Who was King Zhaoxiang of Qin's mother?
King Zhaoxiang of Qin
Because King Zhaoxiang had not yet legally come of age (traditionally at the age of 20), his mother, who was now known as Queen Dowager Xuan, became the regent. She was supported by her brothers, Wei Ran and Mi Rong (羋戎), as well as two other sons, Prince Yi (公子悝) and Prince Fu (公子巿), the four of them collectively known as the "Four Nobles" (四貴).
Consort Qi
Qi was born in Dingtao, Shandong. She bore Emperor Gaozu a son Liu Ruyi, who was later installed as Prince of Zhao. Gaozu felt that the crown prince Liu Ying (his second son) was an unsuitable heir to his throne. He tried several times, fruitlessly, to replace Liu Ying with Liu Ruyi, as his desire was objected to by Liu Ying's mother Empress Lü Zhi. Because of this, Lü Zhi hated Qi deeply. Nevertheless, Gaozu ordered Liu Ruyi to proceed to his principality of Zhao (capital in present-day Handan, Hebei) on his deathbed. Qi did not accompany Liu Ruyi.
King Zhaoxiang of Qin
In 288 BC, King Zhaoxiang contacted King Min of Qi and proposed an alliance where both would claim the title ""Di"", and planned to attack the newly strengthened state of Zhao together. However, King Min was persuaded by Su Qin to renounce his "Di" title, and instead allied with other states to attack Qin, forcing King Zhaoxiang to also renounce his "Di" title. At the same time, Qi took the opportunity to conquer its rival state of Song, which made itself a major immediate threat in the eyes of other states.
Gurun Princess Shou'an
Gurun Princess Shou'an (12 May 1826 – 24 March 1860) was a princess of the Qing Dynasty. She was born to the Daoguang Emperor and Empress Xiaoquancheng.
Wei Zhongxian
Through a relative of his mother, Wei was able to enter into service in the Forbidden City. As a eunuch in the Ming court, Wei slowly gained the favor of various palace officials while working in various unofficial positions. In 1605, he was given the job of serving meals to Lady Wang and her infant son Zhu Youxiao, who would eventually become the Tianqi Emperor. While serving in this position, he grew close to Zhu Youxiao's wet nurse, Madame Ke. As Zhu Youxiao grew older, he became extremely attached to both Madame Ke and Wei Zhongxian, treating them as his "de facto" parents once his mother died in 1619.
King Zhaoxiang of Qin
King Zhaoxiang died at age 75 in 251 BC, having outlived his eldest son, who died in 267 BC while serving as a hostage in the state of Wei. He was succeeded by his second son King Xiaowen.
King Zhaoxiang of Qin
Bai Qi wanted to take advantage of the victory at Changping and immediately lay siege to the Zhao capital of Handan (邯鄲). This frightened the states of Zhao and Han greatly, so they sent Su Dai (蘇代, Su Qin's brother) to bribe Fan Ju (范雎, or Fan Sui 范睢), who was then the Qin chancellor and jealous of Bai Qi's military achievement. Fan Ju persuaded King Zhaoxiang to halt the offensives, citing as the reason that the soldiers needed to rest after years of war. Qin agreed to an armistice in exchange of the states of Zhao and Han conceding lands.
Marquess Jing of Zhao
Marquess Jing of Zhao (c. 410-375 BCE) was a ruler of the State of Zhao during the Warring States period of Chinese history (475-220 BCE). Born Zhào Zhāng (), he was the son of Marquess Lie of Zhao. Zhào Wŭgōng () (400-386 BCE) was the brother to Marquess Lie of Zhao and ruled until Zhào Zhāng was of age.
Queen Liang
Very little is known about Queen Liang. Qifu Mumo created her queen in 429, after he had succeeded his father Qifu Chipan (King Wenzhao) in 428. It is not known whether his son Qifu Wanzai (乞伏萬載), whom he created crown prince in 429 as well, was her son. It is not known what happened to her when Qifu Mumo was captured and executed by the Xia emperor Helian Ding in 431, ending Western Qin, although Helian Ding executed a large number of Western Qin nobles and officials, so it was likely she was executed as well.
Queen Dong
In 1623, Dong was born in a Jinjiang family with scholar-official, and her father was Dong Yangxian, a politician of Southern Ming. In 1642, Dong married Koxinga and gave birth to Zheng Jing. In 1649, Koxinga became Prince of Yanping (); as the result, Dong became his princess consort. In 1662, Koxinga defeated Frederick Coyett and his army in the Siege of Fort Zeelandia, and Kingdom of Tungning was later built. After Koxinga died, Dong's son Zheng Jing won the succession to the throne of Tungning by defeating Zheng Xi in a civil war and Zheng Tai in a political struggle. In 1681, Dong died in Tainan, Taiwan.
Duke Cheng of Qin
Duke Cheng was the second of the three sons of his father Duke De of Qin. His older brother Duke Xuan of Qin succeeded his father as ruler of Qin in 676 BC. But when Duke Xuan died in 664 BC, he passed the throne to Duke Cheng instead of one of his nine sons. When Duke Cheng died four years later, he did the same and passed the throne to the third brother Duke Mu of Qin, even though he had seven sons.
Queen Dowager Zhao
Zhao Ji (; –228 BC) was the wife of King Zhuangxiang of Qin and the mother of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. Upon her marriage, she was the Lady Zhao; after the king's death, she was the Queen Dowager Zhao (.
Yao Xing
Yao Xing was born in 366, when his father Yao Chang was a general under the Former Qin emperor Fu Jiān. (Who his mother was is open to interpretation; Yao Chang's wife, the later Empress She, was mentioned as his mother, but when Yao Xing later became emperor, he posthumously honored one of Yao Chang's concubines, Consort Sun, as empress dowager, which allows an inference that he could have been born of Consort Sun but raised by Empress She, but there is no conclusive evidence.) Not much is known about his life under Former Qin rule, other than that when he grew older, he served as an assistant to Fu Jiān's crown prince Fu Hong (苻宏).
Family tree of ancient Chinese emperors
The kings of Qin claimed descent from the Lady Xiu, "the granddaughter" of "a remote descendant" of the Emperor Zhuanxu, the grandson of the Yellow Emperor. Similarly, in the next generation, Lady Hua was said to be descended from Shaodian, the legendary figure who is sometimes the father and sometimes the foster father of the Yellow and Flame Emperors. Although Nüfang ( "Lady Fang") is counted as Elai's "son", some scholars have claimed the figure was Elai's daughter and, along with the numerous important women in the early pedigree, indicates that early Qin was matriarchal.
Empress Qian
Empress Qian had no children, and when the Zhengtong Emperor died in 1464, he was succeeded by the Chenghua Emperor. She became involved in a conflict with Empress Xiaosu, the biological mother of the new emperor. As the mother of the emperor, Empress Xiaosu demanded the same title as Qian: that of empress dowager. The mother of the emperor pointed out that she was the mother of the emperor while Qian was childless, while Qian demanded the title pointing to her loyalty to the late emperor, whose house arrest she had shared.
The emperor was unable to solve the conflict to the satisfaction of both parties, but granted the title of empress dowager to both, though Qian's formal title acknowledged her higher rank and precedence in court proceedings.
King Youmiu
The younger son of King Daoxiang of Zhao, Zhao Qian was nevertheless able to succeed before his elder brother Zhao Jia due to his mother Chang Hou's intervention. He inherited a country that was in danger of being conquered by the Qin state, as it had been since a defeat at the Battle of Changping in 260 BCE.
King Zhaoxiang of Qin
In 293 BC, East Zhou decided to ally itself with the states of Han and Wei, and sent troops to help attacking Qin. However, the combined forces of this alliance was destroyed at Yique by the young Qin general Bai Qi, with 240,000 men killed and their commander Gongsun Xi (公孫喜) captured and executed. After this loss, the East Zhou was unable to actively participate in future interstate struggles in any significant fashion.
In 256 BC, Duke Wu of West Zhou (西周武公) allied with other states to stop the Qin offensive on the Han city of Yangcheng. In retaliation, King Zhaoxiang of Qin sent general Jiu to invade West Zhou, successfully breaking into Wangcheng. The Duke Wu was taken to Xianyang to beg for mercy, conceding all his lands. Both King Nan and Duke Wu would die later that year, and the subsequent Duke of West Zhou, Duke Wen (西周文公), was exiled to Danhuju (憚狐聚). Because the Zhou royal court had fallen from power and King Nan had died without a successor, the Eastern Zhou Dynasty collapsed, ending 879 years of Zhou monarchy. The remaining East Zhou state was also conquered by Qin chancellor Lü Buwei seven years later in 249 BC during the reign of King Zhaoxiang's grandson King Zhuangxiang, after Duke Jing of East Zhou attempted to form an anti-Qin alliance with other states.
Xiao Kui
Emperor Ming honored his grandmother Empress Dowager Gong as grand empress dowager, his father Emperor Xuan's wife Empress Wang as empress dowager, and his mother Consort Cao as consort dowager. (Grand Empress Dowager Gong and Consort Dowager Cao both died in 562, and Empress Dowager Wang died in 563.) For reasons unclear in historical records, Emperor Ming was not recorded as having created an empress, and while at some point during his reign he created his son Xiao Cong crown prince, it is not known when that occurred. He was said to be a learned ruler, writing some 14 different works on filial piety as well as on fortunetelling, but as his fortunetelling works suggested, he was also said to be highly superstitious. He was said to be filially pious and kind, and was also a capable administrator, being able to allow his war-weary subjects to rest and recover.
Duke Dao of Qin
Duke Dao of Qin (, died 477 BC) was from 491 to 477 BC the 21st ruler of the Zhou Dynasty Chinese state of Qin that eventually united China to become the Qin Dynasty. His ancestral name was Ying (嬴), and Duke Dao was his posthumous title.
Qin dynasty
Note: King Zhaoxiang of Qin (秦昭襄王) had already been ruling Qin for 51 years when Qin annihilated the Zhou dynasty; however the other six warring states were still independent regimes. Some Chinese historiographers thus used the next year (the 52nd year of King Zhaoxiang of Qin) as the official succession from the Zhou dynasty.
King Zhaoxiang of Qin
In 289 BC, King Zhaoxiang sent Bai Qi and Sima Cuo to attack Wei, capturing 61 villages around Zhi. However, in 288 BC, Qin was forced to back down when the five eastern states allied together and threatened to attack Qin again. It did not take long for Qin to strike back, capturing Xinyuan (新垣) and Quyang (曲陽) from Wei in 287 BC, and the former Wei capital Anyi (安邑) in 286 BC. In 283 BC, Qin allied with Zhao and attacked Wei again, capturing Ancheng (安城) with its vanguard reaching near the Wei capital Daliang (大梁).
King Xiang of Qi
At the time of King Min of Qi, the kingdom was invaded and the king himself was captured and killed in 284 BC. His son, Fazhang, fled, changing his name, and "became a servant in the home of the Grand Astrologer." There, the astrologer's daughter met and fell in love with him. Later, some of the loyal officers of Qi put Fazhang on the throne, and he made the astrologer's daughter, his queen; she was the mother of his successor. She is known as Queen Junwang (君王后) and was said to be a wise and honorable woman who helped run the affairs of state. However, her father, Ji, was angry that she had married without his consent and refused to see his daughter ever again.
King Zhaoxiang of Qin
Bai Qi was furious at this because he believed Qin had just forfeited a chance to annihilate Zhao once and for all, and resigned his position in protest. However, Zhao soon changed its mind and refused to cede the lands it promised, and attempted to lobby an anti-Qin alliance with the other states. King Zhaoxiang then ordered an attack on Zhao in late 259 BC, laying siege to Handan. He wanted Bai Qi to lead the attack, but the still angry Bai Qi bluntly refused to assume the position citing illness. Instead, he advised King Zhaoxiang to call off the siege as the window of opportunity for an easy victory was already gone, because Lord Pingyuan had managed to secure military reinforcements from Chu and Wei, led by the famous Lord Chunshen and Lord Xinling. King Zhaoxiang did not take in his advice and instead appointed Wang Ling (王陵) as the commander of the siege.
Empress Li (Former Qin)
Very little is known about the empress. She was already Fu Deng's concubine by 392, when Fu Deng created her empress to replace Empress Mao, who had been captured and killed by the rival Later Qin's emperor Yao Chang in 389. In 393, when Fu Deng was captured and killed by Yao Chang's son and successor Yao Xing, Yao Xing gave her to his official Yao Huang (姚晃). Nothing further was recorded about her.
King Daoxiang of Zhao
Zhao Daoxiang died in 236 BCE, in the midst of a Qin invasion of Zhao.
King Zhuangxiang of Qin
King Zhuangxiang of Qin (281–247 BC), personal names Yiren and Zichu, was a ruler of the Qin state during the third century BC in the Warring States period of ancient China.
Duke Kang of Qin
Duke Kang was one of the 40 sons of his father Duke Mu of Qin, and succeeded Duke Mu as ruler of Qin when he died in 621 BC. In the same year Duke Xiang of Jin also died, starting a succession crisis in Qin's neighbouring state Jin. Zhao Dun, the powerful minister of Jin, initially wanted to install Duke Xiang's younger brother Prince Yong on the Jin throne. Prince Yong was at the time exiled in Qin, and in 620 BC Qin sent an army to escort Yong back to Jin. However, Zhao Dun soon changed his mind and instead made Duke Xiang's young son Yigao the ruler, later known as Duke Ling of Jin. Jin then dispatched an army to stop Prince Yong, and defeated the Qin escort force at Linghu.
Duke Ligong of Qin
Duke Ligong of Qin (, died 443 BC) was from 476 to 443 BC the 22nd ruler of the Zhou Dynasty Chinese state of Qin that eventually united China to become the Qin Dynasty. His ancestral name was Ying (嬴), and Duke Ligong was his posthumous title. Duke Ligong succeeded his father Duke Dao of Qin, who died in 477 BC, as ruler of Qin.
Duke Xian of Qin (424–362 BC)
Duke Xian was the son of Duke Ling of Qin, the 25th ruler of the state of Qin. However, when Duke Ling died in 415 BC, the throne was passed to Duke Ling's uncle Duke Jian, instead of his son. Duke Jian reigned for 15 years and was succeeded by his son Duke Hui II, who died 13 years later in 387 BC, and was then succeeded by his son Chuzi II. As Chuzi was only a baby, the power was controlled by his mother, the duchess dowager. In 385 BC, the second year of Chuzi's reign, the minister Jun Gai (菌改) rebelled against Chuzi and the duchess. He led his force to escort Duke Xian, who was at the time exiled in the State of Wei, back to Qin, killed Chuzi and his mother, and installed Duke Xian on the throne.
The Legend of Ba Qing
The drama chronicles the life of Ba Qing, the wealthiest woman of the Qin Dynasty. She is known to have provided mercury for the first Emperor of China's mausoleum, and also funded construction works for the Great Wall. She is referred to as the older sister by Ying Zheng, the Emperor of Qin Dynasty and they become involved in a complicated romance.
Duke Zhuang of Qin
Duke Zhuang of Qin (, died 778 BC) was from 821 to 778 BC the fifth ruler of the Zhou Dynasty state of Qin that eventually united China to become the Qin Dynasty. His ancestral name was Ying ().
Empress Qiang
Empress Qiang (強皇后, personal name unknown) (died 356), formally Empress Mingde (明德皇后, literally "the understanding and virtuous empress"), was an empress of the Chinese/Di state Former Qin. Her husband was Former Qin's founding emperor, Fu Jiàn (Emperor Jingming).
Duke Ling of Qi
Duke Ling also had another son named Chujiu, born to another of Duke Ling's concubines, who was the daughter of Shusun Xuanbo, leader of the Shusun clan of Lu. Cui Zhu would later kill Duke Zhuang and install Chujiu on the throne, to be known as Duke Jing of Qi.
King Zhaoxiang of Qin
Yiqu (義渠), also known as "the Rong of Yiqu" (義渠之戎), was a semi-pastoral, semi-agricultural people residing in the region from north of Jing River to western Hetao. They were historically an offshoot of the nomadic Qiang people living on the grasslands around Long Mountains during the Shang Dynasty, and were frequently at war with the surrounding nomadic tribes like Guifang (鬼方) and Xunyu (獯鬻), as well as the agricultural Huaxia settlements like Bin (豳, the precursor to Zhou). During the times of King Geng Ding in late Shang Dynasty (around 12th century BC), faced with a large Northern Di invasion, the aged Duke of Bin Gugong Danfu led his clan south and relocated to Qishan, and the Bin exodus resulted in the area being occupied by Di nomads hostile and stronger than Yiqu, who temporarily submitting to Xianyun (獫狁). During the reign of Wu Yi of Shang, Duke Jili of the now renamed state of Zhou attacked and evicted the Di presence from lands north of Bin with the support from the Shang court, and made Yiqu subject to Zhou instead. During the reign of Duke Wen of Zhou, Chancellor Jiang Ziya sent ambassador Nangong Kuo to negotiate an alliance with Yiqu, who assisted Zhou in evicting their rival Guifang, while occupied the fertile Longdong region for themselves. This allowed the Yiqu population to prosper, and after learning agricultural techniques and city building from the Zhou people, became significantly influenced by Zhou culture. Yiqu hence transformed into a distinctly different branch from other Xirong tribes, though still retaining the tradition of levirate marriage.
King Zhaoxiang of Qin
In 307 BC, King Nan of Zhou hosted King Wu of Qin, who just returned victorious against Han at the Battle of Yiyang. During the visit, King Wu, a keen wrestler, decided to try lifting the "dragon-patterned red cauldron" (龍紋赤鼎) in the Zhou palace. He died from the attempt, bleeding from his eyes and breaking his shin bones. After the childless King Wu died, his hostage half-brother Ying Ji returned to claim the throne as King Zhaoxiang.
Jiandi
Jiandi (), also with variants 簡易/简易 and 簡逷/简逷, is an important figure in Chinese history and in Chinese mythology. She was the second wife of Emperor Ku, who was a descendent of the Yellow Emperor. Jiandi was the mother of Qi, the predynastic founder of the Shang dynasty (note that this is a different Qi than the Qi Ji born to Di Ku's first wife Jiang Yuan). Her pregnancy miraculously occurred following her swallowing or holding in her bosom the egg of a bird. Jiandi was said to be of the Yousong clan. Jiandi is mentioned in various sources, including the poems "Eulogy of Shang", in the "Shijing", and the "Heavenly Questions" in the "Chuci".
Wang Jian (Southern Qi)
Because of Wang Jian's noble birth and because he became known for studiousness in his youth, Yuan Can, the mayor of the capital Jiankang under Emperor Xiaowu's brother Emperor Ming recommended him to be the husband of Emperor Ming's daughter, Princess Yangxian. However, Emperor Ming felt that because Wang Sengchuo's wife Liu Ying'e (劉英娥) the Princess Dongyang (who was not Wang Jian's mother) was involved in the witchcraft carried out by Liu Shao, she should not be his daughter's mother-in-law, he wanted to disinterr Princess Dongyang's body from her joint tomb with Wang Sengchuo. Wang Jian pleaded that this not be carried out—stating that he would rather die—and Emperor Ming did not insist. During Emperor Ming's reign, he was repeatedly promoted, although was never among the upper echelon of officials.
Qin Shi Huang
In 246 BC, when King Zhuangxiang died after a short reign of just three years, he was succeeded on the throne by his 13-year-old son. At the time, Zhao Zheng was still young, so Lü Buwei acted as the regent prime minister of the State of Qin, which was still waging war against the other six states. Nine years later, in 235 BC, Zhao Zheng assumed full power after Lü Buwei was banished for his involvement in a scandal with Queen Dowager Zhao.
History of the Great Wall of China
Qin was originally a state on the western fringe of the Chinese political sphere, but it grew into a formidable power in the later parts of the Warring States period when it aggressively expanded in all directions. In the north, the state of Wei and the Yiqu built walls to protect themselves from Qin aggression, but were still unable to stop Qin from eating into their territories. The Qin reformist Shang Yang forced the Wei out of their walled area west of the Yellow River in 340 , and King Huiwen of Qin (r.338–311) took 25 Yiqu forts in a northern offensive. When King Huiwen died, his widow the Queen Dowager Xuan acted as regent because the succeeding sons were deemed too young to govern. During the reign of King Zhaoxiang (r.306–251), the queen dowager apparently entered illicit relations with the Yiqu king and gave birth to two of his sons, but later tricked and killed the Yiqu king. Following that coup, the Qin army marched into Yiqu territory at the queen dowager's orders; the Qin annihilated the Yiqu remnants and thus came to possess the Ordos region. At this point the Qin built a wall around their new territories to defend against the true nomads even further north, incorporating the Wei walls. As a result, an estimated total of of Qin walls (including spurts) extended from southern Gansu to the bank of the Yellow River in the Jungar Banner, close to the border with Zhao at the time.
Bu Bu Jing Xin
Twenty-first century woman, Zhang Xiao, encountered traffic collision after work that sent her back in time to the Qing Dynasty during the Kangxi Emperor's reign (in the year 1704). She found herself trapped in the body of a young daughter of a Manchu aristocrat, Ma'ertai Ruoxi, younger sister of Ma'ertai Ruolan, who was a concubine of the emperor's eighth son, Yinsi. Stranded in the past, Ruoxi became acquainted with Kangxi's other sons, including the fourth prince Yinzhen and his full brother, the fourteenth prince Yinti. She forged a close friendship with the thirteenth prince, Yinxiang. Using charm and wit, Ruoxi won the emperor’s favor and became his lady-in-waiting, attending to the monarch and his family.
Empress Dowager Wang Baoming
Empress Dowager Wang Baoming (王寶明) (455–512), formally Empress An (安皇后, literally "the peaceful empress"), semi-formally Empress Dowager Xuande (宣德太后), was an empress dowager of the Chinese dynasty Southern Qi. She was never empress, but as she was the wife of Xiao Zhangmao, the oldest son and crown prince of Emperor Wu, who was posthumously honored as an emperor, and the mother of his son Xiao Zhaoye, who later became emperor, she was considered an empress.
King Daoxiang of Zhao
Born as Zhao Yan to King Xiaocheng of Zhao, he was originally not groomed to succeed to the throne. However, his path to the throne was eased by the circumstances. Firstly, the heir to the Zhao throne was required to spend a large portion of his youth as a hostage in the Qin court - thus making him susceptible to court intrigue. Secondly, the minister Guo Kai was intent on making Zhao Yan the next king. Therefore, when King Xiaocheng died, instead of welcoming the rightful heir back to Handan, Guo Kai proclaimed Zhao Yan as king instead. The famous Zhao general Lian Po objected to this state of affairs and resigned his posts as a result.
King Zhaoxiang of Qin
In 299 BC, King Zhaoxiang invited Lord Mengchang to Qin with the intention of appointing him as chancellor. However, after hearing (perhaps ill-intended) warnings from his ministers that Lord Mengchang was still loyal to his home state of Qi (which had just soured its diplomatic relationship with Qin), King Zhaoxiang ordered Lord Mengchang to be put under house arrest. Desperate, Lord Mengchang sent a messenger to bribe King's Zhaoxiang's favourite concubine, who demanded a snow fox fur coat, which Lord Mengchang had already given to King Zhaoxiang as a gift when he first arrived and had to steal back from the royal vault. Thanks to the pleas of the concubine, Lord Mengchang was released within two days, and he quickly smuggled himself out of Qin, narrowly evading a small army that King Zhaoxiang had ordered to pursue him. In 298 BC, the disgrunted Lord Mengchang, who was now the newly appointed chancellor of Qi, lobbied for a combined force of Qi, Han and Wei and laid siege to the Qin fortification of Hangu Pass. The allied army managed to penetrate past the Hangu Pass all the way to Yanshi (盐氏), forcing Qin to negotiate an armistice that involved returning the previously occupied Fengling and Wusui back to Wei and Han.
Li Xin (Qin)
In 264 BC, Tian Jian ascended the throne of Qi and was assisted by his mother, the queen dowager, in managing state affairs. Qin bribed Hou Sheng, the Qi chancellor, to dissuade King Jian from helping the other states while they were being attacked by Qin. By 221 BC, Qi was the only state in China that had yet to be conquered by Qin. Qi hurriedly mobilised its armies to its western borders as a safeguard against a possible Qin invasion, even though its military was not well equipped and morale was low.
Qin's wars of unification
In 264 BC, Tian Jian became the king of Qi. However, as he was too young to rule, his mother the queen dowager became his regent. Qin bribed Hou Sheng (後勝), the chancellor of Qi, to dissuade King Jian from helping the other states while they were being attacked by Qin. By 221 BC, Qi was the only state in China yet to be conquered by Qin. Qi hurriedly mobilised its armies to its western borders as a safeguard against a possible Qin invasion, even though its military was not well equipped and morale was low.
Duke Zao of Qin
Duke Zao of Qin (, died 429 BC) was from 442 to 429 BC the 23rd ruler of the Zhou Dynasty Chinese state of Qin that eventually united China to become the Qin Dynasty. His ancestral name was Ying (嬴), and Duke Zao was his posthumous title. Duke Zao succeeded his father Duke Ligong of Qin, who died in 443 BC, as ruler of Qin.
King Min of Qi
In 288 BC. King Min took the title of Di of the East (東帝), and his ally King Zhaoxiang of Qin called himself Di of the West (Di was originally the name of the high god of the Shang. It also (or later) had a weaker sense of sacred or divine; the same character was used to mean Emperor in later times.) But so many people objected that both kings were forced to return to the title of "king" (wáng 王) and there was no Di in China until Qin Shi Huang unified China in 221 BC and gave himself the title of Huang Di, which we translate as Emperor.
Empress Dowager Cixi
Historians both in China and abroad have debated her reputation. The long time view portrayed her as a ruthless despot whose reactionary policies led to the fall of the Qing dynasty. Revisionists suggested that reformers and revolutionaries succeeded in blaming her for long term problems beyond her control and that she prevented political disorder, was no more ruthless than other rulers of her time, and that she was an effective reformer in the last years of her life.The future Empress Xiaoqinxian was born on the tenth day of the tenth lunar month in the 15th year of the reign of the Daoguang Emperor, which translates to 29 November 1835 in the Gregorian calendar.
King Zhaoxiang of Qin
In 273 BC, Wei and Zhao allied together to attack Han's Huayang (華陽). Qin offered military help to Han, defeating and killing 130,000 Wei soldiers, and drowning 20,000 Zhao soldiers in the Yellow River. In 269 BC, King Huiwen of Zhao backflipped on his previous promise to send hostages and concede land. In response, Qin attacked Zhao and laid siege to Yuyu (閼與). The siege was lifted after the Zhao general Zhao She (趙奢) ambushed and decisively defeated the invading Qin army. In 265 BC, Qin struck back at Zhao and captured three cities, and King Huiwen of Zhao resorted to sending his son to the state of Qi in exchange for Qi assistance, which forced the Qin army to withdraw.
Queen Mother of the West
The first emperor of the Qin dynasty, Qin Shi Huang, united the Warring States of China through brilliant military strategy and diplomacy to control the greatest territory yet seen in China. It was also under his command that workers joined pre-existing sections of wall to create the Great Wall of China. Even after these accomplishments he is known in history as a failure both as a king and as a seeker of immortality. Qin had the opportunity to meet the Queen Mother of the West and attain greatness from her, but instead wasted it and died without the Mandate of Heaven or a dynasty. His story of not jumping at the chance to meet the Queen Mother serves as a warning to later men, as despite huge and costly efforts to pursue immortality, he died and speaks no more. The ninth-century poet Zhuang Nanjie wrote:
As legend tells Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty and the Queen Mother of the West met during the height of Wu's reign, when she visited him during the night of Double Seven, the night for encounters between mortal men and divine women. When the Queen Mother of the West visits Emperor Wu she shares a banquet with him, grants him special teachings, and then departs. Emperor Wu just like King Mu before him fails to follow her teachings, and fails to put them into practice, and therefore he inevitably dies. The whole story of their meeting is described in Li Qi's long work "Songs of the Queen Mother":
Lü Buwei
Lü Buwei (291–235 BC) was a politician of the Qin state in the Warring States period of ancient China. Originally an influential merchant from the Wey (衛) state, Lü Buwei met and befriended King Zhuangxiang of Qin, who was then a minor prince serving as a hostage in the Zhao state. Through bribes and machinations, Lü Buwei succeeded in helping King Zhuangxiang become the heir apparent to the Qin throne. In 249 BC, after King Zhuangxiang ascended the throne following the death of his father, King Xiaowen, he appointed Lü Buwei as his chancellor (相國) and ennobled him as "Marquis Wenxin" (文信侯). After King Zhuangxiang's death in 247 BC, Lü Buwei became the chancellor and regent to King Zhuangxiang's young son, Ying Zheng, who later became Qin Shi Huang (First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty).
King Zhao of Chu
King Zhao was married to Zhen Jiang (貞姜), daughter of the Marquess of Qi (齊侯) whilst his mother was Bo Ying (伯嬴). He also had one sister and at least three elder brothers born by concubines, namely Shen (王子申), Jie (王子结) and Qi (王子啟), sometimes known by their courtesy names as Zixi (子西), Ziqi (子期) and Zilü (子闾).
Lü Buwei
The "Shiji" mentioned that Lü Buwei had a beautiful "dancing girl", Lady Zhao, in his household, with whom Zichu became so infatuated that he asked for her. Lü Buwei reluctantly presented Lady Zhao to Zichu, and they returned to Handan. In 259 BC, Lady Zhao gave birth to a son, Ying Zheng, who eventually unified China under the Qin Dynasty and became historically known as "Qin Shi Huang" (First Emperor of Qin). After the death of King Zhaoxiang in 251 BC, Lord Anguo was enthroned and became historically known as "King Xiaowen", but he died three days after his coronation in 250 BC. Zichu succeeded his father and became historically known as "King Zhuangxiang". King Zhuangxiang appointed Lü Buwei as his chancellor (相國; or prime minister) and enfeoffed him as "Marquis Wenxin" (文信侯) with a taxable fief covering 100,000 households in Luoyang. While in office, Lü Buwei oversaw Qin's military campaigns against neighbouring states. When King Zhuangxiang died in 247 BC, Ying Zheng (then 13 years old) succeeded him, while Lü Buwei continued serving as a chancellor and regent to the young king.
King Xiaowen of Qin
Xiaowen was a son of the King Zhaoxiang of Qin and Queen Tang and grandson of Queen Dowager Xuan.
King Zhaoxiang of Qin
In 284 BC, King Zhaoxiang sent troops in a five-state alliance of Qin, Yan, Zhao, Wei and Han, led by the Yan general Yue Yi, to attack Qi. Over 70 cities were captured including its capital Linzi (臨淄), leading to the murder of King Min of Qi by his supposed Chu ally.
King Zhaoxiang of Qin
In 293 BC, the states of Han, Wei and East Zhou allied together to attack Qin. King Zhaoxiang appointed the young Bai Qi as general, and defeated the two major states at Yique, killing 240,000 of the enemy and capturing (then executing) the enemy's supreme commander Gongsun Xi (公孫喜). This was the most devastating blow Qin delivered to the two eastern states to date. In 292 BC，Bai Qi again led the army and attacked Wei, capturing Weicheng (魏城) and sacking Yuanqu (垣邑). Then in 291 BC, Qin attacked Han again and seized the city of Wan (宛城) and Ye (葉). In 290 BC，King Zhaoxiang sent Sima Cuo (司馬錯), who captured Zhi (軹) from Wei and Deng (鄧) from Han, before joining with Bai Qi to seize Yuanqu again. These successive victories forced Wei to concede 400 "li" of Hedong lands, and Han to concede 200 "li" of Wusui lands to Qin.
King Zhaoxiang of Qin
With the old capital city in ruins, the new Zhou king, King Ping, hastily relocated the capital to Luoyi (雒邑), starting the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. When King Ping moved east, a minor vassal lord from the land of Qinyi (秦邑), Duke Xiang, provided military escort. To reward Duke Xiang's contribution, King Ping formally granted him a nobility rank and enfeoffed him as a feudal lord, elevating the clan of Qin from a lowly "attached state" (附庸) to a major vassal state. Fearing another barbarian attack from the west and desperately in need of a buffer state, King Ping further promised Duke Xiang that any lands the Qin clan could seize from the Rong tribes west of Qishan (the former heartland of Zhou), they could keep permanently as their own fief. As a marcher clan already with a bitter history with the Xirong tribes, the new noble state of Qin were greatly motivated by this royal promise, and successive generation of Qin rulers died in battle against their Xirong enemy, three of the largest being Mianzhu (綿諸, near modern-day Tianshui), Dali (大荔, near modern-day Dali County), and Yiqu.
Zhao Bing
Zhao Bing was the seventh son of Zhao Qi (Emperor Duzong). His mother was Lady Yu (俞氏), a concubine of Emperor Duzong who held the rank of "xiurong" (修容). He was a younger half-brother of his predecessors, Zhao Xian (Emperor Gong) (r. 1275–1276) and Zhao Shi (Emperor Duanzong) (r. 1276–1278). He was enfeoffed as the "Prince of Xin" (信王) in 1274. His title was later changed to "Prince of Guang" (廣王).
King Zhaoxiang of Qin
King Zhaoxiang reigned as the King of Qin for 57 years, and was responsible for the state of Qin achieving strategic dominance over the other six major states. During his reign, Qin captured the Chu capital Ying in 278 BC, conquered the Xirong state of Yiqu in 272 BC, slaughtered a 450,000-strong Zhao army at Changping in 260 BC, and overthrew the Eastern Zhou dynasty in 256 BC. These aggressive territorial expansions and the strategic weakening of other rival states paved the path for Qin's eventual unification of China three decades later by his great-grandson Ying Zheng.
Queen Dong
Queen Dong (17 October 1623 – 30 July 1681), birth name Dong You, posthumous name Chaowu Wangfei, was the princess consort of Koxinga and mother of Zheng Jing.
Qin (state)
In the next five decades after King Huiwen's death, King Zhaoxiang of Qin shifted his attention to northern China after Qin's victories in the south against Chu. In the early years of King Zhaoxiang's reign, the Marquis of Rang (穰侯) served as Qin's chancellor and he actively pushed for military campaigns against the Qi state in the far eastern part of China. However, the marquis had his personal motives, as he intended to use Qin's powerful military to help him conquer a fief in Qi territories, since the lands were not directly linked to Qin and would not be under the Qin government's direct administration.
Qin (state)
According to the 2nd century  historical text "Records of the Grand Historian" by Sima Qian, the Qin state traced its origin to one of the Five Emperors in ancient times, named Zhuanxu. One of his descendents, Boyi, was granted the family name of "Ying" () by King Shun. During the Xia and Shang dynasties, the Ying split in two: a western branch in Quanqiu (present-day Lixian in Gansu) and another branch that lived east of the Yellow River. The latter became the ancestors of the rulers of the Zhao state.
Yao Xing
Yao Xing (; 366–416), courtesy name Zilüe (子略), formally Emperor Wenhuan of (Later) Qin ((後)秦文桓帝), was an emperor of the Chinese/Qiang state Later Qin. He was the son of the founding emperor Yao Chang (Emperor Wucheng). For most of his reign, he did not use the title of emperor, but used the title Heavenly Prince ("Tian Wang"). During his reign, he destroyed the rival Former Qin and proceeded to expand his hegemony over nearly all of western China, as he temporarily seized all of Western Qin's territory and forced Southern Liang, Northern Liang, Western Liáng, and Qiao Zong's Western Shu (西蜀) all to at least nominally submit to him, but late in his reign, defeats on the battlefield, particularly at the hands of the rebel general Helian Bobo (who founded Xia), and internecine struggles between his sons and nephews greatly damaged the Later Qin state, and it was destroyed soon after his death. Yao Xing was an avid Buddhist, and it was during his reign that Buddhism first received official state support in China. The monk Kumarajiva also visited Chang'an at Yao Xing's request in 401.
Empress Dowager Xiao (Tang dynasty)
Empress Dowager Xiao (蕭太后) (died June 1, 847), formally Empress Zhenxian (貞獻皇后, "the virtuous and wise empress"), known at times in her life as Empress Dowager Jiqing (積慶太后), was an empress dowager of the Chinese Tang Dynasty. She was the mother of Emperor Wenzong and a concubine of Emperor Muzong.
Guo Jing
Guo Jing's hometown is in Niu Family Village. His father, Guo Xiaotian, was from Shandong but moved to Lin'an (present-day Hangzhou) after the Jurchen-led Jin Empire conquered the northern part of the Song Empire in the Jin–Song Wars. Guo Xiaotian met Li Ping in Lin'an and married her. Two years after their marriage, Guo Xiaotian was killed by a group of soldiers led by Duan Tiande during a raid ordered by Wanyan Honglie. Li Ping, who was pregnant with Guo Jing then, was captured and held hostage by Duan Tiande, but managed to escape later. She fled north and arrived in Mongolia, where she gave birth to Guo Jing. Guo Jing and his mother are taken in by some nomads later and become part of Genghis Khan's tribe. Guo Jing befriends the Khan's children and followers, and becomes "anda" (sworn brothers) with the Khan's fourth son, Tolui. He later meets the "Seven Freaks of Jiangnan" and learns martial arts from them. During battles between the Khan and his rivals, Guo Jing demonstrates his loyalty to the Khan by helping to fend off the attackers. The Khan sees Guo Jing as a loyal subject, places great faith and trust in him, and betroths his daughter, Huazheng, to him.
Yao Xing
When Yao Chang declared a rebellion and established Later Qin in 384, Yao Xing was at the Former Qin capital Chang'an, and he immediately fled to his father. For the next several years, as Yao Chang fought with Former Qin and Western Yan, Yao Xing was often entrusted with guarding the base of operations (initially Beidi (北地, in modern Tongchuan, Shaanxi), later Chang'an after Western Yan captured and then abandoned it), while his father engaged in campaigns. In 386, after Yao Chang declared himself emperor, he created Yao Xing crown prince. He was considered to be firm and gracious, and he spent much time studying literature despite the work necessary in maintaining home base. In 392, while Yao Chang was away on a campaign, Yao Xing, at the suggestion of the general Yao Fangcheng (姚方成), executed a number of Former Qin generals whom Yao Chang had taken captive earlier. While Yao Chang was angry on the surface, he appeared to be secretly happy that Yao Xing realized the danger that these generals posed. In 393, when the Former Qin emperor Fu Deng attacked the Later Qin vassal Dou Chong (竇衝), Yao Chang, at the suggestion of the prime minister Yin Wei (尹緯), sent Yao Xing against Fu Deng, in order to establish Yao Xing's authority over the troops. Yao Xing was able to stop Fu Deng's attack on Dou fairly easily.
Queen Dowager Zhao
The daughter of a prominent family of Zhao, she was a concubine of the merchant Lü Buwei, who gave her to his protegé, Prince Yiren of Qin. A year later, she gave birth to a son named Zheng; the historian Sima Qian, ill-disposed towards the first emperor, claimed that the pregnancy was especially long and that the child was actually Lü's. The couple were living at the time in Handan, the capital of Zhao, where Yiren was a hostage; when Qin laid siege to the city, Lü was able to bribe the prince's way out of town but Lady Zhao and her infant son were forced to hide among her family. Thanks to Lü's intervention and diplomacy, Prince Yiren subsequently ascended the Qin throne, becoming known to history by his posthumous name King Zhuangxiang.
King Wu of Qin
King Wu of Qin (; 329–307 BC), also known as King Daowulie of Qin (秦悼武烈王) or King Daowu of Qin (秦悼武王) or King Wulie of Qin (秦武烈王), was the ruler of the Qin state from 310 to 307 BC during the Warring States period of Chinese history.
King Zhaoxiang of Qin
In 283 BC, King Zhaoxiang offered to trade 15 cities in exchange of the jade disc of He, which was in the state of Zhao's possession. King Huiwen of Zhao was attracted by the offer and agreed to the trade. However, the Zhao ambassador Lin Xiangru (藺相如) figured out that Qin never meant to hold up their end of the deal, and managed to return the jade back to Zhao. During the following three years (282 BC to 280 BC), Qin attacked Zhao multiple times, capturing cities such as Shicheng (石城), Lin (藺), Lishi (離石), Qi (祁) and Guanglang (光狼城), killing 20,000 men, and forcing Zhao to agree to send hostages and concede lands in exchange for returning the captured cities. During the armistice meeting held at Mianchi (澠池), King Zhaoxiang attempted to humiliate King Huiwen, but was forced to back down when Lin Xiangru threatened to physically harm the Qin king.
Duke Jing of Qi
Duke Jing was born to a concubine of Duke Ling of Qi. His mother was a daughter of Shusun Xuanbo, head of one of the Three Huan clans that dominated the control of power in the neighbouring State of Lu. When his father died in 554 BC, his older half-brother Duke Zhuang succeeded Duke Ling and killed Crown Prince Ya with the support of the powerful minister Cui Zhu (崔杼). However, Duke Zhuang had an adulterous relationship with Cui's wife, and was killed by Cui in 548 BC.
Zhao Xing
Zhao Xing was the second son of King Zhao Yingqi, and his mother was a Han Chinese woman called (樛氏). In 135 BC, Zhao Yingqi was sent to the Han court by King Zhao Mo of Nanyue, to serve as Emperor Wu's guard (宿衛, "Sù wèi"). Before leaving for Chang'an, Zhao Yingqi had married a Yue woman and had his eldest son Zhao Jiande. While in Chang'an, he was married to Lady Jiu, and had his second son, Zhao Xing.
Qin (state)
Following the Qin victory at the Battle of Changping, the Qin commander Bai Qi ordered the 400,000 prisoners-of-war from Zhao to be executed by burying them alive. Subsequently, the Qin forces marched on the Zhao capital city of Handan in an attempt to conquer Zhao completely. However, the Qin troops were unable to capture Handan as they were already exhausted and also because the Zhao forces put up fierce resistance. King Xiaocheng of Zhao offered six cities to Qin as a peace offer and King Zhaoxiang of Qin accepted the offer after being persuaded by Fan Sui. Within Zhao, many officials strongly opposed King Xiaocheng's decision to give up the cities and subsequent delays caused the siege on Handan to be prolonged until 258 . Meanwhile, Bai Qi was consecutively replaced by Wang Xi, Wang Ling and Zheng Anping as the Qin commander at the siege.
King Zhuangxiang of Qin
King Zhuangxiang died in 247 after reigning for three years. Ying Zheng succeeded him and eventually unified China through a series of wars beside the other six major states, established the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC, and became historically known as "Qin Shi Huang" (First Emperor of Qin).
Zhao Xing
After Zhao Yingqi assumed the Nanyue throne, he appointed Zhao Xing as Crown Prince instead of his eldest son Zhao Jiande, despite the custom of primogeniture. When Zhao Yingqi died, Zhao Xing succeeded his father as king, and his mother Jiushi became Queen Dowager.
King Zhuangxiang of Qin
Yiren was born to Lord Anguo, the second son and heir apparent of King Zhaoxiang, and Lord Anguo's concubine Lady Xia. He was chosen to serve as a political hostage in the Kingdom of Zhao. In Handan (the capital of Zhao) he met a merchant, Lü Buwei, who saw Yiren as extraordinary and detected in him the potential to become the king of Qin in the future. Lü Buwei treated Yiren well and presented his concubine Lady Zhao to Yiren. Lady Zhao later bore Yiren a son, Ying Zheng.
Duke Xiang of Qin
In 771 BC King You of Zhou deposed Crown Prince Yijiu and made Bofu, the son of his favorite concubine Bao Si, the new crown prince. Yijiu was the son of Queen Shen who was the daughter of Marquis of Shen. Marquis of Shen rebelled at the news and made an alliance with the Quanrong tribe to attack the Zhou capital Haojing, killing King You at Mount Li. Marquis of Shen and other feudal rulers then installed Prince Yijiu on the Zhou throne as King Ping of Zhou. As Haojing was now ruined and still under the threat of the Quanrong, it was decided that the Zhou capital would be moved east to Luoyi, and Duke Xiang sent the Qin army to escort King Ping to Luoyi and established him at the new capital. This event marked the start of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.
Empress Qi
Empress Qi (齊皇后, personal name unknown) was an empress of the Chinese/Qiang state Later Qin. Her husband was Yao Xing (Emperor Wenhuan).
Qin Zongquan
Qin Zongquan (; died April 1, 889) was a warlord of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty and later a claimant to the imperial throne, in competition with Emperor Xizong of Tang and, later, Emperor Xizong's brother Emperor Zhaozong, with his capital at Cai Prefecture (蔡州, in modern Zhumadian, Henan). At Qin's prime, he controlled most of modern Henan and parts of modern Hubei, Anhui, and Jiangsu, but he was eventually repeatedly defeated by the Tang general Zhu Quanzhong. His subordinates turned against him and delivered him to the Tang capital Chang'an, where he was executed.
Duke Jian of Qin
Duke Jian of Qin (, 428–400 BC) was, from 414 to 400 BC, the 26th ruler of the Zhou Dynasty Chinese state of Qin that eventually united China to become the Qin Dynasty. His ancestral name was Ying (嬴), and Duke Jian was his posthumous title.
Princess Taiping
Princess Taiping (, lit. "Princess of Great Peace", personal name unknown, possibly Li Lingyue (李令月)) (died 2 August 713) was a princess of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty and her mother Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty. She was the youngest daughter of Wu Zetian and Emperor Gaozong and was powerful during the reigns of her mother and her elder brothers Emperor Zhongzong and Emperor Ruizong (both of whom reigned twice), particularly during Emperor Ruizong's second reign.
King Zhaoxiang of Qin
In 256 BC, a Qin general named Jiu (摎) attacked Han, killing 40,000 of the enemy and capturing Yangcheng (陽城) and Fushu (負黍). Two years later in 254 BC, Jiu attacked Wei and captured Wucheng (吳城), forcing Wei to submit to Qin as a vassal state.
King Zhaoxiang of Qin
In his first year as ruler (306 BC), King Zhaoxiang accepted the counsel of the Right Chancellor, Gan Mao (甘茂), who advocated the return of the Wusui (武遂) region back to the state of Han. The plan was opposed by two other officials Xiang Shou (向壽) and Gongsun Shi (公孫奭), who both despised Gan Mao greatly and proceeded to badmouth him repeatedly. This led Gan Mao to flee Qin in fear of his life and defect to the state of Qi.
King Zhaoxiang of Qin
In 307 BC, Ying Ji's older half-brother, King Wu, unexpectedly died after breaking his shin bones while trying to show off his physical prowess by lifting a heavy bronze cauldron in the Zhou palace at Wangcheng. King Wu died young and childless, hence placing the state of Qin into a succession crisis, with a number of princes now eligible to claim the throne. At the time, Prince Ji was still a hostage in the state of Yan, and was generally considered unlikely to be a candidate. However, King Wuling of Zhao decided to take advantage of the situation and intervene in the domestic politics of his western neighbour. King Wuling ordered his chancellor of the Dai Commandery, Zhao Gu (趙固), to smuggle Prince Ji out of Yan into Zhao territory, before endorsing him to return to Qin and contest for the throne. Furthermore, Prince Ji's maternal uncle, Wei Ran (魏冉), was a general in command of a significant Qin military forces, and helped suppressing most of his nephew's political opponents. This enabled Prince Ji to successfully claim the throne as the King Zhaoxiang of Qin at the age of 18.
Consort Chen Farong
Emperor Ming died in 472, and was succeeded by his son Liu Yu (Emperor Houfei). Because Liu Zhun, as the emperor's brother, carried the title of Prince of Ancheng, Consort Chen was honored as the Princess Dowager of Ancheng. After the impulsive and violent Emperor Houfei was assassinated in 477, the general Xiao Daocheng effectively took over the government and made Liu Zhun a puppet emperor. Consort Chen, as the emperor's mother, was honored as "Consort Dowager" (皇太妃) but not as empress dowager—that title belonged to Emperor Ming's wife Empress Wang. Xiao forced Emperor Shun to yield the throne to him in 479, ending Liu Song and starting Southern Qi, and Emperor Shun was created the Prince of Ruyin. Accordingly, Consort Chen became known as the Princess Dowager of Ruyin. Later that year, the former Emperor Shun was killed by soldiers who were supposed to protect him, and Xiao then ordered a general killing of the Liu clan. It appeared unlikely that Consort Chen would have been killed in the slaughter, although it is not known when she died.
Li Mu
Getting rid of Li Mu became a necessity for Qin to conquer Zhao and unify China. Qin sent spies to the Zhao court, bribing key courtiers in order to persuade the King of Zhao that Li Mu was planning to revolt. The plan succeeded - Li Mu was arrested and soon executed on the king's orders. According to Sima Qian (chapter 102) this happened when King Qian, 'whose mother was a dancing girl', came to the throne.
King Zhaoxiang of Qin
In 301 BC, Qin again attacked Han, led by King Zhaoxiang's uncle, Wei Ran, and occupied the city of Rang (穰城). The city was later given to Wei Ran, who was made chancellor six years later, as his fief. However, in 298 BC, Qin suffered a setback at Hangu Pass under the combined attack from a three-state alliance of Qi, Han and Wei, and was forced to concede the recently occupied Fengling and Wusui back to Wei and Han.
King Zhaoxiang of Qin
In manga and anime Kingdom, he was described as a "War God", which he led Qin through bloody battles alongside his 6 most elite generals, including Bai Qi, Wang He, Wang Yi, Liao, Si Ma Cuo and Hu Shang.
Queen Dowager Xuan
Queen Dowager Xuan (; 338–265 BC), also called Mi Bazi (), was a girl from the royal family of the Kingdom of Chu and one of the imperial concubines (consorts but not the wife) of King Huiwen of Qin. She gave birth to King Zhaoxiang of Qin (r. 306–251 BC) and acted as his regent when he was young. As queen dowager, she entered illicit relations with the "barbarian" Yiqu king and had two sons with him, but later tricked and killed him. Following that coup, the Qin army marched into Yiqu territory at the queen dowager's orders; the Qin annihilated Yiqu and thus came to possess the Ordos region.
Qing dynasty
These years saw an evolution in the participation of Empress Dowager Cixi (Wade–Giles: Tz'u-Hsi) in state affairs. She entered the imperial palace in the 1850s as a concubine to the Xianfeng Emperor (r. 1850–1861) and came to power in 1861 after her five-year-old son, the Tongzhi Emperor ascended the throne. She, the Empress Dowager Ci'an (who had been Xianfeng's empress), and Prince Gong (a son of the Daoguang Emperor), staged a coup that ousted several regents for the boy emperor. Between 1861 and 1873, she and Ci'an served as regents, choosing the reign title "Tongzhi" (ruling together). Following the emperor's death in 1875, Cixi's nephew, the Guangxu Emperor, took the throne, in violation of the dynastic custom that the new emperor be of the next generation, and another regency began. In the spring of 1881, Ci'an suddenly died, aged only forty-three, leaving Cixi as sole regent.
Jian of Qi
The kingdom of Qi was the only opponent of Qin after Qin Shi Huang conquered every other state. King Jian and his prime minister Hou Sheng (后勝), a relation of Jian's wife, sent the Qi army to the western border of Qi to protect the country; but Qin general Wang Ben (王賁), son of Wang Jian, attacked Qi from the north instead and conquered it in 221 BC, completing Qin's unification of China.
Empress Dou (Zhang)
While Emperor Zhang's adoptive mother Empress Dowager Ma was alive, she selected two daughters of Song Yang () as consorts for Emperor Zhang. In 78, the elder Consort Song gave birth to a son named Liu Qing (), and because Empress Dou was sonless, Prince Qing was created crown prince in 79. The Consorts Song were greatly favored by Empress Dowager Ma until Empress Dowager Ma's death in 79.
Xiao Wenshou
Liu Yu's mother Zhao Anzong (趙安宗) died on the same day that she gave birth to him, in 363. His father Liu Qiao (劉翹) later married Xiao Wenshou, although the date of the marriage is not known. She bore Liu Qiao two sons, Liu Daolian (劉道憐) and Liu Daogui (劉道規). Liu Yu was described to be highly deferential and respectful to her, as she was the only mother he knew. After he overthrew Huan Xuan, who seized the Jin Dynasty (265-420) throne in 403, he was created the Duke of Yuzhang, and she was honored as the Duchess Dowager of Yuzhang in 412. After he was created the Prince of Song in 419, she was honored as princess dowager. After he seized the Jin throne and established Liu Song in 420, she was honored as the empress dowager. By this point, Liu Yu was himself quite advanced in age (57), but he was described as so careful and so loving to her that he visited her every day without ceasing. After he died and was succeeded by his son Emperor Shao of Liu Song in 422, she was honored as grand empress dowager. She died in 423, and, pursuant to instructions that both she and Emperor Wu left, she was buried at the same site as Liu Qiao but not in the same tomb, as it would be difficult to conduct an imperial burial in the small tomb that Liu Qiao was buried.
King Zhaoxiang of Qin
King Zhaoxiang of Qin (; 325–251 BC), or King Zhao of Qin (秦昭王), born Ying Ji (, was the king of Qin from 306 BC to 251 BC. He was the son of King Huiwen and younger brother of King Wu.
Borjigin
Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang (Bumbutai) was historically considered the mother of Qing dynasty. She was a concubine of Huang Taiji. Daughter of Prince Jaisang and niece of Empress Xiaoduan. Made the "Enlightened Mother Dowager Empress" (Sheng Mu Huang Tai Hou) in 1643 after the death of Emperor Hong Taiji. She died in 1688 having helped Shunzhi Emperor, her son, run the country till his death and Kangxi Emperor, her grandson, for 25 years of his reign. Xiaozhuang was an excellent politician who did not like to interfere in politics, unlike the notorious Empress Dowager Cixi. However, when the conditions required, she rendered her efforts.
Qin (state)
In 771 , the Marquess of Shen formed an alliance with the Zeng state and Quanrong nomads, and they attacked and captured the Zhou capital Haojing, killing King You of Zhou. Duke Xiang of Qin led his troops to escort King You's son King Ping of Zhou to Luoyi, where the new capital city of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty was established. In recognition of Duke Xiang's efforts, King Ping formally enfeoffed Duke Xiang as a feudal lord, and elevated Qin from an "attached state" (附庸, "fuyong") to a major vassal state. King Ping further promised to give Qin the land west of Qishan, the former heartland of Zhou, if Qin could expel the Rong tribes that were occupying the land. The future generations of the Qin rulers were encouraged by this promise, and they launched several military campaigns on the Rong, eventually expanding their territories to beyond the original lands lost by the Western Zhou Dynasty.
Consort Chen Farong
Consort Chen was from the Liu Song capital Jiankang, and she was regarded as the mother of Emperor Ming's son Liu Zhun (later Emperor Shun), born in 467, but whether she was his biological mother is a matter of historical dispute. Historical accounts, written during the succeeding Southern Qi Dynasty, indicate that Emperor Ming was impotent, and that although he had 12 sons, those were the results of his having seized his brothers' pregnant concubines and kept the children if they bore males, or his having had his concubines have sexual relations with others. (However, the fact that his wife Empress Wang Zhenfeng had two daughters, although no sons, may argue against such allegations, because it appeared rather unlikely that Emperor Ming would do this over female children—indeed, the allegations stated that he would only do this if his brothers' concubines bore males—or that the morally upright Empress Wang would engage in sexual relations with others, thus suggesting that the allegations were made to delegitimize Emperor Ming's sons Emperor Houfei and Emperor Shun vis-à-vis Southern Qi.) Those same accounts indicate that Liu Zhun was actually the biological son of Emperor Ming's brother Liu Xiufan (劉休範) the Prince of Guiyang and one of Liu Xiufan's concubines, and that Emperor Ming had her raise Liu Zhun.
Queen Bian
Shortly after Qifu Gangui became king in 388, after the death of his brother, the founding king Qifu Guoren (King Xuanlie), he created her empress. Qifu Guoren was not mentioned as having created a empress, but could have. At that point, she was already described of as his wife. However, nothing more is known about her, including whether she was the mother of his eventual successor, his son Qifu Chipan (King Wenzhao). In 394, Qifu Gangui, in a political marriage, married the sister of the Former Qin emperor Fu Deng, the Empress Dongping, as queen, although presumably Empress Fu was deposed and Empress Bian restored after Former Qin's destruction by Later Qin later in 394, for after Qifu Gangui lost his state but restored it in 409, he again created Empress Bian empress. (The succession table below assumes as such.)
Duke Qing of Qi
Duke Qing was the son of Duke Hui of Qi and grandson of Duke Huan, the greatest leader of the State of Qi. He succeeded his father, who died in 599 BC after a ten-year reign. Duke Hui had favoured the official Cui Zhu (崔杼). After Duke Hui's death the powerful Gao and Guo clans of Qi expelled Cui, who fled to the State of Wey. Cui would later return to Qi and cause great turmoil in the state.
Duke Ling of Qi
In 572 BC, Duke Dao of the State of Jin attacked Qi. Duke Ling made peace with Jin by sending his son Prince Guang (later Duke Zhuang II of Qi) to Jin as a hostage. Nine years later Prince Guang was made the crown prince of Qi.
King Zhaoxiang of Qin
In 315 BC, the two splinter states of East Zhou and West Zhou declared autonomy and divided up the remaining crown lands between themselves, reducing the King of Zhou, whose seat, Chengzhou, was within East Zhou, to more or less a puppet at the mercy of the duke's charity. When King Nan of Zhou ascended in 314 BC, he was expelled by the Duke of East Zhou, who no longer wanted to provide for a less than useful monarch. King Nan was forced to beg for protection from the Duke of West Zhou, and moved out of Chengzhou to Wangcheng.
Emperor Ming of Southern Qi
Xiao Luan was born in 452. His mother's name is lost to history, and his father was Xiao Daosheng (蕭道生), a mid-low-level official during Liu Song. Xiao Daosheng died early, and Xiao Luan was raised by Xiao Daosheng's younger brother Xiao Daocheng, a Liu Song general. He had two brothers, Xiao Feng (蕭鳳), who was older, and Xiao Mian (蕭緬), who was younger. Xiao Daocheng was said to have loved Xiao Luan greatly, even more so than his own sons. In 472, at the age of 20, Xiao Luan was made a county magistrate, and during the next few years, as his uncle's powers increased, he was promoted through a number of positions, becoming a general in 478. When Xiao Daocheng took over the throne from Emperor Shun of Liu Song in 479, ending Liu Song and establishing Southern Qi, he created Xiao Luan the Marquess of Xichang.