Empress Ma (馬皇后, personal name unknown) (died January 22, 935''

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. 279. Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter
) was the only known empress of the

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 ...

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen conc ...

state

Southern Han Southern Han (; 917–971), officially Han (), originally Yue (), was one of the ten kingdoms that existed during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It was located on China's southern coast, controlling modern Guangdong and Guangxi. The ...

. She was the wife of Southern Han's founding emperor Liu Yan (Emperor Gaozu), and the daughter of

Ma Yin Ma Yin (; c. 853 – December 2, 930), courtesy name Batu (霸圖), formally King Wumu of Chu (楚武穆王), was Chinese military general and politician who became the first ruler of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state Chu and the o ...

(Prince Wumu), the prince of Southern Han's northern neighbor Chu.

Background

It is not known when the future Empress Ma was born. Further, while she was known to be a daughter of

's, no historical record indicated who her mother was. In 913, Liu Yan, who was then formally a Later Liang vassal (as Ma Yin was as well) as the military governor (''

Jiedushi The ''jiedushi'' (), or jiedu, was a title for regional military governors in China which was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of ''jiedushi'' has been translated as "military commissioner", " legate" ...

'') of Qinghai Circuit (清海, headquartered in modern

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

), sent emissaries to Ma Yin, asking to marry a daughter of his. Ma Yin agreed.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 268. In 915, Liu sent emissaries to Chu to welcome her; Ma Yin, in turn, sent his brother (her uncle) Ma Cun (馬存) to escort her to Qinghai's capital Guang Prefecture (廣州) for the wedding.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 269.

Marriage with Liu Yan

In 917, Liu Yan declared himself emperor of a new state of Yue, independent from Later Liang.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 270. He did not create Lady Ma empress at that time, creating her only the Lady of Yue.''

Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms The ''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese title ''Shiguo Chunqiu'' (), is a history of the Ten Kingdoms that existed in southern China after the fall of the Tang Dynasty and before the reunification of China ...

'' (十國春秋)
vol. 61
In 919, by which time he had changed the name of his state from Yue to Han (and therefore the state became historically known as

), he created her empress. Little else is known about Empress Ma's marriage with Liu Yan, and none of his sons was recorded as being born of her. She died in 935.

Notes and references

* ''

'' (十國春秋)
vol. 61
* ''

'', vols.

268 __NOTOC__ Year 268 ( CCLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Paternus and Egnatius (or, less frequently, year 1021 ...

269 Year 269 (Roman numerals, CCLXIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Claudius and Paternus (or, less frequently, year 102 ...

270 __NOTOC__ Year 270 ( CCLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Antiochianus and Orfitus (or, less frequently, year 10 ...

, 279. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ma, Empress 935 deaths Ma Chu people Southern Han empresses Later Liang (Five Dynasties) people Year of birth unknown