It is not known when Lady An was born. Little is known about her family background beyond that she was from the Daibei region. Her husband Shi Jingru was a cavalry officer of Li Cunxu the Prince of Jin. She gave birth to their only known child, Shi Chonggui, in 914. Shi Jingru died early, and so Shi Chonggui was raised by and adopted by his younger brother, Shi Jingtang.
In 936, Shi Jingtang, then a Later Tang general, rebelled against Later Tang's final emperor Li Congke and founded Later Jin. He, with aid from Later Tang's northern rival Khitan Empire's Emperor Taizong, then destroyed Later Tang and took over its territory. In 938, he created Shi Chonggui the Prince of Zheng. At some point, Lady An was created the Lady of Qin. In 942, Shi Jingtang died. Before his death, he had intended that his only surviving son Shi Chongrui inherit the throne and had entrusted Shi Chongrui to the senior chancellorFeng Dao, but Feng, in consultation with the imperial guard general Jing Yanguang, believed that the state needed an older emperor, and therefore supported Shi Chonggui, then the Prince of Qi, to succeed Shi Jingtang. Shi Chonggui honored Shi Jingtang's wife Empress Li as empress dowager, but did not immediately honor his own mother. In 943, he honored Lady An consort dowager. It was said that Shi Chonggui served both Consort Dowager An and Empress Dowager Li diligently, often attending to their meals. What, if any, influence she had on his governance, including his subsequent renouncing of subservience to the Khitan emperor, was not recorded in history.
After Later Jin's destruction
In winter 946, Emperor Taizong personally led an army and, after defeating and forcing the surrender of the Later Jin general Du Wei, advanced on then-Later Jin capital Kaifeng. Shi Chonggui surrendered, ending Later Jin. Emperor Taizong then prepared to send him and his family into exile, deep in desolate Liao proper. Consort Dowager An was said to be old and blind at that point, but was sent into exile with him, Empress Dowager Li, his wife Empress Feng, Shi Chongrui, and Shi Chonggui's adoptive sons Shi Yanxu and Shi Yanbao. In 949, by which time Liao was ruled by Emperor Taizong's nephew Emperor Shizong, the Shi household had settled at Liaoyang, but was apparently separated from any ethnic Han. Empress Dowager Li decided to go meet Emperor Shizong herself, asking to be resettled near a Han city and be given land for agriculture. Emperor Shizong agreed, and decided to move them to Jian Prefecture. While they were on the trek to Jian, Consort Dowager An died. As she was dying, she gave the instruction, "You should burn my bones and toss the ashes to the south. May it be that my spirit may return to Han lands." However, her instructions were not completely followed. Her body was burned, and either her ashes or charred bones were taken to Jian Prefecture. After Empress Dowager Li died not long after and her body was also burned, they were buried together.
