List_of_emperors_of_the_Han_dynasty

List of emperors of the Han dynasty

List of emperors of the Han dynasty

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The emperors of the Han dynasty were the supreme heads of government during the second imperial dynasty of China; the Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) followed the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) and preceded the Three Kingdoms (220–265 AD). The era is conventionally divided between the Western Han (202 BC – 9 AD) and Eastern Han (25–220 AD) periods.

Western Han miniature pottery infantry (foreground) and cavalry (background); in 1990, when the tomb complex of Emperor Jing of Han (r. 157 – 141 BC) and his wife Empress Wang Zhi (d. 126 BC) was excavated north of Yangling, over 40,000 miniature pottery figures were unearthed. All of them were one-third life size, smaller than the 8,000-some fully life size soldiers of the Terracotta Army buried alongside the First Emperor of Qin. Smaller miniature figurines, on average 60 centimeters (24 in) in height, have also been found in various royal Han tombs where they were placed to guard the deceased tomb occupants in their afterlife.[1]

The Han dynasty was founded by the peasant rebel leader (Liu Bang), known posthumously as Emperor Gao (r. 202 –195 BC) or Gaodi. The longest reigning emperor of the dynasty was Emperor Wu (r. 141–87 BC), or Wudi, who reigned for 54 years. The dynasty was briefly interrupted by the Xin dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang, but he was killed during a rebellion on 6 October 23 AD.[2] The Han dynasty was reestablished by Liu Xiu, known posthumously as Emperor Guangwu (r. 25–57 AD) or Guangwu Di, who claimed the throne on 5 August 25 AD.[3][4] The last Han emperor, Emperor Xian (r. 189–220 AD), was a puppet monarch of Chancellor Cao Cao (155–220 AD), who dominated the court and was made King of Wei.[5] On 11 December 220, Cao's son Pi usurped the throne as Emperor Wen of Wei (r. 220–226 AD) and ended the Han dynasty.[6]

The emperor was the supreme head of government.[7] He appointed all of the highest-ranking officials in central, provincial, commandery, and county administrations.[8] He also functioned as a lawgiver, the highest court judge, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and high priest of the state-sponsored religious cults.[9]

Naming conventions

Emperor

Emperor Guangwu of Han (r. 25–57 AD), as depicted by the Tang artist Yan Liben (600–673 AD)
A gilded bronze handle (with traces of red pigment) in the shape of a dragon's head, made during the Eastern Han; depending on circumstance, the dragon could be a symbol of either good or bad omen for the Han emperors.[10]

In ancient China, the rulers of the Shang (c. 1600 – c. 1050 BC) and Zhou (c. 1050 – 256 BC) dynasties were referred to as kings (王 wang).[11] By the time of the Zhou dynasty, they were also referred to as Sons of Heaven (天子 Tianzi).[11] By 221 BC, the King of Qin, Ying Zheng, conquered and united all the Warring States of ancient China. To elevate himself above the Shang and Zhou kings of old, he accepted the new title of emperor (皇帝 huangdi) and is known to posterity as the First Emperor of Qin (Qin Shi Huang). The new title of emperor was created by combining the titles for the Three Sovereigns (Sanhuang) and Five Emperors (Wudi) from Chinese mythology.[12] This title was used by each successive ruler of China until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911.[13]

Posthumous, temple, and era names

From the Shang to Sui (581–618 AD) dynasties, Chinese rulers (both kings and emperors) were referred to by their posthumous names in records and historical texts.[13] Temple names, first used during the reign of Emperor Jing of Han (r. 157–141 BC), were used exclusively in later records and historical texts when referring to emperors who reigned during the Tang (618–907 AD), Song (960–1279 AD), and Yuan (1271–1368 AD) dynasties.[14] During the Ming (1368–1644 AD) and Qing (1644–1911 AD) dynasties, a single era name was used for each emperor's reign and became the preferred way to refer to Ming and Qing emperors in historical texts.[14]

Use of the era name was formally adopted during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han (r. 141–87 BC), yet its origins can be traced back further. The oldest method of recording years—which had existed since the Shang—set the first year of a ruler's reign as year one.[14] When an emperor died, the first year of a new reign period would begin.[14] This system was changed by the 4th century BC when the first year of a new reign period did not begin until the first day of the lunar New Year following a ruler's death.[14] When Duke Huiwen of Qin assumed the title of king in 324 BC, he changed the year count of his reign back to the first year.[14] For his newly adopted calendar established in 163 BC, Emperor Wen of Han (r. 180–157 BC) also set the year count of his reign back to the beginning.[15]

Since six was considered a lucky number, Han Emperors Jing and Wu changed the year count of their reigns back to the beginning every six years.[15] Since every six-year period was successively marked as yuannian (元年), eryuan (二元), sanyuan (三元), and so forth, this system was considered too cumbersome by the time it reached the fifth cycle wuyuan sannian (五元三年) in 114 BC.[15] In that year a government official suggested that the Han court retrospectively rename every "beginning" with new characters, a reform Emperor Wu accepted in 110 BC.[16] Since Emperor Wu had just performed the religious feng (封) sacrifice at Mount Taishan, he named the new era yuanfeng (元封). This event is regarded as the formal establishment of era names in Chinese history.[16] Emperor Wu changed the era name once more when he established the 'Great Beginning' (太初 Taichu) calendar in 104 BC.[17] From this point until the end of Western Han, the court established a new era name every four years of an emperor's reign. By Eastern Han there was no set interval for establishing new era names, which were often introduced for political reasons and celebrating auspicious events.[17]

Regents and empress dowagers

The story of Jin Midi. Wu Liang shrines, Jiaxiang, Shandong province, China, 2nd century AD; an ink rubbing of an Eastern-Han stone-carved relief

At times, especially when an infant emperor was placed on the throne, a regent, often the empress dowager or one of her male relatives, would assume the duties of the emperor until he reached his majority. Sometimes the empress dowager's faction—the consort clan—was overthrown in a coup d'état. For example, Empress Lü Zhi (d. 180 BC) was the de facto ruler of the court during the reigns of the child emperors Qianshao (r. 188–184 BC) and Houshao (r. 184–180 BC).[18] Her faction was overthrown during the Lü Clan Disturbance of 180 BC and Liu Heng was named emperor (posthumously known as Emperor Wen).[19] Before Emperor Wu died in 87 BC, he had invested Huo Guang (d. 68 BC), Jin Midi (d. 86 BC), and Shangguan Jie (上官桀)(d. 80 BC) with the power to govern as regents over his successor Emperor Zhao of Han (r. 87–74 BC). Huo Guang and Shangguan Jie were both grandfathers to Empress Shangguan (d. 37 BC), wife of Emperor Zhao, while the ethnically-Xiongnu Jin Midi was a former slave who had worked in an imperial stable. After Jin died and Shangguan was executed for treason, Huo Guang was the sole ruling regent. Following his death, the Huo-family faction was overthrown by Emperor Xuan of Han (r. 74–49 BC), in revenge for Huo Guang poisoning his wife Empress Xu Pingjun (d. 71 BC) so that he could marry Huo's daughter Empress Huo Chengjun (d. 54 BC).[20]

Since regents and empress dowagers were not officially counted as emperors of the Han dynasty, they are excluded from the list of emperors below.

List of emperors

See also: Han emperors family tree

Below is a complete list of emperors of the Han dynasty, including their personal, posthumous, and era names. Excluded from the list are de facto rulers such as regents and empress dowagers.

More information Sovereign, Personal name ...

Timeline

Emperor Xian of HanLiu BianEmperor Ling of HanEmperor Huan of HanEmperor Zhi of HanEmperor Chong of HanEmperor Shun of HanMarquess of BeixiangEmperor An of HanEmperor Shang of HanEmperor He of HanEmperor Zhang of HanEmperor Ming of HanEmperor Guangwu of HanLiu PenziGengshi EmperorRuzi YingEmperor Ping of HanEmperor Ai of HanEmperor Cheng of HanEmperor Yuan of HanEmperor Xuan of HanMarquis of HaihunEmperor Zhao of HanEmperor Wu of HanEmperor Jing of HanEmperor Wen of HanEmperor Houshao of HanEmperor Qianshao of HanEmperor Gaozu of Han

Legend:

  • Orange denotes Western Han monarchs
  • Teal denotes Han monarchs following the collapse of the Xin dynasty but prior to the Eastern Han
  • Pink denotes Eastern Han monarchs

See also

References

Notes

  1. Besides Liu Bang and Liu Xiu, the word Xiao (孝 "filial") was prefixed to all posthumous names, although it is usually omitted by scholars. The word huangdi (皇帝 emperor) is also abbreviated. Commonly only the second character is used; e.g., Wudi (武帝, Emperor Wu) for Xiaowu Huangdi (孝武皇帝).[21]
  2. The years of the Chinese lunisolar calendar do not correspond exactly with the years given in the column for era names. Some years given in the table also belong to two reign periods because some era names were adopted before the beginning of the following year.
  3. Ruzi was prince, rather than emperor of Han. Officially, the throne of emperor of Han was vacant during 6 AD to 9 AD.
  4. de Crespigny, Rafe (2010). A Biography of Cao Cao 155-220 AD. Brill. p. 450. ISBN 978-90-04-18830-3. On 11 December [...] Cao Cao's son and successor Cao Pi received the abdication of the last emperor of Han. [...] Some authorities give the date of abdication as 25 November [...] This is the date upon which Emperor Xian issued an edict acalling upon Cao Pi to take the throne, but the ceremonial transfer of sovereignty was carried out two weeks later

    Citations

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      Paludan 1998, pp. 34–36.
    2. [2]
      de Crespigny 2006, p. 568.
    3. [3]
      Hymes 2000, p. 36.
    4. [4]
      Beck 1990, p. 21.
    5. [5]
      Beck 1990, pp. 354–355.
    6. [6]
      Hymes 2000, p. 16.
    7. [7]
      de Crespigny 2006; Bielenstein 1980, p. 143; Hucker 1975, pp. 149–150.
    8. [8]
      Wang 1949, pp. 141–142.
    9. [9]
      Wang 1949, pp. 141–143; Ch'ü 1972, p. 71; de Crespigny 2006, pp. 1216–1217.
    10. [10]
      de Visser 2003, pp. 43–49.
    11. [11]
      Wilkinson 1998, p. 105.
    12. [12]
      Wilkinson 1998, pp. 105–106.
    13. [13]
      Wilkinson 1998, p. 106.
    14. [14]
      Wilkinson 1998.
    15. [15]
      Wilkinson 1998, p. 177; Sato 1991, p. 278.
    16. [16]
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    17. [17]
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      Grand Scribe's Records, p. 108.
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      Latin spelling, Chinese characters, and date range come from Paludan (1998), p. 28
    25. [25]
      Bo Yang 1977, pp. 433–443.
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      Grand Scribe's Records, pp. 114–115.
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    29. [29]
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      Latin spelling, Chinese characters, and date range come from Loewe & Twitchett (1986), p. xxxix
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    33. [33]
      Latin spelling, Chinese characters, and date range come from Paludan (1998), 28, 33.
    34. [34]
      Bo Yang (1977), 444–447.
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    36. [36]
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      Bo Yang (1977), 447–452.
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    39. [39]
      Latin spelling, Chinese characters, and date range come from Paludan (1998), 28, 36 and Loewe (2000), 273–280.
    40. [40]
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    41. [41]
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    42. [42]
      Bo Yang (1977), 471–473.
    43. [43]
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    46. [46]
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    47. [47]
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    52. [52]
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    54. [54]
      Hymes 2000, p. 13; Vervoorn 1990, p. 313.
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      Bo Yang (1977), 495. While traditional sources do not give an exact date when the Yuanshi era was announced, it was implied that the first year of Yuanshi did not start until the first month of the lunar calendar — ergo, in 1 AD. See, e.g., Ban Gu, Book of Han, vol. 12.
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      Latin spelling, Chinese characters, and date range from de Crespigny (2007), 558–560.
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    64. [64]
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    66. [66]
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    68. [68]
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    70. [70]
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    73. [73]
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      Latin spelling, Chinese characters, and date range from Paludan (1998), 50 and de Crespigny (2007), 580–583.
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      Bo Yang (1977), 524–529.
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      Latin spelling, Chinese characters, and date range from Twitchett and Loewe (1986), xl.
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      Bo Yang (1977), 547
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    88. [88]
      Bo Yang (1977), 547–564.

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