Sima Maoying () (393? or 403/4?Zhang Senkai is of the opinion that Sima Maoying's true birth year is around this period as this would make her 36-37 years old (by East Asian reckoning) at the time of her death. In addition, one possible reason why this period was not used as her birth year was that

Huan Xuan Huan Xuan (桓玄) (369 – 19 June 404), courtesy name Jingdao (敬道), nickname Lingbao (靈寶), formally Emperor Wudao of Chu (楚武悼帝), was a Jin Dynasty warlord who briefly took over the imperial throne from Emperor An of Jin and de ...

usurped the Jin throne during this period, making Sima's birth more lowly as her father's title at the time was "''Xiangong'' of Shiyang" (石阳县公), which is lower in rank than "Prince of Langye".–439) was a princess of the

Eastern Jin dynasty Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways * Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air ...

(with the title Princess Haiyan (海鹽公主)) and an empress consort of the

Liu Song dynasty Song, known as Liu Song (), Former Song (前宋) or Song of (the) Southern Dynasty (南朝宋) in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the first of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. ...

. Her father was

Emperor Gong of Jin Emperor Gong of Jin (; 386 – October or November 421), personal name Sima Dewen (), was the last emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (266–420) in China. He became emperor in 419 after his developmentally disabled brother Emperor An was killed ...

, and her husband was

Emperor Shao of Liu Song Emperor Shao of (Liu) Song ((劉)宋少帝) (406 – 4 August 424''guichou'' day of the 6th month of the 2nd year of the ''Jingping'' era, per Emperor Shao's biography in ''Book of Song''), also known by his post-removal title Prince of Yingyang ( ...

. Sima Maoying was the daughter of Emperor Gong and his wife,

Chu Lingyuan Chu Lingyuan (褚靈媛) (384 – 7 August 436), formally Empress Gongsi (恭思皇后), was the last empress of the Jin Dynasty (266–420). Her husband was the last emperor of the dynasty, Emperor Gong (Sima Dewen). Family background Chu Lingy ...

. She must have been created princess during her father's brief reign (419–420), and it was also at that time that she married Liu Yifu (the future Emperor Shao), then the

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 the powerful general Liu Yu (the future

Emperor Wu of Liu Song Emperor Wu of (Liu) Song (()宋武帝; 16 April 363– 26 June 422), personal name Liu Yu (), courtesy name Dexing (), childhood name Jinu (),(皇考以高祖生有奇異，名為奇奴。皇妣既殂，養于舅氏，改為寄奴焉。) ''Song S ...

). In 420, her father-in-law forced her father to yield the throne to him, ending Jin and establishing Liu Song. He created Liu Yifu

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 ...

, and she therefore carried the title of crown princess. In 421, he had her father killed. In 422, after Liu Yu died, Liu Yifu took the throne as Emperor Shao, and she was created empress. However, in 424, officials whom Liu Yu had left in control of the government deposed Emperor Shao, believing him to be unfit to be emperor, demoting him to the title of Prince of Yingyang (营阳王). Empress Sima was therefore also demoted to Princess of Yingyang. Soon, the officials had Liu Yifu killed. They replaced him with his capable brother Liu Yilong (as Emperor Wen), and Emperor Wen, in 432, posthumously had his nephew Liu Lang (劉郎) (the son of his brother Liu Yigong (劉義恭) the Prince of Jiangxia) adopted into Liu Yifu's line as his son and created Liu Lang the Prince of Nanfeng (南丰王). The former Empress Sima therefore carried the title Princess Dowager of Nanfeng. She died in 439.

Notes

, - style="text-align: center;" , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sima Maoying, Empress Liu Song empresses 393 births 439 deaths Jin dynasty (266–420) people