Princess Yuan of Lu, also called Princess Luyuan (3rd-century BC – 187 BC), was a princess of the

Han Dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a war ...

. She was the eldest daughter of the dynasty's founder Emperor Gaozu and

Empress Lü Zhi An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...

. She had one daughter who was married to her younger brother, Emperor Hui.

Biography

Princess Yuan's exact birth date is unknown, but her appearance in official records suggests that she was born before 211 BCE. She was born before her father

Liu Bang Emperor Gaozu of Han (256 – 1 June 195 BC), born Liu Bang () with courtesy name Ji (季), was the founder and first emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning in 202–195 BC. His temple name was "Taizu" while his posthumous name was Emper ...

became a serious political contender, after which most of her early life was spent avoiding capture by enemy forces. In 204 BCE, during the

Chu–Han Contention The Chu–Han Contention ( zh, , lk=on) or Chu–Han War () was an interregnum period in ancient China between the fallen Qin dynasty and the subsequent Han dynasty. After the third and last Qin ruler, Ziying, unconditionally surrendered to ...

, the carriage of Princess Yuan and her brother Liu Ying was pursued by forces of the Chu State. Duke Teng, a member of the

Xiahou Xiahou () is a Chinese compound surname from the Spring and Autumn period. After the State of Qi was destroyed by Chu, Duke Jian of Qi's ( 杞简公) younger brother, Prince Tuo (公子佗), fled to the State of Lu. Duke Dao of Lu ( 鲁悼公) ...

family, ordered the two to leave the carriage and replaced them with two decoy travellers to allow them to escape.

was proclaimed Emperor Gaozu of the

in 202 BCE. Princess Yuan's mother

had little power after her husband became emperor and was powerless to prevent Emperor Gaozu from making plans to marry Princess Yuan, as the daughter of the legitimate wife, to a

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 209& ...

leader to prevent the nomads from causing trouble on the northern border. She was married later, however, to

Zhang Ao Zhang may refer to: Chinese culture, etc. * Zhang (surname) (張/张), common Chinese surname ** Zhang (surname 章), a rarer Chinese surname * Zhang County (漳县), of Dingxi, Gansu * Zhang River (漳河), a river flowing mainly in Henan * ''Zh ...

of Zhao, who succeeded his father as ruler in 204 BCE. The exact date of their marriage is unknown. Their daughter Zhang Yan was married to Princess Yuan's younger brother Liu Ying in 191 BCE, as part of their mother's attempts to control the imperial household. In 193 BCE, King Daohui of Qi presented

Chengyang Commandery Chengyang Kingdom ( zh, 城陽國) was a kingdom of China's Han and Jin dynasties, located in present-day southeastern Shandong. Chengyang was originally a commandery in the Qi Kingdom of early Han dynasty. The territory was granted to Princess ...

to Princess Yuan and honoured her as

Queen dowager A queen dowager or dowager queen (compare: princess dowager or dowager princess) is a title or status generally held by the widow of a king. In the case of the widow of an emperor, the title of empress dowager is used. Its full meaning is clear ...

Burial

Princess Yuan is buried in the Han Royal Tomb group near Xianyang at Anling, alongside her brother, daughter and husband. Her tomb is larger than that of her husband.guanhuimin

Medias

* She's one of the character of the 2010 Chinese TV series ''

Beauty's Rival in Palace ''Beauty's Rival in Palace'' (Chinese: 美人心計, pinyin: Měirén Xīnjì, lit. ''Schemes of a Beauty'') is a 2010 Chinese television series adapted from Xiao Qiying's short story ''Turbulence in the Empress' Chamber'' (). It was first broadca ...

''. She is portrayed by Lu Jia Rong.

References

Notes

Cited works

* * * 187 BC deaths Han dynasty imperial princesses Year of birth unknown Emperor Gaozu of Han 3rd-century BC Chinese women 3rd-century BC Chinese people 2nd-century BC Chinese women 2nd-century BC Chinese people Daughters of emperors {{China-royal-stub