Empress Lü

Lü Zhi was the wife of Han founder Liu Bang and ruled the empire as regent after his death. She was the first woman to exercise supreme power in China.

Emperor Hui of Han: The second emperor of the Han dynasty, who ruled from 195 to 188 BCE under his mother Lü Zhi’s influence. His accession made Lü Zhi regent in practice, although he held the imperial title.
Chu–Han Contention: The civil war from 206 to 202 BCE in which Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu and founded the Han dynasty. Lü Zhi’s family survived the conflict that established her husband as emperor.
Liu Ying: The personal name of Emperor Hui of Han, Liu Bang and Lü Zhi’s son. As her son and nominal sovereign, he occupied the throne during her regency.
Empress Lü’s execution of Consort Qi: The killing and mutilation of Consort Qi, a favored concubine of Liu Bang, ordered by Lü Zhi after his death. This notorious act became the starkest account of her vengeance and court power.
Lü Clan Disturbance: The 180 BCE overthrow and killing of Lü Zhi’s relatives by Han officials and allied royal forces. Its aftermath ended the Lü family’s control and secured the next imperial succession.
Liu Bang: The peasant-born leader who defeated rival warlords and became the founding emperor of the Han dynasty. Her marriage to Liu Bang tied her fortunes to the dynasty’s founding and succession.
Zhou Bo: A Han general and statesman who helped overthrow the Lü family in 180 BCE. He led the military coalition that ended the family’s dominance after her death.
Records of the Grand Historian: Sima Qian’s history of early China, completed in the first century BCE. Its account of Lü Zhi strongly influenced how later generations judged her rule.
Emperor Wen of Han: The fifth Han emperor, whose reign from 180 to 157 BCE began after the Lü clan was removed from power. His enthronement followed the purge that dismantled the political order Lü Zhi had built.
Xiang Yu: A powerful military leader who contested control of China with Liu Bang after the fall of Qin. Liu Bang’s victory over Xiang Yu established the imperial position Lü Zhi later wielded.

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