 | You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Chinese. (June 2020)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
| Princess Eyi 鄂邑公主 | |
|---|---|
| Died | 80 BCE Chang'an |
| Burial | |
| Son | Wen Xin (文信) |
| Clan | House of Liu |
| Father | Emperor Wu of Han |
| Alternative names and titles |
|
Princess Eyi (died 80 BCE), was a Chinese princess, the daughter of Emperor Wu of Han and sister of Emperor Zhao of Han. [1] [2]
Her precise date of birth and the identity of her mother remain undisclosed in historical records. She is prominently recognized for her political engagements and involvement in various conspiratorial activities. [3]
When her younger brother, Emperor Zhao, ascended to the throne at the age of 8, she assumed control of the state seals and was conferred the title of Grand Princess. This honor, typically reserved for daughters born to an empress, was bestowed upon her along with 13,000 fiefs. She was assumed guardianship of the emperor and played a pivotal role within the royal family, overseeing the administration of the imperial palaces. Enjoying the emperor's profound respect akin to that accorded to his mother, she wielded unrestricted authority in appointing and dismissing officials within the inner palace, regardless of gender. Additionally, she controlled access to the palaces, managed the emperor's personal finances, including income and expenditures, and determined the composition and duties of the palace guards. [2] [4] [5] Consequently, she wielded significant influence in the Han court politics, commanding widespread respect and influence that none dared to ignore or underestimate. Even the most powerful ministers of the government, such as Huo Guang and Shangguan Jie, held her in high regard and relied on her counsel. Shangguan Jie, in particular, sought her assistance in his political maneuvers and conspiratorial undertakings. [3]
She played a crucial role in arranging the marriage between her brother, the emperor, and the Grand Empress Dowager Shangguan. Lady Shangguan's father Shangguan An was a friend of Emperor Zhao's sister, Princess Eyi, and her lover, Ding Wairen (丁外人). In 84 BC, Ding was encouraged by an advisor to persuade the princess regarding the benefits of their union. It was argued that the Shangguans' influence would strengthen through the marriage, potentially aiding Ding in legitimizing his relationship with Princess Eyi. Subsequently, Princess Eyi consented, leading to the appointment of the young Lady Shangguan as an imperial consort with the rank of jieyu. The following year, in 83 BC, she was elevated to the position of empress.
During Emperor Zhao's reign, the Shangguan family sought to honor Ding for his role in facilitating the marriage between Empress Shangguan and the Emperor by proposing his elevation to the rank of marquess. However, their proposal was declined by Huo, who also rejected subsequent efforts to appoint Ding to significant governmental positions. These actions led Princess Eyi to harbor resentment towards Huo's authority. Together with the Shangguans, Prince Dan of Yan, and Vice Prime Minister Sang Hongyang (桑弘羊), who opposed the dismantling of his financial monopoly, they formed an anti-Huo faction. In 80 BC, Prince Dan submitted a report to Emperor Zhao, alleging improper exercise of imperial authority by Huo. The conspirators' scheme involved prompting Emperor Zhao to authorize an investigation, after which Shangguan Jie and Sang planned to apprehend and promptly execute Huo. However, upon receiving the report, Emperor Zhao, aged 14 at the time, chose not to take immediate action. The following day, he summoned Huo to the palace and absolved him of the accusations. Emperor Zhao reasoned that the alleged actions occurred recently and at a distance from Prince Dan, casting doubt on the report's veracity. This incident did not initially reveal the anti-Huo conspiracy, but it left an impression of the young emperor's discernment among his contemporaries.
Later in the same year, the conspirators made another attempt. Their plan involved Princess Eyi inviting Huo to a banquet with the intention of ambushing and assassinating him. Subsequently, they aimed to depose Emperor Zhao and install Prince Dan as the new emperor. Allegedly, the Shangguans planned to eliminate Prince Dan upon his arrival in the capital and declare Shangguan Jie as emperor. The conspiracy was exposed by a servant of Princess Eyi, leading to the arrest and execution of the conspirators and their entire families. Princess Eyi and Prince Dan chose to end their own lives.
A section of the Juyan Bamboo Slips (Chinese :居延漢簡; pinyin :Jūyán hànjiǎn) excavated in 1970 refers to a 'senior princess', which is widely believed to denote Princess Eyi. The slips describe that Princess Eyi committed suicide in 80 BCE and that her granddaughter later became Queen of Hejian (Chinese :河間; pinyin :Héjiān). [6]
In 2014, it was reported that the Shaanxi Archaeological Research Institute had excavated a large Han tomb in Huaxu Town (Chinese :華胥鎮), Lantian County, which belonged to Princess Eyi. The burial had originally been suggested to belong to Jing Ke, who attempted to assassinate King Zheng of Qin in 227 BCE. However, wuzhu coins found in the tomb were cast in the yuanshou period (122–117 BCE) of Emperor Wu of Han, while the bricks used for the tomb interior suggested a date prior to 74 BCE. Additionally, the height of the tomb fit the specifications for a member of the Han nobility, and the terracotta figures accompanying the burial were specifically used by the imperial house. Finally, researchers examined the deceased's bones and found that they belonged to an adult female, leading them to conclude that the tomb was that of Princess Eyi. [7]
Wang Mang, courtesy name Jujun, officially known as the Shijianguo Emperor (始建國天帝), was the founder and the only emperor of the short-lived Chinese Xin dynasty. He was originally an official and consort kin of the Han dynasty and later seized the throne in 9 CE. The Han dynasty was restored after his overthrow, and his rule marked the separation between the Western Han dynasty and Eastern Han dynasty. Traditional Chinese historiography viewed Wang as a tyrant and usurper, while more recently, some historians have portrayed him as a visionary and selfless social reformer. During his reign, he abolished slavery and initiated a land redistribution program. Though a learned Confucian scholar who sought to implement the harmonious society he saw in the Chinese classics, his efforts ended in chaos.
The consort kin were the kin or a group of people related to an empress dowager or a consort of a monarch or a warlord in the Sinosphere. The leading figure of the clan was either a sibling, cousin, or parent of the empress dowager or consort.
Emperor Wu of Han, born Liu Che and courtesy name Tong, was the seventh emperor of the Han dynasty from 141 to 87 BC. His reign lasted 54 years – a record not broken until the reign of the Kangxi Emperor more than 1,800 years later – and remains the record for ethnic Han emperors. His reign resulted in a vast expansion of geopolitical influence for the Chinese civilization, and the development of a strong centralized state via governmental policies, economical reorganization and promotion of a hybrid Legalist–Confucian doctrine. In the field of historical social and cultural studies, Emperor Wu is known for his religious innovations and patronage of the poetic and musical arts, including development of the Imperial Music Bureau into a prestigious entity. It was also during his reign that cultural contact with western Eurasia was greatly increased, directly and indirectly.
Emperor Zhao of Han, born Liu Fuling (劉弗陵), was the eighth emperor of the Han dynasty from 87 to 74 BC. Emperor Zhao was the youngest son of Emperor Wu.
Liu He was briefly the ninth emperor of the Han dynasty. Originally King of Changyi, he was installed by the powerful minister Huo Guang as emperor in 74 BC, but deposed only 27 days later, and omitted from the official list of emperors. He lost his original kingdom of Changyi and was demoted to the rank of marquis. He was given the new fief of Haihun in modern Jiangxi Province and became known as Marquis of Haihun (海昏侯).
Emperor Xuan of Han, born Liu Bingyi (劉病已), was the tenth emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning from 74 to 48 BC, and was one of the only four Western Han emperors to receive a temple name. During his reign, the Han dynasty prospered economically and militarily became a regional superpower, and was considered by many to be the peak period of the entire Han history. His time of rule, along with his predecessor Emperor Zhao's are known by historians as Zhaoxuan Restoration (昭宣中興). He was succeeded by his son Emperor Yuan after his death in 48 BC.
Wei Zifu, posthumously known as Empress Si of the Filial Wu or Wei Si Hou, was an empress consort during ancient China's Han dynasty. She was the second wife of the famous Emperor Wu and his spouse for 49 years. She stayed as his empress for 38 years, the second longest in Chinese history. She was the mother of Emperor Wu's heir apparent Liu Ju and a great-grandmother of Liu Bingyi, as well as an older half-sister of the famed general Wei Qing, a younger aunt of Huo Qubing, and a step-aunt of Han statesman Huo Guang.
Huo Qubing was a Chinese military general and politician of the Western Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. He was a nephew of the general Wei Qing and Empress Wei Zifu, and a half-brother of the statesman Huo Guang. Along with Wei Qing, he led a campaign into the Gobi Desert of what is now Mongolia to defeat the Xiongnu nomadic confederation, winning decisive victories such as the Battle of Mobei in 119 BC. Huo Qubing was one of the most legendary commanders in Chinese history, and still lives on in Chinese culture today.
Huo Guang, courtesy name Zimeng (子孟), was a Chinese military general and politician who served as the dominant state official of the Western Han dynasty from 87 BCE until his death in April 68 BCE. The younger half-brother of the renowned general Huo Qubing, Huo was a palace aide to Emperor Wu and secured power in his own right at the emperor's death, when he became principal co-regent for Emperor Zhao. Huo outmaneuvered his colleagues in the regency and assumed personal control over state affairs, consolidating his power by installing family members and other loyalists in key offices. Following Emperor Zhao's death in June 74 BCE, Huo engineered the succession and deposition of Liu He within a mere 27 days. Huo next facilitated the accession of Emperor Xuan and retained control of the Han government until his death.
Wang Zhengjun, officially Empress Xiaoyuan (孝元皇后), later and more commonly known as Grand Empress Dowager Wang, born in Yuancheng, was an empress during the Western Han dynasty of China, who played important roles during the reigns of five successive Han emperors and later led to the usurpation of the throne by her nephew Wang Mang. She is largely viewed sympathetically by historians as an unassuming and benevolent if overly doting woman who suffered much in her long life, who tried to influence the empire as well as she could, and tried to use her power for the benefit of the empire, and who was not a party to her nephew's machinations, but whose failure, leading to the downfall of the Western Han Dynasty, was her overdependence on her clan.
The Lü Clan disturbance refers to a political upheaval after the death of Empress Lü Zhi of the early Han dynasty. In the aftermath, her clan of Lü (呂) were deposed from their seats of power and exterminated, Emperor Houshao was deposed and Emperor Wen acceded the throne. Lü Clan disturbance also sometimes encompasses the prior period of total domination of the political scene by Empress Lü Zhi and her family after the death of her son Emperor Hui.
Grand Empress Dowager Shangguan (上官太皇太后), also known as Empress Shangguan (上官皇后), Empress Xiaozhao (孝昭皇后) and Empress Dowager Shangguan (上官太后), was an Empress, Empress Dowager and Grand Empress Dowager during the Han dynasty and wife of Emperor Zhao. She served as de facto regent during the interim period between the deposition of Marquis of Haihun until the succession of Emperor Xuan of Han in 74 BC.
Huo Chengjun was an empress of the Chinese Western Han dynasty. She was the second wife of Emperor Xuan. Her father was the statesman Huo Guang, who served as regent for Emperor Zhao and who remained exceedingly powerful during Emperor Xuan's reign until his death in April 68 BC. Her mother's name was Xian (顯).
Consort Fu was an imperial consort during the Han dynasty of China. She was a consort and a favourite of Emperor Yuan. She was known to be a domineering woman who wanted her son on the throne, and, failing that, wanted her grandson on the throne as Emperor Ai. During Emperor Ai's reign, she exerted heavy and frequent influence on his reign, that made her powerful and dominant and forcibly extracted grand empress dowager titles that she should not have properly possessed – which would bring her hatred from the Wang clan and eventually the desecration of her tomb after her death.
Shangguan Wan'er was a Chinese politician, poet, and imperial consort of the Wu Zhou and Tang dynasties. Described as a "female prime minister," Shangguan rose from modest origins as a palace servant to become secretary and leading advisor to Empress Wu Zetian of Zhou. Under Empress Wu, Shangguan exercised responsibility for drafting imperial edicts and earned approbation for her writing style. She retained her influence as consort to Wu's son and successor, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, holding the imperial consort rank of Zhaorong (昭容). Shangguan was also highly esteemed for her talent as a poet. In 710, after Emperor Zhongzong's death, Shangguan was killed during a palace coup that ended the regency of Empress Dowager Wei.
Jin Midi (Chinese: 金日磾; pinyin: Jīn Mìdī, courtesy name Wengshu, formally Marquess Jing of Du, was a Xiongnu Xiutu prince and a general of the Western Han dynasty. He was referred to as a non-Han "barbarian", either with the term Hu or Yidi. He was originally from the Xiutu Kingdom in central Gansu and served as co-regent early in the reign of the Emperor Zhao of Han. He was given the family name "Jin" by Emperor Wu of Han because he worshipped the golden statue of the Xiongnu which Huo Qubing has captured in his military campaigns.
The Glamorous Imperial Concubine is a 2011 Chinese television series based on a novel of the same title by Murong Yin'er (慕容湮儿). Starring Ruby Lin with Kevin Yan and Wallace Huo, it was Lin's producing debut.
Love Yunge from the Desert is a 2015 Chinese television series based on Tong Hua's novel Song in the Clouds. It is a sequel to Sound of the Desert (2014), also based on a novel by Tong Hua. The series was produced by Yu Zheng and stars Angelababy, Du Chun, Lu Yi, Chen Xiao and Yang Rong. It aired on Hunan Television from 13 September to 23 November 2015.
Lady Gouyi, also known as Zhao Jieyu, or Zhao Gouyi (趙鉤弋), was a consort of Emperor Wu of the Chinese Han dynasty, and the mother of Emperor Zhao of Han.
Shangguan Jie was a Western Han dynasty official in China and consort kin who served under Emperors Wu and Zhao. His granddaughter later became the empress consort to Emperor Zhao.