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Yang Jian (Song Dynasty)
Yang Jian (, died 1121) was a ''huanguan'' (eunuch) and minister under Emperor Huizong of Song, best-known for implementing oppressive tax policies to increase government revenue. In subsequent works of fiction, such as the classic novels ''Water Margin'' and ''Jin Ping Mei'', he is almost always portrayed as treacherous and corrupt. Early career Yang Jian became a eunuch at a young age. During Emperor Huizong of Song, Emperor Huizong's early reign he worked in the imperial garden and often pleased the emperor. In the ''chongning'' (1102–1106) era he was promoted and put in charge of various affairs such as the management of the shrines, the casting of ''Ding (vessel), ding'' (tripods), and the construction of the Bureau of the Music of Great Brilliance () and the Dragon Virtue Palace (, the emperor's former princely mansion). In 1114, Yang Jian was appointed as the ''jiedushi'' (military governor) of Zhanghua (, in modern Gansu). There, he initiated the establishment of a gua ...
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Huanguan
A eunuch ( ) is a castration, castrated man. Castration has had a social function in history. In China, castration included the Penis removal, removal of the penis and the testicles (emasculation). A knife removed both organs at the same time. Eunuchs have existed in China since about 146 AD, during the reign of Emperor Huan of Han and were common as civil servants by the Qin dynasty. From ancient times to the Sui dynasty, castration was a traditional punishment (one of the Five Punishments) and a means of gaining employment in the imperial service. Some eunuchs, such as the Ming dynasty official Zheng He, gained power that superseded that of the Grand Secretaries. Self-castration was not uncommon, although it was not always performed thoroughly and was later banned. Eunuchs were employed as high-ranking civil servants because they could not have children, so they were not tempted to seize power and begin a dynasty. In addition, many in the palace considered eunuchs more reliable t ...
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Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing house specializing in monographs and scholarly journals. Most are nonprofit organizations and an integral component of a large research university. They publish work that has been reviewed by schola ... in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Press is a department of the University of Cambridge and is both an academic and educational publisher. It became part of Cambridge University Press & Assessment, following a merger with Cambridge Assessment in 2021. With a global sales presence, publishing hubs, and offices in more than 40 Country, countries, it publishes over 50,000 titles by authors from over 100 countries. Its publishing includes more than 380 academic journals, monographs, reference works, school and uni ...
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Hong Mai
Hong Mai (, 1123 Poyang County, Poyang-1202 Hangzhou), courtesy name Jinglu (), art name Yechu () and Rongzhai (), was a Chinese statesman, Confucianism, Confucian scholar and writer during the Southern Song dynasty. He was the author of ''Yijianzhi'' () and ''Rongzhai Suibi'' (). Life Hong was born in the year of 1123 in Poyang County, Poyang. His father Hong Hao was a Song official who participated the negotiations between Song and Jin dynasty (1115–1234), Jin during the wars of Jingkang incident, Jingkang era. He also had two elder brothers whose name were Hong Kuo and Hong Zun respectively. In 1145, with the favor of Emperor Gaozong of Song, Hong Mai was given a government post in the department of transportation (Zhuanyun Si). In 1162, Hong Mai was sent to Jin dynasty (1115–1234), Jurchen Empire; which ruled the northern half of China at the time; as a diplomat. During his stay in the north, he tried to establish a truce in Shandong but the Jurchens were not ready to ac ...
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Yijian Zhi
''Yijian Zhi'' () is a Chinese ''zhiguai'' story collection by Hong Mai of the Southern Song dynasty. It originally comprised 420 chapters, but today less than a half has survived. The first chapter was completed in 1161, and some surviving chapters were completed in 1198 or later. A partial English translation was published under the title of ''Record of the Listener''. Description Hong Mai (1123–1202) had always interested himself in popular stories, and he titled his story collection after the ancient writer Yijian, who, according to the ''Liezi'', wrote down the stories he heard. The stories are very heterogeneous: gods and ghosts, injustice and retribution, fantasy and uncanny have all been included in its storylines. There are 2692 stories in the 206 chapters that have survived. Chang Fu-jui classified them thus: Reception The stories have inspired numerous vernacular stories and Chinese opera Traditional Chinese opera (), or ''Xiqu'', is a form of musical theat ...
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Grand Commandant
Grand Commandant () is a title referring to the supreme military commander in ancient China, Vietnam and the Korean Peninsula. The earliest recording is on the Master Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals in 205 BC. During the Western Han, the position was only filled by regents or left vacant. During the Eastern Han 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 warr ..., it was mostly filled by civilians and dominated the cabinet. The Grand Commandant was also responsible for the supervision of officials. References Government of Imperial China {{China-stub ...
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Emperor Qinzong
Emperor Qinzong of Song (23 May 1100 – 14 June 1161), personal name Zhao Huan, was the ninth emperor of the Song dynasty of China and the last emperor of the Northern Song dynasty. Emperor Qinzong was the eldest son and heir apparent of Emperor Huizong. His mother was Emperor Huizong's empress consort, Empress Wang. In 1126, when the forces of the Jurchen-led Jin Empire invaded the Song Empire beginning the first siege of Bianjing. Frightened, Emperor Huizong intended to flee but was convinced by his officials to abdicate first and then flee. Huizong then abdicated and passed on his throne to Emperor Qinzong, and then assumed the title ''Taishang Huang'' ("Retired Emperor") himself and fled to the countryside. Reign Left to deal with the Jin invasion by himself, Emperor Qinzong appointed the general Li Gang () to lead the Song military to fend off the invaders. However, Emperor Qinzong was not a decisive leader and often made poor judgments. Eventually, he removed Li Gan ...
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Grand Preceptor
Grand Preceptor, also referred to as Grand Master, Section Cp2:192 C was the senior-most of the top three civil positions of the Chinese Zhou dynasty. The other two were Grand Tutor (太傅) and Grand Protector (太保), respectively. These three posts were the first posts to be known as the Three Excellencies. The position titles and duties of the Three Excellencies changed in later dynasties. The title of Grand Preceptor continued to be used during the later parts of the Han dynasty, notably by Dong Zhuo, then Chancellor of State. It was also used by the Northern Yuan as a title for powerful nobles who were not part of the Chinggisid lineage. The rank was imitated in the Confucian structure of the Vietnamese court, where the same Chinese title in Vietnamese pronunciation was known as thái sư. References Taishi Taishi may refer to: Names *Taishi (surname), Chinese family name *Taishi (given name), Japanese given name Ranks * Grand Preceptor, ancient Chinese top civili ...
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Tong Guan
Tong Guan (1054–1126), courtesy name Daofu (), was a Chinese court eunuch, military general, political adviser, and state councillor to Emperor Huizong of the Song dynasty. In the classical novel ''Water Margin'', Tong Guan is fictionalised as a corrupt government official and an enemy of the 108 Stars of Destiny. Life and career Tong Guan began his military career under the mentorship of a leading eunuch general of the 1080s and became one of the few eunuch generals of the Song dynasty.Ebrey, 166 Despite being a eunuch, it was written by many that Tong Guan had strong personal character and was in peak physical condition, with a long beard that was considered unusual for eunuchs. After Tong Guan gained his first victory in battle in 1104, Emperor Huizong granted him a valuable document of his own calligraphy written in his unique "slender gold" style. After Tong Guan gained a greater reputation by commanding a series of victorious battles in the northwest against the Ta ...
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Cai Jing
Cai Jing (1047–1126), courtesy name Yuanchang (), was a Chinese calligrapher and politician who lived during the Northern Song dynasty of China. He is also fictionalised as one of the primary antagonists in ''Water Margin'', one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. Life Cai Jing was from Xianyou, Xinghua (present-day Putian, Fujian). In 1070, he participated in the imperial examination and was a ''jinshi'' (a successful candidate). He served as a civil official in Qiantang before moving on to work in the Grand Secretary's office. In 1086, Cai Jing was posted to the administrative office in Kaifeng, the capital. He supported the conservative faction in the imperial court, headed by Sima Guang, and won the praise of Sima. In 1094, Cai Jing became the Minister for Revenue. He helped Zhang Dun () revive the New Policies of reformist chancellor Wang Anshi, although he set out on a campaign of attrition to destroy or radically alter the written work of hi ...
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String Of Cash Coins (currency Unit)
A string of cash coins (Traditional Chinese: , , ; ) refers to a historical Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Ryukyuan, and Vietnamese currency unit that was used as a superunit of the Chinese cash, Japanese mon, Korean mun, Ryukyuan mon, and Vietnamese văn currencies. The square hole in the middle of cash coins served to allow for them to be strung together in strings, the term would later also be used on banknotes and served there as a superunit of '' wén'' (). Prior to the Song dynasty strings of cash coins were called (), (), or (), while during the Ming and Qing dynasties they were called () or ().Chinesecoins.lyq.dWeights and units in Chinese coinageSection: “Guan 貫, Suo 索, Min 緡, Diao 吊, Chuan 串.” by Lars Bo Christensen. Retrieved: 05 February 2018. In Japan and Vietnam the term would continue to be used until the abolition of cash coins in those respective countries. During the Qing dynasty a string of 1000 cash coins and valued at 1 tael of silver (bu ...
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Yun Prefecture (Shandong)
Yunzhou or Yun Prefecture was a '' zhou'' (prefecture) in imperial China in modern southwestern Shandong, China. It existed (intermittently) from 590 to 1109. Geography During the Sui dynasty it was seated in modern Yuncheng County, but since 634 the seat was moved northeastwards to modern Dongping County. In the Tang dynasty its administrative area probably includes of parts of modern: * Under the administration of Heze ** Yuncheng County ** Juye County * Under the administration of Jining ** Liangshan County * Under the administration of Tai'an ** Dongping County * Under the administration of Jinan ** Pingyin County ** Changqing District (Jinan) * Under the administration of Liaocheng ** Yanggu County ** Dong'e County Dong'e County () falls under the jurisdiction of Liaocheng Prefecture-level city, in the Shandong Province of China. It is located on the left (northern) bank of the Yellow River, some upstream from the provincial capital Jinan. The county is re ... References ...
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Ji Prefecture (Shandong)
Jizhou or Ji Prefecture was a '' zhou'' (prefecture) in imperial China centering on modern Jining, Shandong, China. It existed (intermittently) from 951 until 1348. Geography The administrative region of Ji Prefecture in Later Zhou is in modern southwestern Shandong. It probably includes parts of modern: *Under the administration of Jining: **Jining **Jinxiang County *Under the administration of Heze: **Juye County **Yuncheng County Yuncheng () is a county in the southwest of Shandong province, China. It is the northernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Heze. It borders the Yellow River and Henan (Taiqian County and Fan County) to the north, Liangshan ... References * Prefectures of the Song dynasty Prefectures of Later Zhou Prefectures of the Jin dynasty (1115–1234) Prefectures of the Yuan dynasty Former prefectures in Shandong {{China-hist-stub ...
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