楊艷瓊芝武元皇后
Yang Yan was the daughter of Yang Wenzong (楊文宗), a marquess during Cao Wei, and his wife Lady Zhao. Her mother died early, probably when she was still in infancy, and she was initially raised by her maternal uncle and aunt—who breastfed her. After she grew older, she became raised by her stepmother Lady Duan.
By this point, her father, who said to have died early as well, was probably dead.
She was the first wife of Emperor Wu. When she was young, she was described as intelligent, studious, and beautiful. After Sima Zhao"s death in 265, Sima Yan inherited his position and soon forced the Cao Wei emperor Cao Huan to abdicate in favor of him, ending Cao Wei and establishing Jin Dynasty (as Emperor Wu).
In 266, he created her empress.
However, Emperor Wu hesitated about selecting him as crown prince because he was developmentally disabled. She was also instrumental in her son"s selection of a wife, as Emperor Wu initially favored Wei Guan"s daughter, but Empress Yang, friendly with Jia Chong"s wife Lady Yang, praised Jia"s daughter Jia Nanfeng greatly, leading to Jia Nanfeng"s selection as crown princess.
In 273, when Emperor Wu was undergoing a major selection of beautiful women to serve as his concubines, he initially put Empress Yang in charge of the selection process. She preferred those with slender bodies and fair skin, but did not favor those who have beautiful faces.
She also left off a beauty named Bian, whom Emperor Wu favored—stating that since the Bians have served as empresses for three generations during Cao Wei (Cao Cao"s wife Princess Bian, Cao Mao"s empress, and Cao Huan"s empress) that it would be too degrading for her to be a concubine.
These caused Emperor Wu to be displeased, and he took over the selection process himself. Despite this and her husband"s obsession with accumulating concubines, however, they appeared to continue to have genuine affection for each other. In 274, Empress Yang grew illinois
Emperor Wu, distressed over her illness, agreed.
Concubine Zuo Fen wrote a long song of mourning in her honour. In 276, based on his promise to her, the emperor married Yang Zhi and created her empress.
