Empress Liu (劉皇后, personal name unknown, 404) was an empress of the short-lived

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

state Chu. Her husband was Chu's only emperor,

Huan Xuan Huan Xuan (桓玄) (369 – 19 June 404), courtesy name Jingdao (敬道), nickname Lingbao (靈寶), formally Emperor Wudao of Chu (楚武悼帝), was a Jin Dynasty warlord who briefly took over the imperial throne from Emperor An of Jin and de ...

(Emperor Wudao). She was the great-granddaughter of the Jin official Liu Qiao, and her father Liu Dan (劉耽) was also an official.''

Book of Jin The ''Book of Jin'' is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty from 266 to 420. It was compiled in 648 by a number of officials commissioned by the imperial court of the Tang dynasty, with chancellor Fang ...

'', vol. 61. She married Huan Xuan before he became a major warlord, although the exact time is not known. After Huan Xuan seized the throne from

Emperor An of Jin Emperor An of Jin (; 383 – 28 January 419), personal name Sima Dezong (), was an emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (266–420) in China. He was described as so developmentally disabled that he was unable to speak, clothe himself, or be able to ...

in 403, he created her empress in spring 404. She was described as someone with good judgement of character, and she, suspecting the intentions of the general Liu Yu, told Huan Xuan that Liu Yu would not be his subordinate long and should be killed. Huan Xuan refused. Later in 404, however, Liu Yu started an uprising that eventually forced Huan Xuan from the capital Jiankang and led to his downfall and death. Empress Liu's fate is unknown.

References

* ''

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song (960–1127), Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959&n ...

'', vol. 113. {{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Empress Sixteen Kingdoms empresses Huan Chu people