|
Generals Of The Yang Family
''The Generals of the Yang Family'' is a collection of Chinese folklore, plays and novels on a military family from the earlier years of imperial China's Song Dynasty (960–1279). The stories recount the unflinching loyalty and the remarkable bravery of the Yangs as they sacrificed themselves to defend their country from foreign military powers, namely the Khitan-ruled Liao Dynasty (907–1125) and Tangut-ruled Western Xia (1038–1227). Spanning the century from 950 to 1050, the mostly fictional saga was based on the lives of historical characters Yang Ye (died 986), Yang Ye's son Yang Yanzhao ( 958–1014) and Yang Yanzhao's son Yang Wenguang (died 1074). As Yang Yanzhao was nicknamed "6th son" (六郎) in history, the stories made him Yang Ye's 6th eldest son. Also, as Yang Wenguang was close to 2 generations younger than his father, the stories made him Yang Yanzhao's grandson instead. Historical basis Historical background In 907, when the once-glorious Tang Dynasty o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yang Ye
Yang Ye (楊業) or Yang Jiye (楊繼業)According to he changed his name directly from Liu Jiye to Yang Ye in 979, changing both the surname and the given name. If this is to be believed, the name Yang Jiye is technically incorrect, but shows up not only in the ''History of Liao'', but also in a few Song documents including Ouyang Xiu's 1051 eulogy about a Yang family member. (died August 986),According to the Liao imperial government received news of Yang's capture from general Yelü Xiezhen on 17 August 986. A more detailed message from Yelü Xiezhen, which mentioned Yang's death 3 days after his capture, was received on 1 September. Considering the distance of almost 900km between the battlefield near Shuozhou and the Liao capital of Shangjing, as well as the frequency of the communications, Yang's death most likely occurred in early- or mid-August, and definitely no later than 19 August. named Liu Jiye (劉繼業) before 979 and Yang Chonggui (楊重貴) in his youth, was a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emperor Of China
''Huangdi'' (), translated into English as Emperor, was the superlative title held by monarchs of China who ruled various imperial regimes in Chinese history. In traditional Chinese political theory, the emperor was considered the Son of Heaven and the autocrat of all under Heaven. Under the Han dynasty, Confucianism replaced Legalism as the official political theory and succession in most cases theoretically followed agnatic primogeniture. The lineage of emperors descended from a paternal family line constituted a dynasty. The absolute authority of the emperor came with a variety of governing duties and moral obligations; failure to uphold these was thought to remove the dynasty's Mandate of Heaven and to justify its overthrow. In practice, emperors sometimes avoided the strict rules of succession and dynasties' ostensible "failures" were detailed in official histories written by their successful replacements. The power of the emperor was also limited by the imperial burea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern Han
The Northern Han () was a dynastic state of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It was founded by Liu Min (), formerly known as Liu Chong (), and lasted from 951 to 979. Founding of the Northern Han The short-lived state of Later Han fell in 950 because of Guo Wei, a powerful military governor's ''de facto'' coup. Liu Min founded the Northern Han Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Eastern Han, in 951 claiming that he was the legitimate heir to the imperial throne of Later Han. Liu Min immediately restored the traditional relationship with the Khitans, who had founded the Liao dynasty. Sources conflict as to the origin of the Later Han and Northern Han emperors; some indicate sinicized Shatuo ancestry while some traditional historical sources claims that the emperors claimed patrilineal Han Chinese ancestry. Territorial extent The Northern Han was a small kingdom located in Shanxi with its capital located at Taiyuan. Shanxi had been a traditional base of p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
History Of Song (Yuan Dynasty)
The ''History of Song'' or ''Song Shi'' () is one of the official Chinese historical works known as the ''Twenty-Four Histories'' of China that records the history of the Song dynasty (960–1279). It was commissioned in 1343 and compiled under the direction of First Minister Toqto'a and Prime Minister Alutu () during the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) at the same time as the ''History of Liao'' and the ''History of Jin''. Running to a total of 496 chapters, the ''History of Song'' includes biographies of the Song Emperors along with contemporary records and biographical sketches of Song dynasty politicians, soldiers and philosophers. Publication process Kublai Khan endorsed a proposal by Liu Bingzhong and Wang E (, 1190–1273) for the compilation of historic records of the Song, Jin, and Liao dynasties but the compilation effort stalled for some time. In March 1343, the third year of Ukhaantu Khan, Emperor Huizong of Yuan's Zhizheng Era (), an Imperial edict ordered the creatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth khagan-emperor of the Mongol Empire from the Borjigin clan, and lasted from 1271 to 1368. In orthodox Chinese historiography, the Yuan dynasty followed the Song dynasty and preceded the Ming dynasty. Although Genghis Khan had been enthroned with the Han-style title of Emperor in 1206 and the Mongol Empire had ruled territories including modern-day northern China for decades, it was not until 1271 that Kublai Khan officially proclaimed the dynasty in the traditional Han style, and the conquest was not complete until 1279 when the Southern Song dynasty was defeated in the Battle of Yamen. His realm was, by this point, isolated from the other Mongol-led khanates and controlled most of modern-day China and its surrounding areas, including ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Later Jin (Five Dynasties)
Jin, known as the Later Jìn (, 936–947) or the Shi Jin (石晉) in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the third of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It was founded by Shi Jingtang (Emperor Gaozu) with aid from the Liao dynasty, which assumed suzerainty over the Later Jin. After Later Jin's second ruler, Shi Chonggui (Emperor Chu), fell out with the Liao dynasty, the Liao invaded in 946 and in 947, annihilated the Later Jin and annexed its former territories. Founding the Later Jin The first sinicized Shatuo state, Later Tang, was founded in 923 by Li Cunxu, son of the Shatuo chieftain Li Keyong. It extended Shatuo domains from their base in Shanxi to most of North China, and into Sichuan. After Li Cunxu’s death, his adopted son, Li Siyuan became emperor. However, the Shatuo relationship with the Khitans, which was vital to their rise to power, had soured. Shi Jingtang, the son-in-law of Li Cunxu, rebelled against ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Later Tang
Tang, known in historiography as the Later Tang, was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China and the second of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in Chinese history. The first three of the Later Tang's four emperors were ethnically Shatuo. The name Tang was used to legitimize itself as the restorer of the Tang dynasty. Although the Later Tang officially began in 923, the dynasty already existed in the years before, as a polity known in historiography as the Former Jin (907–923). At its height, Later Tang controlled most of northern China. Formation From the fall of the Tang Dynasty in 907, a rivalry had developed between the successor Later Liang, formed by Zhu Wen, and the State of Jin, formed by Li Keyong, in present-day Shanxi. The rivalry survived the death of Li Keyong, whose son Li Cunxu continued to expand Jin territories at the expense of the Later Liang. Li Keyong forged an alliance with the powerful Khitan, like the Shatuo a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shi Jingtang
Shi Jingtang ( zh, 石敬瑭; 30 March 892 – 28 July 942''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 283.), also known by his temple name Gaozu (), was the founding emperor of imperial China's short-lived Later Jin during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, reigning from 936 until his death. Shi had Shatuo origins and was an important military general for the Later Tang before rebelling in 936. He overthrew Li Cunxu of the Later Tang and enlisted the help of the Khitan-ruled Liao state. For this he was called Emperor Taizong of Liao's adopted son (even though he was 10 years older). After Shi's rise to power, the Liao would later annex the strategically crucial Sixteen Prefectures and eventually annex the entire Later Jin. The rise of the Liao in northern China and Mongolia would shape Chinese politics for the centuries leading up to the Mongol Empire. Background and early life The official history ''Old History of the Five Dynasties'' stated that his family was originally descende ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sixteen Prefectures
The Sixteen Prefectures () comprise a historical region in northern China along the Great Wall in present-day Beijing, Tianjin, and northern Hebei and Shanxi. Name It is more specifically called the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun or the Sixteen Prefectures of You and Ji (). Overview After the Tang dynasty collapsed, they became a site of contention between various ethnicities of North China, including Han, Khitan, Jurchen, Mongol, and Manchu. In 938 they were ceded by Shi Jingtang of the Shatuo-led Later Jin to the Khitan Empire. The northern territories were then the site of contention between the subsequent Later Zhou, Song dynasty, and Khitan-led Liao dynasty. In 1120s, two principal cities, Youzhou (also called Yanzhou, modern Beijing) and Yunzhou (modern Datong) were taken away from the Liao when the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty conquered the region. In 1123, the Jin ceded most of the territories except Yunzhou to the Song, but retook them in 1125. The loss of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Wall Of China
The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand ''li'' wall") is a series of fortifications that were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against various nomadic groups from the Eurasian Steppe. Several walls were built from as early as the 7th century BC, with selective stretches later joined by Qin Shi Huang (220–206 BC), the first emperor of China. Little of the Qin wall remains. Later on, many successive dynasties built and maintained multiple stretches of border walls. The best-known sections of the wall were built by the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Apart from defense, other purposes of the Great Wall have included border controls, allowing the imposition of duties on goods transported along the Silk Road, regulation or encouragement of trade and the control of immigration and emigration. Furthermore, the defensive characteristics of the Great Wall were enhanced by the construction o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Central Plain (China)
Zhongyuan (), the Central Plain(s), also known as Zhongtu (, lit. 'central land') and Zhongzhou (, lit. 'central region'), commonly refers to the part of the North China Plain surrounding the lower and middle reaches of the Yellow River, centered on the region between Luoyang and Kaifeng. It has been perceived as the birthplace of the Chinese civilization. Historically, the Huaxia people viewed Zhongyuan as 'the center of the world'. Human activities in the Zhongyuan region can be traced back to the Palaeolithic period. In prehistoric times, Huaxia, a confederation of tribes that later developed into the Han ethnicity, lived along the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. The term 'Zhongguo' (Central State) was used to distinguish themselves from the Siyi tribes that were perceived as 'barbaric'. For a large part of Chinese history, Zhongyuan had been the political, economic, and cultural center of the Chinese civilization, as over 20 dynasties had located their capital ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Korean People
Koreans ( South Korean: , , North Korean: , ; see names of Korea) are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Korean Peninsula. Koreans mainly live in the two Korean nation states: North Korea and South Korea (collectively and simply referred to as just Korea). They are also an officially recognized ethnic minority in other Asian countries; such as China, Japan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Koreans also form sizeable communities in Europe, specifically in Russia, Germany, United Kingdom, and France. Over the course of the 20th century, Korean communities have also formed in the Americas (especially in the United States and Canada) and Oceania. As of 2021, there were an estimated 7.3 million ethnic Koreans residing outside Korea. Etymology South Koreans refer to themselves as Hanguk-in(Korean: 한국인, Hanja: 韓國人) or Hanguk-saram (''Korean: 한국 사람''), both of which mean "people of the Han". When including members of the Korean diaspora, Koreans often use ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
