Empress Dowager Gong

Who was Empress Dowager Gong?

Empress Dowager Gong, formally Empress Dowager Yuan was a empress dowager of the Chinese dynasty Liang Dynasty. As her son Emperor Xuan of Western Liang controlled little territory and relied heavily on military support by Western Wei and Western Wei's successor state Northern Zhou, many traditional historians did not regard him and his successors as true emperors of Liang, and therefore did not regard Empress Dowager Gong as a true Liang empress dowager.

Lady Gong was a concubine of Xiao Tong, the first crown prince of Liang's founder Emperor Wu. Her rank was the second rank for a concubine of the crown prince, Baolin. She gave birth to Xiao Cha in 519. Little is known about her background, including her birth family, and Xiao Cha himself appeared to be closer to Crown Princess Cai's nephew Cai Dabao than he was with any cousins he might have had through his mother.

Historical references to Lady Gong were not numerous. In 549, while Liang was in a state of disarray after the fall of the capital Jiankang to the rebel general Hou Jing and the imperial princes were battling each other, Xiao Cha, then the Prince of Yueyang, was leading an army against his uncle Xiao Yi the Prince of Xiangdong to try to save his brother Xiao Yu the Prince of Hedong, when he left his headquarters Xiangyang in the hands of Cai Dabao and Lady Gong, and they defended the city against a surprise attack by the general Du An, who served under Xiao Cha but had defected to Xiao Yi. Subsequently, in order to fend of Xiao Yi's attacks, Xiao Cha became a Western Wei vassal and was created the Prince of Liang.