Empress Hu (Xiaoming)

Empress Hu (胡皇后, personal name unknown) was an empress of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei. Her husband was Emperor Xiaoming.

Little is known about Empress Hu personally -- including when she became empress. It is known that she was the daughter of Hu Sheng (胡盛), a cousin of Emperor Xiaoming's mother Empress Dowager Hu. Empress Dowager Hu selected her to be Emperor Xiaoming's empress, because Empress Dowager Hu wanted to magnify her clan. However, Emperor Xiaoming often spent time drinking, and he favored his concubine Consort Pan. Empress Hu and the other concubines did not have his favor, and she did not bear him any children. (His only child, a daughter, was born of Consort Pan.) It was described that his concubines Consorts Cui, Lu, and Li, among others, would often fight among themselves, but she largely stayed clear of these disputes. After Emperor Xiaoming's death in 528, she became a nun, but it is unclear whether she was a Buddhist or a Taoist nun. Nothing further is known about her.