Empress Liu

Empress Liu (劉皇后, personal name unknown) (died 926), formally Empress Shenminjing (神閔敬皇后, "the unassuming, suffering, and alert empress"), was the second wife and only empress of Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang (Li Cunxu), the founding emperor of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period Later Tang state. In traditional histories, she was regarded as a hoarder of wealth who, during her husband's reign, became extremely powerful, with her own orders carrying the same weight as his own. It was the killing of the major general Guo Chongtao by at her order in 926 that created a cascade of military rebellions that led to Emperor Zhuangzong's downfall and death; she was subsequently killed by his adoptive brother and successor Li Siyuan (Emperor Mingzong).

Background The future Empress Liu was from Cheng'an (成安, in modern Handan, Hebei). Her father, whose name is lost to history, was described to be a capable physician who had a yellow beard, and who referred to himself as Hermit Liu . It is not known exactly when she was born, but she was four or five when, during a raid that Li Cunxu's father Li Keyong the Prince of Jin, then a vassal of the Tang dynasty, conducted on Wei Prefecture , which Cheng'an belonged to, she was captured by Li Keyong's officer Yuan Jianfeng . (As the records of Li Keyong's campaigns only indicated one instance in which he personally raided Wei Prefecture—in 897—it would appear that that was the likely time when Lady Liu was taken, which would make her born in 892 or 893.) She was taken into the Jin palace at Taiyuan, where Li Keyong's favorite concubine Lady Cao (Li Cunxu's mother) took her and taught her how to play the Sheng, as well as singing and dancing. After she grew up, she became very beautiful, and Li Cunxu was attracted to her. there was an occasion when Lady Dowager Cao visited his palace for a feast. At the feast, Lady Dowager Cao had Lady Liu play the Sheng, dance, and sing. After the feast, Lady Dowager Cao left Lady Liu at Li Cunxu's palace, and she thereafter became his concubine. She received the title of Lady of Wei and was, among his consorts, only ranked lower than his wife Lady Han the Lady of Wei (衛國夫人, note different character than Lady Liu's title) and first-ranked concubine Lady Yi the Lady of Yan. Initially, however, another concubine of his, Lady Hou, whom he took as a concubine in 908 after killing her husband Fu Daozhao , a general for Jin's archrival Later Liang, in battle, was his favorite concubine, and he took Lady Hou on his campaigns. Later, however, after Lady Liu gave birth to his oldest son Li Jiji, Li Cunxu believed that Li Jiji was very much like himself and favored both him and Lady Liu greatly. Subsequently, Lady Liu became the one who accompanied him on campaigns. She was said to be intelligent and capable of anticipating Li Cunxu's wishes, such that few other consorts were able to see him. there was an occasion, probably in 917, when Lady Liu's father Hermit Liu, after hearing that his daughter had become an honored concubine of the Prince of Jin, went to his Wei Prefecture palace to try to see her. Li Cunxu, after receiving report of this, summoned Yuan Jianfeng, who confirmed that Hermit Liu was Lady Liu's father. However, Lady Liu had been falsely claiming a much more honored heritage in her struggle for favor against the other consorts, and was angry and ashamed that her father's appearance exposed her account as deceitful. She publicly proclaimed that Hermit Liu was a fraud—that when she was captured, her father had died in battle and that she had mourned him before leaving. She had Hermit Liu whipped and expelled.

During Li Cunxu's reign as Emperor of Later Tang In 923, Li Cunxu declared himself the emperor of a newly restored Tang dynasty—which traditionally became known as Later Tang (as its Emperor Zhuangzong)—at Xingtang (興唐, i.e., Wei Prefecture). At that time, despite his years of military success against Later Liang, the Later Liang emperor Zhu Zhen was planning a major counterattack against him, commanded by the general Duan Ning. Further, the Later Tang territory was then facing a famine as well as the potential threat of Khitan incursions. After a successful surprise attack that his general and adoptive brother Li Siyuan carried out that captured Yun Prefecture (鄆州, in modern Tai'an, Shandong), Li Cunxu decided to head south, rendezvous with Li Siyuan, and make a final attack against Later Liang. Believing that if he failed, Later Tang would fall entirely, he sent Lady Liu and Li Jiji back to Xingtang, telling them, "Whether this endeavor is successful or not depends on this one gamble. If we fail, you should gather our household at the Wei palace and set fire to it!" He subsequently launched a surprise attack on the Later Liang capital Daliang, capturing it. Zhu Zhen committed suicide, ending Later Liang and allowing Later Tang to take over the remaining Later Liang territory.

Emperor Zhuangzong subsequently moved the capital to Luoyang.

In 925, the Later Tang territory was suffering another serious famine, such that even the family members of Emperor Zhuangzong's elite Yinqiang guard troops were starving to death. Despite this, Empress Liu refused to release her wealth for famine relief. Meanwhile, though, Later Tang forces under the command of Li Jiji and Guo (with Li Jiji in titular command but with Guo actually in charge of the operations) attacked and conquered Later Tang's southwestern neighbor Former Shu.

Death Empress Liu and her brother-in-law (Emperor Zhuangzong's younger brother) Li Cunwo gathered up the treasures and fled north, heading for the old capital Taiyuan, apparently believing that they could find refuge there and wait for Li Jiji's return from the Shu lands. On the way, they engaged in sexual relations. Once they reached Taiyuan, however, the general Li Yanchao , who had shortly before seized control of the city from Zhang Xian , the official that Emperor Zhuangzong had put in charge of defending Taiyuan, refused to allow Li Cunwo into the city, and Li Cunwo was subsequently killed by his own guards. Empress Liu took tonsure and became a Buddhist nun. Shortly after, though, after Li Siyuan entered Luoyang and claimed the title of regent, he sent emissaries to Taiyuan and ordered that she be killed. Shortly after, Li Siyuan took the throne (as Emperor Mingzong). Subsequently, after Emperor Mingzong's son-in-law Shi Jingtang overthrew Emperor Mingzong's adoptive son and successor Li Congke and established Later Jin, he honored Empress Liu posthumously.