Empress Dowager Deng is known in history as an intelligent and capable regent. She was the second Empress of Emperor He, and she ruled as regent for sixteen years. She fostered Confucian learning, and she set up an imperial Confucian school for both men and women. She instructed palace women to be educated in Confucian [read more]
(Not to be confused with Empress Dowager Dou Yifang) Empress Dowager Dou has been known in history as one of China’s most villainous empresses. Chroniclers emphasized how all of her evil actions were pardoned by her merciful adopted son.[1] Historian Keith McMahon even labelled her as “The Conniving Empress.”[2] She killed off her rivals and promoted [read more]
Grand Empress Dowager Shangguan was one of China’s youngest empresses. She became an empress at six years old. She was made Empress Dowager and Grand Empress Dowager at the age of fifteen. Yet, historians have praised her for being a successful interim ruler for the periods between the reigns of Emperor Zhao and Emperor Xuan. [read more]
Grand Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun has been known in history for causing the fall of the Western Han dynasty. However, unlike many last empresses of a Chinese dynasty, Grand Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun has been portrayed sympathetically by historians. She was known as a long-suffering empress who tried her best to manage a declining dynasty. [read more]
Grand Empress Dou Yifang was one of the most powerful women in the Han dynasty. In my previous article, I chronicled Dou Yifang’s rags-to-riches story of a peasant girl who rose to empress dowager. In this article, I will discuss Grand Empress Dou Yifang’s powerful influence in the Han court. Grand Empress Dou Yifang ruled [read more]
Grand Empress Dowager Dou Yifang’s rags-to-riches story has captured the popular imaginations of China for many centuries. She is portrayed by Sally Wen in the Chinese television series, The Virtuous Queen of Han. Her life has also been dramatized in the hit Chinese drama, Schemes of a Beauty, where she is portrayed by the famous Ruby Lin. [read more]
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