Zhao Yanzhao
Zhao Yanzhao (), courtesy name Huanran (奐然), was an official of the Chinese Tang dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Zhongzong, Emperor Shang, and Emperor Ruizong. Background It is not known when Zhao Yanzhao was born, but it is known that his family was originally from Gan Prefecture (甘州, roughly modern Zhangye, Gansu). His father Zhao Wumeng (趙武孟) was known for favoring hunting during youth. On one occasion, when Zhao Wumeng had killed some fresh prey and presented it to his mother (Zhao Yanzhao's grandmother), Zhao Wumeng's mother wept and stated, "You do not study and only hunt all day. I feel hopeless." She refused the food. After that incident, Zhao Wumeng became studious and passed the imperial examination. He later served as an imperial censor during the reign of Wu Zetian and authored a 10-volume work on the notable people of the Hexi Corridor, the region he was from. Zhao Yanzhao himself wa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Zhang (surname)
Zhang () is the third most common surname in China and Taiwan (commonly spelled as "Chang" in Taiwan), and it is one of the most common surnames in the world. Zhang is the pinyin romanization of the very common Chinese surname written in simplified characters and in traditional characters. It is spoken in the first tone: ''Zhāng''. It is a surname that exists in many languages and cultures, corresponding to the surname 'Archer' in English for example. In the Wade-Giles system of romanization, it is romanized as "Chang", which is commonly used in Taiwan; "Cheung" is commonly used in Hong Kong as romanization. It is also the pinyin romanization of the less-common surnames (''Zhāng''), which is the 40th name on the ''Hundred Family Surnames'' poem. There is the even-less common (''Zhǎng''). was listed 24th in the famous Song-era ''Hundred Family Surnames'', contained in the verse 何呂施張 (He Lü Shi Zhang). Today, it is one of the most common surnames in the worl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shaoguan
Shaoguan (; Hakka: Seukoan) is a prefecture-level city in northern Guangdong Province ( Yuebei), South China, bordering Hunan to the northwest and Jiangxi to the northeast. It is home to the mummified remains of the sixth Zen Buddhist patriarch Huineng. Its built-up (or metro) area made up of Zhenjiang, Wujiang and Qujiang urban conurbated districts was home to 1,028,460 inhabitants as of the 2020 census. History Shaozhou was a prefecture under the Tang and Song. In 1589, Matteo Ricci relocated his mission housethe first ever Jesuit mission in mainland Chinato Shaoguan after a fallout with the authorities in Zhaoqing. He remained in Shaoguan for a few years, eventually benefiting from Shaoguan's location on the important north-south travel route to establish connections with traveling dignitaries that allowed him to move north, to Nanchang, Nanjing, and Beijing.''De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas'' During World War II the city, then called Kukong, was the temporary capi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Crown Princess
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 is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wife of the person styled crown prince. ''Crown prince'' as a descriptive term has been used throughout history for the prince who is first-in-line to a throne and is expected to succeed (i.e. the heir apparent), barring any unforeseen future event preventing this. In certain monarchies, a more specific substantive title may be accorded and become associated with the position of ''heir apparent'' (e.g. Prince of Wales in the United Kingdom or Prince of Asturias in the Kingdom of Spain). In these monarchies, the term crown prince may be used less often than the substantive title (or never). Until the late twentieth century, no modern monarchy adopted a system whereby females would be guaranteed to succeed to the throne (i.e. absolute primoge ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Empress Wei (Tang Dynasty)
Empress Wei (; personal name unknown) (died July 21, 710) was an empress consort of the Chinese Tang dynasty. She was the second wife of Emperor Zhongzong, who reigned twice, and during his second reign, she tried to emulate the example of her mother-in-law Wu Zetian and seize power. She was in charge of the governmental affairs during her husband's reign. Emperor Zhongzong's death in 710—a death traditionally believed to be a poisoning she carried out together with her daughter Li Guo'er the Princess Anle—gave her the power to become the empress dowager and regent, but in short order was overthrown and killed in a coup led by Emperor Zhongzong's nephew Li Longji (the later Emperor Xuanzong) and Emperor Zhongzong's sister Princess Taiping. First stint as crown princess It is not known when Empress Wei was born. During the reign of her husband's grandfather Emperor Taizong, her grandfather Wei Hongbiao (韋弘表) served as the military advisor to Emperor Taizong's son Li Mi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Princess Anle
Princess Anle (; 684? – 21 July 710), personal name Li Guo'er (), was a Chinese princess of the Tang Dynasty. She was the youngest daughter of Emperor Zhongzong and his wife Empress Wei. Popular history holds that she was doted upon heavily by her parents and siblings, which contributed to her later drive for power. After gaining power, she became extremely arrogant, corrupt, extravagant, and immoral, and ruled with her mother Empress Wei and the corruption of the two almost pushed the administration of Emperor Zhongzong to the brink of bankruptcy. Eventually, after Emperor Zhongzong died in 710 — a death that traditional historians assert was due to poison, and carried out by Empress Wei and Li Guo'er — Empress Wei seized the throne and elevated Li Guo'er to the position of crown princess. A coup led by Li Guo'er's cousin Li Longji, the Prince of Linzi, and Princess Taiping, Li Guo'er's paternal aunt, overthrew and killed Empress Wei and Li Guo'er. Background Li Guo'er ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chang'an
Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin Shi Huang of the Qin dynasty, China's first emperor, held his imperial court, and constructed his massive mausoleum guarded by the Terracotta Army. From its capital at Xianyang, the Qin dynasty ruled a larger area than either of the preceding dynasties. The imperial city of Chang'an during the Han dynasty was located northwest of today's Xi'an. During the Tang dynasty, the area that came to be known as Chang'an included the area inside the Ming Xi'an fortification, plus some small areas to its east and west, and a substantial part of its southern suburbs. Thus, Tang Chang'an was eight times the size of the Ming Xi'an, which was reconstructed upon the site of the former imperial quarters of the Sui and Tang city. During its heyday, Chang ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ji Chuna
Ji Chuna (; died July 24, 710) was an official of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Zhongzong and Emperor Zhongzong's son Emperor Shang. He was a member of the faction of Emperor Zhongzong's powerful wife Empress Wei, and was killed after she was killed in a coup in 710. Background It is not known when Ji Chuna was born, but it is known that his family was from Qin Prefecture (秦州, roughly modern Tianshui, Gansu). His grandfather Ji Shiteng (紀士騰) served as a local governor for Tang Dynasty's predecessor Sui Dynasty, and his father Ji Ji (紀及) did the same for Tang. Little is known about Ji Chuna's early career, but it is known that his wife and the wife of Wu Sansi, an honored nephew of Wu Zetian and cousin of her son Li Xian the Crown Prince, were sisters. Ji Chuna himself was said to be tall and handsome. During Emperor Zhongzong's second reign In 705, Wu Zetian was overthrown in a coup, and Li Xian, formerly ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tibetan Empire
The Tibetan Empire (, ; ) was an empire centered on the Tibetan Plateau, formed as a result of imperial expansion under the Yarlung dynasty heralded by its 33rd king, Songtsen Gampo, in the 7th century. The empire further expanded under the 38th king, Trisong Detsen. The 821–823 treaty concluded between the Tibetan Empire and the Tang dynasty delineated the former as being in possession of an area larger than the Tibetan Plateau, stretching east to Chang'an, west beyond modern Afghanistan, and south into modern India and the Bay of Bengal. The Yarlung dynasty was founded in 127 BC in the Yarlung Valley. The Yarlung capital was moved to Lhasa by the 33rd king Songsten Gampo, and into the Red Fort during the imperial period which continued to the 9th century. The beginning of the imperial period is marked in the reign of the 33rd king of the Yarlung dynasty, Songtsen Gampo. The power of Tibet's military empire gradually increased over a diverse terrain. During the reign of T ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Li Shouli
Lĭ Shǒulĭ (672–741) () was the second son of Li Xián who was also known as Crown Prince Zhanghuai of Tang. Born Li Guangren (李光仁), during the Chuigong era of his youngest uncle Emperor Ruizong of Tang's reign when his grandmother Wu Zetian held the real power, he was renamed Shouli and given the post Crown Prince Xima (''Taizi Xima'' 太子洗马). Childhood Li Guangren's father, Li Xián, as the heir apparent to his father Emperor Gaozong of Tang, was once created Crown Prince but failed in a power struggle against his ambitious mother Wu Zetian. He was deposed and exiled to Ba Prefecture with his family, and eventually was forced to commit suicide in 684. In 685, Wu Zetian restored Li Xián to his former title Prince of Yong and recalled his family back to the capital Chang'an, created Guangren Prince of Yong, appointed him as ''Taizi Xima'' and changed his name to Shouli. When Wu Zetian claimed imperial title, she bestowed Li Shouli as well as his elder broth ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Zizhi Tongjian
''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning almost 1400 years. The main text is arranged into 294 scrolls (''juan'' , equivalent to a chapter) totaling about 3 million Chinese characters. In 1065 AD, Emperor Yingzong of Song commissioned his official Sima Guang (1019–1086 AD) to lead a project to compile a 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 AD 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 historic ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |