Chinese Empresses
About the Collection
Xiang Li began working on this massive collection of Chinese Empresses in 2012, featuring the most recognized female leaders and politicians from Chinese history, dated as far as the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), ~2,000 years ago.
The entire collection is painted on silk by hand with watercolor.
The watercolor chosen by Li is often handmade from precious stones or professional-grade watercolor from Holbein. Most of these paintings are large very silk panels, averaging 35 W x 59 H and 35 W x 75 H inches.
Empresses of the Dynasties
There are over 120+ empresses in Chinese history. We organized them by dynasty (The term “dynasty” means a succession of rulers from the same family clan.)
Han Dynasty: 25-220
Modified and consolidated the foundation of the imperial order. Confucianism was established as orthodoxy and open civil service examinations were introduced. Han power reached Korea and Vietnam. Records of the Historian, which became the model for subsequent official histories, was completed.
Three Kingdom:
The Three Kingdoms period in China lasted from 220 to 280 AD. It was preceded by the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 AD-220 AD) and followed by the Western Jin Dynasty. The Three Kingdoms period was a time when China was divided into three dynastic states: Cao Wei, Shu Han, Eastern Wu
Western Jin: 266-316
There are two main divisions in the history of the dynasty. The Western Jin (266–316) was established as the successor to Cao Wei after Sima Yan usurped the throne from Cao Huan. The capital of the Western Jin was initially in Luoyang, though it later moved to Chang’an (modern Xi’an, Shaanxi province).
Eastern Jin: 317–420
The Eastern Jin dynasty remained in near-constant conflict with the northern states for most of its existence, and it launched several invasions of the north with the aim of recovering its lost territories.
Wei Dynasty: 386 and 581
The period between 386 and 581 A.D. in Chinese history is conventionally called the Northern and Southern Dynasties, when North China—under the control of the Tuoba clan of the Xianbei tribe (a proto-Mongol people)—was politically separated from, yet culturally connected with, the Chinese dynasties established in Jiankang (Nanjing).
Tang Dynasty: 618-906
A time of cosmopolitanism and cultural flowering occurred. This period was the height of Buddhist influence in China until its repression around 845. Active territorial expansion until defeated by the Arabs at Talas in 751.
Song (Sung) Dynasty: 960-1279
Northern Song (960-1127) and Southern Song (1127-1279). An era of significant economic and social changes: the monetization of the economy; growth in commerce and maritime trade; urban expansion and technological innovations. The examination system for bureaucratic recruitment of neo-Confucianism was to provide the intellectual underpinning for the political and social order of the late imperial period.
Yuan Dynasty: 1279-1368
Founded by the Mongols as part of their conquest of much of the world. Moved the capital, called “Dadu” (present-day Beijing), to the north. Dramas, such as the famous Story of the Western Wing, flourished.
Ming Dynasty: 1368-1644
The first Ming emperor, Hongwu, laid the basis of an authoritarian political culture. Despite early expansion, it was an inward-looking state with an emphasis on its agrarian base. Gradual burgeoning of the commercial sector; important changes in the economy and social relations in the latter part of the dynasty; also a vibrant literary scene as represented by publication of the novel Journey to the West.
Qing (Ch’ing) Dynasty: 1644-1912
A Manchu dynasty. Continued the economic developments of the late Ming, leading to prosperity but also complacency and a dramatic increase in population. The acclaimed novel Dream of the Red Chamber was written in this period. Strains on the polity were intensified by the rapid incorporation of substantial new territories. Its authoritarian structure was subsequently unable to meet the military and cultural challenge of an expansive West.
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