Consort Chen Miaodeng

Who is Consort Chen Miaodeng?

Consort Chen Miaodeng was an imperial consort during the Chinese dynasty Liu Song. She was a concubine of Emperor Ming, and during his reign, she carried the rank of Guifei, which was not a regular rank for Liu Song imperial consorts but a title that Emperor Ming created to honor her.

Chen Miaodeng was from a household that was viewed lowly by the society at the time—a butchers' household—at the Liu Song capital Jiankang. During the reign of Emperor Xiaowu, he often had his attendants seek out beautiful women to be added to the rank of his concubines. On one occasion, when he saw the Chens' house, which was made of hay, from a distance, he sent an attendant to deliver money to the house, so that the people in the household could build a brick house. When the attendant arrived at the house, only Chen Miaodeng was home. The attendant saw that she was beautiful and informed Emperor Xiaowu about her. He therefore took her into the palace, and she resided with his mother Empress Dowager Lu Huinan.