"Listening to politics behind the curtain" began during the Warring States Period.
The first person in China to listen to politics behind the curtain was the Queen Mother Xuan, the mother of King Zhao of Qin during the Warring States Period. In 306 BC, the 17-year-old King Zhao of Qin succeeded to the throne. His mother, Queen Mother Xuan, began a 41-year regency career in the name of her son's young age, which marked the beginning of the harem's participation in political affairs. ?The Empress Dowager Xuan has always been the de facto supreme ruler of the Qin State for more than 40 years, creating a situation in which the Qin State only knew that there was a Queen Mother, Ranghou, Gaoling, Huayang, and Jingyang, but no king. King Zhao could not tolerate his mother's long-term exclusive power in the court. Finally, he followed Fan Ju's suggestion, took back all his power, expelled the "Four Nobles" outside the pass, and appointed Fan Ju as prime minister. This completely ended the long-term situation of Empress Dowager Xuan's influence on Qin's political affairs.
The second person to listen to politics behind the curtain was the Queen Mother Zhao of Zhao State during the Warring States Period. In 266 BC, the king of Zhao, King Huiwen, died, and his son, King Xiaocheng, succeeded to the throne. Because he was too young, the Queen Mother ruled. The Empress Dowager Zhao is the famous Empress Zhao Wei. She once said in reply to the envoy of the State of Qi, "If you have no age, how can you have a people? If you have no people, how can you have a king." She is an extremely capable old lady. In our middle school Chinese textbooks Her famous article "Touching the Dragon and Talking about the Empress Dowager Zhao" is about her story.
The third one is Deng Sui, the empress of the Eastern Han Dynasty and the emperor, known as the Queen Mother Deng in history. In the first year of Yuanxing (105 years), Emperor He died at the age of 27. Queen Deng herself had no sons, but she knew that she had two sons born in the harem who were fostered among the people. One is older but frail and unable to succeed; the other is a newborn baby who has just turned 100 days old. She then established herself as the emperor, that is, Emperor Shang of the Han Dynasty, and respected Empress Deng as the empress dowager, who attended the court and listened to the government behind the curtain. In the first year of Yanping (AD 106), Emperor Shang died young, and Deng Suiding established Liu An, King of Qinghe, as Emperor An of Han Dynasty. He was less than 13 years old, and Empress Dowager Deng continued to serve as emperor. She died of illness in the second year of Yongning (AD 121) and listened to politics behind the curtain for 16 years.
The fourth place is Queen Mother Chu. As the empress dowager of a country, she accompanied five emperors in her life, came out behind the curtain to listen to politics three times, and played a different role each time: mother, aunt, cousin-in-law; she was appointed to the throne three times, and major events in the country were all based on the "Edict of the Empress Dowager" He was promulgated and implemented in the form of "order"; he came to the court three times to listen to the government, and three times he retired to return to the government. This is unique in Chinese history. Sima Dan succeeded to the throne at a young age, and Chu Suanzi was promoted to the empress dowager and came to power. ?In 357 AD, Empress Dowager Chu returned to power her son. In 361 AD, Sima Dan died of a sudden illness, and Sima Pi was made emperor, and the curtain fell again. In less than a year, Sima Pi "ascended to immortality" and left, making Sima Pi's younger brother Sima Yi the emperor. Sima Yi died in the West after only eight months in power, leaving his son Sima Yao to succeed him. Chu Suanzi came out for the third time.
The fifth place is Queen Lu. Lu Pheasant has been beautiful and intelligent since she was a child, and is known for her decisiveness and cruelty. In the early Han Dynasty, Liu Bang favored Qi Ji and had the idea of ??deposing Queen Lu and establishing a new queen. In order to keep her throne as queen, Queen Lu took the queen's seal into her hands and thought of various strategies. Empress Lu designed to trick Han Xin into the palace, had someone wrap him up in a cloth, and assassinate Han Xin with a bamboo stick. From then on, Empress Lu's position became even more unshakable. Empress Lu was in power for sixteen years. It is reported that when she came to power, there was a very prosperous South Vietnam Kingdom in today's Guangzhou. In order to restrict the development of South Vietnam, Empress Lu issued an order prohibiting the sale of ironware, horses and cattle to South Vietnam, in order to control the South Vietnam Kingdom. Implement an economic blockade. It was the Queen's Seal that Queen Lu used to issue orders at that time.
The sixth place is Queen Mother Xiao. Queen Mother Xiao, nicknamed Yanyan. She was the queen of Yelu Xian, Emperor Jingzong of Liao Dynasty. She was known as the "Queen Mother Chengtian" in history. She was a famous female politician and military strategist in the history of Liao Dynasty. In September of the fourth year of Qianheng, Liao Jingzong died, Liao Shengzong came to the throne, and Xiao Yanyan was honored as the empress dowager and regent. In June of the first year of Tonghe, Liao Shengzong led his ministers to confer the title of "Empress Dowager Chengtian" on Xiao Yanyan. As Empress Dowager Chengtian, Xiao Yanyan took charge of the military and state affairs, and thus began the famous "Regency of Empress Chengtian" period in the history of the Liao Dynasty.
The seventh place is Queen Mother Liu. Queen Xianmingsu, named Liu E, was the queen of Song Zhenzong Zhao Heng. She was the first queen mother to serve as regent in the Song Dynasty. Her achievements were illustrious and she was often called together with Empress Lu of the Han Dynasty and Empress Wu of the Tang Dynasty. History books said that "she had the talent of Lu Wu. There is no evil like Lu Wu." ?On February Jiayin of the first year of Qianxing (1022), the 54-year-old Song Zhenzong Zhao Heng died of illness in Yanqing Hall. The posthumous edict said: Prince Zhao Zhen ascended the throne, and Queen Liu became the empress dowager. The empress dowager would be punished by "taking power" for important military and state affairs. . The young emperor Zhao Zhen was only eleven years old at this time, so Liu E actually handled government affairs. ?After Ding Wei was demoted, Liu E began to listen to political decisions with Renzong Zhao Zhen and formally closed the curtain. ?
The eighth one is Queen Mother Ling?. In the late Northern Wei Dynasty, when Emperor Suzong and Xiaoming Emperor Yuanxu came to the throne, he was only 6 years old. His biological mother, the Queen Mother Ling, could only handle the affairs of the court and take charge of the imperial power. During the reign of Empress Dowager Ling, the Northern Wei government stepped up its exploitation of the people, which intensified social conflicts. The massive Six Towns Uprising and the Peasant Uprising led by Ge Rong broke out. Chief Er Zhurong of the Qihu tribe took the opportunity to attack Luoyang and killed Empress Dowager Ling. He established a young emperor and killed more than 2,000 princes and officials, which is known as the "Heyin Incident" in history. Soon, the Northern Wei Dynasty fell.
The ninth place is Wu Zetian. During the Tang Dynasty, the famous Empress Wu Zetian also practiced listening to politics behind the curtain before proclaiming herself emperor. In the first year of Linde (664), Wu Zetian executed Shangguan Yi. He began to listen to politics behind the curtain, moving from behind the scenes to the front desk. It is different from most people in history who listened to politics behind a curtain.
When Wu Zetian listened to politics behind the curtain, the person sitting in front was not the little emperor, but her husband, who was also called the Second Saint. ?From then on, whether the political situation was good or bad, the role of Queen Wu could no longer be ignored. Bureaucrats became accustomed to bowing to a woman, and finally watched with complicated emotions as this woman gradually reached the pinnacle of power.
The tenth place is Empress Dowager Cixi. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the behind-the-curtain system reached its heyday and formed a strict, systematic and complete political system. The Empress Dowager Cixi's ability to listen to politics behind the curtain is the most famous in history. She was also the last female leader in China's feudal society. She also directed a thrilling scene on the political stage at that time. Later, the "1898 Reform" failed, Guangxu was imprisoned, and the old Cixi came to rule for the third time. The successive leaders controlled the Qing Dynasty for 48 years. With the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the system of listening to government behind the curtain that had lasted for more than two thousand years came to an end.
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