Wang Shaoming (çÂÂé¶æÂÂ) (490 â 494) was an empress of the Chinese Southern Qi dynasty. Her husband was Xiao Zhaowen, known by his post-removal title of Prince of Hailing.
Wang Shaoming was the daughter of the official Wang Ci (çÂÂæ Â), who came from a noble line with several ancestors being prime ministers, including the Jin prime minister Wang Dao and the Liu Song prime minister Wang Hong. One of her sisters married Emperor Gao's son Xiao Feng (èÂÂéÂÂ) the Prince of Jiangxia. In 490, when Xiao Zhaowen, grandson of Emperor Gao's son Emperor Wu, was 10 and carried the title Duke of Linru, he married her, and she carried the title Duchess of Linru. In 493, after Emperor Wu died and was succeeded by Xiao Zhaowen's half-brother Xiao Zhaoye, Xiao Zhaowen was created the Prince of Xin'an, and Duchess Wang therefore became the Princess of Xin'an. In 494, Xiao Zhaoye's granduncle Xiao Luan assassinated Xiao Zhaoye and made Xiao Zhaowen emperor. Princess Wang was therefore created empress, but on 5 December, Xiao Luan deposed Xiao Zhaowen and took over as emperor (Emperor Ming). Xiao Zhaowen was reduced to the title of Prince of Hailing, and Empress Wang was demoted to the title of Princess of Hailing. Later that month, Emperor Ming had Xiao Zhaowen poisoned. Nothing further is known about Empress Wang, including when she died or whether she was buried with her husband (whom Emperor Ming had buried with great honors, but not honors due an emperor).
Wang Shaoming was the daughter of Wang Ci, a distinguished official and calligrapher who served as secretary and regional governor during the Liu Song and early Southern Qi dynasties, benefiting from his family's aristocratic standing. He belonged to the prestigious Langya Wang clan, one of southern China's most influential scholarly families, whose lineage traces back to Wang Dao, noted for helping stabilize the dynasty after the division between north and south. Wang Ci's father, Wang Sengqian, had served as Sikong (Minister of Works) under the Liu Song dynasty, further demonstrating the family's long-standing prominence in both governance and the arts.
Historical records provide few details about Wang Shaoming's early life, reflecting the broader lack of documentation on elite women in 5th-century China. However, given her family's strong tradition in calligraphy, evident in the accomplishment of Wang Ci and his relatives, it is likely she received training in literature and the arts, as was customary for women of her status. The Langya Wang clan, originally from Linyi in present-day Shandong, had relocated south with the Jin Court and became integrated into the elite society of Jiankang (modern Nanjing), where strategic marriages with ruling families such as the Xiao Clan helped reinforce political alliances.
Her marriage in 490 to Xiao Zhaowen, heir to Xiao Zhangmao, likely occurred when she was between 15 and 20 years old, illustrating how her noble lineage positioned her for such alliances within the shifting political landscape of the time.