Huan Shi was a daughter of the famous Confucian scholar Huan Luan and had therefore been raised in an intellectual environment. Practically all members of her family were Confucian scholars. They were highly esteemed in the community for their moral teachings. There is no exact information about the date of her birth.
Huan Shi married Liu Changqing but her husband soon died when their son was five years old. As Huan Shi was well schooled in Confucian ideals, she knew that she must safeguard her family’s reputation by remaining a chaste widow. This involved not only refusing to remarry but also displaying complete devotion to her husband’s family. And when her son died at the age of fifteen she forbore showing her grief, preferring instead to cut off both her ears to demonstrate her loyalty to the Liu family and her determination to remain a chaste widow to the end of her life.
Confucian teachings had become state orthodoxy and deeds such as those of Liu Changqing’s widow were considered chaste and honorable, so that those in power would praise them and make them known to the people as fine examples. Huan Shi's neighborhood was granted the inscription Righteous Widow Huan, and it was decreed that she would get a share of the meat offerings at every commandery sacrificial ceremony.
Huan Shi was known for her chastity and filial piety to their parents-in-law.
Huan Shi was the wife of Liu Changqing and had a son.
