Empress Cao

Empress Cao (1016 – November 16, 1079) was a Chinese empress consort of the Song dynasty, married to Emperor Renzong of Song. She served as regent of China during the illness of Emperor Yingzong, from 1063 until 1064. Life Cao was born in modern Hebei Province. She was the granddaughter of Cao Bin, one of the founding generals of the Song Dynasty. Empress In 1033, after the death of Empress Dowager and regent Liu, Renzong, against the advice of his officials, deposed his 1st empress, the childless Empress Guo, who had been the protegee of Empress Liu. In September 1034, he made Cao his 2nd empress. She was fond of gardening, and reared silkworms. Empress Cao was respected by state officials, who did not oppose her to assist the emperor in governing the state during his illnesses and attended to state affairs by his side. In 1048, an uprising of the Imperial guards took place in her personal palace against the Emperor, and Cao was credited in saving his life. The Emperor initially blamed Cao for the uprising because it had taken place in her palace. However, he accepted the result of the following investigation, which concluded that the rumor that Cao had been behind the uprising was slander.