Chongzhen Emperor Ming Emperor
She was a daughter of the Chongzhen Emperor, the last Ming emperor. Changping was born to the Chongzhen Emperor and Consort Wang. When Changping was 16, her father arranged for her marriage to Zhou Xian (周顯.
Aka Zhou Shixian 周世顯), a military officer
As Consort Wang died from illness not long after Changping"s birth, the princess was raised by Empress Zhou. Changping had an elder sister, Princess Kunyi (坤儀公主), and a younger sister, Princess Zhaoren (昭仁公主). However, their wedding was cancelled as Li Zicheng and his rebel army was approaching the capital, Beijing.
He shouted at Changping, "Why must you be born in this family?", and slashed his sword at her, cutting off her left arm.
Changping fainted due to blood loss, but regained consciousness five days later and survived, while her father committed suicide by hanging himself on a tree. The Shunzhi Emperor refused and arranged for her to marry Zhou Xian per her father"s wish.
Changping died of illness a year later and was buried outside Guangning Gate (present-day Guang"anmen) in Beijing. Changping had a greater impact on folklore and popular culture than history, with various stories revolving around the concept that she survived her early death.
One tale tells that Changping became a nun after the fall of the Ming dynasty.
She practised martial arts and became a leader of the resistance movement against the Qing dynasty. She was nicknamed "One-Armed Divine Nun" (獨臂神尼) for her formidable prowess. One of her apprentices was Lü Siniang (呂四娘), a fictional heroine who assassinated the Yongzheng Emperor.
Changping appears as a major character in Louis Cha"s novel Sword Stained with Royal Blood.
She is called "A"Jiu" (阿九. Literature "The Ninth", implying she is the Chongzhen Emperor"s ninth child) in the novel and had romantic feelings for the protagonist, Yuan Chengzhi.
She has a minor role in The Deer and the Cauldron, another novel by Louis Cha that is regarded as an unofficial sequel to Sword Stained with Royal Blood. In The Deer and the Cauldron, she has become a powerful martial artist and she accepts the anti-hero protagonist, Wei Xiaobao, as an apprentice.
The love story of Changping and Zhou Xian was adapted into a Cantonese opera, titled Di Nü Hua (帝女花.
Literature Emperor"s Daughter Flower). The opera was later adapted into a film and a television series.
When the capital eventually fell to the rebels, the Chongzhen Emperor started killing members of his household, including Princess Zhaoren.
