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Dowager Empress
Empress dowager (also dowager empress or empress mother) () is the English language translation of the title given to the mother or widow of a Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese emperor in the Chinese cultural sphere. The title was also given occasionally to another woman of the same generation, while a woman from the previous generation was sometimes given the title of grand empress dowager (). Numerous empress dowagers held regency during the reign of underage emperors. Many of the most prominent empress dowagers also extended their control for long periods after the emperor was old enough to govern. This was a source of political turmoil according to the traditional view of Chinese history. The title dowager empress was given to the wife of a deceased emperor of Russia or Holy Roman emperor. By country ''For grand empresses dowager, visit grand empress dowager.'' East Asia Chinese empresses dowager ; Han dynasty * Empress Dowager Lü (241-180 BC), empress consort of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the island of Great Britain. Existing on a dialect continuum with Scots, and then closest related to the Low Saxon and Frisian languages, English is genealogically West Germanic. However, its vocabulary is also distinctively influenced by dialects of France (about 29% of Modern English words) and Latin (also about 29%), plus some grammar and a small amount of core vocabulary influenced by Old Norse (a North Germanic language). Speakers of English are called Anglophones. The earliest forms of English, collectively known as Old English, evolved from a group of West Germanic (Ingvaeonic) dialects brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the 5th century and further mutated by Norse-speaking Viking settlers starting in the 8th and 9th ... [...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] |
Liu Song Dynasty
Song, known as Liu Song (), Former Song (前宋) or Song of (the) Southern Dynasty (南朝宋) in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the first of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. It succeeded the Eastern Jin dynasty and preceded the Southern Qi dynasty. The dynasty was founded by Liu Yu (Emperor Wu; 363–422 CE), whose surname together with "Song" forms the common name for the dynasty, the Liu Song. This appellation is used to distinguish it from a later dynasty of the same name, the Song dynasty (960–1279 CE, ruled by the House of Zhao). Although the Liu Song has also at times been referred to as the "Southern Song", the name is now mainly used to refer to the Song dynasty after 1127 CE. The Liu Song was a time when there was much internal turmoil. A number of emperors were incompetent and/or tyrannical, which at least partially led to many military revolts. These rulers include Liu Shao, Emperor Xiaowu, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emperor Xuanwu
Emperor Xuanwu of Northern Wei (May or June 483 – February 12, 515) was an emperor of the Xianbei-led Chinese Northern Wei dynasty (499-515). He was born Tuoba Ke, but later changed his surname so that he became Yuan Ke. During Xuanwu's reign, Northern Wei appeared, outwardly, to be at its prime, but there was much political infighting and corruption, particularly by Xuanwu's uncle Gao Zhao. Xuanwu was an avid Buddhist and often personally lectured on the Buddhist sutras. During his reign, Buddhism effectively became the state religion. Background Tuoba Ke was born in 483, as the second son of Emperor Xiaowen. His mother was Xiaowen's concubine Consort, Gao Zhaorong. (As he was born in the same year as his older brother Tuoba Xun, he was probably born just briefly after Tuoba Xun, whose mother was Consort Lin.) Little is known about his childhood, including whether he was raised by his mother Lady Gao or not. In 496, Xiaowen changed the name of the imperial clan from Tuob ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Empress Dowager Hu (Northern Wei)
Empress Dowager Hu (, personal name unknown) (490s - 17 May 528), formally Empress Ling (靈皇后), was an empress dowager of the Xianbei-led Chinese Northern Wei dynasty (515-528). She was a concubine of Emperor Xuanwu, and she became regent and empress dowager after her son Emperor Xiaoming became emperor after Emperor Xuanwu's death in 515. She was considered to be intelligent but overly lenient, and during her regency (interrupted by a period (520-525) where her overly trusted brother-in-law Yuan Cha seized power), many agrarian rebellions occurred while corruption raged among imperial officials. In 528, she was believed to have poisoned her son Emperor Xiaoming after he tried to have her lover Zheng Yan (鄭儼) executed. This caused the general Erzhu Rong to attack and capture the capital Luoyang. Erzhu threw her into the Yellow River to drown. As Emperor Xuanwu's concubine It is not known when the future Empress Dowager Hu was born. Her father Hu Guozhen (胡國珍) was t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Empress Dowager Feng
Empress (Dowager) Feng (馮皇(太)后) (442 – 17 October 490), formally Empress (Dowager) Wenming (文明皇后, literally "the civil and understanding empress") was an empress of the Xianbei-led Northern Wei dynasty of China. Her husband was Emperor Wencheng. After her husband's death in 465, she overthrew the autocratic regent Yifu Hun in 466 and became regent over her stepson Emperor Xianwen and remained as such until his adulthood in 467. She subsequently had a falling-out with Emperor Xianwen (who had then become retired emperor) over his execution of her lover Li Yi (李奕), and she assassinated him and resumed regency over his son Emperor Xiaowen in 476. While Emperor Xiaowen assumed imperial powers upon adulthood, he remained very deferential to her, and she was highly influential until her death in 490. An enduring legacy of her regency was a series of reforms that led to political recentralization for Northern Wei and future imperial dynasties. As empress The la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern Wei
Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei (), Tuoba Wei (), Yuan Wei () and Later Wei (), was founded by the Tuoba (Tabgach) clan of the Xianbei. The first of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties, it ruled northern China from 386 to 535 during the period of the Northern and Southern dynasties. Described as "part of an era of political turbulence and intense social and cultural change", the Northern Wei dynasty is particularly noted for unifying northern China in 439, bringing to an end the chaotic Sixteen Kingdoms period, and strengthening imperial control over the rural landscape via reforms in 485. This was also a period of introduced foreign ideas, such as Buddhism, which became firmly established. The Northern Wei were referred to as "Plaited Barbarians" (索虜 ''suolu'') by writers of the Southern dynasties, who considered themselves the true upholders of Chinese culture. During the Taihe period (477–499), Empress Dowager ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sima Zhao
Sima Zhao () (211 – 6 September 265), courtesy name Zishang, was a Chinese military general, politician, and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Sima Zhao capably maintained control of Wei, which had been seized by his father Sima Yi and previously maintained by his older brother Sima Shi, successfully crushing all internal opposition in the form of dissent and rebellion. In 263, despite opposition, he decided to take advantage of the present weakness in Shu Han to the west and launched an invasion against it, which eventually managed to convince its emperor, Liu Shan, towards formally surrendering, tipping the decades-long established balance of power decisively in Wei's favor. Towards the end of the campaign, he had himself created the Duke of Jin and accepted the Nine bestowments—a step that put him closer to usurpation of the throne—although he never actually ascended the throne, having further styled himself the King of Jin in 264, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wang Yuanji
Wang Yuanji (217 – 20 April 268) was a Chinese noble lady, aristocrat and later empress dowager of Jin dynasty, who lived during the Three Kingdoms period. She was the wife of Sima Zhao, a regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. She became the empress dowager during the reign of her son Sima Yan, who ended the Wei regime and founded the Jin dynasty. She was posthumously honoured as "Empress Wenming" (literally "civil and understanding empress") after her death. She is known for her wisdom, good moral character, contributions to the origin and stabilization of the Jin dynasty, and for predicting Zhong Hui's rebellion in 264. Life Wang Yuanji was from Tan County (郯縣), Donghai Commandery (東海郡), which is present-day Tancheng County, Shandong. Her father, Wang Su, served as a military officer in Wei and held a peerage as the Marquis of Lanling (蘭陵侯). When Wang Yuanji was eight years old (by East Asian reckoning), she already had ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jin Dynasty (266–420)
The Jin dynasty (; ) or the Jin Empire, sometimes distinguished as the (司馬晉) or the (兩晉), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed from 266 to 420. It was founded by Sima Yan (Emperor Wu), eldest son of Sima Zhao, who had previously been declared the King of Jin. The Jin dynasty was preceded by the Three Kingdoms period, and was succeeded by the Sixteen Kingdoms in northern China and the Liu Song dynasty in southern China. There are two main divisions in the history of the dynasty. The (266–316) was established as the successor to Cao Wei after Sima Yan usurped the throne from Cao Huan. The capital of the Western Jin was initially in Luoyang, though it later moved to Chang'an (modern Xi'an, Shaanxi province). In 280, after conquering Eastern Wu, the Western Jin reunited China proper for the first time since the end of the Han dynasty, ending the Three Kingdoms era. However, 11 years later, a series of civil wars known as the War of the Eight Princes erup ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emperor Ling Of Han
Emperor Ling of Han (156 – 13 May 189), personal name Liu Hong, was the 12th and last powerful emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty. Born the son of a lesser marquis who descended directly from Emperor Zhang (the third Eastern Han emperor), Liu Hong was chosen to be emperor in 168 around age 12 after the death of his predecessor, Emperor Huan, who had no son to succeed him. He reigned for about 21 years until his death in 189. Emperor Ling's reign saw another repetition of corrupt eunuchs dominating the eastern Han central government, as was the case during his predecessor's reign. Zhang Rang, the leader of the eunuch faction (十常侍), managed to dominate the political scene after defeating a faction led by Empress Dowager Dou's father, Dou Wu, and the Confucian scholar-official Chen Fan in 168. After reaching adulthood, Emperor Ling was not interested in state affairs and preferred to indulge in women and a decadent lifestyle. At the same time, corrupt officials in the H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Empress He (Han Dynasty)
Empress He ( 176 - 30 September 189), personal name unknown, posthumously known as Empress Lingsi, was an empress of the Eastern Han dynasty. She was the second empress consort of Emperor Ling and the mother of Emperor Shao. After the death of Emperor Ling in 189, she became empress dowager when her young son, Liu Bian (Emperor Shao), became the new emperor. She was caught up in the conflict between her brother, General-in-Chief He Jin, and the eunuch faction, who were both vying for power in the Han imperial court. After He Jin's assassination and the elimination of the eunuch faction, the warlord Dong Zhuo took advantage of the power vacuum to lead his forces into the imperial capital and seize control of the Han central government. He subsequently deposed Emperor Shao, replaced him with Liu Xie (Emperor Xian), and had Empress Dowager He poisoned to death. Family background and early years Lady He was from Wan County (), Nanyang Commandery (), which is in present-day Nanyang ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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