Empress Wei Zifu
| Empress Xiaowu Si 孝武思皇后 | |||||||||
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| Empress of Western Han Dynasty | |||||||||
| Tenure | 128–90 BC | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Empress Chen | ||||||||
| Successor | Empress Shangguan | ||||||||
| Died | 91 BC Chang'an |
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| Spouse | Emperor Wu of Han | ||||||||
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| Mother | Madam Wei (衛媼) | ||||||||
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Family name: Wei 衛 Given name: Zifu 子夫 |
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| Posthumous name | |
| Wei Si Hou 衛思后 |
Wei Zifu (Traditional Chinese: 衛子夫; Simplified Chinese: 卫子夫; pinyin: Weì Zǐfū) (died 91 BC), posthumously known as Empress Xiaowu Si (孝武思皇后) or Wei Si Hou (衛思后, "Wei the Thoughtful Empress"), was an empress during ancient China's Han Dynasty. She was the second wife of the famous Emperor Wu and his spouse of 49 years, and stayed as his empress for 38 years, the second longest in Chinese history (behind only the 42-year reign of Empress Wang, the wife of Ming Dynasty's Wanli Emperor, who came over 1,600 years later). She was the mother of Emperor Wu's heir apparent, Crown Prince Liu Ju, as well as the older half-sister of the famed general Wei Qing, the younger aunt of Huo Qubing, the step-aunt of Han statesman Huo Guang and the great-grandmother of Liu Bingyi.
Wei Zifu was born from humble means out of a serf family. She was the fourth child and the youngest daughter of a lowly housemaid/servant at the household of Princess Pingyang (平陽公主), Emperor Wu's older sister. Her father presumably died around the time of her birth, as there were little historic records of most of her family members. Her younger half-brother Wei Qing, born not long after her, was an illegitimate child from an extramarital affair by his mother with a low-level official serving the Princess's household. When Wei Zifu was still young, she was recruited as a singer at the princess' estate, where she was also trained in dancing and the Four Arts.
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