Liu Bang (Emperor Gaozu)
Liu Bang founded the Han dynasty, which ruled China for four centuries and gave its majority ethnic group its name. Born around 256 BC in Pei county to a peasant family, he was the first commoner in Chinese history to become emperor. He was known as a heavy drinker who disliked farm work, and held the minor post of patrol chief, a village-level police office. His revolt began by accident. Escorting conscripted labourers to work on the First Emperor's tomb, he lost so many to desertion that the penalty for failure was death; he released the rest and took to the marshes with those who stayed. The Qin dynasty collapsed after the First Emperor's death in 210 BC, and Liu Bang emerged as one of two principal contenders. He reached the Qin capital first in 206 BC, and instead of sacking it he spared the population and abolished the harsh Qin legal code, replacing it with three simple provisions covering murder, injury and theft — a decision that won him support from the population his rival was terrorising. The Chu-Han contention against Xiang Yu, an aristocratic general and much the better field commander, ran for four years. Liu Bang lost most of the battles and won the war, because he delegated to men better than himself — Han Xin in the field, Xiao He in supply, Zhang Liang in strategy — and Xiang Yu did not. Xiang Yu killed himself in 202 BC. As Emperor Gaozu he lowered taxes, restored agriculture, and adopted a defensive policy of appeasement towards the Xiongnu after being trapped at Baideng. He died in 195 BC.
- Lived: 256 BCE – 195 BCE
- Nationality: Chinese
- Roles: emperor
