Liang Nüying () (died 9 August 159), formally Empress Yixian (懿獻皇后, literally "the meek and wise 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 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 Huan's first wife.

Family background

It is not known when Liang Nüying was born, but what is known is that in her young age she was accustomed to an honored position as a daughter of the Grand Marshal Liang Shang (梁商) and a younger sister of Empress

Liang Na Liang Na (; 116 – 6 April 150), formally Empress Shunlie (順烈皇后, literally "the kind and achieving empress"), was an empress during the Han dynasty. Her husband was Emperor Shun of Han. She later served as regent for his son Emperor Chon ...

Emperor Shun Emperor Shun ( zh, c=帝舜, p=Dì Shùn) was a legendary leader of ancient China, regarded by some sources as one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors being the last of the Five Emperors. Tradition holds that he lived sometime between 229 ...

's wife, and later regent to his son Emperor Chong, and two successors from collateral lines, Emperors Zhi and Huan. Indeed, it was because she was betrothed to Emperor Huan (who was then the Marquess of Liwu) that her elder brother, the powerful

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 ...

, insisted on making him emperor in August 146 after poisoning Emperor Zhi. After Emperor Huan became emperor, he married her in 147 and created her empress on 30 September.

As empress

As an empress, Empress Liang was somewhat in the shadow of her sister, the

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 brother, and not much is known about her. Traditional history indicates that because of her honored position as the empress dowager's sister, initially, Emperor Huan did not dare to have any other favorite consorts. She was described as so luxurious in her living that her expenses far exceeded the empresses of the past. After her sister died in April 150, she began to lose Emperor Huan's favor, but she continued to be greatly jealous. As she was sonless, she did not want any imperial consorts to have sons—so she would have them killed if they became pregnant. With Liang Ji effectively in control of government, Emperor Huan did not dare to respond, but he would rarely have sexual relations with her. Empress Liang died in anger on August 9, 159 and was buried with the honors of an empress. On 28 August of that same year, she was buried in Yiling. Later that year, Emperor Huan, in conjunction 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, overthrew Liang Ji in a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

. The Liang clan was slaughtered. On September 14, Empress Liang's tomb was retitled a tomb of an "Honored Lady", effectively meaning that she was posthumously demoted. On the same day, Deng Mengnü was made empress.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liang Nuying, Empress Han dynasty empresses 2nd-century Chinese women 2nd-century Chinese people 159 deaths Year of birth unknown