Emperor Yuan of Han
| Han Yuandi 漢元帝 |
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| Emperor of the Han Dynasty | |||||||||
| Reign | 48 - 33 BCE | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Emperor Xuan of Han | ||||||||
| Successor | Emperor Cheng of Han | ||||||||
| Born | 75 BCE | ||||||||
| Died | 33 BCE (age 42) | ||||||||
| Burial | Wei ling, Xianyang | ||||||||
| Spouse |
Empress Xiaoyuan Consort Fu Consort Feng Yuan |
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| Issue |
Ao, Crown Prince Kang, Prince Gong of Dingtao Xiao, Prince Xiao of Zhongshan |
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| Father | Emperor Xuan of Han | ||||||||
| Mother | Empress Gong'ai | ||||||||
| Full name | |
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Family name: Liu () Given name: Shi () |
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| Posthumous name | |
| 孝元 Xiàoyuán |
| Emperor Yuan of Han | |||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 漢元帝 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | 汉元帝 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | The Primal Emperor of Han | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 劉奭 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 刘奭 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | (personal name) | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
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| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Hàn Yúandì |
| Wade–Giles | Han Yüan-ti |
| Yue: Cantonese | |
| Yale Romanization | Hon Yùhn-dai |
| Jyutping | Hon3 Jyun4 dai3 |
| Southern Min | |
| Hokkien POJ | Hàn Guân-tè |
| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Liú Shì |
| Wade–Giles | Liu Shi |
| Yue: Cantonese | |
| Yale Romanization | Làuh Shik |
| Jyutping | Lau4 Sik1 |
| Southern Min | |
| Hokkien POJ | Lâu Siak |
Emperor Yuan of Han (75–33 BC) was an emperor of the Chinese Han Dynasty. He reigned from 48 to 33 BC. Emperor Yuan was remembered for the promotion of Confucianism as the official creed of Chinese government. He appointed Confucius adherents to important government posts.
However, at the same time that he was solidifying Confucianism's position as the official ideology, the empire's condition slowly deteriorated due to his indecisiveness and inability to stop factional infighting between officials in his administration, and his trusting of certain corrupt officials.
When Emperor Yuan was born as Liu Shi in 75 BC, his parents Liu Bingyi and Xu Pingjun were commoners without titles. Bingyi was the great-grandson of Emperor Wu, and his grandfather Liu Ju was Emperor Wu's crown prince, until he was forced by Emperor Wu's paranoia into a failed rebellion in 91 BC while Bingyi was still just an infant, in the aftermaths of which Prince Ju committed suicide and virtually his entire family was wiped out. Bingyi was spared because of his young age, but became a commoner and survived on the largess of others. One of whom was chief eunuch Zhang He, who had been an advisor for Prince Ju before his rebellion, and who was punished by being castrated.
Circa 76 BC, Zhang wanted to marry his granddaughter to Bingyi, but his brother Zhang Anshi (張安世), then an important official, opposed, fearing that it would bring trouble. Zhang, instead, invited one of his subordinate eunuchs (who had also been castrated by Emperor Wu), Xu Guanghan (許廣漢), to dinner, and persuaded him to marry his daughter Xu Pingjun to Liu Bingyi. When Xu's wife heard this, she became extremely angry and refused, but because Zhang was Xu's superior, Xu did not dare to renege on the promise, and Bingyi and Pingjun were married, in a ceremony entirely paid by Zhang (because Bingyi could not afford to). Zhang also paid the bride price. After marriage, Bingyi heavily depended on his wife's family for support.
Shi was only less than a year old when something highly unusual would happen to his father. Shi's great-granduncle, Emperor Zhao had died that year, and the regent Huo Guang, having been dissatisfied with his initial selection of Prince He of Changyi, deposed Prince He and offered the throne to the commoner Bingyi instead. Bingyi accepted, and took the throne as Emperor Xuan. Shi's mother Xu Pingjun was created empress.
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Wikipedia