Empress Liu (; personal name unknown) (318–349) was an

empress consort A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, and usually shares her spouse's social rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but historically she does not formally ...

of the Jie-led Later Zhao dynasty of China. She was

Shi Hu Shi Hu (; 295 – 26 May 349), courtesy name Jilong (季龍), also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Wu of Later Zhao (後趙武帝), was an emperor of the Jie-led Chinese Later Zhao dynasty. He was the founding emperor Shi Le (Em ...

(Emperor Wu)'s third and final empress. She served as regent in 349.

Life

The future Empress Liu was the youngest daughter of the final

Former Zhao The Han-Zhao ( zh, s=汉赵, t=漢趙, p=Hàn Zhào; 304–329 AD), or Former Zhao ( zh, s=前赵, t=前趙, p=Qián Zhào), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Liu ( Luandi) clan of Chuge-Xiongnu ethnicity during the Sixteen Kingdoms per ...

emperor Liu Yao. After her father was captured by Later Zhao's founding emperor

Shi Le Shi Le (; 274 –17 August 333), courtesy name Shilong, also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Ming of Later Zhao, was the founding emperor of the Jie-led Later Zhao dynasty of China. He was initially sold as a slave by Western Jin ...

in 329, she accompanied her brothers Liu Xi the Crown Prince and Liu Yin the Prince of Nanyang in fleeing from the Former Zhao capital

Chang'an Chang'an (; zh, t=長安, s=长安, p=Cháng'ān, first=t) is the traditional name of the city now named Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic time ...

to Shanggui (上邽, in modern

Tianshui Tianshui is a prefecture-level city in Gansu province, China, and is the province's second-largest city (behind the provincial capital Lanzhou). Located in the southeast of the province, the city strides along the upper reaches of the Wei River a ...

Gansu Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...

). Later that year, Liu Yin tried to recapture Chang'an and was defeated by Shi Hu, who marched on to Shanggui and captured it, killing Liu Xi and Liu Yin. She was captured by his subordinate Zhang Chai and offered to him. She, at 11, became his concubine. In 339, she gave birth to his youngest son, Shi Shi. He was created the Duke of Qi.

Empress

In 348, after executing his second crown prince Shi Xuan (石宣) for having assassinated his younger brother Shi Tao (石韜) and for plotting against himself, Shi Hu considered whom to make his new crown prince. Zhang, believing that he could hold power jointly with Consort Liu if she were to become

empress dowager Empress dowager (also dowager empress or empress mother; ) is the English language translation of the title given to the mother or widow of a monarch, especially in regards to Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese monarchs in the Chines ...

, suggested to Shi Hu that the reasons why his prior crown princes rebelled was that their mothers were of low birth. Shi Hu agreed, and he created Shi Shi crown prince and Consort Liu empress.

Regent

In early 349, Shi Hu grew ill, and he ordered that his sons Shi Zun the Prince of Pengcheng and Shi Bin (石斌) the Prince of Yan be made joint

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

s for Shi Shi. This interfered with Empress Liu's and Zhang's plans to control the government, and they issued false edicts sending Shi Zun away and executing Shi Bin. Shi Hu soon died, and Shi Shi succeeded him. Empress Liu became empress dowager, and she served as regent, holding power jointly with Zhang. She tried to placate Shi Zun and Shi Jian the Prince of Yiyang by giving them high posts. However, Shi Zun did not accept and marched on the capital Yecheng. Empress Dowager Liu tried to placate him by offering him the regent office and the

nine bestowments The nine bestowments () were awards given by Chinese emperors to officials, ostensibly to reward them for their accomplishments. While the nature of the bestowments was probably established during the Zhou dynasty, there was no record of anyone ...

, but that could not stop him from entering the capital and seizing power. He executed Zhang, and then forged an edict by Empress Dowager Liu deposing Shi Shi and giving him the throne. Shi Shi was created the Prince of Qiao, and Empress Dowager Liu was given the title of Princess Dowager of Qiao, but soon Shi Zun executed both of them.

References

* ''

Zizhi Tongjian The ''Zizhi Tongjian'' (1084) is a chronicle published during the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) that provides a record of Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning almost 1400 years. The main text is ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Empress Wu 318 births 349 deaths Former Zhao people Later Zhao empresses Sixteen Kingdoms regents 4th-century women regents Executed Chinese royalty Xiongnu Regents of China 4th-century empresses consort 4th-century regents