Emperor Ming of Han

Also known as Liu Zhuang

Liu Zhuang, first named Yang, was the fourth son of Emperor Guangwu by Yin Lihua, and replaced Liu Qiang as heir in AD 43. He came to the throne in 57, adopted the era name Yongping the next year, and is known by the temple name Xianzong and the posthumous title Emperor Xiaoming. He had twenty-eight generals of the restoration portrayed in the Cloud Terrace, and in 69 he put several hundred thousand men under Wang Jing to repair the Yellow River and the Bian canal. In 73 Dou Gu led a campaign against the northern Xiongnu, from which Ban Chao set out for the Western Regions, and in 74 the court revived the office of Protector-General there. He died in the Eastern Palace in 75, aged forty-eight by traditional count. The story that he dreamed of a golden man, sent envoys west for Buddhist scriptures and founded the White Horse Temple in Luoyang comes from later Buddhist writings such as the Mouzi lihuo lun.