Xin Dynasty
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
History of China | ||||||
3 Sovereigns & 5 Emperors | ||||||
Xia Dynasty | ||||||
Shang Dynasty | ||||||
Zhou | ||||||
Spring & Autumn | Eastern Zhou | |||||
Warring States | ||||||
Qin Dynasty | ||||||
Western Han | Han | |||||
Xin | ||||||
Republic of China (on Taiwan) | ||||||
The Xin Dynasty (Chinese: 新朝; pinyin: Xīn Cháo; literally "New Dynasty"; 8-23) was a "dynasty" (contrary to the usual meaning of a dynasty, it had only one emperor). It followed the Western Han Dynasty and preceded the Eastern Han Dynasty.
The sole emperor of the Xin Dynasty, Wang Mang (王莽), was the nephew of Grand Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun, and he became powerful after the death of her step-grandson, Emperor Ai in 1 BC. After several years of cultivating a personality cult, he finally took over as emperor in 8 AD. However, while he was a creative scholar and politician, he was an incompetent ruler, and his capital Chang'an was sieged in 23 AD by peasant rebels. He died in the siege.
Personal name | Period of reign | Era names (年號) and their according range of years |
---|---|---|
Wang Mang | 9-23 |
Shijianguo (始建國 Shǐ Jìan Guǒ, "Start to establish a nation") 9- 13 |
[edit] References
- Book of Han, vol. 69, parts 1, 2, 3.
- Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 36, 37, 38, 39.