Ministers › Chief Ministers
Xiao He
Former clerk of Pei county who secured the Qin archives at Xianyang, kept Liu Bang's armies supplied from Guanzhong and became the first chancellor of Han
In a council hall, a long table holds an unrolled map scroll, a brass-cornered chest and a brush pot, with tall-backed chairs around it and a bronze lamp at the left; a figure stands with their back turned on the balcony at the right, with palace roofs beyond.
- Roles
- Chief Ministers
Xiao He came from Feng in Pei county, where under the Qin he was a senior clerk and an early associate of Liu Bang. When Liu Bang's army entered Xianyang and the other commanders seized gold and silk, Xiao He first secured the statutes, maps and registers of the Qin government, which showed the king of Han where the strong points lay and how many households each region held. When Han Xin deserted, Xiao He rode after him and persuaded Liu Bang to make him supreme general. Through the war with Chu he held Guanzhong, served the heir apparent and kept sending men and grain to the front. In 202 BCE Liu Bang ranked him first in merit, made him Marquis of Zan and let him enter the hall wearing sword and shoes; the History of the Han says he drew on Qin law for a code in nine chapters. He died in 193 BCE, named Wenzhong, and his successor Cao Shen changed nothing he had laid down.
Life and times
Dates Birth unknown–193 BCE