Empress Yan (; personal name unknown) was an

empress 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 ( em ...

of the Di-led Cheng Han dynasty of China. Her husband was

Li Shou Li Shou (; 300–343), courtesy name Wukao (武考), formally Emperor Zhaowen of (Cheng) Han ((成)漢昭文帝), was an emperor of the Di-led Chinese Cheng Han dynasty. He was the cousin of Cheng Han's founding emperor Li Xiong, but after he ov ...

(Emperor Zhaowen). When Li Shou, after a coup, took over the throne from his cousin and the founding emperor

Li Xiong Li Xiong (李雄) (274–334), courtesy name Zhongjuan (仲雋), formally Emperor Wu of Cheng (Han) (成(漢)武帝), was the first emperor of the Di-led Chinese Cheng Han dynasty and commonly regarded as its founder (although some historians ...

(Emperor Wu)'s son Li Qi, he created her empress in 338. She bore him at least one son—the

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 wife ...

Li Shi, who succeeded Li Shou after Li Shou's death in 343. Li Shi honored her as

empress dowager Empress dowager (also dowager empress or empress mother) () is the English language translation of the title given to the mother or widow of a Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese emperor in the Chinese cultural sphere. The title was al ...

. Nothing else is recorded about her, and it is not known whether she survived to the destruction of the empire by

Eastern Jin 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 ...

forces in 347.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yan, Empress Yan, Empress Zhaowen