Emperor Chong of Han
Encyclopedia
| Han Chongdi (漢沖帝) | |
|---|---|
| Family name Chinese name Personal names in Chinese culture follow a number of conventions different from those of personal names in Western cultures. Most noticeably, a Chinese name is written with the family name first and the given name next, therefore "John-Paul Smith" as a Chinese name would be "Smith John-Paul"... : |
Liu Liu 劉 is a common Chinese family name. The transliteration Liu can represent several different surnames written in different Chinese characters:*劉 / 刘, pinyin: Liú... (劉; liú) |
| Given name Chinese name Personal names in Chinese culture follow a number of conventions different from those of personal names in Western cultures. Most noticeably, a Chinese name is written with the family name first and the given name next, therefore "John-Paul Smith" as a Chinese name would be "Smith John-Paul"... : |
Bing (炳, bǐng) |
| Posthumous name Posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary name given to royalty, nobles, and sometimes others, in East Asia after the person's death, and is used almost exclusively instead of one's personal name or other official titles during his life... : |
Xiaochong (孝沖, xiào chōng) literary meaning: "filial and young-ruling" |
| Posthumous name Posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary name given to royalty, nobles, and sometimes others, in East Asia after the person's death, and is used almost exclusively instead of one's personal name or other official titles during his life... : |
Chong (沖, chōng) "young-ruling" |
Emperor Chong of Han, ch.
Chinese character
Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...
漢冲帝, py
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
. hàn chōng dì, wg
Wade-Giles
Wade–Giles , sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a romanization system for the Mandarin Chinese language. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Wade during the mid-19th century , and was given completed form with Herbert Giles' Chinese–English dictionary of 1892.Wade–Giles was the most...
. Han Ch'ung-ti, (143–145) was an emperor
Emperor of China
The Emperor of China refers to any sovereign of Imperial China reigning between the founding of Qin Dynasty of China, united by the King of Qin in 221 BCE, and the fall of Yuan Shikai's Empire of China in 1916. When referred to as the Son of Heaven , a title that predates the Qin unification, the...
of the Chinese Han Dynasty
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
and the eighth emperor of the Eastern Han period.
Emperor Chong was the only son of Emperor Shun
Emperor Shun of Han
Emperor Shun of Han, trad. ch. 漢順帝;, sim. ch. 漢顺帝, py. hàn shùn dì, wg. Han Shun-ti, was an emperor of the Chinese Han Dynasty and the seventh emperor of the Eastern Han period...
. He ascended the throne at the age of one and reigned less than six months. During his reign, Empress Dowager Liang
Empress Liang Na
Empress Liang Na , formally Empress Shunlie , was an empress during the Han Dynasty. Her husband was Emperor Shun of Han. She later served as regent for his son Emperor Chong, and the two subsequent emperors from collateral lines, Emperor Zhi and Emperor Huan...
and her brother Liang Ji
Liang Ji
Liang Ji , courtesy name Bozhuo , was a politician and military commander of Han Dynasty China. He dominated government in the 150s together with his sister, Empress Liang Na. After his sister's death, Liang Ji was overthrown in a coup d'etat by Emperor Huan, with the support of the eunuch...
presided over all government affairs. While the empress dowager herself appeared to be open-minded and honest, she overly trusted her corrupt brother, and this led to corruptions and as a result the peasants suffered greatly.
Emperor Chong died in 145. He was less than three years old.
Family background
Then-Prince Bing was born to Emperor ShunEmperor Shun of Han
Emperor Shun of Han, trad. ch. 漢順帝;, sim. ch. 漢顺帝, py. hàn shùn dì, wg. Han Shun-ti, was an emperor of the Chinese Han Dynasty and the seventh emperor of the Eastern Han period...
and his concubine Consort Yu
Consort Yu
Consort Yu , personal name Yu Miaoyi, also known as "Yu the Beautiful" , was a concubine of Xiang Yu.-Biography:Consort Yu's birth date was unknown and there are two accounts of her origin...
in 143. (Virtually nothing is known about his mother, other than that she entered the palace when she was 12 (but it is not known what year that was), and that she was also the mother of Prince Bing's sister Princess Sheng.) He was Emperor Shun's only son.
In 144, Emperor Shun, apparently already ill, created Prince Bing crown prince
Crown Prince
A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....
. Less than four months later, Emperor Shun died, and Crown Prince Bing, at the age of one, ascended the throne as Emperor Chong.
Brief reign
As Emperor Chong was only a toddler, Emperor Shun's wife Empress Dowager LiangEmpress Liang Na
Empress Liang Na , formally Empress Shunlie , was an empress during the Han Dynasty. Her husband was Emperor Shun of Han. She later served as regent for his son Emperor Chong, and the two subsequent emperors from collateral lines, Emperor Zhi and Emperor Huan...
served as regent. She apparently was fairly diligent and open-minded in her duties, but her major fault was in trusting her corrupt and violent brother Liang Ji
Liang Ji
Liang Ji , courtesy name Bozhuo , was a politician and military commander of Han Dynasty China. He dominated government in the 150s together with his sister, Empress Liang Na. After his sister's death, Liang Ji was overthrown in a coup d'etat by Emperor Huan, with the support of the eunuch...
(梁冀), who was the most powerful official in the administration. (While Emperor Shun was still alive, Liang Ji was already the most powerful official, but the near-absolute power that he wielded became even more evident after Emperor Shun's death.) When the young and capable official Huangfu Gui (皇甫規) submitted a report that, in circumspect language, suggested that Liang Ji and his brother Liang Buyi (梁不疑) be humble and live more thriftly, Liang removed Huangfu from his post and tried several times to falsely accuse him of capital crimes.
During Emperor Chong's reign, agrarian revolts, which were already a problem late in Emperor Shun's reign, became more serious—and even the tomb of Emperor Shun was dug up by bandits.
Early in 145, Emperor Chong died. Empress Dowager Liang was initially going to keep Emperor Chong's death a secret until she would decide on who the successor would be, but she listened to the key official Li Gu (李固) and decided to properly and publicly announce Emperor Chong's death immediately. She summoned Emperor Chong's third cousins Liu Suan (劉蒜), the Prince of Qinghe, and Liu Zuan (劉纘), the son of Liu Hong (劉鴻), Prince Xiao of Bohai, to the capital, and considered the two of them. Liu Suan was apparently an adult (although history did not record his age) and was described as solemn and proper, and the officials largely favored him. However, Liang Ji wanted a younger emperor so that he could remain in absolute control longer, and he persuaded Empress Dowager Liang to make the seven-year-old Prince Zuan as emperor (as Emperor Zhi
Emperor Zhi of Han
Emperor Zhi of Han was an emperor of the Chinese Han Dynasty. He was a great-great-grandson of Emperor Zhang. His reign was dominated by Liang Ji, the brother of Empress Dowager Liang, who eventually poisoned the young emperor....
).
Emperor Chong, having died in young childhood, was buried in his father's tomb complex in order to save costs.
Long after Emperor Chong's death, in 175, Emperor Ling
Emperor Ling of Han
Emperor Ling of Han, trad. ch. 漢靈帝;, sim. ch. 汉灵帝, py. hàn líng dì, wg. Han Ling-ti, was an emperor of the Chinese Han Dynasty. He was a great-great-grandson of Emperor Zhang. The Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out during Emperor Ling's reign.Emperor Ling's reign saw yet another repetition of...
bestowed on Emperor Chong's mother Consort Yu a more elevated imperial consort title (貴人, Guiren) than her original title (美人, Meiren) in recognition of her status as an emperor's mother.
Personal information
- Father
- Emperor Shun of HanEmperor Shun of HanEmperor Shun of Han, trad. ch. 漢順帝;, sim. ch. 漢顺帝, py. hàn shùn dì, wg. Han Shun-ti, was an emperor of the Chinese Han Dynasty and the seventh emperor of the Eastern Han period...
- Emperor Shun of Han
- Mother
- Consort YuConsort YuConsort Yu , personal name Yu Miaoyi, also known as "Yu the Beautiful" , was a concubine of Xiang Yu.-Biography:Consort Yu's birth date was unknown and there are two accounts of her origin...
- Consort Yu