A Study On The Empress Dowager At The Helm In Han Dynasties

• Main Authors: Mei-ling Chen, 陳美伶
• Other Authors: Hui-Chen Chang
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/70552995423896310368

碩士 === 國立臺南大學 === 國語文學系碩士班 === 98 === Although “Tai-hou Lin-Chao (meaning empress dowager holding court audience)” was first seen at the Warring States’ Period, the terminology, “Cheng-Zhi (meaning empress dowager came into imperial power)”, was established at the era of Empress LU. Because Lin-Chao and Cheng-Zhi by empress dowagers were frequently seen, until Eastern Han, the system was gradually institutionalized. In Han Dynasties when empress dowagers held the audience and came into imperial power, basically the empress dowagers had the same style and power with the emperors. However, as a matter of fact in Han Dynasties empress dowagers were just protecting the king’s position; they were not throne seizer. Therefore, at that time empress dowager’s power was still restricted to a certain extent. In order to re-evaluate the historical fact of “Tai-hou Lin-Chao” by setting aside the “gender thought”, this article took Empress LU, Empress Xiao-Yuan, Empress Zhang-de-dou and Empress Xi-Deng, Empress An-Si-Yan, Empress Shun-Lie-Liang, Empress Huan-Si-Dou, and Empress Ling-Si-He as research objects and discussed the following topics: (1) To investigate the times and background in Han Dynasties and study how empress dowagers can hold court audience and come into imperial power under such circumstance; (2) To elaborate how those empress dowagers contributed to develop Han’s society and to last Imperial LIU’s regime; (3) To discuss the accompanying phenomenon of “Tai-hou Lin-Chao” and explain that such phenomenon can’t be of empress dowager’s fault; and (4) To generalize influences that ” Tai-hou Lin-Chao” in Han Dynasties had brought to later generations and also to point out the contradictories. From a complete representation of “Tai-hou Lin-Chao” in a full view, based on the spirit of history’s seeking truth from facts, this study used historical books recorded political achievements by empress dowagers in Han Dynasties and researcher’s defense for empress dowagers in Han Dynasties to refute traditional historians’ myth in gender view and unfair accusation against female authority, and thereupon to approve the “Lin-Chao” contributions by empress dowagers in Han Dynasties.