Sima Guang,courtesy name Junshi,was a Chinese historian,politician,and writer. He was a high-ranking Song dynasty scholar-official who authored the Zizhi Tongjian,a monumental work of history. Sima was a political conservative,who opposed the reforms of Wang Anshi.
The Chinese sovereign was the ruler of a particular monarchical regime in the historical periods of ancient China and imperial China. Sovereigns ruling the same regime,and descended from the same paternal line,constituted a dynasty. Several titles and naming schemes have been used throughout Chinese history.
Huangdi or Emperor of China was the superlative title held by monarchs of China who ruled various imperial dynasties in Chinese history. In traditional Chinese political theory,the emperor of China was considered the Son of Heaven and the autocrat of all under Heaven worshipped posthumously under an imperial cult. Under the Han dynasty,Confucianism gained sanction as the official political theory and succession in most cases theoretically followed agnatic primogeniture. The lineage of emperors descended from a paternal family line constituted a dynasty.
A posthumous name is an honorary name given mainly to revered dead people in East Asian culture. It is predominantly used in East Asian countries such as China,Korea,Vietnam,Japan,and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments or reputation,the title is assigned after death and essentially replaces the name used during life. Although most posthumous names are given to royalty,some posthumous names are given to honour significant people without hereditary titles,such as courtiers or military generals.
Wu Zetian,personal name Wu Zhao,was the first and only female emperor in Chinese history,and de facto ruler of the Tang dynasty from 665 to 705,ruling first through others and then in her own right. From 665 to 690,she was first empress consort of the Tang dynasty and then,after his death,empress dowager. Unprecedented in Chinese history,she subsequently founded and ruled as female emperor of the Wu Zhou dynasty of China from 690 to 705. She was the only female sovereign in the history of China widely regarded as legitimate. Under her 40-year reign,China grew larger,becoming one of the great powers of the world,its culture and economy were revitalized,and corruption in the court was reduced. She was removed from power in a coup and died a few months later.
Zizhi Tongjian is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography,published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD,covering 16 dynasties and spanning almost 1400 years. The main text is arranged into 294 scrolls totaling about 3 million Chinese characters.
Sima is a Chinese family name. It is one of the rare two-character Chinese family names;most Chinese family names consist of only a single character. It is an occupational surname,literally meaning "control" (sī) "horses" (mǎ),or "horse officer". The family name originated from one of the offices of the Zhou dynasty.
Qin,known as the Former Qin and Fu Qin (苻秦) in historiography,was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Fu (Pu) clan of Di ethnicity during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. Founded by Fu Jian who originally served under the Later Zhao dynasty,it completed the unification of northern China in 376. Its capital was Xi'an up to the death of the Emperor Xuanzhao in 385. Despite its name,the Former Qin was much later and less powerful than the Qin dynasty which had ruled all of China proper during the 3rd century BC. The adjectival prefix "former" is used to distinguish it from the "Later Qin dynasty" (384-417).
Emperor Zhongzong of Tang,personal name Li Xian,and at other times Li Zhe or Wu Xian,was the fourth and seventh emperor of the Tang dynasty of China,ruling briefly in 684 and again from 705 to 710. During the first period,he did not have actual power,which was in the hands of his mother,Empress Wu Zetian and he was overthrown on her orders after opposing his mother. During his second reign,most of the power was in the hands of his consort Empress Wei.
Wang Shenzhi,courtesy name Xintong (信通) or Xiangqing (詳卿),posthumous name Prince Zhongyi of Min (閩忠懿王) and also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Min (閩太祖),was the founding monarch of Min during China's Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period,reigning as prince but posthumously promoted to the rank of emperor. He was from Gushi in modern-day Henan.
Emperor Shunzong of Tang,personal name Li Song,was an emperor of the Chinese Tang dynasty. He was created crown prince in 779 and became emperor in 805 after the death of his father Emperor Dezong,of whom he was the oldest son. His reign lasted less than a year,as,due to his illness,the powerful eunuchs were able to get him to approve a transfer of the throne to his son Li Chun. Emperor Shunzong was honored with the title of Taishang Huang. He died in 806,with some later historians suspecting that he was murdered by the eunuchs who arranged for Emperor Xianzong's succession.
Wen Chu,courtesy name Ciqian,better known as Wen Yang,was a military officer of the Jin dynasty of China. He previously served in the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. In 255,he participated in a rebellion in Shouchun started by his father,Wen Qin,and another Wei general,Guanqiu Jian. However,the rebellion was suppressed and Wen Qin and his family were forced to defect to Eastern Wu,Wei's rival state. In 257,when another rebellion broke out in Shouchun,Wen Qin and his sons led troops from Wu to support the rebel leader,Zhuge Dan. However,by 258,when the odds were against him,Zhuge Dan became increasingly suspicious of Wen Qin and eventually executed him. Wen Yang and his younger brother,Wen Hu (文虎),escaped from Shouchun and surrendered to the Wei regent,Sima Zhao,and assisted him in suppressing the revolt. Wen Yang continued serving under the Jin dynasty,which replaced the Wei regime in February 266,and achieved fame for leading successful military campaigns against tribal rebels led by Tufa Shujineng in northwestern China. In April 291,he was falsely accused of plotting a rebellion with Yang Jun,an ousted regent,and was arrested and executed along with his family.
Guo Wei,also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Later Zhou (後周太祖),was the founding emperor of the Chinese Later Zhou dynasty during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period,reigning from 951 until his death in 954.
Liu Yin (劉隱),formally Prince Xiang of Nanhai (南海襄王),later further posthumously honored Emperor Xiang (襄皇帝) with the temple name of Liezong (烈宗) by his younger brother Liu Yan,was a warlord late in the Chinese Tang dynasty and Tang's succeeding dynasty Later Liang of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period,who ruled Qinghai Circuit as its military governor (Jiedushi). It was on the basis of his rule that Liu Yan was later able to establish the state of Southern Han.
Wei Zhuang,style name Duanyi (端已),was a Chinese poet and late Tang Dynasty and early Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period historical figure best known for his poetry in shi and ci styles.
Zhao Deyin,formally the Prince of Huai'an,was a warlord late in the Chinese dynasty Tang dynasty,who initially served as a general under the pretender emperor Qin Zongquan. When Qin neared defeat,Zhao declared loyalty to Tang instead,and was able to retain control of Zhongyi Circuit,which,after his death,was passed to his son Zhao Kuangning.
Empress Zhou,formally Empress Shunde,known as Empress Zhaosheng in her lifetime,was an empress of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Former Shu,as the wife of Former Shu's first emperor Wang Jian.
Wang Yan (899–926),néWang Zongyan (王宗衍),courtesy name Huayuan (化源),also known in historiography as Houzhu of Former Shu,later posthumously created the Duke of Shunzheng (順正公) by the Later Tang dynasty,was the second and final emperor of China's Former Shu dynasty during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. He was the youngest son of founding emperor Wang Jian,but became his heir because his mother Consort Xu was Wang Jian's favorite concubine and was able to gain the support of the chancellor Zhang Ge.
Lady Yuan,personal name unknown,was briefly an emperor of the Xianbei-led Chinese Northern Wei dynasty. She bore the surname Yuan,originally Tuoba. Yuan was the only child of Emperor Xiaoming,born to his concubine Consort Pan. Soon after her birth,her grandmother the Empress Dowager Hu,who was also Xiaoming's regent,falsely declared that she was a boy and ordered a general pardon. Emperor Xiaoming died soon afterwards. On 1 April 528,Empress Dowager Hu installed the infant on the throne for a matter of hours before replacing her with Yuan Zhao the next day. Emperor Xiaoming's daughter was not recognised as a legitimate emperor (huangdi) by later generations. No further information about her or her mother is available.
Mao Muzhi,courtesy name Xianzu,also known as Mao Xianzu (毛憲祖) and Mao Husheng (毛虎生),was a military officer during the Jin dynasty (266–420). He was the son of the Jin general Mao Bao and served under Yu Yi before serving under Huan Wen. He assisted in Huan Wen's northern expeditions and later the Jin defence against Former Qin's conquest.
