Princess Shi (; personal name unknown), who might have taken the title Empress Shi () at one point, was the wife of

Lü Guang Lü Guang (; 337–400), courtesy name Shiming (世明), formally Emperor Yiwu of (Later) Liang ((後)涼懿武帝), was the founding emperor of the Di-led Chinese Later Liang dynasty (although during most of his reign, he used the title "Heaven ...

(Emperor Yiwu), the founder of the Di-led Later Liang dynasty of China. Very little is known about her. What is known is that when Lü Guang, who was then a Former Qin general, was sent by the Former Qin emperor Fu Jiān in 383 on a mission to subdue the Xiyu (西域, modern

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

and former Soviet

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

) kingdoms, she did not accompany her husband but remained in the Former Qin 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 S ...

with his son

Lü Shao Lü Shao (; died 400), courtesy name Yongye (永業), formally Prince Yin of (Later) Liang ((後)涼隱王), was briefly an emperor (with the title of "Heavenly Prince" ('' Tian Wang'')) of the Di-led Later Liang dynasty of China. He was a son ...

, who was probably her son as well. When Chang'an fell to Western Yan forces in 385, they fled to the semi-independent state

Chouchi Chouchi (), or Qiuchi (), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Yang clan of Di ethnicity in modern-day Gansu Province. Its existence spanned both the Sixteen Kingdoms and Northern and Southern dynasties periods, but it is not listed among ...

, and after Lü Guang established Later Liang after returning from his Xiyu mission and seizing Liang Province (涼州, modern central and western Gansu), they arrived in his capital Guzang (姑臧, in modern Wuwei, Gansu) in 389. Lü Guang, who then carried the title Prince of Sanhe, created her his princess and created Lü Shao

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 ...

. By the time he claimed the imperial title "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 396 and created Lü Shao

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 ...

, she was not mentioned, implying that she might have died by that point, and there was no further reference to her in history. If she had in fact survived to 396, she would have likely been created empress. The table below assumes that she survived to 400 when Lü Guang died, but that was in fact not likely.

References

, - style="text-align: center;" , - style="text-align: center;" , - , - , - Later Liang (Sixteen Kingdoms) empresses 4th-century deaths Year of birth unknown {{China-royal-stub