I could actually care less if the Emperor wishes to remove a segment of his family! LOL!


Well, that's probably because he was executed by his grandfather Emperor Wu of Han.

I believe 厉太子刘据 (Crown Prince Li) would have been a equal or better emperor than 汉昭帝 (Han ZhaoDi). He was described as benevolent and careful by history. He repeated advised his father not to engage in wars and let the empire take a breather. This however incured the wrath of his militaristic father who feel that he was not strong willed. In this aspect he's very similar to Qin Crown Prince 扶苏 (FuSu) who had a militaristic father and was more of a pacificist. He too incured the displeasure of his father 秦始皇赢政 (Qin ShiHuang) by being openly critical of his cruel domestic policies. In the end he too was forced to commit suicide by an false imperial edict by the eunuch 赵高 (Zhao Gao) and the premier 李斯 (Li Si).

汉昭帝 was eight years old when he ascended the throne and he was lucky in that his father 汉武帝 was on that account, wise enough to appoint an able and more importantly loyal regent in Huo Guang 霍光 to assist him. Most of the achievements during 汉昭帝 's reign IMHO were due to 霍光 rather than the young emperor.

We have seen too many times in history that a young emperor being dominated or even usurped by a powerful regent (Think 赵匡胤(Zhao KuangYin), later became 宋太祖 (Song TaiZu of Northern Song) and 后周恭帝柴宗训 (Zhou GongDi Chai ZongXun of Later Zhou).

Yah, he pushed his resources extremely but he had to fight off the Xiongnus in the north as marriages were not working and he needed to pacify the minorities in the south...So just think about it.

Zunjing de China History Forum members,

Hmm, I believe this is a very delicate question. Unlike the Tang and Qing Dynasties, the Han Dynasties did not really have an outstanding Emperor, who was responsible for the unprecedented prosperity of that dynasty. However, the Han Dynasty had the most number of capable Emperors. Who is the greatest Han Emperor? Well, this is entirely up to one’s viewpoint and priorities. Well, here is my list of possible candidates.

Han Gaozu was indisputably very significant since he was the founder of the Han Dynasty. The identity of ancient Chinese as being “Han” would have never existed without him. Wen Jing Zhi Zhi and Han Wudi’s great military achievements would have never been possible without Han Gaozu laying the basic foundations for the Empire. There were really only two incidents making the reign of Han Gaozu not so great. One would be the execution of Han Xin, who contributed greatly to the founding of the Han Dynasty. Han Xin was actually charged with treason; however, others would not be fooled by this as it was customary for founders to be weary of the growing power of the well-established ministers. The execution of Han Xin resulted in Liu Bang centralizing power into his own hands, which did not turn out so bad for the Han Dynasty. Liu Bang’s other mistake would be the failed war(s) against the Xiong Nu. He was badly defeated and consequently, the Han Dynasty had to pay tributes and make peace by sending off Han princesses as brides.

Han Wendi was Han Gaozu’s fourth son. Unlike other Emperors or Princes, he grew up in a harsh environment since his stepmother persecuted many members of the Liu family. Therefore, even before ascending to the throne, Han Wendi was already aware of the people’s suffering. He was largely responsible for reducing taxes and relaxing harsh laws. He did a better job at governing China than any previous Emperors and was considered one of the most benevolent Emperors throughout Chinese History. His kindness and concern for the common people eventually led to Wen Jing Zhi Zhi, one of the most prosperous eras in Chinese History.

Han Jingdi largely continued his father’s policies and maintained a great economy as well as looking out for the people. His reign was characterized by suppressing the rebellion of the seven Princes, a pivotal point in not only the Han Dynasty, but also in Chinese History. He greatly reduced the power and fief of the Imperial Princes. Han Jingdi’s accomplishments paved the way for Han Wudi’s military victories against the Xiong Nu. However, Han Jingdi’s ungrateful and harsh treatments toward Zhou YaFu and Empress Bo showed that he was not as compassionate and open as his father. Hence, he is ruled out of the race.

I am certain everyone is pretty aware of Han Wudi, who ruled for 54 years. I will just go straight to the points. Even though Han Wudi was able to not only defeat the Xiong Nu, but also make further territorial expansions. The Han Dynasty reached its peak in terms of military in Han Wudi’s reign. Nevertheless, many years of long wars had resulted in the state’s treasury being completely bankrupt. In order to prepare for lengthy military campaigns, taxes became such a burden on the people that they did not really have a high standard of living. Generally speaking, Han Wudi’s reign was marked by unnecessary military conquests, which was quite different from Wen Jing Zhi Zhi.

Han Xuandi had perhaps one of the most interesting stories from his childhood to his ascension to the throne. His life story can be briefly summarized as riches-to-rags-to-riched. Similar to Han Wendi, Han Xuandi did not grow up in luxury. This worked to his advantage as he could never forget the harsh lives of the people. He lowered taxes, liberalized the government and employed capable ministers to the government. In addition, he was open to suggestions, was a good judge of character, and consolidated his power by eliminating corrupt officials, including the Huo family, which have exerted considerable power since the death of Han Wudi, after Huo Guang's death. However, his execution of the entire Huo clan later drew heavy criticism from historians for its ungratefulness to Huo Guang. I know an Emperor must be fair in giving out rewards and punishments; however, you cannot just massacre the whole clan of someone who had greatly contributed to your ascension. This mass murder would have never been justified. Therefore, it is not really convincing to vote for him as the greatest Han Emperor.

Han Guangwudi was ultimately responsible for the restoration of Eastern Han. He was a gifted strategist, who gave out instructions to military commanders resulting in many decisive victories. Han Guangwudi stood out among other Emperors for his combination of decisiveness and mercy. In addition, he was very tolerant of high officials and was pretty grateful for their contributions toward the state as he never executed followers, who had largely assisted him in restoring the Han Dynasty. Han Guangwudi’s reign was also characterized by thriftiness, efficiency, and laxity of laws. However, there was also a small stain in Han Guangwudi’s reign. A very famous and righteous general, Ma Yuan, had died of an illness during a campaign. Ma Yuan’s enemies took this opportunity to file false accusations toward Ma Yuan and his family to Han Guangwudi. Perhaps old age took its toll on the Emperor as he actually believed these accusations. Consequently, he stripped Ma Yuan of all his titles and posthumously denounced him. It is such a pity that an innocent general like Ma Yuan, had to meet this tragic fate.

Just like his posthumous name indicated, Han Mingdi was a hard-working and intelligent Emperor, who truly consolidated the Empire. Since he showed integrity and demanded integrity from his officials, he was overeager in punishing others even for just some minor offenses. Han Mingdi also established the control of the Han Empire on the Tarim Basin and eradicated the Xiongnu influence there, through the conquests of his general Ban Chao. Before dying, Han Mingdi clearly stated that no temples shall be built for him; but instead, he shall be worshipped along with his parents. This was generally a good practice since it saved a lot of money that can be used for the welfare of the people. There is no doubt that Han Mingdi’s able administration began the Ming Zhang Zhi Zhi, where economy and military were at their peaks in the Eastern Han.

Han Zhangdi was significant for the second half of Ming Zhang Zhi Zhi as he was an intelligent and diligent Emperor as well. He reduced taxes, paid close attention to all affairs of state, reduced government spending as well as promoting Confucianism. As a result, Han society prospered and its culture flourished during his reign. During his reign, Chinese troops under Ban Chao, progressed toward the West as far as the Caspian Sea and the Ukraine, getting into direct contact with the Parthian Empire. The only critical error Han Zhangdi may have made was bestowing too much wealth and power to the Empress and Empress Dowager’s side of the family causing them to exert extraordinary influences in court affairs. This was crucial especially since the remaining Eastern Han Emperors were all children.

I disagree with Han Wudi. While Han Wudi did make expansions, but his main focus and main use of treasury for the military was on the xiongnu people. So overall speaking, I still feel his use of money was overall neccesary. Furthermore, during Wudi's reign, the Han dynasty developed monopolies for several important materials such as salt which would benefit the country's economy.

On your list, you seemed to have forgotten 2 other decent emperors. Han Ming Di and Han Zhang Di who were the son and grandon of Gwuangwu. Have you not heard of the Ming Zhang Zi Zhi? This was the period when the economy and military were at peaks for the Eastern Han Period. It's after Han Zhang Di that the Eastern Han started its decline.

Zunjing de Whsie,

Well, maybe I have not been so clear on Han Wudi. Of course, a lot of his military campaigns were compulsory and only a few were not. However, these few unnecessary military campaigns were sufficient to drain the state’s treasury. Overall speaking, Han Wudi had much more achievements than failures during his reign. This is why he is a candidate for the Greatest Han Emperor and is in the list of top 10 Emperors.

Yes, I am aware that Han Mingdi and Han Zhangdi instigated many new policies, which resulted in Ming Zhang Zhi Zhi; the most prosperous era in Eastern Han. However, when being compared with Western Han, Eastern Han had constantly came up short. Therefore, Ming Zhang Zhi Zhi was not even as famous or as prosperous as Wen Jing Zhi Zhi. Hence, as you have mentioned above, Han Mingdi and Han Zhangdi were only two quite decent Emperors.

Eastern Han began its slow decline after Han Zhangdi because most of the successive Emperors died at such a young age leaving behind really young sons to rule the unstable Empire. This instantly led to many Empress Dowagers and their families gaining more power than it was necessary, in which clan massacres were pretty much inevitable.

I will be more than happy to edit my previous post to include Han Mingdi and Han Zhangdi upon your request.

Xie Xie,

I wasn't suggesting that Han Ming/Zhang Di were a potential best Han emperor. It's just that since you were making a list of "good emperors", I thought you mind as well include Ming/Zhang.
The prosperity periods to my knowledge are:
1. Cheng/Kang Rule during Early Zhou
2. Wen Jin Rule during Western Han
3. Ming Zhang Rule during Eastern Han
4. Yuan Jia Rule during South Dynasty
5. Zhengguan Rule- Tang
6. Kai Yuan Rule- Tang
7. Ren Xuan Rule- Ming
8. KangQian Prosperity- Qing

Zunjing de Whsie,

Yeah, you are right; since I was making a list of good Han Emperors, I should definitely include Han Mingdi and Han Zhangdi.

Thank you for supplying a list of prosperous eras! The only time period I am not too familiar about would be the reign of Yuan Jia since the North and South Dynasty was not an era very well-known by others due to all the confusions with so many short-lived kingdoms and states.

There is something quite interesting regarding your list. Basically, the first seven periods you have just mentioned, all just had the word “Zhi Zhi” aka rule in the name. However, only the last prosperous era was known as “Sheng Shi” aka prosperity. With this in mind, would it be incorrect to assume the prosperity of Kang Qian to be the most flourishing period in Chinese History?

Xie Xie,

XiHan or DongHan?

If it's XiHan then I say WuDi, if it's DongHan... I say is HanGuangWuDi.(Does Lui Bei's SHu Han Count?)

Zunjing de Solid Snake,

Hmm, Han Guang Wu Di was successful in completely restoring the Han Dynasty; hence, some people have just considered the Han Dynasty as one continuation with Wang Mang’s usurpation from 9-23 BCE. The terms “Xi Han” and “Dong Han” were a much more modern connotation as people back then did not refer to them in the same way.

Despite the complete restoration, I could not really find a lot of similarities between Xi Han and Dong Han. Even though Liu Xiu was from the Liu Imperial family, he was only a distant relative of the late Han Emperor. Also, the administrative systems under Han Guang Wu Di were quite different than the ones from Xi Han.

With this in mind, I do like to have two separate dynasties of Xi Han and Dong Han rather than thinking of them as the continuation of one dynasty. It was only one dynasty in terms of the Liu’s bloodline.

Does anyone else agree to separate the Han Dynasty into two eras of Xi Han and Dong Han?

Xie Xie,

Not sure myself. Afterall, sometimes Zhengguan and Kai Yuan Zhi Zhi are also called Zhengguan and Kai Yuan Shengshi.

I realized I missed out the Kai Huang Zhi Zhi during Sui Wendi. Civil Examination System created with the mind set of getting more scholars rather than higher class people. Had 50 years of food remaining. Started fixing the Grand Canal. Economy was expanding to a point not seen since the Han Dynasty. The military was able to make the Eastern Turks a vassal (the Western Turks were to far west to be threat). Expansion of religion.

Zunjing de Whsie,

Yeah, I am not too sure on this topic either. After all, “Zhi Zhi” and “Sheng Shi” could also possibly have the same meaning(s), but were just expressed in different terms according to a certain time period. Maybe some Chinese linguists can help dissect the two terms to find out the exact differences if there are any.

Yes, you are correct; we have both left out Kai Huang Zhi Zhi during the reign of Sui Wendi. I surmise this was because the Sui Dynasty was so short-lived and most people are more familiar with the infamous Sui Yangdi than his illustrious father. You have done an excellent job listing Sui Wendi’s accomplishments; hence, I have nothing more to add. The Sui Dynasty did seem so promising at the beginning; however, things would change rapidly as Sui Yangdi ascended to the throne. The law of Kai Huang was extremely significant in Chinese History as it was effectively put into practice until the abdication of the last Emperor, Puyi.

Xie Xie,