Empress Liu (昭懷皇后; 1079 – 1113) was a Chinese empress consort of the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

, married to

Emperor Zhezong of Song Emperor Zhezong of Song (4 January 1077 – 23 February 1100), personal name Zhao Xu, was the seventh emperor of the Song dynasty of China. His original personal name was Zhao Yong but he changed it to "Zhao Xu" after his coronation. He reig ...

Life

Liu's background is not known. She was selected as one of the consorts of Zhezong, while

Empress Meng Empress Meng (Chinese: 昭慈圣献皇后; 1073 – 1131) was a daughter of Meng Yuen and the Chinese empress consort of the Song dynasty, married to Emperor Zhezong of Song. She served as a regent of China in 1127, and during the minority of Emp ...

became his empress. However, Consort Liu was to become his personal favourite. They had one son and two daughters together.

Conflict with Empress Meng

The relationship between Meng and Zhezong was not a good one, and Zhezong resented her, possible because she had been chosen for him by the Empress Dowager Regent Gao. Reportedly, he tolerated, and maybe even encouraged, Consort Liu, to be rude to empress Meng. Her mother-in-law, Dowager

Empress Xiang Empress Xiang (欽聖皇后; 1047–1102) was a Chinese empress consort of the Song Dynasty, married to Emperor Shenzong of Song. She acted as co-regent of China during the reign of her adopted son, Emperor Huizong of Song, in 1100. Life Empress c ...

, however, favoured empress Meng against her, though she later admitted, that both Meng and Liu had a temper and were both to blame for their infected rivalry, which caused several scenes at court. In 1096, a scandal occurred when empress Meng was accused of

witchcraft Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...

. When her infant daughter became ill, the empress had asked her sister for advice. Her sister had brought her "

talisman A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...

-water", which was used by daoist-priest to cure illness. Meng had protested because such practices were banned in the palace, but the emperor commented that it was harmless. Nonetheless, rumors of witchcraft started to surround the empress. When the baby's illness grew worse, the empress noticed "token paper money" beside the child and suspected Consort Liu of using witchcraft against her. Soon after, a nun, a eunuch, and the adoptive mother of Meng was accused of having used witchcraft to help the empress, thereby implicating her. Thirty palace women and eunuchs were tortured during the investigation. The nun and the eunuch were executed, accused of having used

black magic Black magic (Middle English: ''nigromancy''), sometimes dark magic, traditionally refers to the use of Magic (paranormal), magic or supernatural powers for evil and selfish purposes. The links and interaction between black magic and religi ...

toward Liu, and the adoptive mother of Meng was executed accused of having used magic to make the emperor fall in love with the empress. Empress Meng herself was stripped from her title and sent to a

Daoist Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ' ...

nunnery.

Empress and dowager

In 1099, Liu had a son with the emperor, which gave him the wish to make her empress. In 27 December 1100, Consort Liu was elevated to the position of empress, which was not approved by Empress Dowager Xiang and met with protests from several officials, as many blamed Liu for the witch trial and demotion of empress Meng. In 1100, Emperor Zhezong was succeeded by his half-brother,

Emperor Huizong of Song Emperor Huizong of Song (7 June 1082 – 4 June 1135), personal name Zhao Ji, was the eighth emperor of the Song dynasty of China and the penultimate emperor of the Northern Song dynasty. He was also a very well-known painter, poet and calli ...

. He had his legal mother, the Dowager

, appointed his co-regent. Empress Xiang also used her power as co-regent to push her view, that Emperor Zhezong had done wrong by demoting Empress Meng in favour of Empress Liu. She declared, that the demotion had been forged, and that Meng should be given back the states of Empress, while Liu should bee stripped from hers. This led to a conflict with the council, who argued that an emperor could not change the status of his late brother's widow. The affairs ended with a compromise: on 23 June 1100, Xiang succeeded with having the status of empress returned to Meng, but was prevented from stripping Liu of her title, resulting in Emperor Zhezong having two Empress Dowagers. Not much more is known of Empress Dowager Liu. In 1113, it was reported that she had been forced to commit suicide by "those close to her", after they had reported her to the ministers for meddling in state affairs, which caused the ministers to contemplate demoting her.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Empress 1079 births 1113 deaths Song dynasty empresses Suicides in the Song dynasty 11th-century Chinese women 11th-century Chinese people 12th-century Chinese women 12th-century Chinese people