Liang Na
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Liang Na (; 116 – 6 April 150), formally Empress Shunlie (順烈皇后, literally "the kind and achieving empress"), 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
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 ...
. Her husband was
Emperor Shun of Han Emperor Shun of Han (; 115 – 20 September 144) was an emperor of China, emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty and the eighth emperor of the Eastern Han. He reigned from December 125 to September 144. Emperor Shun (Prince Bao) was the only son o ...
. She later served as
regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
for his son Emperor Chong, and the two subsequent emperors from collateral lines, Emperor Zhi and Emperor Huan. 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 regent, she appeared to be diligent and honest, but she overly trusted her violent and corrupt elder brother
Liang Ji Liang Ji (梁冀) (died 9 September 159), courtesy name Bozhuo (伯卓), was a Chinese military general and politician. As a powerful consort kin, he dominated government in the 150s together with his younger sister, Empress Liang Na. After hi ...
, whose autocratic nature would eventually draw a '' coup d'etat'' from Emperor Huan after Empress Dowager Liang's death, leading to the destruction of the Liang clan.


Family background and marriage to Emperor Shun

The future empress was born in 116. Her father was Liang Shang (梁商)—an honest official who was also the Marquess of Chengshi, being a grandson of a brother of Consort Liang, the mother of Emperor He. Liang Na was described as diligent in handcraft and sewing, as well as history and the
Confucian classics The Chinese classics or canonical texts are the works of Chinese literature authored prior to the establishment of the imperial Qin dynasty in 221 BC. Prominent examples include the Four Books and Five Classics in the Neo-Confucian traditi ...
, as a child. In 128, when she was 12, both she and her paternal aunt were selected to be Emperor Shun's imperial consorts. (Emperor Shun was 13.) She was a favored consort, but she often declined offers to have sexual relations with the emperor, reasoning that an emperor needs to be equitable and give opportunities to other consorts. Emperor Shun became greatly impressed with her. In 131, when he was considering creating an empress, he initially considered asking the gods for guidance and drawing lots from between four of his favorites, but after officials discouraged him from drawing lots, he considered Consort Liang most virtuous, so created her empress on 2 March 132.


As empress

As empress, Empress Liang continued to show humility, and did not interfere significantly in her husband's administration. Emperor Shun, however, became very trustful of her relatives, and her father Liang Shang was quickly promoted repeatedly, eventually becoming Grand Marshal (大將軍). Liang Shang was a mild-mannered and honest man, although lacking in abilities. He did, however, trust other capable and honest officials, and during his term of office, the political scene was a lot cleaner than before. Eventually, Empress Liang's brothers
Liang Ji Liang Ji (梁冀) (died 9 September 159), courtesy name Bozhuo (伯卓), was a Chinese military general and politician. As a powerful consort kin, he dominated government in the 150s together with his younger sister, Empress Liang Na. After hi ...
and Liang Buyi (梁不疑) also became key officials. On 22 September 141, Liang Shang died, and Emperor Shun, in an ill-advised move, gave his position to Liang Ji. Liang Ji would, as the years go by, stamp out all dissent and position himself as the most powerful individual in the imperial administration. Throughout her husband's reign, Empress Liang continued to be a favorite of Emperor Shun's, but she never bore a son for him. Emperor Shun was only known to have had one son—Liu Bing (劉炳), born to Consort Yu in 143. On 3 June 144,''xinsi'' day of the 4th month of the 1st year of the ''Jian'kang'' era, per Emperor Shun's biography in ''Book of the Later Han'' as Emperor Shun was growing ill, he created the toddler
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 ...
. He died four months later, and Crown Prince Bing succeeded to the throne as Emperor Chong. Empress Liang, now empress dowager, served as regent.


As regent for Emperors Chong and Zhi

Empress Dowager Liang appeared to be diligent in governing over the empire, and she trusted several key officials with integrity to advise her on important affairs. However, she also trusted her brother Liang Ji greatly, and Liang used her position to further consolidate his own. However, she was willing to go against his advice on a number of occasions, and she, for example, protected the honest official Li Gu (李固) against Liang Ji's demands to execute Li, in 145. In 145, the young Emperor Chong died, and in an effort to be open to people, Empress Dowager Liang announced his death openly immediately. She summoned the young emperor's third cousins Liu Suan (劉蒜), the Prince of Qinghe, and Liu Zuan (劉纘), the son of Liu Hong (劉鴻) the Prince of Bohai, to the capital
Luoyang Luoyang ( zh, s=洛阳, t=洛陽, p=Luòyáng) is a city located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River in the west of Henan province, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zheng ...
, to be examined as potential successors. Prince Suan was probably an adult, and was described as solemn and proper, and the key officials largely favored him. However, Liang Ji wanted a young emperor whom he could control, so he convinced Empress Dowager Liang to make the seven-year-old Liu Zuan emperor (as Emperor Zhi). Empress Dowager Liang continued to serve as regent. In 146, after the young Emperor Zhi showed signs that he was already cognizant of Liang Ji's corruption and offended Liang Ji by openly calling him "an arrogant general," Liang Ji had him poisoned, apparently without Empress Dowager Liang's knowledge. The key officials again largely favored Prince Suan as successor, but Liang Ji again vetoed their wishes, and instead persuaded Empress Dowager Liang to make the 14-year-old Liu Zhi (劉志), the Marquess of Liwu, who was betrothed to Empress Dowager Liang's and Liang Ji's sister Liang Nüying, emperor (as Emperor Huan). Empress Dowager Liang continued to serve as regent.


As regent for Emperor Huan

Serving as regent for Emperor Huan, Empress Dowager Liang largely continued her policies as before, but Liang Ji became ever more powerful and was able to finally pushed Li Gu out of the government in 146 after Li Gu had publicly opposed Emperor Huan's ascension. In 147, Emperor Huan married Empress Dowager Liang's sister Liang Nüying and created her empress. Later that year, Liang Ji falsely accused Li Gu and Prince Suan of a conspiracy to start a military rebellion. Prince Suan was demoted to be Marquess of Weishi, and he committed suicide. Li, and another key official who opposed Liang Ji, Du Qiao (杜喬), were executed. In 150, Empress Dowager Liang announced that she was stepping down as regent and returning imperial authorities to Emperor Huan. She died later that year and was buried with her husband Emperor Shun. However, Liang Ji remained in effective control of government and now, without his sister to curb his power, became ever more violent and corrupt. This eventually drew a reaction from Emperor Huan, who conspired with
eunuch A eunuch ( , ) is a male who has been castration, castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2 ...
s to overthrow Liang Ji in a coup d'état in 159. The Liang clan was slaughtered.


References

* ''
Book of Later Han The ''Book of the Later Han'', also known as the ''History of the Later Han'' and by its Chinese name ''Hou Hanshu'' (), is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the history of the Han dynasty from 6 to 189 CE, a period known as the Late ...
'', vol. 10, part 2. * ''
Zizhi Tongjian The ''Zizhi Tongjian'' (1084) is a chronicle published during the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) that provides a record of Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning almost 1400 years. The main text is ...
'', vols. 51, 52, 53, 54. {{DEFAULTSORT:Liang, Na Han dynasty empresses 116 births 150 deaths 2nd-century women regents Han dynasty regents Han dynasty empresses dowager 2nd-century regents