Yu Daolian (庾道憐) (died 5 July 366), formally Empress Xiao (孝皇后, literally "the filial 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), ...

Jin Dynasty (266–420) The Jin dynasty (; ) or the Jin Empire, sometimes distinguished as the (司馬晉) or the (兩晉), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed from 266 to 420. It was founded by Sima Yan (Emperor Wu), eldest son of Sima Zhao, who had pr ...

. Her husband was

Emperor Fei of Jin Emperor Fei of Jin (; 342 – November 23, 386), personal name Sima Yi (), courtesy name Yanling (), was an emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (266–420) in China. He was the younger brother (from the same mother) of Emperor Ai and later depose ...

. Yu Daolian was the daughter of

Yu Bing Yu Bing (234 - 280), courtesy name Shiwen, was an official of the Western Jin dynasty of China. He previously served in the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period. Life Yu Bing was the eighth son of Yu Fan, an official who served ...

, one of the co-prime ministers during the reigns of Emperor Cheng and Emperor Kang—both his nephews and sons of his sister

Empress Yu Wenjun Yu Wenjun (; 297– March or April 328, formally Empress Mingmu (明穆皇后, literally "the understanding and solemn empress") was an empress of the Chinese Jin dynasty by marriage to the Emperor Ming. She served as regent during the minority ...

, making her an aunt to her husband, who was Empress Yu Wenjun's grandson. Little is known about her. She was already Emperor Fei's wife when he was Prince of Donghai during the reign of his cousin Emperor Mu, and she then carried the title of Princess of Donghai. Presumably, after he was given the greater title of Prince of Langye after his brother Emperor Ai became emperor in 361, she carried the title of Princess of Langye, but there was no record of her using that title. After her husband became emperor in 365 after his brother's death, he created her empress. She died a year later in 366, without having had any children, and was given the

posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments or ...

Empress Xiao and buried with honors due an empress. (The reason why her posthumous name was one character rather than two, as was customary for empresses of the period, was that typically one character came from her husband's posthumous name, but her husband, who was later deposed, did not have a posthumous name and therefore had no character to add to her posthumous name.) Emperor Fei was deposed by the powerful 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� ...

in 371. After he was then demoted to the title of Duke of Haixi, Empress Yu was also posthumously demoted to the title of Duchess of Haixi. After he died in 386, she was disinterred and reburied with her husband at his place of exile, Wu (吳縣, in modern

Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

References

* ''

Book of Jin The ''Book of Jin'' is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty from 266 to 420. It was compiled in 648 by a number of officials commissioned by the imperial court of the Tang dynasty, with chancellor Fang X ...

'', vol. 32. * ''

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 ...

'', vol. 101. {{DEFAULTSORT:Yu Daolian, Empress 366 deaths Jin dynasty (266–420) empresses 4th-century Chinese women 4th-century Chinese people Year of birth unknown