Mother or widow of an emperor in the Chinese cultural sphere
For the 1975 Hong Kong film, see The Empress Dowager.
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Empress dowager (also dowager empress or empress mother) (Chinese and Japanese: 皇太后; pinyin: huángtàihòu; rōmaji: Kōtaigō; Korean: 황태후 (皇太后); romaja: Hwang Tae Hu; Vietnamese: Hoàng Thái Hậu (皇太后)) is the English language translation of the title given to the mother or widow of a Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese emperor in the Chinese cultural sphere.
The title was also given occasionally to another woman of the same generation, while a woman from the previous generation was sometimes given the title of grand empress dowager (Chinese and Japanese: 太皇太后; pinyin: tàihúangtàihòu; rōmaji: Taikōtaigō; Korean: 태황태후 (太皇太后); romaja: Tae Hwang Tae Hu; Vietnamese: Thái Hoàng Thái Hậu (太皇太后)). An empress dowager wielded absolute power over the harem and imperial family and sometimes even for important issues that were necessary, the emperor or officials went to empress dowager to consult. Empress Dowager's position was second after the emperor, but she was ahead of him in respect, because the emperor lowered his head in front of her to show his respect and stood in front of her with respect and politeness, even was precise in the way he spoke and faced her. Numerous empress dowagers held regency during the reign of underage emperors. Many of the most prominent empress dowagers also extended their control for long periods after the emperor was old enough to govern. This was a source of political turmoil according to the traditional view of Chinese history.
The title dowager empress was given to the wife of a deceased emperor of Russia or Holy Roman emperor.
EmpressDowager Cixi [tsʰɹ̩̌.ɕì] (29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908), was a Manchu noblewoman of the Yehe Nara clan who effectively controlled the Chinese...
1908, after which she was honoured as EmpressDowager Longyu. She was posthumously honoured with the title Empress Xiaodingjing. She became regent during...
She was honoured as EmpressDowager Zhaosheng during the reign of her son, Fulin, the Shunzhi Emperor, and as Grand EmpressDowager Zhaosheng during the...
(17 June 2000). "EmpressDowager Nagako; Widow of Japan's Hirohito". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 3 March 2023. "Japan's DowagerEmpress Dead at 97". CBS...
Grand empressdowager (also grand dowagerempress or grand empress mother) (Chinese and Japanese: 太皇太后; pinyin: tàihuángtàihòu; rōmaji: taikōtaigō; Korean:...
empress consort, through her husband Emperor Gaozong and then as an empressdowager, through her sons Emperors Zhongzong and Ruizong, from 660 to 690,...
honoured as EmpressDowager Chongqing during the reign of her son and posthumously honoured as empress, although she never held the rank of empress consort...
Empressdowager is the title given to the mother or widow of a Chinese, Japanese, Korean or Vietnamese emperor. A notable example is Chinese Empress Dowager...
EmpressDowager Bo (薄太后),personal name lost into history, was an imperial concubine of Emperor Gaozu of Han (Liu Bang). She was also known as Consort...
of EmpressDowager Shengliecishou (Chinese: 圣烈慈寿皇太后). Empress Sun died of illness on 26 September 1462, and was given the posthumous title Empress Xiaogong...
honoured as EmpressDowager Kangci during the reign of her step-son, Yizhu, the Xianfeng Emperor. She was the only Qing empressdowager who was neither...
dominated by his aunt EmpressDowager Cixi. Guangxu initiated the radical Hundred Days' Reform but was abruptly stopped when the empressdowager launched a coup...
as his mother EmpressDowager Renshou was also a member of the Ula Nara clan. Six months after ascending the throne, the EmpressDowager organizes a selection...
EmpressDowager is a 1975 Hong Kong historical film directed by Li Han-hsiang and produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio, starring Lisa Lu as Empress Dowager...
honoured as EmpressDowager Gongci during the reign of her step-son, Mianning, the Daoguang Emperor. She was the longest-serving empress consort in Qing...
known as EmpressDowager Bian or Grand EmpressDowager Bian, formally known as Empress Wuxuan, was an empressdowager and later grand empressdowager of the...
honoured as EmpressDowager Renshou during the reign of her son and posthumously honoured as empress, although she never held the rank of empress consort...
EmpressDowager Dong (fl.156 - 7 July 189), personal name unknown, formally known as Empress Xiaoren, was an empressdowager of the Eastern Han dynasty...
(eldest son), Empress Nagako (daughter-in-law) and EmpressDowager Sadako in May 1950 State funeral of Empress Teimei, 22 June 1951 Empress Teimei's mausoleum...
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