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92-465: Wang was born the second daughter of Wang Jin, the then- Minister of Justice and Lady Li. Although she was one of 12 children, only Wang and two brothers were born to Lady Li. Her parents tried to find Wang a husband; her suitors expired before their plans came to fruition. One suitor was the Prince of Dongping, but he died before the marriage. After this, Wang dedicated herself to studying books and playing

184-489: A vineyard , and fields for playing popular sports such as horse polo and cuju (ancient Chinese football ). On the northwest section of the main outer wall there were three gates leading out to the Forbidden Park, three gates along the western section of the main outer wall, three gates along the southern section of the main outer wall, and three gates along the eastern section of the main outer wall. Although

276-469: A capital located in the Wei Valley became the deciding factor for locating the new capital. To this end, it is recorded c 200 BC he forcibly relocated thousands of clans in the military aristocracy to this region. The purpose was twofold. First, it kept all potential rivals close to the new Emperor, and second, it allowed him to redirect their energy toward defending the capital from invasion by

368-660: A continued deterioration in the administration of Emperor Cheng, who at times considered modifying this power structure but always failed to do so. For example, in 24 BC, under the suggestion of an official Wang Zhang (王章, unrelated to the Wang clan), Emperor Cheng considered replacing Wang Feng with highly regarded official Feng Yewang (馮野王), the brother of his father's concubine Consort Feng. When Wang Feng realized this, Empress Dowager Wang became saddened, and in response Emperor Cheng executed Wang Zhang and relieved Feng Yewang of his post without any allegation of wrongdoing. Emperor Cheng

460-584: A cordial relationship with both, and she was largely successful, at least as far as Consort Feng was concerned. However, a struggle between Empress Wang and Consort Fu for their sons' heir status would erupt. As Crown Prince Ao grew older, Emperor Yuan became increasingly unhappy with his fitness as imperial heir and impressed with Consort Fu's son, Prince Liu Kang of Shanyang (山陽王劉康). Several incidents led to this situation. One happened in 35 BC, when Emperor Yuan's youngest brother Prince Liu Jing of Zhongshan (中山王劉竟) died, Emperor Yuan became angry when he felt that

552-408: A large number of her family. In response, in 2 BC, Emperor Ai recalled Wang Mang to the capital to attend to Grand Empress Dowager Wang. In 1 BC, Emperor Ai died without an heir, and this left the imperial household in immediate turmoil—during which Grand Empress Dowager Wang would play an important role. When Emperor Ai died, his male favorite (commonly believed to be homosexual lover) Dong Xian

644-579: A new title that shows more power and majesty than before and only links her to his newly established dynasty and not to the Han, but she immediately indicated that she was greatly offended at his suggestion. In response, he kept her title but gave her an additional one— Wenmu (文母, The civilization mother ), implying that she was a cofounder of his dynasty. Wang Mang did not fail to pay respect to his aunt and regularly sent her various precious gifts and frequently invited her to dinner or parties. She never acknowledged

736-661: A peak at 100 BC; and the fourth from 1 BC–24 AD when it was destroyed. The Xuanpingmen gate was the main gate between the city and the suburbs. The district north of the Weiyang Palace was the most exclusive. The main market, called the Nine Markets, was the eastern economic terminus of the Silk Road. Access to the market was from the Northeast and Northwest gates, which were the most heavily used by

828-553: A pond the size of those in the West Palace. The Daming Palace and the Xingqing Palace (along the eastern wall of the city) had small lakes to boast. The Serpentine River Park had a large lake within its bounds that was bigger than the latter two lakes combined, connected at the southern end by a river that ran under the main walls and out of the city. There were five transport and sanitation canals running throughout

920-626: A substantial part of its southern suburbs. Thus, Tang Chang'an was eight times the size of the Ming Xi'an, which was reconstructed upon the site of the former imperial quarters of the Sui and Tang city. During its heyday, Chang'an was one of the largest and most populous cities in the world. Around AD 750, Chang'an was called a "million-man city" in Chinese records, with modern estimates putting it at around 800,000–1,000,000 within city walls. According to

1012-668: Is the traditional name of Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo , in what is now the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin Shi Huang of the Qin dynasty , China's first emperor, held his imperial court and constructed his massive mausoleum guarded by

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1104-586: The Ming dynasty , the officialdom was classified in nine grades, each grade subdivided into two degrees, extending from upper first grade at the top to lower ninth grade at the bottom. Under this system, the Ministers of the Six Ministries all held the rank of upper third grade, and rose to upper second grade after the abolishment of the position of Imperial Chancellor in 1380. The Censor-in-Chief, head of

1196-594: The Office of Transmission , and the Grand Court of Revision . The Nine Ministers were: The Minister of Ceremonies, usually described as a chief priest in the government, was responsible for ceremonies in the imperial ancestral temples and in charge of astronomy, astrology, and the daily records of the emperor's activities. He also supervised the operation of the Imperial Academy , selecting and examining

1288-460: The Silk Road , and a cosmopolitan metropolis. It was a consumer city, a city whose existence was not primarily predicated upon manufacturing and trade, but rather boasted such a large population because of its role as the political and military center of China. By 2 AD, the population was 246,200 in 80,000 households. This population consisted mostly of the scholar gentry class whose education

1380-598: The Tang dynasty . In 779, the Tang dynasty issued an edict which forced Uighurs in the capital, Chang'an, to wear their ethnic dress, stopped them from marrying Chinese females, and banned them from pretending to be Chinese. Between 783 and 784, Chang'an was again occupied by rebels during the Jingyuan Rebellion . In 881, Chang'an was occupied by the rebel Huang Chao , who made it the seat of his Qi Dynasty. In 882,

1472-561: The Terracotta Army . From its capital at Xianyang , the Qin dynasty ruled a larger area than either of the preceding dynasties. The imperial city of Chang'an during the Han dynasty was located northwest of today's Xi'an. During the Tang dynasty , the area that came to be known as Chang'an included the area inside the Ming Xi'an fortification, plus some small areas to its east and west, and

1564-505: The Wei River . The entire city was sited below the 400 m contour line which the Tang dynasty used to mark the edge of the floodplain. Twelve gates with three gateways each, according with the ritual formulas of Zhou dynasty urban planning , pierced the wall. These gates were distributed three a side and from them eight 45 m wide main avenues extended into the city. These avenues were also divided into three lanes aligned with

1656-698: The Western Jin dynasty from 312 to 316. It was also the capital of Former Zhao (318–329), Former Qin (351–385) and Later Qin (384–417). In 417, a century after the Western Jin lost Chang'an, the city was reconquered by Liu Yu of Eastern Jin , who founded the Liu Song dynasty in 420. The city was lost to Northern Wei by 439. When Northern Wei split in two, Chang'an became the capital of Western Wei (535–557), and also of its successor state Northern Zhou (557–581). The Sui and Tang empires occupied

1748-410: The guqin . At age 18, she entered the palace as a palace woman , in the service of one of the imperial concubines. Consort Sima, the favorite consort of Crown Prince Liu Shi died from an illness. Crown Prince Shi was grief-stricken, became ill, and refused to see any of his concubines. His father, Emperor Xuan , suggested that Empress Xiaoxuan select palace women to attend the crown prince, as all

1840-399: The jiedushi ( 佑國軍節度使 ). Han Jian rebuilt Chang'an on the basis of the old Imperial City. Much of Chang'an was abandoned and the rebuilt Chang'an, called "Xincheng (lit. new city)" by the contemporary people, was less than 1/16 of the old Chang'an in area. The rest of the city was overrun by nature and was used for agriculture. Then the northern and eastern city wall was expanded a little and

1932-732: The Asian gateway to Europe as the point of departure of the Silk Road . On 4 October 23 AD, Chang'an was captured and sacked during a peasant rebellion . The emperor, Wang Mang was killed and decapitated by the rebels two days later. After the Western Han period, the Eastern Han government settled on Luoyang as the new capital. Chang'an was therefore also sometimes referred to as the Western Capital or Xijing ( 西京 ) in some Han dynasty texts. In 190 AD during late Eastern Han,

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2024-666: The Censorate, had a rank of lower first grade before 1380 and upper second grade after. The functional heads of the Grand Court of Revision and the Office of Transmission both held a rank of upper third grade. Chang%27an 34°18′30″N 108°51′30″E  /  34.30833°N 108.85833°E  / 34.30833; 108.85833 Chang'an ( [ʈʂʰǎŋ.án] ; traditional Chinese : 長安 ; simplified Chinese : 长安 ; pinyin : Cháng'ān )

2116-549: The Daming Palace connected by three gates in the northeast, the walled-off East Park led in by one gate in the northeast, and the Serpentine River Park in the southeast was simply walled off by the main exterior wall, and open without gated enclosures facing the southeasternmost city blocks. There was a Forbidden Park to the northwest outside of the city, where there was a cherry orchard , a Pear Garden ,

2208-703: The East Market, yet the rest of the city was at a safe distance from the blaze (which was largely quarantined in East Central Chang'an). The citizens of Chang'an were also pleased with the government once the imperial court ordered the planting of fruit trees along all of the avenues of the city in 740. Within the West Park was a running stream and within the walled enclosure of the West Palace were two running streams, one connecting three ponds and another connecting two ponds. The small East Park had

2300-477: The Emperor, along with the relevant details and appropriate articles of the law code that might apply. The Minister Herald performed the role of a master of ceremonies at religious rituals (e.g. worship at the imperial ancestral temple) and when the Emperor received guests. He was also in charge of affairs related to the marquises, or officials rewarded with enfeoffment for meritorious service. The Minister of

2392-597: The Han Dynasty and also flattered her, but at the same time continued to purge the government of potential enemies and getting his associates to use propaganda to create an aura of holiness about him. In 1, convinced of her nephew's faithfulness, Grand Empress Dowager Wang created him Duke of Anhan (安漢公, literally "Duke who made Han secure")—even though previously there had not been a single duke created in Han history. In 2, when selecting an empress for Emperor Ping, Grand Empress Dowager Wang initially ordered that girls from

2484-556: The Han Dynasty. With Grand Empress Dowager Wang's assent, he removed the Fus and Dings from government, and without her knowledge, he dishonored Consort Fu's and Consort Ding's graves. Grand Empress Dowager Wang then summoned her remaining stepgrandson Prince Jizi to the throne, as Emperor Ping . During Emperor Ping's reign, Wang Mang served as regent (亲政, Qīnzhèng), with Grand Empress Dowager Wang's support. When in her presence, he did everything he could to convince her of his faithfulness to

2576-469: The Han empire. They became known as “The Five Vassals.” Thus, Empress Dowager Wang and her brothers were the true rulers of the empire, while the emperor remained a figurehead. They made all the decisions regarding the empire. Prince Kang, as was customary with imperial princes, was sent to govern his principality—now at Dingtao (定陶). Despite the near-coup by Consort Fu and Prince Kang, however, Empress Wang and Emperor Cheng did not bear grudges, and, against

2668-497: The Imperial Clan was in charge of members of the imperial clan, i.e., the Emperor's family and relatives. He kept a record of all the Emperor's relatives and received the registers of the Emperor's relatives prepared and submitted by provincial officials. The Minister of Finance was in charge of the collection of revenue for the state treasury and the disbursement of expenditures from the state treasury. Sources of revenue for

2760-507: The Korean Silla dynasty modeled their capital of Gyeongju after the Chinese capital. Sanggyeong , one of the five capitals of the state of Balhae , was also laid out like Chang'an. During Tang, the main exterior walls of Chang'an rose 18 ft (5.5 m) high, were 5 mi (8.0 km) by six miles in length, and formed a city in a rectangular shape, with an inner surface area of 30 sq mi (78 km ). The areas to

2852-530: The Marquess of Yangping, six of Empress Dowager Wang's brothers were created marquesses, in violation of the rule laid by Emperor Gao , the founder of the dynasty, who had decreed that only those who had contributed to the empire in substantial ways could be made marquesses. Several (Wang Feng, Wang Shang (王商), and Wang Gen (王根)), in addition to Empress Dowager Wang's cousin Wang Yin (王音), served successively as

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2944-648: The Minister assessed and rated these Gentlemen on four qualities (simplicity, generosity, modesty and virtue) and recommended them for office accordingly. The Minister of the Guards was essentially the chief of the Imperial Guards, who guarded the palaces. Unlike the Gentlemen, the Imperial Guards were men drafted from among the common people and they were required to serve for a year. The Minister Coachman

3036-428: The Tang dynasty briefly regained control of Chang'an. However, the Tang forces, although welcomed by the inhabitants, looted Chang'an before being driven back by the forces of Huang Chao. In revenge, Huang Chao conducted a systematic slaughter of the inhabitants after retaking the city. Chang'an was finally retaken by the Tang government in 883. In 904, the warlord Zhu Quanzhong ordered the city's buildings demolished and

3128-492: The Wang clan be excluded, but Wang Mang immediately mobilized a mass of petitioners to surround the palace, urging her to make his daughter empress. Grand Empress Dowager Wang relented and selected Wang Mang's daughter to be Emperor Ping's empress, and she was created as such in 4. In 3, another major event happened that greatly increased Wang Mang's power. Wang Mang's son Wang Yu (王宇), dissatisfied with his father's dictatorial rule, conspired with Emperor Ping's maternal uncles,

3220-554: The Wangs during the reign of Emperor Cheng—all clamored for the return of the Wangs. This yearning came partly from a thorough miscarriage of justice perpetrated by Consort Fu in 6 BC when she, still bearing a grudge from her struggles with her former romantic rival Consort Feng Yuan (who by that time was Princess Dowager of Zhongshan and the grandmother of Prince Liu Jizi of Zhongshan ), falsely accused Consort Feng of practicing magic , forced her to commit suicide, and executed and exiled

3312-406: The Wangs, including Wang Mang, largely in the posts that they had been in. However, the influences of Emperor Ai's grandmother Consort Fu would soon be shown. Consort Fu was not content with her title of Princess Dowager of Dingtao; rather, she also wanted to be empress dowager. Grand Empress Dowager Wang was willing to let her have the title, and it was by her edicts that Consort Fu was also given

3404-494: The Weis, against Wang Mang. When their conspiracy was discovered, Wang Mang had not only Wang Yu and the Weis (except Consort Wei) put to death, but also used this opportunity to accuse many actual or potential political enemies as being part of the conspiracy and to execute or exile them. This included even his own uncle Wang Li (王立), whom he forced to commit suicide by forging an edict from Grand Empress Dowager Wang, from whom he hid

3496-456: The Zhaos nor another later favorite of Emperor Cheng's, Consort Li, bore him a son either, however. In 9 BC, still heirless, Emperor Cheng appeared to come to the resolution of making either his younger brother Prince Liu Xing of Zhongshan (中山王劉興) or his nephew Prince Liu Xin of Dingtao (定陶王劉欣, Prince Kang's son) his heir. Emperor Cheng became convinced that Prince Xin was more capable, and at

3588-483: The advice of officials who were concerned that Prince Kang would become the subject of conspiracies, Emperor Cheng often summoned Prince Kang to the capital Chang'an for extended visits. As empress dowager, Empress Dowager Wang was kind but overly doting on her son and her brothers. Emperor Cheng was very trusting of his uncles (Empress Dowager Wang's brothers) and put them in important roles in government. In addition to Wang Feng, who had inherited his father's title as

3680-475: The bank of the Wei River. The eight avenues divided the city into nine districts. These nine main districts were subdivided into 160 walled 1×1  li wards. About 50–100 families lived in each ward. Historically, Chang'an grew in four phases: the first from 200 to 195 BC when the palaces were built; the second 195–180 BC when the outer city walls were built; the third between 141 and 87 BC with

3772-535: The birth of an heir. Circa 19 BC, however, when Emperor Cheng was visiting the Princess of Yang'a (陽阿公主), he became enamored with her dancing girl Zhao Feiyan (趙飛燕) and her sister Zhao Hede (趙合德) and made them his concubines, and they became favored over Empress Xu and Consort Ban. In 18 BC, the Zhao sisters falsely accused Empress Xu and Consort Ban of practicing magic ; Empress Xu was deposed, and while Consort Ban

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3864-516: The census in 742 recorded in the New Book of Tang , 362,921 families with 1,960,188 persons were counted in Jingzhao Fu ( 京兆府 ), the metropolitan area including small cities in the vicinity. The Han capital was located 3 km northwest of modern Xi'an . As the capital of the Western Han, it was the political, economic and cultural center of China. It was also the eastern terminus of

3956-431: The center of heaven with an axis mundi running upward from the imperial throne to its heavenly counterpart. The ruins were greatly expanded to 7×7 li in size and renamed Changle Palace ( 长乐宫 ; 長樂宮 ; Chánglègōng ). Two years later, a new palace called Weiyang Palace ( 未央宮 ; Wèiyānggōng ) was constructed 5×7 li . Prime minister Xiao He convinced Liu Bang that both the excessive size and multiplicity of palaces

4048-487: The city had many different streets and roads passing between the wards, city blocks, and buildings, there were distinct major roads (lined up with the nine gates of the western, southern, and eastern walls of the city) that were much wider avenues than the others. There were six of these major roads that divided the city into nine distinct gridded sectors ( listed below by cardinal direction ). The narrowest of these streets were 82 ft (25 m) wide, those terminating at

4140-425: The city included : Locations and events in the southeast sector of the city included : Locations and events in the west central sector of the city included : Locations and events in the central sector of the city included : Locations and events in the east central sector of the city included : Locations and events in the northwest sector of the city included : Locations and events in

4232-405: The city, which had several water sources, and delivered water to city parks, gardens of the rich, and the grounds of the imperial palaces. The sources of water came from a stream running through the Forbidden Park and under the northern city wall, two running streams from outside the city in the south, a stream that fed into the pond of the walled East Park, which in turn fed into a canal that led to

4324-402: The common people. The former connect with a bridge over the Wei River to the northern suburbs and the latter connected with the rest of China to the east. An intricate network of underground passages connected the imperial harem with other palaces and the city. These passages were controlled by underground gatehouses and their existence was unknown. In 200 BC after marking the boundaries of

4416-546: The construction materials moved to Luoyang , which became the new capital. The residents, together with the emperor Zhaozong , were also forced to move to Luoyang. Chang'an never recovered after the apex of the Tang dynasty, but there are some monuments from the Tang era still standing. After Zhu Quanzhong moved the capital to Luoyang, the Youguo Governorate ( 佑國軍 ) was established in Chang'an, with Han Jian being

4508-514: The construction of many new palaces. He also added the nine temples complex south of the city, and built the park. In 120 BC, Shanglin Park, which had been used for agriculture by the common people since Liu Bang was sealed off, was turned into an imperial park again. In the center of the park was a recreation of the three fairy islands in Kunming Lake . Chang'an was briefly the capital of

4600-484: The court was seized and relocated back to Chang'an by the notorious Prime Minister Dong Zhuo , as it was a strategically superior site against the mounting insurgency formed against him. After Dong's death (192) the capital was moved back to Luoyang in August 196, and to Xuchang in autumn 196. By this time, Chang'an was already regarded as the symbolic site of supreme power and governance. The 25.7 km long city wall

4692-500: The crown prince's concubines were so disagreeable. Wang was one of the palace women presented to the crown prince, among five others. The crown prince selected Wang, allegedly solely by the fact that she was seated closest to him at the time of selection. Three years after, Wang gave birth to a male child, Ao , whereas none of the crown prince's previous concubines had. In January 48 BC, Emperor Xuan died, and Crown Prince Shi became emperor. He made Consort Wang empress on 12 April; her son

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4784-575: The gates of the outer walls being 328 ft (100 m) wide, and the largest of all, the Imperial Way that stretched from the central southern gate all the way to the Administrative City and West Palace in the north, was 492 ft (150 m) wide. Streets and roads of these widths allowed for efficient fire breaks in the city of Chang'an. For example, in 843, a large fire consumed 4,000 homes, warehouses , and other buildings in

4876-413: The incomes of members of the imperial clan. In the Han dynasty , civil service officials were classified in 20 grades (reduced to 16 after 32 BC) expressed by the official's annual salary in terms of dan (石) or Chinese bushels , extending from the 10,000 bushels at the top to the 100 bushels at the bottom. Under this scheme, each of the nine ministers drew a salary of the full 2,000 bushels. During

4968-425: The inner city. These canal waterways in turn streamed water into the ponds of the West Palace; the lake in the Xingqing Palace connected two canals running through the city. The canals were also used to transport crucial goods throughout the city, such as charcoal and firewood in the winter. Locations and events in the southwest sector of the city included : Locations and events in the south central sector of

5060-447: The intercession of Shi Dan led Emperor Yuan to cease those thoughts. When Emperor Yuan died in 33 BC, Crown Prince Ao ascended the throne (as Emperor Cheng). After the death of Emperor Yuan and the accession of Emperor Cheng , Empress Wang became empress dowager . As Empress Dowager, Empress Wang became directly involved in politics and began to make decisions on state affairs. She gave her five surviving brothers vast territories within

5152-419: The largest cities in the world. It was a cosmopolitan urban center with considerable foreign populations from other parts of Asia and beyond. This new Chang'an was laid out on a north–south axis in a grid pattern, dividing the enclosure into 108 wards and featuring two large marketplaces , in the east and west respectively. Every day, administrators of the two marketplaces would beat gongs three hundred times in

5244-437: The morning and evening to signify the start and stop of business. People who lived in the wards were not allowed to go outside after curfew. Officials with higher ranking had the privilege to live closer to the central avenue. Chang'an's layout influenced the city planning of several other Asian capitals for many years to come. Chang'an's walled and gated wards were much larger than conventional city blocks seen in modern cities, as

5336-472: The nearby Xiongnu . His adviser Liu Jing described this plan as weakening the root while strengthening the branch. After the necessary political structure was set up, the area of the capital was divided into three prefectures and construction began. At its founding in 195 BC, the population of Changan was 146,000. During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han , the diplomat Zhang Qian was dispatched westward into Central Asia . Subsequently, Chang'an city became

5428-424: The new dynasty, and when Wang Mang changed the calendar and the holidays as well as the uniform of the imperial household attendants, she ordered her ladies in waiting to continue to observe the Han calendar and wear the Han uniforms. Wang Mang tried to more attend to her needs earnestly to try to please her, but his attempts failed, and he even freed him from any obedience or departure from his laws and orders, but it

5520-450: The north central sector of the city included : Locations and events in the northeast sector of the city included : The West Palace to the north included : The West Park grounds included : The Daming Palace grounds included : The East Park grounds included : For different buildings and locations in the entire city, the total numbers for each were : Citywide events of Chang'an include : Much of Chang'an

5612-467: The north that jutted out like appendages from the main wall were the West Park, the smaller East Park, and the Daming Palace , while the southeasternmost extremity of the main wall was built around the Serpentine River Park that jutted out as well. The West Park walled off and connected to the West Palace (guarded behind the main exterior wall) by three gates in the north, the walled-off enclosure of

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5704-481: The removal of the Wangs from government. Grand Empress Dowager Wang had no desire to contend with Fu, however, and voluntarily ordered members of the Wang family to resign and turn over power to the Fus and the Dings. Her humility and willingness to yield greatly impressed the people and the officials in government, and as the incompetence of Emperor Ai became apparent, the people and the officials—who were largely against

5796-408: The sale of alcoholic drinks. He also had direct control over the granaries in the imperial capital and the provinces. The Minister Steward managed the palace treasury, i.e., the private finances of the imperial clan. Sources of revenue for the palace treasury included taxes on mountains, seas and lakes, which were considered the Emperor's property. The Minister Steward was also in charge of disbursing

5888-565: The same location. In 582, Emperor Wen of the Sui dynasty sited a new region southeast of the much ruined Han dynasty Chang'an to build his new capital, which he called Daxing ( 大興 ; 'Great prosperity'). Daxing was renamed Chang'an in the year 618 when the Duke of Tang, Li Yuan, proclaimed himself the Emperor Gaozu of Tang . Chang'an during the Tang dynasty (618–907) was, along with Constantinople ( Istanbul ) and Baghdad , one of

5980-751: The same time, Prince Xin's grandmother Consort Fu was endearing herself to the Zhaos and Wang Gen with lavish gifts, and so the Zhaos and Wang Gen both praised Prince Xin as well. Emperor Cheng made Prince Xin crown prince in 8 BC. Emperor Cheng died suddenly in 7 BC, apparently from a stroke (although historians also report the possibility of an overdosage of aphrodisiacs given to him by Consort Zhao Hede). Immediately there were many rumors that he had in fact had concubines who bore him sons, but that those sons and their mothers were murdered by Consort Zhao Hede (out of jealousy) and possibly Emperor Cheng himself. Grieving her husband and apparently fearful of reprisal, Consort Zhao Hede killed herself. Crown Prince Xin ascended

6072-703: The seed of dissatisfaction was sown. As the princes further grew, several things further led to an endearment between Emperor Yuan and Prince Kang. They shared affection and skills in music—particularly in the playing of drums. Prince Kang also showed high intelligence and diligence, while Crown Prince Ao was known for drinking and womanizing. When Emperor Yuan grew ill circa 35 BC—an illness that he would not recover from—Consort Fu and Prince Kang were often summoned to his sickbed to attend to him, while Empress Wang and Crown Prince Ao rarely were. In his illness, apparently encouraged by Consort Fu, Emperor Yuan reconsidered whether he should make Prince Kang his heir instead. Only

6164-485: The smallest ward had a surface area of 68 acres, and the largest ward had a surface area of 233 acres (0.94 km ). The height of the walls enclosing each ward were on average 9 to 10 ft (3.0 m) in height. The Japanese built their ancient capitals, Heijō-kyō (today's Nara ) and later Heian-kyō or Kyoto , modeled after Chang'an in a more modest scale, yet was never fortified. The modern Kyoto still retains some characteristics of Sui-Tang Chang'an. Similarly,

6256-463: The spring of 13, and Wang Mang buried her, as was customary, in the same tomb as Emperor Yuan, but dug a trench between her and Emperor Yuan. In her honor, Wang Mang undertook a three-year period of mourning, during which he wore mourning clothes, visited her tomb, and made sacrifices to appease her soul. House of Liu House of Wang Nine Ministers The Nine Ministers or Nine Chamberlains ( Chinese : 九卿 ; pinyin : jiǔ qīng )

6348-424: The state treasury included poll tax, land tax, commutation of labour service into cash payment, profits from the state monopoly over iron and salt, income from public land, and profit from the state-sanctioned sale of alcoholic drinks. The expenditures included salaries of officials, and supplies for the army. The Minister of Finance also administered the state monopoly over the production and sale of iron and salt, and

6440-606: The students. If they were suitable, he was also responsible to report their eligibility for office to the emperor. The Minister of the Household was in charge of the Gentlemen ( 郎 ; láng ), civil service candidates who stood guard at the doors of palaces and halls. The Gentlemen came from a variety of backgrounds: family members and relatives of high-ranking officials; graduates of the Imperial Academy ; men of good moral character recommended by local and regional officials; men of special talents, great wealth, and so on. Every year,

6532-432: The supreme commander of the armed forces and were in effective control of the administration. After Wang Gen, Empress Dowager Wang's nephew Wang Mang served in the same role. The Wangs, while not corrupt in general and apparently genuinely trying to help the emperor, were largely concerned with aggrandizing their power and not with the best interests of the empire when selecting officials for various posts, and this led to

6624-451: The teenage Crown Prince Ao was insufficiently grieving—particularly because Princes Ao and Jing were of similar age and grew up together as playmates—and showing insufficient respect to Prince Jing. Prince Ao's head of household Shi Dan (史丹), a relative of Emperor Yuan's grandmother and a senior official respected by Emperor Yuan, managed to convince Emperor Yuan that Crown Prince Ao was trying to stop Emperor Yuan himself from overgrieving, but

6716-491: The three gateways of each gate. The lanes were separated by median strips planted with pine, elm, and scholar trees . Bachengmen Avenue was an exception with a width of 82 m and no medians. Four of the gates opened directly into the palaces. The overall form of the city was an irregular rectangle. The ideal square of the city had been twisted into the form of the Big Dipper for astrological reasons, and also to follow

6808-469: The three prefectures, which comprised the metropolitan region of Xianyang , Liu Bang appointed Xiao He to design and build the new capital. He chose to site the city on ruins of the Qin dynasty Apex Temple (formerly, Xin Palace). This old Qin palace was meant to be the earthly mirror of Polaris, the apex star, where the heavenly emperor resided. This site thus represented the center of the earth lying under

6900-608: The throne and established the Xin Dynasty. When he demanded that Grand Empress Dowager Wang turn over the imperial seal , she initially refused, but eventually relented. By obtaining the imperial seal for himself and refraining from issuing decisive orders on her behalf, Wang Mang was able to restrain the Grand Empress Dowager Wang's to some extent in the court's power play. Wang Mang initially wanted to abolish Grand Empress Dowager Wang's title and give her

6992-431: The throne as Emperor Ai . A report by officials commissioned by Empress Dowager Wang concluded in 6 BC that Emperor Cheng did have two sons—one born to Consort Cao in 12 BC and one born to Consort Xu (a relative of the deposed Empress Xu) in 11 BC. However, both of the sons were murdered in their infancy by orders of Consort Zhao Hede, with at least tacit agreement from Emperor Cheng, who was enamored with her; Consort Cao

7084-504: The title Grand Empress Dowager (with a difference—Fu had the unique title, not again to be used, of Ditaitaihou (帝太太后) compared with Wang's regular title of Taihuangtaihou (太皇太后)); in an analogous manner, Emperor Ai's mother Consort Ding was also given the title of Empress Dowager ( Ditaihou , 帝太后; cf. Zhao Feiyan's title of Huangtaihou , 皇太后)). Consort Fu was not content with titles, however, but did everything she could to control her grandson's administration. Part of her agenda involved

7176-503: The truth (and instead told that Wang Li had died of an illness). Wang Mang made Grand Empress Dowager Wang feel as if she were in control of the situation, however, by arranging for her to periodically survey the areas around the capital Chang'an to reward people with money and goods and to visit orphans and widows. He also ingratiated himself to her by building an impressive temple for her husband Emperor Yuan. In 5, Wang Mang poisoned Emperor Ping after becoming concerned that Emperor Ping

7268-425: Was a womanizer with many favorites. His first favorite was Empress Xu (created 31 BC), from the clan of his murdered grandmother, the first wife of Emperor Xuan. He also favored Consort Ban . Neither Empress Xu nor Consort Ban bore him a child, however, and concerned with having a grandson to be heir, Empress Dowager Wang openly encouraged Emperor Cheng to take on more and more concubines, but that did not result in

7360-423: Was able to successfully plead her case, she did not wish to return to the same environment and instead became a lady in waiting for Empress Dowager Wang. Emperor Cheng wanted to then create Zhao Feiyan as empress, but Empress Dowager Wang complained about her low birth and prior occupation as a dancing girl; she finally capitulated to her son's wishes in 16 BC, but she was never pleased with the Zhao sisters. Neither

7452-420: Was being sponsored by their wealthy aristocratic families. In addition to these civil servants there was a larger underclass to serve them. Initially, Emperor Liu Bang decided to build his capital at the area south of Luo River, which according to Chinese geography was in modern Luoyang . This location was the site of the holy city Chengzhou , capital of Eastern Zhou . However, the strategic military value of

7544-755: Was destroyed during its repeated sacking during the An Lushan Rebellion and several subsequent events. Chang'an was occupied by the forces of An Lushan and Shi Siming , in 756; then taken back by the Tang government and allied troops in 757. In 763, Chang'an was briefly occupied by the Tibetan Empire . In 765, Chang'an was besieged by an alliance of the Tibetan Empire and the Uyghur Khaganate . Several laws enforcing segregation of foreigners from Han Chinese were passed during

7636-496: Was forced to commit suicide after her son was murdered. In response, apparently at the urging of Empress Dowager Wang, Emperor Ai stripped the Zhaos' relatives of their marquess titles and exiled them; only Empress Zhao Feiyan was spared (for the time being). When Emperor Ai ascended the throne, Empress Dowager Wang received the title that she is later most known for—Grand Empress Dowager Wang. Initially, out of respect for her, Emperor Ai, while consolidating his own power base, left

7728-408: Was going to take vengeance for Wang Mang's executing of his uncles. He also began to lift the façade of faithfulness to the Han in Grand Empress Dowager Wang's presence, effectively forcing her to grant him the title of acting emperor (假皇帝) against her wishes and to approve his selection of Liu Ying, a great-great-grandson of Emperor Xuan, as the new emperor (as Emperor Ruzi ). In 8, Wang Mang usurped

7820-458: Was in charge of the Emperor's chariots, carriages and horses. He was responsible for ensuring that the appropriate number and type of chariots, carriages and horses were used at ceremonies. He also supervised the government pastures and the horses raised there. The Minister of Justice was in charge of the laws. He accepted and decided all the lawsuits that provincial governors failed to dispose of. The cases which he could not decide were reported to

7912-492: Was in command of the armed forces and was the most powerful official in government, and there was great uncertainty what was going to happen next. It was at this time Grand Empress Dowager Wang would play the most crucial role in her life. She decided to immediately proceed to the imperial palace and seize the imperial seal , and announced that she would take over the administration (臨朝聽政制, linchao tingzheng zhe) and then quickly summon Dong. Her move caught Dong by surprise, and he

8004-409: Was initially 3.5 m wide at the base tapering upward 8 m for a top width of 2 m. Beyond this wall, a 6.13 m wide moat with a depth of 4.62 m was spanned by 13.86 m long stone bridges. The wall was later expanded to 12–16 m at base and 12 m high. The moat was expanded to 8 m wide and 3 m deep. The expansion of the wall was likely a solution to flooding from

8096-514: Was made heir apparent on 17 June 47 BC. Wang's father was created the Marquess of Yangping, a title later inherited by Empress Wang's brother Wang Feng (王鳳), who would later play a large role in government. Emperor Yuan was a relatively non-womanizing emperor, but he did have two favorite concubines in addition to Empress Wang— Consort Fu (傅昭儀) and Consort Feng Yuan (馮昭儀), each of whom bore him one son. Empress Wang apparently tried to maintain

8188-506: Was necessary to secure his rule by creating a spectacle of power. In 195 BC, his son, Emperor Hui of Han began the construction of the walls of Chang'an and finished them in September 191 BC. The grid north of the palaces was built at this time with a 2° difference in alignment to the grid of the palaces. The city remained quite static after this expansion. Emperor Wu began a third phase of construction which peaked on 100 BC with

8280-413: Was paralyzed and unable to act. Grand Empress Dowager Wang summoned Wang Mang to the palace as well and transferred the command of the imperial guard and the big and small government affairs from Dong to Wang Mang. Dong, fearful of what was going to happen next, killed himself. Wang Mang immediately moved to remove all obstacles to power, but at the same time maintaining an appearance of faithfulness to

8372-648: Was the collective name for nine high officials in the imperial government of the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), who each headed one of the Nine Courts and were subordinates to the Three Councillors of State . The term "Nine Ministers" could also refer to the nine high-ranking officials in the Ming dynasty , namely, the respective functional heads of the Six Ministries , the Censorate ,

8464-476: Was useless. Circa 12, Wang Mang destroyed Emperor Yuan's temple and built another more magnificent one, intended for Grand Empress Dowager Wang after her death. When she found out that her husband's temple had been destroyed, she was greatly saddened and cursed Wang Mang. From this period onwards, she was more than ever dissatisfied with Wang Mang and refused his invitations to dine with him and his parties, and refused to accept whenever he came to visit. She died in

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