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He Shikai
He Shikai () (524 – 30 August 571), courtesy name Yantong (彥通), was an official of the Northern Qi dynasty of China. He was a close associate of the Emperor Wucheng (Gao Zhan) prior to the latter's accession to the throne, and he became a powerful official (and lover to Emperor Wucheng's wife Empress Hu) during Emperor Wucheng's reign. He was criticized in traditional histories as a corrupt and incompetent official. After Emperor Wucheng's death, Emperor Wucheng's son Gao Yan, the Prince of Langya, was displeased with the authority that He Shikai was still wielding, and killed him in a coup in 571, but subsequently was himself killed. Background He Shikai was born in 524 and from Northern Qi's capital Yecheng. His ancestors were described as merchants from the Western Regions (''Xiyu'') and originally carried the family name Suhe (素和), which was later changed to He.However, when Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei changed Xianbei names to Han names in 496, Suhe was on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Courtesy Name
A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particularly in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam. Courtesy names are a marker of adulthood and were historically given to men at the age of 20, and sometimes to women upon marriage. Unlike art names, which are more akin to pseudonyms or pen names, courtesy names served a formal and respectful purpose. In traditional Chinese society, using someone's given name in adulthood was considered disrespectful among peers, making courtesy names essential for formal communication and writing. Courtesy names often reflect the meaning of the given name or use homophonic characters, and were typically disyllabic after the Qin dynasty. The practice also extended to other East Asian cultures, and was sometimes adopted by Mongols and Manchu people, Manchus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Empress Dowager Lou Zhaojun
Lou Zhaojun (; 501 – 20 May 562), posthumous name Empress Wuming (武明皇后), was an empress dowager and grand empress dowager of the Chinese Northern Qi dynasty. She was the wife of Gao Huan, the paramount general of the Northern Wei and Eastern Wei dynasties, and during Gao Huan's lifetime was already influential on the political scene. After Gao Huan's death, she continued to exert influence through the regency of her son Gao Cheng, and then as empress dowager after another son Gao Yang (Emperor Wenxuan) seized the Eastern Wei throne and established the Northern Qi. She continued to serve as grand empress dowager through the reigns of Gao Yang's son Gao Yin, and then again as empress dowager during the reigns of two more of her own sons, Emperor Xiaozhao and Emperor Wucheng. Background and marriage to Gao Huan Lou Zhaojun was born in 501, as the daughter of a rich merchant, Lou Gan (婁幹), and she grew up in Pingcheng (平城, in modern Datong, Shanxi), the old capi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gao Yanzong
Gao Yanzong (高延宗) (died November 577), often known by his princely title of Prince of Ande (安德王), was an imperial prince of the History of China, Chinese Northern Qi dynasty, who briefly claimed the imperial title in 577 for three days as his cousin, the emperor Gao Wei, fled in the face of an attack by rival Northern Zhou. Traditional historians usually did not consider him an emperor of Northern Qi. Background Gao Yanzong was the fifth son of Gao Cheng, who was the heir of Eastern Wei's paramount general Gao Huan, and who took over the regency of Eastern Wei after Gao Huan's death in 547. Gao Yanzong's mother was Gao Cheng's concubine Lady Chen, who was previously a concubine of Yuan Dan (元湛) the Prince of Guangyang, but his birth year is not known in history. As Gao Cheng was assassinated by his servant Lan Jing (蘭京) in 549, Gao Yanzong was raised by Gao Cheng's younger brother Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi, Gao Yang, who seized the throne from Emperor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gao Anagong
Gao Anagong (; died November 18, 580Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 174.) was an ethnic Xianbei official of China's Northern Qi dynasty. He was a close associate of the emperor Gao Wei, and late in Gao Wei's reign, he dominated the political scene along with Mu Tipo and Han Zhangluan. While probably not as corrupt as Mu and Mu's mother and Gao Wei's wet nurse Lu Lingxuan, he was known for incompetence. In 577, with Northern Qi under major attack by the Northern Zhou dynasty, after Gao Wei fled the capital Yecheng, Gao Anagong betrayed him and gave him false information, allowing Northern Zhou forces to capture him. In 580, with the Northern Zhou in civil war between the regent Yang Jian and the general Yuchi Jiong, Gao Anagong was on Yuchi's side and, after Yuchi's defeat, was executed. During Northern Qi Gao Anagong was from Shanwu Commandery (善無, roughly modern Xinzhou, Shanxi). His father Gao Shigui (高市貴) was a follow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Empress Dowager
Empress dowager (also dowager empress or empress mother; ) is the English language translation of the title given to the mother or widow of a monarch, especially in regards to Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese monarchs in the Chinese cultural sphere. The term however, is applied well beyond just East Asia. 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 (). An empress dowager wielded power over the harem and imperial family. 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. In Europe, the title dowager empress was given to the wife of a deceased Emperor of Russia or Holy Roman Emperor. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shandong
Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural and religious center for Taoism, Chinese Buddhism and Confucianism. Shandong's Mount Tai is the most revered mountain of Taoism and a site with one of the longest histories of continuous religious worship in the world. The Buddhist temples in the mountains south of the provincial capital of Jinan were once among the foremost Buddhist sites in China. The city of Qufu was the birthplace of Confucius, and later became the center of Confucianism. Shandong's location at the intersection of ancient and modern north–south and east–west trading routes has helped establish it as an economic center. After a period of political instability and economic hardship beginning in the late 19th century, Shandong has experienced rapid growth in recent de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jining, Shandong
Jining () is a former capital of Shandong. Is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Shandong province. It borders Heze to the southwest, Zaozhuang to the southeast, Tai'an to the northeast, and the provinces of Henan and Jiangsu to the northwest and south respectively. Jining, which is located directly to the north of Lake Nanyang (), is today the northernmost city reachable by navigation on the Grand Canal of China making it an important inland port. Its population was 8,081,905 at the 2010 census, of whom 1,518,000 lived in the built-up (''or metro'') area made up of Rencheng urban district on , Yanzhou district not being totally conurbated yet. History The name Jining was first given to the region in the year 1271 during the Song dynasty, although the exact area and type of administrative district it refers to have varied over the centuries. Jining has several distinctive associations in Chinese history and culture, as in antiquity it was the birthplace and home of C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Cabbage
Chinese cabbage (''Brassica rapa'', subspecies ''pekinensis'' and ''chinensis'') is either of two cultivar groups of leaf vegetables often used in Chinese cuisine: the Pekinensis Group (napa cabbage) and the Chinensis Group (bok choy). These vegetables are both variant cultivars or subspecies of ''B. rapa'' and belong to the same genus as ''Brassica oleracea'', whose cultivars include Western staples such as cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower. Both ''B. rapa'' cultivars have many variations in name, spelling, and scientific classification, especially bok choy cultivars. History The Chinese cabbage was principally grown in the Yangtze River Delta region, but the Ming dynasty naturalist Li Shizhen popularized it by bringing attention to its medicinal qualities. The variant cultivated in Zhejiang around the 14th century was brought north, and the northern harvest of napa cabbage soon exceeded the southern one. These were then exported back south along the Grand Canal to Hangzhou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taishang Huang
In Chinese history, a Taishang Huang or Taishang Huangdi is an honorific and institution of a retired emperor. The former emperor had, at least in name, abdicated in favor of someone else. Although no longer the reigning sovereign, there are instances where the retired emperor became a power behind the throne, often exerting more power than the reigning emperor. History Origin The title ''Taishang Huangdi'' was first used when Qin Shi Huangdi bestowed it upon his deceased father, King Zhuangxiang. Development Emperor Gaozu of Han bestowed the title ''Taishang Huangdi'' on his then-living father Liu Taigong. He bestowed it onto his father to express filial piety. Furthermore, it was intended to preserve the social hierarchy between father and son, as the former was a commoner and the latter was a dynastic founder. In 301, during the War of the Eight Princes, Sima Lun became the emperor by forcing his puppet Emperor Hui of Jin to become the ''Taishang Huang''. The title h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gao Wei
Gao Wei (高緯) (29 May 556 – November 577According to volume 10 of ''History of the Northern Dynasties'', Gao Wei was killed in the 10th month of the 6th year of the ''Jiande'' era of Yuwen Yong's reign. This corresponds to 28 Oct to 25 Nov 577 in the Julian calendar. ( ��德六年��十月....是月，诛温公高纬。) ''Bei Shi'', vol.10), often known in history as Houzhu of Northern Qi ((北)齊後主), courtesy name Rengang (仁綱), sometimes referred to by his later Northern Zhou-created title of Duke of Wen (溫國公), was the penultimate emperor of the Northern Qi dynasty of China. During his reign, the Northern Qi's imperial administration was plunged into severe corruption and wastefulness, with the military suffering after Gao Wei killed the great general Hulü Guang in 572. Rival Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou launched a major attack in 576, and Northern Qi forces collapsed. Gao Wei, who formally passed the throne to his son Gao Heng, was captured while trying t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zu Ting
Zu Ting (; ; ?-?), courtesy name Xiaozheng (孝征), was an official of the Chinese Northern Qi dynasty (550–577). He was renowned for his literary and administrative talents. Background Zu Ting's father Zu Ying (祖瑩) was a general during Eastern Wei. Zu Ting himself was, in his youth, known for his quick reactions and literary talent, and he eventually became a low-level official. He once wrote a beautifully written ode on behalf of the official Moqi Shouluogan (万俟受洛干) -- an ode that Eastern Wei's paramount general Gao Huan read and was impressed by, and he retained Zu to be a secretary on his staff. Once, Gao Huan dictated 36 items to Zu, and Zu was able to write all of them down later without missing any single item, earning him great praise from his colleagues. Zu was also fluent in the Xianbei language, at that time a rarity for ethnically Han officials. (Indeed, Zu was said to understand a number of non-Han languages.) However, Zu was also known for being ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
King Zhou Of Shang
King Zhou (; ) was the pejorative posthumous name given to Di Xin of Shang () or Shou, King of Shang (), the last king of the Shang dynasty of ancient China. He is also called Zhou Xin (). In Chinese, his name Zhòu ( 紂) also refers to a horse crupper, the part of a saddle or harness that is most likely to be soiled by the horse. It is not to be confused with the name of the succeeding dynasty, which has a different character and pronunciation (). In later times, the story of King Zhou became a cautionary tale on what could befall a kingdom if its ruler gave into corruption and moral depravity. Names Di Xin is the official title given by the Shang dynasty imperial house. Di Xin was born with the family name Zi, lineage name Yin, and the given name Shou. He was called Shou, King of Shang by the kingdom of Zhou when he was alive. After his death, he was given a derogatory posthumous name, King Zhou of Shang () by the succeeding Zhou dynasty, with Zhou () meaning "horse cr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
