Royals › Monarch / Emperor
Emperor Shun of Han
Seventh Eastern Han emperor, deposed as heir and then restored by nineteen eunuchs, whose reign raised the Liang consort family to power
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 Bao
- Roles
- Monarch / Emperor
Liu Bao, Emperor Shun of Han, son of Emperor An, was born in 115 to a Lady Li, later poisoned by Empress Yan. Named heir in 120, he was deposed in 124 and made Prince of Jiyin after slanders by the empress and the eunuchs Jiang Jing and Fan Feng. When Emperor An died in 125, the empress dowager enthroned the young Marquis of Beixiang, who died within months, and nineteen eunuchs led by Sun Cheng rose beneath the western bell of the Deyang Hall and put Liu Bao on the throne. He reigned under five era names, Yongjian, Yangjia, Yonghe, Han'an and Jiankang; all nineteen eunuchs were made marquises, and from 135 eunuchs were allowed to pass their titles to adopted sons. In 132 he made Liang Na, daughter of Liang Shang, his empress, and Liang Shang and then his son Liang Ji held the post of regent-general; that same year Zhang Heng completed his seismoscope. He died in the eighth month of 144 with the posthumous title Xiaoshun.
Life and times
Dates 115 CE–144 CE