[ Zhang Fei’s daughter. Empress Zhang married to Liu Shan. Zhang Xingcai in Koei games.
Officer Details
Wade-Giles: Empress Chang [Hsingts‘ai]
Simplified Chinese: 张皇后[星彩]
Pronunciation: Huang2hou4 Zhang1 [Zhang1 Xing1cai3]
Other Names: Lady Zhang, Zhang Xingcai, Zhang Shi
Name Notes: ‘Empress Zhang’ or ‘Lady Zhang’ in the novel and other historic sources, she has been given a fictional personality by Koei under the name ‘Zhang Xingcai’ or simply ‘Xing Cai’. Both names refer to the same person, but the story given her in Koei games is fictional. I’ve recorded this as the English translation presents itself (so, Huanghou Zhang (empress Zhang) and Xing1cai3 as her given name)
Rank and Titles
Empress
Family and Relationships
Zhang Fei (Father); Lady Xiahou (Mother); Xiahou Ba (Mother’s Uncle); Liu Shan (Husband); Zhang Bao (Brother); Empress Zhang (Younger Sister)
Fact vs. Fiction
Differences Between Fact and Common Fiction
- Outside mention of her marriage to Liu Shan, stories of Empress Zhang, particularly those of her fighting, tend to be fictional.
Literary Appearances
Romance of the Three Kingdoms: 85, 115
Sanguozhi: Wei 9, Shu 4
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Biography
Zhang Fei’s eldest daughter. Became Empress to Liu Shan (Empress Jing’ai). Her mother was Lady Xiahou, cousin to Xiahou Ba. When Liu Shan became Emperor, according to the advice of Zhuge Liang and others, Lady Zhang became his Empress at the age of seventeen. In the year AD 221, Lady Zhang entered the court as the consort of the Crown Prince Liu Shan. In AD 223, she became Empress. She died in AD 237. The title of Empress passed down to her younger sister. (1)
(1) Adapted from Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI.