Wanli Emperor

(noun)

The 13th emperor of the Ming dynasty of China; his reign of forty-eight years (1572–1620) was the longest of the Ming dynasty, and it witnessed the steady decline of the dynasty.

Related Terms

Examples of Wanli Emperor in the following topics:

  • Fall of the Ming Dynasty

    • During the last years of the Wanli Emperor's reign and the reigns of his two successors, an economic crisis developed that was centered around a sudden widespread lack of the empire's chief medium of exchange: silver.
    • The last Ming emperor, the Chongzhen Emperor, hanged himself on a tree in the imperial garden outside the Forbidden City.
    • On June 6, the Manchus and Wu entered the capital and proclaimed the young Shunzhi Emperor as Emperor of China.
    • The Kangxi Emperor ascended the throne in 1661, and in 1662 his regents launched the Great Clearance to defeat the resistance of Ming loyalists in South China.
    • Contributing further to the chaos was the peasant rebellion in Beijing in 1644 and a series of weak emperors.

  • "Emperor of the French"

  • The Five Emperors

    • One of them—Huangdi, or the Yellow Emperor—is sometimes said to be the ancestor of all Chinese people.
    • Emperor Ku ruled from 2412 BCE to 2343 BCE.
    • Emperor Yao reigned from approximately 2317 BCE to 2234 BCE.
    • Emperor Shun ruled from 2233 BCE to 2205 BCE.
    • The Yellow Emperor as depicted in a tomb from the mid second century AD.

  • The Mythical Period

    • It encompassed the legends of Pangu, and the rule of the Three Sovereigns, and the Five Emperors.
    • The Three Sovereigns and the Five Emperors, a series of legendary sage emperors and heroes, helped create man.
    • The Five Emperors began with Huangdi, or the Yellow Emperor, whose reign is believed to be from 2698-2599 BCE.
    • Little is known about Emperor Ku's reign, believed to be from 2412-2343 BCE.
    • Emperor Yao, whose reign was from 2317-2234 BCE, was credited with being a role model in dignity and diligence to future emperors, and was the inventor of the game "weiqi" (also known as "Go").

  • The Nerva-Antonine Dynasty

    • As such, the second through sixth Nerva-Antonine emperors are also called Adoptive Emperors.
    • It was common for patrician families to adopt, and Roman emperors had adopted heirs in the past: The Emperor Augustus had adopted Tiberius and the Emperor Claudius had adopted Nero.
    • On the same day, Nerva was declared emperor by the Roman Senate.
    • Trajan was Roman emperor from 98 CE until his death in 117 CE.
    • Hadrian was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138 CE.

  • The Eastern Han Period

    • A new Han emperor, Emperor Guangwu, took control and ruled from Luoyang, in eastern China; thus began the Eastern Han period, which lasted from 25-220 CE.
    • Under Emperor Guangwu, the empire was strengthened considerably.
    • Emperor Guangwu was succeeded by Emperor Ming, followed by Emperor Zhang.
    • Taxes were reduced, Confucian ideals were encouraged, and the emperors appointed able administrators.
    • After Cao Cao's death, his son Cao Pi forced Emperor Xian to give up his throne to him.

  • Rise of the Tang Dynasty

    • He had prestige and military experience, and was a first cousin of Emperor Yang of Sui.
    • In the winter of 617, Li Yuan occupied Chang'an, relegated Emperor Yang to the position of Taishang Huang or retired emperor, and acted as regent to the puppet child-emperor, Emperor Gong of Sui.
    • On the news of Emperor Yang's murder by General Yuwen Huaji on June 18, 618, Li Yuan declared himself the emperor of a new dynasty, the Tang.
    • This was finally ended when Princess Taiping's coup failed in 712 (she later hanged herself in 713) and Emperor Ruizong abdicated to Emperor Xuanzong.
    • Portrait painting of Emperor Yang of Sui, the last emperor of the Sui dynasty, commissioned in 643 by Taizong, painted by Yan Liben (600–673).

  • The Last Julio-Claudian Emperors

    • Nero reigned as Roman Emperor from 54 to 68 CE and was the last emperor in the Julio-Claudian dynasty.
    • When Claudius died in 54, Nero was established as the new emperor.
    • He had been emperor for little more than three months.
    • Vitellius was recognized as emperor by the Senate.
    • Vespasian remained emperor for the rest of his natural life.

  • Sculpture during the Decline of the Roman Empire

    • The Dominate Period, when warring generals controlled Rome, was a time marked by insecurity, anxiety, and a rapid succession of emperors.
    • Emperor Caracalla was assassinated while campaigning against the Parthians in 217 CE.
    • The first 26 emperors of this period were generals who either proclaimed themselves or were officially acknowledged as the emperor.
    • This places emphasis on his bulk and reminds the viewer of the emperor's power and the stability he hoped to create.
    • The Crisis of the Third Century continued after the reign of the Soldier Emperors as the title of emperor was auctioned off to the highest bidder by the Praetorian Guard and various men, not always generals, from around the empire seized power for brief periods of time.

  • The Coronation of 800 CE

    • Charlemagne reached the height of his power in 800 when he was crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day at Old St.
    • Charlemagne's coronation as emperor, though intended to represent the continuation of the unbroken line of emperors from Augustus to Constantine VI, had the effect of setting up two separate (and often opposing) empires and two separate claims to imperial authority.
    • For centuries to come, the emperors of both West and East would make competing claims of sovereignty over the whole.
    • For the pope, then, there was "no living Emperor at the that time."
    • The title was revived when Otto I was crowned emperor in 962, fashioning himself as the successor of Charlemagne.