Pan (China)

Empress Pan (潘 皇后, birth name unknown; † 252 ) was an empress of the Wu Dynasty at the time of the Three Kingdoms . She was the first empress of this dynasty, and the only wife of Emperor Sun Quan , although he had a number of wives before that.

Empress Pan came from the Kuaiji headquarters (會稽, in today's Zhejiang ). Her father was a lowly officer who was executed for an unknown reason. Pan and her older sister were forced to work in the imperial textile industry. When Emperor Sun Quan saw her, he was overwhelmed by her beauty. He adopted her as a concubine and she bore him his youngest son, Sun Liang . In the year 250, Sun Quan deposed the then Crown Prince Sun He after his quarrel with his brother Sun Ba and instead appointed Sun Liang as Crown Prince. In 251 he made his concubine Pan empress.

When Sun Quan was near death in 252, Empress Pan was murdered in unknown circumstances. Wu officials claim that her servants strangled her in her sleep because her temperament was overwhelming. Some historians - including Hu Sansheng (胡 三省), a commentator on Sima Guang's Zizhi Tongjian - believe the officers were involved in the murder because they feared that Empress Pan would seize power as the widow empress after Sun Quan's death.

After Sun Quan died that same year, the two were buried together.

predecessor	Office	successor
Cao Jie	Empress of China (Southeast) 251–252	Quan

predecessor	Office	successor
no; Dynasty established	Empress of the Wu Dynasty 251–252	Quan