Empress Meng

She played a significant political role in Chinese politics: first by legitimizing the Da Chu dynasty in 1127, and then ending it by legitimizing Emperor Gaozong of Song as the heir of the Song dynasty. Meng was selected to become the primary spouse and empress of Emperor Zhezong by the Empress Dowager Regent Gao, and the wedding was conducted in 1092. She came from a "literati family", was very well-educated, and from her introduction to court, she was taught "wifely etiquette". The relationship between Meng and Zhezong was not a good one, and Zhezong resented her, possibly because she had been chosen for him by the Empress Dowager Regent Gao. Reportedly, he tolerated, and maybe even encouraged, his favorite, Consort Liu, to be rude to Meng. Her mother-in-law, Dowager Empress Xiang, however, had a very good impression of her and a good relationship with her, and took her side against Liu, though she later admitted, that both Meng and Liu had a temper and were both to blame for their infected rivalry. In 1096, a scandal occurred when Empress Meng was accused of witchcraft. When her infant daughter became ill, the empress asked her sister for advice.