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Sun Yuanheng
Sun Yuanheng (孫元亨) (died October 26, 696) was an official of Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, serving briefly as chancellor. Despite Sun'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''. He was not even listed in the table of the chancellors' family trees in the ''New Book of Tang'' for the Sun clan, and therefore, nothing is known about his family tree. In spring 696, Sun was serving as the acting minister of defense (夏官尚書, ''Xiaguan Shangshu''), when Wu Zetian gave him the designation ''Tong Fengge Luantai Pingzhangshi'' (同鳳閣鸞臺平章事), making him a chancellor ''de facto''. In late 696, t ... [...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] |
Chancellor Of Tang Dynasty
The chancellor () was a semi-formally designated office position for a number of high-level officials at one time during the Tang dynasty of China. This list also includes chancellors of the short-lived Wu Zhou dynasty, which is typically treated as an interregnum of the Tang dynasty by historians. Origins Ouyang Xiu, the author of the '' New Book of Tang'', asserts that the Tang dynasty inherited its bureaucracy from its dynastic predecessor, the Sui dynasty, under which the founder Emperor Wen of Sui divided his government into five main bureaus: * ''Shàngshūshěng'' (尚書省) – The Department of State Affairs * ''Ménxiàshěng'' (門下省) – The Chancellery * ''Nèishǐshěng'' (內史省) – The Legislative Bureau (note different tone than the eunuch bureau below) * ''Mìshūshěng'' (秘書省) – The Palace Library * ''Nèishìshěng'' (內侍省) – The Eunuch bureau (note different tone than the legislative bureau above), later changed by Emperor Wen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old Book Of Tang
The ''Old Book of Tang'', or simply the ''Book of Tang'', is the first classic historical work about the Tang dynasty, comprising 200 chapters, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories. Originally compiled during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, it was superseded by the ''New Book of Tang'' which was compiled in the Song dynasty, but later regained acceptance. The credited editor was chief minister Liu Xu, but the bulk (if not all) of the editing work was actually completed by his predecessor Zhao Ying. The authors include Zhang Zhao, Jia Wei (), and Zhao Xi ().Zhao YiCh. 16 "Old and New Books of Tang" () ''Notes on Twenty-two Histories'' ( ). Structure The ''Old Book of Tang'' comprises 200 volumes. Volumes 1–20 contain the annals of the Tang emperors. Twitchett notes that coverage over time in the annals is most dense during the early and middle Tang, including only very sparse information in the late Tang after 847. Volumes 21–50 contain treatises, includ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Book Of Tang
The ''New Book of Tang'', generally translated as the "New History of the Tang" or "New Tang History", is a work of official history covering the Tang dynasty in ten volumes and 225 chapters. The work was compiled by a team of scholars of the Song dynasty, led by Ouyang Xiu and Song Qi. It was originally simply called the ''Tangshu'' (Book of Tang) until the 18th century. History In Chinese history, it was customary for dynasties to compile histories of their immediate predecessor as a means of cementing their own legitimacy. As a result, during the Later Jin dynasty of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, a history of the preceding Tang dynasty, the '' Old Book of Tang'' () had already been compiled. In 1044, however, Emperor Renzong of Song ordered a new compilation of Tang history, based on his belief that the original ''Old Book of Tang'' lacked organization and clarity. The process took 17 years, being finally completed in 1060. Contents The ''New Book of Tan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ji Xu
Ji Xu () was a Chinese politician during Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, serving briefly as chancellor. Background It is not known when Ji Xu was born, but it is known that he was from the Zhou capital Luoyang. He was said to be tall, good at hiding his emotions, but daring to speak. After passing the imperial examination, he was made the sheriff of Mingtang County (), one of the counties making up the western capital Chang'an. At that time, his father Ji Zhe () was serving as the prefect of Yi Prefecture (易州, in modern Baoding, Hebei) and was accused of receiving bribes, a capital offense. Ji Xu went to see Wu Zetian's powerful nephew Wu Chengsi and offered to have his two younger sisters become Wu Chengsi's servant girls. Ji Xu's sisters, after being delivered to Wu Chengsi's mansion, however, would not speak for three days, and he asked them why—and they responded, "Our father has violated the law and is set to be sentenced to death, and therefore we are worried." Wu Che ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lai Junchen
Lai Junchen ( Chinese: 來俊臣) (died April 28, 697) was a Chinese politician and writer. He was a well-known secret police official during the Chinese Tang and Wu Zhou dynasties, whose ability to interrogate and falsely implicate officials of crimes made him a subject of fear and hatred. In 697, he was accused of plotting to falsely accuse Wu Zetian's sons and other family members of treason, and he was executed. Background It is not known when Lai Junchen was born, but it is known that he was from Wannian County (), one of the two counties making up the Tang Dynasty capital Chang'an. His father was one Lai Cao () -- who was said to have won Lai Junchen's mother, then the wife of his friend Cai Ben (), after winning in gambling with Cai. Lai Junchen was said to be a thug who did not work, who was investigated for thievery while he was at He Prefecture (和州, roughly modern Chaohu, Anhui) and who then made false accusations against others to the prefect, Li Xu () the Pri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Li Yuansu
Li Yuansu (李元素) (died October 26, 696) was an official of Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, serving twice as chancellor. Li Yuansu was the younger brother of Li Jingxuan, who served as chancellor during the reign of Wu Zetian's husband Emperor Gaozong of Tang. It was said that he, like Li Jingxuan, showed abilities as an official. He was, at one point, the magistrate of Wude County (武德, in modern Jiaozuo, Henan), when his superior, Li Wenjian (李文暕) the prefect of Huai Prefecture (roughly modern Jiaozuo) was set to collect gold and silver from the people to make barrels to offer to the emperor, and the people resented it. Other subordinates of Li Wenjian did not dare to speak about it, but Li Yuansu opposed it vehemently. Li Wenjian stopped collecting gold and silver from the people and, as he believed that Li Yuansu needed financial support, paid Li Yuansu out of his own pocket. As of 692, during Wu Zetian's reign, Li Yuansu was acting deputy minister of treasury (地 ... [...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] |
