china Archives - Page 4 of 40 - History of Royal Women

Empress Dowager Yang Lihua – The Empress Dowager of Northern Zhou Dynasty who became a Princess of the Sui Dynasty

Wednesday, 18 March 2026, 6:00 Lauralee Swann 0

Empress Dowager Yang Lihua was the last Empress of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. She was the empress consort of Emperor Xuan of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. After Emperor Xuan’s death, Yang Lihua became the Empress Dowager. She was empress dowager for one year because her father, Yang Jian, took the throne and became the first [read more]

Queen Qianjin – The Queen who was the Sui Dynasty’s greatest enemy

Tuesday, 17 March 2026, 6:00 Lauralee Swann 0

Queen Qianjin was the wife of three Turkic Khans. She was made queen in her third marriage to her stepson, Khan Tulan Qaghan.[1] Queen Qianjin was originally a princess of the Northern Zhou Dynasty.[2] However, the Northern Zhou Dynasty was destroyed, and the Sui Dynasty killed her family.[3] Queen Qianjin harboured a deep hatred for the [read more]

Empress Xiao – The tragic life of the last Empress of the Sui Dynasty

Saturday, 14 March 2026, 6:00 Lauralee Swann 0

Empress Xiao was the last Empress of the Sui Dynasty. She was the empress consort of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty. She was originally a princess of the Western Liang Dynasty.[1] After Emperor Yang’s death, she spent fourteen years in exile. Empress Xiao has recently garnered some attention when archaeologists unearthed her crown in [read more]

Empress Dowager Mu – The unobtrusive Empress

Thursday, 19 February 2026, 6:00 Lauralee Swann 0

Empress Dowager Mu was the empress consort of Emperor Liu Bei of Shu during the Three Kingdoms era.[1] Empress Dowager Mu lived during a tumultuous time.[2] She was born at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, which was plagued by internal conflicts and peasant uprisings. Empress Dowager Mu was once an orphan.[3] Yet a physiognomist once [read more]

Empress Dowager Wang Zhenfeng – The Empress Dowager who refused to look at the Emperor’s naked Imperial Consorts

Wednesday, 11 February 2026, 6:00 Lauralee Swann 0

Empress Dowager Wang Zhenfeng was Empress to Emperor Ming of the Liu-Song Dynasty. She also witnessed the fall of her own dynasty.[1] She was said to be a smart Empress, but could not save her own dynasty.[2] Empress Dowager Wang Zhenfeng is also known as the Empress who refused to look at Emperor Ming’s naked [read more]

Grand Princess Sun Luban – The Grand Princess who killed her own sister

Tuesday, 10 February 2026, 6:00 Lauralee Swann 0

Grand Princess Sun Luban was one of the most powerful princesses during the Three Kingdoms era.[1] She was the daughter of Emperor Sun Quan of the Wu Dynasty. She was also very influential and helped establish the next Emperor.[2] She would often maliciously accuse those whom she disliked.[3] She even killed her own sister, Princess Sun [read more]