Empress Wang (Chenghua)

Empress Xiaozhenchun
孝貞純皇后
Grand empress dowager of the Ming dynasty
Tenure1505–1518
PredecessorEmpress Xiaosu
SuccessorGrand Empress Dowager Xiaohui
Empress dowager of the Ming dynasty
Tenure1487–1505
PredecessorEmpress Dowager Ciyi
Empress Dowager Shengci
SuccessorEmpress Dowager Zhaosheng
Empress Dowager Zhangsheng
Empress consort of the Ming dynasty
Tenure1464–1487
PredecessorEmpress Wu
SuccessorEmpress Xiaochengjing
Born1440/1450
Shangyuan County, Zhili (present-day Nanjing)
Died1518 (over age 60)
SpouseChenghua Emperor
Posthumous name
Empress Xiaozhen Zhuangyi Gongjing Renci Yintian Fusheng Chun (孝貞莊懿恭靖仁慈欽天輔聖純皇后)
ClanWang (王)
FatherWang Zhen (王鎮)

Empress Xiaozhenchun (1440/1450 –1518), of the Wang clan, was a Chinese empress consort of the Ming dynasty, married to the Chenghua Emperor.

Empress Wang was chosen by the emperor to the position of empress after her predecessor had been deposed due to a conflict with the emperor's favorite concubine, Consort Wan. Aware of the mistake of her predecessor, Wang was very anxious to avoid any conflict with the emperor's favorite. Consort Wan had no son with the emperor after her first son died in infancy, and feared the competition if any other of the emperor's consorts or concubines gave birth to a son. It was said that Empress Wang deliberately stayed childless to avoid such a conflict with Consort Wan. The efforts to avoid all conflicts with Consort Wan and to show herself submissive to her, did secure the position of Empress Wang at court.

In 1487, the Chenghua Emperor died, and Empress Wang was given the title Empress dowager. In 1510, she was further raised in rank by the then-reigning emperor, the Zhengde Emperor, who was the eldest son of the Hongzhi Emperor and the grandson of the Chenghua Emperor.