of two brothers.
6. [6] Children Du Shi and Zhao Hongyin had several children.
   • CBDBDu Shi (Wife of Zhao Hong Yin ) (40289)The kinship data lists the husband and several sons and daughters, supporting the marriage and parent-child relationships.
   • Souyun杜太后 (27730)Both biographical texts confirm that she was the mother of Taizu and Taizong.
   • WikidataEmpress Dowager Du (Q8259161)The entity contains a spouse relationship and multiple child relationship claims, supporting her marriage and motherhood.
7. [7] Children named The kinship data identifies four sons—Zhao Kuangyin, Zhao Guangzan, Zhao Guangji, and Zhao Jiong—and two daughters called Zhao Shi, one of whom died in 973.
   • CBDBDu Shi (Wife of Zhao Hong Yin ) (40289)The kinship entries list two daughters called Zhao Shi and give one daughter’s death year, while also naming four sons and giving the life dates of Zhao Kuangyin and Zhao Jiong.
8. [8] Wider kin Her wider kin included the nephew Du Yangui, the maternal nephew Liu Zhixin, the clan grandsons Du Chang and Du Runeng, and the clansman Du Gongli.
   • CBDBDu Shi (Wife of Zhao Hong Yin ) (40289)The kinship entries list the clansman Du Gongli, the nephew Du Yangui, the maternal nephew Liu Zhixin, and the clan grandsons Du Chang and Du Runeng; dates are supplied for Du Yangui and Liu Zhixin.
9. [9] Accession and political role After Taizu’s accession, Du Shi was honored as empress dowager and often took part with him in deciding state affairs.
   • CBDBDu Shi (Wife of Zhao Hong Yin ) (40289)The office information lists the title empress dowager.
   • Souyun杜太后 (27730)The biographies state that Taizu’s accession was followed by her elevation to empress dowager and that she often helped Taizu decide affairs of state; the time link dates the accession to 960.
   • WikidataEmpress Dowager Du (Q8259161)The entity’s English label and description identify her as a Song Dynasty empress dowager.
10. [10] Moral conduct Du Shi’s moral conduct was praised.
    • CBDBDu Shi (Wife of Zhao Hong Yin ) (40289)The association information says that her conduct and integrity were praised.
11. [11] Ouyang Xiu’s ritual prayer Ouyang Xiu composed a ritual prayer for Du Shi.
    • CBDBDu Shi (Wife of Zhao Hong Yin ) (40289)Two identical association entries identify Ouyang Xiu as the author of a zhu-ci, or ritual prayer, for her.
12. [12] Golden-casket succession tradition A traditional account says that during an illness in Jianlong 2 Du Shi summoned Taizu and Zhao Pu, designated Taizong as successor, and had Zhao Pu draft an oath kept in a golden casket.
    • CBDBDu Shi (Wife of Zhao Hong Yin ) (40289)The association text preserves the statement that the succession should pass to the younger brother, together with the exchange involving the empress dowager, Taizu, and Zhao Pu.
    • Souyun杜太后 (27730)The biography explicitly presents the illness, summons, proposed succession to Taizong, oath drafted by Zhao Pu, and its storage in a golden casket as a reported tradition; the time link dates Jianlong 2 to 961.
13. [13] Alternative interpretation A later historical analysis argues that the so-called golden-casket testament was fabricated by Taizong and Zhao Pu.
    • Souyun杜太后 (27730)After presenting the reported tradition, the biography states that later historical comparison of the evidence concluded that the event was fabricated by Taizong and Pu.
14. [14] Initial posthumous title Du Shi died in Jianlong 2, was initially titled Mingxian, and died in 961.
    • CBDBDu Shi (Wife of Zhao Hong Yin ) (40289)The person entry gives her death year as 961 and lists Zhaoxian as a posthumous title.
    • Souyun杜太后 (27730)Both biographies state that she died in Jianlong 2 and initially received the posthumous title Mingxian; the date link identifies Jianlong 2 as 961.
    • WikidataEmpress Dowager Du (Q8259161)The entity gives Zhaoxian as the posthumous-name claim, gives a death-time claim in 961, and uses the Chinese label Zhaoxian Empress Dowager.
15. [15] Date of the change in title The change to Zhaoxian is dated variously to the Qiande period and the second year of Qiande.
    • Souyun杜太后 (27730)The two biographical texts give different formulations for the date of the change, one saying during the Qiande period and the other specifying the second year of Qiande, while both identify Zhaoxian as the later title.