Han Hedi

Han Hedi ( 漢和帝 )
Family name :	Liú ( 劉 )
First name :	Zhào ( 肇 )
Posthumous title : (short)	Hé ( 和 )
Posthumous title : (complete)	Xiàohé ( 孝和 )
Temple name :	Mùzōng ( 穆宗 )
Reign:	88-106
Era names :	Yŏngyuán ( 永元 ) 89-105 Yuánxīng ( 元興 ) 106

Emperor He von Han ( Chinese 漢和帝 , Pinyin hàn hé dì , W.-G. Han Ho-ti ; * 79 ; † 13 February 106 ), birth name Liu Zhao , was emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty from 88 to 106 .

He was the fourth son of Emperor Zhang , ascended the throne at the age of nine and ruled for 17 years. Under his reign, the dynasty slowly declined, caused by the power struggles of the eunuchs and the imperial families. The empress mother Dou promoted the influence of her corrupt family until the emperor succeeded in overthrowing the Dou clan with the help of the eunuch Zheng Zhong and his brother Liu Qing in 92 . This began the influence of the eunuchs on state affairs.

With Emperor He also began the problem of the dynasty's lack of inheritance. Many of his sons died in childhood, and when he was dying, only 27 years old, he had only two male descendants, neither of which survived him for much longer. Because of this deficiency, the successors had to be chosen from more distant relatives and from side lines.

An external problem was the Qiang uprisings , which had already started under his father and could not be suppressed sustainably until Emperor Ling's government.

However, technical successes also fall under his government, such as the invention of paper by the eunuch Cai Lun (105).

Family background

Prince Zhao was the son of Emperor Zhang and his concubine Liang . The Empress Dou adopted him because she had no sons of her own; she acted on the model of Empress Ma , who had adopted the future Emperor Zhang from Emperor Ming's concubine Jia . However, when Liu Zhao was born, his older brother Liu Qing, son of the concubine Song , was already crown prince. The Empress therefore planned to murder Ms. Song and appoint her adopted son as her successor.

Once when Ms. Song fell ill, the empress had an opportunity to overthrow her. The concubine asked her family to use raw devil's thread as medicine . When her family brought her the plants, the Empress took them and slandered the witchcraft concubine. Emperor Zhang was outraged and banished Crown Prince Qing from the palace. He had his concubine Song arrested and interrogated by the eunuch Cai Lun . The concubine poisoned herself in prison and died. Liu Qing, the crown prince, was demoted to prince of Qinghe. His brother Liu Zhao became crown prince in his place, but the two brothers remained friends and spent much time together.

The Dou clan developed further schemes. When Liu Zhao, the son of concubine Liang, became crown prince, the Dou clan feared that the Liang clan would outstrip them. The empress slandered the concubine Liang and her sister, who was also a concubine, to the emperor. In 83 the Dou clan took the father of the concubines, Liang Song ( 梁竦 ), to prison on false accusations, where he died. The concubines Liang died in grief and fear.

When Emperor Zhang died in 88, his son Liu Zhao succeeded him to the throne as Emperor He at the age of seven.

Early government under the Dou family

As a child, Emperor He had no real power; the government was led by the Empress mother Dou, who gave her brothers Dou Xian , Dou Du ( 竇篤 ), Dou Jing ( 竇景 ) and Dou Gui ( 竇瑰 ) key positions at the court. They used their relationships with the Empress Mother to intimidate the other officials.

In 88, however, Dou Xian committed a capital crime that would seriously jeopardize his career. Liu Chang ( 劉暢 ), the Marquis of Duxiang, was in the favor of the Empress Mother because of his understanding, and Dou Xian feared that the Marquis might diminish his influence. He murdered Liu Chang and charged Liu Gang ( 劉剛 ), the Marquis of Li, with the crime. But a few judges who did not fear Dou Xian investigated, which revealed Dou Xian's guilt. Empress Mother Dou was outraged and had her brother locked up to have him executed. Dou Xian however offered to lead an army against the Northern Xiongnu in retaliation .

With the consent of the Empress Mother, Dou Xian moved out and defeated the Xiongnu in the battle of Ikh Bayan the following year . With a second victory (91) he ended the centuries-old confrontation of the Han Empire with the Northern Xiongnu. From now on he openly threatened any official who contradicted him with death.

Coup against the Dous

In 92 the Dou clan finally fell victim to a coup . Its process is unclear, but Emperor He was largely supported by his brother Liu Qing and the eunuch Zheng Zhong.

According to traditional historical accounts, relatives of the Dou clan (but none of the four brothers) planned to assassinate the emperor. The lack of motives is what makes modern historians question this version. In any case, the emperor is said to have feared for his life and conspired with his brother and the eunuch Zheng Zhong. Liu Kang ( 劉伉 ), the prince of Qiancheng, is said to have helped them.

In the summer, the emperor is said to have put the palace guards on alert by decree and given the order to close the gates of the capital Luoyang . All the conspirators were executed. The Dou brothers sent Emperor He to their brands under strict guard . Because he did not dare to execute them in public, he ordered them to commit suicide; except for Dou Gui.

Late government

After the coup against the Dou clan, Emperor He seemed to have taken real power. The empress mother no longer played a role at court, and if the emperor continued to honor her as a mother, he seemed to foresee that she was not his birth mother. Liu Qing and Zheng Zhong became the emperor's closest advisers. This began the integration of the eunuchs into the government, which was to escalate over the decades. Zheng Zhong was even made marquis (102), which has never been granted to a eunuch.

The coup against the Dou clan was followed by a wave of layoffs and arrests, killing countless officials who had once been in contact with the Dou clan. This also included the Commander-in-Chief Song You ( 宋由 ) and the historian Ban Gu , who was Dou Xian's main assistant and presumably his accomplice. Ban Gu's brother Ban Chao remained untouched and continued to be supported in his campaigns in Xiyu (present-day Xinjiang and Central Asia ). Ban Chao sent his assistant, Gan Ying, on an expedition to the Roman Empire in 97 , but Gan Ying could not make it across a distant coast, probably the Persian Gulf or the Mediterranean . There he learned from the locals that a sea voyage could take several years and returned to China without having achieved anything. After Ban Chao retired in 102, the kingdoms of Xiyu rose against the supremacy of the Han because the new civil administration was damaging Xiyu through mismanagement. The Han dynasty lost control of the western regions in this way.

Under the rule of Emperor Hez, there was by and large no corruption worth mentioning. Still, he was too indecisive to be an emperor. He lacked the ability of his predecessors and ancestors to put the best for the people into practice.

Empress mother Dou died in 97. Only now did the court officials reveal to the emperor his true birth mother, the concubine Liang. Emperor He posthumously awarded her the title of Empress. He gave their brothers influential posts and the Liang clan became very powerful. Emperor He rejected the proposal to posthumously demote Empress mother Dou and had her buried with his father Zhang with the honors of an empress. He also promoted his brother's mother, Liu Qing, and her brothers were given minor civil servants.

Conflicts with the Qiang

The Qiang tribal rebellions had been ongoing since the establishment of the Later Han Dynasty , but they became a serious problem under Emperor He. So far, officer Deng Xun ( 鄧訓 ) had kept them in check with prudent policies, but after his death in 92, his successor Nie Shang ( 聶尚 ) insulted Qiang chief Mitang ( 聶尚 ), who started a riot. Guan You ( 貫友 ), who was put in charge of the Qiang in 93, was able to defeat Mitang by pulling the other Qiang tribes to his side. However, Mitang escaped and remained a threat for years. Shi Chong ( 史充 ), who took office after Guan You's death, suffered a huge defeat against Mitang. After all allies had abandoned him in 98 , Mitang surrendered, and Emperor He even granted him an audience that same year.

Two years later, Mitang received orders to move his tribe to the southwest. But because he feared poor soil and thus poor living conditions for his people there, Mitang rebelled again. While it was not defeated in the next few years, it did not pose a major threat.

Marital problems

In 96 Emperor He elevated his favorite concubine Yin to Empress, who was of noble descent. She is described as beautiful, but small and stocky, and is also said to have been very jealous. Her disapproval was particularly directed at the concubine Deng Sui , who, as the granddaughter of Minister Deng Yu ( 鄧禹 ), also came from a noble family. The concubine is said to have tried to play her submission to Deng Yin, but this gesture only met the suspicion of the empress. When Emperor He fell ill, the Empress dropped the remark that as the Empress mother she would wipe out the Deng clan. She believed that the concubine Deng would commit suicide as soon as she heard this. However, a servant held the concubine back, claiming that the emperor had already recovered. Soon afterwards the emperor really got well again and the future of the Deng clan was assured.

The empress and her grandmother Deng Zhu ( 鄧朱 ) were charged with witchcraft in 102. They are said to have tried to curse imperial concubines. Deng Zhu, her sons and Yin Fu ( 陰輔 ), the Empress’s brother , died under the torture of the interrogation . Empress Yin was deposed and her father Yin Gang ( 陰綱 ) committed suicide. The rest of the Yin clan was banned, and the empress died carelessly, probably in the same year.

Emperor He made the concubine Deng Sui empress. She refused to promote her brothers, who therefore held no particular power under Emperor He's government.

Death and Succession

Both the empresses and the concubines seem to have had no son for a long time. Emperor He is said to have had a few sons, but all of them died when they were young. It was not until his late reign that the emperor had two sons: Liu Sheng ( 劉勝 ) and Liu Long ( 劉, ), whose mothers are not recorded. The princes grew up out of superstition with foster parents outside the palace in order to protect them from the fate of their brothers.

When Emperor He died in 106, his older son Liu Sheng was still young (his exact age is unknown) and allegedly sickly. The younger one, Liu Long, was only 100 days old. Both princes were called back to the palace and welcomed. Empress Deng Sui made Liu Long crown prince because she believed he was healthier and more resilient. That same night he was proclaimed emperor as Emperor Shang . However, he died the same year before he was one year old. Empress Mother Deng feared that Liu Sheng resented her for not having made him emperor right away. Therefore she made Liu Hu ( 劉祜 ), the son of Prince Liu Qing, emperor ( Emperor An ).

family

Father: Emperor Zhang

birth mother: concubine Liang

Adoptive mother: Empress Dou

Wives:

Empress Yin (96-102)
Empress Deng Sui (102-106)

Children:
- Liu Li ( 劉利 ), Princess Linying from 106

predecessor	Office	successor
Zhang	Emperor of China 88–106	Shang

personal data
SURNAME	Han Hedi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Liu Zhao; Muzong; Xiaohe
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Han Dynasty Emperor
DATE OF BIRTH	79
PLACE OF BIRTH	China
DATE OF DEATH	February 13, 106
Place of death	China