Emperor Wu of Han
Western Han · Qin and Western Han · 7th ruler
漢武帝 Hàn Wǔdì劉徹 Liú Chè
Wade–Giles: Han Wu-ti · Liu Ch'e
Reigned 141–87 BC (54 years)
Reigned 54 years (141–87 BC). Died at 70 (East Asian reckoning) of natural causes. 7th ruler of Western Han.
Facts
- Reign
- 9 March 141 BC – 29 March 87 BC (7th ruler of Western Han)
- Length of reign
- 54 years
- Born
- 156 BC
- Died
- 29 March 87 BC
- Age at accession
- 16
- Age at death
- 70
- Cause of death
- Natural causesNatural death or illness (including old age)
- Path to the throne
- Designated heirSucceeded the previous ruler of the same regime, who had chosen the heir (by testament, naming a crown prince, etc.)
- Predecessor
- Emperor Jing of Han
- Successor
- Emperor Zhao of Han
- Era names
- 建元 Jiànyuán (proclaimed 140 BC)
- 元光 Yuánguāng (proclaimed 134 BC)
- 元朔 Yuánshuò (proclaimed 128 BC)
- 元狩 Yuánshòu (proclaimed 122 BC)
- 元鼎 Yuándǐng (proclaimed 116 BC)
- 元封 Yuánfēng (proclaimed 111 BC)
- 太初 Tàichū (proclaimed 105 BC)
- 天漢 Tiānhàn (proclaimed 100 BC)
- 太始 Tàishǐ (proclaimed 96 BC)
- 征和 Zhēnghé (proclaimed 92 BC)
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
He sent great armies against the Xiongnu, and in his last years he lost his crown prince in the witchcraft affair. The assessment in the Book of Han says that on taking the throne he set aside the hundred schools and honored the Six Classics, founded the Imperial Academy, reformed the calendar and performed the feng and shan sacrifices, and calls him a man of great talent and grand designs.
Road to the throne
He was the son of Emperor Jing of Han, and his mother was Beauty Wang. He was made Prince of Jiaodong at the age of 4 and crown prince at 7 (East Asian reckoning), and his mother was made empress. When Emperor Jing died in 141 BC, he took the throne. Chen Zan's commentary in the Book of Han counts his age at accession as one year more than the annals do.
Reign and death
In 119 BC Wei Qing surrounded the chanyu north of the desert and Huo Qubing sacrificed to Heaven at Mount Langjuxu before returning, but the dead of both armies numbered in the tens of thousands. In 91 BC, when Jiang Chong and others dug up witchcraft objects in the crown prince's palace, Crown Prince Li plotted with the empress, beheaded Jiang Chong, and called out troops to fight the chancellor Liu Qumao in Chang'an, and the dead numbered in the tens of thousands. The defeated crown prince fled, and the empress killed herself. The annals say only that the crown prince killed himself at Hu, while the biographies of Emperor Wu's five sons say he hanged himself when the house where he was hiding was discovered. When it later became clear that most of the witchcraft charges were false, Emperor Wu wiped out Jiang Chong's family and, mourning the crown prince, built the Palace for Remembering a Son. According to the account of the Western Regions in the Book of Han, in response to a proposal to set up military farms at Luntai, Emperor Wu issued an edict deeply regretting the past, and afterward sent out no more armies. This edict is not in the annals of Emperor Wu. According to the biography of Huo Guang, Emperor Wu meant to make the son of Lady Gouyi his heir, and when his illness became grave he ordered Huo Guang and others to assist the young boy. The annals record that in 87 BC, at the Wuzuo Palace, he made his son Fuling crown prince and died two days later. On Lady Gouyi's death, the biographies of imperial in-laws in the Book of Han say she was reprimanded and died of grief, while the passage by Chu Shaosun added to the Shiji and the Zizhi Tongjian write that Emperor Wu had her put to death to keep a young ruler and a young mother from bringing disorder to the state. The annals of Emperor Wu do not give a cause of death.
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
- 11
- General amnesties
- 18
- Empresses installed
- 1
- Crown princes deposed
- 1
- Personal campaigns
- 1
- Rebellions suppressed
- 5
- Rebellions faced
- 5
- 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