Emperors of the Han Dynasty
| Order | Name |
Notes |
Reign
Time (years) |
| Western Han Dynasty
(206 BC - 8 AD) |
|||
1 |
Han Gaozu(Liu Bang) | Son of a peasant family; He revolted against the rule of Qin. After defeating Xiangyu (his rival) during a four-year war, he established the Western Han Dynasty in 202 BC and ruled the country for 12 years. | 206 BC - 195 BC |
2 |
Han Huidi(Liu Ying) | Son of Liu Bang; Because he was inept to be an emperor, the power was held in the hand of his mother, Lvhou. | 195 BC - 188 BC |
3 |
Han Lvhou(Lv Zhi) | Wife of Liu Bang; After Liu Bang died, she was in the seat of power although Liu Ying, Liu Gong and Liu Hong were the emperors in succession. | 188 BC - 180 BC |
4 |
Han Wendi(Liu Heng) | The fourth son of Liu Bang; He lightened the taxes and paid great importance to production thus promoting the development of society. Also he was a famously frugal emperor. | 180 BC - 157 BC |
5 |
Han Jingdi(Liu Qi) | Son of Han Wendi; He carried out serious measures like Wendi had done and obtained good results. | 157 BC - 141 BC |
6 |
Han Wudi(Liu Che) | The ninth son of Han Jingdi; He subdued the ethnic Xiongnu (Hun) invaders by wars. The Western Han Dynasty was in its most powerful period during the reign of the Han Wudi. | 141 BC - 87 BC |
7 |
Han Zhaodi(Liu Fuling) | The youngest son of Han Wudi; He lightened the burden of the peasants and was on good terms with Xiongnu (Hun). | 87 BC - 74 BC |
8 |
Han Xuandi(Liu Xun) | Also called Liu Bingyi and the great grandson of Han Wudi; During his reign, the ruling position of Confucianism was strengthened and burdens of the people were reduced greatly. | 74 BC - 49 BC |
9 |
Han Yuandi(Liu Shi) | Son of Han Xuandi; The Western Han Dynasty began to decline during his reign. | 49 BC - 33 BC |
10 |
Han Chengdi(Liu Ao) | Son of Han Yuandi; He squandered the countries wealth, which caused the country to decline. | 33 BC - 7 BC |
11 |
Han Aidi(Liu Xin) | Nephew of Han Chengdi; Although all kinds of social contradictions were sharp, he only believed in ghosts and gods to solve all the problems with the result that Wang Mang stole power. | 7 BC - 1 BC |
12 |
Han Pingdi(Liu Kan) | Grandson of Han Yuandi; was really a puppet of Wang Mang. Later, he was poisoned to death by Wang Mang. | 1 BC - 5 AD |
13 |
Ruzi(Liu Ying) | He came to the throne when he was two years old. In 8 AD, Wang Mang claimed himself as the emperor and killed Ruzi in 25 AD. | 6 - 8 |
| Xin
Dynasty (9 - 23) |
|||
14 |
Wang Mang | Nephew of the queen of Han Yuandi. In 8 AD, he became the emperor of the Western Han Dynasty and changed the country's name to 'Xin' the next year. Although he carried out a series of measures, the society was in great disarray. The dynasty was finally overthrown by a peasant revolt. | 9 - 23 |
| Eastern Han Dynasty (25 - 220) |
|||
15 |
Guang Wudi(Liu Xiu) | He joined the troops to rebel against the Xin Dynasty. After defeating the army of Wang Mang, he re-established the Han Dynasty making Luoyang its capital city. | 25 - 57 |
16 |
Mingdi(Liu Zhuang) | The fourth son of Guang Wudi; People lived a stable life during his reign. The famous White Horse Temple was built under his order. | 57 - 75 |
17 |
Zhangdi (Liu Da) | The fifth son of Mingdi; He was also regarded as a calligraphist adept at cursive scripts. | 75 - 88 |
18 |
Hedi(Liu Zhao) | The fourth son of Zhangdi | 88 - 105 |
19 |
Shangdi (Liu Long) | The youngest son of Hedi | 105 - 106 |
20 |
Andi (Liu Hu) | Grandson of Zhangdi; The social divide was increased and all kinds of social contradictions became sharp under his rule. | 106 - 125 |
21 |
Shundi (Liu Bao) | Son of Andi; Eunuch grasped the power to deal with the state affairs under his reign. | 125 - 144 |
22 |
Chongdi(Liu Bing) | Son of Shundi | 144 - 145 |
23 |
Zhidi(Liu Zuan) | Great grandson of Zhangdi | 145 - 146 |
24 |
Huandi(Liu Zhi) | Great grandson of Zhangdi | 146 - 167 |
25 |
Lingdi(Liu Hong) | Great-great-grandson of Zhangdi; the country was again in great disarray, meaning that people lived a very hard life. The rule of Lingdi intensified all kinds of social (divides) contradictions that caused the insurgence led by Zhang Jiao. | 168 - 189 |
26 |
Xiandi (Liu Xie) | Son of Lingdi; the Han Dynasty perished under his reign. | 189 - 220 |
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