Lü Yan was the empress of Liu Bang, the ancestor of Han Gaozu, and after Liu Bang's death, Lü Yan's son Liu Ying became emperor, and Lü Yan began to take power.
Lü Yan (吕雉), courtesy name Eun (娥姁), originally lived with his father Lü Gong (吕公) in present-day Dan County, Shandong, and later moved to Pei County because of his family's evasion. At the Housewarming banquet of the Lü family, Lü Gong saw that Liu Bang was extraordinary and married his daughter to him. Liu Bang is the chief of the Surabaya Pavilion, equivalent to the current village chief, which is equivalent to Bai Fumei marrying a civil servant. When Lü Yan first married Liu Bang, his life was not rich, but Lü Yan was very virtuous. After Liu Bang escorted the prisoners, the prisoners escaped and had to flee to Mangdang Mountain.
Later, he gave birth to a son and a daughter for Liu Bang and lived a life of upheaval and displacement. Later, he returned to Liu Bang's side, but Liu Bang had a favored Lady Qi, and Lü Yan grew up to Lady Qi, often as a stayer, accompanied by Lady Qi.
Lady Qi was self-pampered and often cried in front of Liu Bang, intending to make her son Liu Ruyi the crown prince, and Liu Bang decided to abolish Chang Liyou. Lü Hou asked Zhang Liang for advice, and Zhang Liang said that His Majesty attached great importance to Shangshan Sihao, but he could never invite him, and if you invited Shangshan Sihao to assist the crown prince, it might be useful. Lü Hou sent someone with the prince's handwritten letter, and also brought a generous gift, inviting Shangshan Sihao out of the mountain, and all four of them actually came. Liu Bang saw that four high-ranking people had come to assist the crown prince, and the prince's wings were already full, so he no longer mentioned the matter of deposing the crown prince.
After Liu Bang's death, Liu Ying became emperor, and Lü Yan took power alone. Because Lady Qi and her son had seized the position of prince, they resolutely did not let go, cut off Lady Qi's hands and feet, deafened her ears, went out of her eyes, and threw her poisonous dumb into the latrine, called Ren Yan. Lü Yan asked his son Liu Ying to come and see, Liu Ying lost her voice and cried bitterly, it was too miserable and inhumane, contrary to common sense, after being frightened, she began to ignore political affairs, and then died of depression shortly after becoming ill. Lü Yan made his own Lü family generals and held great power. Liu Gong, the crown prince, was made emperor, and he himself was in charge of the imperial system, exercising the power of the emperor, and the imperial court orders were all issued by the empress dowager, and was the first person to rule the empress dowager of China.