Empress Liu (Huan Xuan)
Empress Liu (劉皇后, personal name unknown) was an
empress of the short-lived
Chinese state Chu. Her husband was Chu's only emperor,
Huan Xuan (Emperor Wudao).
She was the great-granddaughter of the Jin official Liu Qiao (劉喬). She married Huan Xuan before he became a major warlord, although the exact time was not known. After Huan Xuan seized the throne from
Emperor An of Jin in
403, he created her empress in spring
404. She was described as one who had good judgment of character, and she, suspecting the intentions of the general
Liu Yu, told Huan Xuan that Liu Yu would not be his subordinate long and should be killed. Huan Xuan refused. Later in 404, however, Liu Yu started an uprising that eventually forced Huan Xuan from the capital
Jiankang and led to his downfall and death. It is not known what Empress Liu's fate was.