Lü (呂) is the surname of **Empress Lü Zhi (241-180 BCE)** — wife of Liu Bang, founder of the Han Dynasty, and **the first formally recognized empress in Chinese imperial history**. After her husband's death, she **ruled as regent for her son Hui** and effectively controlled the empire for fifteen years (195-180 BCE), making her **the first woman to wield supreme political power in unified China**. Notoriously ruthless, she had Liu Bang's favorite concubine Lady Qi mutilated and turned into a "human pig."
Featured in Sima Qian's *Records of the Grand Historian*.
Lü reduces to three — the number of Han Empress.