Empress He (died 30 September 189), personal name unknown, posthumously known as Empress Lingsi, was an empress of the Eastern Han dynasty. She was the second empress consort of Emperor Ling and the mother of Emperor Shao. After the death of Emperor Ling in 189, she became empress dowager when her young son, Liu Bian (Emperor Shao), became the new emperor. She was caught up in the conflict between her brother, General-in-Chief He Jin, and the eunuch faction, who were both vying for power in the Han imperial court. After He Jin's assassination and the elimination of the eunuch faction, the warlord Dong Zhuo took advantage of the power vacuum to lead his forces into the imperial capital and seize control of the Han central government. He subsequently deposed Emperor Shao, replaced him with Liu Xie (Emperor Xian), and had Empress Dowager He poisoned to death. Family background and early years Lady He was from Wan County (), Nanyang Commandery (), which is in present-day Nanyang, Henan. Unlike most Han dynasty empresses, she was not of noble birth; her father, He Zhen (), was a butcher. Her mother's maiden family name is unknown, but her given name was "Xing" (). She had two half-brothers, He Jin (same father) and He Miao (same mother) (), and a younger sister who married the (adopted) son of the eunuch Zhang Rang. According to legends, she joined Emperor Ling's imperial harem after her family bribed the eunuchs tasked with selecting women to serve the emperor. She was seven chi and one cun tall. In 176, she bore Emperor Ling a son, Liu Bian, who turned out to be the emperor's oldest surviving son because his other sons born before Liu Bian died in infancy or childhood. As Emperor Ling believed that he lost his previous sons due to bad luck, he ordered Shi Zimiao (), a Taoist, to raise his newborn son; Liu Bian was given the title "Marquis Shi" (). Lady He became highly favoured by Emperor Ling, who awarded her the rank of "Honoured Lady" (). Honoured Lady He was known for being jealous and cruel. The other women in Emperor Ling's harem were afraid of her. As empress consort On 8 January 181, Emperor Ling instated Honoured Lady He as Empress to replace Empress Song, whom he deposed in 178. The following year, the emperor bestowed titles on Empress He's parents