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64-430: (Redirected from Empress Dowager Dou ) Empress Dou may refer to 3 Han dynasty empresses, who all reigned as empresses dowager: Empress Dou (Wen) (died 135 BC), wife of Emperor Wen of Han and mother of Emperor Jing of Han Empress Zhangde (died 97), wife of Emperor of Zhang of Han Empress Dou Miao (died 172), third wife of Emperor Huan of Han Topics referred to by

128-476: A mulberry tree to gather its leaves, and he fell off it. Empress Dou summoned him and questioned him further to try to ascertain if he was in fact her brother. He then related details about their separation: Empress Dou immediately held him and cried, and all of her ladies in waiting and eunuchs, seeing the touching scene, also cried. She then gave her brothers much wealth and built them mansions in Chang'an. At

192-489: 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

256-469: 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

320-442: A minor offence. When Emperor Jing died in 141 BC, Empress Dowager Dou became grand empress dowager over his son and her grandson, Emperor Wu . Early in his reign, in 140 BC, he would make Confucianism the official state ideology, replacing Taoism . Grand Empress Dowager Dou would try to resist this, however, as she despised Confucians. In 139 BC, when in response, Confucian officials Zhao Wan (趙綰) and Wang Zang (王臧) advised

384-661: 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

448-553: 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

512-426: A side road to Chang'an, to the house of his sister Liu Piao. (When the imperial train could not locate Prince Wu, both Emperor Jing and Empress Dowager Dou was greatly distressed, and she accused him of killing Prince Wu.) Prince Wu then appeared before the imperial palace, half-naked, and bearing a cutting board on his back, in a manner of a criminal ready to be slaughtered. Both Emperor Jing and Empress Dowager Dou

576-626: 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

640-470: A very long time. On one occasion, Emperor Hui's mother Empress Dowager Lü wanted to give some of the ladies in waiting to the imperial princes as gifts. Lady Dou was one of the ladies chosen. Because her home was part of the Principality of Zhao (modern central and southern Hebei ), she requested that the eunuch in charge send her to Zhao. He agreed—but then forgot about it, and had her sent to

704-518: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Empress Dou (Wen) Empress Dou was born into a family in Qinghe Commandery (清河). She had two brothers, Dou Zhangjun (竇長君) and Dou Guangguo (竇廣國) or Shaojun (少君, probably courtesy name). When she was young, she was summoned into the palace to be a lady in waiting at the court of Emperor Hui . She would not see her brothers again for

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768-668: 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

832-654: The Rebellion of the Seven States in 154 BC—is unknown. During that rebellion, however, her heart was wrenched when the Principality of Liang was under heavy attack by the rebelling princes. She wanted Zhou Yafu , the commander of the imperial forces, to relieve Liang as soon as possible, but Zhou correctly concluded that the better strategy was to bypass Liang and cut off the rebels' supply lines first. Zhou's strategy would lead to victory, but would also earn him

896-460: 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

960-598: 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,

1024-561: 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

1088-505: 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

1152-698: 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

1216-399: 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

1280-732: 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,

1344-549: 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 ,

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1408-703: 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

1472-507: 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

1536-495: The Principality of Dai (modern northern Shanxi and north-western Hebei ), then considered a desolate region. When she found out, she cried and did not want to go, but had no choice. That mistake by the eunuch turned out to be a fortunate one for Lady Dou, however. She became a favourite of Liu Heng , the Prince of Dai, and she bore him a daughter Liu Piao, and two sons, Liu Qi and Liu Wu . After Prince Heng became emperor in

1600-428: 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

1664-523: The aftermaths of the Lü Clan Disturbance , then-Consort Dou, as the mother of his oldest son Prince Qi, was created empress in 179 BC. Prince Qi was created crown prince . One of the first things that she carried out was a search for her brothers. Finding Zhangjun was not difficult. Finding Guangguo turned out to be difficult—and Guangguo had to find her himself, in one of the touching stories of Chinese antiquity. Shortly after Empress Dou

1728-475: 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

1792-516: 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

1856-431: 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

1920-487: 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

1984-425: 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

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2048-405: 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

2112-402: 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

2176-494: 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

2240-514: 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

2304-484: 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

2368-571: The emperor to no longer consult the grand empress dowager, she had them investigated and tried for corruption, and they committed suicide. Early in Emperor Wu's reign, then, even though there was an official shift in ideology, the policies remained largely constant to the reigns of Emperors Wen and Jing. This would change after Grand Empress Dowager Dou's death in 135 BC. She was buried with her husband Emperor Wen. In her will, she left her possessions to her daughter, Princess Liu Piao. Empress Dou

2432-492: The enmity of Prince Wu and Empress Dowager Dou. She was probably pleased when Zhou, then under arrest under false charges of treason , committed suicide in 143 BC. Empress Dowager Dou's concerns for Prince Wu would be tested again in 148 BC. Prince Wu, whose contribution in repelling the rebels during the Rebellion of the Seven States had earned him the privilege of using many imperial styles, wanted to be crown prince. This

2496-575: 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

2560-425: 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

2624-419: 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

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2688-437: 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

2752-472: 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

2816-450: 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

2880-467: 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

2944-565: 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

3008-540: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Empress Dou . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Empress_Dou&oldid=1131084474 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Title and name disambiguation pages Lists of empresses by surname Lists of empresses dowager by surname Hidden categories: Short description

3072-485: 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,

3136-507: The suggestion of the officials who had overthrown the Lü clans and were fearful of a repeat, the Dou brothers were given companions of humility and virtue to try to influence them positively, and they became humble and virtuous themselves. Either early in her husband's reign as emperor, or while he was still the Prince of Dai, Empress Dou became a strict adherent to Taoist philosophy, as encapsulated in

3200-491: 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

3264-469: 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

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3328-475: The writing of Lao Zi and the legendary writings attributed to the Yellow Emperor —the idea of favouring inaction over action, of non-interference with others and nature, and of thriftiness in living. She ordered that her children (including Prince Qi), grandchildren, and the members of the Dou clan all study these writings. Obviously, she could not order her husband Emperor Wen to do so, but Emperor Wen

3392-420: 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

3456-755: 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

3520-520: Was extremely angry and sent many investigators to Liang to track down the conspirators, whom Prince Wu eventually surrendered. However, Emperor Jing was greatly displeased. Prince Wu, in order to show contrition to regain his brother's favor, thought of a plan and carried it out. On his next official visit to the capital, when he got to the Hangu Pass , he eluded his train as well as the imperial train that had been sent to welcome him, and instead took

3584-446: Was favored by Empress Dowager Dou as well, but opposed by officials, who believed such a move would bring instability to dynastic succession. When Prince Wu sought permission to build a highway directly from his capital Suiyang (睢陽, in modern Shangqiu , Henan ) to Chang'an, the same officials, fearing that the highway might be used for military purposes if Liang rebelled, opposed it. Prince Wu had these officials assassinated. Emperor Jing

3648-404: Was greatly touched, and Emperor Jing pardoned him on the spot. However, he would no longer consider him a potential heir. When Prince Wu died in 144 BC, Empress Dowager Dou greatly mourned him, and could not be consoled easily until Emperor Jing created all five of Prince Wu's sons princes themselves. When Empress Dowager Dou's grandson Liu Rong , the Prince of Linjiang (and former crown prince),

3712-423: Was imprisoned in 148 BC for intruding onto the grounds of Emperor Wen's temple when building walls to his palace, it is unknown whether Empress Dowager Dou tried to intercede on his behalf. However, after he was ultimately forced to commit suicide, she was greatly saddened, and she eventually ordered, against Emperor Jing's wishes, that the official who forced Prince Rong to commit suicide, Zhi Du (郅都), be executed on

3776-409: 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

3840-506: 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

3904-538: Was nevertheless heavily influenced by the Taoist ideas during his reign. After Emperor Wen died in 157 BC, Crown Prince Qi succeeded to the throne as Emperor Jing , and Empress Dou became empress dowager . He became heavily influenced by his mother both in terms of governing philosophy and politics, and he largely continued his father's policies. He also created her brother Guangguo and her nephew Dou Pengzu (竇彭祖, Zhangjun's son) marquesses. A major concern for Empress Dou

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3968-583: Was one of the earliest politically dominating female figures in Chinese history. Unlike her stepmother-in-law Empress Dowager Lü , despite her shortcomings in nepotistic behaviour, she is largely viewed positively, for her impact on her husband and son and the consequent benefit to the people. 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 )

4032-480: Was summoned as a lady in waiting, when he was only four or five years old, Guangguo himself was kidnapped and sold into slavery . He was sold from household to household for more than 10 times. Eventually, he was sold to a household in the capital Chang'an . There, he heard the news that the new empress was from Qinghe and named Dou. He therefore wrote a letter to the imperial palace, identifying himself, and relating an incident when they were young where they climbed

4096-499: Was the welfare of her young son, Liu Wu, who had by that point been created the Prince of Liang, and he, at her suggestion, seriously considered making him crown prince over one of his own sons, although he ultimately did not do so. In any case, however, the Principality of Liang , because of imperial favours and its own location as prime farmland, became exceedingly wealthy. Whether Empress Dowager Dou favoured Emperor Jing's policies of reducing principality sizes—which eventually led to

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