Empress Dan (單皇后, personal name unknown) (died 310) 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

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 20 ...

-led Chinese Han Zhao dynasty. She was the second wife of the founding emperor Liu Yuan (Emperor Guangwen).

Biography

Empress Dan's father Dan Zheng (單徵) was a Di chieftain, who submitted to Han Zhao in 308. It is not known when she married Liu Yuan, but he made her his wife and empress in early 310, while also creating his son Liu He, by his first wife Empress Huyan

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 ...

. However, Empress Dan's son Liu Ai (劉乂), while described as "young" in 310, was already capable of independent thinking, implying that he was an older child or young adult by that time. Liu Yuan died later that year and was succeeded by Liu He, who was however overthrown and killed by Liu Cong after only a week as emperor. Liu Cong initially offered the throne to Liu Ai, but Liu Ai declined, and Liu Cong took the throne himself. He honored Empress Dan 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 ...

and named her son Liu Ai crown prince. Empress Dowager Dan was described as still young and beautiful at that point, and she carried on an affair with Liu Cong, which was considered

incest Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adoption ...

in Chinese culture. Crown Prince Ai became aware of the affair and tried to persuade her to end it. Knowing that her son knew about the affair, she died late in 310, described as having died "of her shame," implying that she might have committed suicide.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dan, Empress 310 deaths Former Zhao empresses Year of birth unknown 4th-century Chinese women 4th-century Chinese people