The following is a list of empresses and queens consort of China. China has periodically been divided into kingdoms as well as united under empires, resulting in consorts titled both queen and empress. The empress title could also be given posthumously.
The title of empress consort (Chinese: 皇后, húanghòu) could also be given posthumously. The posthumous empresses are listed separately by the year they were given the title.
| Birth | Became Queen | Ceased to be Queen | Death | Spouse | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tai Si | 1099 BC | 1050 BC | King Wen | |||
| Queen Yi Jiang (邑姜) | 1046 BC | 1043 BC | King Wu | |||
| Wáng Sì (王姒) | ||||||
| Wáng Jiāng (王姜) | ||||||
| Queen Fáng (房后) | ||||||
| Wáng Zǔ Jiāng (王俎姜) | ||||||
| Wáng Guī (王媯) | King Gong | |||||
| Wáng Bó Jiāng (王伯姜) | King Yi | |||||
| Wáng Jīng (王京) | King Xiao | |||||
| Wáng Jí (王姞) | King Yi | |||||
| Shēn Jiāng (王姞) | ||||||
| Queen Jiang | 827 BC | 782 BC | King Xuan | |||
| Queen Shēn (申后) | 782 BC | 772 BC | King You | |||
| Bao Si (褒姒) | 779 BC | 771 BC | ||||
| Jì Jì Jiāng (紀季姜) | ||||||
| Chén Guī (陈妫) | King Hui | |||||
| Queen Dí (翟后) | ||||||
| Qí Jiāng (周灵王) | ||||||
| Queen Mù (穆后) | 527 BC |
| Parents | Birth | Marriage | Became Empress | Ceased to be Empress | Death | Spouse | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Empress Lü Zhi | Lü Wen, Prince Xuan of Lü Princess Consort Xuan | 241 BC | 202 BC | 195 BC | 18 Aug 180 BC | Emperor Gaozu of Han | ||
| Empress Zhang Yan | Zhang Ao, Prince of Zhao | 192 BC | 192 BC | 188 BC | 163 BC | Emperor Hui of Han | ||
| Empress Lü | Lü Lu (呂祿) | c.205 BC | 184 BC | 180 BC | c.180 BC | Emperor Houshao of Han | ||
| Empress Dou | Dou Chong, Marquis Ancheng | 205 BC | 179 BC | 179 BC | 157 BC | 135 BC | Emperor Wen of Han | |
| Empress Bo | 158 BC | 157 BC | 151 BC | 147 BC | Emperor Jing of Han | |||
| Empress Wang Zhi | Wang Zhong Zang Er | 173 BC | 150 BC | 126 BC | ||||
| Empress Chen Jiao | Chen Wu, Marquess of Tangyi Liu Piao, Princess Guantao | 141 BC | 130 BC | c.110 BC | Emperor Wu of Han | |||
| Empress Wei Zifu | Madam Wei (衛媼) | 128 BC | 91 BC | |||||
| Empress Shangguan | Lady Huo | 89 BC(?) | 84 BC | 83 BC | 74 BC: | 37 BC | Emperor Zhao of Han | |
| Empress Xu Pingjun | Xu Guanghan | c.90 BC | c. 76 BC | 74 BC | 71 BC | Emperor Xuan of Han | ||
| Empress Huo Chengjun | Huo Guang Lady Xian | 70 BC: | 66 BC | 54 BC | ||||
| Empress Wang | Wang Fengguang, Marquess of Qiongcheng | 64 BC | 49 BC | 16 BC | ||||
| Empress Wang Zhengjun | Wang Jin, Marquess of Yangping Li Qin | 71 BC | c.50 BC | 48 BC | 33 BC | 13 AD | Emperor Yuan of Han | |
| Empress Xu | Xu Jia, the Marquess of Ping'en | 31 BC | 18 BC | 8 BC | Emperor Cheng of Han | |||
| Empress Zhao Feiyan | c. 32 BC | 16 BC | 7 BC | 1 BC | ||||
| Empress Fu | Fu Yan, Marquis of Kongxiang | 6 BC | 1 BC | Emperor Ai of Han | ||||
| Empress Wang | Wang Mang | 8 BC | 4 AD | 5 AD | 23 AD | Emperor Ping of Han | ||
| Parents | Birth | Marriage | Became Empress | Ceased to be Empress | Death | Spouse | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Empress Wang | Wang Xian, Marquess of Yichin | 9 AD | 21 AD | Emperor Wang Mang | |||
| Empress Shi | Shi Chen (史諶) | 23 AD | |||||
See main article: Empress of Northern Zhou.
See also: List of Yuan empress consorts.
| Emperor | Empress consort* | Picture | Birth | Became empress consort | Ceased to be empress consort | Death |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hong Taiji | Jerjer, Empress Xiaoduanwen | 31 May 1599 | August 1636 | 21 September 1643 | 28 May 1649 | |
| Fulin, the Shunzhi Emperor | Erdeni Bumba, Empress | 27 September 1651 | 25 October 1653 | |||
| Alatan Qiqige, Empress Xiaohuizhang | 5 November 1641 | July/August 1654 | 5 February 1661 | 7 January 1718 | ||
| Xuanye, the Kangxi Emperor | Empress Xiaochengren | 3 February 1654 | October/November 1665 | 6 June 1674 | ||
| Empress Xiaozhaoren | 1653 | 18 September 1677 | 18 March 1678 | |||
| Empress Xiaoyiren | 23 August 1689 | 24 August 1689 | ||||
| Yinzhen, the Yongzheng Emperor | Duoqimuli, Empress Xiaojingxian | 28 June 1681 | 28 March 1723 | 29 October 1731 | ||
| Hongli, the Qianlong Emperor | Empress Xiaoxianchun | 28 March 1712 | 23 January 1738 | 8 April 1748 | ||
| Empress | 11 March 1718 | 2 September 1750 | 19 August 1766 | |||
| Yongyan, the Jiaqing Emperor | Empress Xiaoshurui | 2 October 1760 | 12 February 1796 | 5 March 1797 | ||
| Empress Xiaoherui | 20 November 1776 | 27 May 1801 | 2 September 1820 | 23 January 1850 | ||
| Mianning, the Daoguang Emperor | Empress Xiaoshencheng | 5 July 1792 | 28 December 1822 | 16 June 1833 | ||
| Empress Xiaoquancheng | 24 March 1808 | 18 November 1834 | 13 February 1840 | |||
| Yizhu, the Xianfeng Emperor | Empress Xiaozhenxian | 12 August 1837 | November/December 1852 | 22 August 1861 | 8 April 1881 | |
| Zaichun, the Tongzhi Emperor | Empress Xiaozheyi | 25 July 1854 | 15 October 1872 | 12 January 1875 | 27 March 1875 | |
| Zaitian, the Guangxu Emperor | Jingfen, Empress Xiaodingjing | 28 January 1868 | 26 February 1889 | 14 November 1908 | 22 February 1913 | |
| ||||||
| Emperor | Empress consort* | Picture | Birth | Became empress consort | Ceased to be empress consort | Death | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Puyi, the Xuantong Emperor | Wanrong, Empress Xiaokemin | 13 November 1906 | 1 March 1934 | 17 August 1945 | 20 June 1946 | ||
| |||||||
The title of Empress dowager (Chinese: 皇太后, húangtàihòu) was automatically given to a former Empress consort and widow of an Emperor. The title, Empress dowager, could be granted a widow of an Emperor even when she had not been the Empress consort during the reign of her spouse. Therefore, a separate list is given of the Empresses dowager, which, in some cases, equals the list of Empresses consort, and in other cases, not.