Empress Song Fujin

Song Fujin (宋福金) (died 945), formally Empress Yuanjing (元敬皇后, "the discerning and alert empress"), was the empress and second wife of Li Bian (Xu Zhigao), the founding emperor of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state Southern Tang (Emperor Liezu), and the mother of four of his five sons, including his successor Li Jing (Xu Jingtong) (Emperor Yuanzong).

Background It is not known when Song Fujin was born. It is further not known where she was born, although it is known that her father Song Wen (宋韞) was from Jiangxia (江夏, in modern Wuhan, Hubei). In her youth, she became caught up in warfare, and was eventually taken into the household of Wang Rong (王戎), a prefect of Sheng Prefecture (昇州, in modern Nanjing, Jiangsu) during Wu.

At some point, Wang Rong gave his daughter in marriage to Xu Zhigao, the adoptive son of the Wu regent Xu Wen (although it is not known whether Xu Wen was already regent at that time). Lady Song was also sent to the Xu household to serve as Lady Wang's servant girl, and eventually became a concubine of Xu Zhigao's. As concubine, she gave birth to his oldest son Xu Jingtong.

When Xu Wen died in 927, Xu Zhigao was originally set to immediately head for Jinling to attend to the funeral affairs. Lady Song thus took the title of princess.

As empress of Southern Tang In 937, Xu Zhigao had Yang Pu yield the throne to him, ending Wu and starting Southern Tang. He created Princess Song empress.

It was said that, as empress, Empress Song often advised Li Bian regarding proposals and reports that his officials submitted to him, and he found her advice beneficial, stating, "Even as my own thoughts had not reached the right conclusion, the Empress has already understood correctly."

Li Bian died in 943, and was set to be succeeded by Li Jing. The chancellor Sun Sheng, however, was concerned at the possibility that a number of Li Jing's close associates, including Wei Cen (魏岑), Feng Yanji, and Feng Yanlu (馮延魯), whom he considered wicked, might take power. He therefore wanted to manufacture an order in Li Bian's name ordering that Empress Song serve as regent. However, Empress Song herself did not find this appropriate, pointing out that she did not want to be like Wu Zetian,

Notes and references

Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms, vol. 18. Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 281, 283, 285.