Empress Yang (; personal name unknown; died 386) 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 ...

of the Di-led Former Qin dynasty of China. Her husband was

Fu Pi Fu Pi (; fl. 357 - November 386), courtesy name Yongshu (永叔), also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Aiping of Former Qin (前秦哀平帝), was an emperor of the Di-led Former Qin dynasty of China. He was Fu Jiān (Emperor Xuanzhao ...

(Emperor Aiping). She was already Fu Pi's wife and duchess at least by 380, when her brother Yang Ying (楊膺) was described as one of the Di officers who commanded soldiers distributed to Fu Pi, then serving as

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

over the six eastern provinces formerly ruled by

Former Yan Yan, known in historiography as the Former Yan (; 337–370), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Murong clan of the Xianbei during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. From Liaoning, the Former Yan later conquered and ruled over Hebei, Shaanxi, ...

, as part of

Fu Jiān Fu or FU may refer to: In arts and entertainment * Fool Us, Penn & Teller's magic-competition television show *Fǔ, a type of ancient Chinese vessel * Fu (poetry) (赋), a Chinese genre of rhymed prose *'' FU: Friendship Unlimited'', a 2017 Mara ...

(Emperor Xuanzhao)'s plan to distribute his Di people around the empire to serve as a stabilizing force. When the empire subsequently began collapsing in 384 following the failure to conquer Jin and defeat at the

Battle of Fei River The Battle of Fei River, also known as the Battle of Feishui (), took place in the autumn of 383 AD in China, where forces of the Di (Five Barbarians), Di-led Former Qin, Former Qin dynasty were decisively defeated by the outnumbered army of the ...

in 383, Yang Ying suggested to Fu Pi, whose headquarters of Yecheng (鄴城, in modern

Handan Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Hebei province, China. The southernmost prefecture-level city of the province, it borders Xingtai on the north, and the provinces of Shanxi on the west, Henan on the south and Shando ...

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

) was the only city in the eastern empire that had not fallen either to Jin or to the new state

Later Yan Yan, known in historiography as the Later Yan (; 384 – 407 or 409), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Xianbei people during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms. The prefix "Later" to distinguish them from the Former Yan before them and othe ...

, established by the rebel general

Murong Chui Murong Chui (; 326 – 2 June 396), courtesy name Daoming (道明), Xianbei name Altun (阿六敦), also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Chengwu of Later Yan (後燕成武帝), was the founding emperor of China's Later Yan dynasty ...

, that he should surrender to Jin. When Fu Pi refused, Yang Ying conspired with another official, Jiang Rang (姜讓), to forcibly seize Fu Pi and surrender to Jin, but was discovered and killed. Despite this, Duchess Yang remained Fu Pi's wife. In 385, the Former Qin 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 to the rebel state

Western Yan Yan, known in historiography as the Western Yan (; 384–394) was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Xianbei ethnicity. The dynasty existed during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms, but it is not counted among the 16. It was founded by Murong Hong ...

, and Fu Jiān was killed by another rebel general,

Yao Chang Yao Chang (; 331–394), courtesy name Jingmao (景茂), also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Wuzhao of Later Qin (後秦武昭帝), was the founding emperor of the Qiang-led Chinese Later Qin dynasty. His father Yao Yizhong had bee ...

the founder of

Later Qin Qin, known in historiography as the Later Qin ( zh, s=后秦, t=後秦, p=Hòuqín; 384–417) or Yao Qin (), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Yao clan of Qiang ethnicity during the Sixteen Kingdoms period in northern China. As the onl ...

. Upon hearing this news, Fu Pi, who had then withdrawn from Yecheng to Jinyang (晉陽, in modern

Taiyuan Taiyuan; Mandarin pronunciation: (Jin Chinese, Taiyuan Jin: /tʰai˦˥ ye˩˩/) is the capital of Shanxi, China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. It is an industrial base foc ...

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

), declared himself emperor, and he created Princess Yang empress. In 386, however, as he tried to intercept Western Yan's prince Murong Yong, who was trying to return east, he was defeated by Murong Yong, and Empress Yang was captured. Fu Pi would then be intercepted by the Jin general Feng Gai (馮該) and killed. Murong Yong wanted to take Empress Yang as a consort, but she tried to assassinate him with a sword. He then put her to death.

References

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