Empress Liu (; personal name unknown; 404) was an

empress consort A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, and usually shares her spouse's social rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but historically she does not formally ...

of China's short-lived Huan Chu (桓楚) dynasty. Her husband was Huan Chu's only emperor, Huan Xuan (Emperor Wudao). She was the great-granddaughter of the Western Jin official Liu Qiao, and her father Liu Dan (劉耽) was also an official.''

Book of Jin The ''Book of Jin'' is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty (266–420), 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, ...

'', vol. 61. She married Huan Xuan before he became a major warlord, although the exact time is not known. After Huan Xuan seized the throne from the

Emperor An of Jin Emperor An of Jin (; 382 – 28 January 419), personal name Sima Dezong (), was an emperor of the Eastern Jin dynasty (266–420), Jin in China. He was described as so developmental disability, developmentally disabled that he was unable to speak ...

in 403, he created her empress in spring 404. She was described as someone with good judgement of character, and she, suspecting the intentions of the general Liu Yu, told Huan Xuan that Liu Yu would not be his subordinate long and should be killed. Huan Xuan refused. Later in 404, however, Liu Yu started an uprising that eventually forced Huan Xuan from the capital

Jiankang Jiankang (), or Jianye (), as it was originally called, was the capital city of the Eastern Wu (229–265 and 266–280 CE), the Jin dynasty (265–420), Eastern Jin dynasty (317–420 CE) and the Southern Dynasties (420–552), including the Ch ...

and led to his downfall and death. Empress Liu's fate is unknown.

References

* ''

Zizhi Tongjian The ''Zizhi Tongjian'' (1084) is a chronicle published during the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) that provides a record of Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning almost 1400 years. The main text is ...

'', vol. 113. {{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Empress Sixteen Kingdoms empresses Huan Chu people