Empress Shi (史皇后, personal name unknown) (fl. c. 23 CE) was an

empress The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

for a mere matter of months near the end of the brief

Xin dynasty The Xin dynasty (; ), also known as Xin Mang () in Chinese historiography, was a short-lived Dynasties in Chinese history, Chinese imperial dynasty which lasted from 9 to 23 AD, established by the Han dynasty consort kin Wang Mang, who usurped th ...

. She married emperor

Wang Mang Wang Mang (45 BCE6 October 23 CE), courtesy name Jujun, officially known as the Shijianguo Emperor (), was the founder and the only emperor of the short-lived Chinese Xin dynasty. He was originally an official and consort kin of the ...

in spring 23 CE, as his Xin dynasty was crumbling. Despite that, he married her as a public show of confidence. She was the daughter of one of his officials, Shi Chen (史諶). In autumn of 23, the Xin dynasty's capital

Chang'an Chang'an (; zh, t=長安, s=长安, p=Cháng'ān, first=t) is the traditional name of the city now named Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic time ...

fell, following losses to forces of agrarian rebels – the

Red Eyebrows The Red Eyebrows () was one of the two major peasant rebellion movements against Wang Mang's short-lived Xin dynasty, the other being Lülin. It was so named because the rebels painted their eyebrows red. The rebellion, initially active in t ...

– which were capitalized upon by an army organized and led by members of the formerly-ruling Liu, who were seeking to re-establish the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

. Emperor Wang Mang died in the battle for the main palace,

Weiyang Palace The Weiyang Palace () was the main imperial palace complex of the Han dynasty and numerous other Chinese dynasties, located in the city of Chang'an (modern-day Xi'an). It was built in 200 BC at the request of the Emperor Gaozu of Han, under the s ...

. It is not known what happened to Empress Shi, although it is known that her father, Shi Chen, surrendered to the Han forces and was executed.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Shi Shi, Empress 1st-century Chinese women 1st-century Chinese people