Empress Qiang (強皇后, personal name unknown) (died 356), formally Empress Mingde (明德皇后, literally "the understanding and virtuous empress"), 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 Di-led Former Qin dynasty of China. Her husband was Former Qin's founding emperor,

Fu Jiàn Fu or FU may refer to: In arts and entertainment *Fool Us, Penn & Teller's magic-competition television show *Fǔ, a type of ancient Chinese vessel *Fu (poetry) (赋), a Chinese genre of rhymed prose *'' FU: Friendship Unlimited'', a 2017 Marath ...

(Emperor Jingming). She appeared to be Fu Jiàn's wife during the time that he was

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

to his father

Fu Hong Fu Hong (, 284–350), originally named Pu Hong (), courtesy name Guangshi (), was the father of founding emperor of the Former Qin dynasty, Fu Jiàn (Emperor Jingmimg). In 350, Fu Hong proclaimed himself the Prince of Three Qins (), receiving a p ...

(苻洪), a major general and Di chieftain during

Later Zhao The Later Zhao (; 319–351) was a dynasty of the Sixteen Kingdoms in northern China. It was founded by the Shi family of the Jie ethnicity. The Jie were most likely a Yeniseian people and spoke next to Chinese one of the Yeniseian languages.Vov ...

. When Fu Jiàn declared himself the "Heavenly Prince" (''

Tian Wang Heavenly King or Tian Wang () is a Chinese title for various religious deities and divine leaders throughout history, as well as an alternate form of the term ''Son of Heaven'', referring to the emperor. The Chinese term for Heavenly King consist ...

'') in 351 during the middle of Later Zhao's collapse, he created her "Heavenly Princess" (''Tian Wanghou'', 天王后). In 352, when he declared himself emperor, he created her empress. She had at least three sons—Fu Chang (苻萇), Fu Sheng, and Fu Liu (苻柳). Fu Chang, as the oldest, was created the

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

in 351. Her brother Qiang Ping (強平) became a key advisor to Fu Jiàn. In 354, Crown Prince Chang suffered an arrow wound while commanding an army resisting a major attack by the Jin general

Huan Wen Huan Wen (桓溫) (312 – 18 August 373), courtesy name Yuanzi (元子), formally Duke Xuanwu of Nan Commandery (南郡宣武公), was a general and regent of the Jin Dynasty (266–420), as well as the leader of Huan clan of Qiaoguo (谯国桓� ...

, and he died later that year from the wound. Empress Qiang wanted her youngest son, Fu Liu the Prince of Jin, to be crown prince. However, Fu Jiàn, believing in mysterious prophecies that appeared to indicate their violent son Fu Sheng the Prince of Huai'nan should be the next emperor, created Fu Sheng crown prince. After Fu Jiàn died in 355, Fu Sheng succeeded him, and he honored her as

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 ...

. Fu Sheng's reign was a violent and capricious one, as he killed many high-level officials with little reason. In summer 356, there were rumors that bandits were about to attack the 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 ...

, which resulted in a great panic in the capital lasting five days. Fu Sheng investigated the rumors and ordered that all persons who spread the rumors be executed by having their chests cut open and hearts pulled out. Qiang Ping, as his uncle, tried to persuade him not to carry out such cruel punishment, and Fu Sheng became angry at him, first fracturing his skull with a hammer and then executing him, despite intercessions from three generals he trusted. A month later, Empress Dowager Qiang died in sadness and fear.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Qiang, Empress Former Qin empresses 356 deaths Year of birth unknown