Emperor Gaozu of Han
Western Han · Qin and Western Han · 1st ruler
漢高祖 Hàn Gāozǔ劉邦 Liú Bāng
Wade–Giles: Han Kao-tsu · Liu Pang
Reigned 202–195 BC (7 years)
Reigned 7 years (202–195 BC). Died of natural causes; age at death unknown. 1st ruler of Western Han.
Facts
- Reign
- 28 February 202 BC – 1 June 195 BC (1st ruler of Western Han)
- Length of reign
- 7 years
- Born
- Unknown
- Died
- 1 June 195 BC
- Age at accession
- Unknown
- Age at death
- Unknown
- Cause of death
- Natural causesNatural death or illness (including old age)
- Path to the throne
- Self-proclaimedFounded the titleClaimed the imperial title without receiving the throne from an earlier ruler (e.g. Emperor Gaozu of Han, Emperor Guangwu of Han, Hongwu Emperor)
- Successor
- Emperor Hui of Han
Ages are given in East Asian reckoning (sui): a person is one year old at birth and gains a year at each New Year, so the figure is one or two years higher than the Western age.
Life
In brief
Liu Bang came from Fengyi in Pei; he rose in arms in the turmoil at the end of the Qin, won the struggle with Xiang Yu, and founded the Han. After taking the throne he removed one after another the meritorious generals who had been made kings, such as Han Xin and Peng Yue, and he died of an arrow wound received while fighting Qing Bu.
Road to the throne
In 209 BC, when Chen She rose in revolt, the elders of Pei killed the county magistrate and welcomed Liu Bang, who became the Lord of Pei. In 207 BC he received the surrender of Ziying, the king of Qin, and agreed on a code of just three laws with the elders of Guanzhong. The next year Xiang Yu broke their agreement, made Liu Bang King of Han, and gave him Ba, Shu and Hanzhong. In 202 BC he surrounded Xiang Yu at Gaixia and destroyed him, and at the urging of the kings and lords he took the imperial throne on the north bank of the Si River. Liu Bang said he had won the realm because he had been able to use three men: Zhang Liang, Xiao He and Han Xin.
Reign and death
Early the next year, on Chen Ping's plan, he pretended to make an excursion to Yunmeng and seized Han Xin, King of Chu, and later pardoned him and demoted him to Marquis of Huaiyin. In 196 BC Han Xin and Peng Yue were charged with rebellion and the three branches of their kin were exterminated. The annals of Gaodi in the Book of Han say only that their families were wiped out for rebellion, but according to the biographies in the Shiji, Han Xin was beheaded in the Changle Palace on the orders of Empress Lü, who plotted it with Xiao He, and Peng Yue, while being sent away to Shu, was executed at Empress Lü's urging. According to the biography of Qing Bu in the Shiji, Qing Bu, King of Huainan, took fright at this and raised troops, and Liu Bang went in person to attack him and defeated his army. On the way back he stopped at his home town of Pei, gathered the elders for a feast, and struck the zhu while singing the Song of the Great Wind. Hit by a stray arrow in the fighting with Qing Bu, Liu Bang fell ill on the road, and when Empress Lü brought in a good physician he cursed him, saying his life lay with Heaven, and refused treatment. He died in the Changle Palace in 195 BC, and Empress Lü, plotting with Shen Yiji, held back the announcement of his death for a while. The annals of the Book of Han do not give his age; a commentary to the Shiji gives his age at death as 62 and a commentary to the Book of Han as 53 (East Asian reckoning).
Translated from the Japanese text of this site, which is written from the official histories. Years are given in the Western calendar; months are omitted because the histories use the Chinese lunar calendar.
During the reign
Number of times each event is recorded in the official histories. How each item is counted
- Era name changes
- 0
- General amnesties
- 4
- Empresses installed
- 1
- Crown princes deposed
- 0
- Personal campaigns
- 6
- Rebellions suppressed
- 6
- Rebellions faced
- 6
- Capital relocations
- 0
Emperors of Western Han
- 1stEmperor Gaozu of Han漢高祖 Hàn Gāozǔ劉邦 Liú Bāng202–195 BC · 7 years · Natural causes202–195 BC7 yearsNatural causes
- 2ndEmperor Hui of Han漢惠帝 Hàn Huìdì劉盈 Liú Yíng195–188 BC · 7 years · Natural causes, age 23195–188 BC7 yearsNatural causes, age 23
- 3rdEmperor Qianshao of Han漢前少帝 Hàn Qiánshàodì188–184 BC · 3 years · Assassinated188–184 BC3 yearsAssassinated
- 4thEmperor Houshao of Han漢後少帝 Hàn Hòushàodì劉弘 Liú Hóng184–180 BC · 4 years · Assassinated184–180 BC4 yearsAssassinated
- 5thEmperor Wen of Han漢文帝 Hàn Wéndì劉恆 Liú Héng180–157 BC · 22 years · Natural causes180–157 BC22 yearsNatural causes
- 6thEmperor Jing of Han漢景帝 Hàn Jǐngdì劉啓 Liú Qǐ157–141 BC · 15 years · Natural causes, age 48157–141 BC15 yearsNatural causes, age 48
- 7thEmperor Wu of Han漢武帝 Hàn Wǔdì劉徹 Liú Chè141–87 BC · 54 years · Natural causes, age 70141–87 BC54 yearsNatural causes, age 70
- 8thEmperor Zhao of Han漢昭帝 Hàn Zhāodì劉弗陵 Liú Fúlíng87–74 BC · 13 years · Natural causes, age 2187–74 BC13 yearsNatural causes, age 21
- 9thMarquis of Haihun漢廢帝 Hàn Fèidì劉賀 Liú Hè74 BC · 27 days · Unknown74 BC27 daysUnknown
- 10thEmperor Xuan of Han漢宣帝 Hàn Xuāndì劉詢 Liú Xún74–49 BC · 25 years · Natural causes, age 4374–49 BC25 yearsNatural causes, age 43
- 11thEmperor Yuan of Han漢元帝 Hàn Yuándì劉奭 Liú Shì49–33 BC · 15 years · Natural causes, age 4349–33 BC15 yearsNatural causes, age 43
- 12thEmperor Cheng of Han漢成帝 Hàn Chéngdì劉驁 Liú Ào33–7 BC · 25 years · Unknown, age 4533–7 BC25 yearsUnknown, age 45
- 13thEmperor Ai of Han漢哀帝 Hàn Āidì劉欣 Liú Xīn7–1 BC · 6 years · Natural causes, age 257–1 BC6 yearsNatural causes, age 25
- 14thEmperor Ping of Han漢平帝 Hàn Píngdì劉衎 Liú Kàn1 BC – AD 6 · 5 years · Disputed, age 141 BC – AD 65 yearsDisputed, age 14