Han Gengshidi

Emperor Gengshi von Han ( Chinese  漢 更始 帝 , Pinyin Hàn Gèngshǐdì , W.-G. Keng-Shih-ti ; † 25 AD), came of age Shenggong ( Chinese  聖 公 ), personal name Liu Xuan ( 劉玄 ), was a Chinese Han Dynasty emperor following the fall of Wang Mang , Xin Dynasty emperor . Emperor Gengshi's rule over the Empire of China was short-lived (23-25 ​​AD). He was deposed during the Red Eyebrow Riot and murdered a few months later.

Life

Liu Xuan came from the Nanyang headquarters and belonged to the landed gentry. His grandfather, Liu Li, was the administrator of Cangwu County and was descended from Emperor Jing .

Around AD 20, Liu Xuan took part in a feud with local officers, but lost his peers and fled to Pinglin County . In his homeland he was declared dead.

Participation in the uprising against Wang Mang

A few months later, a famine sparked rioting in Pinglin County. Liu Xuan joined ringleaders Chen Mu and Liao Zhan . He was made an officer by them and entrusted with the discipline of the soldiers. After a few months, the Pinglin Army joined the general uprising led by his distant relative Liu Bosheng .

Elevation to Emperor

After the victories of the insurgents at Jiyang and Yuyang, the ringleaders decided in the spring of 23 to appoint a counter-emperor to Wang Mang . They elected Liu Xuan, who accepted the proposal (against Liu Bosheng's will) and was enthroned on March 11, 23 near the besieged city of Wan . He proclaimed the era Gèngshǐ ( Chinese  更始  - "new beginning"), which also became his name.

In the summer of 23, the city of Wan fell into the hands of the insurgents. Emperor Gengshi declared it the provisional capital and resided there until the end of the uprising. A little later he had Liu Bosheng executed for treason; whether for personal reasons or out of rivalry is unclear.

During 23rd year, Wang Mang's forces were severely beaten. Emperor Gengshi convinced some provincial officials to submit and allow a non-violent transition under the new rule. In addition, he established relationships with the so-called "red eyebrows" who had been fighting against the central power throughout the empire for several years. The Red Eyebrow leaders formally recognized Gengshi as emperor. The leaders nevertheless continued their operations independently of him, pursuing their own goals.

Relocation of the capital to Chang'an

In the spring of 24, Emperor Gengshi moved the capital from Luoyang to Chang'an , where the former (western) Han dynasty had ruled. With this measure he wanted to stabilize a heavily populated region that was important for the war effort, to which the presence of the imperial court should make a major contribution.

The historian Hans Bielenstein sees this measure as a mistake by the emperor, who isolated himself from his supply base and his troops in the south of the empire. The mountain passes around Chang'an would have been easy to seal off.

At the court in Chang'an, Emperor Gengshi came under the influence of the officials Li Song and Zhao Meng , who particularly advocated the interests of the Nanyang landed gentry. In the course of this he became estranged from his original allies, the leaders of the uprising. The emperor's personnel policy gave rise to numerous anecdotes , most of which deal with the appointment of incompetent or unworthy officials and officers. At the same time, the emperor lost his support from the leaders of the uprising.

Emperor Gengshi tried to bind the local warlords in the various parts of the empire to him by awarding honorary titles and donations of land. While receiving the titles, they remained independent and pursued their own agenda. Some of the emperor's officers also went into business for themselves.

One example is Liu Xiu , Liu Bosheng's younger brother. On behalf of the emperor, he had defeated the uprising of Wang Lang in the northeast and established himself as a warlord north of the Yellow River . The emperor offered him the title of king through a messenger and asked him to disband his troops. Liu Xiu assumed the title of king and continued his conquests. He expanded his sphere of influence into You Province, whose officials were loyal to the emperor.

End of rule

In the course of the year 24, the emperor lost more and more control of the regions outside the capital district. By the beginning of 25 he was completely isolated. At that time, scattered Red Eyebrow troops came over the mountain passes that had previously been defeated by Liu Xiu. At the same time, Liu Xiu started an offensive against the capital district from the north through his general Deng Yu .

The emperor had to defend himself on several fronts at the same time. After a few weeks, his generals Li Song and Su Mao were severely beaten. In the summer, the imperial general Wang Kuang lost to Deng Yu, who brought the entire region under his control in the fall.

When the emperor's power was broken, several leaders (partly through straw men) made claims to the title. In the summer, Gongsun Shu proclaimed himself emperor in the southwest, shortly afterwards the Red Eyebrows named Liu Penzi emperor. On August 5, 25, Liu Xiu accepted the title of emperor. He eliminated his rivals in the years that followed and eventually ended the civil war.

In the capital, officials Wei Ao and Shentu Jian tried to persuade the emperor to abdicate. When they were unsuccessful, they planned to raid the farm and leave the city. Their conspiracy was exposed, Shentu Jian was executed, Wei Ao escaped and, with the support of Red Eyebrows, drove the emperor from the northwest.

Emperor Gengshi was on the run until autumn. He was eventually captured by one of his own officers and brought up for the Red Eyebrows. Their local leader Xie Lu ordered the former emperor to be executed by strangulation .

Several weeks after his death, Gengshi's body was buried at Baling , near the tomb of Emperor Wen of Han . His sons received stamps from Emperor Guangwu (Liu Xiu) near Luoyang .

rating

Whether Gengshi can be counted among the emperors of the Eastern Han Dynasty is a matter of dispute among historians. He saw himself as the legitimate successor of the Western Han Dynasty , as he came from the imperial family. Because his rule was regionally limited and ended after a few years, it is seen as a transition period from the Xin dynasty of Wang Mangs to the Han dynasty of Emperor Guangwu.

literature

• Rafe de Crespigny : A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23-220 AD). Brill, Leiden and Boston 2007, pp. 567-569, ISBN 978-90-04-15605-0

predecessor	Office	successor
Wang Mang	Emperor of China 23–25	Guangwu