Reflections | Unlike today’s princesses in peril, those in imperial China rarely made headlines
- Chinese princesses rarely made the history books, with not even their names warranting a mention in official records
- Exceptions were the Tang dynasty’s princesses Taiping, a ruthless royal, and Anle, a murderous daughter
There were countless princesses in China’s past, most of whom made fleeting appearances in the history books. Most of the time, their names were not even recorded; we only know them by their titles.
Emperors’ daughters were known as gongzhu, and there were two types of titles for princesses: geographical and felicitous. The former usually referred to the fief conferred on a princess, which generated part of her income, or that of her husband’s. Thus, the titles of princesses Pingyang, Dongyang and Pingyuan, for example, refer to locations in central and eastern China.
The other category of titles reflected the personal attributes of the princesses or the aspirations their father wished on them or the country, for example princesses Wencheng (“literary achievement”), Taiping (“grand peace”) and Anle (“contented and happy”). Titles were not exclusive and could be given to other princesses at different times.
Most daughters of emperors remained princesses for life, even after marriage or remarriage. After their father died, they could be promoted to grand princesses (zhang gongzhu) as sisters of the next emperor, or princesses supreme (dazhang gongzhu) if they lived long enough to see their nephew ascend to the throne. There were also junior princesses (junzhu, xianzhu), who were daughters of imperial princes and nobles.
