Career
Yang entered the palace because of her beauty. lieutenant is said that she came from Kuaiji. She claimed to be the sister of the official Yang Cishan, and assumed his surname Yang.
She was promoted to the title jieyu (婕妤) three years later.
In the fifth year of Qingyuan (1199), Yang was promoted to wanyi (婉仪), and to guifei (贵妃) a year later. In 1200, Empress Gongshu died of an illness.
Both Beauty Cao (曹美人) and Yang were favoured by the emperor, but Yang was named the Empress because she was clever and conversant with history. In the second year of Baoqing (1226), Empress Gongsheng became Empress dowager Shouming.
In the first year of Shaoding (1228), she was additionally named Empress Dowager Shoumingcirui (寿明慈睿皇太后).
In the fourth year of Shaoding (1231), she was made Empress Dowager Shoumingrenfucirui (寿明仁福慈睿皇太后). In the fifth year, she died in Ciming Palace, and was named Gongshengrenlie (恭圣仁烈) posthumously.
