Grand Empress Dowager Wang

Wang Mang (王莽, pinyin: Wáng Măng) (45 BC–October 6, 23), courtesy name Jujun (巨君), was a Han Dynasty official who seized the throne from the Liu family and founded Xin (or Hsin) Dynasty (新朝, meaning "new dynasty"), ruling AD 8–23. The Han dynasty was restored after his overthrow, and historians have traditionally viewed Wang as a "usurper," while some others have portrayed him as a visionary and selfless social reformer. Though a learned Confucian scholar who sought to implement the harmonious society he ...

Including:

• Wang Mang - Early life and career
• Wang Mang - First tenure as the commander of the armed forces
• Wang Mang - Retirement during Emperor Ai's reign
• Wang Mang - Regency and buildup of personality cult
• Wang Mang - As acting emperor
• Wang Mang - Early reign: mistakes
• Wang Mang - Economic policies
• Wang Mang - Deterioration of the relationship with Xiongnu and other vassals
• Wang Mang - Paralysis and corruption of the government
• Wang Mang - Middle reign: agrarian rebellions
• Wang Mang - Late reign: hopelessness
• Wang Mang - Reasons for Wang Mang's failure
• Wang Mang - Personal information

Read more here: » Wang Mang: Encyclopedia - Wang Mang

A Chinese clan (会馆, pinyin: Huìgǔan) is a patrilineal and patrilocal group of related Chinese people with a common surname and sharing a common ancestor and, in many cases, an ancestral village (see clan). Clan loyalties tend to be very strong in the south of China, and to a large extent are reinforced by ties to the ancestral village, common property, and often a common spoken Chinese dialect which can be unintelligible to people outside the village. Clan structures tend to be weaker in the north of China, clan members do not usually resid ...

Read more here: » Chinese clan: Encyclopedia - Chinese clan

Early in his reign, now-Emperor Wang Mang was self-confident and believed that he now had the power to implement his ideals of restoring the legendary golden age of the early Zhou Dynasty. To those ends, he modified the governmental structure in many ways to conform with Zhou standards. He also continued the regime of modifying geographical names to fit with ancient names (or more euphemistic names, as he saw fit) -- so much so that even imperial edicts discussing the locations by their new names were forced to include notes on the old names ...

See also:

Wang Mang, Wang Mang - Early life and career, Wang Mang - First tenure as the commander of the armed forces, Wang Mang - Retirement during Emperor Ai's reign, Wang Mang - Regency and buildup of personality cult, Wang Mang - As acting emperor, Wang Mang - Early reign: mistakes, Wang Mang - Economic policies, Wang Mang - Deterioration of the relationship with Xiongnu and other vassals, Wang Mang - Paralysis and corruption of the government, Wang Mang - Middle reign: agrarian rebellions, Wang Mang - Late reign: hopelessness, Wang Mang - Reasons for Wang Mang's failure, Wang Mang - Personal information

Read more here: » Wang Mang: Encyclopedia II - Wang Mang - Early reign: mistakes

Circa 5, Emperor Ping, having grown older, appeared to have grown out of a heart condition that he suffered earlier, and it became fairly plain that he resented Wang Mang for slaughtering his uncles in 3 and not allowing his mother to visit him in the capital Chang'an. Wang Mang therefore resolved to murder the emperor. In winter 5, Wang Mang submitted pepper wine (considered in those days to be capable of chasing away evil spirits) to the 13-year-old emperor, but had the wine spiked with poison. As the emperor was suffering the effects of t ...

See also:

Empress Wang Ping, Empress Wang Ping - Family background, Empress Wang Ping - Marriage, Empress Wang Ping - Young widowhood and temporary status as empress dowager, Empress Wang Ping - Life during Xin Dynasty, Empress Wang Ping - Death

Read more here: » Empress Wang Ping: Encyclopedia II - Empress Wang Ping - Young widowhood and temporary status as empress dowager

Then-Liu Jizi was born in 9 BC. His father Liu Xing (劉興) was the youngest son of Emperor Yuan and the younger brother of Emperor Cheng. His mother was one of Prince Xing's consorts, Consort Wei (衛姬). Prince Jizi had three sisters (whose names are not recorded in history) but no brother. He was born with a heart ailment, which, when affliciting him, causes him to have circulation problems, manifesting itself outwardly as having his lips and appendages turn blue. He was raised by his paternal grandmother Consort Feng Yuan, a concubine of ...

See also:

Emperor Ping of Han, Emperor Ping of Han - Family background and life as imperial prince, Emperor Ping of Han - Early reign and Wang Mang's aggrandization of power, Emperor Ping of Han - The Lü Kuan Incident and Wang Mang's seizure of absolute power, Emperor Ping of Han - Death, Emperor Ping of Han - Era name, Emperor Ping of Han - Personal information

Read more here: » Emperor Ping of Han: Encyclopedia II - Emperor Ping of Han - Family background and life as imperial prince

Emperor Cheng was a womanizer with many favorites. His first favorite was Empress Xu (created 31 BC), from the clan of his murdered grandmother, the first wife of Emperor Xuan, and he also favored Consort Ban. Neither Empress Xu nor Consort Ban bore him a child, however, and concerned with having a grandson to be heir, Empress Dowager Wang openly encouraged Emperor Cheng to take on more and more concubines, but that did not result in the birth of an heir. Circa 19 BC, however, when Emperor Cheng was visiting Princess Yanga (陽阿公主), he ...

See also:

Emperor Cheng of Han, Emperor Cheng of Han - Birth and career as Crown Prince, Emperor Cheng of Han - The aggrandization of power by the Wang clan, Emperor Cheng of Han - Emperor Cheng's women troubles and lack of an heir, Emperor Cheng of Han - Impact on Chinese history, Emperor Cheng of Han - Era names, Emperor Cheng of Han - Personal information

Read more here: » Emperor Cheng of Han: Encyclopedia II - Emperor Cheng of Han - Emperor Cheng's women troubles and lack of an heir

Traditional historical accounts described Empress Wang as an unhappy widow during her father's reign, still bearing seeds of loyalty in her mind to the overthrown Han Dynasty. She often claimed to be ill and refused to attend imperial gatherings. Wang Mang, believing that he could solve her unhappiness by having her remarry, changed her title from Duchess Dowager of Ding'an to Princess Huanghuang in 10, to terminate her formal linkage with the Han Dynasty. He also intended to marry her to the son of one of his important officials, Sun Jian ( ...

See also:

Empress Wang Ping, Empress Wang Ping - Family background, Empress Wang Ping - Marriage, Empress Wang Ping - Young widowhood and temporary status as empress dowager, Empress Wang Ping - Life during Xin Dynasty, Empress Wang Ping - Death

Read more here: » Empress Wang Ping: Encyclopedia II - Empress Wang Ping - Life during Xin Dynasty

For a while, despite the failures of Wang's policies, the people were generally obedient. About 17, as the burdens from the wars and the corruption continued to increase, however, several agrarian rebellions started and took hold, partly because of a major famine in Jing Prefecture (modern Hubei, Hunan, and southern Henan). The more significant ones include: Guatian Yi (瓜田儀), who occupied territory in modern Suzhou, Jiangsu. Old Lady Lü (呂母), whose son was a minor civil servant who was wrongly killed by the c ...

See also:

Wang Mang, Wang Mang - Early life and career, Wang Mang - First tenure as the commander of the armed forces, Wang Mang - Retirement during Emperor Ai's reign, Wang Mang - Regency and buildup of personality cult, Wang Mang - As acting emperor, Wang Mang - Early reign: mistakes, Wang Mang - Economic policies, Wang Mang - Deterioration of the relationship with Xiongnu and other vassals, Wang Mang - Paralysis and corruption of the government, Wang Mang - Middle reign: agrarian rebellions, Wang Mang - Late reign: hopelessness, Wang Mang - Reasons for Wang Mang's failure, Wang Mang - Personal information

Read more here: » Wang Mang: Encyclopedia II - Wang Mang - Middle reign: agrarian rebellions

In 22, Wang Mang finally saw that (as many of his officials had tried to tell him earlier) that the agrarian rebellions were posing a much greater threat to his rule than Xiongnu. He commissioned two of his key officials, Wang Kuang (王匡, not to be confused with the Lülin leader of the same name) and Lian Dan to attack agrarian rebellions, with the Chimei being their first target. Wang and Lian had some initial successes, but Wang insisted on having them keep fighting without resting, and th ...

See also:

Wang Mang, Wang Mang - Early life and career, Wang Mang - First tenure as the commander of the armed forces, Wang Mang - Retirement during Emperor Ai's reign, Wang Mang - Regency and buildup of personality cult, Wang Mang - As acting emperor, Wang Mang - Early reign: mistakes, Wang Mang - Economic policies, Wang Mang - Deterioration of the relationship with Xiongnu and other vassals, Wang Mang - Paralysis and corruption of the government, Wang Mang - Middle reign: agrarian rebellions, Wang Mang - Late reign: hopelessness, Wang Mang - Reasons for Wang Mang's failure, Wang Mang - Personal information

Read more here: » Wang Mang: Encyclopedia II - Wang Mang - Late reign: hopelessness

Because the young Emperor Ping had not had any children by his wife Empress Wang or any of his concubines, there was no heir. Further, by that point, Emperor Ping's grandfather, Emperor Yuan had no surviving male issue. The progeny of Emperor Ping's great-grandfather Emperor Xuan were therefore examined as possible successors. There were 53 great-grandsons of Emperor Xuan then still living by this stage, but they were all adults, and Wang Mang disliked that fact -- he wanted a child whom he could control. Therefore, he declared that i ...

See also:

Wang Mang, Wang Mang - Early life and career, Wang Mang - First tenure as the commander of the armed forces, Wang Mang - Retirement during Emperor Ai's reign, Wang Mang - Regency and buildup of personality cult, Wang Mang - As acting emperor, Wang Mang - Early reign: mistakes, Wang Mang - Economic policies, Wang Mang - Deterioration of the relationship with Xiongnu and other vassals, Wang Mang - Paralysis and corruption of the government, Wang Mang - Middle reign: agrarian rebellions, Wang Mang - Late reign: hopelessness, Wang Mang - Reasons for Wang Mang's failure, Wang Mang - Personal information

Read more here: » Wang Mang: Encyclopedia II - Wang Mang - As acting emperor

After Wang Mang was promoted to this position -- effectively the highest in the imperial government -- he became even better known for his self-discipline and promotion of capable individuals than before. As a result, the people's perception of the Wang clan as arrogant, wasteful, and petty, began to be reversed. In 7 BC, Wang's cousin Emperor Cheng died suddenly, apparently from a stroke (although historians also report the possibility of an overdosage of aphrodisiacs given to him by his favorite, Consort Zhao Hede). Emperor Cheng's ...

See also:

Wang Mang, Wang Mang - Early life and career, Wang Mang - First tenure as the commander of the armed forces, Wang Mang - Retirement during Emperor Ai's reign, Wang Mang - Regency and buildup of personality cult, Wang Mang - As acting emperor, Wang Mang - Early reign: mistakes, Wang Mang - Economic policies, Wang Mang - Deterioration of the relationship with Xiongnu and other vassals, Wang Mang - Paralysis and corruption of the government, Wang Mang - Middle reign: agrarian rebellions, Wang Mang - Late reign: hopelessness, Wang Mang - Reasons for Wang Mang's failure, Wang Mang - Personal information

Read more here: » Wang Mang: Encyclopedia II - Wang Mang - First tenure as the commander of the armed forces

Almost immediately after Emperor Ping took the throne, Wang Mang began to carry out a regime to return governmental structure to ancient days of the Zhou Dynasty and the even more ancient Xia Dynasty and Shang Dynasty. He also aggressively pursued a program to build up a personality cult about himself, wanting to have himself recognized as a holy regent on the scale of the Duke of Zhou. In 1, for example, after having his political allies convincing Grand Empress Dowager Wang of his great faithfulness and great achievements, he was created t ...

See also:

Emperor Ping of Han, Emperor Ping of Han - Family background and life as imperial prince, Emperor Ping of Han - Early reign and Wang Mang's aggrandization of power, Emperor Ping of Han - The Lü Kuan Incident and Wang Mang's seizure of absolute power, Emperor Ping of Han - Death, Emperor Ping of Han - Era name, Emperor Ping of Han - Personal information

Read more here: » Emperor Ping of Han: Encyclopedia II - Emperor Ping of Han - Early reign and Wang Mang's aggrandization of power

After the death of Emperor Yuan and the accession of Emperor Cheng, Empress Wang became empress dowager. Prince Kang, as was customary with imperial princes, was sent to govern his principality -- now at Dingtao (定陶). Despite the near-coup by Consort Fu and Prince Kang, however, Empress Wang and Emperor Cheng did not bear grudges, and, against the advice of officials who were concerned that Prince Kang would become the subject of conspiracies, ...

See also:

Emperor Cheng of Han, Emperor Cheng of Han - Birth and career as Crown Prince, Emperor Cheng of Han - The aggrandization of power by the Wang clan, Emperor Cheng of Han - Emperor Cheng's women troubles and lack of an heir, Emperor Cheng of Han - Impact on Chinese history, Emperor Cheng of Han - Era names, Emperor Cheng of Han - Personal information

Read more here: » Emperor Cheng of Han: Encyclopedia II - Emperor Cheng of Han - The aggrandization of power by the Wang clan

Wang Mang's son Wang Yu (王宇) disagreed with his father's dictatorial regime and program to build up his personality cult, afraid that in the future the Wangs would receive a backlash when Emperor Ping was grown. He therefore formed friendships with Emperor Ping's Wei uncles, and told Consort Wei to offer assurances to Wang Mang that she would not act as Emperor Ai's mother and grandmother did, trying to become an empress dowager. Wang Mang still refused to let her visit the capital. In 3, Wang Yu formed a conspiracy with his teach ...

See also:

Emperor Ping of Han, Emperor Ping of Han - Family background and life as imperial prince, Emperor Ping of Han - Early reign and Wang Mang's aggrandization of power, Emperor Ping of Han - The Lü Kuan Incident and Wang Mang's seizure of absolute power, Emperor Ping of Han - Death, Emperor Ping of Han - Era name, Emperor Ping of Han - Personal information

Read more here: » Emperor Ping of Han: Encyclopedia II - Emperor Ping of Han - The Lü Kuan Incident and Wang Mang's seizure of absolute power

Wang Mang was the son of Wang Man (王曼), the younger brother of Empress Wang Zhengjun, and his wife Qu (渠, family name unknown), born in 45 BC. Wang Man died early, while Wang Mang was young, before Empress Wang became empress dowager when her son Emperor Cheng took the throne, and unlike most of his brothers, did not have the opportunity to become a marquess. Empress Wang had pity on his family, and after she herself was widowed ...

See also:

Wang Mang, Wang Mang - Early life and career, Wang Mang - First tenure as the commander of the armed forces, Wang Mang - Retirement during Emperor Ai's reign, Wang Mang - Regency and buildup of personality cult, Wang Mang - As acting emperor, Wang Mang - Early reign: mistakes, Wang Mang - Economic policies, Wang Mang - Deterioration of the relationship with Xiongnu and other vassals, Wang Mang - Paralysis and corruption of the government, Wang Mang - Middle reign: agrarian rebellions, Wang Mang - Late reign: hopelessness, Wang Mang - Reasons for Wang Mang's failure, Wang Mang - Personal information

Read more here: » Wang Mang: Encyclopedia II - Wang Mang - Early life and career

After Wang Mang's resignation, he was initially requested by Emperor Ai to remain at the capital Chang'an and periodically meet him to give advice. However, in 5 BC, after Empress Dowager Fu was more successful in her quest for titles -- Emperor Ai removed the qualification "of Dingtao" from his father's posthumous title (thus making him simply "Emperor Gong"), and then gave his grandmother a variation of the grand empress dowager title (ditaitaihou (帝太太后), compared to Grand Empress Dowager Wang's title taihuangtaihou (太皇太后)) ...

See also:

Wang Mang, Wang Mang - Early life and career, Wang Mang - First tenure as the commander of the armed forces, Wang Mang - Retirement during Emperor Ai's reign, Wang Mang - Regency and buildup of personality cult, Wang Mang - As acting emperor, Wang Mang - Early reign: mistakes, Wang Mang - Economic policies, Wang Mang - Deterioration of the relationship with Xiongnu and other vassals, Wang Mang - Paralysis and corruption of the government, Wang Mang - Middle reign: agrarian rebellions, Wang Mang - Late reign: hopelessness, Wang Mang - Reasons for Wang Mang's failure, Wang Mang - Personal information

Read more here: » Wang Mang: Encyclopedia II - Wang Mang - Retirement during Emperor Ai's reign

Emperor Cheng was born circa 51 BC to then-Crown Prince Liu Shi (later Emperor Yuan) and one of his consorts, Consort Wang (later more commonly known as Grand Empress Dowager Wang). He was Emperor Yuan's first born son. In 47 BC, Emperor Yuan created Prince Ao, Empress Wang's son, Crown Prince. Emperor Yuan was a relatively non-womanizing emperor, but he did have two favorite concubines in addition to Empress Wang -- Consort Fu and Consort Feng Yuan, each of whom bore him one son. Empress Wang's apparently tried to maintain a c ...

See also:

Emperor Cheng of Han, Emperor Cheng of Han - Birth and career as Crown Prince, Emperor Cheng of Han - The aggrandization of power by the Wang clan, Emperor Cheng of Han - Emperor Cheng's women troubles and lack of an heir, Emperor Cheng of Han - Impact on Chinese history, Emperor Cheng of Han - Era names, Emperor Cheng of Han - Personal information

Read more here: » Emperor Cheng of Han: Encyclopedia II - Emperor Cheng of Han - Birth and career as Crown Prince

Emperor Ai died suddenly in 1 BC, without heir. In decisive action, Grand Empress Dowager Wang seized power back from Emperor Ai's male favorite and likely lover Dong Xian (who was the commander of the armed forces by this point) and summoned Wang Mang back to the imperial government. She put him in charge of the armed forces and the government. They summoned Prince Jizi of Zhongshan (the last surviving male issue of Grand Empress Dowager Wang's husband Emperor Yuan) to the capital to succeed Emperor Ai, and ...

See also:

Wang Mang, Wang Mang - Early life and career, Wang Mang - First tenure as the commander of the armed forces, Wang Mang - Retirement during Emperor Ai's reign, Wang Mang - Regency and buildup of personality cult, Wang Mang - As acting emperor, Wang Mang - Early reign: mistakes, Wang Mang - Economic policies, Wang Mang - Deterioration of the relationship with Xiongnu and other vassals, Wang Mang - Paralysis and corruption of the government, Wang Mang - Middle reign: agrarian rebellions, Wang Mang - Late reign: hopelessness, Wang Mang - Reasons for Wang Mang's failure, Wang Mang - Personal information

Read more here: » Wang Mang: Encyclopedia II - Wang Mang - Regency and buildup of personality cult