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Chen Yuanda
Chen Yuanda (died April 316), courtesy name Changhong, was a Xiongnu minister of Han-Zhao during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. He was an influential figure within the Han court, most known for his fierce remonstrations against the emperor, Liu Cong and his decadent lifestyle. Towards the end of his life, he led the scholar-officials in a power struggle against Liu Cong's eunuchs and consort kins, but killed himself out of despair after his close friend died as a result of the conflict. Early life and service under Liu Yuan Chen Yuanda was born into the Rear Division of the Southern Xiongnu. His family name was originally "Gao (高)", but supposedly, due to his birth month bringing misfortune to his father, he was forced to change it to "Chen (陳)". Yuanda was orphaned at an early age and grew up poor in Jinyang. He took a liking to reciting books and worked on farms to sustain himself. Yuanda was knowledgeable, but never received an invitation to serve from anyone of note ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tang Dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Historians generally regard the Tang as a high point in Chinese civilisation, and a Golden age (metaphor), golden age of cosmopolitan culture. Tang territory, acquired through the military campaigns of its early rulers, rivalled that of the Han dynasty. The House of Li, Li family founded the dynasty after taking advantage of a period of Sui decline and precipitating their final collapse, in turn inaugurating a period of progress and stability in the first half of the dynasty's rule. The dynasty was formally interrupted during 690–705 when Empress Wu Zetian seized the throne, proclaiming the Wu Zhou dynasty and becoming the only legitimate Chinese empress regnant. The An Lushan rebellion (755 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liu Yuan (Han-Zhao)
Liu Yuan (劉淵, died 29 August 310), courtesy name Yuanhai (元海), also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Guangwen of Han (Zhao) (漢(趙)光文帝) was the founding emperor of the Xiongnu-led Han-Zhao dynasty of China during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. Due to Tang dynasty naming taboo, he is referred to by his courtesy name as Liu Yuanhai (劉元海) in the ''Book of Jin''. With the dissolution of the Southern Xiongnu in 216, the last vestiges of their power were divided into Five Divisions in Bing province around modern-day Shanxi. Liu Yuan was born into the aristocracy of the Five Divisions and was sent to the Chinese capital, Luoyang as a hostage during his youth, where he became highly sinicized and later held several government offices under the Western Jin dynasty. As the War of the Eight Princes weakened Jin authority in northern China, Liu Yuan was called upon by the Five Divisions to lead their rebellion, and in 304, he declared independence from the Jin a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zizhi Tongjian
The ''Zizhi Tongjian'' (1084) is a chronicle published during the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) that provides a record of Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning almost 1400 years. The main text is arranged into 294 scrolls (), each equivalent to a chapter—totaling around 3 million Chinese characters. In 1065, Emperor Yingzong of Song commissioned his official, Sima Guang (1019–1086), to lead a project to compile a Universal history (genre), 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 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 later Chinese historical writing, either directly or through its many a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sima Guang
Sima Guang (17 November 1019 – 11 October 1086), courtesy name Junshi, was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer. He was a high-ranking Song dynasty scholar-official who authored the ''Zizhi Tongjian'', a monumental work of history. Born into a family of officials, Sima Guang displayed remarkable intelligence from a young age and quickly rose through the ranks of the Song bureaucracy. His early career was marked by his work in government administration, where he gained a reputation for his meticulous scholarship and principled stance on state affairs. As a prominent official, he strongly opposed Wang Anshi’s New Policies, arguing that they disrupted social stability and traditional governance. His criticisms led to his removal from political office when reformists held power. After retiring from active politics, Sima devoted himself to historical research and writing. He spent years compiling and editing the Zizhi Tongjian, which he presented to Emperor Shenzong in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Book Of Jin
The ''Book of Jin'' is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty (266–420), Jin dynasty from 266 to 420. It was compiled in 648 by a number of officials commissioned by the imperial court of the Tang dynasty, with Chancellor (China), chancellor Fang Xuanling as the lead editor, drawing mostly from official documents left from earlier archives. A few essays in volumes 1, 3, 54 and 80 were composed by the Tang dynasty's Emperor Taizong of Tang, Emperor Taizong himself. However, the contents of the ''Book of Jin'' included not only the history of the Jin dynasty, but also that of the Sixteen Kingdoms period, which was contemporaneous with the Eastern Jin dynasty. Compilation Over 20 histories of the Jin had been written during the Jin era itself and the subsequent Northern and Southern dynasties, of which Eighteen History Books of Jin, 18 were still extant at the beginning of the Tang dynasty. Yet Emperor Taizong of Tang, Emperor Taizong deemed t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fang Xuanling
Fang Qiao (579 – 18 August 648), courtesy name Xuanling, better known as Fang Xuanling (), posthumously known as Duke Wenzhao of Liang, was a Chinese statesman and writer who served as a chancellor under Emperor Taizong in the early Tang dynasty. He was the lead editor of the historical record ''Book of Jin'' (covering the history of the Jin dynasty (266–420)) and one of the most celebrated Tang dynasty chancellors. He and his colleague, Du Ruhui, were often described as role models for chancellors in imperial China. During the Sui dynasty Fang Xuanling was born in 579, shortly before the founding of the Sui dynasty in 581, during Sui's predecessor state, Northern Zhou. His great-grandfather Fang Yi () was a general, official, and hereditary count under the Northern Wei dynasty, and his grandfather Fang Xiong () was also an official. His father Fang Yanqian () was a county magistrate during the Sui dynasty. Fang Xuanling was said to be intelligent and well-learned in his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liu Cong's Later Empresses
The Han-Zhao emperor Liu Cong (Han-Zhao), Liu Cong, after his third wife Empress Liu E (Han-Zhao), Liu E's death in 314, became involved in the unorthodox practice of creating multiple empresses, against the Chinese tradition of having one empress at a time. Several women therefore carried the empress titles during his late reign, either entirely simultaneously or in an overlapping manner, and four of them survived to the brief reign of his son Liu Can in 318. Liu Can was said to have engaged in affairs with all of them (which was considered incest under Chinese tradition, even though he had no blood relations with them), all of whom were described as younger than 20. In addition to these empresses with formal titles, Liu Cong was said to have had several other consorts who also carried empress seals, but not official empress titles. Jin Yueguang Jin Yueguang (靳月光) was Jin Zhun's daughter, and she became a consort of Liu Cong's in 315, along with her sister Jin Yuehua, and was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yin And Yang
Originating in Chinese philosophy, yin and yang (, ), also yinyang or yin-yang, is the concept of opposite cosmic principles or forces that interact, interconnect, and perpetuate each other. Yin and yang can be thought of as complementary and at the same time opposing forces that interact to form a dynamic system in which the whole is greater than the assembled parts and the parts are as important for the cohesion of the whole. In Chinese cosmology, the universe creates itself out of a primary chaos of primordial qi or material energy, organized into the cycles of yin and yang, force and motion leading to form and matter. "Yin" is retractive, passive and contractive in nature, while "yang" is repelling, active and expansive in principle; this dichotomy in some form, is seen in all things in nature—patterns of change and difference. For example, biological, psychological and seasonal cycles, the historical evolution of landscapes over days, weeks, years to eons. The origin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liu E (Han Zhao)
Liu E (; died 314), courtesy name Lihua (麗華), formally Empress Wuxuan (武宣皇后, literally "the martial and responsible empress") was an empress of the Xiongnu-led Chinese Han-Zhao dynasty. She was the third wife of Liu Cong (Emperor Zhaowu). Life Liu E was the daughter of one of Liu Cong's honored officials, Liu Yin, who was described as someone who was willing to point out Liu Cong's faults, but only doing so in private, thus earning the temperamental and impulsive emperor's respect. She was initially taken as a concubine by him in 312, along with her sister Liu Ying and four of her nieces. This move was opposed by Liu Cong's brother and crown prince Liu Ai, who argued it would be a violation of the prohibition against endogamy. Liu Cong, however, rationalized the move in that Liu Yin was ethnically Han, while he himself was ethnically Xiongnu, and therefore had different ancestor. Liu E and her sister Liu Ying were both favored by Liu Cong. Initially, in 312, Liu Cong ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liu He (Han-Zhao)
Liu He (died 4 September 310), courtesy name Xuantai, was briefly the second emperor of the Xiongnu-led Chinese Han-Zhao dynasty. He reigned for seven days in August and September 310. Life Liu He was the founding emperor Liu Yuan (Emperor Guangwen)'s son, likely oldest son, by his first wife Empress Huyan. According to the ''Book of Jin'', Liu He was described as having an imposing, handsome and sturdy look, and was about tall. He was studious, but suspicious and miserly. Liu He was created the Prince of Liang (梁王), a title that he was posthumously known by as well, in 308. In early 310, Liu Yuan created him crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince .... Before Liu Yuan died later in August 310, he commissioned his sons and Liu He's brothers Liu Yu the Pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jin Dynasty (266–420)
The Jin dynasty or Jin Empire, sometimes distinguished as the or the , was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty in China that existed from 266 to 420. It was founded by Emperor Wu of Jin, Sima Yan, eldest son of Sima Zhao, who had previously been declared the King of Jin. 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). In 280, after conquering Eastern Wu, the Western Jin ended the Three Kingdoms period and reunited China proper for the first time since the end of the Han dynasty. From 291 to 306, a series of civil wars known as the War of the Eight Princes were fought over control of the Jin state which weakened it considerably. In 304, the dynasty experienced a wave of Invasion and rebellion of the Five Barbarians, rebellions by non-Han Chinese, H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taiyuan
Taiyuan; Mandarin pronunciation: (Jin Chinese, Taiyuan Jin: /tʰai˦˥ ye˩˩/) is the capital of Shanxi, China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. It is an industrial base focusing on energy and heavy chemicals. Throughout its long history, Taiyuan was the capital or provisional capital of many dynasties in China, hence the name ( zh, s=龙城, p=Dragon City, labels=no). As of 2021, the city governs 6 districts, 3 counties, and hosts a county-level city with a total area of 6,988 square kilometers and a permanent population of 5,390,957. Taiyuan is located roughly in the centre of Shanxi, with the Fen River flowing through the central city. Etymology and names The two Chinese characters of the city's name are (, "great") and (, "plain"), referring to the location where the Fen River leaves the mountains and enters a relatively flat plain. Throughout its long history, the city had various names, including ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
