1.
Jiankang
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Jiankang, or Jianye as it was originally called, was the capital city of the Eastern Wu, the Eastern Jin dynasty and the Southern Dynasties. Its walls are extant ruins in the municipal region of Nanjing. Before the Eastern Jin the city was known as Jianye, renamed Jiankang in 313 CE, it served as the capital of the Eastern Jin and Southern Dynasties, following the retreat from the north due to Xiongnu raids. It rivaled Luoyang in terms of population and commerce and at its height in the century was home to around 1 million people. During the rebellion of Hou Jing, Jiankang was captured in 549 CE after a siege that devastated the city. During the Sui dynasty national reunification it was almost completely destroyed, under the Tang dynasty, the city regained its prosperity and the name became Jinling. By the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period it was called Jiangning, when Zhu Yuanzhang founded the Ming dynasty in 1368, he made Jiankang the capital of China and renamed the city as Nanjing, literally the Southern Capital. This was compared to contemporaneous Rome, Constantinople, Luoyang, and the devastated Changan
2.
Monarchy
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The actual power of the monarch may vary from purely symbolic, to partial and restricted, to completely autocratic. Traditionally and in most cases, the monarchs post is inherited and lasts until death or abdication, occasionally this might create a situation of rival claimants whose legitimacy is subject to effective election. Finally, there have been cases where the term of a reign is either fixed in years or continues until certain goals are achieved. Thus there are widely divergent structures and traditions defining monarchy, Monarchy was the most common form of government until the 19th century, but it is no longer prevalent. Currently,47 sovereign nations in the world have monarchs acting as heads of state,19 of which are Commonwealth realms that recognise Queen Elizabeth II as their head of state. The monarchs of Cambodia, Japan, and Malaysia reign, the word monarch comes from the Greek language word μονάρχης, monárkhēs which referred to a single, at least nominally absolute ruler. In current usage the word usually refers to a traditional system of hereditary rule. Depending on the held by the monarch, a monarchy may be known as a kingdom, principality, duchy, grand duchy, empire, tsardom, emirate, sultanate, khaganate. The form of societal hierarchy known as chiefdom or tribal kingship is prehistoric, the Greek term monarchia is classical, used by Herodotus. The monarch in classical antiquity is often identified as king, the Chinese, Japanese and Nepalese monarchs continued to be considered living Gods into the modern period. Since antiquity, monarchy has contrasted with forms of democracy, where power is wielded by assemblies of free citizens. In antiquity, monarchies were abolished in favour of such assemblies in Rome, much of 19th century politics was characterised by the division between anti-monarchist Radicalism and monarchist Conservativism. Many countries abolished the monarchy in the 20th century and became republics, advocacy of republics is called republicanism, while advocacy of monarchies is called monarchism. In the modern era, monarchies are more prevalent in small states than in large ones, most monarchs, both historically and in the modern day, have been born and brought up within a royal family, the centre of the royal household and court. Growing up in a family, future monarchs are often trained for the responsibilities of expected future rule. Different systems of succession have been used, such as proximity of blood, primogeniture, and agnatic seniority. While most monarchs have been male, many female monarchs also have reigned in history, rule may be hereditary in practice without being considered a monarchy, such as that of family dictatorships or political families in many democracies. The principal advantage of hereditary monarchy is the continuity of leadership
3.
Emperor Wu of Chen
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Emperor Wu of Chen, personal name Chen Baxian, courtesy name Xingguo, nickname Fasheng, was the first emperor of the Chinese Chen Dynasty. He first distinguished himself as a Liang Dynasty general during the campaign against the rebel general Hou Jing, and he was progressively promoted. In 555, he seized power after a coup against his superior, the general Wang Sengbian and he died in 559, and as his only surviving son Chen Chang was held by Northern Zhou as a hostage, he was succeeded by his nephew Chen Qian. Chen Baxian was born in 503, the year of the reign of Emperor Wu of Liang. His family traced its ancestry to Chen Shi, a county magistrate, however, no record indicated that Chen Baxians father Chen Wenzan was an official. His mother was a Lady Dong, probably Chen Wenzans wife, when Chen Baxian was young, he was considered ambitious, not caring about managing properties. As he grew, he studied military strategies and learned various fighting techniques, initially, he married a daughter of Qian Zhongfang, who was also from Wuxing Commandery, but she died early. After Lady Qians death, he married Zhang Yaoer, likewise from Wuxing Commandery and she bore him at least one son, Chen Chang. In the late 530s, when Xiao Ying the Marquess of Xinyu, when Xiao Ying was made the governor of Guang Province around 540, he invited Chen to serve on his staff, and subsequently, Xiao Ying made him an acting commandery governor. In 541, the people of Giao Châu Province, dissatisfied with the rule of Xiao Zi the Marquess of Wulin. Xiao Zi fled to Guang Province, Xiao Ying sent the generals Sun Jiong and Lu Zixiong to attack Lý Bôn, with Xiao Ying overseeing the operations. In spring 542, Xiao Ying and Xiao Zi ordered Sun and Lu to attack, despite Sun and Lus request to delay the attack to fall 542 due to fears that hot temperature could cause illnesses. Lý Bôn crushed their forces with casualties, and Xiao Zi falsely accused Sun and Lu of working in concern with Lý Bôn. Xiao Ying ordered Chen to engage them, and he defeated them, killing Du Tianhe and capturing Du Sengming, believing that Du Sengming and Zhou were both good soldiers, he released them and retained them on his staff. For this accomplishment, Emperor Wu created Chen the Viscount of Xinan, in Jan 544, Lý Bôn proclaimed himself emperor and named the country Vạn Xuân, ending the Second Chinese domination of Vietnam. In winter 544, Xiao Ying died, and initially, Chen started escorting Xiao Yings casket back to Jiankang for burial. On the way, while he was still at Dayu Mountain, he was ordered to rendezvous with the new governor of Giao Châu Province, Yang Piao, Xiao Bao did not want to set out on the campaign, and therefore try to persuade Yang not to advance. Chen persuaded Yang otherwise, and in spring 545, Yang, with Chen as his lieutenant, attacked Lý Bôn, defeating him and forcing him flee into the mountains and conduct guerilla warfare instead
4.
Emperor Wen of Chen
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Emperor Wen of Chen, personal name Chen Qian, courtesy name Zihua, was an emperor of the Chinese Chen Dynasty. At the time he took the throne, Chen had been devastated by war during the preceding Liang Dynasty, Chen Qian was born in 522, as the oldest son of Chen Daotan, a commander of the Liang Dynasty palace guards. His mothers name is not recorded in history and it appeared that during the disturbance, in order to avoid the banditry that was common in the countryside, Chen Qian went to the Chens home commandery of Wuxing. After his uncle Chen Baxian joined the campaign of Xiao Yi the Prince of Xiangdong against Hou, Hou arrested both Chen Qian and Chen Baxians son Chen Chang and imprisoned them. Only after the victory of Emperor Yuans forces over Hou were Chen Qian and Chen Chang freed and he quickly distinguished himself in minor campaigns against local bandits, and he became one of Chen Baxians trusted generals. In 554, Western Wei forces attacked Emperor Yuans new capital Jiangling and captured it, Western Wei declared Emperor Yuans nephew Xiao Cha emperor, but Wang and Chen Baxian refused to recognize Xiao Cha as emperor. They welcomed Emperor Yuans only surviving son Xiao Fangzhi the Prince of Jinan to Jiankang, declaring him the Prince of Liang and preparing to declare him emperor. Chen Baxian was displeased with Xiao Yuanmings ascension, and in fall 555, with Chen Qian as one of his confidants, he launched a surprise attack on Jiankang, killing Wang and deposing Xiao Yuanming. When Chen Baxian succeeded surprisingly quickly, Du, along with Wei Zai the governor of Yixing Commandery and this allowed Chen Baxian to come to his aid, forcing Wei to surrender and Wang Sengzhi to flee to Du. Chen Baxian subsequently returned to Jiankang, leaving Chen Qian in command of the armies facing Du, in spring 556, Chen Qian secretly persuaded Du Kans general Du Tai to surrender to him, and subsequently, Du Kan was captured and executed. Chen Qian and Zhou were subsequently able to take over Eastern Yang Province from its governor Zhang Biao. In 557, Chen Baxian had Emperor Jing yield the throne to him and he created Chen Qian, as his only close male relative in his territory, the Prince of Linchuan. Subsequently, a peace was negotiated with Wang, although conflicts continued. While Chen Qian was still at Nanhuan, in summer 559, Emperor Wu grew ill, Emperor Wus wife Empress Zhang Yaoer, after consulting the officials Du Leng and Cai Jingli, chose not to announce Emperor Wus death and summoned Chen Qian back from Nanhuan. Emperor Wen honored Empress Zhang as empress dowager and he created his wife Princess Shen Miaorong empress and her son Chen Bozong crown prince. Hearing that Emperor Wu had died, Wang Lin launched an attack on Chen in winter 559. He was initially successful, defeating the Chen general Wu Mingche, but when Emperor Wen sent Hou Tian against Wang, in spring 560, Hou defeated Wang, and both Wang and Xiao Zhuang fled to Northern Qi. Chen forces took about half of Xiao Zhuangs territory, while the half went to the Northern Zhou-supported Western Liang
5.
Emperor Fei of Chen
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Emperor Fei of Chen, personal name Chen Bozong, courtesy name Fengye, nickname Yaowang, also known by his post-removal title of Prince of Linhai, was an emperor of the Chinese Chen Dynasty. He was the son and heir of Emperor Wen, but after he came to the throne in 566, the victor, Emperor Feis uncle Chen Xu, deposed Emperor Fei in winter 568 and took the throne himself. Traditionally histories indicate that Chen Bozong was born in 554, at the time of his birth, his father Chen Qian was serving as a general under Chen Baxian, Chen Bozongs granduncle, who was one of the more prominent generals of Liang Dynasty at that time. His mother was Chen Qians wife Shen Miaorong, in 555, Chen Baxian became even more prominent after overthrowing his commanding general Wang Sengbian and replacing the emperor Xiao Yuanming with Emperor Jing. During the next few years, Chen Baxian consolidated power, and in 557, he had Emperor Jing yield the throne to him, establishing Chen Dynasty as its Emperor Wu. Chen Qian, as the nephew and the only close male relative of the new emperor in Chen territory, was created the Prince of Linchuan. In 558, Chen Bozong received the title of Heir Apparent of Linchuan, in 559, Emperor Wu died after a sudden illness. As Chen Qian was his close male relative in Chen territory, the imperial officials supported Chen Qian to succeed him. He created Chen Bozong crown prince and created Chen Bozongs mother Princess Shen empress, in 562, Emperor Wen selected the daughter of the official Wang Gu to be Chen Bozongs wife. She thereafter carried the title of Crown Princess and she bore him a son, Chen Zhize, in 566. In his youth, Crown Prince Bozong was considered to be weak in his personality, Chen Xu declined, and the official Kong Huan also opposed. Emperor Wen therefore did not make Chen Xu crown prince, but entrusted the important matters to Chen Xu, Kong, Dao Zhongju, Yuan Shu and he soon died, and Crown Prince Bozong took the throne. Emperor Fei honored his grandaunt Empress Dowager Zhang Yaoer grand empress dowager and he created his wife Crown Princess Wang empress. As per the arrangement left by Emperor Wen, Emperor Feis reign was characterized initially by a leadership of the key officials Emperor Wen left in place. However, by spring 567, the officials have largely coalesced into two factions—one led by Dao Zhongju and Liu Shizhi, and one led by Chen Xu. Dao, Liu, and Chen Xu took up residence in the palace, when Chen Xu considered doing so, his associate Mao Xi and the general Wu Mingche persuaded him that he needed to remain in the palace. Chen Xu therefore invited Liu to a meeting—and while the meeting was going on, had Mao confirming with Empress Dowager Shen. Once Mao confirmed so, Chen Xu arrested Liu and ordered him to commit suicide, from this point on, the administration was controlled by Chen Xu
6.
Emperor Xuan of Chen
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Emperor Xuan of Chen, personal name Chen Xu, courtesy name Shaoshi, nickname Shili, was an emperor of the Chinese Chen Dynasty. He seized the throne from his nephew Emperor Fei in 569 and he was considered to be a capable and diligent ruler, who at one point militarily expanded at the expense of Northern Qi. After Northern Qi fell to Northern Zhou in 577, however, Chen was cornered, Emperor Xuan died in 582, leaving the state in the hands of his incompetent son Chen Shubao, and by 589, Chen would be destroyed by Northern Zhous successor state Sui Dynasty. Chen Xu was born in 530, as the son of Chen Daotan. His mothers name is not recorded in history, Chen Daotan died in 548 or 549, while commanding the guards in resisting a siege of the palace at the capital Jiankang by the rebel general Hou Jing. It is unclear whether Chen Xu was imprisoned as well, in 551, Wang, with Chens assistance, defeated Hou and recaptured Jiankang. Xiao Yi subsequently declared himself emperor, but set up his capital at Jiangling rather than returning to Jiankang, as part of this alignment, Chen Baxian was given the post of defending Jingkou. Emperor Yuan then summoned Chen Chang and Chen Xu to Jiangling to serve in his administration—and also to serve as hostages and he also gave Chen Xu a wife—his niece Liu Jingyan. In 554, rival Western Wei attacked Jiangling and captured it, Chen Xu and Chen Chang were taken to the Western Wei capital Changan as honored captives, while Lady Liu and their son Chen Shubao were left at Rangcheng. In fall 555, he made an attack on Jiankang, killing Wang and deposing Xiao Yuanming, making Xiao Fangzhi emperor instead. In 557, he had Emperor Jing yield the throne to him, Emperor Wu died in 559, and because Chen Chang was still detained at Changan as well, Chen Qian took the throne. In 560, Western Weis successor state Northern Zhou began to make overtures to Chen, in 562, after Emperor Wen gave Northern Zhou the city of Lushan in exchange, Chen Xu was allowed to return to Chen. Initially, Princess Liu and Chen Shubao were not returned, but after negotiations by Emperor Wen. Chen Xu quickly became one of his brother Emperor Wens key subordinates, in spring 566, Emperor Wen was seriously ill, and Chen Xu, along with the other key officials Dao Zhongju, Kong Huan, Yuan Shu, and Liu Shizhi, attended to him. Emperor Wen died soon thereafter, and Chen Bozong took the throne as Emperor Fei, although Emperor Fei was emperor, the power was split between Chen Xu, Dao Zhongju, and Liu Shizhi, and all three lived inside the palace in order to handle sensitive matters. Liu, fearful of Chen Xus honored status as the emperors uncle and he had the official Yin Buning informing Chen Xu that he should leave the palace to attend to the matters of the capital region Yang Province, of which Chen Xu was also governor. When Chen Xu considered doing so, his associate Mao Xi, once Mao confirmed so, Chen Xu arrested Liu and ordered him to commit suicide, while demoting Dao to a lesser position. From this point on, the administration was controlled by Chen Xu, the deaths of Liu and Han, both of whom were close associates of Emperor Wen, brought fear into the heart of another associate of Emperor Wen—Hua Jiao the governor of Xiang Province
7.
Chen Shubao
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Chen Shubao, also known as Houzhu of Chen, posthumous name Duke Yang of Changcheng, courtesy name Yuanxiu, nickname Huangnu, was the last emperor of the Chinese Chen Dynasty. In 589, Sui forces captured his capital Jiankang and seized him, ending Chen and unifying China after nearly three centuries of division, which started during the reign of Emperor Hui of Jin. He was taken to the Sui capital Changan, where he was treated kindly by Emperor Wen of Sui until his death in 604, during the reign of Emperor Wens son Emperor Yang of Sui. Chen Shubao was born in 553, when his father Chen Xu was serving as an official under Emperor Yuan of Liang at Emperor Yuans capital Jiangling. His mother was Chen Xus second wife Liu Jingyan, and he was Chen Xus oldest son, in 554, Western Wei attacked Jiangling and captured it, executing Emperor Yuan. For reasons lost to history, Lady Liu and Chen Shubao were not taken to Changan, in 557, Chen Xus uncle Chen Baxian established Chen Dynasty, with his capital at Jiankang. He requested that Western Weis successor state Northern Zhou return Chen Chang and Chen Xu to him, but Northern Zhou, while initially agreeing, did not do so during Emperor Wus lifetime. In 559, Emperor Wu died, and Chen Xus older brother Chen Qian the Prince of Linchuan, as Emperor Wus only close relative in the realm. In 560, Northern Zhou began making overtures to return Chen Xu to Chen, in 562, Emperor Wen, who had remotely created Chen Xu the Prince of Ancheng, traded the city of Lushan to Northern Zhou in exchange for Chen Xus return. Initially, Chen Shubao and his mother Princess Liu were not returned, Chen Shubao was designated as Chen Xus heir apparent. He held minor offices during Emperor Wens reign, in 566, Emperor Wen died and was succeeded by his son Chen Bozong the Crown Prince. In winter 568, he had an edict issued in the name of Emperor Wus wife Grand Empress Dowager Zhang Yaoer, deposing Emperor Fei, in spring 569, he took the throne. Chen Shubao was created crown prince, and his mother Princess Liu was created empress, in fall 569, Chen Shubao married Shen Wuhua, the daughter of the official Shen Junli, as his wife and crown princess. However, eventually he came to favor his concubine Consort Zhang Lihua, as crown prince, Chen Shubao was known for his love of literature and feasting. He therefore wanted to have the official Jiang Zong, who was talented in literature, serve as his chief of staff, and he requested that Kong Huan, Kong declined, citing that Jiang, while talented, lacked steadiness and would not be able to correct Chen Shubao. Chen Shubao then personally made the request to his father Emperor Xuan, in spring 582, Emperor Xuan grew ill, and Chen Shubao, along with his brothers Chen Shuling the Prince of Shixing and Chen Shujian the Prince of Changsha, attended to Emperor Xuan in the palace. Chen Shubao fell to the ground unconscious, Empress Liu tried to stop Chen Shuling, but was also stabbed several times. The lady in waiting Lady Wu, however, then grabbed Chen Shuling, allowing Chen Shubao to get up and they were soon defeated, however, and both were killed in battle
8.
Liang dynasty
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The Liang dynasty, also known as the Southern Liang dynasty, was the third of the Southern Dynasties during Chinas Southern and Northern Dynasties period. Located in central China, north of Lake Dongting, the Liang dynasty was followed by the Chen dynasty, during the Liang dynasty, in 547 a Persian embassy paid tribute to the Liang, amber was recorded as originating from Persia by the Book of Liang. The ending date for Liang dynasty itself is a matter of controversy among historians, many historians consider the end of Emperor Jings reign in 556, when he was forced to yield the throne to Chen Baxian, who established Chen dynasty, to be Liangs end date. Others regard the abolition of Western Liang in 587 to be the end of Liang. A Liang scion named Xiao Xian attempted to revive the Liang dynasty during the collapse of the Sui dynasty and he was defeated and executed by Emperor Gaozu of Tang. Tombs of a number of members of the ruling Xiao family, with their sculptural ensembles, the best surviving example of the Liang dynastys monumental statuary is perhaps the ensemble of the Tomb of Xiao Xiu, a brother of Emperor Wu, located in Qixia District east of Nanjing. Tombs of the Liang Dynasty King of Liang Book of Liang Book of Zhou History of Northern Dynasties History of Southern Dynasties Zizhi Tongjian Media related to Liang dynasty at Wikimedia Commons
9.
Sui dynasty
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The Sui Dynasty was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China of pivotal significance. It was succeeded by the Tang dynasty, which inherited its foundation. Founded by Emperor Wen of Sui, the Sui dynasty capital was Changan and they also spread and encouraged Buddhism throughout the empire. By the middle of the dynasty, the unified empire entered a golden age of prosperity with vast agricultural surplus that supported rapid population growth. A lasting legacy of the Sui dynasty was the Grand Canal, the dynasty, which lasted only thirty-seven years, was undermined by ambitious wars and construction projects, which overstretched its resources. Particularly, under Emperor Yang, heavy taxation and compulsory labor duties would eventually induce widespread revolts, the dynasty is often compared to the earlier Qin dynasty for unifying China after prolonged division. Wide-ranging reforms and construction projects were undertaken to consolidate the newly unified state, after crushing an army in the eastern provinces, Yang Jian usurped the throne to become Emperor Wen of Sui. In a bloody purge, he had fifty-nine princes of the Zhou royal family eliminated, Emperor Wen abolished the anti-Han policies of Zhou and reclaimed his Han surname of Yang. In his campaign for southern conquest, Emperor Wen assembled thousands of boats to confront the forces of the Chen dynasty on the Yangtze River. The largest of ships were very tall, having five layered decks. They were outfitted with six 50-foot-long booms that were used to swing and damage enemy ships, besides employing Xianbei and other Chinese ethnic groups for the fight against Chen, Emperor Wen also employed the service of people from southeastern Sichuan, which Sui had recently conquered. In 588, the Sui had amassed 518,000 troops along the bank of the Yangtze River. The Chen dynasty could not withstand such an assault, by 589, Sui troops entered Jiankang and the last emperor of Chen surrendered. Although Emperor Wen was famous for bankrupting the treasury with warfare and construction projects. He established granaries as sources of food and as a means to market prices from the taxation of crops. The large agricultural surplus supported rapid growth of population to historical peak, the state capital of Changan, while situated in a military-secured heartland of Guanzhong, was remote from the economic centers to the east and south of the empire. Emperor Wen initiated the construction of the Grand Canal, with completion of the first route that directly linked Changan to the Yellow River, Later Emperor Yang would enormously enlarge the scale of the Grand Canal construction. Externally, the emerging nomadic Turkic Khaganate in the north posed a threat to the newly founded dynasty
10.
China
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China, officially the Peoples Republic of China, is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia and the worlds most populous country, with a population of over 1.381 billion. The state is governed by the Communist Party of China and its capital is Beijing, the countrys major urban areas include Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Hong Kong. China is a power and a major regional power within Asia. Chinas landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from forest steppes, the Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from much of South and Central Asia. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third and sixth longest in the world, respectively, Chinas coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometers long and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China seas. China emerged as one of the worlds earliest civilizations in the basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, Chinas political system was based on hereditary monarchies known as dynasties, in 1912, the Republic of China replaced the last dynasty and ruled the Chinese mainland until 1949, when it was defeated by the communist Peoples Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War. The Communist Party established the Peoples Republic of China in Beijing on 1 October 1949, both the ROC and PRC continue to claim to be the legitimate government of all China, though the latter has more recognition in the world and controls more territory. China had the largest economy in the world for much of the last two years, during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline. Since the introduction of reforms in 1978, China has become one of the worlds fastest-growing major economies. As of 2016, it is the worlds second-largest economy by nominal GDP, China is also the worlds largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods. China is a nuclear weapons state and has the worlds largest standing army. The PRC is a member of the United Nations, as it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the U. N. Security Council in 1971. China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations, including the WTO, APEC, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the BCIM, the English name China is first attested in Richard Edens 1555 translation of the 1516 journal of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa. The demonym, that is, the name for the people, Portuguese China is thought to derive from Persian Chīn, and perhaps ultimately from Sanskrit Cīna. Cīna was first used in early Hindu scripture, including the Mahābhārata, there are, however, other suggestions for the derivation of China. The official name of the state is the Peoples Republic of China. The shorter form is China Zhōngguó, from zhōng and guó and it was then applied to the area around Luoyi during the Eastern Zhou and then to Chinas Central Plain before being used as an occasional synonym for the state under the Qing
11.
Vietnam
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Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. With an estimated 92.7 million inhabitants as of 2016, it is the worlds 14th-most-populous country, and its capital city has been Hanoi since the reunification of North and South Vietnam in 1976, with Ho Chi Minh City as a historical city as well. The northern part of Vietnam was part of Imperial China for over a millennium, an independent Vietnamese state was formed in 939, following a Vietnamese victory in the Battle of Bạch Đằng River. Following a Japanese occupation in the 1940s, the Vietnamese fought French rule in the First Indochina War, thereafter, Vietnam was divided politically into two rival states, North Vietnam, and South Vietnam. Conflict between the two sides intensified in what is known as the Vietnam War, the war ended with a North Vietnamese victory in 1975. Vietnam was then unified under a communist government but remained impoverished, in 1986, the government initiated a series of economic and political reforms which began Vietnams path towards integration into the world economy. By 2000, it had established relations with all nations. Since 2000, Vietnams economic growth rate has been among the highest in the world and its successful economic reforms resulted in its joining the World Trade Organization in 2007. It is also a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, Vietnam remains one of the worlds four remaining one-party socialist states officially espousing communism. The name Việt Nam is a variation of Nam Việt, a name that can be traced back to the Triệu Dynasty of the 2nd century BC. The word Việt originated as a form of Bách Việt. The form Vietnam is first recorded in the 16th-century oracular poem Sấm Trạng Trình, the name has also been found on 12 steles carved in the 16th and 17th centuries, including one at Bao Lam Pagoda in Haiphong that dates to 1558. Then, as recorded, rewarded Yuenan/Vietnam as their nations name, to also show that they are below the region of Baiyue/Bach Viet. Between 1804 and 1813, the name was used officially by Emperor Gia Long and it was revived in the early 20th century by Phan Bội Châus History of the Loss of Vietnam, and later by the Vietnamese Nationalist Party. The country was usually called Annam until 1945, when both the government in Huế and the Viet Minh government in Hanoi adopted Việt Nam. Archaeological excavations have revealed the existence of humans in what is now Vietnam as early as the Paleolithic age, Homo erectus fossils dating to around 500,000 BC have been found in caves in Lạng Sơn and Nghệ An provinces in northern Vietnam. The oldest Homo sapiens fossils from mainland Southeast Asia are of Middle Pleistocene provenance, teeth attributed to Homo sapiens from the Late Pleistocene have also been found at Dong Can, and from the Early Holocene at Mai Da Dieu, Lang Gao and Lang Cuom. The Hồng Bàng dynasty of the Hùng kings is considered the first Vietnamese state, in 257 BC, the last Hùng king was defeated by Thục Phán, who consolidated the Lạc Việt and Âu Việt tribes to form the Âu Lạc, proclaiming himself An Dương Vương
12.
Simplified Chinese characters
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Simplified Chinese characters are standardized Chinese characters prescribed in the Table of General Standard Chinese Characters for use in mainland China. Along with traditional Chinese characters, it is one of the two character sets of the contemporary Chinese written language. The government of the Peoples Republic of China in mainland China has promoted them for use in printing since the 1950s and 1960s in an attempt to increase literacy and they are officially used in the Peoples Republic of China and Singapore. Traditional Chinese characters are used in Hong Kong, Macau. Overseas Chinese communities generally tend to use traditional characters, Simplified Chinese characters may be referred to by their official name above or colloquially. Strictly, the latter refers to simplifications of character structure or body, character forms that have existed for thousands of years alongside regular, Simplified character forms were created by decreasing the number of strokes and simplifying the forms of a sizable proportion of traditional Chinese characters. Some simplifications were based on popular cursive forms embodying graphic or phonetic simplifications of the traditional forms, some characters were simplified by applying regular rules, for example, by replacing all occurrences of a certain component with a simplified version of the component. Variant characters with the pronunciation and identical meaning were reduced to a single standardized character. Finally, many characters were left untouched by simplification, and are identical between the traditional and simplified Chinese orthographies. Some simplified characters are very dissimilar to and unpredictably different from traditional characters and this often leads opponents not well-versed in the method of simplification to conclude that the overall process of character simplification is also arbitrary. In reality, the methods and rules of simplification are few, on the other hand, proponents of simplification often flaunt a few choice simplified characters as ingenious inventions, when in fact these have existed for hundreds of years as ancient variants. However, the Chinese government never officially dropped its goal of further simplification in the future, in August 2009, the PRC began collecting public comments for a modified list of simplified characters. The new Table of General Standard Chinese Characters consisting of 8,105 characters was promulgated by the State Council of the Peoples Republic of China on June 5,2013, cursive written text almost always includes character simplification. Simplified forms used in print have always existed, they date back to as early as the Qin dynasty, One of the earliest proponents of character simplification was Lubi Kui, who proposed in 1909 that simplified characters should be used in education. In the years following the May Fourth Movement in 1919, many anti-imperialist Chinese intellectuals sought ways to modernise China, Traditional culture and values such as Confucianism were challenged. Soon, people in the Movement started to cite the traditional Chinese writing system as an obstacle in modernising China and it was suggested that the Chinese writing system should be either simplified or completely abolished. Fu Sinian, a leader of the May Fourth Movement, called Chinese characters the writing of ox-demons, lu Xun, a renowned Chinese author in the 20th century, stated that, If Chinese characters are not destroyed, then China will die. Recent commentators have claimed that Chinese characters were blamed for the problems in China during that time
13.
Traditional Chinese characters
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Traditional Chinese characters are Chinese characters in any character set that does not contain newly created characters or character substitutions performed after 1946. They are most commonly the characters in the character sets of Taiwan, of Hong Kong. Currently, a number of overseas Chinese online newspapers allow users to switch between both sets. In contrast, simplified Chinese characters are used in mainland China, Singapore, the debate on traditional and simplified Chinese characters has been a long-running issue among Chinese communities. Although simplified characters are taught and endorsed by the government of Mainland China, Traditional characters are used informally in regions in China primarily in handwriting and also used for inscriptions and religious text. They are often retained in logos or graphics to evoke yesteryear, nonetheless, the vast majority of media and communications in China is dominated by simplified characters. Taiwan has never adopted Simplified Chinese characters since it is ruled by the Republic of China, the use of simplified characters in official documents is even prohibited by the government in Taiwan. Simplified characters are not well understood in general, although some stroke simplifications that have incorporated into Simplified Chinese are in common use in handwriting. For example, while the name of Taiwan is written as 臺灣, similarly, in Hong Kong and Macau, Traditional Chinese has been the legal written form since colonial times. In recent years, because of the influx of mainland Chinese tourists, today, even government websites use simplified Chinese, as they answer to the Beijing government. This has led to concerns by residents to protect their local heritage. In Southeast Asia, the Chinese Filipino community continues to be one of the most conservative regarding simplification, while major public universities are teaching simplified characters, many well-established Chinese schools still use traditional characters. Publications like the Chinese Commercial News, World News, and United Daily News still use traditional characters, on the other hand, the Philippine Chinese Daily uses simplified. Aside from local newspapers, magazines from Hong Kong, such as the Yazhou Zhoukan, are found in some bookstores. In case of film or television subtitles on DVD, the Chinese dub that is used in Philippines is the same as the one used in Taiwan and this is because the DVDs belongs to DVD Region Code 3. Hence, most of the subtitles are in Traditional Characters, overseas Chinese in the United States have long used traditional characters. A major influx of Chinese immigrants to the United States occurred during the half of the 19th century. Therefore, the majority of Chinese language signage in the United States, including street signs, Traditional Chinese characters are called several different names within the Chinese-speaking world
14.
Pinyin
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Pinyin, or Hànyǔ Pīnyīn, is the official romanization system for Standard Chinese in mainland China, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan. It is often used to teach Standard Chinese, which is written using Chinese characters. The system includes four diacritics denoting tones, Pinyin without tone marks is used to spell Chinese names and words in languages written with the Latin alphabet, and also in certain computer input methods to enter Chinese characters. The pinyin system was developed in the 1950s by many linguists, including Zhou Youguang and it was published by the Chinese government in 1958 and revised several times. The International Organization for Standardization adopted pinyin as a standard in 1982. The system was adopted as the standard in Taiwan in 2009. The word Hànyǔ means the language of the Han people. In 1605, the Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci published Xizi Qiji in Beijing and this was the first book to use the Roman alphabet to write the Chinese language. Twenty years later, another Jesuit in China, Nicolas Trigault, neither book had much immediate impact on the way in which Chinese thought about their writing system, and the romanizations they described were intended more for Westerners than for the Chinese. One of the earliest Chinese thinkers to relate Western alphabets to Chinese was late Ming to early Qing Dynasty scholar-official, the first late Qing reformer to propose that China adopt a system of spelling was Song Shu. A student of the great scholars Yu Yue and Zhang Taiyan, Song had been to Japan and observed the effect of the kana syllabaries. This galvanized him into activity on a number of fronts, one of the most important being reform of the script, while Song did not himself actually create a system for spelling Sinitic languages, his discussion proved fertile and led to a proliferation of schemes for phonetic scripts. The Wade–Giles system was produced by Thomas Wade in 1859, and it was popular and used in English-language publications outside China until 1979. This Sin Wenz or New Writing was much more sophisticated than earlier alphabets. In 1940, several members attended a Border Region Sin Wenz Society convention. Mao Zedong and Zhu De, head of the army, both contributed their calligraphy for the masthead of the Sin Wenz Societys new journal. Outside the CCP, other prominent supporters included Sun Yat-sens son, Sun Fo, Cai Yuanpei, the countrys most prestigious educator, Tao Xingzhi, an educational reformer. Over thirty journals soon appeared written in Sin Wenz, plus large numbers of translations, biographies, some contemporary Chinese literature, and a spectrum of textbooks
15.
Northern and Southern dynasties
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The Northern and Southern dynasties was a period in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Wu Hu states. It is sometimes considered as the part of a longer period known as the Six Dynasties. Though an age of war and political chaos, it was also a time of flourishing arts and culture, advancement in technology. The period saw large-scale migration of Han Chinese to the south of the Yangtze. The period came to an end with the unification of all of China proper by Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, during this period, the process of sinicization accelerated among the non-Chinese arrivals in the north and among the indigenous people in the south. Notable technological advances occurred during this period, the invention of the stirrup during the earlier Jin dynasty helped spur the development of heavy cavalry as a combat standard. Historians also note advances in medicine, astronomy, mathematics, intellectuals of the period include the mathematician and astronomer Zu Chongzhi. After the collapse of a united China under the Han dynasty in 220 due in part to the Yellow Turban. Of these, Cao Wei was the strongest, followed by Eastern Wu and Shu Han, after a 249 coup by Sima Yi, the Sima family essentially controlled Cao Wei and the conquest of Shu by Wei rapidly followed. Following a failed coup by the ruling Cao family against the Sima family, Sima Yan then founded the Jin Dynasty as Emperor Wu of Jin and the conquest of Wu by Jin occurred in 280, ending the Three Kingdoms period and reuniting China. The Jin dynasty was weakened after the War of the Eight Princes from 291-306. During the reigns of Emperor Huai and Emperor Min, the country was put into danger with the uprising of the northern non-Han people collectively known as the Five Barbarians. Invading non-Han armies almost destroyed the dynasty in the Disaster of Yongjia of 311, changan met a similar fate in 316. However, a scion of the house, Sima Rui, Prince of Langya, fled south of the Huai River to salvage what was left in order to sustain the empire. In the north, the Five Barbarians established numerous kingdoms, leading to the period being known as the Sixteen Kingdoms, eventually, the Northern Wei conquered the rest of the northern states in 386. The designation of specific households for military service in the system eventually led to a falling out in their social status. Faced with shortage of numbers, Jin generals were often sent on campaigns to capture non-Chinese people in the south in order to draft them into the military. The Northern dynasties began in 439 when the Northern Wei conquered the Northern Liang to unite northern China and it can be divided into three time periods, Northern Wei, Eastern and Western Weis, Northern Qi and Northern Zhou
16.
Northern Zhou
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The Northern Zhou followed the Western Wei, and ruled northern China from 557 to 581. The last of the Northern Dynasties of Chinas Northern and Southern dynasties period, like Western Wei and the Northern Wei dynasty that preceded it, the Northern Zhou states rulers were members of the Tuoba clan of the Xianbei. Northern Zhous basis of power was established by Yuwen Tai, who was paramount general of Western Wei, following the split of Northern Wei into Western Wei and Eastern Wei in 535. After Yuwen Tais death in 556, Yuwen Tais nephew Yuwen Hu forced Emperor Gong of Western Wei to yield the throne to Yuwen Tais son Yuwen Jue, establishing Northern Zhou. The reigns of the first three emperors – Emperor Xiaomin, Emperor Ming, and Emperor Wu were dominated by Yuwen Hu, until Emperor Wu ambushed and killed Yuwen Hu in 572 and assumed power personally. With Emperor Wu as a ruler, Northern Zhou destroyed rival Northern Qi in 577. However, Emperor Wus death in 578 doomed the state, as his son Emperor Xuan was an arbitrary, the imperial Yuwen clan, including the young Emperor Jing, was subsequently slaughtered by Yang Jian. The area was known as Guannei 關內, the Northern Zhou drew upon the Zhou dynasty for inspiration. The Northern Zhou military included Han Chinese
17.
Northern Qi
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The Northern Qi was one of the Northern dynasties of Chinese history and ruled northern China from 550 to 577. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Wenxuan, and it was ended following attacks from Northern Zhou, the Chinese state of Northern Qi was the successor state of the Chinese/Xianbei state of Eastern Wei and was founded by Emperor Wenxuan. Emperor Wenxuan had a Han Chinese father Gao Huan, and a Xianbei mother, Northern Qi was the strongest state of the three main Chinese states when it was established. Northern Qi however was plagued by violence and/or incompetent emperors, corrupt officials, in 571, an important official who guide the emperors Emperor Wucheng and Houzhu, He Shikai, was killed. Houzhu attempted to strengthen the power of throne, instead he triggered a series of purges that became violent in late 573, in 577, Northern Qi was assaulted by Northern Zhou, a kingdom with poorer resources. The Northern Qi, with leadership, quickly disintegrated within a month, with large scale defections of court. Both Houzhu and the last emperor Youzhu were captured, and both died in late 577, Northern Qi ceramics mark a revival of Chinese ceramic art, following the disastrous invasions and the social chaos of the 4th century. Northern Qi tombs have revealed some beautiful artifacts, such as porcellaneous ware with splashed green designs, markedly unique from earlier depictions of the Buddha, Northern Qi statues tend to be smaller, around three feet tall, and columnar in shape. A jar has been found in a Northern Qi tomb, which was closed in 576 CE, also, brown glazed wares designed with Sasanian-style figures have been found in these tombs. These works suggest a strong cosmopolitanism and intense exchanges with Western Asia, the Northen Qi, although founded by a ruler of mixed Han/Xianbei origin, strongly asserted their Xianbei ethnic cultural identity. They regarded surviving ethnic Tuoba and non-Chinese of the Northern Wei court and as well as literati of all ethnicities as near Chinese, however they made use of Chinese and sometimes Central Asian courtiers. While some Qi elite families had expressed strongly anti-Chinese sentiments, they may lay claim to Chinese elite origin. He had became Xianbeified as his family had lived for time in Inner Mongolia after his grandfather was relocated from Bohai. A Chinese scholar translated the Buddhist text Nirvana Sutra text into a Turkic language during this era. Some Zoroastrianism influences that went into previous states continued onto the state of Northern Qi court, such as the love for Persian dogs as they were taken as pets by nobles, the Chinese utilized a number of Persian artifacts and products. Buddhism in China Book of Northern Qi
18.
Chams
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The Chams, or Cham people, are an ethnic group of Austronesian origin in Southeast Asia. Their contemporary population, a diaspora is concentrated between the Kampong Cham Province in Cambodia and Phan Rang–Tháp Chàm, Phan Thiết, Ho Chi Minh City, an additional 4,000 Chams live in Bangkok, Thailand, who had migrated during Rama Is reign. Recent immigrants are mainly students and workers, who preferably seek work and education in the southern Islamic Pattani, Narathiwat, Yala, Cham people represent the core of the Muslim communities in both Cambodia and Vietnam. From the 2nd to the century the Chams populated Champa. They spoke the Cham language, a Malayo-Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family, Chams and Malays are the only sizable Austronesian peoples, that had settled in Iron Age Mainland Southeast Asia among the more ancient Austroasiatic inhabitants. Austronesian origin, patterns and chronology of migration remain debated and it is assumed, earliest known records of Cham presence in Indochina date back to the second century CE. Maritime trade was the essence of an economy as population centers around the river outlets along the coast controlled the import/export of continental Southeast Asia. Acquisition of territory has not been the subject of concern, the size of Champa was during its heyday in the 9th and 10th century not substantially larger than during the formative period. Cham folklore includes a tradition of a myth in which the founder of the first Cham polity was a certain Lady Po Nagar. She eventually returned to Champa did many good deeds in helping the sick and the poor, from the 8th century onward trade and shipping of India came to be increasingly controlled by Muslims from such regions as Gujarat. Islamic ideas became a part of the vast tide of exchange, Cham people picked up these ideas by the 11th century. This can be seen in the architecture of Cham temples, which shares similarities with the one of the Angkor Temples, ad-Dimashqi writes in 1325, the country of Champa. is inhabited by Muslims and idolaters. The Muslim religion came there during the time of Caliph Uthman. and Ali, many Muslims who were expelled by the Umayyads and by Hajjaj, fled there. The Daoyi Zhilüe records that at Cham ports, Cham women were married by Chinese merchants to whom they came back to after trading voyages. A Chinese merchant from Quanzhou, Wang Yuanmao, traded extensively with Champa, in the 12th century, the Cham fought a series of wars with the Khmer Empire to the west. In 1177, the Cham and their allies launched an attack from the lake Tonlé Sap, in 1181, however, they were defeated by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII. Between the rise of the Khmer Empire around 800 and the Vietnamese peoples territorial push south from Jiaozhi and, later, Đại Việt, Champa began to shrink. A number of Cham also fled across the sea to Malay Peninsula and as early as the 15th century, the Chams encountered Sunni Islam there as the Malacca Sultanate was officially Muslim since 1414
19.
Chinese family name
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Chinese surnames are used by Han Chinese and Sinicized ethnic groups in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, Vietnam and among overseas Chinese communities. In ancient times two types of surnames existed, namely xing or lineage names, and shi or clan names, Chinese family names are patrilineal, passed from father to children. Women do not normally change their surnames upon marriage, except in places with more Western influences such as Hong Kong, traditionally Chinese surnames have been exogamous. The colloquial expressions laobaixing and bǎixìng are used in Chinese to mean ordinary folks, prior to the Warring States period, only the ruling families and the aristocratic elite had surnames. Historically there was also a difference between clan names or xing and lineages names or shi, Xing were surnames held by the noble clans. They generally are composed of a nü radical which has taken by some as evidence they originated from matriarchal societies based on maternal lineages. Another hypothesis has been proposed by sinologist Léon Vandermeersch upon observation of the evolution of characters in oracular scripture from the Shang dynasty through the Zhou, the female radical seems to appear at the Zhou period next to Shang sinograms indicating an ethnic group or a tribe. This combination seems to designate specifically a female and could mean lady of such or such clan, prior to the Qin Dynasty China was largely a fengjian society. In this way, a nobleman would hold a shi and a xing, after the states of China were unified by Qin Shi Huang in 221 BC, surnames gradually spread to the lower classes and the difference between xing and shi blurred. Many shi surnames survive to the present day, according to Kiang Kang-Hu, there are 18 sources from which Chinese surnames may be derived, while others suggested at least 24. The following are some of the sources, Xing, These were usually reserved for the central lineage of the royal family. Of these xings, only Jiang and Yao have survived in their form to modern days as frequently occurring surnames. Royal decree by the Emperor, such as Kuang, state name, Many nobles and commoners took the name of their state, either to show their continuing allegiance or as a matter of national and ethnic identity. These are some of the most common Chinese surnames, name of a fief or place of origin, Fiefdoms were often granted to collateral branches of the aristocracy and it was natural as part of the process of sub-surnaming for their names to be used. An example is Di, Marquis of Ouyangting, whose descendants took the surname Ouyang, there are some two hundred examples of this identified, often of two-character surnames, but few have survived to the present. Names of an ancestor, Like the previous example, this was also a common origin with close to 500 or 600 examples,200 of which are two-character surnames, often an ancestors courtesy name would be used. For example, Yuan Taotu took the character of his grandfathers courtesy name Boyuan as his surname. Sometimes titles granted to ancestors could also be taken as surnames, seniority within the family, In ancient usage, the characters of meng, zhong, shu and ji were used to denote the first, second, third and fourth eldest sons in a family
20.
Chinese name
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Chinese personal names are names used by those from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and the Chinese diaspora overseas. Prior to the 20th century, educated Chinese also utilized a courtesy name or style name called zi by which they were known among those outside of their family and closest friends. From at least the time of the Shang dynasty, the Han Chinese observed a number of naming taboos regulating who may or may not use a given name. In general, using the given name connoted the speakers authority, peers and younger relatives were barred from speaking it. Owing to this, many historical Chinese figures – particularly emperors – used a half-dozen or more different names in different contexts and those possessing names identical to the emperors were frequently forced to change them. Although some terms in the ancient Chinese naming system, such as xìng and míng, are used today, they were used in different. Commoners possessed only a name, and the modern concept of a surname or family name did not yet exist at any level of society.3 billion citizens. In fact, just the top three – Wang, Li, and Zhang – cover more than 20% of the population. This homogeneity results from the majority of Han family names having only one character. Chinese surnames arose from two separate traditions, the xìng and the shì. The original xìng were clans of royalty at the Shang court, the shì did not originate from families, but denoted fiefs, states, and titles granted or recognized by the Shang court. Apart from the Jiang and Yao families, the original xìng have nearly disappeared, xìng is now used to describe the shì surnames which replaced them, while shì is used to refer to maiden names. The enormous modern clans sometimes share ancestral halls with one another, nonetheless, however tenuous these bonds sometimes are, it remains a minor taboo to marry someone with the same family name. In modern mainland China, it is the norm that a woman keeps her name unchanged. A child usually inherits his/her fathers surname, though the law explicitly states that a child may use either parents or the grandparents. It is also possible, though far less common, for a child to both parents surnames. In the older generations, it was common for a married woman to prepend her husbands surname to her own. This practice is now almost extinct in mainland China, though there are a few such as the name change of Gu Kailai, but survives in some Hong Kong, Macau
21.
Consort Chen (Wen)
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Consort Chen, born Princess Ningyuan, was a daughter of Emperor Xuan of Chen and imperial concubine to Emperor Wen of Sui, founder of the Sui Dynasty. The future Consort Chen was born in 577, during the reign of her father Emperor Xuan as Princess Ningyuan of Chen, Princess Ningyuans mother was Emperor Xuans concubine Consort Shi. A native of Changan, Consort Shi was the daughter of Shi Jifeng, in addition to Princess Ningyuan, she had borne Emperor Xuan two sons, Chen Shubao, Prince of Linhe and Chen Shuxing, Prince of Ruanling. Both sons later became officials under the Sui Dynasty, the year Princess Ningyuan was born, Northern Qi, at whose expense Emperor Xuan had expanded Chen, fell to Northern Zhou. Cornered, Chen lost many of the gains that it had made from its conquest of Northern Qi territory, in 582, when Princess Ningyuan was five, Emperor Xuan died, and the throne was inherited by Princess Ningyuans older half-brother Chen Shubao, who was an incompetent ruler. On 10 February 589, Chen Shubao surrendered to Emperor Wen of Sui, Chen Shubao and his household were then escorted to the Sui capital. Princess Ningyuan became Lady Xuanhua, and later a concubine of Emperor Wen
22.
Emperor Wen of Sui
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Emperor Wen of Sui, personal name Yang Jian, Xianbei name Puliuru Jian, nickname Naluoyan, was the founder and first emperor of Chinas Sui Dynasty. He was an administrator and a micromanager. The Sui Shu records him as having withdrawn his favour from the Confucians, giving it to the group advocating Xing-Ming, as a Buddhist, he encouraged the spread of Buddhism through the state. He is regarded as one of the most important emperors in Chinese history, during his reign began the construction of the Grand Canal. As a Northern Zhou official, Yang Jian served with apparent distinction during the reigns of Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou, when the erratic Emperor Xuan died in 580, Yang, as his father-in-law, seized power as regent. After defeating the general Yuchi Jiong, who resisted him, he seized the throne for himself and he was the first Chinese to rule North China after the Xianbei invasion which conquered that area from the Liu Song dynasty. Generally speaking, Emperor Wens reign was a period of prosperity not seen since the Han Dynasty. It was said there was enough food stored for 50 years. At the beginning of his reign, Sui faced the threat of Tujue to the north, and neighbored Tibetan tribes to the west, Goguryeo in the northeast, and Champa threatening the south. By the end of Emperor Wens reign, Tujue had split into an eastern and a western kaganate, Champa was defeated and, while not conquered, did not remain a threat. Emperor Wen is also famous for having the fewest number of concubines for an adult Chinese emperor. Emperor Wen was known for having only two concubines, with whom he not have had sexual relations until after the death in 602 of his wife Empress Dugu. The Yang of Hongnong 弘農楊氏 were asserted as ancestors by the Sui Emperors like the Longxi Lis were asserted as ancestors of the Tang Emperors, Yang Jians clan claimed descent from the Han Dynasty general Yang Zhen. Yang Zhens eighth-generation descendant Yang Xuan served as a governor for a Yan state during the Sixteen Kingdoms Period. Yang Jians father Yang Zhong followed the late-Northern Wei general Yuwen Tai and later became prominent in the successor state of Northern Wei, Western Wei. Yang Jians mother Lady Lü gave birth to him at a Buddhist temple in Fengyi, a Buddhist nun was impressed with his appearance, and raised him in his early years. Yang Jian attended the college for the sons of the nobility. When he was 14 years old, he was appointed to serve in the military under Yüwen Tai, in 555, on account of Yang Zhongs accomplishments, Yang Jian received several official ranks, including the title of the Duke of Chengji
23.
Zizhi Tongjian
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The Zizhi Tongjian is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084, in the form of a chronicle. The task took 19 years to be completed, and, in 1084 AD, the Zizhi Tongjian records Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning across almost 1,400 years, and contains 294 volumes and about 3 million Chinese characters. The principal text of the Zizhi Tongjian was recorded on 294 juan, the text is a chronological narrative of the history of China from the Warring States to the Five Dynasties. The major contributor, Sima Guang, was active in each step from collecting events and dates from previous works to drafting. Sima Guang left the traditional usage in Chinese historiography, for almost 1,000 years since the Shiji was written, standard Chinese dynastic histories had primarily divided chapters between annals of rulers, and biographies of officials. In Chinese terms, the changed the format of histories from biographical style to chronological style. According to Wilkinson, It had an influence on later Chinese historical writing, either directly or through its many abbreviations, continuations. It remains a useful first reference for a quick and reliable coverage of events at a particular time. The 294 juan sweep through 11 Chinese historical periods and it was one of the largest historical magna opera in history. In the 12th century, Zhu Xi produced a reworked, condensed version of Zizhi Tongjian, known as Tongjian Gangmu, or Zizhi Tongjian Gangmu. This condensed version was later translated into Manchu as ᡨᡠᠩ ᡤᡳᠶᠠᠨ ᡬᠠᠩ ᠮᡠ Wylie, Tung giyan gang mu, Möllendorff, Tung giyan gang mu. This Manchu version was translated into French by French Jesuit missionary Joseph-Anna-Marie de Moyriac de Mailla. His twelve-volume translation, Histoire générale de la Chine, ou Annales de cet Empire, the Zhonghua Shuju edition contains textual criticism made by Yuan Dynasty historian Hu Sanxing. The whole of Zizhi tongjian Volumes 1-8, covering the years 403-207 BCE, have translated into English with copious notes. Some additional sections of Zizhi tongjian pertaining to Chinas relations with the Xiongnu have been translated into English, encyclopedia of China, 1st ed. Bo Yang. Modern Chinese Edition of Zizhi Tongjian, Ltd, vol.1 ISBN 957-32-0795-8 to vol.72 ISBN 957-32-1810-0. Universal Histories, in Essays on the Sources for Chinese History, Donald D. Leslie, Colin Mackerras, Wang Gungwu, columbia, University of South Carolina Press, pp. 64–70. Mirror for Government, Ssu-ma Kuangs Thought on Politics and Government in Tzu-chih tung-chien, in The New, lee, ed. Hong Kong, Chinese University Press, pp. 1–32
24.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
25.
Northern Wei
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During the Taihe period of Emperor Xiaowen, court advisers instituted sweeping reforms and introduced changes that eventually led to the dynasty moving its capital from Datong to Luoyang, in 494. The Tuoba renamed themselves the Yuan as a part of systematic Sinicization, towards the end of the dynasty there was significant internal dissension resulting in a split into Eastern Wei and Western Wei. Many antiques and art works, both Daoist and Buddhist, from this period have survived, the Jin Dynasty had developed an alliance with the Tuoba against the Xiongnu state Han Zhao. In 315 the Tuoba chief was granted the title of the Prince of Dai, after Former Qins emperor Fu Jiān was defeated by Jin forces at the Battle of Fei River in his failed bid to unify China, the Former Qin state began to break apart. By 386, Tuoba Gui, the son of Tuoba Shiyijian, Later he changed his title to the Prince of Wei, and his state was therefore known as Northern Wei. In 391, Tuoba Gui defeated the Rouran tribes and killed their chief, Heduohan, initially Northern Wei was a vassal of Later Yan, but by 395 had rebelled and by 398 had conquered most of Later Yan territory north of the Yellow River. In 399 Tuoba Gui he declared himself Emperor Daowu, and that title was used by Northern Weis rulers for the rest of the states history, as the empires history progressed, this appeared to be a major contributing factor leading to corruption among officials. Not until the 2nd century of the empires existence did the state begin to distribute salaries to its officials, only an imperial consort who was successful in forging a golden statue could become the empress. All men, regardless of ethnicity, were ordered to tie their hair into a braid that would then be rolled and placed on top of the head. When a crown prince is named, his mother, if still alive, as a result, because emperors would not have mothers, they often honored their wet nurses with the honorific title, Nurse Empress Dowager. As sinicization of the Northern Wei state progressed, these customs, Five families formed a neighborhood Five lin formed a village Five li formed a commune At each of these levels, leaders that were associated with the central government were appointed. In order for the state to reclaim dry, barren areas of land, the Sui and Tang Dynasties later resurrected this system in the 7th century. During the reign of Emperor Daowu, the number of deported people from the regions east of Taihangshan to Datong was estimated to be around 460,000. Deportations typically took place once a new piece of territory had been conquered, as the Northern Wei state grew, the emperors desire for Han Chinese institutions and advisors grew. Cui Hao, an advisor at the courts in Datong played a part in this process. He introduced Han Chinese administrative methods and penal codes in the Northern Wei state, Chinese influence accelerated during the capitals move to Luoyang in 494 and Emperor Xiaowen continued this by establishing a policy of systematic sinicization that was continued by his successors. The royal family took the sinicization a step further by changing their name to Yuan. Marriages to Chinese families were encouraged, with this, Buddhist temples started appearing everywhere, displacing Taoism as the state religion
26.
Eastern Wei
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The Eastern Wei followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei, and ruled northern China from 534 to 550. As with Northern Wei, the family of Eastern Wei were members of the Tuoba clan of the Xianbei. Yuan Shanjian was a ruler as the real power lay in the hands of Gao Huan. His sons Gao Cheng and Gao Yang were able to pursue his policy of controlling the emperor, but in 550 Gao Yang deposed Yuan Shanjian and founded his own dynasty, the Northern Qi. The Buddhist art of the Eastern Wei displays a combination of Greco-Buddhist influences from Gandhara and Central Asia, List of Bronze Age States List of Classical Age States List of Iron Age States List of pre-modern great powers
27.
Western Wei
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The Western Wei followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei, and ruled northern China from 535 to 557. As with the Northern Wei state that preceded it, the family of Western Wei were members of the Tuoba clan of the Xianbei. After the Xianbei general Yuwen Tai killed the Northern Wei emperor Yuan Xiu, although smaller than the Eastern Wei in territory and population, Western Wei was able to withstand the attacks from the eastern empire. Due to its better economical conditions, Western Wei was even able to conquer the western part of the Liang empire in the south. In 557 Yuwen Tais nephew Yuwen Hu deposed Emperor Gong and placed Yuwen Tais son Yuwen Jue on the throne, ending Western Wei and establishing Northern Zhou
28.
Liu Song dynasty
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The Liu Song dynasty, also known as Former Song, was first of the four Southern Dynasties in China, succeeding the Eastern Jin and followed by the Southern Qi. The dynasty was founded by Liu Yu, whose surname together with Song forms the most commonly used name for the dynasty and this appellation is used to distinguish it from a later dynasty of the same name, the Song dynasty, which is better known and more significant. The Liu Song is also at times referred to as the Southern Song, as it is one of the Southern Dynasties period, however, the later Song dynasty, after 1127, when it moved its capital south to Linan, is most commonly referred to as Southern Song. Thus, for the dynasty which is the subject of this article. The Liu Song was a time there was much internal turmoil. A number of emperors were incompetent and/or tyrannical, which at least partially led to many military revolts and these rulers include Liu Shao, Emperor Xiaowu, Emperor Qianfei, Emperor Ming, and Emperor Houfei. Emperor Ming was especially vicious, murdering a number of his brothers, nephews. Such internal instability eventually led to the dynastys destruction and this is known as the Reign of Yuanjia and one of the relative golden ages for the Southern Dynasties. Originally a peasant of modest origins, Liu Yu joined the army at an age and soon distinguished himself in the army and was quickly promoted to the command of an army. Liu Yu was instrumental in fighting the rebel Huan Xuan, after Huan Xuans fall, Liu Yu gained control of the Jin dynasty. The Han dynasty founder Emperor Gaozu of Hans younger brother Liu Jiao was the ancestors of Liu Yu. Regarded as one of the best generals of the Northern and Southern dynasties and he started off his career by conquering Southern Yan, which bordered Jin to the north and had adopted a policy of aggression and kidnapping citizens from the Jin. By spring of 410, he had captured the southern Yan capital at Guanggu, afterwards, he campaigned against western Shu in modern Sichuan. Using a brilliant military manoeuver mentioned in the Art of War, surprising the Shu forces, he quickly captured Chengdu and re-annexed that area back into Jin. It is recorded that he engaged the Wei army by the use of spears launched by crossbows, panicking the Wei cavalry, after this success, it seemed that Jin would exterminate the remaining barbarian states in the north and reunify China. However, fortunes began to change for the Jin forces, Liu Mengzhi died and in order to secure his power, Liu Yu left for Jiankang, abandoning the management of the North to his general Wang Zhene. After his departure, the state of Xia attacked Guanzhong and reoccupied it, however, Jin retained its former eastern capital, Luoyang, as well as most of the Chinese heartland. Following his return to Jiankang, Liu Yu ended the rule of the Jin and became himself in 420
