Empress Shan (單皇后, personal name unknown; died 310) was an empress 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 Chinese

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. She was the second wife of the founding emperor Liu Yuan (Emperor Guangwen). Her name can be rendered as Empress Dan.

Biography

Empress Shan's father Shan Zheng was a Di chieftain, who submitted to Han-Zhao in 308. It is not known when she married Liu Yuan, but he made her his wife and empress in early 310, while also creating his son Liu He, by his first wife Empress Huyan,

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, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

. However, Empress Shan's son Liu Ai, while described as "young" in 310, was already capable of independent thinking, implying that he was an older child or young adult by that time. Liu Yuan died later that year and was succeeded by Liu He, who was however overthrown and killed by Liu Cong – another son of Liu Yuan, born to Consort Zhang – after a week as emperor. Liu Cong initially offered the throne to Liu Ai, but Liu Ai declined, and Liu Cong took the throne himself. He honored Empress Shan 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 monarch, especially in regards to Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese monarchs in the Chines ...

and named her son Liu Ai crown prince. Empress Dowager Shan was described as still young and beautiful at that point, and she carried on an affair with Liu Cong, which was considered

incest Incest ( ) is sexual intercourse, sex between kinship, close relatives, for example a brother, sister, or parent. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by lineag ...

in Chinese culture. Crown Prince Ai became aware of the affair and tried to persuade her to end it. Knowing that her son knew about the affair, she died late in 310, described as having died "of her shame," implying that she might have committed suicide.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dan, Empress 310 deaths Former Zhao empresses Year of birth unknown 4th-century Chinese women 4th-century Chinese people