Princess Shi (; personal name unknown), who might have taken the title Empress Shi () at one point, was the wife of

Lü Guang Lü Guang (; 337–400), courtesy name Shiming (世明), also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Yiwu of Later Liang (後涼懿武帝), was the founding emperor of the Di-led Chinese Later Liang dynasty (although during most of his reig ...

(Emperor Yiwu), the founder of the Di-led Later Liang dynasty of China. Very little is known about her. What is known is that when Lü Guang, who was then a

Former Qin Qin, known as the Former Qin and Fu Qin (苻秦) in historiography, was a Dynasties of China, dynastic state of China ruled by the Fu (Pu) clan of the Di (Five Barbarians), Di peoples during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. Founded in the wake of ...

general, was sent by the Former Qin emperor

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 ...

in 383 on a mission to subdue the Xiyu (西域, modern

Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...

and former Soviet

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

) kingdoms, she did not accompany her husband but remained in 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 ...

with his son

Lü Shao Lü Shao (; died 400), courtesy name Yongye (永業), also known by his posthumous name as the Prince Yin of Later Liang (後涼隱王), was briefly the second ruler of the Di-led Later Liang dynasty of China, ruling as its Heavenly King. He wa ...

, who was probably her son as well. When Chang'an fell to

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 ...

forces in 385, they fled to the semi-independent state

Chouchi Chouchi ( zh, c=仇池, p=Chóuchí), or Qiuchi ( zh, p=Qiúchí), was a polity in China ruled by the Yang clan of Di ethnicity in modern-day Gansu Province. Its existence spanned both the Sixteen Kingdoms and Northern and Southern dynasties per ...

, and after Lü Guang established Later Liang after returning from his Xiyu mission and seizing Liang Province (涼州, modern central and western

Gansu Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...

), they arrived in his capital Guzang (姑臧, in modern Wuwei,

) in 389. Lü Guang, who then carried the title Prince of Sanhe, created her his princess and created Lü Shao

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

. By the time he claimed the imperial title "Heavenly King" (''

Tian Wang Heavenly King or Tian Wang (), also translated as Heavenly Prince, is a Chinese title for various religious deities and divine leaders throughout history, as well as an alternate form of the term ''Son of Heaven'', referring to the emperor. The ...

'') in 396 and created Lü Shao

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 ...

, she was not mentioned, implying that she might have died by that point, and there was no further reference to her in history. If she had in fact survived to 396, she would have likely been created empress. The table below assumes that she survived to 400 when Lü Guang died, but that was in fact not likely.

References

, - style="text-align: center;" , - style="text-align: center;" , - , - , - Later Liang (Sixteen Kingdoms) empresses 4th-century deaths Year of birth unknown {{China-royal-stub