Xin dynasty

Xin dynasty
新朝
9–23
Xin dynasty
Capital Chang'an
Government Monarchy
Emperor  
 9-23
Wang Mang
History  
 Wang Mang usurpation
10 January[1] 9
 Chang'an captured by Lülin
5 October[2] 23
Currency Chinese coin, gold, silver, tortoise shell, seashell
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Western Han dynasty
Eastern Han dynasty
Today part of  China
 Vietnam
 North Korea

The Xin dynasty (/ʃɪn/; Chinese: 新朝; pinyin: Xīn Cháo; Wade–Giles: Hsin Ch'ao; literally: "new dynasty") was a Chinese dynasty (termed so despite having only one emperor) which lasted from 9 to 23 AD.[3] It interrupted the Han dynasty, dividing it into the periods of the Western Han and the Eastern Han.

The sole emperor of the Xin dynasty, Wang Mang (chinese 王莽) was the nephew of Grand Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun. After the death of her step-grandson Emperor Ai in 1 BC, Wang Mang rose to power. After several years of cultivating a personality cult, he finally proclaimed himself emperor in 9 AD. However, while a creative scholar and politician, he was an incompetent ruler, and it aroused the discontent of many people. After a while, the country became poor, and the peasants, merchants, and descendants of the former imperial clan rebelled. Despite the fact that Wang Mang had twice the number of soldiers and had a sturdy city wall surrounding his capital of Chang'an, the rebels used an ingenious invention to get over the city walls into the city and defeated his army. He died soon after the siege, and the Han dynasty was restored by descendants of the former imperial clan.

Personal name Portrait Period of reign Era names and dates
Wang Mang 9–23 AD

Shijianguo (始建國; Shǐ Jìan Guó; "Start to establish a nation") 9–13 AD
Tianfeng (天鳳; Tīan Fèng; "Heavenly Feng") 14–19 AD
Dihuang (地皇; Dì Huáng; "Earthly Emperor") 20–23 AD

Notes

  1. Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 36.
  2. Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 39.
  3. Perkins, Dorothy (2013-11-19). Encyclopedia of China: History and Culture. Routledge. ISBN 9781135935627.

References

  • Book of Han, vol. 99, parts 1, 2, 3.
  • Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 36, 37, 38, 39.
  • Yap, Joseph P. Wars With the Xiongnu - A translation from Zizhi tongjian Chapter 1317 - pp 404601 ISBN 978-1-4490-0605-1 (sc)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.