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Lady Yu (Cao Wei)
Lady Yu (虞氏) was a Chinese noblewoman from Henan Province during the Three Kingdoms period (220-280 AD). She is best known as the wife of the future Emperor Cao Rui who was passed over for the role of Empress. She was sent away after voicing sharp criticism about the Cao family policy on marriage. Biography Little is known of her life but she was from a prominent family. Lady Yu became wife to Cao Rui when he was Prince of Pingyuan. On 29 June 226 Cao Rui became Emperor, but it would not be till the winter of 227 he would choose his Empress, choosing Lady Mao instead of Lady Yu. Lady Mao had been favored while Cao Rui was a Prince but it was in line with the long-standing and controversial Cao marriage policy of the chief wife being from outside the gentry to prevent the in-laws being too powerful. Lady Yu was from a gentry clan, while the new Empress was the daughter of a carpenter, whose behavior as an in-law would be much mocked. Cao Rui's grandmother Empress Dowager Bia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henan Province
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] |
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dynasty. Academically, the periodisation begins with the establishment of Cao Wei in 220 and ends with the conquest of Wu by Jin in 280. The period immediately preceding the Three Kingdoms, from 184 to 220, was marked by chaotic infighting among warlords across China as Han authority collapsed. The period from 220 to 263 was marked by a comparatively stable arrangement between Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. This stability broke down with the conquest of Shu by Wei in 263, followed by the usurpation of Cao Wei by Jin in 266 and ultimately the conquest of Wu by Jin in 280. The Three Kingdoms period including the collapse of the Han was one of the most dangerous in Chinese history due to multiple plagues, widespread famines, and civil war. A n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cao Rui
Cao Rui () (204 or 205 – 22 January 239), courtesy name Yuanzhong, was the second emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. His parentage is in dispute: his mother, Lady Zhen, was Yuan Xi's wife, but she later remarried Cao Pi, the first ruler of Wei. Based on conflicting accounts of his age, Pei Songzhi calculated that, in order to be Cao Pi's son, Cao Rui could not have been 36 (by East Asian age reckoning) when he died as recorded, so the recorded age was in error; late-Qing scholars Lu Bi (卢弼) and Mao Guangsheng (冒广生) argued instead that Cao Rui was Yuan Xi's son. Cao Rui's reign was viewed in many different ways throughout Chinese history. He devoted many resources into building palaces and ancestral temples, and his reign saw the stalemate between his empire, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu become more entrenched. His building projects and his desire to have many concubines (who numbered in the thousands) greatly exhausted the imperial trea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pingyuan Commandery
Pingyuan Commandery ( zh, 平原郡) was a historical commandery of China, existing from Han dynasty to Tang dynasty. It was centered around present-day northwestern Shandong province. The commandery was carved out of the Jibei Kingdom during Emperor Jing of Han's reign. Pingyuan administered 19 counties and marquessates in late Western Han, including Pingyuan (平原), Ge (鬲), Gaotang (高唐), Chongqiu (重丘), Pingchang (平昌), Yu (羽), Ban (般), Leling (樂陵), Zhu'e (祝阿), Yuan (瑗), Eyang (阿陽), Luoyin (漯陰), Li (朸), Fuping (富平), Ande (安德), Heyang (合陽), Louxu (樓虛), Longpou (龍哣), and An (安). In Eastern Han, Pingyuan twice became a kingdom or principality. It was granted to Liu Sheng (劉勝), son of Emperor He in 106, and to Liu Shuo (劉碩), brother of Emperor Huan in 148.''Book of Later Han'', Chapter 7. The kingdom was abolished in 206 and Pingyuan was administered as a commandery again. Pingyuan consisted of 9 counties, na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Empress Mingdao
Empress Mao ( 223 – 22 September 237), personal name unknown, formally known as Empress Mingdao, was an empress of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born to a lowly family, she was married to Cao Rui, the second emperor of Wei, but would later lose favor and her life. Life and background Lady Mao hailed from a poor family from Henei Commandery, Henei; her father Mao Jia () was a carpenter in the Department of Public Works. She became a concubine of Cao Rui during the reign of his father, Cao Pi when Cao Rui was Prince of Pingyuan and Lady Yu (Cao Wei), Lady Yu, also from Henei, was the chief wife. However, Cao Rui was noted to show great favor to Mao, often sharing a carriage with her. When Cao Rui became emperor in June 226 following his father's death, Mao was made a Noble Lady, and it wasn't till late 227 that the new Emperor picked his empress, with grain given out to those who had lost their spouse, the childless, orphans and the helpless. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Consort Kin
The consort kin or outer kins () were the kin or a group of people related to an empress dowager or a consort of a monarch or a warlord in the Sinosphere. The leading figure of the clan was either a (usually male) sibling, cousin, or parent of the empress dowager or consort. While Consort kins can be seen as a manifestation of nepotism in Sinospheric imperial politics, it is a moot point in a system of where most political positions were inherited via male primogeniture. Majority of the criticism lobbied against consort kins comes from the Confucians gentry class, who were often their political rival. In certain periods of Chinese political history, i.e. Reign of Emperor Wu of Western Jin Dynasty, consort kins were empowered by emperors to create political balance or to garner support for policies or actions unpopular among the Confucian elites. In other cases, emperors at the beginning of their reign, often relied on their consort kins to hold onto power, because they lack ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Empress Dowager Bian
Lady Bian (29 January 161 – 9 July 230), also known as Empress Dowager Bian or Grand Empress Dowager Bian, formally known as Empress Wuxuan, was an empress dowager and later grand empress dowager of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. She was the wife of Cao Cao, a warlord who rose to power in the late Eastern Han dynasty and laid the foundation of Wei. She bore Cao Cao's successor, Cao Pi, who ended the Han dynasty and founded Wei in 220 after his father's death. Family background and marriage to Cao Cao Lady Bian was born in 161 in Bai Village (), Qi Commandery (; in present-day Shandong) although her family was registered in Langya Commandery (; in present-day southeastern Shandong). Because her family was poor, she was a courtesan when she was young. When she was 20, Cao Cao took her as a concubine. In 189, when Cao Cao fled from Dong Zhuo at Luoyang, Yuan Shu spread rumours that Cao Cao had died. Lady Bian refused to believe them and pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rafe De Crespigny
Richard Rafe Champion de Crespigny (born 1936), also known by his Chinese name Zhang Leifu (), is an Australian sinologist and historian. He is an adjunct professor in the College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University. He specialises in the history, geography, and literature of the Han dynasty, particularly the translation and historiography of material concerning the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. Family The son of Richard Geoffrey Champion de Crespigny, (1907-1966), and Kathleen Cavenagh Champion de Crespigny (1908-2013), née Cudmore, Richard Rafe Champion de Crespigny was born in Adelaide in 1936. He married Christa Boltz in Turner, Australian Capital Territory on 19 May 1959. Education De Crespigny received his tertiary education at the University of Cambridge (B.A. Honours History 1957; M.A. History 1961) and the Australian National University (B.A. Honours Chinese 1962; M.A. Oriental Studies Honours 1964; PhD Far Eastern History 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ye (Hebei)
Ye or Yecheng () was an ancient Chinese city located in what is now Linzhang County, Handan, Hebei province and neighbouring Anyang, Henan province. Ye was first built in the Spring and Autumn period by Duke Huan of Qi, and by the time of the Warring States period the city belonged to the state of Wei. During the Han dynasty, Ye was the seat of Wei Commandery and an important regional center. Following the collapse of Han rule, Ye served as the military headquarters of the warlords Yuan Shao and Cao Cao. Under the latter's rule, Ye transformed into a political and economic center of northeastern China during the Three Kingdoms period, and during the Sixteen Kingdoms and Northern dynasties, the city served as the capital for the Later Zhao, Ran Wei, Former Yan, Eastern Wei and Northern Qi dynasties. History In 204, Cao Cao wrestled the city of Ye from Yuan Shao's son Yuan Shang. As the preceding battle of Ye had destroyed the inner city, Cao Cao set about rebuilding the ... [...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] |
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] |
Wikisource
Wikisource is an online wiki-based digital library of free-content source text, textual sources operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Wikisource is the name of the project as a whole; it is also the name for each instance of that project, one for each language. The project's aim is to host all forms of free text, in many languages, and translations. Originally conceived as an archive to store useful or important historical texts, it has expanded to become a general-content library. The project officially began on November 24, 2003, under the name Project Sourceberg, a play on Project Gutenberg. The name Wikisource was adopted later that year and it received its own domain name. The project holds works that are either in the public domain or freely licensed: professionally published works or historical source documents, not vanity press, vanity products. Verification was initially made offline, or by trusting the reliability of other digital libraries. Now works are supported by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
