Yu Qian
Yu Qian (; 1398–1457), courtesy name Tingyi (廷益), art name Jie'an (節庵), was a Chinese official who served under the Ming dynasty. Under Emperor Yingzong, he worked in the Ministry of War, eventually becoming a vice minister. He distinguished himself in the Tumu Crisis, leading the defense of the imperial capital against the Mongols, and was promoted to the position of Minister of War. For the next eight years, he remained the most influential member of the government of the new Jingtai Emperor. In January 1457, Emperor Yingzong returned to power and Yu Qian was promptly executed. Biography Yu Qian was born in Qiantang County, Hangzhou, Zhejiang. He started his career in the Ming civil service after obtaining the position of a ''jinshi'' (進士; successful candidate) in the imperial examination in 1421. He helped to suppress a rebellion by the prince Zhu Gaoxu in 1426 and earned the favour of the Xuande Emperor (r. 1425–1435), who appointed him as the Grand Coor ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Imperial Examination
The imperial examination was a civil service examination system in History of China#Imperial China, Imperial China administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the Civil service#China, state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by merit rather than by birth started Imperial examination in Chinese mythology, early in Chinese history, but using written examinations as a tool of selection started in earnest during the Sui dynasty (581–618), then into the Tang dynasty (618–907). The system became dominant during the Song dynasty (960–1279) and lasted for almost a millennium until its abolition during the late Qing reforms, late Qing dynasty reforms in 1905. The key sponsors for abolition were Yuan Shikai, Yin Chang and Zhang Zhidong. Aspects of the imperial examination still exist for entry into the civil service of both China and Taiwan. The exams served to ensure a common knowledge of writing, Chinese classics, and literary style among state officials. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hongzhi Emperor
The Hongzhi Emperor (30 July 1470 – 9 June 1505), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Xiaozong of Ming, personal name Zhu Youcheng, was the tenth emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1487 to 1505. He succeeded his father, the Chenghua Emperor. The Hongzhi Emperor was born during a time in which his father's favorite concubine, Lady Wan, and her supporters were eliminating all potential heirs to the throne. The former empress protected the young prince from Lady Wan, and he did not reunite with his father until the age of five, when he was named crown prince. From a young age, he displayed exceptional intelligence and excelled in his studies, receiving a comprehensive Confucian education. After ascending the throne in 1487, the emperor's administration was guided by Confucian ideology, and he himself was known for his diligence and hard work. He closely oversaw all state affairs, implementing measures such as reducing taxes and government spending, and appoin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Posthumous Name
A posthumous name is an honorary Personal name, name given mainly to revered dead people in East Asian cultural sphere, East Asian culture. It is predominantly used in Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments or reputation, the title is assigned after death and essentially replaces the name used during life. Although most posthumous names are given to royalty, some posthumous names are given to honour significant people without hereditary titles, such as courtiers or General officer, military generals. To create a posthumous name, one or more adjectives are inserted before the deceased's title. The name of the state or domain of the owner may be added to avoid ambiguity. History Origins Early mythological rulers such as Emperor Yao were known to have posthumous names. Archaeology, Archaeological discoveries have shown that the titles of kings as far back as the Zhou dynasty (1046 to 256 BC) are po ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chenghua Emperor
The Chenghua Emperor (9 December 1447 – 9 September 1487), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Xianzong of Ming, personal name Zhu Jianshen, changed to Zhu Jianru in 1457, was the ninth emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1464 to 1487. He succeeded his father, Emperor Yingzong. Zhu Jianshen was born in 1447 as the son of Emperor Yingzong. When he was only two years old, his father was captured by the Mongols during the Battle of Tumu Fortress, and his uncle ascended the throne as the Jingtai Emperor. During this time, Zhu Jianshen was appointed as crown prince, but later his uncle removed him from the position. Zhu Jianshen was not restored as crown prince until 1457, when Emperor Yingzong overthrew the ill Jingtai Emperor in a coup and reascended the throne. The Chenghua Emperor began his reign at the age of sixteen. During the initial years of his reign, he implemented a new policy that included tax cuts and a focus on strengthening the state's power. Howe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Battle Of Tumu
The Crisis of the Tumu Fortress, also known as the Tumu Crisis, or the Jisi Incident, was a border conflict between the Oirat Mongols and the Ming dynasty. In July 1449, Esen Taishi, leader of the Oirat Mongols, launched a large-scale, three-pronged invasion of China. Despite having capable generals, Emperor Yingzong of Ming, under the influence of eunuch Wang Zhen who dominated the Ming court at the time, made the decision to personally lead his armies into battle against Esen. On 1 September, the Ming army suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the much weaker Mongols, and the emperor was captured. This defeat was one of the biggest military failures in the Ming dynasty's three centuries of existence, and it was largely attributed to the poor leadership of the Ming army. Esen, for his part, was not prepared for the scale of his victory or for the capture of the Ming emperor. Initially, he attempted to use the captured emperor to raise a ransom and planned to conquer the un ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Oirats
Oirats (; ) or Oirds ( ; ), formerly known as Eluts and Eleuths ( or ; zh, 厄魯特, ''Èlǔtè'') are the westernmost group of Mongols, whose ancestral home is in the Altai Mountains, Altai region of Siberia, Xinjiang and western Mongolia. The first documented reference to Elut and Yelut was in the Ongin inscription, Onginsk "rune" inscriptions dated in the sixth century. Historically, the Oirats were composed of four major tribes: Dzungar people, Dzungar (Choros (Oirats), Choros or Olot people, Olots), Torghut, Dörbet Oirat, Dörbet and Khoshut. The political elite of the Rouran Khaganate were Yelü, YELÜ-T Mongolic speakers. Although these two empires encompassed multilingual populations, the language of diplomacy, trade, and culture was an ÖLÜ (YELÜ) dialect of ancient Mongolic descent. When the Tabgach destroyed the Rouran Empire, the Mongolic-speaking people escaped into the Caspian steppes. The modern Kalmyks of Kalmykia on the Caspian Sea in southeastern Europe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Defense Of Beijing
The Defense of Jingshi (), also known as the Defense of Beijing (), was a battle that took place between the Northern Yuan dynasty and the Ming dynasty in 1449. Background As a result of trade sanctions issued by the Ming dynasty, Esen Taishi of the Northern Yuan led an invasion against the Ming dynasty in the year 1449. In September, Esen was victorious in the Tumu Crisis, resulting in the Zhengtong Emperor being captured. Esen attempted to use the captured Zhengtong Emperor to raise a ransom and negotiate a favorable treaty including trade benefits. The emperor's family planned to raise funds to secure the emperor's release. The Ming court at first was inclined to follow the counsel of Xu Youzhen, an official who suggested that since the garrison forces around Beijing were less than 100,000, the court should retreat to Nanjing while things were still in balance. This was following the example of when the Song dynasty moved to Hangzhou after the Jurchen Jin dynasty captured it ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Three Departments And Six Ministries
The Three Departments and Six Ministries () system was the primary administrative structure in imperial China from the Sui dynasty (581–618) to the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). It was also used by Balhae (698–926) and Goryeo (918–1392) and various other kingdoms in Manchuria, Korea and Vietnam. The Three Departments were three top-level administrative structures in imperial China. They were the Central Secretariat, responsible for drafting policy, the Chancellery, responsible for reviewing policy and advising the emperor, and the Department of State Affairs, responsible for implementing policy. The former two were loosely joined as the Secretariat-Chancellery during the late Tang dynasty, Song dynasty and in the Korean kingdom of Goryeo. The Six Ministries (also translated as Six Boards) were direct administrative organs of the state under the authority of the Department of State Affairs. They were the Ministries of Personnel, Rites, War, Justice, Works, and Revenue. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wang Zhen (eunuch)
Wang Zhen ( zh, c=wikt:王, 王wikt:振, 振, p=Wáng Zhèn) was the first Ming dynasty eunuch with power in the court.Mingshi He served Zhu Qizhen who promoted him to become 'one of the most powerful eunuch "dictators" in Ming dynasty, Ming history'. Career The Zhihua Temple in Beijing was built in 1443 at his order. He was tutor to Zhu Qizhen. He was killed in 1449 during the Tumu Crisis campaign against the Northern Yuan, during which the Ming emperor Zhu Qizhen was captured by Oirats, Oirat Mongols. References Year of birth missing 1449 deaths Ming dynasty eunuchs Place of birth missing Politicians from Zhangjiakou People from Yu County, Hebei Directorate of Ceremonial {{China-bio-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Henan
Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Luoyang, Anyang, Kaifeng and Zhengzhou, are in Henan. While the province's name means 'south of the river', approximately a quarter of the province lies north of the Yellow River. With an area of , Henan covers a large part of the fertile and densely populated North China Plain. Its neighboring provinces are Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong, Anhui, and Hubei. Henan is China's third-most populous province and the most populous among inland provinces, with a population of over 99 million as of 2020. It is also the world's seventh-most populous administrative division; if it were a country by itself, Henan would be the 17th-most populous in the world, behind Egypt and Vietnam. People from Henan often suffer from regional discrimination ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shanxi
Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi and Datong. Its one-character abbreviation is (), after the Jin (Chinese state), state of Jin that existed there during the Spring and Autumn period (). The name ''Shanxi'' means 'west of the mountains', a reference to its location west of the Taihang Mountains. Shanxi borders Hebei to the east, Henan to the south, Shaanxi to the west and Inner Mongolia to the north. Shanxi's terrain is characterised by a plateau bounded partly by mountain ranges. Shanxi's culture is largely dominated by the ethnic Han Chinese, Han majority, who make up over 99% of its population. Jin Chinese is considered by some linguists to be a distinct language from Mandarin and its geographical range covers most of Shanxi. Both Jin and Mandarin are spoken in Shanxi. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |