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Biography of Wang Mang
Name: Wang Mang
Birth Date: 45 B.C.
Death Date: October 6, 23
Place of Birth: N/A
Nationality: Chinese
Gender: Male
Occupations: politician, emperor
Wang Mang
Wang Mang (45 BC-AD 23) was a Chinese statesman and emperor. An official under the former Han dynasty, he took the Han throne and founded his own Hsin dynasty. He attempted many economic and political reforms, all of which failed.Wang Mang owed his positions, first as an official of the Han dynasty and then as emperor of his own dynasty, to the fact that he was the nephew of the Empress (née Wang) of Emperor Yüan (reigned 48-33 B.C.). Because of her, the Wang family dominated the Han government for about a quarter century.Wang Mang, who became known for his diligence, studied Confucianism, particularly its ritual ceremonies. He treated family members and eminent government figures with the utmost respect. About 22 B.C. his uncle recommended him for official position, and as he moved upward through the ranks of officialdom, he became ever more humble in his …showed first 150 words…
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…showed last 150 words…again tried to cope with China's land problem, but Wang's bold attempts dramatize clearly the extent to which remedial measures were needed and the magnitude of aristocratic power. His manipulation of omens and portents led directly to a new body of Confucian literature, known as the Apocryphal Texts, which was to become the dominant trend within Confucianism for almost 2 centuries. But his commitment to the ritualistic and ceremonial aspects of Confucianism contributed to the growth of another trend within Confucianism which by about 200 supplanted the omenistic thought of the earlier period. Further Reading Wang Mang's life and activities are extensively treated in Pan Ku, The History of the Former Han Dynasty: A Critical Translation, with annotations by Homer H. Dubs (3 vols., 1938-1955). Pan, Ku, Wang Mang: a translation of the official account of his rise to power as given in the history of the former Han dynasty, Westport, Conn.: Hyperion Press, 1977.
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