Emperor Xuan of Han
Emperor Xuan of Han, born Liu Bingyi, was the tenth emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning from 74 to 48 BC, and was one of the only four Western Han emperors to receive a temple name. During his reign, the Han dynasty prospered economically and militarily became a regional superpower of the Far East, and was considered by many to be the peak period of the entire Han history. His reign, along with that of his great-uncle and predecessor Emperor Zhao, are known by historians as Zhaoxuan Restoration for the significant economic recovery following the attrition of the costly Han–Xiongnu War. He was succeeded by his son Emperor Yuan after his death in 48 BC.
Emperor Xuan's life story was a "riches-to-rags-to-riches" story. He was born a great-grandson of Emperor Wu and the only grandchild of Crown prince Liu Ju. His grandfather was the firstborn son of Emperor Wu with Empress Wei Zifu and thus the heir apparent of the Han Empire, who in 91 BC was framed for witchcraft practice against Emperor Wu and committed suicide after being forced into a failed uprising. His father Liu Jin also died in that turmoil, along with the rest of his family. Emperor Xuan was then only a months-old infant and only survived due to the protection of a sympathetic prison warden named Bing Ji, and lived his youth as a commoner after being released by a nationwide amnesty from Emperor Wu in 87 BC. After Liu He's short 27-day reign in 74 BC, the 17-year-old Liu Bingyi was selected by Huo Guang for the throne, inheriting the crown that ironically would have been his anyway if his grandfather's rebellion in 91 BC hadn't happened.
Emperor Xuan has been considered a hardworking, wise and brilliant ruler by historians. Because he grew up among commoners, he thoroughly understood the suffering of the grassroot population, and lowered taxes, liberalized the government and employed capable ministers to the government. He was said by Liu Xiang to have been fond of reading the works of Shen Buhai. Using Xing-Ming to control his subordinates, and devoting much time to legal cases, he was known for justice and clemency according to the Hanshu.
Emperor Xuan was open to suggestions, was a good judge of character, and consolidated his power by eliminating corrupt officials, including the Huo family who had exerted considerable power since the death of Emperor Wu, after Huo Guang's death. However, his execution of the entire Huo clan later drew heavy criticism from historians for being "ungrateful" to the late Huo Guang.
Family background and early life
Parentage, disaster, and a barely spared young life
Liu Bingyi was born in 91 BC to Liu Jin, the son of then-Crown Prince Liu Ju, and his wife Consort Wang. As the grandson of the Crown Prince, Bingyi likely was born in Prince Ju's palace.That same year, however, disaster would strike. With conspirators accusing him of using witchcraft against his father Emperor Wu, Prince Ju was forced into a rebellion, which Prince Ju was defeated. Prince Ju committed suicide, and Bingyi's two uncles died with him, although it was not clear whether they also committed suicide or were killed by soldiers. Bingyi's great-grandmother Empress Wei also committed suicide, and his grandmother Consort Shi and his parents died in the incident as well in the capital Chang'an. It is not completely clear whether they took their own lives or were executed, but the latter seems likely.
For reasons not completely clear, baby Bingyi was spared, but was imprisoned in a prison overseen by the Ministry of Vassal Affairs. He was put into the custody of the warden Bing Ji. Bing knew that Prince Ju was actually innocent of witchcraft and took pity on the child, and selected two kind female prisoners, Hu Zu and Guo Zhengqing to serve as his wet nurses and caretakers. Bing Ji visited them each day to see how the child was doing.
Childhood
Near the end of Emperor Wu's reign, there was an incident whereby magicians claimed that an aura of an emperor was appearing from Chang'an's prisons. Emperor Wu fearing that whoever the aura came from would later steal the throne from the imperial clan ordered that all prisoners, regardless of whether they had been convicted or not and regardless of the severity of the charges, were to be executed. When the eunuch delivering the edict arrived at the Vassal Affairs prison that Bing oversaw, Bing refused to accept the edict, stating that no one who had not been convicted of a capital crime should be executed, and particularly not the emperor's own great-grandson. The eunuch filed charges against Bing for refusing to abide by the edict—a capital offense—but by that time Emperor Wu had realized his error, and declared a general pardon. The prisoners in all other prisons were dead, but the prisoners at Bing's prison survived.However, this incident made Bing feel that it was inappropriate for the young Bingyi to remain at the prison, and so he ordered one of his lieutenants to transfer Bingyi and Hu to the city government of Chang'an. The city government refused to accept responsibility, and so Bing had to let them remain in prison. After Hu's sentence was over, Bing hired her out of his own pocket to continue to serve as a wet nurse for several months, before letting her leave. Later, the budget for taking care of Bingyi was cut off from the imperial clan affairs budget, and Bing took money out of his own salary to care for Bingyi. When he grew somewhat older, Bing heard that Consort Shi's mother Zhenjun and brother Shi Gong survived the witchcraft incident, and so sought them out and had Bingyi delivered to the Shi residence. Lady Zhenjun then raised him herself.
Several years later, Bingyi's granduncle Emperor Zhao found out that Bingyi was alive, and ordered that the Ministry of Imperial Clan Affairs take over the duty for caring for Bingyi. The chief eunuch at the palace Zhang He, who had previously been an advisor to Prince Ju before he was castrated by Emperor Wu in the aftermath of Prince Ju's death, cared well for young Bingyi, and paid for his expenses and studies out of his own pocket.
Young adulthood and marriage
Circa 76 BC, Zhang wanted to marry his granddaughter to Bingyi, but his brother Zhang Anshi, then an important official, opposed, fearing that it would bring trouble. Zhang, instead, invited one of his subordinate eunuchs, Xu Guanghan, to dine, and persuaded him to marry his daughter Xu Pingjun to him. When Xu's wife heard this, she became extremely angry and refused, but because Zhang was Xu's superior, Xu did not dare to renege on the promise, and Bingyi and Pingjun were married, in a ceremony entirely paid by Zhang. Zhang also paid the bride price.After marriage, Bingyi depended on his wife's family and his grandmother's family for support, and he hired a teacher to teach him the Confucian classics. He was a diligent learner, and he also had a strong sense of social justice. As a teenager, he had many friends from all walks of life and was able to see the dark sides of society and the suffering of the people at the hands of corrupt officials. He had a strong interest in hiking. Occasionally he was summoned to see Emperor Zhao. Pingjun gave birth to a son, Liu Shi.
Succession to the throne
After Emperor Zhao died in 74 BC at the age of 20, the regent Huo Guang initially offered the throne to Prince He of Changyi. However, after Prince He quickly showed his unsuitability to be an emperor, Huo removed him from the throne. Huo, however, could not find a suitable successor among the princes. At Bing's recommendation, Huo, with Zhang Anshi's concurrence, decided to offer the throne to Bingyi, then 17, an offer ratified by Huo's granddaughter Empress Dowager Shangguan. To avoid having a commoner take the throne, 27 days after Prince He was removed from the throne, Empress Dowager Shangguan first created him the Marquess of Yangwu. On the same day, he was offered the imperial seal and ribbon and the throne, and he accepted.Early reign
When Emperor Xuan accepted the throne, his son Prince Shi was barely a few months old. Prince Shi's mother Xu Pingjun was initially created a consort. When it came time to create an empress, the officials largely wanted Emperor Xuan to marry Huo Guang's daughter Huo Chengjun and make her empress. Emperor Xuan did not explicitly reject this proposal but issued an order to seek out the sword that he owned as a commoner. Getting the hint, the officials recommended Consort Xu as empress, and she was created as such late in 74 BC. He initially wanted to make his father-in-law Xu Guanghan a marquess, but Huo opposed, reasoning a eunuch who had suffered castration as a punishment should not be made a marquess. Instead, Xu was given the title of Lord of Changcheng.In 73 BC, Huo offered to be relieved of his responsibilities as a regent. Emperor Xuan declined and ordered that all important matters of the state and the army would still be submitted to Huo first, and by doing this, the Emperor's affairs will be done, so Huo continued to "talking for the Emperor". He also gave high positions to Huo's son Huo Yu and grandnephews Huo Yun and Huo Shan, as well as Huo's sons-in-law Fan Mingyou and Deng Guanghan. In many ways, Emperor Xuan, although now emperor, remained intimidated by the powers of Huo and was always humble in front of him. In that same year, Emperor Xuan restored posthumous titles to his grandparents and parents and reburied them with honor. In 67 BC, he also finally found his maternal grandmother and her family, and he rewarded his grandmother and uncles with riches, and made his uncles marquesses.
Huo Guang's wife Xian was granted her wish of wanting her daughter become an empress. In 71 BC, Empress Xu was pregnant when Lady Xian came up with a plot. She bribed Empress Xu's female physician Chunyu Yan, under the guise of giving Empress Xu medicine after birth, to poison her. Chunyu did so, and Empress Xu died shortly after she gave birth. Her doctors were initially arrested to investigate whether they cared for the empress properly. Lady Xian, alarmed, informed Huo Guang what had happened, and Huo, not wanting to turn in his wife, instead signed Chunyu's release.
In that same year, a major battle with Xiongnu occurred. Xiongnu had been incessantly attacking the Xiyu kingdom of Wusun, whose queen was the Han princess Liu Jieyou. Emperor Xuan commissioned five generals and coordinated a plan with Wusun to attack Xiongnu at the same time. Xiongnu put the strongest defenses against the Han generals, the battle were largely inconclusively, but with the western frontier now weakened, Wusun forces won a major victory over Xiongnu, severely crippling Xiongnu's western region. For years after, without Han engaging major forces, Xiongnu was constantly under attack by Dingling from the north, Wuhuan from the east, and Wusun from the west, and became unable to harass Han borders.
In 70 BC, Emperor Xuan made Huo Chengjun empress. Accustomed to luxury living, her palace expenses far exceeding the late Empress Xu.
Emperor Xuan's early reign was generally known for his willingness to innovate, to commission officials who were lenient on the people, and to listen to advice. For example, in 67 BC, based on a submission from a Justice Ministry official Lu Wenshu, who was concerned about the harshness of the criminal justice system, Emperor Xuan added four appellate judges who were in charge of hearing final appeals. While this fell well short of what Lu suggested, it did help to somewhat reform the justice system.