Empress Dowager Zhang (, personal name unknown; died 313), formally Empress Guangxian (, literally "the rebuilding and wise empress"), was an

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 monarch, especially in regards to Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese monarchs in the Chines ...

of the

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of Nomad, nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese historiography, Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, t ...

-led

Han-Zhao The Han-Zhao ( zh, s=汉赵, t=漢趙, p=Hàn Zhào; 304–329 AD), or Former Zhao ( zh, s=前赵, t=前趙, p=Qián Zhào), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Liu ( Luandi) clan of Chuge-Xiongnu ethnicity during the Sixteen Kingdoms per ...

dynasty of China, during the reign of her son Liu Cong (Emperor Zhaowu). She was the founding emperor Liu Yuan's concubine. Her son Liu Cong was Liu Yuan's fourth son, and it is not known if she bore other children for Liu Yuan. When Liu Cong seized the throne in 310 after overthrowing his older brother Liu He (after Liu He had tried to have him and the other brothers killed and successfully killed two), he honored both her and Liu Yuan's wife, Empress Shan, empresses dowager – Empress Shan with the greater title of ''Huangtaihou'' (皇太后) and her with the lesser title of ''Ditaihou'' (帝太后). When Empress Dowager Shan died later that year, she received the greater title of ''Huangtaihou''. She was known only for a few incidents during her time as empress dowager. In 312, at her insistence, Liu Cong took two daughters of his cousin Zhang Shi as his concubines. Later that year, when Liu Cong was wrongly punishing the official Wang Zhang for trying to persuade him to be milder in his temper and actions, Empress Dowager Zhang protested by fasting for three days, eventually helping to correct Liu Cong's behavior for a time. Later that year, when Liu Cong was set to create his concubine Liu Ying as empress, Empress Zhang insisted against it and for her grandniece Zhang Huiguang, whom Liu Cong then formally created empress in early 313. Three months later, Empress Dowager Zhang died and was honored with a posthumous empress title. Her grandniece, the empress, mourned her so greatly and was so depressed that she died as well.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Empress Dowager 313 deaths Former Zhao people Sixteen Kingdoms empresses dowager 4th-century Chinese women 4th-century Chinese people Year of birth unknown Mothers of Chinese emperors