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Emperor Gao (256 BC or 247 BC–June 1, 195 BC), commonly known inside China as Gaozu, personal name Liu Bang, was the first emperor of the Chinese Han Dynasty, ruling over China from 202 BC until 195 BC, and one of only few dynasty founders who emerged from the peasant class (the other major example being Zhu Yuanzhang founder of the Ming Dynasty). Before becoming an emperor, he was also called Lord Pei (沛公) after his birthplace. He was also created as the Prince of Han by Xiang Yu, the Grand Prince of Western Chu following the collapse of Qin Dynasty, and was called so before becoming emperor.

Early Life

Liu Bang was born into a peasant family in Pei (present Pei County in Jiangsu Province). When he was young, he did not like farm work, and was evidently living a rogue's life. Not surprisingly, he was not the favorite son of his peasant father.

After he was grown up, Liu Bang served as a patrol officer in his county. Once he was responsible of transporting a group of prisoners to Mount Li in now Shaanxi province. During the trip many prisoners fled. Fearful that he would be punished for the prisoners' flight, Liu released the remaining prisoners and fled himself, becoming the leader of a band of brigands. On one of his raids, he met a county magistrate who became impressed with his leadership skills and gave his daughter Lü Zhi (呂雉) to him in marriage.

Insurection against Qin

In 209 BC Chen Sheng led an uprising against Qin Dynasty and assumed the title "King of Great Chu." Pei was in old Chu territory and when many other part of old Chu rebelled, Liu Bang killed the magistrate of Pei County and rebelled himself, claiming the title "Duke of Pei."

Liu Bang served first as a subordinate of Xiang Liang and then, after Xiang Liang was killed in action, became a subordinate of Mi Xin, Prince Huai of Chu, who was also the nominal leader of the coalition of the rebel states. Prince Xin created Liu Bang as Marquess of Wu'an.

Prince Xin made a promise that whoever occupied Guanzhong (the plain of Central Shaanxi, the Qin homeland, and the core of Qin Dynasty) first should be awarded Guanzhong as his kingdom. He then sent Liu Bang for this mission, partly because he considered Liu Bang a kind and merciful man, partly because he did not like Xiang Yu, whom he considered cruel and impetuous. When Xiang Yu was busy fighting the main force of Qin Dynasty, Liu Bang invaded Guanzhong with relative ease.

In December 207 BC, the last Qin ruler Ziying surrendered to Liu Bang and his rebel army, and in 206 BC Liu Bang entered the Qin capital Xianyang. However, now Xiang Yu was the most powerful rebel at that time Instead, both Ziying and Xianyang was forced to be handed to Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu even considered killing Liu Bang in one dinner party (later known as the Feast at Hong Gate) but decided otherwise.

Chu-Han Contention

Now considering the whole former Qin Empire under his domination, Xiang Yu realligned the territories of not only the remaining parts of Qin but also the rebel states, dividing the territories into 19 principalities. Xiang Yu did not honor the promise by Xin, Prince Huai of Chu, who would soon himself be assassinated by Xiang's orders. Instead, he gave Guanzhong to the princes of three Qins. Liu Bang was only awarded the principality of Han (modern Sichuan and southern Shaanxi).

In Hanzhong, Liu Bang focused his efforts on developing agriculture methods and training an army, through which he reinforced his resource accumulation and military power. Before long, Liu Bang broke out of his principality, deposed the kings of three Qins and occupied Guanzhong, where he launched a war now known as the Chu-Han War, against Xiang Yu.

Although Xiang Yu was far superior in military to Liu Bang, he was short of political maneuover. Xiang Yu kept defeating Liu Bang in the battlefield, but each of his victories only made more people stand by the side of Liu Bang. When Xiang Yu finally was defeated, he could not recover and committed suicide.

The war lasted five years (206–202 BC) and ended with Liu Bang's victory. Having defeated Xiang Yu, Liu Bang proclaimed himself emperor and established the Han Dynasty in 202 BC and made Chang'an (present city of Xi'an) his capital city. Liu Bang became historically known as Emperor Gao of Han.

Reign as the Emperor

After Liu Bang came into power, he re-centralised China based on Qin's model. He gradually replaced the original vassals, granting their lands to his relatives. Since the economy had been devastated by the war following the demise of the Qin Dynasty, he reduced taxes and corvée, developed agriculture and restricted spending. However, in response to what he saw as the decadence of Qin merchants, he restricted commerce by levying heavy taxes and legal restrictions on merchants. He also made peace with the Xiongnu. Under Gaozu's reign, Confucian thought gradually replaced Legalist thought; Confucian scholars were welcomed into his government, while the harsh Legalist laws were lessened. Emperor Gaozu's efforts laid a solid foundation for the over four-hundred-year reign of the Han Dynasty.

Liu Bang also devoted to subduing the unruly kings. He soon annexed most of the kingdoms and established princehoods, with his sons and relatives as princes. By doing so he consolidated his new-born empire.

Liu Bang tried military solutions against the Xiongnu but was beaten hard in the battlefield. He then decided to appease the Xiongnu by marrying ladies from royal family to Chanyu, the leaders of the Xiongnu. This policy would not change for about 70 years.

Succession

Crown Prince Hui, the eldest son of Liu Bang and Empress Lü, was the heir apparent of Liu Bang. However, Liu Bang disliked him because he considered Crown Prince Hui to be too weak as a ruler. His favorite son was Ruyi, Prince Yin of Zhao, by Lady Qi, one of his favorite concubine. Liu Bang attempted to make Ruyi crown prince but failed because most of his ministers remained loyal to Crown Prince Hui.

Liu Bang's affection for Lady Qi and Ruyi inflamed Empress Dowager Lü, who poisoned Ruyi and tortured Qi to death after Liu Bang's death.

Personality

By historians' account, Liu Bang was the contrary to his rival, Xiang Yu. While Xiang Yu was normally depicted as a romantic and noble man, Liu Bang was often mentioned as a rogue. Xiang Yu was always kind and gentle to his peer and subordinates. However, he wasinferior in political maneuver. Han Xin described Xiang Yu as "having the kindness of women," meaning that, in his opinion, Xiang's "kindness" was petty and did not benefit either his regime or his people. Xiang Yu also did not know how to utillize his talented subordinates; Han Xin, for example, was a soldier under Xiang, and his later defection to Liu Bang, for whom he served as the commander in chief, would be extremely damaging to Xiang. Other main problems with Xiang's rule was his deliberate cruelty in military campaigns, his inability to accept criticism and wise counsel, and his inability to delegate.

Liu Bang, on the contrary, was bold and arrogant. These being said, he knew how to manipulate his peers and subordinates. He bid them glory and territories generously when he was fighting Xiang Yu, which won the hearty support of most of his peer kings and subordinates. However, once he became the emperor, Liu Bang ruthlessly oppressed them and executeded several of them several of them, most notably Han Xin and Peng Yue. Ying Bu was driven to rebellion by fear, and was also destroyed. Liu's strong suits were his ability to make decisions based on counsel of others, having an uncanny ability to figure out what counsel is wise and what counsel is not wise; his ability to delegate; and his ability to figure out what would bring a person to follow him.

While Liu might have been deliberately derogatory of Xiang, he was not particularly off the mark when he commented on the reason why he was successful and Xiang was not:

The most important reason is that I know how to use people and Xiang Yu did not. As to being able to set out a strategy in a tent but determining success or failure in the events a thousand miles away, I am not as good as Zhang Liang. As to guarding the home base, comforting the people, and supplying the army so that it lacked niehter food nor supplies, I am not as good as Xiao He. Leading untrained large forces but always being successful whether battling or sieging, I am not as good as Han Xin. These three people are heroes among men, but I know how to use them, so I was able to conquer the lands under heaven. Xiang Yu only had one great advisor, Fan Zeng, but was unable to use him properly, and so was defeated by me."

An incident involving Ying Bu demonstrates his personality well. Ying Bu was initially a subordinate of Xiang's, and in reward for Ying's military capabilities, Xiang created him the Prince of Jiujiang. However, Xiang also clearly began to distrust Ying, and once when Ying, then ill, was unable to lead a force on Xiang's behalf, Xiang sent a delegation to rebuke him and to monitor his illness, not believing the illness to be genuine. In fear and goaded by the diplomat Sui He (隨何), whom Liu sent to Jiujiang to try to make an alliance with Ying, Ying rebelled against Xiang, but his army was defeated by Xiang and he fled to Liu's headquarters. When Liu received Ying, he was half-naked and washing his feet, and he greeted Ying in crude language. Ying, a great general in his own right and a prince, was so humiliated that he considered suicide. However, once Liu had Ying escorted to the headquarters that he had built in ancitipation of Ying's arrival, Ying became impressed -- Ying's headquarters had the same size, same furnishings, same level of personnel staffing, and same security as Liu's own headquarters. Ying got the impression that Liu's earlier slights were in fact endearments, treating him as an equal and a brother in arms, and he became a key figure in Liu's campaign against Xiang.

Xiang Yu was generally remembered as a fallen hero while many considered Liu Bang as a rogue. However, Liu Bang treated the commons much better than the former nobles. He was a true popular monarch.

Personal information

• Father: Liu Zhijia (劉執嘉) (3rd son of)
• Mother: Wang Hanshi (王含始)
• Wife: Empress Lü, who later became Empress Dowager Lü
• Major concubines:
  • consort Cao
  • consort Zhao
  • consort Zhang
  • consort Wei
  • consort Qi
  • consort Bo
• Children: 8 sons:
  • Emperor Hui and Princess Luyuan from Empress Lü
    
  • Ruyi, Prince Yin of Zhao from consort Qi
    
  • Emperor Wen from consort Bo
    
  • Fei, Prince Daohui of Qi from consort Cao
    
  • Hui, Prince Gong of Zhao
    
  • You, Prince You of Zhao
    
  • Chang, Prince Li of Huainan
    
  • Jian, Prince of Yan
    

See also

• Chu Han Contention
• Chinese history

• 256 BC births
• 247 BC births
• 195 BC deaths
• Han Dynasty emperors