China: Empress Xiao Gong Zhang (1403 - 4 September 1462), consort of the 5th Ming Emperor Xuande (r. 1425-1435). Hanging scroll painting, 15th-17th century. Empress Sun (1403-1462), formally Empress Xiaogongzhang, was consort of the Xuande Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. She became Empress Dowager when Xuande sudddenly died in 1435, and her son became the Yingzong Emperor. She vied with her mother-in-law, Empress Dowager Zhang, for influence but was initially sidelined. Her son led a disastrous campaign that saw hundreds of thousands of Ming soldiers killed and himself captured by the Mongols.

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