Empress He (Han dynasty)

In this Chinese name, the family name is He.
Empress He / Empress Dowager He
何皇后 / 何太后
Empress consort of the Han dynasty
Tenure8 Jan 181 – 13 May 189
PredecessorEmpress Song
SuccessorEmpress Fu
Empress dowager of the Han dynasty
Tenure15 May – 30 Sep 189
PredecessorEmpress Xiaoren
BornUnknown
Died30 September 189
SpouseEmperor Ling of Han
IssueEmperor Shao of Han
Posthumous name
Empress Lingsi (靈思皇后)
FatherHe Zhen
MotherLady of Wuyang

Empress He (died 30 September 189[1][2]), personal name unknown, posthumously known as Empress Lingsi, was an empress of the Eastern Han dynasty. She was the second empress consort of Emperor Ling and the mother of Emperor Shao. After the death of Emperor Ling in 189, she became empress dowager when her young son, Liu Bian (Emperor Shao), became the new emperor. She was caught up in the conflict between her brother, General-in-Chief He Jin, and the eunuch faction, who were both vying for power in the Han imperial court. After He Jin's assassination and the elimination of the eunuch faction, the warlord Dong Zhuo took advantage of the power vacuum to lead his forces into the imperial capital and seize control of the Han central government. Dong Zhuo subsequently deposed Emperor Shao, replaced him with Liu Xie (Emperor Xian) and had Empress Dowager He poisoned to death.

  1. ^ Both Annals of the Later Han by Yuan Hong and Liu Xie's biography in Book of the Later Han recorded that Empress Dowager He was killed by Dong Zhuo on the bingzi day of the 9th month of the 6th year of the Zhongping era of Liu Hong's reign. This corresponds to 30 Sep 189 in the proleptic Gregorian calendar.[(中平六年九月)丙子，太后何氏崩，董卓杀之也。] Houhanji vol. 25
  2. ^ While Lady He's birth year was not recorded, her son Liu Bian was born in 173/6. Thus, her birth year should be in or before 161.