Empress Dowager Wang (Southern Ming)

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She was the principal consort of Zhu Changying, and as such, she became the adoptive mother of his children with his other consorts. After the fall of the Ming dynasty, she was asked to approve of the installation of her stepson Yongli Emperor as Ming emperor. She gave her approval in November 1646, after which the Emperor could be enthroned. The Yongli Emperor showed his stepmother more influence than was considered necessary, and she acted as one of his principal advisers. It was said that she was:

"...versed in letters, aware of current events, analytical about tasks and clear in her reasoning. After the Emperor assumed the throne there was nothing in which he did not follow her wishes."^[2]

She, along with the Emperor's biological mother and his consort, was converted to Catholicism by the Jesuit Andreas Xavier Koffler in April 1648.

Letters to the Pope

By November 1650, the Yongli Emperor's family had fled the