Empress Wang Zhi

Empress Wang of Jing (孝景王皇后, 180s? – 25 June 126 BC), also known by her birth name Wang Zhi (王娡) and by her title Lady Wang, was an empress during the Han dynasty. She was the second wife of Emperor Jing and the mother of Emperor Wu. She was also the first known empress of China who was previously married to another man before becoming empress. Family background and first marriage Wang Zhi was born to Wang Zhong (王仲) and Zang Er (臧兒), who was a granddaughter of Zang Tu, the one-time King of Yan appointed by Xiang Yu until the fifth year of Emperor Gaozu (202 BC). Zang Tu rebelled against the Emperor and was defeated. He and his entire family was massacred, but Zang Er managed to escape. Wang Zhi's parents had, in addition to her, an older son, Wang Xin (王信) and a younger daughter, Wang Erxu (王兒姁). They lived in Huaili (槐里, in modern Xianyang, Shaanxi). After her father died, her mother remarried a man surnamed Tian (田), and had two more sons: Tian Fen (田蚡) and Tian Sheng (田勝). When Wang Zhi was young, she was married to a local man named Jin Wangsun (金王孫), and had a daughter named Jin Su (金俗). However, her mother was told by a soothsayer that both of her daughters would become extremely honoured. Zang Er decided to offer her daughters to the crown prince, Liu Qi, and, to do so, forcibly divorced Wang Zhi from her husband. Wang Zhi was then sent along with her sister, Wang Erxu, to the Crown Prince's palace to join his concubinage.