Emperor Guangwu of Han
Emperor Guangwu of Han | |||||||||||||||||
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Emperor of the Han dynasty | |||||||||||||||||
Reign | 5 August AD 25[1] – 29 March AD 57 | ||||||||||||||||
Predecessor | Gengshi Emperor | ||||||||||||||||
Successor | Emperor Ming | ||||||||||||||||
Born | 15 January 5 BC Jiyang County, Chenliu Commandery | ||||||||||||||||
Died | 29 March AD 57 (aged 62) Luoyang | ||||||||||||||||
Consorts | |||||||||||||||||
Issue |
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Dynasty | Eastern Han | ||||||||||||||||
Father | Liu Qin | ||||||||||||||||
Mother | Fan Xiandou |
Emperor Guangwu of Han | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Traditional Chinese | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 汉 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Emperor Guangwu of Han (Chinese:
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 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 China in AD 36.
He established his capital in Luoyang, 335 kilometers (208 mi) east of the former capital Chang'an (modern Xi'an), ushering in the Eastern Han (Later Han) dynasty. He implemented some reforms (notably land reform, albeit not very successfully) 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 of 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 on 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 disastrous results.
Also 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 rare example 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[edit]
Liu Xiu was the sixth generation descendant of Emperor Jing of the Western Han dynasty. He was the son of Liu Qin (
Liu Qin was married to the daughter of one Fan Chong (樊重), and he and his wife had three sons – Liu Yan, Liu Zhong (
Joining Lülin rebellion against Wang Mang[edit]
In AD 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 (
However, the news of the plan leaked out, and Li Tong and Li Yi barely escaped with their lives (but their family was slaughtered). Liu Yan changed his plan and persuaded two branches of the Lülin – the Xinshi Force (
As official under Gengshi Emperor[edit]
The Gengshi Emperor[edit]
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 (
The Battle of Kunyang[edit]
Liu Xiu would be instrumental in the key victory that sealed Wang Mang's fate. Wang, aware that Gengshi Emperor was becoming a major threat, sent his cousin Wang Yi (
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 survival[edit]
The very first major incident of infighting in Gengshi Emperor's regime would happen in this time, though. The Gengshi Emperor was fearful of Liu Yan's capabilities and was keenly aware that many of Liu Yan's followers were angry that he was not made emperor. One, Liu Ji (
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. The Gengshi Emperor, 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 Yin Lihua. (According to Hou Han Shu, when Liu Xiu was younger, he visited the capital Chang'an, he became impressed with the mayor of the capital (zhijinyu,
Role in reorganization of Gengshi Emperor's regime and dispatch to northern China[edit]
First Days under the new Emperor[edit]
Soon, Wang Mang's Xin Dynasty and its capital Chang'an fell to the Gengshi Emperor's forces, and Gengshi Emperor was acknowledged by virtually the entire empire as the emperor of the restored Han Dynasty. He 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 officials following the restoration, Liu Xiu alone quickly showed his talent for organization, and his agency quickly grew to resemble its pre-Wang Mang counterpart.
In any case, Gengshi Emperor's regime was only able to obtain nominal submission from many regions of the empire, and one of the troublesome regions was north of the Yellow River. The Emperor considered dispatching a general to try to pacify the region, and his cousin Liu Ci (
Liu Xiu was initially met with great gladness by the people north of the Yellow River. It was around this time that Deng Yu joined him (later to be his prime minister); other later important figures who joined him around this time included Feng Yi and Geng Chun (耿純). Deng, seeing that the Gengshi Emperor lacked the ability to rule, persuaded Liu Xiu to keep his sights broad and consider eventual independence.
Northern expedition[edit]
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 fortune teller in Handan named Wang Lang claimed to be actually named Liu Ziyu (
Meanwhile, a follower of Liu Xiu, Geng Yan, the son of the governor of Shanggu Commandery (
After Wang's death, Gengshi Emperor made Liu Xiu the Prince of Xiao and summoned him back to the capital (then moved to Chang'an). Liu Xiu, persuaded by Geng Yan that he should be ready to set out his own course because the people were badly shaken by Gengshi Emperor and his officials' misrule, declined and claimed that the region still needed to be pacified.
Independence from the Gengshi Emperor[edit]
In the autumn of AD 24, Liu Xiu, still ostensibly an official under Gengshi Emperor, successfully pacified some of the larger agrarian rebel groups and merged them into his own forces. He also started replacing officials loyal to Gengshi Emperor with those loyal to himself. He consolidated his power north of the Yellow River and, as he predicted that the powerful Chimei would destroy Gengshi Emperor'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 (modern northern Henan, north of the Yellow River) 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 Gengshi Emperor and Chimei. In early AD 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 (which Gengshi Emperor had created him) and still ostensibly was controlling those territories as Gengshi Emperor's deputy, even as he was already engaging militarily against some generals (e.g. Xie Gong –
Campaign to unify the empire[edit]
Victory over the Chimei[edit]
Soon after Emperor Guangwu's ascension, the Gengshi Emperor's regime was destroyed by the Chimei, who supported their own pretender to the Han throne, Liu Penzi. The Chimei leaders, despite being militarily powerful, were however even less capable at ruling than the Gengshi Emperor, and they soon alienated the people of the Guanzhong (
Gradual victories over other regional powers[edit]
Chimei was the largest of the enemy forces that Emperor 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 (
劉 永 ), also claiming to be the proper emperor of Han, based on his lineage—as the son of Liu Li (劉 立 ), the Prince of Liang under the reigns of Emperor Cheng, Emperor Ai, and Emperor Ping 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 (
朱 浮) into rebellion (in a rare case of a succession of wrong decisions by Emperor Guangwu—mistakes that he learned from and would not repeat); he claimed the title of the Prince of Yan and controlled the modern Beijing region. - Zhang Bu (
張 步 ), nominally the Prince of Qi under Liu Yong, but who independently controlled the modern Shandong region. - Wei Xiao (隗囂), nominally the commander of the Xizhou (
西 州 ) region paying allegiance to Emperor Guangwu, but who independently controlled the modern eastern Gansu region, east of the Yellow River. - Dou Rong (竇融), nominally the governor of Liang Province (
涼 州 ) paying allegiance to Emperor Guangwu, but who independently controlled the modern western Gansu and northern Qinghai region, west of the Yellow River. - Lu Fang (
盧 芳 ), who also claimed the name Liu Wenbo (劉 文 伯 ) and claimed to be a descendant of Emperor Wu and the proper Han emperor. He, supported by Xiongnu's Chanyu Yu (輿 ), controlled the modern central and western Inner Mongolia region. Some Russian archaeologists have identified a Han-era Chinese-style palace unearthed near Abakan (in Southern Siberia) in 1941–45 as Lu Fang's residence after he had left China for the lands of the Xiongnu.[3] - Gongsun Shu, who proclaimed himself emperor of Chengjia, who controlled the Yi Province, modern Sichuan, Chongqing and parts of Shaanxi, Guizhou, and Yunnan.
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 AD 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 AD 29, Liu Yong's son and heir Liu Yu (
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 the summer of AD 30—assisted by Wei's friend Ma Yuan, 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 AD 33, Wei died and was succeeded by his son Wei Chun (隗純). In the winter of AD 34, Shuoning's capital Luomen (落門, in modern Tianshui, Gansu) fell, and Wei Chun surrendered.
Emperor Guangwu then turned his attention to Chengjia. He commissioned his generals Wu Han, Cen Peng (岑彭), Lai She (
After Chengjia's fall, Dou turned over the lands under his control to Emperor Guangwu in AD 36, and was made prime controller. Lu, after initially submitting to Emperor Guangwu and made the Prince of Dai (as Emperor Guangwu maintained the fiction that Lu was actually from imperial lineage), eventually rebelled again, but, unable to succeed, eventually fled to Xiongnu in AD 42. The empire was entirely under Emperor Guangwu's rule. During the wartime, Liu's general Geng Yan massacred 300 cities.[5][6]
Reign over unified empire[edit]
Although Emperor Guangwu had already created many of his generals and officials marquesses, in AD 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 so 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 AD 38, his official Liang Tong (
Emperor Guangwu, however, had to deal with two campaigns against non-Chinese peoples. In AD 40, a Vietnamese woman named Trưng Trắc (Chinese: Zheng Ce (
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 AD 46, many Xiyu (modern Xinjiang and former Soviet central Asia) kingdoms were suffering under the hegemony of one of the kingdoms, Shache (Yarkand). 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[edit]
While still under the Gengshi Emperor's reign, Emperor Guangwu married his childhood sweetheart Yin Lihua. Later, in AD 24, while he was on his expedition north of the Yellow River, he entered a political marriage with Guo Shengtong (
In AD 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 made Guo empress and her son Prince Jiang crown prince.
But by AD 41, Empress Guo had lost the emperor's favor. She continuously complained about that fact, and this angered Emperor Guangwu. In AD 41, he deposed her and made Yin empress instead. Rather than imprisoning Guo (as is often the fate of deposed empresses), he made her son Liu Fu (
Not having the heart to depose both mother and son, Emperor Guangwu initially left Guo's son, Jiang, as the crown prince. However, Crown Prince Jiang, realizing that his position was precarious, repeatedly offered to step down. In AD 43, Emperor Guangwu agreed and made Liu Yang (
Late reign[edit]
In AD 47, an opportunity arose with regard to Xiongnu. Xiongnu had a succession dispute, pitting the current chanyu, Punu (
In AD 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 (modern northwestern Hunan and eastern Guizhou), 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. (Ma's reputation was not restored until his daughter later became empress to Emperor Guangwu's son Emperor Ming.)
In AD 57, Emperor Guangwu died. He was succeeded by Crown Prince Zhuang, who ascended the throne as Emperor Ming.
Era names[edit]
- Jianwu (
建 武 ): AD 25–56 - Jianwuzhongyuan (
建 武 中元 ): AD 56–58
Family[edit]
Consorts and Issue:
- Empress Guanglie, of the Yin clan (
光 烈 皇后 陰 氏 ; 5–64), personal name Lihua (麗華 )- Liu Zhuang, Emperor Xiaoming (
孝明 皇帝 劉 莊 ; 28–75), fourth son - Liu Cang, Prince Xian of Dongping (
東平 憲 王 劉 蒼 ; d. 83), sixth son - Princess Nieyang (涅陽
公主 ), personal name Zhongli (中 禮 ), second daughter- Married Dou Gu of Fufeng, Marquis Xianqin (扶風 竇固; d. 88)
- Liu Jing, Prince Si of Guangling (
廣陵 思 王 劉 荊; d. 67), eighth son - Liu Heng, Duke Huai of Linhuai (臨淮
懷 公 劉 衡; d. 41), ninth son - Liu Jing, Prince Xiao of Langya (琅邪
孝 王 劉 京 ; d. 81), 11th son
- Liu Zhuang, Emperor Xiaoming (
- Empress, of the Guo clan (
皇后 郭 氏 ; d. 52), fifth cousin, personal name Shengtong (聖 通 )- Liu Qiang, Prince Gong of Donghai (
東海 恭 王 劉 強 ; 25–58), first son - Liu Fu, Prince Xian of Pei (沛獻
王 劉 輔; d. 84), second son - Liu Kang, Prince An of Jinan (
濟 南 安王 劉 康 ; d. 97), fifth son - Princess Guantao (
館 陶 公主 ; d. 73), personal name Hongfu (紅 夫 ), third daughter- Married Han Guang (
韓 光 ; d. 73), and had issue (one son)
- Married Han Guang (
- Liu Yan, Prince Zhi of Fuling (阜陵
質 王 劉 延 ; d. 89), seventh son - Liu Yan, Prince Jian of Zhongshan (
中山 簡王劉 焉; 39–90), tenth son
- Liu Qiang, Prince Gong of Donghai (
- Meiren, of the Xu clan (
美人 許 氏 ; d. 86)- Liu Ying, Prince Chu (
楚 王 劉 英 ; d. 71), third son
- Liu Ying, Prince Chu (
- Unknown
- Princess Wuyang (
舞 陽 公主 ), personal name Yiwang (義 王 ), first daughter- Married Liang Song of Anding, Marquis Ling (
安定 梁 松 ), and had issue (one son)
- Married Liang Song of Anding, Marquis Ling (
- Princess Yuyang (淯陽
公主 ), personal name Liliu (禮 劉 ), fourth daughter- Married Guo Huang, Marquis Yang'an (
郭 璜; d. 92) in 52
- Married Guo Huang, Marquis Yang'an (
- Princess Liyi (酈邑
公主 ; d. 59), personal name Shou (綬), fifth daughter- Married Yin Feng (
陰 豐 ; d. 59)
- Married Yin Feng (
- Princess Wuyang (
Ancestry[edit]
Liu Mai (d. 121 BC), a grandson of Emperor Jing of Han | |||||||||||||||||||
Liu Wai | |||||||||||||||||||
Liu Hui | |||||||||||||||||||
Liu Qin (d. 3) | |||||||||||||||||||
Emperor Guangwu of Han (5 BC – 57) | |||||||||||||||||||
Fan Zhong | |||||||||||||||||||
Fan Xiandou of Nanyang (d. 22) | |||||||||||||||||||
Popular culture[edit]
- Appeared in the 2009 SBS TV series Ja Myung Go.
- Portrayed by Yuan Hong in Singing All Along.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Proclaimed himself emperor on 5 August AD 25, but was not in control of the whole of China until 25 December AD 36 when the last city escaping his control, Chengdu, surrendered to his army.
- ^ Bielenstein, 245.
- ^ A.A. Kovalyov (А.А. Ковалёв), Chinese Emperor on the Yenisy? Once more about the owner of the Tashebik "Palace" (Китайский император на Енисее? Ещё раз о хозяине ташебинского «дворца») Archived 10 July 2012 at archive.today, in "Ethnohistory and archaeology of Northern Eurasia: theory, methodology, and the research practice" ("Этноистория и археология Северной Евразии: теория, методология и практика исследования"). Irkutsk, 2007, pp. 145–148.
- ^ Houhanshu, vol. 13
- ^ Houhanshu, vol. 19
- ^ 赫遜
河畔 談 中國 歷史 by Ray Huang, 10.光武 中興 - ^
太 监原为皇帝 的 门客不 必阉割 光武 帝 之 后 悉用阉人
- Bielenstein, Hans. (1986). "Wang Mang, the Restoration of the Han Dynasty, and Later Han", in The Cambridge History of China: Volume I: the Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 B.C. – A.D. 220, 223–290. Edited by Denis Twitchett and Michael Loewe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-24327-0.
- Zizhi Tongjian by Sima Guang, vols. 38–44 (original available at zh:s:
資 治 通 鑑 ), and Modern Chinese Edition edited by Bo Yang (Taipei, 1982–1989). - Hou Han Shu by Fan Ye, vol. 1 (Biography of Emperor Guangwu), [1].
External links[edit]
- Media related to
漢 光武 帝 at Wikimedia Commons