Empress Wang's father Wang Fengguang was a hereditary acting marquess when he met Emperor Xuan while he was still a commoner, based on their common interest in cockfighting. According to legend, she was betrothed to several men in succession, but each time her fiancé died before marriage could occur. After Emperor Xuan became emperor, he took her as a concubine, but she was not one of his favourites. Emperor Xuan's first wife, Empress Xu Pingjun was poisoned in 71 BC by the ambitious Xian, the wife of the regentHuo Guang, who wanted to make her daughter Huo Chengjun empress; an objective that she was successful in after Empress Xu's death. While Huo Chengjun was empress, she allegedly tried unsuccessfully several times to poison Empress Xu's son Crown PrinceLiu Shi, to make her potential future son the imperial heir.
Empress
After the Huo clan was destroyed and Empress Huo deposed in 66 BC, Emperor Xuan considered who amongst his consorts to create as his empress. At that time, he favoured Consorts Hua, Zhang, and Wei, each of whom had bore him children. He almost settled on Consort Zhang as his new empress. However, he became hesitant, remembering how Empress Huo had tried to murder the crown prince. He therefore resolved to create as his empress someone who was childless and kind. He decided on Consort Wang, and created her empress in 64 BC. He also created her father, Wang Fengguang, the Marquess of Qiongcheng. Emperor Xuan put Prince Shi in her care, and she cared for him well. Despite her position, she was never one of Emperor Xuan's favourites and she rarely saw him. Empress Wang would have a role in Crown Prince Shi's eventual choice of a wife. In the mid-50s BC, Consort Sima, the favourite consort of Prince Shi died from an illness. Prince Shi was grief-stricken and became ill and depressed. Emperor Xuan was concerned, so he had Empress Wang select the most beautiful of the young ladies in waiting and had them sent to Prince Shi. Wang Zhengjun was one of the ladies in waiting chosen. She, as the mother of his first-born sonLiu Ao, would eventually become his wife and empress. Empress Wang was not known to have had significant political influence as an empress.
After her husband Emperor Xuan died in 49 BC and her stepson Prince Shi took the throne as Emperor Yuan, she held the title of empress dowager. She would outlive him as well. After Emperor Yuan died in 33 BC, his son, Crown Prince Ao, took the throne as Emperor Cheng. Empress Wang then held the title of grand empress dowager, and she became also semi-formally known as Empress Dowager Qiongcheng to be distinguished with her daughter-in-law. She did not appear to have much political influence during the reigns of either Emperor Yuan or Cheng, even though they appeared to genuinely love and respect her as a mother/grandmother. She died in 16 BC and was buried with her husband, Emperor Xuan.
