Consort kin explained
C: | 外戚 |
P: | wàiqī |
Y: | ngoih chīk |
Hangul: | 외척 |
Rr: | waecheog |
Hiragana: | がいせき |
Romaji: | gaiseki |
Vie: | ngoại thích |
The consort kin were the kin or a group of people related to an empress dowager or a consort of a monarch or a warlord in the Sinosphere. The leading figure of the clan was either a (usually male) sibling, cousin, or parent of the empress dowager or consort.
Consort kins can be seen as a manifestation of nepotism in Sinospheric imperial politics. While some were competent, only relying on their female relatives for their initial audiences with the emperor and then proving their worth at their positions (e.g. Wei Qing and Huo Qubing), many turned out to be corrupt and incompetent (e.g. Yang Guozhong). Corrupt and incompetent consort kins have been linked to the downward turn of fortunes for many dynasties.
Historical examples
China
Zhou dynasty
Han dynasty
- Lü Clan – relatives of the Empress Lü Zhi, consort of Emperor Gaozu of Han[2]
- Huo Guang – a younger paternal half-brother of Huo Qubing, whose granddaughter became the empress of Emperor Zhao of Han, and daughter became an empress of Emperor Xuan of Han. He played an extremely important political role in the eras of Emperor Zhao and Emperor Xuan, sometimes overshadowing the power of the emperors.
- Shangguan Jie – Paternal grandfather of Emperor Zhao's wife (Huo Guang was the maternal grandfather). He was involved in a power struggle with Huo Guang, and killed in 80 after being accused of plotting a rebellion.
- Wang Mang – nephew of Empress Dowager Wang, cousin of Emperor Cheng of Han and dynastic usurper.[3]
- Ma Yuan – father of Empress Ma, consort of Emperor Ming of Han, a major general of Emperor Guangwu of Han who led the expedition to Jiaozhi (today's northern Vietnam). However, Ma Yuan had passed away before Emperor Ming ascended the throne.
- Dou Xian – brother of Empress Dowager Dou and brother-in-law of Emperor Zhang of Han.
- Liang Ji – brother of Empress Dowager Liang and Empress Liang, deposed two emperors and later killed in a coup d'etat plotted by eunuchs against him.
- Dou Wu – father of Empress Dowager Dou Miao and killed in his abortive coup d'etat against eunuchs.
- He Jin – brother of Empress Dowager He and killed after his plot against eunuchs was exposed
- Dong Cheng – father of Consort Dong of Emperor Xian of Han and known for his abortive coup d'etat with Liu Bei against Cao Cao.
- Cao Cao — father of Empress Cao Jie, consort of Emperor Xian.
Three Kingdoms
Jin dynasty (266–420)
Northern and Southern dynasties
Tang dynasty
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms
Song dynasty
Yuan dynasty
Qing dynasty
Ancient Japan
Asuka period
Heian period
- Fujiwara clan — consort kin in the reigns of emperors Kanmu, Saga, Montoku, Seiwa, Murakami, Reizei, En'yū, Ichijō, Sanjō, Go-Ichijō, Go-Suzaku, and Go-Reizei
- Taira clan — consort kin in the reigns of emperors Takakura and Antoku
Ancient Korea
Ancient Vietnam
Further reading
- Book: Bennett Peterson
, Barbara
. Notable Women of China: Shang Dynasty to the Early Twentieth Century. M.E. Sharpe, Inc.. 2000. 0-7656-0504-X.
Notes and References
- Yuri . Pines. Yuri Pines . Chen Minzhen (陳民鎮). 1–27. Where is King Ping? The History and Historiography of the Zhou Dynasty's Eastward Relocation . Asia Major. 2018. 31. 1. Academica Sinica. 26571325. 2022-06-15. .
- Hinsch . Bret. The Criticism of Powerful Women by Western Han Dynasty Portent Experts. 2006. Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient. 49 . 1 . 96–121. Brill. 10.1163/156852006776207251. 25165130.
- Book: Bielenstein
, Hans
. Hans Bielenstein. 1986. Wang Mang, the Restoration of the Han Dynasty, and Later Han. The Cambridge History of China. Volume I: the Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 – 220. 223–290. Denis Twitchett. Michael Loewe. Michael Loewe. Cambridge University Press . 978-0-521-24327-8.
- Book: Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms. zh:三國志注. Chen Shou . Chen Shou. Pei Songzhi . Pei Songzhi. 1977 . 429. Dingwen Printing. Taipei. . 38: 許麋孫簡伊秦傳. 969–970.
- Book: Twitchett
, Denis . 1979. Hsüan-tsung (reign 712–56). Denis Twitchett. Volume 3, Sui and T'ang China, 589–906, Part 1. The Cambridge History of China . 333–463. Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CHOL9780521214469.008. 978-0521214469.
- Encyclopedia: Murray . Lorraine. etal. Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. 6 May 2023. Jia Sidao. britannica.com.