Empress Xiaowu Si 孝武思皇后 | |||||||||
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Empress consort of Western Han dynasty | |||||||||
Tenure | 30 April 128 BC[1]– 9 September 91 BC | ||||||||
Predecessor | Empress Chen | ||||||||
Successor | Empress Shangguan | ||||||||
Born | Unknown[2] | ||||||||
Died | 9 September 91 BC Chang'an | ||||||||
Spouse | Emperor Wu of Han | ||||||||
Issue |
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Mother | Madam Wei (衛媼) |
Wei Zifu (simplified Chinese: 卫子夫; traditional Chinese: 衛子夫; pinyin: Weì Zǐfū; Wade–Giles: Wei Tzu-fu; died 9 September 91 BC[3]), posthumously known as Empress Si of the Filial Wu (Chinese: 孝武思皇后; pinyin: Xiàowǔ Sī Huánghòu) or Wei Si Hou (衛思后, "Wei the Thoughtful Empress"), was an empress consort during ancient China's Han dynasty. She was the second wife of the famous Emperor Wu and his spouse for 49 years. She stayed as his empress for 38 years, the second longest in Chinese history (behind only the 47-year reign of Empress Wang, the wife of Ming dynasty's Wanli Emperor, who lived over 1,600 years later). She was the mother of Emperor Wu's heir apparent Liu Ju and a great-grandmother of Liu Bingyi, as well as an older half-sister of the famed general Wei Qing, a younger aunt of Huo Qubing, and a step-aunt of Han statesman Huo Guang.