Emperor Xian of Han
| Liu Xie | |||||||||
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A Qing dynasty illustration of Emperor Xian (centre), Consort Dong (left) and Empress Fu Shou (right)
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| Reign | 28 September 189 – 10 December 220 | ||||||||
| Regent | Dong Zhuo, Li Jue, Guo Si, Cao Cao | ||||||||
| Born | 181 | ||||||||
| Died | 21 April 234 (aged 52-53) | ||||||||
| Empress |
Fu Shou Cao Jie |
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| Concubine | Cao Xian Cao Hua |
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| Issue | 7 sons and 3 daughters | ||||||||
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| dynasty | Han dynasty | ||||||||
| Father | Emperor Ling | ||||||||
| Mother | Concubine Wang | ||||||||
| Full name | |
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Family name: Liu (劉) Given name: Xie (協) Emperor Xian (獻帝) Duke of Shanyang (山陽公) |
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| Posthumous name | |
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Short: Xian (獻) (Wei), Min (愍) (Shu) Full: Xiaoxian (孝獻) (Wei), Xiaomin (孝愍) (Shu) |
| Emperor Xian of Han | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 漢獻帝 | ||||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | 汉献帝 | ||||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
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| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Hàn Xiàndì |
| Wade–Giles | Han Hsien-ti |
Emperor Xian of Han (181 – 21 April 234), personal name Liu Xie, courtesy name Bohe, was the last emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty in ancient China. He reigned from 28 September 189 until 10 December 220.
Liu Xie was a son of Liu Hong (Emperor Ling) and was a younger half-brother of his predecessor, Liu Bian (Emperor Shao). In 189, at the age of eight, he became emperor after the warlord Dong Zhuo, who had seized control of the Han central government, deposed Emperor Shao and replaced him with Liu Xie. The newly enthroned Liu Xie, historically known as Emperor Xian, was in fact a puppet ruler under Dong Zhuo's control. In 190, when a coalition of regional warlords launched a punitive campaign against Dong Zhuo in the name of freeing Emperor Xian, Dong Zhuo ordered the destruction of the imperial capital, Luoyang, and forcefully relocated the imperial capital along with its residents to Chang'an. After Dong Zhuo's assassination in 192, Emperor Xian fell under the control of Li Jue and Guo Si, two former subordinates of Dong Zhuo. The various regional warlords formally acknowledged Emperor Xian's legitimacy but never took action to save him from being held hostage.
In 195, Emperor Xian managed to escape from Chang'an and return to the ruins of Luoyang, where he soon became stranded. A year later, the warlord Cao Cao led his forces into Luoyang, received Emperor Xian, took him under his protection, and escorted him to Xu, where the new imperial capital was established. Although Cao Cao paid nominal allegiance to Emperor Xian, he was actually the de facto head of the central government. He skilfully used Emperor Xian as a "trump card" to bolster his legitimacy when he attacked and eliminated rival warlords in his quest to reunify the Han Empire under the central government's rule. Cao Cao's success seemed inevitable until the winter of 208–209, when he lost the decisive Battle of Red Cliffs against the southern warlords Sun Quan and Liu Bei. The battle paved the way for the subsequent emergence of the Three Kingdoms later.
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