Emperor Zhao of Han (; 94 – 5 June 74 BC),''guiwei'' day of the 4th month of the 1st year of the ''Yuan'ping'' era, per Emperor Zhao's biography in ''Book of Han'' born Liu Fuling (劉弗陵), was the eighth

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

of the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

from 87 to 74 BC. Emperor Zhao was the youngest son of Emperor Wu. By the time he was born, Emperor Wu was already 62. Prince Fuling ascended the throne after the death of Emperor Wu in 87 BC. He was only eight years old (by East Asian reckoning).

Huo Guang Huo Guang (; died 21 April 68 BC), courtesy name Zimeng (子孟), posthumous name Marquess Xuancheng of Bolu (博陸宣成侯), was a Chinese politician and imperial regent who served as the dominant state official of the Han dynasty#Western Ha ...

served as

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

. Emperor Wu's long reign left the Han dynasty greatly expanded; however constant warfare had depleted the empire's coffers. Emperor Zhao, under the tutelage of Huo, took the initiative and lowered taxes as well as reducing government spending. As a result, citizens prospered and the Han dynasty enjoyed an era of peace. Emperor Zhao died after reigning for 13 years, at the age of 20. He was succeeded by Liu He, Prince of Changyi.

Birth and childhood

In 94 BC, then Prince Fuling was born to a favourite concubine of Emperor Wu, Zhao Jieyu (趙婕妤), who carried the title Lady Gouyi. Emperor Wu was ecstatic in having a child at his advanced age (62), and because Consort Zhao purportedly had a pregnancy that lasted 14 months, the same length as the mythical

Emperor Yao Emperor Yao (; traditionally c. 2356 – 2255 BCE) was a legendary China, Chinese ruler, according to various sources, one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Ancestry and early life Yao's ancestral name is Yi Qi () or Qi (), clan ...

, he named Consort Zhao's palace gate "Gate of Yao's Mother." This led to speculation that the Emperor, in favouring Consort Zhao and Prince Fuling, wanted to make Prince Fuling crown prince instead of Crown Prince

Liu Ju Liu Ju (; early 128 – 30 September 91 BC), formally known as Crown Prince Wei (衛太子) and posthumously as Crown Prince Li (戾太子, literally "the Unrepentant Crown Prince", "Li" being an unflattering name) was a Western Han dynasty crown ...

, the son of Empress Wei Zifu. That, in turn, led to conspiracies against Prince Ju and Empress Wei, eventually forcing Prince Ju to pre-emptively rise up in military self-defence in 91 BC. Being misunderstood as a revolt, Prince Ju was defeated and went into exile, and both he and Empress Wei committed suicide soon afterwards. After Prince Ju's death, Emperor Wu was forced to consider who would make a good heir. Liu Dan, the Prince of Yan, was Emperor Wu's oldest surviving son, but Emperor Wu considered both he and his younger brother, Liu Xu, the Prince of Guangling, to be unsuitable, since neither respected the laws of the land. Liu Bo, Lady Li's son, had

consort kin The consort kin or outer kins () were the kin or a group of people related to an empress dowager or a consort of a monarch or a warlord in the Sinosphere. The leading figure of the clan was either a (usually male) sibling, cousin, or parent o ...

in the form of his uncle

Li Guangli Li Guangli (died 89 BC) was a Chinese military general of the Western Han dynasty and a member of the Li family favoured by Emperor Wu of Han. His brother Li Yannian was also close to Emperor Wu. With the suicide of Emperor Wu's crown prince Li ...

. In any case, before Emperor Wu's death, Li Guangli would surrender to the Xiongnu, while Liu Bo predeceased his father. Left with no other options, he decided on his youngest son, Prince Fuling, who was only six at that time. He therefore also chose a potential regent in

, whom he considered to be capable and faithful. He also ordered Prince Fuling's mother, Lady Gouyi, arrested and executed, fearing that she would become an all-powerful and uncontrollable empress dowager, like

Empress Dowager Lü The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

. He entrusted Huo with the regency of Fuling. At Huo's suggestion, he also made ethnic

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of Nomad, nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese historiography, Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, t ...

official

Jin Midi Jin Midi (134 BC – 29 September 86 BC, zh, c=金日磾, p=Jīn Mìdī, courtesy name Wengshu (翁叔), formally Marquess Jing of Du (秺敬侯)), was a Xiongnu Xiutu prince and a general of the Western Han dynasty. He was referred to as a no ...

and general

Shangguan Jie Shangguan Jie (; died November 80 BC) was a Western Han dynasty official in China and consort kin who served under Emperors Wu and Zhao. His granddaughter later became the empress consort to Emperor Zhao. Biography Shangguan Jie first rose in ...

co-regents. He died on 29 March 87 BC, shortly after creating Prince Fuling

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

two days earlier. Fuling then succeeded to the throne as Emperor Zhao at the age of 8.

Early reign and marriage

Early in Emperor Zhao's reign, Huo, Jin and Shangguan served as co-regents, with the key decisions being made by Huo. The palace was run by Princess Eyi, Emperor Wu's daughter and Emperor Zhao's older sister, who had moved back to the palace to serve as Emperor Zhao's caretaker. Prince Dan of Yan was not happy about the turn in events that led to Emperor Zhao's ascension. In 86 BC, he secretly planned a rebellion, forming a conspiracy with two imperial clan members, Liu Zhang () and Liu Ze (). The plan was for them to accuse Emperor Zhao of being not actually Emperor Wu's son, and then for Liu Ze, a grandson of a former prince of Qi, to start a rebellion in Linzi (in modern

Linzi District Linzi District () is a district of the prefecture-level city of Zibo, in central Shandong province, China. Located near the Shengli Oil Field, Linzi's economy is driven by petro-chemical refinery. Wheat, corn and cotton are cultivated in the rur ...

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

), the former capital of the Principality of Qi, while Prince Dan would then start a rebellion from his

Principality of Yan Yan () was a kingdom/principality in early Imperial China. It first appeared during the interregnum between the Qin and Han dynasties as one of the Eighteen Kingdoms created by Xiang Yu, and was subsequently dissolved and recreated multiple t ...

(roughly modern

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

). The conspiracy was discovered, but Prince Dan was not punished, although the other conspirators were executed. Later that year, Jin, a moderating influence in the co-regency, after being created a marquess on his sickbed, died. Huo and Shangguan were subsequently created marquesses as well. In the next few years, Shangguan, unhappy with his lesser role in the co-regency, tried to gain more power over Huo, even though the two had previously been great friends, and Huo had given his daughter in marriage to Shangguan's son Shangguan An (). The young couple had a daughter, who was age five in 84 BC, when Shangguan Jie wanted to marry her to the emperor. Huo initially refused, believing her to be too young. Shangguan Jie turned elsewhere for support of his plan. Shangguan An was a friend of Princess Eyi's lover, Ding Wairen (). He encouraged Ding to persuade the princess on the soundness of the marriage, reasoning that the Shangguans' power would be firmer with the marriage, and that they could then help Ding legitimize his relationship with Princess Eyi. Princess Eyi agreed, and later in 84 BC, the young Lady Shangguan was appointed as an imperial consort. In 83 BC, she was crowned empress.

Middle reign and the struggle between Shangguan and Huo

In 82 BC, a man whose appearance was similar to the former Crown Prince Ju suddenly appeared at the palace, claiming that he was in fact Prince Ju and that he was there to claim the throne. He was arrested and shown to be an imposter named Cheng Fangsui (), and then executed. Later that year, Shangguan An was created a marquess, and he became extremely arrogant and wild in his behaviour. In the same year, at the suggestion of Du Yannian (), Huo started considering terminating some of the policies of Emperor Wu intended to raise revenues for the war efforts. In 81 BC, after a major debate between proponents (the chief among whom was vice prime minister

Sang Hongyang Sang Hongyang ( Chinese: ; c. 152–November 80 BC) was a prominent official of the Han dynasty, who served Emperor Wu of Han and his successor Emperor Zhao. He is famous for his economic policies during the reign of Emperor Wu, the best know ...

) and opponents of the state monopolies on salt, iron, and wine, the wine and iron monopolies were abolished, once again allowing the merchants to benefit from the profits of these essentials. The people started to recover from the heavy burdens that Emperor Wu's wars had left on them. In 80 BC, the ongoing conflict between Huo and Shangguan Jie came to a head. The Shangguans, wanting to reward Ding for his role in setting up the marriage between Empress Shangguan and Emperor Zhao, sought to have him created a marquess, but were rebuffed by Huo, as were their subsequent efforts to have Ding made an important official. This caused Princess Eyi to resent Huo as well. The Shangguans, Princess Eyi, Prince Dan of Yan, and Sang (who was resentful that his monopoly system, which he felt to be the key to sound finances for the state, was being dismantled), formed an anti-Huo conspiracy. In 80 BC, Prince Dan sent a report to Emperor Zhao, accusing Huo of improperly exercising imperial authority. The conspirators' plan was that as soon as Emperor Zhao authorised an investigation, Shangguan Jie and Sang would arrest and immediately execute Huo. However, after the report was given to Emperor Zhao, the 14-year-old Emperor Zhao took no action on it. The next day, he summoned Huo to the palace and exonerated him, reasoning that the actions that Huo was accused of had happened so recently that Prince Dan, a long distance away, could not have possibly known about them, and therefore the report must have been a forgery. At this point, the anti-Huo conspiracy was not discovered, but many were impressed at the wisdom of the young emperor. Later that year, the conspirators tried again. Their plan was for Princess Eyi to invite Huo to a feast, and then to ambush Huo and kill him, and then depose Emperor Zhao and make Prince Dan emperor. (However, the Shangguans allegedly conspired to instead to have Prince Dan killed once he arrived in the capital, and for Shangguan Jie to declare himself emperor.) The conspiracy was revealed by a servant of Princess Eyi, and the conspirators were arrested and executed with their entire clans. Princess Eyi and Prince Dan committed suicide. Empress Shangguan was spared, however, because of her young age and her status as Huo's granddaughter.

Late reign

After the incident, Huo stamped out anyone who could be considered to be a conspirator, gaining a reputation for autocracy and heavy-handedness. The victims included two ministers, Wang Ping () and Xu Ren (). The relationship between Huo and Emperor Zhao remained a positive one, however. In 77 BC, a controversial incident involving the Xiyu (modern

Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...

and former-Soviet

central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

) kingdom of

Loulan Loulan ( zh, t=, p=Lóulán <

Eastern Han Chinese

''lo-lɑn'' <

Taklamakan Desert The Taklamakan Desert ( ) is a desert in northwest China's Xinjiang region. Located inside the Tarim Basin in Southern Xinjiang, it is bounded by the Kunlun Mountains to the south, the Pamir Mountains to the west, the Tian Shan range to the ...

) would unfold itself, although whether Emperor Zhao played any role in the decision-making is unclear. A few years earlier, the King of Loulan had died, and with

support, one of his sons, Angui () succeeded him, and Angui started a policy of befriending Xiongnu and resisting Han, particularly because Luolan's geographical location meant that it was often ordered by Han to escort its imperial messengers, who were also rude to Loulan officials. Huo sent an imperial messenger,

Fu Jiezi Fu Jiezi (), born in Qingyang, Gansu, was responsible for the assassination of the Loulan king Angui in 77 BC. Career Although fond of study, at fourteen years of age he threw his writing-tablets aside, saying with a sigh, “Tis in foreign lands t ...

() to assassinate Angui. Fu accomplished this by claiming that he was there to reward Xiyu kings with jewels and other precious items, and then, setting a private meeting up with Angui, he stabbed him in the heart, and then, warning that any further action would bring a large Chinese army, he got the Loulan nobles to submit and make a brother of Angui, Weituqi (), who was friendly to Han, king. Loulan was renamed

Shanshan Shanshan (; ) was a kingdom located at the north-eastern end of the Taklamakan Desert near the great, but now mostly dry, salt lake known as Lop Nur. The kingdom was originally an independent city-state, known in local Gandhari documents as '' ...

. (This incident was controversial in Chinese history in that many historians believed that this was one incident in which an assassination of a foreign king was thoroughly unjustified, particularly in the method it was carried out—using jewels as bait. Other historians believed that Angui should be punished for his failure to submit.) In 74 BC, Emperor Zhao died without a son, and this would lead to a succession problem. After a short duration in which the unsuitable Prince He of Changyi became emperor, the throne was finally given to Emperor Zhao's grandnephew, former Crown Prince Ju's grandson, Liu Bingyi (), who would ascend the throne as Emperor Xuan.

Era names

*''Shiyuan'' () 86 BC – 80 BC *''Yuanfeng'' () 80 BC – 75 BC *''Yuanping'' () 74 BC

Family

Consorts

* Empress Xiaozhao, of the Shangguan clan (; 89–37 BC) *''Feipin'', of the Yang clan (妃嫔阳氏)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhao Of Han Western Han dynasty emperors Child monarchs from Asia 94 BC births 74 BC deaths 1st-century BC Chinese monarchs Emperor Wu of Han People from Xi'an