Not much is known about Yang Zhi's life before she married Emperor Wu. Before Empress Yang Yan died in 274, she was fearful that whoever became empress next would undermine her developmentally-disabled son Crown Prince Zhong's position as crown prince, and therefore she asked Emperor Wu to marry her cousin Yang Zhi after her death. Emperor Wu agreed and, in 276, married Yang Zhi and created her empress. Her father Yang ...

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Empress Yang Zhi, Empress Yang Zhi - Marriage to Emperor Wu and life as empress, Empress Yang Zhi - As empress dowager

Read more here: » Empress Yang Zhi: Encyclopedia II - Empress Yang Zhi - Marriage to Emperor Wu and life as empress

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Empress Jia Nanfeng, Empress Jia Nanfeng - Early life and marriage to Crown Prince Zhong, Empress Jia Nanfeng - As empress, Empress Jia Nanfeng - Role in coups against Yan Jun and Sima Liang, Empress Jia Nanfeng - As paramount authority, Empress Jia Nanfeng - Downfall and death

Read more here: » Empress Jia Nanfeng: Encyclopedia II - Empress Jia Nanfeng - Early life and marriage to Crown Prince Zhong

Emperor Wu immediately sought to change what he saw as what doomed Cao Wei -- the lack of power that the imperial princes held. In 265, immediately after he took the throne, he created many of his uncles, cousins, brothers, and sons as imperial princes, each with independent military commands and full authority within their principalities. This system, while it would be scaled back after the War of the Eight Princes and the loss of northern China, would remain in place as a Jin institution for the duration of ...

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Emperor Wu of Jin, Emperor Wu of Jin - Life before establishment of the Jin Dynasty, Emperor Wu of Jin - Early reign: establishment of the Jin political system, Emperor Wu of Jin - Middle reign: unification of the Chinese empire, Emperor Wu of Jin - Late reign: setting the stage for disasters, Emperor Wu of Jin - Era names, Emperor Wu of Jin - Personal information

Read more here: » Emperor Wu of Jin: Encyclopedia II - Emperor Wu of Jin - Early reign: establishment of the Jin political system

During his 17 year reign, Emperor Hui would come under the control of a number of regents, never being able to assert authority on his own. The rough succession order of the regents were: Yang Jun: 290-291 Sima Liang/Wei Guan: 291 Empress Jia Nanfeng: 291-300 Sima Lun: 300-301 Sima Jiong: 301-302 Sima Ai: 302-304 Sima Ying: 304 Sima Yong: 304-306 Sima Yue: 306-307 Empe ...

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Emperor Hui of Jin, Emperor Hui of Jin - Life prior to ascension, Emperor Hui of Jin - Reign, Emperor Hui of Jin - Regency of Yang Jun, Emperor Hui of Jin - Regency of Sima Liang and Wei Guan, Emperor Hui of Jin - Regency of Empress Jia, Emperor Hui of Jin - Regency of and usurpation by Sima Lun, Emperor Hui of Jin - Regency of Sima Jiong, Emperor Hui of Jin - Regency of Sima Ai, Emperor Hui of Jin - Regency of Sima Ying, Emperor Hui of Jin - Regency of Sima Yong, Emperor Hui of Jin - Regency of Sima Yue and death, Emperor Hui of Jin - Era names, Emperor Hui of Jin - Personal information

Read more here: » Emperor Hui of Jin: Encyclopedia II - Emperor Hui of Jin - Reign

In 281, Emperor Wu took 5,000 women from Sun Hao's palace into his own, and thereafter became even more concentrated on feasting and enjoying the women, rather than on important matters of state. It was said that there were so many beautiful women in the palace that he did not know whom he should have sexual relations with; he therefore rode on a small cart drawn by goats, and wherever the goats would stop, he would stop there, as well. Because of this, many of the women planted bamboo leaves and salt outside their bedrooms -- both items sai ...

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Emperor Wu of Jin, Emperor Wu of Jin - Life before establishment of the Jin Dynasty, Emperor Wu of Jin - Early reign: establishment of the Jin political system, Emperor Wu of Jin - Middle reign: unification of the Chinese empire, Emperor Wu of Jin - Late reign: setting the stage for disasters, Emperor Wu of Jin - Era names, Emperor Wu of Jin - Personal information

Read more here: » Emperor Wu of Jin: Encyclopedia II - Emperor Wu of Jin - Late reign: setting the stage for disasters

In 276, Emperor Wu suffered a major illness -- which led to a succession crisis. While Crown Prince Zhong would be the legitimate heir, but both the officials and the people hoped that Emperor Wu's capable brother, Sima You the Prince of Qi, would inherit the throne instead. After Emperor Wu became well, he divested some military commands from officials that he thought wanted Prince You to be emperor, but otherwise took no other punitive actions against anyone. Later that year, Yang Hu again brought to Emperor Wu's attention his plan ...

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Emperor Wu of Jin, Emperor Wu of Jin - Life before establishment of the Jin Dynasty, Emperor Wu of Jin - Early reign: establishment of the Jin political system, Emperor Wu of Jin - Middle reign: unification of the Chinese empire, Emperor Wu of Jin - Late reign: setting the stage for disasters, Emperor Wu of Jin - Era names, Emperor Wu of Jin - Personal information

Read more here: » Emperor Wu of Jin: Encyclopedia II - Emperor Wu of Jin - Middle reign: unification of the Chinese empire

Sima Yan was born to Sima Zhao and his wife Wang Yuanji, daughter of the Confucian scholar Wang Su (王肅), in 236, as their oldest son. At that time, Sima Zhao was a mid-level official in the Cao Wei government and a member of a privileged clan, as the son of the renowned general Sima Yi. After Sima Yi seized power from the regent Cao Shuang in 249, Sima Zhao became more and more important. After his father's death in 251, Sima Zhao became the assistant to his brother, the new regent Sima Shi. After Sima Shi died in 2 ...

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Emperor Wu of Jin, Emperor Wu of Jin - Life before establishment of the Jin Dynasty, Emperor Wu of Jin - Early reign: establishment of the Jin political system, Emperor Wu of Jin - Middle reign: unification of the Chinese empire, Emperor Wu of Jin - Late reign: setting the stage for disasters, Emperor Wu of Jin - Era names, Emperor Wu of Jin - Personal information

Read more here: » Emperor Wu of Jin: Encyclopedia II - Emperor Wu of Jin - Life before establishment of the Jin Dynasty

Sima Zhong was born to Sima Yan and his wife Yang Yan in 260, while Sima Yan was still the assistant to his father, the Cao Wei regent Sima Zhao. He was their second son, but as his older brother Sima Gui (司馬軌) died early, he became the oldest surviving son. It is not known when it became apparent that he was developmentally disabled, but in any case, after Sima Zhao died in 265 and Sima Yan subsequently forced the Cao Wei emperor Cao Huan to abdicate to him, ending Cao Wei and starting Jin (as Emperor W ...

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Emperor Hui of Jin, Emperor Hui of Jin - Life prior to ascension, Emperor Hui of Jin - Reign, Emperor Hui of Jin - Regency of Yang Jun, Emperor Hui of Jin - Regency of Sima Liang and Wei Guan, Emperor Hui of Jin - Regency of Empress Jia, Emperor Hui of Jin - Regency of and usurpation by Sima Lun, Emperor Hui of Jin - Regency of Sima Jiong, Emperor Hui of Jin - Regency of Sima Ai, Emperor Hui of Jin - Regency of Sima Ying, Emperor Hui of Jin - Regency of Sima Yong, Emperor Hui of Jin - Regency of Sima Yue and death, Emperor Hui of Jin - Era names, Emperor Hui of Jin - Personal information

Read more here: » Emperor Hui of Jin: Encyclopedia II - Emperor Hui of Jin - Life prior to ascension