Empress Wu

Who was Empress Wu?

Empress Wu, personal name unknown, formally known as Empress Mu, was an empress of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. She was the last wife and the only empress of Liu Bei, the founding emperor of Shu Han, and a younger sister of Wu Yi. Her father, whose name is not recorded in history, was a friend of Liu Yan, and followed Liu Yan to Yi Province when Liu Yan was made the governor. Because of the friendship between her father and Liu Yan, she was married to Liu Yan's son Liu Mao. After Liu Mao's death, she did not remarry for some time.

When Liu Bei seized Yi Province from Lady Wu's brother-in-law Liu Zhang in 214, he had been effectively divorced from his wife Lady Sun, the younger sister of Sun Quan. He married Lady Wu. When he claimed for himself the title of the "King of Hanzhong" in 219, he made her his queen consort. After the fall of the Eastern Han Dynasty in 220, Liu Bei claimed for himself the Han imperial title in 221, establishing Shu. Later that year, he created her empress. After his death in 223, his son and successor Liu Shan honoured her as empress dowager. She died in 245.