Empress Huyan (呼延皇后, personal name unknown) was an empress of the Chinese/Xiongnu state Han Zhao. She was the founding emperor Liu Yuan (Emperor Guangwen)'s first wife.
The Huyans were likely a great clan of Xiongnu nobility, as Liu Yuan's mother was also named Huyan, making his wife likely a relative of his mother. There were also many Huyans who were important in Han Zhao's government. However, little is known about Empress Huyan herself, other than that when Liu Yuan declared himself Prince of Han in 304, he created her princess. Her father name was Huyan Yi (呼延翼). It was later implied that she was created empress sometime after he declared himself emperor in 307, although the date was not mentioned. She bore him at least one son, Liu He, who later became crown prince and emperor briefly. It is not known when she died, but she appeared to have been dead at least by 310, when Liu Yuan created his second empress, Empress Dan.
| Chinese royalty | ||
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| Preceded by Empress Yang Xianrong of Jin |
Empress of China (Southern Shanxi) 304 – ? |
Succeeded by Empress Dan |
| New dynasty | Princess/Empress of Han Zhao 304 – ? |
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Huyan, Empress Guangwen |
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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)