Archive for category Notable Figures
Greatest Navigator Zheng He
Posted by ancient chinese culture in Notable Figures on December 10, 2010
Zheng He, also called Ma Sanbao, was born born in Kunming City of the province of Yunan in 1371 AD. He was the greatest navigator in ancient Chinese history.
In his life time, he successively led his fleet travelled more than 50,000 kilometers and visited more than 30 countries. His first voyage was from 1405 to 1406. During that time, he visited Champa (Vietnam), Java (Indonesia), Sumatra (Lhokseumawe), Lamuri (Banda Aceh), Calicut, Polembang (Palembang) and Malacca. Read the rest of this entry »
Cao Cao
Posted by ancient chinese culture in Notable Figures on September 1, 2010
Cao Cao (155～220), also called the Emperor of Weiwu, is a famous statesman, strategist, poet during the period of Eastern Han Dynasty (25~220). In his lifetime, he unified the northern China and also contributed to the foundation of the kingdom of Wei (220-265).
He showed an aptitude for study when he was very young. He was well versed in both literature and martial arts and is almost omnipotent. Praised as the most successful ruler at that time, he played an important role in unifying the North China, resuming the economical production, stabilizing the social order, the development of agriculture, etc.
Cao Cao is not only a brilliant ruler, but also a great poet. Based on the content, his poetry can be divided into three categories: the disturbances during the period of the late Han Dynasty (202BC~220), his wishes of unifying China and his stubborn enterprising spirit. One of his most famous poems is Tortoise Lives Long.
Cao Cao is always a controversial historic character, which makes him more sincere. However, no one could deny that he is an outstanding statesman, strategist and poet.
Qin Shi Huang
Posted by ancient chinese culture in Notable Figures on July 13, 2010
Qin Shi Huang, (259BC ~ 210BC)，named Ying Zheng, was the first emperor of a unified China in Chinese history.
In 246 BC, at the age of 13, Ying Zheng ascended the throne of the State of Qin. During the period of 230BC to 221BC, Qin conquered all the other six states and unified the entire China. The Qin Dynasty (221BC ~ 206BC) was born, and had been the first centralized feudal monarchy country. Ying Zheng proclaimed himself Qin Shi Huang, which means the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty.
Qin Shi Huang is one of the greatest rulers in Chinese history. After the unification, he standardized the written script, the currency, weights and establishing a unified system of measures and weights. He also carried out a series of major economic and political reforms, such as building a massive national road system.
He did a lot to consolidate the regime and keep the stability of the society. He ordered to continue rebuilding the Great Wall to ward off invasion from the ethnic minority. In order to prohibit all heterodox thinking, he even gave the orders of the burning of booking and burying of scholars from the states other than the State of Qin.
Since the Qin Dynasty was built, Qin Shi Huang had been dreamed to be the emperor even after his death. So, the famous life-sized Terracotta Army had been built to guard his tomb. It is also known as the biggest military museums under the ground.
Shangguan Wan’er – First Female Premier in Chinese History
Posted by ancient chinese culture in Notable Figures on June 1, 2010
Shangguan Wan’er was one of the most famous female in ancient China. She was the granddaughter of Shangguan Yi, a famous poet in the Tang Dynasty and the premier to Emperor Gaozong of Tang. She was also a writer, poet, and female politician of the Tang Dynasty, as well as an imperial concubine of Emperor Zhongzong.
She became the personal secretary of Wu Zetian, the first and the only female monarch in Chinese history, when she was 14. Later, she became the de facto Premier of the female monarch. For several decades, the destiny of the Tang Empire was in the hands of the two extraordinary women.
However, failed in the politics struggle, in 710 AD., she was killed by Li Longji, a grandson of Wu Zetian, in a palace coup. Her colorful life came to a tragic end at the age of 46.
Nevertheless, no one would deny her talents and after her death, Li ordered her poems to be compiled into a 20-volume anthology after her death.
Wu Zetian- the Only Female Emperor in Chinese History
Posted by ancient chinese culture in Notable Figures on July 23, 2009
She was the concubine of two Emperors; she was the mother of the next two successive Emperors; she was once a nun. However, she was also the only female emperor in Chinese history. Her name was Wu Zetian, also known as Tian Hou or Empress Consort Wu in China.
She was born in 625 in a noble family. At the age of 14, she was selected as a concubine of Emperor Taizong. She didn’t become a favorite of the Emperor. However, she managed to catch the eye of Prince Li Zhi who later became Emperor Gaozong. After Taizong’s death, she was expected to spend the rest of life as a nun as other childless concubines. However, the new Emperor Gaozong soon had her back to the palace.
She was quite successful in the struggle in the palace and became the Empress of Gaozong. After Emperor Gaozong’s death, she grabbed the power from his son, the new Emperor Ruizong, and in 690, she had the Emperor yield the throne to her and established Zhou Dynasty.
As an emperor, she was quite successful. The measures she took greatly improved agriculture production. A large number of talented people, regardless of their family status, had been appointed as officials. However, she was also condemned for her bad behaviors, such as killing her sons and baby daughters to achieve political aims.
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