Consort Shen

Empress Ruizhen (睿真皇后)
BornUnknown[1]
DiedDisappeared 759, Declared officially dead c.October 805
SpouseEmperor Daizong of Tang (Li Chu)
IssueEmperor Dezong (Li Kuo)
FatherShen Yizhi

Consort Shen (personal name unknown[2]) (disappeared 759), formally Empress Ruizhen (睿真皇后, literary meaning "the wise and true empress"), was a Tang dynasty woman who served as a consort of Emperor Daizong of Tang (Li Chu) while he was the Prince of Guangping under his grandfather Emperor Xuanzong and father Emperor Suzong and the mother of the future Emperor Dezong (Li Kuo). She was captured by the rebel Yan forces during Anshi Rebellion, and although Li Chu regained her at one point during the war, was lost again later during the war. Despite efforts by Emperors Daizong and Dezong to locate her after the war, they were never able to find her. She was finally declared deceased by her great-grandson Emperor Xianzong in 805.[3]

  1. ^ While Lady Shen's birth year was not recorded, her son Emperor Dezong was born in May 742. This, her birth year should be in or before 730.
  2. ^ The Chinese Wikipedia article on her cited a purported source -- a Shen clan family tree -- that indicated that her name was Shen Yuan (沈媛) and that her nickname was Zhenzhu (珍珠), but did not provide a published citation. A popular 1989 Taiwanese dramatic adaptation of her story, the Legends of Zhenzhu (珍珠傳奇) used Zhenzhu as her name (see, e.g., Synopsis of the Episodes of Legends of Zhenzhu[permanent dead link‍]), but also cited no historical sources.
  3. ^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 236.