Tomb of Emperor Yuan of Han & Empress Wang Zhengjun 1st C. BCE

August 22, 2023

Tomb of Emperor Yuan of Han & Empress Wang Zhengjun 1st C. BCE - 1st C. CE

The first fall of the Han Dynasty: From the years 1 BCE - 1 CE Wang Mang established himself as the Grand Marshal and assumed heavy influence of the Han Dynasty's Court. Initially brought in by his aunt, Grand Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun, Wang Mang was essentially given this position by her after the death of the Han Emperor Liu Xin. He began altering the statuses of other political officials, such as demoting Liu Xin's wife (the widowed Empress Fu) from an Empress to a commoner. He employed her as a tomb guard and she committed suicide the same day. Wang Mang also began positioning himself so that he could take authority away from his aunt, knowing she always intended for a member of the Han clan to receive the throne. He then had the young Han Emperor, Liu Jizi, poisoned in the year 5 CE. Liu Jizi was 14 years old at the time of his death. Wang Mang had total control of the Han Court by the year 4 CE, and had confiscated the imperial seal from his aunt and usurped the Han throne by the year 8 CE. The Xin Dynasty was officially established in 9 CE and Wang Mang ordered all references to the Kingdom of Han be annulled.

Despite her being from the Wang family and her role in aiding in the fall of the Han Dynasty to the Xin Dynasty, Wang Zhengjun was loyal to the Han clan she had married into. She was largely tricked and manipulated by her nephew, Wang Mang. By the time she realized what his true goals were she was in her 80's and had lost too much influence to stop him. Despite her support for Han, when she died of old age Wang Mang buried her with greatest honors in the tomb mound Weiling 渭陵, together with her husband, Han Emperor Yuan.