Empress Liu (劉皇后, personal name unknown) (318–349) was an

empress An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

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

Shi Hu Shi Hu (; 295–349), courtesy name Jilong (季龍), formally 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's distant nephew, who took power in a coup ...

(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

Han Zhao The Han Zhao (; 304–329 AD), or Former Zhao (), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Xiongnu people during the Sixteen Kingdoms period of Chinese history. In Chinese historiography, it was given two conditional state titles, the Northern ...

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, formally Emperor Ming of (Later) Zhao, was the founding emperor of the Jie-led Later Zhao dynasty of China. At a young age he was sold as a slave by Jin officials, but he later helped start a ...

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

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin Shi ...

to Shanggui (上邽, in modern

Tianshui Tianshui is the second-largest cities in Gansu, city in Gansu list of Chinese provinces, Province, China. The city is located in the southeast of the province, along the upper reaches of the Wei River and at the boundary of the Loess Plateau and ...

Gansu Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...

). 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 Zhang Chai was a minister of Later Zhao during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. He was a close ally to Shi Hu's empress, Empress Liu, who helped her establish themselves as the paramount leaders of Zhao through her son Shi Shi following the deat ...

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 Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese emperor in the Chinese cultural sphere. The title was also g ...

, 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 Shi Zun (石遵) (died 349) was briefly (for 183 days) an emperor of the Jie-led Chinese Later Zhao dynasty. He was the second of four short-lived emperors after the death of his father Shi Hu (Emperor Wu). He is sometimes referred to by his tit ...

the Prince of Pengcheng and Shi Bin (石斌) the Prince of Yan be made joint

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

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 Shi Jian (石鑒) (died 350) was briefly (for 103 days) an emperor of the Jie-led Later Zhao dynasty of China. He was the third of four short-lived Later Zhao emperors after the death of his father Shi Hu (Emperor Wu). He is sometimes referred t ...

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 r ...

, 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 ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...

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