Xiao Huanghou was born in 566, in Jiangling province. She was a daughter of Emperor Ming of Western Liang and Lady Zhang. She was given to her uncle Xiao Ji the Prince of Dongping to be raised, but Xiao Ji and his wife both soon died. She was instead raised by her maternal uncle Zhang Ke.
Xiao Huanghou was raised by her maternal uncle Zhang Ke and as he was poor she had to participate in labor, and she willingly did so. In 582, Emperor Wen of Sui wanted to take one of Emperor Ming's daughters to be the wife of his son Yang Guang the Prince of Jin. Emperor Ming had fortunetellers discern whether any of his daughters was suitable, but the fortunetellers ruled that none was suitable. Emperor Ming then welcomed her back from Zhang's house, and the fortunetellers found her to be suitable, and so she was given to Yang Guang in marriage. She thereafter carried the title of Princess of Jin.
Emperor Wen was pleased with her, and Yang Guang favored and respected her. Further, in order to please his mother Empress Dugu, who disfavored men who had concubines, Yang Guang, while having some concubines, pretended to have none beside Princess Xiao. Eventually, Emperor Wen deposed Yang Guang's older brother Yang Yong whose faults, in his parents' eyes, were wastefulness and having many concubines from his position as crown prince in 600 and created Yang Guang crown prince to replace him. Thereafter, Princess Xiao carried the title of crown princess.
Emperor Wen died in 604 and Yang Guang took the throne as Emperor Yang. In 605, he created Crown Princess Xiao empress. He soon turned away from the virtuous living style he engaged in to please his parents, and he lived luxuriously, with tens of thousands of women filling his palaces. He still maintained respect for Empress Xiao, and he made many of her relatives, including her older brother Xiao Cong the Duke of Liang officials in his government. However, Xiao Huanghou's son Yang Zhao, who became crown prince, died in 606, and Yang Jian (another son of Xiao Huanghou) lost Emperor Yang's favor in 608 over his use of witchcraft against Yang Zhao's sons. Empress Xiao tried on several occasions to admonish the emperor for his many wrongdoings but to no avail. Eventually, afraid of annoying him to the point of causing trouble for herself, she wrote him a long rhapsody (fu) entitled On My Aspirations (Shu zhi fu) in which she expressed her views and laid down the principles by which she lived. Her words reveal how worried she was about the political situation in late Sui. However, he either did not realize that was her intent, or simply ignored the poem.
In 616, with the political situation critical, Emperor Yang ignored the safety of his throne and set off on another trip to Jiangdu with Empress Xiao, his other consorts, and his courtiers. When grain provisions ran out in Jiangdu, he decided to move further south, but his soldiers, most of whom were from the north, were homesick and quickly joined a mutiny fomented by Yuwen Huaji. Emperor Yang had little hope, beset by outside forces and sabotaged by collaborators from within. After he was killed, Empress Xiao told her attendants to wrap his body in a mat from the bed and bury him so.
In 619, Yuwen Huaji was captured and executed by one of the rebel leaders, Dou Jiande the Prince of Xia. Dou treated Empress Xiao with kindness and respect while giving proper mourning for Emperor Yang. Subsequently, the Princess Yicheng requested that Dou send Empress Xiao to her, and Dou did so, along with Emperor Yang's daughter Princess Nanyang and the head of Yuwen Huaji. An emissary was sent to welcome her and the former Empress traveled to Tujue, North of the Great Wall. While she was in Tujue, one of Yang Jian's consorts gave birth to a posthumous son, Yang Zhengdao, whom she raised, and whom Ashina Duojishi subsequently created the Prince of Sui, assigning to him as his subjects the refugees from Sui. She went to live in Dingxiang. During the years, Tujue's khans continued to use Yang Zhengdao as a magnet to attract the people to surrender, in competition to Tang Dynasty, established by the Sui general Li Yuan.
Xiao Huanghou is described as a gentle, obliging, and sensible young woman who loved learning and was skilled at literary composition.
Xiao Huanghou was the wife of Yang Guang. She bore him two sons – Yang Zhao and Yang Jian.
Xiao Kui, also known as Emperor Ming of Western Liang, was an emperor of the Chinese Western Liang dynasty.
Yang Guang , also known as Emperor Yang of Sui, was the second son of Emperor Wen of Sui, and the second emperor of China's Sui dynasty.
Yang Zhao was a crown prince of the Chinese dynasty Sui Dynasty.
Yang Jian was an imperial prince of the Chinese Sui Dynasty.
