Empress dowager

Empress Dowager (Chinese & Japanese : 皇太后, pinyin húang tài hòu,Japanese pronunciation:Koutaigou) was entitled to the mother or a woman from the mother generation of the Chinese dynastic ruler. Appeared more frequently than the Grand Empress Dowager, numerous empress dowagers held regency within the beginning years of reign of an underage or young emperor. Nevertheless the most prominent and infamous dowagers extended long periods of regency even after the emperor was matured enough to govern alone, which was a source of political turmoil according to traditional view of Chinese history.

Chronological list of famous Chinese empress dowagers

Han dynasty

• Empress Dowager Lü
• Empress Dowager Dou
• Empress Dowager Deng
• Empress Dowager Liang
• Empress Dowager He

Northern Dynasties

• Empress Dowager Feng
• Empress Dowager Hu

Tang Dynasty

• Empress Dowager Wu, more commonly known as Wu Zetian
• Empress Dowager Wei, daughter-in-law of Wu Zetian.

Qing Dynasty

• Empress Dowager Cixi
• Empress Dowager Cian

See also

• Grand Empress Dowager
• Concubine
• Consort
• Consort clan
• Princess
• Queen mother
• Queen Dowager