Empress Dou (Zhang)
Empress Dou (竇皇后, personal name unknown) (died 97), formally Empress Zhangde (章德皇后, literally "the polite and virtuous empress"), was an empress during Han Dynasty. Her husband was Emperor Zhang. She was already influential during her husband's reign, but became particularly powerful as empress dowager regent for her adoptive son Emperor He after Emperor Zhang's death. Her family members, particularly her brother Dou Xian (竇憲), became extremely powerful, until they were toppled in a coup d'etat by Emperor He, in 92. Empress Dou lost her power, but remained honored until her death.
Read more about Empress Dou (Zhang): Family Background, Marriage To Emperor Zhang and Palatial Intrigue, As Empress Dowager and Regent, After The Fall of The Dou Clan
Famous quotes containing the word empress:
“We never really are the adults we pretend to be. We wear the mask and perhaps the clothes and posture of grown-ups, but inside our skin we are never as wise or as sure or as strong as we want to convince ourselves and others we are. We may fool all the rest of the people all of the time, but we never fool our parents. They can see behind the mask of adulthood. To her mommy and daddy, the empress never has on any clothes—and knows it.”
—Frank Pittman (20th century)