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Chongzhen Emperor
The Chongzhen Emperor (; 6 February 1611 – 25 April 1644), personal name Zhu Youjian (), courtesy name Deyue (),Wang Yuan (王源)，''Ju ye tang wen ji'' (《居業堂文集》), vol. 19. "聞之張景蔚親見烈皇帝神主題御諱字德約，行五，生於萬曆庚戌十二月二十四日寅時，崩於崇禎甲申三月十九日丑時。" was the 17th and last Emperor of the Ming dynasty. He reigned from 1627 to 1644. "Chongzhen," the era name of his reign, means "honorable and auspicious." Zhu Youjian was son of the Taichang Emperor and younger brother of the Tianqi Emperor, whom he succeeded to the throne in 1627. He battled peasant rebellions and was not able to defend the northern frontier against the Manchu. When rebels under Li Zicheng reached the capital Beijing in 1644, he committed suicide, ending the Ming dynasty. The Manchu formed the succeeding Qing dynasty. In 1645, Zhu Yousong, who had proclaimed himself the Hongguang Emperor of the Southern Ming, gave th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ming Tombs
The Ming tombs are a collection of mausoleums built by the emperors of the Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ... of China. The first Ming emperor's tomb is located near his capital Nanjing. However, the majority of the Ming tombs are located in a cluster near Beijing and collectively known as the Thirteen Tombs of the Ming dynasty (). They are located within the suburban Changping District of Beijing Municipality, north-northwest of Beijing's city center. The site, on the southern slope of Tianshou Mountain (originally Huangtu Mountain), was chosen based on the principles of ''feng shui'' by the third Ming emperor, the Yongle Emperor. After the construction of the Imperial Palace (Forbidden City) in 1420, the Yongle Emperor selected his burial site and c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beijing
} Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 million residents. It has an administrative area of , the third in the country after Guangzhou and Shanghai. It is located in Northern China, and is governed as a municipality under the direct administration of the State Council with 16 urban, suburban, and rural districts.Figures based on 2006 statistics published in 2007 National Statistical Yearbook of China and available online at archive. Retrieved 21 April 2009. Beijing is mostly surrounded by Hebei Province with the exception of neighboring Tianjin to the southeast; together, the three divisions form the Jingjinji megalopolis and the national capital region of China. Beijing is a global city and one of the world's leading centres for culture, diplomacy, politics, finance, busi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wanggongchang Explosion
The Wanggongchang Explosion ( zh, t=王恭廠大爆炸), also known as the Great Tianqi Explosion ( zh, t=天啟大爆炸, labels=no), Wanggongchang Calamity ( zh, t=王恭廠之變, labels=no) or Beijing Explosive Incident in the late Ming dynasty ( zh, t=晚明北京爆炸事件, labels=no), was a catastrophic explosion that occurred on May 30, 1626, during the late reign of Tianqi Emperor, at the heavily populated Ming China capital Beijing, and reportedly killed around 20,000 people. The epicenter was a major production center of gunpowder, but it is uncertain exactly what triggered the explosion. Background The Wanggongchang Armory was located about southwest of the Forbidden City, in modern-day central Xicheng District. It was one of the six gunpowder factories administered by the Ministry of Works in the Beijing area, and also one of the main storage facilities of armor, firearms, bows, ammunition, and gunpowder for the Shenjiying defending the capital. It was nor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ming Dynasty Porcelain Bowl, Chongzhen Reign Period
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han people, the majority ethnic group in China. Although the primary capital of Beijing fell in 1644 to a rebellion led by Li Zicheng (who established the short-lived Shun dynasty), numerous rump regimes ruled by remnants of the Ming imperial family—collectively called the Southern Ming—survived until 1662. The Ming dynasty's founder, the Hongwu Emperor (r. 1368–1398), attempted to create a society of self-sufficient rural communities ordered in a rigid, immobile system that would guarantee and support a permanent class of soldiers for his dynasty: the empire's standing army exceeded one million troops and the navy's dockyards in Nanjing were the largest in the world. He also took great care breaking the power of the court eunuchs and un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wei Zhongxian
Wei Zhongxian (1568 – December 12, 1627), born Wei Si (魏四), was a Chinese court eunuch who lived in the late Ming dynasty. As a eunuch he used the name Li Jinzhong (李进忠). He is considered by most historians as the most notorious eunuch in Chinese history."Wei Zhongxian" ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (Online Academic Edition). Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2014. He is best known for his service in the court of the Zhu Youjiao (r. 1620–1627), when his power eventually appeared to rival that of the emperor. Mao Wenlong was one of the generals promoted by Wei Zhongxian. During Zhu Y ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eunuch
A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium BCE. Over the millennia since, they have performed a wide variety of functions in many different cultures: courtiers or equivalent domestics, for espionage or clandestine operations, castrato singers, concubines, or sexual partners, religious specialists, soldiers, royal guards, government officials, and guardians of women or harem servants. Eunuchs would usually be servants or slaves who had been castrated to make them less threatening servants of a royal court where physical access to the ruler could wield great influence. Seemingly lowly domestic functions—such as making the ruler's bed, bathing him, cutting his hair, carrying him in his litter, or even relaying messages—could, in theory, give a eunuch "the ruler's ear" and impa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Temple Name
Temple names are posthumous titles accorded to monarchs of the Sinosphere for the purpose of ancestor worship. The practice of honoring monarchs with temple names began during the Shang dynasty in China and had since been adopted by other dynastic regimes in the Sinosphere, with the notable exception of Japan. Temple names should not be confused with era names (年號), regnal names (尊號) or posthumous names (謚號). Modern academia usually refers to the following rulers by their temple names: Chinese monarchs from the Tang to the Yuan dynasties, Korean rulers of the Goryeo (until AD 1274) and Joseon dynasties, and Vietnamese rulers of the Lý, Trần, and Later Lê dynasties (with the Hồ and Later Trần dynasties as exceptions). Numerous individuals who did not rule as monarch during their lifetime were posthumously elevated to the position of monarch by their descendants and honored with temple names. For example, Cao Cao was posthumously honored as an emperor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Li Zicheng
Li Zicheng (22 September 1606 – 1645), born Li Hongji, also known by the nickname, Dashing King, was a Chinese peasant rebel leader who overthrew the Ming dynasty in 1644 and ruled over northern China briefly as the emperor of the short-lived Shun dynasty before his death a year later. Biography Li Zicheng was born in 1606 as Li Hongji to an impoverished family of farmers in Li Jiqian village, Yan'an prefecture, northeast Shaanxi province. Li Zicheng had a brother who was 20 years his senior and raised Li Zicheng alongside his son and Zicheng’s nephew, Li Guo. While Li Zicheng was literate, the source of his education is disputed. Over the course of his late adolescence and early adulthood, Li worked on a farm, in a wine shop, in a blacksmith's shop, and as a mailman for the state courier system. According to folklore, in 1630, Li was put on public display in an iron collar and shackles for failing to repay loans to a usurious magistrate. The magistrate, a man by the nam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manchu People
The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and Qing (1636–1912) dynasties of China were established and ruled by the Manchus, who are descended from the Jurchen people who earlier established the Jin dynasty (1115–1234) in northern China. Manchus form the largest branch of the Tungusic peoples and are distributed throughout China, forming the fourth largest ethnic group in the country. They can be found in 31 Chinese provincial regions. Among them, Liaoning has the largest population and Hebei, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Inner Mongolia and Beijing have over 100,000 Manchu residents. About half of the population live in Liaoning and one-fifth in Hebei. There are a number of Manchu autonomous counties in China, such as Xinbin, Xiuyan, Qinglong, Fengning, Yitong, Qingyuan, Weichang, Kua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Era Name
Chinese era names were titles used by various Chinese dynasties and regimes in Imperial China for the purpose of year identification and numbering. The first monarch to adopt era names was the Emperor Wu of Han in 140 BCE, and this system remained the official method of year identification and numbering until the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912 CE, when the era name system was superseded by the Republic of China calendar. Other polities in the Sinosphere—Korea, Vietnam and Japan—also adopted the concept of era name as a result of Chinese politico-cultural influence. Description Chinese era names were titles adopted for the purpose of identifying and numbering years in Imperial China. Era names originated as mottos or slogans chosen by the reigning monarch and usually reflected the political, economic and/or social landscapes at the time. For instance, the first era name proclaimed by the Emperor Wu of Han, ''Jianyuan'' (; lit. "establishing the origin"), was r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Courtesy Name
A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich TheobaldNames of Persons and Titles of Rulers/ref> A courtesy name is not to be confused with an art name, another frequently mentioned term for an alternative name in East Asia, which is closer to the concept of a pen name or a pseudonym. Usage A courtesy name is a name traditionally given to Chinese men at the age of 20 ''sui'', marking their coming of age. It was sometimes given to women, usually upon marriage. The practice is no longer common in modern Chinese society. According to the ''Book of Rites'', after a man reached adulthood, it was disrespectful for others of the same generation to address him by his given name. Thus, the given name was reserved for oneself and one's elders, whereas the courtesy name would be used by adults of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Princess Changping
Zhu Meichuo (2 May 1630 – 26 September 1647), known by her title Princess Changping, was a Chinese princess of the Ming dynasty. She was one of the children of the Chongzhen Emperor and Empress Zhou. Biography Changping was born to the Chongzhen Emperor and Empress Zhou. Changping had 2 sisters: Princess Kunyi, Princess Zhaoren and 6 brothers: Prince Daoliang, Zhu Cican, Zhu Cizhao, Zhu Cilang, Zhu Cihuan, Zhu Cijiong. She was known for her ingenuity. At the age of 16, her father arranged for her marriage to Zhou Xian (周顯; a.k.a. Zhou Shixian 周世顯), a military officer. However, their wedding was cancelled as Li Zicheng and his rebel army was entering the palace. When the capital eventually fell to the rebels, because the plan of the emperor failed, even though the Chongzhen Emperor loved his family, he had to kill them, because he was afraid that after his death, his children's fate would be the same as happened with the fall of the Song dynasty: the princes were to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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