Emperor Yuan of Han

Emperor Yuan of Han was an of the Chinese Han Dynasty. He reigned from 48 BC to 33 BC. Emperor Yuan was remembered for the promotion of Confucianism as the official creed of Chinese government. He appointed Confucius adherents to important government posts. He was, in many ways, a kind and gentle man who cared for the people.

However, at the same time that he was solidifying Confucianism's position as the official ideology, the empire's condition slowly deteriorated due to his indecisiveness and inability to stop factional infighting between officials in his administration, and his trusting of certain corrupt officials.

Family background

When Emperor Yuan was born as Liu Shi in 75 BC, his parents and were commoners without titles. Bingyi was the great-grandson of , and his grandfather Liu Ju was Emperor Wu's crown prince, until Emperor Wu's paranoia forced him into a failed rebellion in 91 BC while Bingyi was still just an infant, in the aftermaths of which Prince Ju committed suicide and virtually his entire family was wiped out. Bingyi was spared because of his young age, but became a commoner and survived on the largess of others. One of whom was chief eunuch Zhang He, who had been an advisor for Prince Ju before his rebellion, and who was punished by being castrated.

Circa 76 BC, Zhang wanted to marry his granddaughter to Bingyi, but his brother Zhang Anshi , then an important official, opposed, fearing that it would bring trouble. Zhang, instead, invited one of his subordinate eunuchs , Xu Guanghan , to dinner, and persuaded him to marry his daughter Xu Pingjun to Liu Bingyi. When Xu's wife heard this, she became extremely angry and refused, but because Zhang was Xu's superior, Xu did not dare to renege on the promise, and Bingyi and Pingjun were married, in a ceremony entirely paid by Zhang . Zhang also paid the bride price. After marriage, Bingyi heavily depended on his wife's family for support.

Childhood and career as crown prince

Shi was only less than a year old when something highly unusual would happen to his father. Shi's great-granduncle, had died that year, and the regent Huo Guang, having been dissatisfied with his initial selection of Prince He of Changyi, deposed Prince He and offered the throne to the commoner Bingyi instead. Bingyi accepted, and took the throne as Emperor Xuan. Shi's mother Xu Pingjun was created empress.

This action would cost Empress Xu her life, however, and cost Prince Shi his mother. Huo Guang's wife, Xian , would not be denied her wish of making her daughter an empress. In 71 BC, Empress Xu was pregnant when Lady Xian came up with a plot. She bribed Empress Xu's female physician Chunyu Yan , under guise of giving Empress Xu medicine after she gave birth, to poison her. Chunyu did so, and Empress Xu died shortly after she gave birth. Her doctors were initially arrested to investigate whether they cared for the empress properly. Lady Xian, alarmed, informed Huo Guang what had actually happened, and Huo, not having the heart to turn in his wife, instead signed Chunyu's release.

In 70 BC, Emperor Xuan created Huo Chengjun empress. Accustomed to luxury living, her palace expenditures far exceeded the late Empress Xu. Her becoming empress would threaten Prince Shi's life, as in 67 BC, Emperor Xuan created the eight-year-old Prince Shi crown prince and created Empress Xu's father and Prince Shi's grandfather Xu Guanghan the Marquess of Ping'en -- an action that Huo Guang had opposed. Huo's wife Lady Xian was shocked and displeased, because if her daughter were to have a son later, that son could only be a prince and not the future emperor. She instructed her daughter to murder the crown prince. Allegedly, Empress Huo did make multiple attempts to do so, but failed each time. Around this time, the emperor also heard rumors that the Huos had murdered Empress Xu, which led him to begin stripping the Huos of actual power, while giving them impressive titles.

In 66 BC, after there had been increasing public rumors that the Huos had murdered Empress Xu, Lady Xian finally revealed to her son and grandnephews that she had, indeed, murdered Empress Xu. In fear of what the emperor might do if he had actual proof, Lady Xian, her son, her grandnephews, and her sons-in-law formed a conspiracy to depose the emperor. The conspiracy was discovered, and the entire Huo clan was executed by Emperor Xuan. For the time being, Empress Huo was deposed but not executed, but 12 years later she was exiled; in response, she committed suicide.

What Empress Huo tried to do influenced Emperor Xuan in his choice of his next wife. At that time, he favored Consorts Hua, Zhang, and Wei, each of whom bore him children. He almost settled on Consort Zhang as his new empress. However, he became hesitant, remembering how Empress Huo had tried to murder the crown prince. He therefore resolved to create an empress who was childless and kind. He decided on the gentle , and created her empress in 64 BC. Emperor Xuan put Prince Shi in her care, and she cared for him well.

Empress Wang would have a role in Crown Prince Shi's eventual choice of a wife. In the middle of the 50s BC, Consort Sima, the favorite consort of Prince Shi died from an illness. Prince Shi was grief-stricken and became ill and depressed himself. Emperor Xuan was concerned, so he had Empress Wang select the most beautiful of the young ladies in waiting and had them sent to Prince Shi. was one of the ladies in waiting chosen. She bore him his first-born son Liu Ao circa 51 BC. Prince Ao became Emperor Xuan's favorite grandson and often accompanied him.

During his years as crown prince, Prince Shi did not have a major role in government, given the forceful nature of his father's personality. He was taught the by a succession of Confucian scholars, during his pre-teen and teenage years. Prince Shi became and mild-mannered strict adherent to Confucian principles, unlike his father's effective use of both and Confucian principles in his governance. This would bring his father's ire on him. In 53 BC, once, when Emepror Xuan and Prince Shi were having dinner, he suggested that Emperor Xuan employ more Confucian officials in key positions. Emperor Xuan became extremely angry and commented that Confucian scholars were impractical and could not be given responsibilities, and further commented that Emperor Yuan would bring the downfall of the Liu imperial clan -- words that would turn out to be fairly prophetic. This would also bring his father to consider changing the succession plans, as he was also disappointed by Prince Shi's general lack of resolve. He considered creating Prince Shi's younger brother Liu Qin, the Prince of Huaiyang, crown prince instead, but could not bring himself to do so -- remembering how Prince Shi's mother Empress Xu was his first love and had been murdered by poisoning, and also how he depended on his father-in-law in his youth. Prince Shi's position therefore was not seriously threatened.

In 49 BC, Emperor Xuan fell deathly ill. Before his death, he commissioned his cousin-once-removed Shi Gao , Prince Shi's teacher Xiao Wangzhi , and Xiao's assistant Zhou Kan to serve as regents. After he died, Prince Shi ascended the throne as Emperor Yuan.

Reign as emperor

As emperor, Emperor Yuan immediately started a regimen of reducing governmental spending, with the objective of reducing the burdens of the people in mind. He also started a program for social assistance to provide stipends for the poor and new entrpreneurs. He also, contrary to his father's governing philosophy, heavily relied on Confucian scholars and put them into important governmental positions.

In 48 BC, Emperor Yuan created Consort Wang Zhengjun, the mother of his first born son Prince Ao, empress. In 47 BC, he created crown prince.

In 46 BC, alarmed at the high human and monetary cost of occupying Hainan and suppressing the frequent native rebellions, Emperor Yuan decreed that the two commanderies on the island be abandoned. Similarly, in 40 BC, alarmed at the high cost of maintaining imperial temples, he reduced the number of standing temples.

Factionalism

Quickly, in Emperor Yuan's administration, a factional schism developed -- a phenomenon that would plague his entire reign and cause officials to be concentrated on infighting rather than effective governance. One faction included mainly Confucian scholars -- his teachers Xiao and Zhou, aligned with an imperial clan member who was also a Confucian scholar, Liu Gengsheng , and imperial assistant Jin Chang . The other faction was his cousin-twice-removed Shi, imperial secretary Hong Gong and chief eunuch Shi Xian . The Confucian faction derived their power from the fact that Emperor Yuan trusted and respected their advice. The "court faction" derived their power from their physical closeness to the emperor and their key roles in processing reports and edicts for Emperor Yuan. Policy-wise, the Confucian faction advocated returning to the ancient policies of the early Zhou Dynasty, while the court faction advocated keeping the traditions of the Han Dynasty. In 47 BC, Hong and Shi used procedural traps to cause Zhou and Liu to be demoted to commoners and Xiao to be retired. Later that year, the court faction would further press Xiao into committing suicide -- by tricking Emperor Yuan into believing that it would be appropriate to have Xiao investigated for inducing his son to make a petition for him -- something considered inappropriate. Hong and Shi knew that with Xiao's temper, he would rather commit suicide than face an investigation, and that was what Xiao did. For now, the court faction had prevailed. In actions characteristic of his personality, Emperor Yuan rebuked Hong and Shi harshly for misleading him, and buried Xiao with great honor, but did not punish Hong and Shi. For now, the court faction had prevailed.

In 46 BC, Emperor Yuan summoned Zhou back to his administration and gave him a mid-level office, along with Zhou's student Zhang Meng . Despite the relatively low positions that Zhou and Zhang had, their advice was highly valued by Emperor Yuan. In 44 BC, he would also promote the highly-regarded Confucian scholar Gong Yu , who tried not to engage himself in factional politics, to the position of vice prime minister, and heeded many of his suggestions to further reduce governmental spending and to encourage the study of Confucianism.

In 43 BC, there were a number of unusual astronomical and meteorological signs that were considered signs of divine disapproval. Shi Xian and his allies, the Xu and Shi clans, alleged that this was sign of divine disapproval of Zhou and Zhang's policies. Zhou and Zhang were demoted to local posts. In 42 BC, he promoted another Confucian scholar, Kuang Heng , to be his key advisor, and Kuang, aware of the fate of the other Confucian scholars, entered into an alliance with Shi Xian as well to ensure his own safety and power.

In 40 BC, more unusual signs occurred, and Emperor Yuan asked the court faction to explain how they could continue to occur if, as they alleged, they were signs of divine disapproval of Zhou and Zhang. They could not, and so Emperor Yuan summoned Zhou and Zhang back to the capital to serve as advisors. However, this would not last long, as Zhou soon died of a stroke, and Shi Xian found an opportunity to falsely accuse Zhang of crimes and forced him to commit suicide.

Another Confucian scholar would try his luck at shaking the influence of Shi Xian, however, in 37 BC. That man was Jing Fang , who, in addition to studying Confucianism, was also an accomplished fortuneteller. Jing, who had become a trusted advisor of Emperor Yuan after Emperor Yuan greatly favored his proposed system for examining and promoting regional officials, accused Shi and Shi's assistant Wulu Chongzong to be corrupt and evil. Initially, Emperor Yuan believed him, but took no actions against Shi and Wulu. Shi and Wulu soon found out and fought back by accusing Jing of conspiring with Emperor Yuan's brother Liu Qin, the Prince of Huaiyang, and Prince Qin's uncle, and Jing was executed.

Victory over western Xiongnu and complete hegemony over central Asia

Around the same time, however, despite Emperor Yuan's general tendency for pacificism, a military confrontation with one branch of Xiongnu, which had by that time fractured into competing courts ruled by ''Chanyus'' Huhanye in the east and Zhizhi in the west. During Emperor Xuan's reign, Chanyu Huhanye had officially submitted to Han as a subject and received Han assistance. Chanyu Zhizhi, then the stronger of the two, tried to maintain a détente with Han by sending his son Juyulishou , but was not so willing to submit, and soon found himself outpowered by the Han-assisted Huhanye. In 49 BC, the last year of Emperor Xuan's reign, Chanyu Zhizhi headed northwest and conquered several Xiyu kingdoms, settling his capital at the old capital of one of those kingdoms, Jiankun . From there, he often attacked the Han ally Wusun, rendering Wusun heavily wounded from those attacks.

In 44 BC, Chanyu Zhizhi sent an ambassador to offer tributes to Han, but at the same time demanded that Han deliver his son Juyilishou back to him. Emperor Yuan commissioned a guard commander, Gu Ji , to escort Juyilishou. Initially, under suggestion by Gong and other key officials, who reasoned that Zhizhi had no real intention to submit and was far away, Emperor Yuan instructed Gu to escort Juyilishou only to the Han borders, and let him make the rest of the trek on his own. Gu reasoned that by escorting Juyilishou all the way to Jiankun, he might be able to persuade Zhizhi to submit, and that he was willing to risk his own life to do so. Emperor Yuan agreed, and Gu made the escort to Jiankun. Chanyu Zhizhi was not impressed, and had Gu executed. He then realized that he made a key mistake, and he entered into an alliance with Kangju to conquer Wusun, a traditional enemy of Kangju. They repeatedly dealt Wusun heavy losses for several years.

In 36 BC, two Han commanders -- Gan Yanshou and his lieutenant Chen Tang would take initiative and destroy Zhizhi as a threat, however. Zhizhi, after winning many victories over Wusun and other Xiyu kingdoms, had become exceedingly arrogant, and treated his ally, the king of Kangju, as a subject, and he even executed the daughter of the king of Kangju, who had been given to him as a wife as part of the alliance. He also forced the other kingdoms in the region, even including the powerful Dayuan, to pay him tribute.

Chen felt that Chanyu Zhizhi would eventually become a major threat and devised a plan to destroy him. Reasoning that Zhizhi was a powerful warrior but lacked the affection of the kingdoms that were subject to him, and also that his new capital had only recently been built and lacked strong defenses. His plan was to gain requisition of the colonization forces that Han had in Xiyu and Wusun forces to advance to Zhizhi's capital in order capture it. Gan agreed with his plan and wanted to request approval, but Chen feared that civilian officials would disapprove of the plan. Therefore, when Gan fell sick on one occasion, Chen forged imperial edicts and requisitioned the colonization forces as well as the forces of the kingdoms that submitted to Han authority. Once Gan recovered, he tried to reverse Chen's actions, but Chen warned him that it was too late to do so. They then sent out headed out on two routes -- one half taking a route through Dayuan and the other through Wusun. The forces rejoined when they entered Kangju. They then set a trap for Zhizhi, by pretending that they were running low on supplies -- to ward off the possibility that Zhizhi would flee. Zhizhi, taking the bait, stayed in his capital. The coalition forces soon arrived at his capital and sieged it, and Chanyu Zhizhi died in the battle.

Both happy and fearful , Chanyu Huhanye made a second official visit to the Han capital of Chang'an in 33 BC, and formally asked to become a "son-in-law of Han". In response, Emperor Yuan gave him five ladies in waiting as a reward, and one of them was the beautiful Wang Zhaojun. Impressed that Emperor Yuan gave him the most beautiful woman that he had ever seen, Huhanye offered to have his forces serve as the northern defense forces for Han -- a proposal that Emperor Yuan rejected as ill-advised -- but the relationship between Han and Xiongnu thereafter grew stronger and stronger.

Succession issues

Emperor Yuan was a relatively non-womanizing emperor, but he did have two favorite concubines in addition to Empress Wang -- Consort Fu and Consort Feng Yuan , each of whom bore him one son. Empress Wang's apparently tried to maintain a cordial relationship with both, and she was largely successful, at least as far as Consort Feng was concerned. However, a struggle between Empress Wang and Consort Fu for their sons' heir status would erupt.

As Crown Prince Ao grew older, Emperor Yuan became increasingly unhappy with his fitness as imperial heir and impressed with Consort Fu's son, . Several incidents led to this situation. One happened in 35 BC, when Emperor Yuan's youngest brother Prince Liu Jing of Zhongshan died, Emperor Yuan became angry when he felt that the teenage Crown Prince Ao was insufficiently grieving -- particularly because Princes Ao and Jing were of similar age and grew up together as playmates -- and showing insufficient respect to Prince Jing. Prince Ao's head of household Shi Dan , a relative of Emperor Yuan's grandmother and a senior official respected by Emperor Yuan, managed to convince Emperor Yuan that Crown Prince Ao was trying to stop Emperor Yuan himself from overgrieving, but the seed of dissatisfaction was sown.

As the princes further grew, several things further led to an endearment between Emperor Yuan and Prince Kang. They shared affection and skills in music -- particularly in the playing of drums. Prince Kang also showed high intelligence and diligence, while Crown Prince Ao was known for drinking and womanizing. When Emperor Yuan grew ill circa 35 BC -- an illness that he would not recover from -- Consort Fu and Prince Kang were often summoned to his sickbed to attend to him, while Empress Wang and Crown Prince Ao rarely were. In his illness, apparently encouraged by Consort Fu, Emperor Yuan reconsidered whether he should make Prince Kang his heir instead. Only the intercession of Shi Dan -- who risked his life by stepping onto the carpet of the imperial bed chamber, an act that only the empress was allowed to do, at the pain of death -- led Emperor Yuan to cease those thoughts. When Emperor Yuan died in 33 BC, Crown Prince Ao ascended the throne .

Era names

*''Chuyuan'' 48 BC-44 BC
*''Yongguang'' 43 BC-39 BC
*''Jianzhao'' 38 BC-34 BC
*''Jingning'' 33 BC

Personal information

* Father
** Emperor Xuan of Han
* Mother
** Empress Xu Pingjun
* Wife
** , mother of Emperor Cheng of Han and aunt of Wang Mang
* Major Concubines
** Consort Fu , mother of Prince Kang and grandmother of Emperor Ai of Han
** Consort Feng Yuan , mother of Prince Xing and grandmother of Emperor Ping of Han
* Children
** Crown Prince Liu Ao , later Emperor Cheng of Han
** Liu Kang , Prince of Jiyang , later Prince of Shanyang , later Prince Gong of Dingtao
** Liu Xing , Prince of Xindu , later Prince Xiao of Zhongshan

Emperor Cheng of Han

Emperor Cheng of Han was an of the Chinese Han Dynasty ruling from 33 BC until 7 BC.
Under Emperor Cheng, the Han dynasty continued its slide into disintegration while the Wang clan continued its slow grip on power and on governmental affairs as promoted by the previous emperor. Corruptions and greedy officials continue to plagued the government and as a result rebellions broke out throughout the country.
Emperor Cheng died after a reign of 26 years and was succeeded by his nephew.

Birth and career as Crown Prince

Emperor Cheng was born circa 51 BC to then-Crown Prince Liu Shi and one of his consorts, Consort Wang . He was Emperor Yuan's first born son.

In 47 BC, Emperor Yuan created Prince Ao, Empress Wang's son, Crown Prince.

Emperor Yuan was a relatively non-womanizing emperor, but he did have two favorite concubines in addition to Empress Wang -- Consort Fu and Consort Feng Yuan, each of whom bore him one son. Empress Wang's apparently tried to maintain a cordial relationship with both, and she was largely successful, at least as far as Consort Feng was concerned. However, a struggle between Empress Wang and Consort Fu for their sons' heir status would erupt.

As Crown Prince Ao grew older, Emperor Yuan became increasingly unhappy with his fitness as imperial heir and impressed with Consort Fu's son, . Several incidents led to this situation. One happened in 35 BC, when Emperor Yuan's youngest brother Prince Liu Jing of Zhongshan died, Emperor Yuan became angry when he felt that the teenage Crown Prince Ao was insufficiently grieving -- particularly because Princes Ao and Jing were of similar age and grew up together as playmates -- and showing insufficient respect to Prince Jing. Prince Ao's head of household Shi Dan , a relative of Emperor Yuan's grandmother and a senior official respected by Emperor Yuan, managed to convince Emperor Yuan that Crown Prince Ao was trying to stop Emperor Yuan himself from overgrieving, but the seed of dissatisfaction was sown.

As the princes further grew, several things further led to an endearment between Emperor Yuan and Prince Kang. They shared affection and skills in music -- particularly in the playing of drums. Prince Kang also showed high intelligence and diligence, while Crown Prince Ao was known for drinking and womanizing. When Emperor Yuan grew ill circa 35 BC -- an illness that he would not recover from -- Consort Fu and Prince Kang were often summoned to his sickbed to attend to him, while Empress Wang and Crown Prince Ao rarely were. In his illness, apparently encouraged by Consort Fu, Emperor Yuan reconsidered whether he should make Prince Kang his heir instead. Only the intercession of Shi Dan led Emperor Yuan to cease those thoughts. When Emperor Yuan died in 33 BC, Crown Prince Ao ascended the throne .

The aggrandization of power by the Wang clan

After the death of Emperor Yuan and the accession of Emperor Cheng, Empress Wang became empress dowager. Prince Kang, as was customary with imperial princes, was sent to govern his principality -- now at Dingtao . Despite the near-coup by Consort Fu and Prince Kang, however, Empress Wang and Emperor Cheng did not bear grudges, and, against the advice of officials who were concerned that Prince Kang would become the subject of conspiracies, Emperor Cheng often summoned Prince Kang to the capital Chang'an for extended visits.

Emperor Cheng was very trusting of his uncles and put them in important roles in government. In addition to his oldest uncle Wang Feng , who had inherited his father's title as the Marquess of Yangping, six of Empress Dowager Wang's brothers were created marquesses, in violation of the rule laid by , the founder of the dynasty, who had decreed that only those who had contributed to the empire in substantial ways could be made marquesses. Several , in addition to Empress Dowager Wang's cousin Wang Yin , served successively as the supreme commander of the armed forces and were in effective control of the administration. After Wang Gen, Empress Dowager Wang's nephew Wang Mang served in the same role.

* Wang Feng, 33 BC-22 BC
* Wang Yin, 22 BC-15 BC
* Wang Shang, 15 BC-12 BC
* Wang Gen, 12 BC-8 BC
* Wang Mang, 8 BC-7 BC

The Wangs, while not corrupt in general and apparently genuinely trying to help the emperor, were largely concerned with aggrandizing their power and not with the best interests of the empire when selecting officials for various posts, and this led to a continued deterioration in the administration of Emperor Cheng, who at times considered modifying this power structure but always failed to do so. For example, in 24 BC, under the suggestion of an official Wang Zhang , Emperor Cheng considered replacing Wang Feng with highly-regarded official Feng Yewang , the brother of his father's concubine Consort Feng. When Wang Feng realized this, Empress Dowager Wang became saddened, and in response Emperor Cheng executed Wang Zhang and relieved Feng Yewang of his post without any allegation of wrongdoing.

Emperor Cheng's "women troubles" and lack of an heir

Emperor Cheng was a womanizer with many favorites. His first favorite was , from the clan of his murdered grandmother, the first wife of Emperor Xuan, and he also favored Consort Ban. Neither Empress Xu nor Consort Ban bore him a child, however, and concerned with having a grandson to be heir, Empress Dowager Wang openly encouraged Emperor Cheng to take on more and more concubines, but that did not result in the birth of an heir. Circa 19 BC, however, when Emperor Cheng was visiting Princess Yanga , he became enamored with her dancing girl and her sister and made them his concubines, and they became favored over Empress Xu and Consort Ban. In 18 BC, the Zhao sisters falsely accused Empress Xu and Consort Ban of witchcraft; Empress Xu was deposed, and while Consort Ban was able to successfully plead her case, she did not wish to return to the same environment and instead became a lady in waiting for Empress Dowager Wang. Then Emperor Cheng wanted to create Zhao Feiyan his empress, but Empress Dowager Wang complained about her low birth and prior occupation as a dance girl; she finally capitulated to her son's wishes in 16 BC, but she was never pleased with the Zhao sisters. Neither the Zhaos nor another later favorite of Emperor Cheng's, Consort Li, bore him a son either, however.

In 9 BC, still heirless, Emperor Cheng appeared to come to the resolution of making either his younger brother or his nephew his heir. Emperor Cheng became convinced that Prince Xin was more capable, and at the same time, Prince Xin's grandmother Consort Fu was endearing herself to the Zhaos and Wang Gen with lavish gifts, and so the Zhaos and Wang Gen both praised Prince Xin as well. Emperor Cheng made Prince Xin crown prince in 8 BC.

Emperor Cheng died suddenly in 7 BC, apparently from a stroke . Immediately there were many rumors that he had in fact had concubines who bore him sons, but that those sons and their mothers were murdered by Consort Zhao Hede and possibly Emperor Cheng himself. Grieving her husband and apparently fearful of reprisals, Consort Zhao Hede killed herself. Crown Prince Xin ascended the throne as .

A report by officials commissioned by Empress Dowager Wang concluded in 6 BC that Emperor Cheng did have two sons -- one born to Consort Cao in 12 BC and one born to Consort Xu in 11 BC. However, both of the sons were murdered in their infancy by orders of Consort Zhao Hede, with at least tacit agreement from Emperor Cheng, who was enamored with her; Consort Cao was forced to commit suicide after her son was murdered. In response, apparently at the urging of Empress Dowager Wang, Emperor Ai stripped the Zhaos' relatives of their marquess titles and exiled them; only Empress Zhao Feiyan was spared, although she was forced to commit suicide after Emperor Ai's death.

Impact on Chinese history

Emperor Cheng has often been used as an example of someone who had been so thoroughly controlled by his mother's family that it led to the eventual usurpation for Wang Mang. This view may be an oversimplification -- certainly Emperor Cheng himself was quite capable of asserting his own opinions and carry out his own actions, independent of his uncles' wishes, when he wanted. However, he created a precedent for empresses' families to become in effective control of government, and many Eastern Han emperors would fall into the same trap.

Era names

*''Jianshi'' 32 BC-28 BC
*''Heping'' 28 BC-25 BC
*''Yangshuo'' 24 BC-21 BC
*''Hongjia'' 20 BC-17 BC
*''Yongshi'' 16 BC-13 BC
*''Yuanyan'' 12 BC-9 BC
*''Suihe'' 8 BC-7 BC

Personal information

* Father
** Emperor Yuan of Han
* Mother
** , aunt of Wang Mang
* Wives
**
** Empress Zhao Feiyan
* Major Concubines
** Consort Ban, poet, scholar and aunt of historian Ban Biao and grandaunt to his children -- historian Ban Gu, general Ban Chao, and female historian Ban Zhao
** Consort Zhao Hede
** Consort Li Ping, formerly Consort Ban's handmaiden
** Consort Cao, alleged mother of one of his murdered sons, forced to commit suicide when her son was murdered
** Consort Xu, alleged mother of one of his murdered sons and likely relative of Empress Xu
* Children
** 2 sons by consorts, allegedly murdered 11 BC by Consort Zhao Hede and possibly Emperor Cheng himself; however, decades later there were pretenders who claimed to be Emperor Cheng's sons

Emperor Ai of Han

Emperor Ai of Han was an of the Chinese Han Dynasty. He ascended the throne when he was 20, having been made heir by his uncle , who was childless, and he reigned from 7 BC to 1 BC.

The people and the officials were initially excited about his ascension, as he was viewed by them to be intelligent, articulate, and capable. However, under Emperor Ai, corruption became even more prevalent and heavy taxes were levied on the people. Furthermore, Emperor Ai was highly controlled by his grandmother Consort Fu , who improperly demanded the title of Grand Empress Dowager -- even though she had never been an empress previously and therefore did not properly have that title, and this led to the unprecedented and unrepeated situation of four women possessing empress dowager titles at the same time -- Empress Wang , Empress Zhao Feiyan , Consort Fu, and Consort Ding .

Consort Fu's control of the political scene extended until her death in 2 BC, and due to her jealousy of Consort Feng Yuan, another consort of Emperor Yuan's and the grandmother of the future , was falsely accused of witchcraft, and Consort Feng was forced to commit suicide. During Emperor Ai's reign, he also stripped the Wang clan , which had been powerful during Emperor Cheng's reign, of much of their power, and substituted members of the Fu and Ding clans in their stead . In an unpopular act, Emperor Ai had his prime minister Wang Jia put to death for criticizing him, an act that made him appear tyrannical. Emperor Ai's shortcomings quickly led to the demoralization of the people towards the government and the acquisition of power by Wang Mang, in a backlash, after Ai died in 1 BC.

Emperor Ai was also famous for being a or emperor of China. Traditional historians characterized the relationship between Emperor Ai and Dong Xian as one between homosexual lovers and referred to their relationship as "the passion of the cut sleeve" after a story that one afternoon after falling asleep for a nap on the same bed, Emperor Ai cut off his sleeve rather than disturb the sleeping Dong Xian when he had to get out of bed. Dong was given progressively higher and higher posts as part of the relationship, eventually becoming the supreme commander of the armed forces at the time of Emperor Ai's death. After Emperor Ai's death, Dong was forced by Wang to commit suicide.

Family background and early life as the Prince of Dingtao

Emperor Ai was born to , the brother to then-reigning Emperor Cheng and son to Emperor Yuan, and his wife Consort Ding, in 27 BC, presumably at Prince Kang's principality . From birth, he was raised by his paternal grandmother, the domineering Consort Fu, and not by his mother. Prince Kang died in 23 BC, and the four-year old Prince Xin became the Prince of Dingtao.

In 9 BC, the then-18-year-old Prince Xin impressed his uncle Emperor Cheng when on an official visit to the capital Chang'an, when he brought three key officials of his principality -- his teacher, his prime minister, and the commander of his capital's defense forces -- to accompany him and cited the proper legal regulations that, in his opinion, required and allowed him to bring them with him . He also showed clear understanding of the Confucian classic ''Shi Jing'', further impressing Emperor Cheng. At that time, the sonless Emperor Cheng was beginning to consider making either his younger brother or his nephew Prince Xin his heir. Emperor Cheng became convinced that Prince Xin was more capable, and at the same time, Prince Xin's grandmother Consort Fu was endearing herself to Emperor Cheng's wife Empress Zhao Feiyan, her sister and Emperor Cheng's favorite Consort Zhao Hede, and Emperor Cheng's uncle Wang Gen with lavish gifts, and so the Zhaos and Wang Gen both praised Prince Xin as well. Emperor Cheng therefore seriously considered making Prince Xin his heir.

In 8 BC, Emperor Cheng summoned several key officials to discuss with him who would be the more proper heir. The majority, perhaps seeing that Emperor Cheng was leaning toward Prince Xin, recommended him, citing the general rule of succession that when one lacked an heir, he should adopt a brother's child to be his own son and heir; one official recommended Prince Xing under the rationale that he was closer in bloodline with the emperor. Emperor Cheng, whose mind was fairly made up, created Prince Xin crown prince. In an act praised one as showing humility, Prince Xin declined the honor of living at the crown prince's palace, stating that he was only at the capital to serve Emperor Cheng until Emperor Cheng would produce an heir and that he should stay at the Dingtao mission in the capital.

As crown prince

Whether Emperor Cheng was formally ''adopting'' Prince Xin would quickly become a major controversy. Emperor Cheng viewed the fact that he created Prince Xin as crown prince as formal adoption, and he believed that Prince Xin was now his son, no longer Prince Kang's. When he created a cousin to be the new prince of Dingtao to serve as Prince Kang's heir in winter 8 BC, Prince Xin, grateful that his father would continued to be worshipped as an ancestor, submitted a formal note of thanksgiving -- at which Emperor Cheng was highly offended, believing that Prince Xin should not be grateful any more for whatever is done for his birth father.

Emperor Cheng's desire to have Prince Xin act as only his son extended to the arena of Prince Xin's relationship with his grandmother Consort Fu and his mother Consort Ding. Emperor Cheng decreed that Consort Fu and Consort Ding be required to remain in Dingtao and not be allowed to come to Chang'an to visit Prince Xin. Some time later, Emperor Cheng's mother , not wanting to continue these harsh regulations, decreed that Princess Dowager Fu be allowed to see Prince Xin, under the rationale that she, having raised him, was merely in the role of a wet nurse. Consort Ding, however, would continue not be allowed to see Prince Xin.

Emperor Cheng died suddenly in 7 BC, apparently from a stroke . Crown Prince Xin ascended the throne as Emperor Ai. Empress Dowager Wang, as his step-grandmother became grand empress dowager, and Empress Zhao became empress dowager. He created , the daughter of his grandmother Princess Dowager Fu's cousin Fu Yan , empress.

As emperor

Early reign -- optimism

Emperor Ai, aged 20 at his ascension, quickly ended Emperor Cheng's practice of delegating imperial authorities to his uncles and cousins of the Wang clan and appeared diligent in his rule. He also reduced spending greatly. Both the officials and the people thought that after the reigns of the indecisive Emperor Yuan and the impulsive and lavish spending Emperor Cheng, there would finally be a capable emperor.

In 7 BC, under Emepror Ai's auspices, a major proposal to reduce involuntary servitude was made by several officials -- princes would be limited to 200 servants, marquesses and princesses to 100 servants, and other nobility and commoners to 30 servants, and that servants would be set free after a service of three years. However, after the proposal was leaked, many servant owners pushed to have the proposal tabled, and Emperor Ai only issued a limited version of the proposal -- freeing servants over age 50.

Optimism shattered

The issue of the roles of Princess Dowager Fu and Consort Ding , however, would quickly again erupt into a major controversy. Initially, Grand Empress Dowager Wang decreed that Princess Dowager Fu and Consort Ding see him periodically, every 10 days. However, Princess Dowager Fu quickly began to visit her grandson everyday, and she insisted that two things be done: that she receive an empress dowager title, and that her relatives be granted titles, like the Wangs. Grand Empress Dowager Wang, sympathetic of the bind that Emepror Ai was in, first granted Prince Kang the unusual title of "Emperor Gong of Dingtao" and then, under the rationale of that title, granted Princess Dowager Fu the title "Empress Dowager Gong of Dingtao" and Consort Ding the title "Empress Gong of Dingtao" . Several members of the Fu and Ding clans were created marquesses. Grand Empress Dowager Wang also ordered her nephew Wang Mang, the commander of the armed forces, to resign and transfer power to the Fus and the Dings. Emperor Ai declined and begged Wang Mang to stay in his administration.

Several months later, however, Wang Mang would come into direct confrontation with now-Empress Dowager Fu. At a major imperial banquet, the official in charge of seating placed Empress Dowager Fu's seat next to Grand Empress Dowager Wang's. When Wang Mang saw this, he rebuked the official and ordered that Empress Dowager Fu's seat be moved to the side, which drew great ire from Empress Dowager Fu, who refused to attend the banquet. To sooth her anger, Wang Mang resigned, and Emperor Ai approved his resignation. After Wang Mang's resignation, the Wangs gradually and inexorably began to lose their power. At Empress Dowager Fu's behest, the Fus and the Dings were installed in their place.

Empress Dowager Fu was not satisfied with what she saw was her inferior title . Several key officials who opposed her move were reduced to commoner status without any other fault -- including the prime minister Kong Guang and the prime inspector Shi Dan -- two of the top three officials of the administration. The third one, Empress Dowager Fu's cousin Fu Xi , who also opposed Empress Dowager Fu's actions notwithstanding his relationship with her, was removed from his position and sent back to his .

In 6 BC, Empress Dowager Fu would further display her power and at the same time cause the people to be even more disappointed in Emperor Ai. Emperor Ai's cousin Liu Jizi , the Prince of Zhongshan , had a congenital heart disorder, and his grandmother Feng Yuan, the princess dowager, cared for his treatment and often worshipped gods to pray for his healing. Emperor Ai, up on hearing his cousin's illness, sent imperial physicians along with his attendant Zhang You to go to Zhongshan to treat Prince Jizi. Zhang, however, was himself afflicted with a psychiatric condition , and when he got to Zhongshan, he suddenly, in a rage, left there and returned to Chang'an. Once he did and was ordered to explain his conduct, he made up a false reason -- that he had discovered that Princess Dowager Feng was using witchcraft to curse Emperor Ai and Empress Dowager Fu. Empress Dowager Fu and Princess Dowager Feng were romantic rivals when they were both consorts to Emperor Yuan, and Empress Dowager Fu decided to use this opportunity to strike at Princess Dowager Feng. She sent a eunuch, Shi Li , to serve as investigator, and Shi tortured a good number of Princess Dowager Feng's relations , some to death, but still could not build a solid case against Princess Dowager Feng. Shi Li decided to show Princess Dowager Feng who was actually behind the investigation, by referring to an incident in which then-Consort Feng defended Emperor Yuan against a bear which had broken loose. Princess Dowager Feng, realizing that Empress Dowager Fu was behind the investigation, went back to her palace and committed suicide. In total, 17 members of the Feng clan died as a result of the investigations. This was immediately viewed as a political case, and officials and the people all became disappointed in Emperor Ai.

In 5 BC, Empress Dowager Fu would finally get what she wanted. Emperor Ai removed the qualification "of Dingtao" from his father's posthumous title , and then gave his grandmother a variation of the grand empress dowager title and his mother a variation of the empress dowager title , and there were therefore now four official empresses dowager in the capital, each with a full budget. That year, the new Empress Dowager Ding died.

During these years, other than the palatial infighting, what plagued Emperor Ai's administration was the general situation where good proposals would be made to Emperor Ai, and then he would approve of them personally but not take any actual actions on them. Further, he was harsh in his punishments of officials who disagreed with him -- including, but not limited to, the issue of his grandmother and mother's titles. He would often backtrack in these punishments as well after some time, which also made him appear indecisive. He would also quickly promote officials that he saw as capable and honest and then, as soon as that capability or honesty offended him in some way, demote them. His temper might have been related to the fact that he was also constantly ill, although the nature of the illness is not known.

The rise of Dong Xian

Circa 4 BC, Emperor Ai would enter into a relationship that would further made him incapable of making decisions other than out of impulse. he began to favor the minor official Dong Xian, and historians largely believed that they had a homosexual relationship , and he bestowed many honors on Dong quickly. Dong and his wife moved into the palace, and Dong's sister became an imperial consort. Dong's father was made an acting marquess . Emperor Ai also ordered that a luxurious residence, as luxurious as an imperial palace, be built for Dong. All who opposed these honors for Dong were severely punished.

In 3 BC, against opposition by his prime minister Wang Jia , Emperor Ai created Dong the Marquess of Gao'an, even though he had no achievements to speak of. In 2 BC, Wang would put himself in danger by submitting a report to Emperor Ai, in which he urged that the honors bestowed on Dong be curbed, so that Dong would not suffer the same fate of 's favorite Deng Tong , who starved to death after his assets were confiscated by Emperor Wen's son and 's favorite Han Yan , who was executed by after being accused of improperly assuming imperial style). Later that year, when Wang opposed the enlargement of Dong's march, Emperor Ai had him accused falsely of crimes and forced him to commit suicide, an act that, to the people, showed that Emperor Ai had no further regard for what was right. Later that year, Dong would made the commander of the armed forces -- at age 22 -- and effectively the most powerful official in the administration. Several members of the Dong clan became important officials as well, displacing the Fus and the Dings -- after Grand Empress Dowager Fu died in 2 BC as well.

Death

Emperor Ai died in 1 BC. It is not clear what the exact cause of death was, but he appeared to succumb to illnesses from which he had always suffered. After his death, Grand Empress Dowager would act quickly to seize his seal and to seize power back from Dong Xian, reinstating Wang Mang as the regent. Emperor Ai would be succeeded by his cousin Prince Jizi, as , but the damage he inflicted on the imperial rule had been done, paving the way for Wang Mang to seize the throne nine years later. Emperor Ai's abuse of power, first influenced by his grandmother and then by his love for Dong, caused the people and the officials to yearn for the return of the Wangs, allowing them to be caught up in Wang Mang's personality cult and easily succumb to his charm.

Era names

*''Jianping'' 6 BC-3 BC
*''Yuanshou'' 2 BC-1 BC

Personal information

* Father
** Prince Kang of Dingtao, half-brother of and son of Emperor Yuan of Han
* Mother
** Consort Ding
* Wife
** Empress Fu, forced by Wang Mang to commit suicide 1 BC
* Major Concubines
** Consort Dong, Dong Xian's sister
* Children
** none

Emperor Ping of Han

Emperor Ping of Han was an of the Chinese Han Dynasty from 1 BC to 5 AD. After Emperor Ai died childless, the throne was passed to his cousin Emperor Ping - then a child of 9 years old. Wang Mang was appointed regent by the Grand Empress Dowager Wang. Dissatisfied with his father's dictatorial regency, in 3, Wang's son Wang Yu conspired with Emperor Ping's maternal uncles of the Wei clan against Wang, but after they were discovered, Wang had not only Wang Yu and the Weis put to death, but also used this opportunity to accuse many actual or potential political enemies as being part of the conspiracy and to execute or exile them. From here onwards, the Han Dynasty existed only in name. Furthermore, Wang Mang also designated his daughter as the empress consort to Emperor Ping to codify his legitimacy to power. Emperor Ping was allegedly poisoned by Wang Mang after reigning less than 6 years, because Wang was concerned that he would avenge his uncles, and his successor, the toddler , would be chosen by none other than Wang Mang himself.

Family background and life as imperial prince

Then-Liu Jizi was born in 9 BC. His father was the youngest son of and the younger brother of . His mother was one of Prince Xing's consorts, Consort Wei . Prince Jizi had three sisters but no brother. He was born with a heart ailment, which, when affliciting him, causes him to have circulation problems, manifesting itself outwardly as having his lips and appendages turn blue. He was raised by his paternal grandmother Consort Feng Yuan, a concubine of Emperor Yuan, who then had the title princess dowager in Prince Xing's principality.

Around the time of Prince Jizi's birth, Prince Xing was considered a potential imperial heir, because Emperor Cheng had no heirs, but eventually Emperor Cheng chose his nephew , because Emperor Cheng considered Prince Xin to be more capable than Prince Xing, and also wanted to adopt Prince Xin and make him his own son. When Emperor Cheng died in 7 BC, Prince Xin took the throne as Emperor Ai.

Also in 7 BC, when Prince Jizi was just 2, Prince Xing died, and Prince Jizi inherited his principality as the Prince of Zhongshan . He continued to be periodically afflicted with his heart disorder. As a result, his grandmother Princess Dowager Feng hired many physicians and often prayed to the gods. In 6 BC, Emperor Ai, hearing about his cousin's illness, sent imperial physicians along with his attendant Zhang You to go to Zhongshan to treat Prince Jizi. This, however, would have dire consequences of Princess Dowager Feng.

The imperial attendant Zhang was himself afflicted with a psychiatric condition , and when he got to Zhongshan, he suddenly, in a rage, left there and returned to the capital Chang'an. Once he did and was ordered to explain his conduct, he made up a false reason -- that he had discovered that Princess Dowager Feng was using witchcraft to curse Emperor Ai and his grandmother, . Empress Dowager Fu and Princess Dowager Feng were romantic rivals when they were both consorts to Emperor Yuan, and Empress Dowager Fu decided to use this opportunity to strike at Princess Dowager Feng. She sent a eunuch, Shi Li , to serve as investigator, and Shi tortured a good number of Princess Dowager Feng's relations , some to death, but still could not build a solid case against Princess Dowager Feng. Shi Li decided to show Princess Dowager Feng who was actually behind the investigation, by referring to an incident in which then-Consort Feng defended Emperor Yuan against a bear which had broken loose. Princess Dowager Feng, realizing that Empress Dowager Fu was behind the investigation, went back to her palace and committed suicide. In total, 17 members of the Feng clan died as a result of the investigations. Prince Jizi, then still a toddler, was spared.

In 1 BC, Emperor Ai died without an heir. His stepgrandmother, , quickly seized power back from Emperor Ai's male favorite Dong Xian, and recalled her nephew Wang Mang as regent. Wang Mang quickly carried out a wave of retaliation against Dong Xian and Emperor Ai's Fu and Ding relations, purging them from government, and at the same time purging many actual or potential political enemies, while at the same time pretending to Grand Empress Dowager Wang to be faithful to Han. Prince Jizi, as the only surviving male descendant of Emperor Yuan , was considered the logical successor, and he was welcomed to Chang'an to succeed his cousin.

Early reign and Wang Mang's aggrandization of power

Almost immediately after Emperor Ping took the throne, Wang Mang began to carry out a regime to return governmental structure to ancient days of the Zhou Dynasty and the even more ancient Xia Dynasty and Shang Dynasty. He also aggressively pursued a program to build up a personality cult about himself, wanting to have himself recognized as a holy regent on the scale of the Duke of Zhou. In 1, for example, after having his political allies convincing Grand Empress Dowager Wang of his great faithfulness and great achievements, he was created the Duke of Anhan , even though there had not been a single duke created in Han history up to that point. Further, to appease both the disaffected nobility and the people, Wang Mang insitituted a program to restore marquess titles to descendants of past imperial princes and marquesses, started a pension system for retired officials, and reduced taxes. He also bribed vassal states into making offerings of rare animals, viewed as signs of heavenly blessing, to Han. With all people praising Wang Mang, he managed to persuade Grand Empress Dowager Wang, then already 69 years old, to have him make the important state decisions, rather than have her do so, and Wang Mang immediately became the most powerful figure in the empire.

To prevent Emperor Ping's Wei relations from becoming powerful potential rivals at court, Wang Mang limited the titles of Emperor Ping's uncles to acting marquesses and his mother Consort Wei to "Princess Xiao of Zhongshan" , and only created Emperor Ping's three sisters ladies . He also ordered that the Weis, including Consort Wei, and Emperor Ping's sisters not to be allowed to go to Chang'an to see him, but were to remain in Zhongshan.

In 2, to reduce the burden of the people in naming taboo, Emperor Ping's name was changed to Kan , since Ji and Zi were commonly used characters.

Also in 2, Wang Mang decided to have his married to Emperor Ping to further affirm his position. Initially, he started a selection process of eligible noble young ladies . However, then, in an act of false modesty intended to create the opposite result, he petitioned Grand Empress Dowager Wang that his daughter not be considered -- and then started a petition drive by the people to have his daughter be selected as empress. The petitioners stormed the outside of the palace, and Grand Empress Dowager Wang, overwhelmed by the display of affection for Wang Mang, ordered that Wang Mang's daughter be made empress.

The Lü Kuan Incident and Wang Mang's seizure of absolute power

Wang Mang's son Wang Yu disagreed with his father's dictatorial regime and program to build up his personality cult, afraid that in the future the Wangs would receive a backlash when Emperor Ping was grown. He therefore formed friendships with Emperor Ping's Wei uncles, and told Consort Wei to offer assurances to Wang Mang that she would not act as Emperor Ai's mother and grandmother did, trying to become an empress dowager. Wang Mang still refused to let her visit the capital.

In 3, Wang Yu formed a conspiracy with his teacher Wu Zhang , his brother-in-law Lü Kuan , and the Weis, to try to see what they can do to break Wang Mang's dictatorial hold. They decideed that they would create what appear to be supernatural incidents to make Wang Mang concerned, and then have Wu try to persuade Wang Mang to transfer power to the Weis. Wang Yu told Lü to toss a bottle of blood onto Wang Mang's mansion door to create that effect -- but Lü was discovered by Wang Mang's guards. Wang Mang then arrested Wang Yu, who then committed suicide, and his wife Lü Yan was executed. Wang Mang then executed the entire Wei clan, except for Consort Wei. Wu was cut in half and then drawn and quartered.

Wang Mang then took this opportunity to further wipe out potential enemies -- by torturing Wang Yu and Lü's coconspirators and then arrest anyone that they mentioned, and then have them either executed or forced them to commit suicide. The victims of this purge included Emperor Yuan's sister Princess Jingwu , Wang Mang's own uncle Wang Li , and his own cousin Wang Ren . He told Grand Empress Dowager Wang, however, falsely, that they had died of illnesses. Many other officials who were not willing to follow Wang Mang were also victimized in this purge. After this, Wang Mang's hold on power became absolute.

In 4, Emperor Ping officially married Wang Mang's daughter and created her empress.

In 5, Wang Mang revived an ancient ceremony intended for those who have made great contributions to the state, and had himself given the nine bestowments.

Death

Circa 5, Emperor Ping, having grown older, appeared to have grown out of his earlier heart condition, and it became fairly plain that he resented Wang Mang for slaughtering his uncles and not allowing his mother to visit him in Chang'an. Wang Mang therefore resolved to murder the emperor. In winter 5, Wang Mang submitted pepper wine to the 13-year-old emperor, but had the wine spiked with poison. As the emperor was suffering the effects of the poison, Wang Mang wrote a secret petition to the gods, in which he offered to substitute his life for Emperor Ping's, and then have the petition locked away. After a few days of suffering, Emperor Ping died. The throne would lie vacant for the next few years, as although Emperor Ping's cousin-once-removed, the infant , would be selected as emperor, he would never actually take the throne. Wang Mang would serve as acting emperor and usurp the Han throne officially in 8.

Era name

*''Yuanshi'' 1-5

Personal information

* Father
** , Prince of Zhongshan, son of and Consort Feng Yuan
* Mother
** Consort Wei
* Wives
** , daughter of Wang Mang
*Children
** None

Ruzi Ying

Emperor Ruzi of Han , commonly known as "Ying the Kid" and with the personal name of Liu Ying , was last of the Chinese Western Han Dynasty from AD 6 to AD 9. After died without heirs, Wang Mang chose the youngest of the available successors in order to maintain his power in the government. He was soon deposed by Wang Mang who declared the Xin Dynasty in place of the Han. During Xin Dynasty, he was under effective house arrest -- so much so that he did not even know common animals once he was grown. Before and after Xin Dynasty was overthrown in 23, there were many ambitious people claiming to be restoring Han. In 25, a rebellion against the temporary rose involving the former Emperor Ruzi, and when the rebellion was defeated, he was killed. He is often viewed as a tragic innocent child who was the victim of circumstances.

Choice as the titular ruler

In 5, Wang Mang, then already nearly unlimited in power as the imperial regent and fearful that the 13-year-old , once further grown, would retaliate against him for having slaughtered his uncles in 3, murdered Emperor Ping by poison. Because the young emperor had not had any children by his wife or any of his concubines, there was no heir. Further, by that point, Emperor Ping's grandfather, had no surviving male issue -- of his three sons, had no issue, and the other two, Prince Kang of Dingtao and Prince Xing of Zhongshan have already had their own sons succeed to the imperial throne and die without issue. The progeny of Emperor Ping's great-grandfather were therefore examined as possible successors.

There were 53 great-grandsons of Emperor Xuan then still living by this stage, but they were all adults, and Wang Mang disliked that fact -- he wanted a child whom he could control. Therefore, he declared that it was inappropriate for members of the same generation to succeed each other . He then examined the 23 great-great-grandsons of Emperor Xuan -- all of whom were infants or toddlers.

While the examination process was proceeding, the mayor of South Chang'an submitted a rock with a mysterious red writing on it -- "Wang Mang, the Duke of Anhan, should be emperor." Wang had his political allies force his aunt, , to issue an edict granting him the title of "Acting Emperor" , with the commission to rule as emperor until a great-great-grandson of Emperor Xuan could be selected and raised.

In the spring of 6, Acting Emperor Wang selected Ying -- then just one-year-old -- as the designated successor to Emperor Ping, claiming that soothsayers told him that Ying was the candidate most favored by the gods. He gave Ying the epithet ''Ruzi'' -- the same epithet that King Cheng of Zhou had when he was in his minority and under the regency of Ji Dan, the Duke of Zhou -- to claim that he was as faithful as the Duke of Zhou. However, Emperor Ruzi did not ascend the throne, but was given the title of crown prince. Empress Wang was given the title empress dowager.

Brief "reign"

Several members of the imperial Liu clan were naturally suspicious of Acting Emperor Wang's intentions. They started or assisted in several failed rebellions against Wang:

* In 6, Liu Chong , the Marquess of Anzhong, made an attack against Wancheng . His attack failed, but historians did not specify what happened to him, other than that as punishment, Wang had his house filled with filthy water.
* In 7, Zhai Yi , the governor of the Commandery of Dong and Liu Xin , the Marquess of Yanxiang (and the father of Liu Kuang , the Prince of Dongping started the largest of these rebellions -- and they were joined by agrarian rebellion leaders Zhao Peng and Huo Hong from the area immediately west of the capital Chang'an. They declared Liu emperor. Wang responded by sending messengers all around the nation to pledge that he will in fact return the throne to Emperor Ruzi once he was grown. Wang's armies defeated Zhai and Liu's armies in winter 7, and Zhai was captured and executed by drawing and quartering. Liu fled and was never captured. Zhao and Huo were also eventually defeated and executed.
* In 9 , Liu Kuai , the Marquess of Xuxiang, attacked the Dukedom of Fuchong, of his brother Liu Ying , the former Prince of Jiaodong. He was defeated and died while fleeing from the battle.

After Zhai and Liu Xin was defeated, Wang became even more convinced that the empire was entirely under his control, and decided to finally seize the throne and start a new dynasty. In winter 8, after receiving a false prophecy written by the hoodlum Ai Zhang which pretended to be a divine decree from stating that the throne should be given to Wang, and that Grand Empress Dowager Wang should follow this divine will, Wang issued a decree accepting the position of emperor, establishing Xin Dynasty.

Life during Xin Dynasty

In the spring of 9, Wang Mang, the emperor, created the former Emperor Ruzi the Duke of Ding'an . The dukedom allegedly included 10,000 households, in which Han emperors were to be enshrined in temples, and Han calendars and uniforms would be allowed. However, Wang did not actually follow through on these promises. Indeed, he never allowed the Duke of Ding'an to rule his dukedom, but effectively put the child duke under house arrest under heavy guard. Not even his wet nurses were allowed to stay with him. After he was grown, he did not even know of such common animals as cattle, horses, sheep, chickens, dogs, and pigs. Wang gave his granddaughter, the daughter of his son Wang Yu , to the Duke of Ding'an in marriage. Other than these, not much is known about the Duke of Ding'an's life during Xin Dynasty.

Death

After Xin Dynasty was overthrown in 23 and Wang Mang killed, the imperial descendant Liu Xuan became emperor . However, due to Emperor Gengshi's incompetence, there were many conspiracies and rebellions throughout the entire empire, seeking to displace him.

Two farfetched co-conspirators started one of these rebellions in 25 -- Fang Wang , the former strategist for the local warlord Wei Xiao , and a man named Gong Lin -- and their group of several thousand men, after kidnapping the former Duke of Ding'an, occupied Linjing . Emperor Gengshi sent his prime minister Li Song to attack them, and wiped out this rebel force, killing Liu Ying.

Era names

*''Jushe'' February AD 6- October AD 8
*''Chushi'' November AD 8-January AD 9

Personal information

* Father
** Liu Xian , one-time Marquess of Guangqi, son of Liu Xun the first Marquess of Guangqi, son of Liu Xiao the Prince of Chu, son of Emperor Xuan of Han
* Wife
** granddaughter of Wang Mang

Gengshi of Han

Emperor Gengshi of Han, 漢更始帝, . gèng shĭ dì, . Keng-Shih-ti, , also known as the Prince of Huaiyang , courtesy name Shenggong , was an of the restored Han Dynasty following the fall of Wang Mang's Xin Dynasty. He is not to be confused with , who founded the succeeding Eastern Han Dynasty. He was viewed as a weak and incompetent ruler, who briefly ruled over an empire willing to let him rule over them, but was unable
to keep that empire together. He was eventually deposed by the Chimei and strangled a few months after his defeat. The Han forces were at this point in two groups -- one led by Wang Feng , Wang Chang , and Liu Xiu, which, in response to the arrival of the Xin forces, withdrew to the small town of Kunyang and one led by Liu Yan, which was still sieging Wancheng. The rebels in Kunyang initially wanted to scatter, but Liu Xiu opposed it; rather, he advocated that they guard Kunyang securely, while he would gather all other available troops in surrounding areas and attack the Xin forces from the outside. After initially rejecting Liu Xiu's idea, the Kunyang rebels eventually agreed.

Liu Xiu carried out his action, and when he returned to Kunyang, he began harassing the sieging Xin forces from the outside. Wang Yi and Wang Xun, annoyed, led 10,000 men to attack Liu Xiu and ordered the rest of their troops not to move from their siege locations. Once they engaged in battle, however, after minor losses, the other units were hesitant to assist them, and Liu Xiu killed Wang Xun in battle. Once that happened, the Han forces inside Kunyang burst out of the city and attacked the other Xin units, and the much larger Xin forces suffered a total collapse . The soldiers largely deserted and went home, unable to be gathered again. Wang Yi had to withdraw with only several thousand men back to Luoyang. This was a major blow to Xin, psychologically; after this point on, there would be no hope for it.

Infightings and move towar Chang'an

The very first major incident of infighting in Emperor Gengshi's regime would happen in this time, though. Emperor Gengshi was fearful of Liu Yan's capabilities and keenly aware that many of Liu Yan's followers were angry that he was not made emperor. One, Liu Ji , was particularly critical of Emperor Gengshi. Emperor Gengshi arrested Liu Ji and wanted to execute him, but Liu Yan tried to intercede. Emperor Gengshi took this opportunity to execute Liu Yan as well . However, ashamed of what he had done, he spared Liu Yan's brother Liu Xiu, and in fact created Liu Xiu the Marquess of Wuxin.

Emperor Gengshi then commissioned two armies, one led by Wang Kuang, targeting Luoyang, and the other led by Shentu Jian and Li Song , targeting Chang'an directly. All the populace on the way gathered, welcomed, and joined the Han forces. Shentu and Li quickly reached the outskirts of Chang'an. In response, the young men within Chang'an also rose up and stormed Weiyang Palace, the main imperial palace. died in the battle at the palace , as did his daughter Princess Huanghuang . After Wang died, the crowd fought over the right to have the credit for having killed Wang, and tens of soldiers died in the ensuing fight. Wang's body was cut into pieces, and his head was delivered to the provisional Han capital Wancheng, to be hung on the city wall .

Attempted consolidation of power

After Wang Mang's death, Emperor Gengshi moved his capital from Wancheng to Luoyang. He then issued edicts to the entire empire, promising to allow Xin local officials who submitted to him to keep their posts. For a brief period, nearly the entire empire showed at least nominal submission -- even including the powerful Chimei general Fan Chong , who, indeed, went to stay in Luoyang under promises of titles and honors. However, this policy was applied inconsistently, and local governors soon became apprehensive about giving up their power. Fan, in particular, left the capital and returned to his troops. In response, Emperor Gengshi sent various generals out to try to calm the local governors and populace; these included Liu Xiu, who was sent to pacify the region north of the Yellow River. Further, around these times, the people began to see that the powerful officials around Emperor Gengshi were in fact uneducated men lacking ability to govern; this further made them lose confidence in his governance.

Emperor Gengshi's governance would in fact immediately be challenged by a major pretender in winter 23. A fortuneteller in Handan named Wang Lang claimed to be actually named Liu Ziyu and a son of . He claimed that his mother was a singer in Emperor Cheng's service, and that Empress Zhao Feiyan had tried to kill him after his birth, but that a substitute child was killed indeed. After he spread these rumors around the people, the people of Handan began to believe that he was a genuine son of Emperor Cheng, and the commanderies north of the Yellow River quickly pledged allegiance to him as emperor. Liu Xiu was forced to withdraw to the northern city of Jicheng . After some difficulties, however, Liu Xiu was able to unify the northern commanderies still loyal to Emperor Gengshi and siege Handan in 24, killing Wang Lang. Emperor Gengshi put Liu Xiu in charge of the region north of the Yellow Rivera and created him the Prince of Xiao, but Liu Xiu, still aware that he was not truly trusted and secretly angry about his brother's death, secretly planned to peel away from Emperor Gengshi's rule. He began to strip other Emperor Gengshi-commissioned generals of their powers and troops, and concentrated the troops under his own command.

Also in 24, Emperor Gengshi moved his capital again, back to the Western Han capital of Chang'an. The people of Chang'an had previously been offended by Emperor Gengshi's officials, who did not appreciate their rising up against Wang Mang but in fact considered them traitors. Once Emperor Gengshi was back in the capital, he issued a general pardon, which calmed the situation for a while. At this time, Chang'an was still largely intact, except for Weiyang Palace, destroyed by fire. However, 's timidity quickly caused problems. When the imperial officials were gathered for an official meeting, Emperor Gengshi, who had never seen such solemn occasions, panicked. Later, when generals submitted reports to him, he asked questions such as, "How much did you pillage today?" This type of behavior further reduced the confidence of the people in him.

Emperor Gengshi entrusted his government to Zhao Meng , whose daughter he took as an imperial consort. He himself engaged in frequent drinking and was often unable to receive officials or make important decisions. Zhao greatly abused his power, and once, when an honest official revealed Zhao's crimes to Emperor Gengshi, Emperor Gengshi had him executed. The other powerful officials also abused their power greatly, often commissioning duplicating local officials throughout the empire, causing great confusion and anger.

In autumn 24, Emperor Gengshi sent his generals Li Bao and Li Zhong to try to capture modern Sichuan, then held by local warlord Gongsun Shu , but his generals were defeated by Gongsun.

Defeat by Chimei

In winter 24, an ominous issue would arise for Emperor Gengshi; Chimei troops, then stationed at Puyang, were highly fatigued at the time and wanted to go home. Their leaders felt that if they did so, Chimei forces would scatter and be unable to be gathered again, and they felt that a clear target needs to be created. They decided to announce that they were attacking Emperor Gengshi's capital Chang'an, and they, divided into two armies, began to head west. Liu Xiu, while he had fairly strong troops, chose to stand by and wait for Chimei to destroy Emperor Gengshi; he used the Henei region as his base of operations for its strategic location and the richness of its soil. The Chimei armies rejoined in Hongnong , defeating every single army that Emperor Gengshi sent to stop it.

In 25, Emperor Gengshi's forces would cause the death of the former Western Han emperor-designate, . Two far fetched co-conspirators -- Fang Wang , the former strategist for the local warlord Wei Xiao , and a man named Gong Lin -- and their group of several thousand men, after kidnapping the former Duke of Ding'an, occupied Linjing . Emperor Gengshi sent his prime minister Li Song to attack them, and wiped out this rebel force, killing Liu Ying.

In summer 25, Liu Xiu finally made a formal break with Emperor Gengshi, after his generals and Emperor Gengshi's generals fought over control of the Henei and Luoyang regions. He declared himself emperor , and soon his general Deng Yu also captured the modern Shanxi, further reducing Emperor Gengshi's strength.

Feeling trapped, a number of Emperor Gengshi's generals conspired to kidnap him and flee back to their home region of Nanyang . They were discovered, and many were executed, but one, Zhang Ang occupied most of Chang'an, forcing Emperor Gengshi to flee, just as Chimei forces were approaching.

Chimei, at this time, decided that they also needed their own emperor. They found three descendants of , Prince of Chengyang, who was very popular with the people of his principality and who was worshiped as a god after his death. After drawing lots, the youngest, the 15-year-old Liu Penzi was chosen and declared emperor. However, the young "emperor" was not given any power, but was effectively a puppet who still served as a cattle keeper within the army.

Generals still loyal to Emperor Gengshi were eventually able to evict Zhang from the capital, but by that time the situation was desperate. Zhang and his allies surrendered to Chimei and, working with them, attacked Chang'an, which fell quickly, and Emperor Gengshi fled, only followed by several loyal followers, including Liu Zhi the Prince of Dingtao and Liu Gong the Marquess of Shi -- who, incidentally, was Liu Penzi's older brother. They were eventually taken in by one of Emperor Gengshi's generals, Yan Ben , who, however, was in actuality holding them as bargaining chips. When Liu Xiu heard about the fall of Chang'an, he created Emperor Gengshi the Prince of Huaiyang, in absentia, and decreed that anyone who harmed the Prince of Huaiyang would be severely punished and that anyone who protected and delivered him to Eastern Han would be rewarded. When news of Chang'an's fall arrived in Luoyang, Luoyang surrendered to Liu Xiu, who entered the city and made it his capital.

In winter 25, after being held by Yan a few months, Emperor Gengshi saw his situation as futile, and requested Liu Gong to negotiate surrender terms. A promise was made that he would be made the Prince of Changsha. Emperor Penzi's general Xie Lu arrived at Yan's camp and escorted Emperor Gengshi back to Chang'an to offer his seal to Emperor Penzi. Chimei generals, notwithstanding the earlier promise, wanted to execute him. It was only Liu Gong's final intercession that allowed Emperor Gengshi to be spared at this point, and he was created the Prince of Changsha. He, however, was forced to stay in Xie's headquarters, and Liu Gong protected him on a number of occasions.

Chimei generals were even less able to govern the capital than Emperor Gengshi, however, as they were unable to control their soldiers from pillaging from the people. The people began to yearn the return of Emperor Gengshi. Zhang Ang and his allies, afraid of what might happen if Emperor Gengshi returned to power, persuaded Xie to strangle Emperor Gengshi. Liu Gong hid his body in a secure location, and years later, after Eastern Han had securely captured the Chang'an region, Liu Xiu had Emperor Gengshi's body buried with princely honors at Baling , near the tomb of .

Personal information

*
**Liu in
*
**Xuan
*
**''Gengshi'' 23-25
*Father
** Liu Zizhang , grandson of Liu Xiongqu the Marquess of Chonglin, the grandson of Liu Fa Prince Ding of Changsha, the son of Emperor Jing of Han
* Major Concubines
** Consort Zhao, the daughter of Zhao Meng
** Consort Han
* Children
** Liu Qiu , later created the Marquess of Xiangyi by Liu Xiu
** Liu Xin , later created the Marquess of Gushu by Liu Xiu
** Liu Li , later created the Marquess of Shouguang by Liu Xiu

Emperor Guangwu of Han

Emperor Guangwu , born Liu Xiu, was an of the Chinese Han Dynasty, restorer of the dynasty in AD 25 and thus founder of the Later Han or Eastern Han . He ruled over parts of China at first, and through suppression and conquest of regional warlords, the whole of China was consolidated by the time of his death in 57.

Liu Xiu was one of the many descendants of the Han imperial family. Following the usurpation of the Han throne by Wang Mang and the ensuing civil war during the disintegration of Wang's short-lived Xin Dynasty, he emerged as one of several descendants of the fallen dynasty claiming the imperial throne. After assembling forces and proclaiming himself emperor in the face of competitors, he was able to defeat his rivals, destroy the peasant army of the Chimei , known for their disorganization and marauding, and finally reunify the whole of China in AD 36.

He established his capital in Luoyang, 335 kilometers east of the former capital Chang'an, ushering in the Later/Eastern Han Dynasty. He implemented some reforms aimed at correcting some of the structural imbalances responsible for the downfall of the Former/Western Han. His reforms gave a new 200-year lease on life to the Han Dynasty.

Emperor Guangwu's campaigns featured many able generals, but curiously, he lacked major strategists. That may very well be because he himself appeared to be a brilliant strategist; he often instructed his generals as to strategy from afar, and his predictions generally would be accurate. This was often emulated by later emperors who fancied themselves great strategists but who actually lacked Emperor Guangwu's brilliance -- usually to great disastrous results.

Also fairly unique among emperors in Chinese history was Emperor Guangwu's combination of decisiveness and mercy. He often sought out peaceful means rather than bellicose means of putting areas under his control. He was, in particular, one of the rare examples of a founding emperor of a dynasty who did not kill, out of jealousy or paranoia, any of the generals or officials who contributed to his victories after his rule was secure.

Family background

Liu Xiu was the sixth generation descendant of of the Former Han. He was the son of Liu Qin , magistrate of Nandun . Liu Qin was the son of Liu Hui , vice governor in charge of military affairs for Julu commandery . Liu Hui was the son of Liu Wai , governor of Yulin commandery . Liu Wai was the son of Liu Mai , known posthumously as Marquess Jie of Chongling . Liu Mai was the son of Liu Fa , known posthumously as Prince Ding of Changsha . The prince of Changsha was a brother of , a famous emperor of the Former Han, and he was the son of Emperor Jing.

Liu Qin was married to the daughter of one Fan Chong , and he and his wife had three sons -- Liu Yan , Liu Zhong , and Liu Xiu. Liu Qin died early, and the brothers were raised by their uncle Liu Liang . Liu Yan was ambitious, and ever since Wang Mang usurped the Han throne in 8 and established Xin Dynasty, Liu Yan was constantly considering starting a rebellion to restore the Han Dynasty. Liu Xiu, in contrast, was a careful man who was content to be a farmer. However, his brother-in-law Deng Chen , the husband of his sister Liu Yuan , who believed in a prophecy that a man named Liu Xiu would be emperor, constantly encouraged him to be more ambitious.

Participation in his brother's rebellion

In 22, with virtually the entire empire rebelling against Wang Mang's incompetent rule, Liu Yan prepared his rebellion. He planned, along with his brothers, and Li Tong and his cousin Li Yi , to kidnap the governor for Nanyang Commandery and call for the people of the commandery to join him. When the young men of their home territory of Chongling heard about the rebellion, they were all scared to join -- until they saw that Liu Xiu was part of the rebellion as well, figuring that if even a careful man like Liu Xiu was part of the rebellion, the rebellion was carefully planned.

However, the news of the plan leaked out, and Li Tong and Li Yi barely escaped with their lives . Liu Yan changed his plan and persuaded two branches of the Lülin -- the Xinshi Force and Pinglin Force to join forces with him, and they had some military success. Encouraged, Liu Yan made a frontal assault against Wancheng , the capital of Nanyang Commandery -- and suffered a major loss. Liu Yan and Liu Xiu, along with their sister Liu Boji , survived, but their brother Liu Zhong and sister Liu Yuan died in the battle. Liu Yan's allies, seeing his defeat, considered leaving him, but Liu Yan was able to persuade them, along with another branch of the Lülin, the Xiajiang Force , to join him. In 23, they had a major victory against Xin forces, killing Zhen Fu , the governor of Nanyang Commandery.

As official under Emperor Gengshi

The ascension of Emperor Gengshi

''Main article: Emperor Gengshi of Han''

By this point, many other rebel leaders had become jealous of Liu Yan's capabilities, and while a good number of their men admired Liu Yan and wanted him to become the emperor of a newly declared Han Dynasty, they had other ideas. They found another local rebel leader, Liu Xuan, a third cousin of Liu Yan, who was claiming the title of General Gengshi at the time and who was considered a weak personality, and requested that he be made emperor. Liu Yan initially opposed this move and instead suggested that Liu Xuan carry the title "Prince of Han" first . The other rebel leaders refused, and in early 23, Liu Xuan was proclaimed emperor. Liu Yan became prime minister. Liu Xiu, along with many other rebel leaders, carried the title "general".

The Battle of Kunyang

Liu Xiu would be instrumental in the key victory that sealed Wang Mang's fate. Wang, aware that Emperor Gengshi was becoming a major threat, sent his cousin Wang Yi and his prime minister Wang Xun with what he considered to be overwhelming force, some 430,000 men, intending to crush the newly constituted Han regime. The Han forces were at this point in two groups -- one led by Wang Feng , Wang Chang , and Liu Xiu, which, in response to the arrival of the Xin forces, withdrew to the small town of Kunyang and one led by Liu Yan, which was still sieging Wancheng. The rebels in Kunyang initially wanted to scatter, but Liu Xiu opposed it; rather, he advocated that they guard Kunyang securely, while he would gather all other available troops in surrounding areas and attack the Xin forces from the outside. After initially rejecting Liu Xiu's idea, the Kunyang rebels eventually agreed.

Liu Xiu carried out his action, and when he returned to Kunyang, he began harassing the sieging Xin forces from the outside. Wang Yi and Wang Xun, annoyed, led 10,000 men to attack Liu Xiu and ordered the rest of their troops not to move from their siege locations. Once they engaged in battle, however, after minor losses, the other units were hesitant to assist them, and Liu Xiu killed Wang Xun in battle. Once that happened, the Han forces inside Kunyang burst out of the city and attacked the other Xin units, and the much larger Xin forces suffered a total collapse. The soldiers largely deserted and went home, unable to be gathered again. Wang Yi had to withdraw with only several thousand men back to Luoyang. This was a major blow to Xin, psychologically; after this point on, there would be no hope for it.

Liu Yan's death and Liu Xiu's bare survival

The very first major incident of infighting in Emperor Gengshi's regime would happen in this time, though. Emperor Gengshi was fearful of Liu Yan's capabilities and keenly aware that many of Liu Yan's followers were angry that he was not made emperor. One, Liu Ji , was particularly critical of Emperor Gengshi. Emperor Gengshi arrested Liu Ji and wanted to execute him, but Liu Yan tried to intercede. Emperor Gengshi, encouraged by Li Yi and Zhu Wei , took this opportunity to execute Liu Yan as well.

At this time, Liu Xiu was fighting on the frontlines. When he heard about his brother's death, he quickly left his army and went back to the temporary capital Wancheng to beg forgiveness. When Liu Yan's followers greeted him, he only thanked them but did not speak of his feelings, but rather blamed himself and did not mention of his achievements at Kunyang. He did not dare to mourn his brother. Emperor Gengshi, ashamed of what he had done, spared Liu Xiu and created him the Marquess of Wuxin.

Around this time, Liu Xiu married his childhood sweetheart, the famed beauty .

Role in reorganization of Emperor Gengshi's regime and dispatch to northern China

;First times under the new Emperor
Soon, Wang Mang's Xin Dynasty and its capital Chang'an fell to Emperor Gengshi's forces, and Emperor Gengshi was acknowledged by virtually the entire empire as the emperor of the restored Han Dynasty. Emperor Gengshi initially planned to set his capital at Luoyang, and he made Liu Xiu governor of the capital region. Liu Xiu was commissioned to repair the palaces and governmental offices at Luoyang. Of all of the major Han restoration officials, Liu Xiu alone quickly showed his talent for organization, and his agency quickly resembled a past Han governmental agency at its best.

Emperor Gengshi's regime was only able to obtain nominal submission from many regions of the empire, and one of the trouble region was the region north of the Yellow River. He considered dispatching a general to try to pacify the region, and his cousin Liu Ci , who had succeeded Liu Yan as prime minister, endorsed Liu Xiu for that task. Liu Yan's political enemies, including Li and Zhu, opposed, but after Liu Ci repeatedly endorsed Liu Xiu, Emperor Gengshi relented and, in autumn 23, he sent Liu Xiu to the region north of the Yellow River.

Liu Xiu was initially met with great gladness by the people north of the Yellow River. It was around this time that his later prime minister, Deng Yu , joined him; other later important figures who joined him around this time included Feng Yi and Geng Chun . Deng, seeing that Emperor Gengshi lacked abilities to rule, persuaded Liu Xiu to keep his sights broad and consider eventual independence.

;Norther expedition
Liu Xiu would soon have a major problem on his hand, however, in winter 23, as he faced a pretender for the Han throne. A fortuneteller in Handan named Wang Lang claimed to be actually named Liu Ziyu and a son of . He claimed that his mother was a singer in Emperor Cheng's service, and that Empress Zhao Feiyan had tried to kill him after his birth, but that a substitute child was killed indeed. After he spread these rumors around the people, the people of Handan began to believe that he was a genuine son of Emperor Cheng, and the commanderies north of the Yellow River quickly pledged allegiance to him as emperor. In spring 24, Liu Xiu was forced to withdraw to the northern city of Jicheng . Soon, though, he faced rebellions right near him, and several times was nearly killed by rebels who pledged allegiance to Wang. He reached two commanderies in modern central Hebei that were still loyal to Emperor Gengshi -- Xindu and Herong . He mobilized their forces and won some major battles against Wang's generals.

Meanwhile, a follower of Liu Xiu, Geng Yan , the son of the governor of Shanggu Commandery , had fled back to his father's commandery, and persuaded both his father Geng Kuang and the governor of the neighboring Yuyang Commandery , Peng Chong , to support Liu Xiu. Geng Yan and Peng's deputy, Wu Han , led the two commanderies' cavalry and infantry forces south to join Liu Xiu. The combined forces gave Liu Xiu enough strength to make a direct assault against Handan, trapping and killing Wang Lang.

After Wang's death, Emperor Gengshi created Liu Xiu the Prince of Xiao and summoned him back to the capital . Liu Xiu, persuaded by Geng Yan that he should be ready to set out his own course, because the people were badly shaken by Emperor Gengshi and his officials' misrule, declined and claimed that the region still needed to be pacified.

Independence from Emperor Gengshi

In autumn 24, Liu Xiu, still ostensibly an official under Emperor Gengshi, successfully pacified some of the larger agrarian rebel groups and merged them into his own forces. He also started replacing officials loyal to Emperor Gengshi with those loyal to himself. He consolidated his power north of the Yellow River and, as he predicted that the powerful Chimei would destroy Emperor Gengshi's government for him, he waited by for that to happen, not intervening on either side as that conflict was developing. He put Kou Xun in charge of the Henei region and made it the base for food and manpower supplies, while commissioning Deng with an expedition force to the modern Shaanxi region, waiting for the confrontation between Emperor Gengshi and Chimei. In early 25, Deng, on his way west, seized the modern Shanxi region and put it under Liu Xiu's control, before crossing the Yellow River into modern Shaanxi.

At this point, territories that Liu Xiu controlled were already impressive, compared to any other regional power in the empire broken apart by civil war -- but he still carried just the title Prince of Xiao and still ostensibly was controlling those territories as Emperor Gengshi's deputy, even as he was already engaging militarily against some generals loyal to Emperor Gengshi. In summer 25, after repeated urging by his followers, he finally claimed the title of emperor and the right to succeed to the Han throne -- as Emperor Guangwu.

Campaign to unify the empire

Victory over the Chimei

''Main article: Chimei''

Soon after Emperor Guangwu's ascension, his former liege Emperor Gengshi's regime was destroyed by the Chimei, who supported their own pretender to the Han throne, Emperor Liu Penzi. The Chimei leaders, while militarily powerful, were however, even less capable at ruling than Emperor Gengshi, and they soon alienated the people of the Guanzhong region, which they had taken over when they overthrew Emperor Gengshi. They pillaged the Guanzhong region for supplies, but as eventually the supplies ran out, they were forced to withdraw east in an attempt to return home . Emperor Guangwu, anticipating this, set up his forces to harass and tire the Chimei out, and then block them off at Yiyang . With their path blocked and their troops exhausted, the Chimei leaders surrendered. Emperor Guangwu spared them, including their puppet pretender Emperor Penzi.

Gradual victories over other regional powers

Chimei was the largest of the enemy force that Emepror Guangwu had to deal with in his campaign to reunify the empire under the rule of his Eastern Han Dynasty, but there were a number of regional powers that he had to deal with. These included:

* Liu Yong , also claiming to be the proper emperor of Han, based on his lineage -- as the son of Liu Li , the Prince of Liang under the reigns of , , and who had been forced by Wang Mang to commit suicide; he controlled the modern eastern Henan and northern Jiangsu region.
* Peng Chong, who had been by this point aggravated by Emperor Guangwu's official Zhu Fu into rebellion ; he claimed the title of the Prince of Yan and controlled the modern Beijing region.
* Zhang Bu , nominally the Prince of Qi under Liu Yong, but who independently controlled the modern Shandong region.
* Wei Xiao , nominally the commander of the Xizhou region paying allegiance to Emperor Guangwu, but who independently controlled the modern eastern Gansu region, east of the Yellow River.
* Dou Rong , nominally the governor of Liang Province paying allegiance to Emperor Guangwu, but who independently controlled the modern western Gansu and northern Qinghai region, west of the Yellow River.
* Lu Fang , who also claimed the name Liu Wenbo and claimed to be a descendant of and the proper Han emperor. He, supported by Xiongnu's ''Chanyu'' Yu , controlled the modern central and western Inner Mongolia region.
* Gongsun Shu , who claimed the title emperor of his independent empire Chengjia , who controlled modern Sichuan and Chongqing.

Of these powers, Gongsun Shu's Chengjia was wealthy and powerful, but Gongsun was content to maintain his regional empire and not carry out any military expeditions outside his empire. Instead, he sat by as Emperor Guangwu carried out his unification campaign. Emperor Guangwu, hesitant to carry out annihilation campaigns, largely preferred first trying to persuade the regional warlords to submit to him. Wei and Dou did in 29, and as they were assisting Eastern Han forces to the north of Chengjia, Gongsun was further discouraged from trying to expand his empire.

Also in 29, Liu Yong's son and heir Liu Yu was defeated by Eastern Han forces and killed. Also in 29, Peng's slaves assassinated him, leading to a collapse of his regime. Zhang, seeing the fuility of resistance, surrendered and was created a marquess. By 30, all of eastern China was under Emperor Guangwu's rule.

Wei, seeing that Eastern Han was gradually unifying the empire, inexplicably began considering independence. He tried to persuade Dou to enter into an alliance with him to resist Eastern Han; Dou refused. When Eastern Han started considering conquering Chengjia, Wei, apprehensive of the implications of Chengjia's fall, tried to persuade Emperor Guangwu not to carry out a campaign against Chengjia, and later refused to lead his forces south against Chengjia.

Emperor Guangwu, who in any case preferred peaceful resolution, repeatedly wrote both Wei and Gongsun with humble terms, trying to get them to submit to him, promising them titles and honors. Wei continued to nominally submit but act as an independent power, while Gongsun refused outright -- but continued to be indecisive and took no actions while Eastern Han's rule was being confirmed throughout the land.

Realizing that neither Wei nor Gongsun would voluntarily submit, Emperor Guangwu started a campaign against Wei in summer 30 -- assisted by Wei's friend , who had served as Wei's liaison officer to Emperor Guangwu and had tried in vain to persuade him not to take the course of independence. In response, Wei formally submitted to Gongsun and accepted a princely title -- Prince of Shuoning -- from him, and also tried to persuade Dou to join him. Dou refused, and attacked Wei in coordination with Emperor Guangwu's forces. After some initial successes, Wei's small independent regime eventually collapsed under overwhelming force and was reduced severely. In 33, Wei died and was succeeded by his son Wei Chun . In winter 34, Shuoning's capital Luomen fell, and Wei Chun surrendered.

Emperor Guangwu then turned his attention to Chengjia. He commissioned his generals Wu Han, Cen Peng , Lai She , and Gai Yan to go on a two-pronged attack on Chengjia -- Wu and Cen leading an army and a navy up the Yangtze river from modern Hubei, while Lai and Gai led an army south from modern Shaanxi. Instead of fighting the Eastern Han expedition on the battlefield, Gongsun tried to repel them by assassinating their generals -- and he was initially successful, assassinating Cen and Lai and temporarily causing the Eastern Han forces to halt. However, Eastern Han forces regrouped, and in 36 they had Gongsun surrounded in his capital Chengdu . However, initial attempts to siege the city was unsuccessful, and Wu, then in command of the expeditory force, considered withdrawing. Persuaded by his lieutenant Zhang Kan that Gongsun was in desperate straits, however, Wu tricked Gongsun into believing that the Eastern Han forces were collapsing from fatigue, drawing him out of the city and engaging in battle. Gongsun was mortally wounded in battle, and Chengdu surrendered in winter 36.

After Chengjia's fall, Dou turned over the lands under his control to Emperor Guangwu in 36, and was made prime controller. Lu, after initially submitting to Emperor Guangwu and made the Prince of Dai , eventually rebelled again, but, unable to succeed, eventually fled to Xiongnu in 42. The empire was entirely under Emperor Guangwu's rule.

Reign over unified empire

Although Emperor Guangwu had already created many of his generals and officials marquesses, in 37, after the conquest of the empire was largely complete, he readjusted their marches in accordance with their accomplishments. He also considered what would be the best way to preserve the relationships between him and his generals and to protect their title and position. He therefore resolved to give the generals large marches but not give them official positions in his government. He rewarded them with great wealth and often listened to their advice, but rarely put them in positions of authority. He thereby reduced friction between him and his generals, thus allowing for their relationships to be preserved. (In this, he was matched perhaps only by Emperor Taizu of Song .

As the emperor of the unified empire, Emperor Guangwu's reign was marked by thriftiness, efficiency, and laxity of laws. For example, in 38, his official Liang Tong submitted a petition to restore the criminal laws of late Western Han Dynasty -- which were far more severe. After discussion with other officials, Emperor Guangwu tabled Liang's suggestion.

Emperor Guangwu, however, had to deal with two campaigns against non-Chinese peoples. In 40, a woman named and her sister Trưng Nhị rebelled. Trưng Trắc claimed the title of queen, and she ruled over an independent kingdom for several years. In 41, Emperor Guangwu sent against the Trưng sisters. In 43, he defeated the Trưng sisters and killed them.

Emperor Guangwu also had to deal with periodic minor battles against the Xiongnu to the north. However, throughout his reign, there were no major wars with Xiongnu. Nevertheless, because of raids by Xiongnu, Wuhuan, and Xianbei, the northern commanderies became largely unpopulated, as the people suffered great casualties and also fled to more southerly lands.

With these engagements, Emperor Guangwu declined yet another foreign engagement. In 46, many Xiyu kingdoms were suffering under the hegemony of one of the kingdoms, Shache . They petitioned Emperor Guangwu to again reestablish the Western Han post of the governor of Xiyu. Emperor Guangwu declined, stating that his empire was so lacking in strength at the time that he could not expend efforts to protect Xiyu kingdoms. In response, the Xiyu kingdoms submitted to Xiongnu.

Marital and succession issues

As alluded above, while still under Emperor Gengshi, Emperor Guangwu married his childhood sweetheart Yin Lihua. Later, in 24, while he was on his expedition north of the Yellow River, he entered into a political marriage with , the niece of a regional warlord, Liu Yang the Prince of Zhending. In 25, Guo bore him a son, Liu Jiang .

In 26, Emperor Guangwu was prepared to create an empress, and he favored his first love, Yin. However, Yin had not yet had a son by that point, and she declined the empress position and endorsed Guo. Emperor Guangwu therefore created Guo empress and her son Prince Jiang crown prince.

By 41, however, Empress Guo had long lost the emperor's favor. She continuously complained about that fact, and this angered Emperor Guangwu. In 41, he deposed her and created Yin empress instead. Rather than imprisoning Guo , however, he created her son Liu Fu the Prince of Zhongshan and created her the Princess Dowager of Zhongshan. He made her brother Guo Kuang an important official and, perhaps as a form of alimony, rewarded him with great wealth.

Not having the heart to depose mother and son, Emperor Guangwu initially left Guo's son, Crown Prince Jiang, as crown prince. Crown Prince Jiang, however, realizing that his position was precarious, repeatedly offered to step down. In 43, Emperor Guangwu agreed and created , the oldest son of Empress Yin, crown prince instead. Former Crown Prince Jiang was created the Prince of Donghai. He also changed Prince Yang's name to Zhuang .

Late reign

In 47, an opportunity arose with regard to Xiongnu. Xiongnu had a succession dispute, pitting the current chanyu, Punu against his cousin Bi , the son of a former chanyu. In 48, Bi also claimed the title of chanyu, and submitted to Emperor Guangwu's authority. Punu also submitted, in response, and the divided Xiongnu stopped waging war against Han.

In 49, a rare blot on Emperor Guangwu's rule occurred. He had once again commissioned Ma Yuan to go on an expedition -- against the indigenous people of the Wulin Commandery , who had rebelled. While Ma was on the expedition, however, a number of Ma's political enemies made false accusations against Ma. Emperor Guangwu, believing these accusations, began investigating Ma, who happened to die of illness while on the campaign. With Ma dead and unable to defend himself, Emperor Guangwu stripped Ma of his marquess title and denounced him posthumously.

In 57, Emperor Guangwu died. He was succeeded by Crown Prince Zhuang, who ascended the throne as Emperor Ming.

Era names

*Jianwu : 25-56
*Jianwuzhongyuan : 56-58

Personal information

*Father
**Liu Qin , County Magistrate for Nandun, son of Liu Hui Vice Governor in charge of military affairs for Julu commandery, son of Liu Wai Governor of Yulin commandery, son of Liu Mai Marquess Jie of Chongling, son of Liu Fa Prince Ding of Changsha, son of Emperor Jing of Han
*Mother
**Lady Fan , daughter of Fan Chong
*Wives
**Empress Guo Shengtong , mother of Princes Jiang, Fu, Kang, Yán, and Yǎn
**Empress Yin Lihua , mother of Emperor Ming, Princes Cang, Jing and Jing , and Duke Heng
*Concubines
**Consort Xu, mother of Prince Ying
*Children:
**Liu Jiang , created Crown Prince 26, deposed 43, later Prince Gong of Donghai
**Liu Yang , Duke of Donghai , later Prince of Donghai , later changed name to Liu Zhuang and created Crown Prince , later Emperor Ming of Han
**Liu Fu , Duke of Youyi , later Prince of Zhongshan , later Prince Xian of Pei
**Liu Kang , initially Duke of Zinan , later Prince An of Zinan
**Liu Yán , initially Duke of Huaiyang , later Prince of Huaiyang , later demoted to Prince of Fulin , later demoted to Marquess of Fulin , later Prince Zhi of Fulin
**Liu Yǎn , Duke of Zuoyi , later Prince of Zuoyi , later Prince Jian of Zhongshan
**Liu Ying , initially Duke of Chu , later Prince of Chu
**Liu Cang , Duke of Dongping , later Prince Xian of Dongping
**Liu Jing , born 37, initially Duke of Shanyang , later Prince of Shanyang , later Prince Si of Guanglin
**Liu Heng , Duke Huai of Linhuai
**Liu Jing , Duke of Langye , later Prince Xiao of Langye
**Liu Yiwang , the Princess Wuyang
**Liu Zhongli , the Princess Nieyang
**Liu Hongfu , the Princess Guantau
**Liu Liliu , the Princess Yuyang
**Liu Shou , the Princess Liyi