Epitaph of the Princess of Prince Zhuang of Liang of the Great Ming Dynasty - Text

On the west side of Prince Zhuang's epitaph is the epitaph of the princess, likewise inscribed on the top and bottom of a tablet. The top contains a 9-character inspection: 大明梁庄王妃圹志文 (Epitaph of the Princess of Prince Zhuang of Liang of the Great Ming Dynasty). The bottom of the tablet records the life of Lady Wei, wife of Prince Zhuang, in 166 characters. The Lady Wei was the daughter of the commander of horse for the Nancheng Army and her mother had the maiden name Chen. On the 3rd day of the 7th month in the 8th year of the Xuande Emperor (1433), the 20-year-old Lady Wei became princess of Liang. When Prince Zhuang died of an illness on the 12th day of the 1st month in the 6th year of the reign of the Zhengtong Emperor (1441), the grief-stricken princess wished to be buried along with her husband. However, the emperor commanded her to live and care for the prince's two young daughters. On the 17th day of the 3rd month in the 2nd year of the reign of the Jingtai Emperor (1451), Lady Wei died of an illness at the age if 38 and was buried with the prince in Yuling Mountain.

The end of the inscription tells us that the Lady Wei came from a common family, but was chosen as the consort of the prince, who tragically died young. The story of this common woman raised to the rank of princess is truly amazing.