Royals › Monarch / Emperor
Emperor Hui of Han
Second Western Han emperor, son of Liu Bang and Empress Lu, whose mother held real power while he built Chang'an's walls and lifted the ban on private books
In a side chamber of a palace, a yellow ceremonial robe embroidered with a dragon hangs on a wooden stand, its hem worked with waves and rocks, before a carved folding screen, while a black lacquer chest sits on a low table by a lattice window and no person is in view.
Also known as Liu Ying
- Roles
- Monarch / Emperor
Liu Ying, Emperor Hui of Han, was the son of the founder Liu Bang and Empress Lu, and was made crown prince in 205 BC. When his father thought of replacing him with Ruyi, Prince of Zhao, son of Lady Qi, Empress Lu followed Zhang Liang's advice and brought in the Four Greybeards of Mount Shang to stand by him, and the plan was dropped. He took the throne in 195 BC; his mother poisoned Ruyi and mutilated Lady Qi, and the young emperor, weeping that no human being could do such a thing, withdrew from government. After Xiao He died, Cao Can became chancellor and kept every rule Xiao He had set. In 191 BC the emperor repealed the Qin law against keeping private books, and the walls of Chang'an he had ordered were finished in 190 BC. He died in the eighth month of 188 BC and was buried at Anling as Emperor Xiaohui; reign titles had not yet come into use and he received no temple name.
Life and times
Dates 210 BCE–188 BCE