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

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

Ancient Korea

Ancient Vietnam

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. 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. .
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. Encyclopedia: Murray . Lorraine. etal. Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. 6 May 2023. Jia Sidao. britannica.com.