Empress Dowager Dong

Empress Dowager Dong (fl.156 - 7 July 189), personal name unknown, formally known as Empress Xiaoren, was an empress dowager of the Eastern Han dynasty of China. She was never empress throughout her early life because she was the wife of a marquis; she only became empress dowager because her son, Liu Hong (Emperor Ling), became the emperor by chance. During her son's reign, she developed a rivalry with her daughter-in-law, Empress He, because she wanted Emperor Ling's younger son, Liu Xie, to be crown prince while Empress He wanted her own son, Liu Bian to succeed his father. Emperor Ling died in May 189 before he managed to designate either of his two sons as crown prince. Liu Bian eventually took the throne as Emperor Shao; Empress Dowager Dong, as the emperor's grandmother, became grand empress dowager, while her daughter-in-law became empress dowager. Empress Dowager He eventually conspired with her brother, General-in-Chief He Jin, to unseat her mother-in-law from power. Grand Empress Dowager Dong died of illness shortly after her downfall; the common people held Empress Dowager He and her family responsible for the grand empress dowager's death.