吕

CIVILIZATION DOSSIER

Empress Lü吕后

Archaic / OtherHistory × Fiction

Empress Dowager of Han, killed Zhao King Ruyi.

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DIRECT FIGURES
31
RELATION RECORDS
46
SOURCE WORKS
7

RELATIONSHIP COMPASS

Empress Lü, and the people around them.

Open one chapter at a time. Each chapter gives the relationship first, then the source text behind it.

01
KINSHIP

Kinship

Blood, marriage and sworn bonds

5 figures · 7 records
2 more in the complete record
02
ALLEGIANCE

Allegiance

Rulers, appointments and allegiance

13 figures · 14 records
10 more in the complete record
03
CONFLICT

Conflict

Battles, captures and defeat

13 figures · 14 records
10 more in the complete record
04
THE UNSEEN

Mythic acts

Transformation, aid and divine punishment

5 figures · 5 records
2 more in the complete record
Complete relationships and verbatim sources ↓Open in the civilization atlas ↗

12 key relationships are shown here. The complete record remains below.

In history · Records of the Three Kingdoms · Records of the Grand Historian · Old Book of Tang

Empress Dowager of Han, killed Zhao King Ruyi; after Emperor Gaozu of Han, the Lü clan wielded power; as Empress Dowager of Han, imprisoned and killed the three Zhao kings.

In fiction · Book of the Later Han · Extensive Records of the Taiping Era · Researches into Lost Records · Book of Han

Wife of Liu Bang, hid a sword in the armory, renamed it Lingjin Zang; received the sword of Emperor Gaozu, stored it in the treasury; as Empress of Emperor Gaozu of Han, in the third year of Empress Lü, grain rained from the sky.

Across source works

How this figure changes across texts

Works are shown side by side, not as a chronology. No influence between texts is inferred.

  1. Official history

    Book of Han

    28 profile notes
    27 relations34 verified quotations
    • Liu Bang→ spouse →Empress Lü
    • Empress Lü→ spouse →Liu Bang
    • Empress Lü→ slay →Han Xin
    • Empress Lü→ harass →Xiongnu
    Verified original text · 34
    1. 高后称制

      spouse · Book of Han, 叙传下

    2. 吕后恐

      spouse · Book of Han, 张陈王周传

    32 more verified quotations in the relationship records below.

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  2. Official history

    Book of the Later Han

    2 profile notes
    1 relations1 verified quotations
    • Empress Dowager Bo→ replace →Empress Lü
    Verified original text · 1
    1. 迁吕太后于园。上簿太后尊号曰高皇后

      replace · Book of the Later Han, 祭祀中北郊明堂辟雍灵台迎气增祀六宗老子

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  3. Official history

    Old Book of Tang

    1 profile notes
    0 relations0 verified quotations

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  4. 1 profile notes
    0 relations0 verified quotations

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  5. 34 profile notes
    25 relations40 verified quotations
    • Liu Bang→ spouse →Empress Lü
    • Empress Lü→ spouse →Liu Bang
    • Xiang Yu→ detain →Empress Lü
    • Empress Lü→ slay →Han Xin
    Verified original text · 40
    1. 吕后女弟吕须为妇

      spouse · Records of the Grand Historian, 樊郦滕灌列传

    2. 吕后

      spouse · Records of the Grand Historian, 秦楚之际月表

    38 more verified quotations in the relationship records below.

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  6. Literature / legend

    Researches into Lost Records

    1 profile notes
    0 relations0 verified quotations

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  7. 2 profile notes
    0 relations0 verified quotations

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Where the histories differ

Records of the Grand Historian places all of Emperor Hui's reign under the 'Basic Annals of Empress Dowager Lü', while the Book of Han separates the annals of Emperor Hui and Empress Gao.

  • histories differThe attribution of Empress Lü's annals and the assessment of her governance in official histories

    The 'Basic Annals of Empress Dowager Lü' in the Records of the Grand Historian directly establishes the basic annals for Empress Dowager Lü, without establishing annals for Emperor Hui of Han, attributing all political affairs from Emperor Hui to Empress Gao's fifteen years to Empress Lü, praising her: 'Emperor Hui reigned without effort, Empress Gao as a female sovereign issued edicts, government did not go beyond the palace, and the world was at peace. Punishments were rarely used, and criminals were few. The people devoted themselves to farming, and clothing and food increased.' The Book of Han, on the other hand, separately establishes the 'Annals of Emperor Hui' and the 'Annals of Empress Gao', and in the 'Annals of Empress Gao' praises: 'Emperor Hui reigned with folded hands, Empress Gao as a female sovereign governed, not going beyond the palace, and the world was at peace, punishments were rarely used, the people devoted themselves to farming, and clothing and food increased.' The format changed from exclusively honoring the Empress Dowager to separate annals for emperor and empress.

Relationship network

32 figures · 159 links
Empress LüEmpress LüLiu BangLiu BangXiang YuXiang YuHan XinHan XinXiongnuXiongnuGuan YingGuan YingZhang LiangZhang LiangChen PingChen PingXiao HeXiao HeFan KuaiFan KuaiZhou BoZhou BoPeng YueLiu FeiZhang AoLiu JianLiu WuLiu ZeLü LuZhou ChangLü ChanEmpress Dowager BoLiu XiangEmperor Hui of HanWei WanShen YijiLiu HongLiu YouKing Dao Hui of QiEmperor ShaoEmperor Hui of HanWang LingZhao Wang Ruyi
historyliteraturedual
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Sources: Records of the Three Kingdoms, 魏书·董二袁刘传; Records of the Grand Historian, 儒林列传; Book of the Later Han, 五行六日蚀日抱日赤无光日黄珥日中黑虹贯日月蚀非其月; Extensive Records of the Taiping Era, 器玩一; Researches into Lost Records, 卷五; Old Book of Tang, 礼仪志五; Book of Han, 五行志_ch. 27上; Records of the Grand Historian, 刘敬叔孙通列传

This page was extracted from classical texts with AI assistance and revised; errors remain possible. Spotted a mistake? Tell us →

Compiled with AI assistance from public-domain texts; for cultural reference. Mythological accounts vary — corrections welcome.