Empress Helian (died 453), formally Empress Taiwu (太武皇后), was an empress of the Chinese

History of China

Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...

/Xianbei

Xianbei

The Xianbei were a significant Mongolic nomadic people residing in Manchuria, Inner Mongolia and eastern Mongolia. The title “Khan” was first used among the Xianbei.-Origins:...

 dynasty Northern Wei

Northern Wei

The Northern Wei Dynasty , also known as the Tuoba Wei , Later Wei , or Yuan Wei , was a dynasty which ruled northern China from 386 to 534 . It has been described as "part of an era of political turbulence and intense social and cultural change"...

. Her husband was Emperor Taiwu

Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei

Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei , personal name Tuoba Tao , nickname Foli , was an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei...

.

She was a daughter of the Xia

Xia (Sixteen Kingdoms)

Tiefu was a pre-state Xiongnu tribe during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China. Its chieftain Liu Bobo established the state of Xia in 407 and changed his family name into Helian....

's founding emperor Helian Bobo

Helian Bobo

Helian Bobo , né Liu Bobo , courtesy name Qujie , formally Emperor Wulie of Xia , was the founding emperor of the Chinese/Xiongnu state Xia...

 (Emperor Wulie). In 428, during the reign of her brother Helian Chang

Helian Chang

Helian Chang , courtesy name Huan'guo , nickname Zhe , was an emperor of the Chinese/Xiongnu state Xia. He was the successor and a son of the founding emperor Helian Bobo . After his father's death in 425, he tried to expand Xia further, but soon his state began to collapse in light of pressure...

, Emperor Taiwu led his Northern Wei forces to capture the Xia capital Tongwan (統萬, in modern Yulin

Yulin, Shaanxi

Yulin is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanxi province of the People's Republic of China. It has an area of 43,578 km² and a population of 3,380,000.-Geography and climate:...

, Shaanxi

Shaanxi

' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...

), and while Helian Chang fled, she was captured along with most nobles and officials of Xia. She and her two sisters were all taken as Emperor Taiwu's imperial consorts. In 432, she was created empress, presumably after being able to pass the traditional Tuoba tribe test by being able to forge a gold statue.

Little is known about Empress Helian's life during her husband's reign. She did not bear him any sons. In 452, he was assassinated by his eunuch

Eunuch

A eunuch is a person born male most commonly castrated, typically early enough in his life for this change to have major hormonal consequences...

 Zong Ai

Zong Ai

Zong Ai was a eunuch who briefly came to great power in the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei in 452 after assassinating Emperor Taiwu and making his son Tuoba Yu emperor.Little is known about Zong's career prior to 451...

, who claimed that, by her orders, Emperor Taiwu's son Tuoba Yu

Tuoba Yu

Tuoba Yu , formally Prince Yin of Nan'an , was briefly an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei. He was placed on the throne by the eunuch Zong Ai after Zong assassinated his father Emperor Taiwu in spring 452, and Zong was largely in control of the regime during his reign...

 the Prince of Nan'an should be made emperor, bypassing Emperor Taiwu's apparent intended heir, Tuoba Jun

Emperor Wencheng of Northern Wei

Emperor Wencheng of Northern Wei , personal name Tuoba Jun , was an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei...

, the son of Tuoba Huang

Tuoba Huang

Tuoba Huang , formally Crown Prince Jingmu , later further formally honored as Emperor Jingmu with the temple name Gongzong by his son Emperor Wencheng, was a crown prince of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei...

 the Crown Prince, who had died in 451. Tuoba Yu honored her as empress dowager

Empress Dowager

Empress Dowager was the title given to the mother of a Chinese, Korean, Japanese or Vietnamese emperor.The title was also given occasionally to another woman of the same generation, while a woman from the previous generation was sometimes given the title of Grand empress dowager. Numerous empress...

, but there is no particular evidence to suggest that Empress Helian was actually involved in Zong's conspiracy. Later in 452, Zong assassinated Tuoba Yu as well, but the officials then overthrew Zong and put Tuoba Jun on the throne as Emperor Wencheng

Emperor Wencheng of Northern Wei

Emperor Wencheng of Northern Wei , personal name Tuoba Jun , was an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei...

, and he honored her as grand empress dowager

Grand Empress Dowager

The title Grand Empress Dowager was given to the grandmother or a woman from the grandmother generation of the Chinese, Korean. Japanese dynastic ruler. Some grand empress dowagers held regency within the beginning years of reign of an underage or young emperor...

. She died in 453.