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Wikipedia / Consort kin

The consort kin or outer kins () were the kin or a group of people related to a consort or mother of a ruler in the Sinosphere. The leading figure of the faction was either a (usually male) sibling, cousin, or parent.

While consort kins can be seen as a manifestation of nepotism in Sinospheric court politics, it is a moot point in a system where most positions were inherited via male primogeniture. The majority of the criticism lobbied against consort kins comes from the Confucian gentry class, who were often their political rival. In certain periods of Chinese history (such as the reign of Emperor Wu of Jin), consort kins were empowered by emperors in order to create political balance or to garner support for policies or actions unpopular among the Confucian elites. In other cases, emperors relied on their consort kins to hold onto power at the beginning of their reigns, because they lacked the political network a more established ruler may have had.

The perception of their outsized role in dynastic decline may be due to a bias in official historical texts, mostly written by Confucian scholars. They considered the political involvement of consort kins (and eunuchs) a disruption of the proper order, while downplaying their own negative contribution. For example, Fan Ye's Book of the Later Han focuses primarily on court corruption and eunuchs as a major factor in the fall of the Eastern Han, leaving out the social and political stagnation caused by the Confucian gentry class.

China

Zhou dynastyZhou dynasty

Han dynastyHan dynasty

Three KingdomsThree Kingdoms

  • Mi Fang, a brother of Lady Mi (Mi Furen) served under Liu Bei, the future Emperor Zhaolie of Shu Han. His betrayal of Liu Bei partially led to its loss of Jing Province and the death of general Guan Yu. However, in this case, Lady Mi likely died several decades before Liu Bei proclaimed himself emperor. Mi Fang also defected from Liu Bei's army about a year before he became emperor.

  • Mi Zhu, another brother of Lady Mi, also served under Liu Bei and (briefly) Shu Han.

  • Wu Yi was a general of Shu Han. He was the brother of Empress Wu of Shu Han.

  • Cao Pi deposed Emperor Xian of Han and declared himself emperor of Cao Wei. Two of Emperor Xian's daughters became consorts of Cao Pi, although it is unclear which one of them was emperor at the time this occurred. Cao Pi was himself the half-brother of Emperor Xian's consort Empress Cao.

  • Lady Xie's brother Xie Cheng and some of her other relatives held positions in the government of Eastern Wu, although Lady Xie died long before her husband Sun Quan became emperor. Some of Lady Xu's relatives were also officials but Lady Xu herself was both a blood relative and a concubine of Sun Quan.

  • Eastern Wu official Bu Zhi was a relative of Empress Bu and in-law of Sun Quan.

Jin dynasty (266–420)Jin dynasty

Sixteen KingdomsSixteen Kingdoms

Northern and Southern dynastiesNorthern and Southern dynasties

Tang dynastyTang dynasty

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms periodFive Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period

Song dynastySong dynasty

Yuan dynastyYuan dynasty

Qing dynastyQing dynasty

Japan

Asuka periodAsuka period

Soga clan — consort kin during the reigns of Empress Suiko and Emperor Sushun

Heian periodHeian period

Fujiwara clan — consort kin during the reigns of emperors Kanmu, Saga, Montoku, Seiwa, Murakami, Reizei, En'yū, Ichijō, Sanjō, Go-Ichijō, Go-Suzaku, and Go-Reizei

Taira clan — consort kin during the reigns of emperors Takakura and Antoku

Korea

JoseonJoseon

Vietnam

References

Further reading