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Chen Yuanyuan
Chen Yuanyuan (1624–1681) was a Chinese courtesan who lived during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. She was the concubine of Wu Sangui, the Ming dynasty general who surrendered Shanhai Pass to the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and later rebelled in the Revolt of the Three Feudatories. Chen's life and relationship to Wu later became the subject of a number of popular stories and legends, many of them focusing on her supposed role in Wu's fateful decision to defect to the Qing, thereby sealing the fate of the Ming dynasty. In one story popularized during the Kangxi era, when the peasant Li Zicheng rebelled against the Ming dynasty, he captured Chen Yuanyuan. This enraged Wu Sangui and made him side with the Qing dynasty to crush Li Zicheng's forces. Biography Chen Yuanyuan was born to a peasant family in Jiangsu province, and on the death of her father, she became a courtesan. Chen became a leading figure in the Suzhou ''kunqu'' scene. An account praised her performance as t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administrative divisions by area, third smallest, but the List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, fifth most populous and the List of Chinese administrative divisions by population density, most densely populated of the 23 provinces of the People's Republic of China. Jiangsu has the highest GDP per capita of Chinese provinces and second-highest GDP of Chinese provinces, after Guangdong. Jiangsu borders Shandong in the north, Anhui to the west, and Zhejiang and Shanghai to the south. Jiangsu has a coastline of over along the Yellow Sea, and the Yangtze River passes through the southern part ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chongzhen Emperor
The Chongzhen Emperor (; 6 February 1611 – 25 April 1644), personal name Zhu Youjian (), courtesy name Deyue (),Wang Yuan (王源)，''Ju ye tang wen ji'' (《居業堂文集》), vol. 19. "聞之張景蔚親見烈皇帝神主題御諱字德約，行五，生於萬曆庚戌十二月二十四日寅時，崩於崇禎甲申三月十九日丑時。" was the 17th and last Emperor of the Ming dynasty. He reigned from 1627 to 1644. "Chongzhen," the era name of his reign, means "honorable and auspicious." Zhu Youjian was son of the Taichang Emperor and younger brother of the Tianqi Emperor, whom he succeeded to the throne in 1627. He battled peasant rebellions and was not able to defend the northern frontier against the Manchu. When rebels under Li Zicheng reached the capital Beijing in 1644, he committed suicide, ending the Ming dynasty. The Manchu formed the succeeding Qing dynasty. In 1645, Zhu Yousong, who had proclaimed himself the Hongguang Emperor of the Southern Ming, gave th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dorgon
Dorgon (, ; 17 November 1612 – 31 December 1650), was a Manchu prince and regent of the early Qing dynasty. Born in the House of Aisin-Gioro as the 14th son of Nurhaci (the founder of the Later Jin dynasty, predecessor of the Qing dynasty), Dorgon started his career in military campaigns against the Ming dynasty, Mongols and Koreans during the reign of his eighth brother, Hong Taiji, who succeeded their father. After Hong Taiji's death in 1643, he was involved in a power struggle against Hong Taiji's eldest son, Hooge, over the succession to the throne. Both of them eventually came to a compromise by backing out and letting Hong Taiji's ninth son, Fulin, become the emperor; Fulin was installed on the throne as the Shunzhi Emperor. Dorgon served as Prince-Regent from 1643 to 1650, throughout the Shunzhi Emperor's early reign. In 1645, he was given the honorary title "Emperor's Uncle and Prince-Regent" (皇叔父攝政王); the title was changed to "Emperor's Father and Pri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zhu Youjian
The Chongzhen Emperor (; 6 February 1611 – 25 April 1644), personal name Zhu Youjian (), courtesy name Deyue (),Wang Yuan (王源)，''Ju ye tang wen ji'' (《居業堂文集》), vol. 19. "聞之張景蔚親見烈皇帝神主題御諱字德約，行五，生於萬曆庚戌十二月二十四日寅時，崩於崇禎甲申三月十九日丑時。" was the 17th and last Emperor of the Ming dynasty. He reigned from 1627 to 1644. "Chongzhen," the era name of his reign, means "honorable and auspicious." Zhu Youjian was son of the Taichang Emperor and younger brother of the Tianqi Emperor, whom he succeeded to the throne in 1627. He battled peasant rebellions and was not able to defend the northern frontier against the Manchu. When rebels under Li Zicheng reached the capital Beijing in 1644, he committed suicide, ending the Ming dynasty. The Manchu formed the succeeding Qing dynasty. In 1645, Zhu Yousong, who had proclaimed himself the Hongguang Emperor of the Southern Ming, gave t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beijing
} Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 million residents. It has an administrative area of , the third in the country after Guangzhou and Shanghai. It is located in Northern China, and is governed as a municipality under the direct administration of the State Council with 16 urban, suburban, and rural districts.Figures based on 2006 statistics published in 2007 National Statistical Yearbook of China and available online at archive. Retrieved 21 April 2009. Beijing is mostly surrounded by Hebei Province with the exception of neighboring Tianjin to the southeast; together, the three divisions form the Jingjinji megalopolis and the national capital region of China. Beijing is a global city and one of the world's leading centres for culture, diplomacy, politics, finance, busi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Li Zicheng
Li Zicheng (22 September 1606 – 1645), born Li Hongji, also known by the nickname, Dashing King, was a Chinese peasant rebel leader who overthrew the Ming dynasty in 1644 and ruled over northern China briefly as the emperor of the short-lived Shun dynasty before his death a year later. Biography Li Zicheng was born in 1606 as Li Hongji to an impoverished family of farmers in Li Jiqian village, Yan'an prefecture, northeast Shaanxi province. Li Zicheng had a brother who was 20 years his senior and raised Li Zicheng alongside his son and Zicheng’s nephew, Li Guo. While Li Zicheng was literate, the source of his education is disputed. Over the course of his late adolescence and early adulthood, Li worked on a farm, in a wine shop, in a blacksmith's shop, and as a mailman for the state courier system. According to folklore, in 1630, Li was put on public display in an iron collar and shackles for failing to repay loans to a usurious magistrate. The magistrate, a man by the nam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guizhou
Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to the south, Yunnan to the west, Sichuan to the northwest, the municipality of Chongqing to the north, and Hunan to the east. The population of Guizhou stands at 38.5 million, ranking 18th among the provinces in China. The Dian Kingdom, which inhabited the present-day area of Guizhou, was annexed by the Han dynasty in 106 BC. Guizhou was formally made a province in 1413 during the Ming dynasty. After the overthrow of the Qing in 1911 and following the Chinese Civil War, the Chinese Communist Party took refuge in Guizhou during the Long March between 1934 and 1935. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, Mao Zedong promoted the relocation of heavy industry into inland provinces such as Guizhou, to better protect them fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liu Rushi
Liu Rushi (; 1618–1664), also known as Yang Ai (杨爱), Liu Shi (柳是), Liu Yin (柳隐) and Yang Yin (杨隐),Yang Yinlian (杨影怜), Hedong Jun (河东君), was a Chinese ''yiji'' (courtesan), poet, calligrapher, and painter in the late Ming dynasty and early Qing dynasty. Early in her life, she had a relationship with Chen Zilong with whom she exchanged verses. She married the scholar-official Qian Qianyi, who was 36 years her senior, at the age of 25. She committed suicide shortly after he died. She is one of the " Eight Beauties of Qinhuai" described by late Qing official Zhang Jingqi.* In addition to her creative works (many of which have survived) and independent spirit (she often cross-dressed), she has been revered in later times for her unwavering love for her husband and for her country (the Ming) during the Ming–Qing transition. Historian Chen Yinke, who spent decades researching and writing about her, characterizes Liu Rushi as "a heroine, a belle, a w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gu Mei
Gu Mei (; 1619–1664), better known by her art name Gu Hengbo (), also known as Xu Mei and Xu Zhizhu after her marriage, was a Chinese courtesan, poet and painter. She received the title "Lady (furen)" from the early Qing court, and often addressed as "Lady Hengbo" in Qing writings. Gu was famous for her beauty and talent within painting and poetry and counted among the elite of courtesans alongside Dong Xiaowan, Bian Yujing and Liu Rushi. She was admired for her paintings of orchids, and published a collection of poems which was given good critics, although few of her works have survived. Life Gu Mei was born near Nanjing in 1619. At the beginning of the Chongzhen reign, Gu Mei became a courtesan in the Qinhuai River district of Nanjing. In her Tower Meilou in Qinhuai district in Nanjing, she hosted a famous literary salon, which counted Chen Liang, Qian Lucan and Mao Xiang among its guests. Yu Huai described Meilou (literally ''house of bewitchment'') as lavish and extrava ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dong Xiaowan
Dong Xiaowan (1624–1651), also known as Dong Bai, was a Chinese courtesan, poet and writer, also known by her pen name Qinglian. Dong has been described as the most famous courtesan of her time, known for her beauty and talent in singing, acting, needlework and the tea ceremony. She lived in the brothel district of Nanjing. Similar to other courtesans of the late Ming Dynasty, Dong's moral qualities were emphasised among her admirers more than her talents. She is one of the ''Eight Beauties of Qinhuai'' () described by late Qing officials. The other famed courtesans of this group are Ma Xianglan, Bian Yujing (), Li Xiangjun, Liu Rushi, Gu Mei, Kou Baimen (), and Chen Yuanyuan. Marriage Dong's mother died in 1642, leaving her to struggle financially. The noble Mao Bijiang (), alternatively known as Mao Xiang, had attempted to meet with Dong several times, but had pursued a relationship with the courtesan Chen Yuanyuan instead. After Chen was abducted by a noble associated w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Li Xiangjun
Li Xiangjun (; 1624–1654) was a courtesan, singer, and musician during the Ming dynasty. Her life was dramatised in the play ''The Peach Blossom Fan''. Biography Li is referred to as Li Ji () or Li Xiang () in contemporary sources. To demonstrate respect for her, later scholars appended the character ''jun'' () to her name. Her courtesy name was Shanzhui (). No written records from the time Li lived record where she was born, but popular modern theories suggest that she was the daughter of an official, who was demoted and his family either killed or sold. Li was adopted by the owner of a brothel in Nanjing called Meixiang House (), whose surname she took. She was taught to dance, sing, paint, play music, and write poetry. Meixiang House was a favoured brothel of the literati and officials, with Li's adopted mother known for her generosity and chivalry. By age 13, Li was renowned for her singing and playing the pipa that her mistress charged 20 gold taels per guest to see her ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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