Jiang Jiangui

Jiang Jiangui (江簡珪) was an empress of the Liu Song dynasty in China, married to Emperor Houfei (Liu Yu). Her background was noble but not powerful. Her grandfather, Jiang Zhiyuan, was a well-known official under Emperor Xiaowu, though he lacked real influence. He died around February 463, terrified after angering the emperor over the posthumous name for his favorite concubine, Consort Yin. Her father, Jiang Jiyun, held a mid- to low-level post in the imperial government and had died by 470. That year, Emperor Ming was choosing a wife for his son Liu Yu, then crown prince. Emperor Ming was superstitious, and fortune-tellers told him that Jiang Jiangui was the right match, despite—or maybe because—her clan was relatively weak at the time. So on April 5, 470, he selected her as his son’s bride. Her exact age is unknown, but her husband was only seven years old. After the marriage, she became crown princess. When Emperor Ming died and Liu Yu took the throne as Emperor Houfei on May 11, 472, he made her empress on July 15, 472. In 477, her husband was killed by his general Xiao Daocheng. After his death, he was demoted to the title Prince of Cangwu, and she was accordingly demoted to Princess of Cangwu. When she died is not recorded.