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Jiajing Emperor
The Jiajing Emperor (16September 150723January 1567), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizong of Ming, personal name Zhu Houcong, art name, art names Yaozhai, Leixuan, and Tianchi Diaosou, was the 12th List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1521 to 1567. He succeeded his cousin, the Zhengde Emperor. The Jiajing Emperor was born as a cousin of the reigning Zhengde Emperor, so his accession to the throne was unexpected, but when the Zhengde Emperor died without an heir, the government, led by Senior Grand Secretary Yang Tinghe and Empress Zhang (Hongzhi), Empress Dowager Zhang, chose him as the new ruler. After his enthronement, a dispute arose between the emperor and his officials regarding the method of legalizing his accession. This conflict, known as the Great Rites Controversy, was a significant political issue at the beginning of his reign. After three years, the emperor emerged victorious, with his main opponents eithe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hanging Scroll
A hanging scroll is one of the many traditional ways to display and exhibit East Asian painting and calligraphy. They are different from handscrolls, which are narrower and designed to be viewed flat on a table. Hanging scrolls are generally intended to be displayed for short periods of time, after which they are rolled up and tied for storage. They are traditionally rotated according to season or occasion, rather than be on permanent display. Their artwork could be mounted with decorative brocade silk borders. The craft of creating a hanging scroll is considered an art in itself. History Scrolls originated in their earliest form from texts written on Bamboo and wooden slips, bamboo strips and silk banners across ancient China. The earliest hanging scrolls are related to and developed from silk banners in early Chinese history. These banners were long and hung vertically on walls. Such silk banners and hanging scroll paintings were found at Mawangdui dating back to the Han dyna ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Empress Fang
Empress Xiaolie (1516–1547), of the Fang clan, was a Chinese empress consort of the Ming dynasty, third empress to the Jiajing Emperor. Early life Fang originated from the area of Nanjing. She was selected for palace service in 1531, and chosen as a concubine for the emperor. She was described as beautiful and talented. However, she refused to use bribes to improve her chances of being selected to share the bed of the emperor, and as the emperor did not wish to have sexual intercourse with women over the age of fifteen, her chance to experience a sexual encounter with the emperor was therefore past, which reportedly caused her great sorrow and emotional loss. Empress In 28 January 1534, nine days after the deposition of Empress Zhang, Fang was nevertheless chosen by the emperor to succeed as empress consort of the imperial court. She was forced to make the decision because she sided with him during his dispute with his officials over the rituals honoring the imperial ances ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xia Yan (Ming Dynasty)
Xia Yan (1482–1548), courtesy name Gongjin, art name Guizhou, was a Chinese scholar-official during the Ming dynasty. He held a high position in the court of the Jiajing Emperor in the mid-16th century, serving as minister of rites from 1531 to 1537 and later as grand secretary. He also intermittently served as head of the Grand Secretariat from 1538 to 1548. He was born in Guixi County in the southern Chinese province of Jiangxi and passed the highest level of civil service examinations, known as the palace examination, in 1517. This marked the beginning of his civil service career. He started as an supervising secretary in the Office of Scrutiny of the Ministry of War and later in the Office of Scrutiny of the Ministry of Personnel. He was known for his meticulousness, consistency, energy, and fearlessness in politics. In 1530, his proposals for ceremonial reforms caught the attention and favor of the Jiajing Emperor, leading to his promotion to the ministry of rites and late ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zhang Cong (Ming Dynasty)
Zhang Cong (1475–1539), courtesy name Bingyong, art name Luofeng, was a Chinese scholar-official during the Ming dynasty. In the early years of the Jiajing Emperor's reign, he supported him in the Great Rites Controversy, which led to a highly successful career. From 1527 to 1535, with some interruptions, he served as grand secretary, and in 1529 he became the head of the Grand Secretariat. In 1531, he requested the Jiajing Emperor to change his name to Zhang Fujing, as it coincided with the emperor's personal name, Houcong. He also changed his courtesy name to Maogong. Biography Early life Zhang Cong was born into a family of salt producers in Yongjia County, Wenzhou Prefecture, Zhejiang Province. His family also owned a 30 ''mu'' (1.7 ha) farm. His father, Zhang Sheng (1427–1509), had four sons, with Zhang Cong being the youngest. In pursuit of his goal to become an official, Zhang Cong studied Confucianism and received financial support from wealthier relatives. He success ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xian (Taoist)
A ''xian'' ( zh, s=仙, t=僊, p=xiān, w=hsien) is any manner of immortal or mythical being within the Taoist pantheon or Chinese folklore. has often been translated into English as "immortal" or "wizard". Traditionally, ''xian'' refers to entities who have attained immortality and supernatural or magical abilities later in life, with a connection to the heavenly realms inaccessible to mortals. This is often achieved through spiritual self-cultivation, alchemy, or worship by others. This is different from the gods (deities) in Chinese mythology and Taoism. ''Xian'' is also used as a descriptor to refer to often benevolent figures of great historical, spiritual and cultural significance. The Quanzhen School of Daoism had a variety of definitions for during its history, including a metaphorical meaning where the term simply means a good, principled person. ''Xian'' have been venerated from ancient times to the modern day in a variety of ways across different cultures and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taiye Lake
Taiye Lake or Taiye Pond was an artificial lake in imperial City, Beijing, during the Jin, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties of China. The beauty and utility of the lake was responsible for the siting of Kublai Khan's palace and the position of modern Beijing. It continues to exist but it is now known separately as the North, Central, and South Seas, the three interconnected lakes just west of the Forbidden City in downtown Beijing. The northern lake makes up the public Beihai Park while the southern two are grouped together as Zhongnanhai, the headquarters for the Communist leadership of the People's Republic of China. Taiye Lake was immortalized in the early 1410s when the Yongle Emperor commissioned ''The Eight Views of Beijing'' (), recording the capital's chief sites in poetry and painting in order to legitimize his removal of the imperial capital away from Nanking. It is best remembered in China today from the scene of "Clear Waves at Taiye Lake" (, ''Tàiyè Qíngbō'').Wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Empress Zhang (Hongzhi)
Empress Xiaochengjing (1471– 28 August 1541), of the Zhang clan, was a Chinese empress consort of the Ming dynasty, married to the Hongzhi Emperor and mother of the Zhengde Emperor. Empress Empress Zhang was the daughter of Zhang Luan (張巒). She was born and in Xingji (nowadays Qing county, Hebei province). In 1487, she married then-Crown Prince Youcheng and was thus give the title of crown princess. She was created empress when her husband succeeded the throne later that year. She remains the only empress to an adult emperor who had no concubines in Chinese history. The emperor did not want other wives or concubines because he is said to have loved her sincerely. Empress Zhang was described as a "foolish and demanding woman, capable of no more than petty faults", but those included a constant desire for expensive objects, credulity about the teachings of the most specious Buddhist and Taoïst clerics, and limitless favour for her family, especially her two unrestrainedly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yang Tinghe
Yang Tinghe (; 15 October 1459 – 25 July 1529), style name Jiefu, was a Grand Secretary in the Ming dynasty under the Zhengde (Wuzong) and Jiajing (Shizong) emperors. Yang was born and died in Xindu, Sichuan province, China. Biography Yang Tinghe earned the Jinshi degree in the imperial examination in 1478 at the age of 19. After the death of the Zhengde Emperor in 1521, Yang became the ''de facto'' policymaker of the imperial government for 37 days. He conducted a series of reforms in these 37 days, abolished many unpopular legacies of Wuzong, including the arrest of his favorite, general Jiang Bin. in the ''Dictionary of Ming biography, 1368-1644, Volume 2'', p. 232 Yang played an important role in choosing the young Zhu Houcong (then Prince Xing and a cousin of the late Zhengde) as the next emperor. After Zhu Houcong wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Art Name
An art name (pseudonym or pen name), also known by its native names ''hào'' (in Mandarin Chinese), ''gō'' (in Japanese), ' (in Korean), and ''tên hiệu'' (in Vietnamese), is a professional name used by artists, poets and writers in the Sinosphere. The word and the concept originated in China, where it was used as nicknames for the educated, then became popular in other East Asian countries (especially in Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and the former Kingdom of Ryukyu). In some cases, artists adopted different pseudonyms at different stages of their career, usually to mark significant changes in their life. Extreme practitioners of this tendency were Tang Yin of the Ming dynasty, who had more than ten ''hao'', Hokusai of Japan, who in the period 1798 to 1806 alone used no fewer than six, and Kim Jeong-hui of the Joseon Dynasty who had up to 503. History China In Chinese culture, ''Hao'' refers to honorific names made by oneself or given by others when one is in middle age. After one ... [...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 empe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taoism
Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', 'path', or 'technique', generally understood in the Taoist sense as an enigmatic process of transformation Ultimate reality, ultimately underlying reality. Taoist thought has informed the development of various practices within the Taoist tradition and beyond, including forms of Taoist meditation, meditation, Chinese astrology, astrology, qigong, feng shui, and Neidan, internal alchemy. A common goal of Taoist practice is self-cultivation, a deeper appreciation of the Tao, and more harmonious existence. Taoist ethics vary, but generally emphasize such virtues as ''wu wei, effortless action'', ziran, ''naturalness'', ''pu (Taoism), simplicity'', and the Three Treasures (Taoism), three treasures of compassion, frugality, and humility. The co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
