垂簾听政

Mandarin

simpl. 垂簾听政
trad. 垂簾聽政

Verb

垂簾听政 (simplified, Pinyin chuílián tìngzhèng, traditional 垂簾聽政)

  1. (archaic) to handle matters of state while sitting behind a curtain

Usage notes

  • A practice which allowed an empress or empress dowager to preside at court, without actually being seen by her subjects (which was forbidden). This would usually be done by the mother of a child emperor.

References

Last modified on 6 June 2012, at 21:15