Empress Gou

Empress Gou (苟皇后, personal name unknown) was an empress of the Di-led Former Qin dynasty of China.[1] Her husband was Fu Jiān, who created her empress in 355 after seizing the throne from his violent and cruel cousin Fu Sheng[2][3] even though he claimed only the title of "Heavenly King" (Tian Wang).

Very little is known about Empress Gou. She might have been a relative of Fu Jiān's mother Empress Dowager Gou, but there is not enough evidence. She was still alive in 359, when she participated in a ceremonial feeding of silkworms,[3] but there was no further record of her in history, including whether she survived to her husband's death in 385.

When Fu Jiān's crown prince Fu Hong fled to Jin in 385, he was recorded to have done so with his mother, who was likely to be Empress Gou.

  1. ^ 陳茂松；陳豐 (2004). 打草驚蛇：王猛打擊黑金 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 遠流出版. ISBN 978-957-32-5348-8.
  2. ^ Wang, Congren; Zhang, Zongzhi (1994). Tales about Prime Ministers in Chinese History. Hai Feng Publishing Company. ISBN 978-962-238-219-0.
  3. ^ a b 陳茂松；陳豐 (2004). 打草驚蛇：王猛打擊黑金 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 遠流出版. ISBN 978-957-32-5348-8.