Lady Liu

Lady Liu (劉夫人) was a Chinese noblewoman who lived during the Han Dynasty. She was a concubine of Yuan Shao, the Grand Administrator of Bohai. She was also the mother of Yuan Shang, third son and successor of Yuan Shao. After Yuan Shao's death, she succeeded him as the de facto leader. She is best known for starting a conspiracy against members of the Yuan family and plotting the murder of Yuan Shao's five concubines so that her son would become the family's sole heir. Life Lady Liu's early life is not known in historical records. She is mentioned in the Book of the Later Han (後漢書) and the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms which romanticizes the events before and during the period of the Three Kingdoms in ancient China. Lady Liu married Yuan Shao, a prominent warlord. She later gave birth to Yuan Shang, Yuan Shao's third child and eventually his successor. Lady Liu also adopted Yuan Xi, Yuan Shao's second son. She is described in the Records of the Three Kingdoms as a wicked, jealous, violent and rebellious woman. Lady Liu maintained a relatively friendly relationship with her biological and adopted sons, while fighting with Yuan Shao's other concubines and first son, Yuan Tan. Yuan Xi was the first husband of Lady Zhen, a noblewoman who later married Cao Pi, the first ruler of the state of Cao Wei.