Reign
In fall of 333, Shi Le died, and Shi Hu immediately seized power in a coup. In fear, Shi Hong offered to yield the throne to Shi Hu, but Shi Hu refused and forced Shi Hong to assume the throne and make him prime minister, and Shi Hong did so. Shi Hu killed Shi Le's advisors Cheng Xia (程遐), Shi Hong's uncle, and Xu Guang (徐光). Shi Hu further forced Shi Hong to create him the Prince of Wei, with intent to echo the powers that Cao Cao had while being Emperor Xian of Han's regent.
Shi Le's wife Empress Dowager Liu decided to take a chance. She conspired with Shi Le's adopted son Shi Kan (石堪) the Prince of Pengcheng to start a rebellion against Shi Hu, but Shi Kan was defeated and executed cruelly by burning. Empress Dowager Liu, after her role was discovered, was also executed. Shi Hong's mother Consort Cheng assumed the empress dowager title. Shi Hu also subsequently defeated the efforts by Shi Sheng (石生) the Prince of Hedong, Shi Lang (石朗), and Guo Quan (郭權) to overthrow him. In 334, unable to stand Shi Hu's persecution, Shi Hong personally visited Shi Hu and offered him the throne and the imperial seal, and Shi Hu refused—making it clear that it would be his initiative, not Shi Hong's, if he wanted the throne. Soon thereafter, claiming that Shi Hong had violated the customs on mourning, he deposed Shi Hong and demoted Shi Hong to the title of the Prince of Haiyang. Shi Hong was soon executed with his mother Empress Dowager Cheng and his brothers Shi Hong (石宏, note different character) the Prince of Qin and Shi Hui (石恢) the Prince of Nanyang. Shi Le's descendants were, by this point, exterminated by Shi Hu.
Read more about this topic: Shi Hong
Famous quotes containing the word reign:
“The 1990s, after the reign of terror of academic vandalism, will be a decade of restoration: restoration of meaning, value, beauty, pleasure, and emotion to art and restoration of art to its audience.”
—Camille Paglia (b. 1947)
“Without poets, without artists, men would soon weary of nature’s monotony. The sublime idea men have of the universe would collapse with dizzying speed. The order which we find in nature, and which is only an effect of art, would at once vanish. Everything would break up in chaos. There would be no seasons, no civilization, no thought, no humanity; even life would give way, and the impotent void would reign everywhere.”
—Guillaume Apollinaire (1880–1918)
“Fatalism, whose solving word in all crises of behavior is “All striving is vain,” will never reign supreme, for the impulse to take life strivingly is indestructible in the race. Moral creeds which speak to that impulse will be widely successful in spite of inconsistency, vagueness, and shadowy determination of expectancy. Man needs a rule for his will, and will invent one if one be not given him.”
—William James (1842–1910)