In ancient China, in the era of monarchy, female rulers such as empresses, empresses or empresses held the highest power of the state and exercised the authority of the emperor on their behalf, which was called the "pro-dynasty system".
According to the traditional Confucian view, a female concubine can only stay in the inner palace, but cannot go to the outer court, that is, the so-called "male outside, female inside". Therefore, if the empress dowager wants to grasp the highest power of the state, of course, she must "linchao", that is, "handle state affairs in the dynasty".
Beginning with Qin Shi Huang, the emperor's orders were specifically called "'system'" and ''zhao''. Empress dowagers performed the duties of emperor in their ruling descendants, and their orders naturally rose to the rank of emperor, so it was called "weighing system", that is, "exercising the power of the emperor".
The two are collectively called ''Pro-Dynasty System''. The term first appeared in Ban Gu's Book of Han and Gao Hou Ji in the Main History: "'Emperor Hui, the crown prince became emperor, young, the empress dowager came to the court to claim the system, and pardoned the world. ''
However, although women came to the court and pro-adjudicated political affairs, when issuing orders, they did not directly use Yi Zhi, but still issued them in the name of the young emperor and in the form of books. The intention of this is twofold. First: Even if the emperor is young, he still cannot change the fact that he reigns. Therefore, the empress dowager and so on can only represent the "will of the young lord" and perform functions and powers on his behalf, but cannot replace him. Second: In order to avoid the future when the emperor becomes an adult and pro-government, the empress dowager and others will interfere in government affairs with their will. Therefore, he could only issue edicts in the name of the emperor to put an end to the abuses of the dualization of imperial power in the future.
The principle of women "pro-dynasty", but in the name of the young emperor ,'" the principle of 'title'' was still observed by Empress Dowager Cixi until the end of the Qing Dynasty.
In ancient times, there were many empresses of the Lin Dynasty, famous ones are Empress Lü of the Western Han Dynasty, Empress Deng of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Empress Wenming of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Empress Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty, Empress Chenghuang of the Liao Dynasty, and Empress Dowager Cixi of the Qing Dynasty.
Lü Yan was the empress of Liu Bang, the ancestor of Han Gaozu, who was honored as empress dowager after Gaozu's death, and was the first recorded empress and empress dowager in Chinese history. At the same time, Lü Yan was also the first woman to take the throne after Qin Shi Huang unified China and implemented the imperial system.
She was included by Sima Qian in the Benji that records the affairs of the emperor, and later Ban Guzuo was still in use in the Book of Han. At the same time, she also opened a precedent for the dictatorship of foreign relatives in the Han Dynasty.
During his reign, Lü Yan implemented a policy of resting with the people, abolished the law of holding books, and ordered that the people be encouraged to collect and donate books, and restore the old classics. She laid a good foundation for the later reign of Wenjing. Sima Qian's evaluation of her in the "History of Empress Lü's Benji" was that "the government does not leave the house, the world is in a state of tranquility; punishment is rare, sinners are Xi; civil affairs are harvested, clothing and food are nourished", giving Lü Hou great affirmation for his administration. However, the historical tradition is not very good for her, after all, she usurped the imperial power as a woman, sealed Zhulu, and triggered a rebellion among foreign relatives.
Empress Deng Sui of the Eastern Han Dynasty was a famous female politician of the Eastern Han Dynasty and the empress of the fourth emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Han Hedi.
Deng Sui was famous, and her grandfather was Deng Yu, the founding minister of the Eastern Han Dynasty and the head of the Twenty-Eight Generals of Yuntai, who had presented to the Guangwu Emperor Liu Xiujin.
Deng Sui entered the palace at the age of 15 and was crowned empress at the age of 22. In the first year of the Eastern Han Dynasty (106), the 27-year-old Emperor He of Han died suddenly. Faced with the situation of "the main and young country is in danger", the 25-year-old Deng Sui was in charge of the dynasty. During her reign, she helped the Eastern Han Dynasty to survive the difficult situation of the "Ten Years of Flood and Drought" internally, and resolutely sent troops to suppress the Western Qiang Rebellion externally, which turned the crisis-ridden Eastern Han Dynasty into a safe place. Hence her named ''
Rise and destroy the country, and continue to die
''。
But on the other hand, Deng Sui is also suspected of dictatorship. His abolition of Chang Li was young, and the Lin Dynasty claimed to have been in power for sixteen years and was unwilling to return to the Liu clan, and there was much criticism in the DPRK and China.
However, Empress Deng paid attention to restraining her mother's family. The fourth painting in the Qing Dynasty Jiao Bingzhen's "Story Map of the Empress of the Dynasties" is the "Diagram of the Clan of the Jieyu Dynasty" about Deng Sui. Due to Deng Sui's restrained education, The children of the Deng clan were more law-abiding, so that the Eastern Han Dynasty avoided the scourge of foreign relatives interfering in politics.
Empress Feng of the Northern Wei Dynasty was a famous female politician and reformer in ancient times
。 In the sixth year of the Northern Wei Dynasty (465), Emperor Xianwen ascended the throne, and she was honored as empress dowager. At a time of political turmoil, Empress Feng came to the court to listen to the government, and made a decision to kill the powerful minister Yihun and return to the government according to the ancestral system to Emperor Xianwen.
In the sixth year of Yanxing (476), Emperor Xianwen collapsed violently, and Empress Feng supported her grandson Tuoba Hong to take the throne, becoming the empress dowager, and the second time she was in charge of the dynasty. She carefully taught and supported Emperor Xiaowen for fourteen years, became the actual presiding officer of the comprehensive reform in the middle of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and had an important impact on Emperor Xiaowen's reform.
Cixi, also known as Empress Xiaoqinxian, of the Yehenara clan, was a concubine of the Xianfeng Emperor and the biological mother of the Tongzhi Emperor. Cixi was the de facto ruler of the late Qing Dynasty, ruling for forty-seven years in the late Qing Dynasty
。 After the death of the Xianfeng Emperor in the eleventh year of Xianfeng (1861), Cixi and Empress Xiaozhenxian were honored together, and they were called Empress Dowager Of The Virgin, with the title of Cixi.
Later, Cixi joined forces with Empress Dowager Ci'an (i.e., Empress Xiaozhenxian) and Prince Gong Yixuan to launch the Xin You coup d'état, commanding the eight ministers to seize power, forming a pattern of "the second palace hanging curtains, the prince deliberating on the government". The Qing government temporarily entered a period of calm, known in history as Tongzhi Zhongxing.
In the twelfth year of Tongzhi (1873), the empress dowager of the two palaces returned to the government. In the first year of Guangxu (1875), the Tongzhi Emperor died, and his nephew Ai Xinjueluo Zaixiang succeeded the Xianfeng Grand Unification, with the era name Guangxu, and the two palaces once again bowed to the government. Six years later, empress dowager Ci'an died, and Cixi launched the "Jiashen Yishu" to depose Prince Gong in the tenth year of Guangxu (1884) and began to take sole power.
In the fifteenth year of Guangxu (1889), Cixi returned to Guangxu and retired to the Summer Palace. However, nine years later, Cixi launched a coup d'état, imprisoned the Guangxu Emperor, beheaded the six gentlemen of Wushu, and re-disciplined the government. In the thirty-fourth year of Guangxu (1908), the Guangxu Emperor died, and Cixi chose the three-year-old Puyi as the new emperor, and on the same day he was honored as the empress dowager. The next day, at 17:00, Cixi died in the Yiluan Hall and was buried in the Dongling Tomb of Bodhidharma.
As a product of imperial alienation, the Empress Linchao has become a thing of the past with the change of the times. However, those who are in charge of the dynasty are some of them who are in trouble with the dynasty, and some of them save the country and rule the world. Although these women are born in the harem, their stories are worth savoring from generation to generation Chinese
。