|
Li Zhaode
Li Zhaode (李昭德) (died April 28, 697) was a Chinese politician in Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty and at one point served as chancellor. He was known for his abilities and strong will, which eventually led to a conflict with Wu Zetian's secret police official Lai Junchen. He was executed on the same day as Lai, who was in turn accused by others of treason. Background It is not known when Li Zhaode was born, but it is known that his family was from the Tang Dynasty capital Chang'an. His father Li Qianyou () served as an imperial censor during the reign of Tang's second emperor Emperor Taizong and later as minister of justice during the reign of Emperor Taizong's son and Wu Zetian's husband Emperor Gaozong, and was known for his honesty but carelessness with words. Li Zhaode was the son of a concubine of Li Qianyou, and was said to be capable and strong-willed like his father, and he passed the imperial examination when he was young. He was eventually promoted to be an assistant c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wu Zetian
Wu Zetian (17 February 624 – 16 December 705), personal name Wu Zhao, was the ''de facto'' ruler of the Tang dynasty from 665 to 705, ruling first through others and then (from 690) in her own right. From 665 to 690, she was first empress consort of the Tang dynasty (as wife of the Emperor Gaozong) and then, after his death, empress dowager (ruling through her sons Emperors Zhongzong and Ruizong). Unprecedented in Chinese history, she subsequently founded and ruled as empress regnant of the Wu Zhou dynasty of China from 690 to 705. She was the only female sovereign in the history of China widely regarded as legitimate. Under her 40-year reign, China grew larger, becoming one of the great powers of the world, its culture and economy were revitalized, and corruption in the court was reduced. She was removed from power in a coup and died a few months later. In early life, Wu was the concubine of Emperor Taizong. After his death, she married his ninth son and successor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yang Zhirou
Yang Zhirou (楊執柔) (died 692?) was an official of Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, serving briefly as chancellor. It is not known when Yang Zhirou was born. What is known is that his grandfather Yang Xu (楊續), a member of Tang Dynasty's predecessor Sui Dynasty's imperial clan, was a brother of the early Tang chancellors Yang Gongren and Yang Shidao. As Wu Zetian's mother Lady Yang was a cousin of Yang Xu, she viewed him as a member of her mother's household and treated him well. As of 692, he was serving as the minister of defense (夏官尚書, ''Xiaguan Shangsu''), when she gave him the designation of ''Tong Fengge Luantai Pingzhangshi'' (同鳳閣鸞臺平章事), making him a chancellor ''de facto''.Yang's biography in both ''Old Book of Tang'' and ''New Book of Tang'' indicated that he received the higher chancellor ''de facto'' designation of ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Sanpin'' (同中書門下三品), but this appeared to be erroneous, as it conflicts with the chronicles of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hou Sizhi
Hou Sizhi (侯思止) (died 693) was a secret police official during the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty. It is not known when Hou Sizhi was born, but it is known that he was from Tang's capital prefecture Yong Prefecture (雍州, roughly modern Xi'an, Shaanxi). He was said to be poor and unable to make a living from selling bread, and so he served as a servant at the household of the general Gao Yuanli () in Heng Prefecture (恆州, roughly modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei). In 690, he was accused of inappropriate conduct, and the prefect of Heng Prefecture, Pei Zhen, was set to sentence him to caning. A local official advised him to make a secret report to Wu Zetian, who was then empress dowager and regent over her son Emperor Ruizong, and he did so, accusing Pei and Emperor Ruizong's granduncle Li Yuanming () the Prince of Shu of plotting treason together. Empress Dowager Wu, already looking for excuses to act against senior members of the Li imperial cl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Luoyang
Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast. As of December 31, 2018, Luoyang had a population of 6,888,500 inhabitants with 2,751,400 people living in the built-up (or metro) area made of the city's five out of six urban districts (except the Jili District not continuously urbanized) and Yanshi District, now being conurbated. Situated on the central plain of China, Luoyang is among the oldest cities in China and one of the cradles of Chinese civilization. It is the earliest of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China. Names The name "Luoyang" originates from the city's location on the north or sunny ( "yang") side of the Luo River. Since the river flows from west to east and the sun is to t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zizhi Tongjian
''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song (960–1127), Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning almost 1400 years. The main text is arranged into 294 scrolls (''juan'' , equivalent to a chapter) totaling about 3 million Chinese characters. In 1065 AD, Emperor Yingzong of Song commissioned his official Sima Guang (1019–1086 AD) to lead a project to compile a universal history of China, and granted him funding and the authority to appoint his own staff. His team took 19 years to complete the work and in 1084 AD it was presented to Emperor Yingzong's successor Emperor Shenzong of Song. It was well-received and has proved to be immensely influential among both scholars and the general public. Endymion Wilkinson regards it as reference quality: "It had an enormous influence on la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Empress Wang Zhengjun
Wang Zhengjun (; 71 BC – 13 AD), officially Empress Xiaoyuan (孝元皇后), later and more commonly known as Grand Empress Dowager Wang, born in Yuancheng (modern Handan, Hebei), was an empress during the Western Han dynasty of China, who played important roles during the reigns of five successive Han emperors (her husband, son, two stepgrandsons, and stepgreat-grandnephew) and later (according to traditional historians, unwittingly) led to the usurpation of the throne by her nephew Wang Mang. She is largely viewed sympathetically by historians as an unassuming and benevolent if overly doting woman who suffered much in her long life, who tried to influence the empire as well as she could, and tried to use her power for the benefit of the empire, and who was not a party to her nephew's machinations, but whose failure, leading to the downfall of the Western Han Dynasty, was her overdependence on her clan (the Wangs). Early life Wang was born the second daughter of Wang Jin, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Han Dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warring interregnum known as the ChuHan contention (206–202 BC), and it was succeeded by the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 AD). The dynasty was briefly interrupted by the Xin dynasty (9–23 AD) established by usurping regent Wang Mang, and is thus separated into two periods—the Western Han (202 BC – 9 AD) and the Eastern Han (25–220 AD). Spanning over four centuries, the Han dynasty is considered a golden age in Chinese history, and it has influenced the identity of the Chinese civilization ever since. Modern China's majority ethnic group refers to themselves as the "Han people", the Sinitic language is known as "Han language", and the written Chinese is referred to as " Han characters". The emperor was at the pinnacle of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xin Dynasty
The Xin dynasty (; ), also known as Xin Mang () in Chinese historiography, was a short-lived Chinese imperial dynasty which lasted from 9 to 23 AD, established by the Han dynasty consort kin Wang Mang, who usurped the throne of the Emperor Ping of Han and the infant "crown prince" Liu Ying. The Xin dynasty ruled for over a decade before it was overthrown by rebels. After Wang's death, the Han dynasty was restored by Liu Xiu, a distant descendant of the Emperor Jing of Han; therefore, the Xin dynasty is often considered an interregnum period of the Han dynasty, dividing it into the Western Han (or "Former Han") and the Eastern Han (or "Later Han"). Etymology Chinese dynasties were typically named after the fief of their founders, and this reading is consistent with Wang Mang's pre-imperial position as Marquess of Xin. In 1950, C.B. Sargent suggested that the name of the dynasty should be read as meaning "new", which J. J. L. Duyvendak rejected out of hand. Chauncey S. Goodr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wang Mang
Wang Mang () (c. 45 – 6 October 23 CE), courtesy name Jujun (), was the founder and the only emperor of the short-lived Chinese Xin dynasty. He was originally an official and consort kin of the Han dynasty and later seized the throne in 9 CE. The Han dynasty was restored after his overthrow, and his rule marked the separation between the Western Han dynasty (before Xin) and Eastern Han dynasty (after Xin). Traditional Chinese historiography viewed Wang as a tyrant and usurper, while more recently, some historians have portrayed him as a visionary and selfless social reformer. During his reign, he abolished slavery and initiated a land redistribution program. Though a learned Confucian scholar who sought to implement the harmonious society he saw in the classics, his efforts ended in chaos. Wang Mang's late reign saw large-scale peasant rebellions, most notably the revolt of the Red Eyebrows. In October 23 CE, the capital Chang'an was attacked and the imperial pala ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wang Xuan (Second Zhou)
Wang Xuan (王璿) was an official of Wu Zetian's Zhou dynasty, briefly serving as chancellor. Despite Wang's high status, little is firmly established about his career except for the time that he served as chancellor—as, unusual for a chancellor, he did not have a biography in either the ''Old Book of Tang'' or the ''New Book of Tang''.See the Table of Contents for the ''Old Book of Tang'' and the Table of Contents for the ''New Book of Tang''. It is known that his clan was a prominent one, from what was one point Langye Commandery (琅邪, roughly modern Linyi, Shandong), that traced its ancestry all the way back to a descendant of the original Zhou dynasty's imperial house, then to officials of the Qin dynasty, Han dynasty, Cao Wei, Jin dynasty (266–420), Liu Song, Liang dynasty, and Chen dynasty. Wang Gui's great-grandfather Wang Meng (王猛, not to be confused with the great Former Qin chancellor of the same name) served as a provincial governor during Chen and carri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cui Shenji
Cui Shenji (崔神基), formally the Duke of Qingqiu (清丘公), was a Chinese official of the Tang dynasty and the Wu Zhou dynasty, briefly serving as chancellor during Wu Zetian's reign. It is not known when Cui was born, but it is known that his family was from Bei Prefecture (貝州, part of modern Xingtai, Hebei). His father Cui Yixuan (崔義玄) had served as a general and official under Tang's first three emperors -- Emperor Gaozu, Emperor Taizong, and Emperor Gaozong (Wu Zetian's husband) and had been created by Emperor Gaozu as the Duke of Qingqiu. When Wu Zetian was a favorite concubine of Emperor Gaozong, Cui was part of a court faction that supported her in her effort to displace Emperor Gaozong's first wife Empress Wang and later, after she did become empress, assisted in her effort to take vengeance on officials who opposed her ascension, including Emperor Gaozong's uncle Zhangsun Wuji. After Wu Zetian became "emperor" in 690, she remembered his contributions ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
