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 Southern Qi
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Emperor Wu of Southern Qi, personal name Xiao Ze, courtesy name Xuanyuan, nickname Longer, was the second emperor of the Chinese Southern Qi Dynasty. He was considered to be an able and diligent emperor, although he was criticized for wastefulness. Xiao Ze was born in the Liu Song capital Jiankang in 440 and he was the oldest son of his father, and his mother Liu Zhirong was Xiao Daochengs wife. Because of Xiao Daochengs support for Emperor Ming, Xiao Ze, Xiao Ze then started an uprising at Gan against Liu Zixun. After Liu Zixun was defeated later that year, for Xiao Zes contributions, Emperor Ming created him the Viscount of Gan, but he declined. At that time, Xiao Ze, who had just previously been the chief of staff for Emperor Houfeis brother Liu Xie the governor of Ying Province, was returning to Jiankang with Liu Xie and he had reached Xunyang when news of Shens uprising arrived. His associates all recommending speeding back to the capital Jiankang, when Xiao Daocheng received Xiao Zes report, he gladly stated, He is really my son. Xiao Ze was subsequently created the Marquess of Wenxi, and then the Duke of Wenxi, in 479, after Xiao Daocheng took the throne from Emperor Shun, ending Liu Song and establishing Southern Qi as its Emperor Gao, Xiao Ze was created the crown prince. As crown prince, Xiao Ze was often involved in the important matters of state, in 480, Xiao Zes wife, Crown Princess Pei Huizhao, died. He would not have a wife after that point, although he had a multitude of concubines and he also trusted his jester Zhang Jingzhen, who was so luxurious in his lifestyle to be like an emperor. When the official Xun Boyu reported this to Emperor Gao while Xiao Ze happened to be away from the capital Jiankang to worship the ancestors, Xiao Zes brother Xiao Ni the Prince of Yuzhang found this out and quickly rode on a horse to personally warn Xiao Ze. It took about a month for Emperor Gaos furor to subside, in 482, Emperor Gao died, and Xiao Ze took the throne as Emperor Wu. Immediately after taking the throne, Emperor Wu posthumously honored his wife Crown Princess Pei as Empress Mu and he largely handed important governmental matters himself, while having Wang Jian, Wang Yan, his brother Xiao Ni, and his son Xiao Ziliang as the key advisors. However, his associates Lü Wendu, Ru Faliang, and Lü Wenxian were also powerful behind the scenes and he also put to death the ambitious general Zhang Jinger and the official Xie Chaozong. In 485, displeased that Li Shuxian the governor of Jiao Province had been nominally submissive but had acted independently. Li, in fear, fled back to Jiankang in submission, later that year, Emperor Wu reestablished the national university and merged the imperial research facility Zongmingguan into it, having Wang Jian as its head. His rebellion was, however, soon suppressed, in 487, the migrant Huan Tiansheng, who claimed to be a descendant of Huan Xuan, rose in Nanyang, with aid from Northern Wei. However, after months, he was defeated
4.
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
5.
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
6.
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
7.
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
8.
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
9.
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
10.
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
11.
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
12.
Emperor Wu of Liang
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Emperor Wu of Liang, personal name Xiao Yan, courtesy name Shuda, nickname Lianer, was the founding emperor of the Liang Dynasty of Chinese history. His reign, until the end, was one of the most stable, Emperor Wu created universities and extending the Confucian civil service exams, demanding that sons of nobles study. He was well read himself and wrote poetry and patronized the arts, although for governmental affairs he was Confucian in values, he embraced Buddhism as well. He himself was attracted to many Indian traditions and he banned the sacrifice of animals and was against execution. It was said that he received the Buddhist precepts during his reign, the Emperor is the namesake of the Emperor Liang Jeweled Repentance, a widely read and major Buddhist text in China and Korea. Emperor Liang himself died while under house arrest, with some believing that Hou starved him to death. Xiao Yan was born in 464, during the reign of Emperor Xiaowu of Liu Song, for Xiao Shunzhis contributions, Xiao Daocheng created him the Marquess of Linxiang and made him a general. Lady Zhang died in 471, predating Xiao Shunzhis becoming a marquess during Southern Qi, Xiao Yan had six other brothers born of Xiao Shunzhis concubines. One of them, Xiao Xiu is now mainly remembered because of his comparatively well-preserved funerary statuary ensemble near Nanjing, around 481 or 482, Xiao Yan married Chi Hui, the daughter of the Liu Song official Chi Ye and the Princess Xunyang. She bore him three daughters—Xiao Yuyao, Xiao Yuwan, and Xiao Yuhuan, but no sons. Wang was said to be impressed by Xiao Yans talents and appearance, and he said, Mr. Xiao will be Shizhong before he turns 30. When Xiao Luan later took the throne, Xiao Yan was created the Baron of Jianyang, in 495, when Northern Wei forces invade, Xiao Yan was on the frontline fighting Northern Wei troops, and he distinguished himself under the command of Wang Guangzhi. In 497, with Northern Wei again attacking, Xiao Yan was one of the generals that Emperor Ming sent to aid the embattled Yong Province and it was at Xiangyang that Xiao Yans wife Chi Hui died in 499. Xiao Yan would not take another wife for the rest of his life, the six officials each handled important matters of state according to their will and paid the young emperor little deference, drawing his ire. Xiao Yaoguang, who wanted to be himself and feared being the next target. This led to a rebellion by the senior general Chen Xianda from his post at Jiang Province, in fear, the general Pei Zhaoye, who controlled Shouyang as the governor of Yu Province, surrendered Shouyang to Northern Wei in 500, despite Xiao Yans counsel against it. Xiao Baojuan sent Cui Huijing to try to recapture Shouyang, Cui was initially successful, surrounding Xiao Baojuans troops inside the palace complex. However, Xiao Yi, upon hearing news of Cuis rebellion and he routed Cuis forces, and Cui was killed while trying to escape
13.
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
14.
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
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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
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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
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Chinese sovereign
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Chinese sovereign is the ruler of a particular period in ancient China. Several titles and naming schemes have been used throughout history, the characters Huang and Di had been used separately and never consecutively. The character was reserved for mythological rulers until the first emperor of Qin, who created a new title Huangdi for himself in 221 BCE and this title continued in use until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911. From the Han Dynasty, the title Huangdi could also be abbreviated to huang or di, the former nobility titles Qing, Daifu and Shi became synonyms for court officials. In principle, the title of emperor was transmitted from father to son via primogeniture, however, there are many exceptions to this rule. For example, because the Emperor usually had many concubines, the first born of the empress is usually the heir apparent, however, Emperors could elevate another more favoured child or the child of a favourite concubine to the status of Crown Prince. Disputes over succession occurred regularly and have led to a number of civil wars, in the Qing dynasty, primogeniture was abandoned altogether, with the designated heir kept secret until after the Emperors death. Of the San Huang Wu Di, the three first of them were called 皇 and the five last were called 帝, which can translate as either emperor, demigod human, or a superhuman. This title may have used in the Shang and Xia dynasties. The king was the Chinese head of state during the Zhou Dynasty and its use during the Xia and Shang is uncertain but possible, the character has been found upon oracle bones. It was abolished under the Qin and, after that, the term was used for royal princes. The title was given to members of the Emperors family. A poem from about 2,500 years ago said 普天之下, 莫非王土. 率土之賓, 莫非王臣 which roughly translates as Under the sky, nothing isnt the kings land, the Son of Heaven was a title of the Emperor based on the Mandate of Heaven. The Son of Heaven is an emperor who rules tianxia comprising all under heaven. The title was not interpreted literally, the monarch is a mortal chosen by Heaven, not its actual descendant. The title comes from the Mandate of Heaven, created by the monarchs of the Zhou dynasty to justify deposing the Shang dynasty and they declared that Heaven had revoked the mandate from the Shang and given it to the Zhou in retaliation for their corruption and misrule. Heaven bestowed the mandate to whoever was best fit to rule, the title held the emperor responsible for the prosperity and security of his people through the threat of losing the mandate. Unlike the Japanese emperor for example, Chinese political theory allowed for a change of dynasty as imperial families could be replaced and this is based on the concept of Mandate of Heaven
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Yongming poetry
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Yongming poetry refers to a poetic flowering during the brief existence of the fifth century China Chinese state of Southern Qi. Yongming was an era name of Emperor Wu of Southern Qi, the Yongming period was from 483-493. However brief this era, it is now associated with a movement within Classical Chinese poetry. Despite the disturbances and instability which preceded and followed the Yongming era, wang Jung was one of the most important of the Yongming poets. He became quite involved in political affairs, eventually this involvement resulted in his early death. Fan Yun was another of the Yongming poets, a poet at young age, he had a quick wit and learned to write poems at the age of eight. He was a friend of Emperor Wu, and was politically powerful. Su Xiaoxiao was in her life a famous courtesan and a poet from the city of Qiantang. Beautiful and talented at an age, Su Xiaoxiao became terminally ill in her late teens. She took the view that Heaven was giving her the opportunity to die young. The life and poetry of Su Xiaoxiao was a source of inspiration for poets and artists including Tang dynasty poets Bai Juyi, Li He, Wen Tingyun. Classical Chinese poetry Six Dynasties poetry West Lake Zhang Rong Davis, editor and Introduction, The Penguin Book of Chinese Verse
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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
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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
21.
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
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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
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Chen dynasty
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The Chen dynasty, also known as the Southern Chen dynasty, was the fourth and last of the Southern Dynasties in China, eventually destroyed by the Sui dynasty. Chen is the only dynasty named after the house in Chinese history. After Northern Zhou destroyed Northern Qi in 577, Chen was cornered, to make matters worse, its final emperor Chen Shubao was an incompetent and indulgent ruler, and Chen was eventually destroyed by Northern Zhous successor state Sui. During the short-lived dynasty, the Chams to the south resumed raids against the region of Jiaozhi, the raids ended with the conquest of the Southern Chen by the Sui. The Sui general Yang Su suppressed various Chen rebels in campaigns during the early 590s
