Yuan Leshang's father was Yuan Sheng (元晟), a Northern Zhou official and a descendant of the Northern Wei's imperial Yuan clan. In 579, Yuan Leshang was selected to be an imperial consort for Emperor Xuan, with the title of Guifei (貴妃). A month later, Emperor Xuan passed the throne to his son Emperor Jing and took an atypical title for a retired emperor, "Emperor Tianyuan" (天元皇帝, Tianyuan Huangdi). He subsequently decided that in addition to his wife Empress Yang Lihua, he would create three more empresses, and Consort Yuan was selected as one—with the title of Empress Tianyou (天右皇后, Tianyou Huanghou)— on 30 August 579,[1] subsequently changed on 28 March 580[2] to Tianyou Da Huanghou (天右大皇后).[3] Among the empresses, she was said to be closest to Chen Yueyi, as they entered the palace at the same time and were the same age, and they were also both favored by Emperor Xuan.[4]
Emperor Xuan died in June 580, and Empress Yang's father Yang Jian became regent. Empress Yuan became a Buddhist nun with the name of Huasheng, and she outlived Yang Jian's subsequent Sui dynasty. According to both the Book of Zhou and History of Northern Dynasties, she and Lady Chen were still alive as of the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang (626-649), but nothing further was recorded in either of those two official histories about her.[5]
References
^([大象元年]秋七月...壬子，改天元帝后朱氏为天皇后。立妃元氏为天右皇后，妃陈氏为天左皇后。) Zhou Shu, vol.07. Zhu Manyue and Chen Yueyi received their empress titles on the same day.
^([大象二年]二月...癸未，立天元皇后杨氏为天元大皇后，天皇后朱氏为天大皇后，天右皇后元氏为天右大皇后，天左皇后陈氏为天左大皇后) Zhou Shu, vol.07. All four empresses received their new titles on the same day.
^尤雨婷 (2014). 北朝婦女的經濟活動 (thesis thesis) (in Chinese (Taiwan)).
