Liu Bang of Han Dynasty
2 min readLiu Bang
Emperor Gaozu，also known under the name Liu Bang（see Figure 7），was the first emperor of the Han Dynasty（206 BC-24 AD）.He was born into a peasant family in Pei（today’s Pei County in Jiangsu Province），and was once one of the leaders of the peasant insurrections in the late Qin Dynasty.
Figure 7 Emperor Gaozu-Liu Bang Having suffered a lot under the despotic rule，Liu Bang rose against it at the end of the Qin Dynasty together with Xiang Yu.They became the two important leaders of the peasant uprisings which were taking place at the time.In 206 BC，Liu Bang started by breaking the capital city of Qin，Xianyang，thus putting an end to the notorious Qin Dynasty.He abandoned the harsh laws，reduced taxes and instituted three regulations in order to protect the interests of normal people.These actions made him popular with the people.
However，Liu Bang’s actions and fame were the source of Xiang Yu’s envy.Xiang Yu had the intention of becoming an emperor with control over the entire country.When Xiang Yu proclaimed himself the King of Chu，Liu Bang realized that he was weaker in military force compared with Xiang Yu and adopted the suggestions of Xiao He，his adviser to move to Hanzhong（today’s Hanzhong in Shaanxi Province）with the title”King of Han”which was conferred by Xiang Yu.
In Hanzhong，Liu Bang focused on developing the agriculture and training an army，through which he reinforcedhis material accumulation and military power.Before long，Liu Bang left Hanzhong and stationed in the Central Shanxi Plain，where he launched a war now known as the Chu-Han War，against Xiang Yu.
The war lasted four years（206-202 BC）and ended with Liu Bang’s victory.Having defeated Xiang Yu，Liu Bang established the Han Dynasty in 202 BC and made Changan（present city of Xi’an）his capital city.Liu Bang became historically known as Emperor Gaozu.
