Empress Yin (, personal name unknown) (80? – August 102 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 ...

during the Eastern

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 ...

. She was Emperor He's first wife. She was a daughter of Yin Gang (), a grandson of

Emperor Guangwu Emperor Guangwu of Han (; 15 January 5 BC29 March AD 57), born Liu Xiu (), courtesy name Wenshu (), was a Chinese monarch. He served as an emperor of the Han dynasty by restoring the dynasty in AD 25, thus founding the Eastern Han dynasty. He ...

's wife Empress

Yin Lihua Yin Lihua (; 5–26 February 64 AD), formally Empress Guanglie (光烈皇后), was an empress during the Eastern Han dynasty. She was the second empress of her husband Emperor Guangwu (Liu Xiu), even though she was his first wife and married ...

's brother Yin Shi (). She became an imperial consort in 92 and quickly became a favorite of Emperor He. She was described as beautiful but short and clumsy, and often unable to carry out the ceremonies that empresses are to perform with physical grace. She was also described as arrogant due to her noble heritage. On 31 March 96, Emperor He made her empress. In 97, he gave her father, Yin Gang, the title of the Marquess of Wufang. As the years went by, Empress Yin began to lose Emperor He's favor, particularly because she was jealous of another favorite of his, Consort

Deng Sui Deng Sui ( zh, t=鄧綏; 81 – 17 April 121), formally Empress Hexi ( zh, t=和熹皇后, links=no, l=moderate and pacifying empress), was an empress of the Eastern Han dynasty through her marriage to Emperor He of Han, and later its '' de fact ...

, who came from a noble lineage herself (She was the granddaughter of Emperor Guangwu's prime minister

Deng Yu Deng Yu (2 – June 585th month of the 1st year of the ''Yong'ping'' era, per Emperor Ming's biography in ''Book of the Later Han''. The month corresponds to 11 Jun to 9 Jul 58 in the Julian calendar.), courtesy name Zhonghua, was a Chinese sta ...

). Compared to Empress Yin's arrogance, Consort Deng was described as humble and always trying to maintain peaceful relations with other consorts and ladies in waiting. She, concerned that Emperor He was continually losing sons in young age, often would recommend other consorts for Emperor He to have sexual relations with, while Empress Yin did not. She therefore became more and more popular. Once, when Emperor He was ill, Empress Yin made the remark that if she became empress dowager, the Dengs would be slaughtered—and upon hearing that remark, Consort Deng considered committing suicide, and one of her ladies in waiting saved her by falsely telling her that the emperor had recovered. However, the emperor did soon recover, so Consort Deng and her family escaped a terrible fate. In 102, Empress Yin and her grandmother, Deng Zhu (), were accused of using witchcraft to curse imperial consorts (probably including Consort Deng). Lady Deng and her sons, as well as Empress Yin's brother Yin Fu (), died under interrogation and torture. Empress Yin was deposed on 24 July, and her father Yin Gang () committed suicide. The rest of her family was exiled. She herself died later that year. After she was deposed, Consort Deng was created empress to replace her. In 110, Deng Sui (now Empress Dowager) allowed the Yin family and relatives to return home, giving back to them all the confiscated wealth and 500 teals of silver as compensation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yin, Empress He 80 births 103 deaths Han dynasty empresses 1st-century Chinese women 1st-century Chinese people 2nd-century Chinese women 2nd-century Chinese people