- Empress Zhang (Cao Fang)
Empress Zhang (張皇后, personal name unknown) was an
empress ofCao Wei during theThree Kingdoms period . She wasCao Fang 's second wife.Not much is known about her, other than her grandfather Zhang Jì (張既) was a governor of Liang Province (modern
Gansu ) and that her father Zhang Jí (張緝, note different tone) was a commandery governor. She was created empress in252 ; at that time, her grandfather was already deceased, while her father was promoted to senior minister. (It is unclear whether she was an imperial consort before she was created empress.)In
254 , the powerfulSima Shi , after killing Cao Fang's confidant, the officialLi Feng , a friend of Zhang Ji's, falsely accused Li, Zhang, and their friendXiahou Xuan of treason, and had all of them and their clans executed. One month later, Cao Fang was forced to depose Empress Zhang. It is not known what her fate was, although it would appear likely that she was put under house arrest for the rest of her life but not executed along with the rest of her family.References
* "
Records of Three Kingdoms ", .
* "Zizhi Tongjian ", vols. , .
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