Liu Bang
Rose in arms as a neighborhood head in Pei County, defeated Xiang Yu and founded the Han dynasty.
Life
The Village Chief Rises Up
Liu Bang was a commoner from Pei County who in his youth served as head of the Sishui neighborhood post, sociable and disinclined to productive work. After Chen Sheng's uprising at the end of the Qin, he rose in arms at Pei County and joined Xiang Liang. In 206 BCE he was the first to enter the Guanzhong heartland, and Ziying, King of Qin, surrendered. He made the Three-Article Covenant with the elders of Guanzhong, abolishing Qin's harsh laws and winning the people's hearts.
Chu–Han Contention
After the Feast at Hongmen, Xiang Yu parceled out fiefs to the lords, and Liu Bang was made King of Han and hemmed in among Ba, Shu and Hanzhong. He had Xiao He hold Guanzhong and supply grain, Zhang Liang devise strategy and Han Xin lead troops to open a northern front. After a stalemate of several years with Xiang Yu around Xingyang and Chenggao, he finally encircled him at Gaixia in 202 BCE. Xiang Yu cut his own throat at the Wu River, and Liu Bang ascended the throne as emperor.
Founding the Dynasty and Purging Meritorious Officials
After becoming emperor he made Chang'an his capital and kept the Qin system while lightening corvée and taxes, but he eliminated the kings of other surnames one by one: Han Xin, Peng Yue and Ying Bu were killed in turn. Toward the Xiongnu, after being besieged at Baideng, he switched to a marriage alliance (heqin). He was a good judge of men and said of himself: "In strategizing in the command tent I am no match for Zhang Liang; in securing the state and caring for the people I am no match for Xiao He; in leading an army of a million I am no match for Han Xin." That he could make use of these three, he said, was why he won the empire.
Legacy
Liu Bang was the first founding emperor of commoner origins in Chinese history. The Han dynasty lasted more than four hundred years, and "Han" also became the name of the people. He was good at employing talent and willing to heed advice, but he was suspicious of his meritorious officials and had them killed, setting a precedent for purging those who had served the founding.
Major works & achievements
- Proclaimed the Three-Article Covenant, abolishing the harsh laws of the Qin dynasty
- Defeated Xiang Yu at the Battle of Gaixia and founded the Western Han
- Made Chang'an the capital and established the parallel system of commanderies and vassal kingdoms
Did you know? "Han" as the name of the Chinese people comes from the dynasty he founded.
Key dates
- 209 BCERose in arms at Pei County
- 206 BCELed his army into Guanzhong and Qin fell; Feast at Hongmen
- 206 BCEMade King of Han
- 205 BCECrushing defeat at the Battle of Pengcheng
- 202 BCEDestroyed Xiang Yu at the Battle of Gaixia and ascended the throne
- 200 BCESiege of Baideng; afterward a marriage alliance with the Xiongnu
- 196 BCEExecuted Han Xin and Peng Yue
- 195 BCEDied of illness after crushing Ying Bu's revolt