Dynasties of ChinaEastern HanEastern Han lineage
Chuping and others · Reign 189—220
He was established as emperor by Dong Zhuo at the age of nine, and passed through the hands of powerful officials. Cao Cao welcomed the capital of Xu County, and finally abdicated Cao Pi, and the Eastern Han died.
Liu Xie is the son of Emperor Ling. His mother, Wang Meiren, was poisoned by Hehuanghou. He was raised by his grandmother, Queen Mother Dong, and was named "Dong Hou". In 189, Dong Zhuo deposed the Young Emperor and made him emperor at the age of nine. From then on, he became a puppet in the hands of powerful ministers. In 190, Dong Zhuo forced him to move the capital to Chang'an and burned the palaces and temples in Luoyang. In 192, Dong Zhuo was killed and Li Jue and Guo Si invaded Chang'an.
After moving to Xu, Cao Cao took charge of the government as Sikong and Prime Minister, implemented farming, defeated Lu Bu and Yuan Shao successively, and unified the north. Although Emperor Xian once planned to kill Cao Cao (the Yidaizhao incident in 200), he failed in the end. Fuhuanghou and Dong Guiren were killed successively. Cao Cao was successively named Duke of Wei and King of Wei, and his power was no different from that of the emperor. Cao Cao died in 220, and his son Cao Pi succeeded to the throne. In October of the same year, Emperor Xianabdication was forced, and Eastern Han perished.
After abdication, he was named Shanyang Gong and lived in Shanyang, Hanoi. He enjoyed the emperor's etiquette and could use the Han Dynasty's Zhengshuo, but he was not allowed to interfere in political affairs. According to legend, he used medicine to help people in the fiefdom. He died of illness in 234 at the age of fifty-four. Cao Wei buried him in the Zen Mausoleum with the courtesy of the emperor, and gave him the posthumous title of Xiaoxian Emperor. He reigned for thirty-one years and was second only to Emperor Guangwu among the emperors of Eastern Han.
The Han Emperor reigned for thirty-one years and was almost always a puppet in the hands of powerful ministers. He was hijacked successively by Dong Zhuo, Li Jue, Guo Si, and Cao Cao, and had no real power. He tried to resist but failed, and was finally forced to abdication by Cao Pi and became the last emperor of Eastern Han. However, he preserved the name of the Han Dynasty in troubled times, gave Cao Cao a call for his unification cause, and died amicably after abdication, which was a rare ending among the last emperors.
PoliticsDong Zhuo established the emperor
Dong Zhuo deposed Young Emperor Liu Bian and established Chenliu King Liu Xie at the age of nine. He changed the name to Yonghan of the Yuan Dynasty, and later to Chuping of the Yuan Dynasty. Dong Zhuo appointed himself Prime Minister, went to the palace with swords and shoes, praised and worshiped unknown, and the Emperor Xian became a puppet.
PoliticsMoved the capital to Chang'an
All the prefectures and counties in Guandong elected Yuan Shao as their leader and raised troops to attack Dong. Dong Zhuo took the Emperor Xian and hundreds of officials and moved to Chang'an, and set fire to Luoyang's palaces, government offices and civilian residences, leaving almost no one inhabited within hundreds of miles.
Lasting legacyThe Han and Wei Luoyang City ruins in the eastern suburbs of Luoyang are the former capitals of the Eastern Han, Cao Wei, Western Jin, and Northern Wei. In 2014, they were included in the World Heritage "Silk Road".
PeopleWang Yun, Lu Bu and Dong Zhuo
Situ Wang Yun and Dong Zhuo's general Lu Bu assassinated Dong Zhuo in front of Chang'an Palace. Soon Dong Zhuo's old troops Li Jue and Guo Si invaded Chang'an, killed Wang Yun, and hijacked Emperor Xian again, causing a melee in Chang'an.
MilitaryRebellion between Li Jue and Guo Si
Li Jue and Guo Si controlled the government and attacked each other. There was a great famine in Guanzhong and everyone was eating each other. Emperor Xian and his courtiers had no food and clothing. In 195, taking advantage of the disagreement between the two, he left Chang'an and returned eastward under the protection of Yang Feng, Dong Cheng and others. The journey was full of dangers.
PoliticsCao Cao welcomes Xu County
Emperor Xian went through many hardships and returned to the dilapidated Luoyang. Cao Cao led his troops into Luoyang and moved the capital to Xu County. He appointed himself Sikong and Shangshu, and gained the political advantage of "serving the emperor to order the princes". From then on, he became a powerful figure in the court.
Lasting legacyThere are still ruins of the ancient city of Xudu of the Han and Wei dynasties in Xuchang, Henan, located in the eastern suburbs of the city. Therefore, Xuchang is called the "ancient capital of Cao Wei".
EconomyPromise to farm land
Cao Cao adopted the suggestions of Zao Zhi and Han Hao and recruited refugees to work in the fields under the promise. In that year, he harvested one million dendrobium grains and the army's food supply was guaranteed. Later, it was extended to various states and counties, laying an economic foundation for the unification of the north.
CultureJian'an Literature
The father and son Cao Cao, Cao Pi, Cao Zhi, Kong Rong, Wang Can and other "Seven Sons of Jian'an" were active in Ye. Their poetic style was generous and sad, known as the "Jian'an style", which was the beginning of the conscious development of Chinese literature.
Lasting legacyCao Cao's famous lines in "Dan Ge Xing" such as "Singing over wine, the shape of life" are still widely recited today.
PoliticsThe belt edict incident
According to legend, Emperor Xian sewed a secret edict into his belt and gave it to the cavalry general Dong Cheng, ordering him to kill Cao Cao. After the incident was revealed, Dong Cheng, Zhong Ji and others were killed. Dong Cheng's daughter Dong Guiren was also executed although she was pregnant. Emperor Xian was unable to save him.
MilitaryBattle of Guandu
Cao Cao used a small number to defeat a large number, and faced off in Guandu for several months. He personally led his light cavalry to attack Wuchao and burned Yuan Shao's army.
Science & technology"Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases" was published
Nanyang physician Zhang Zhongjing witnessed a large number of deaths in his family due to the plague. He diligently studied ancient teachings and learned from many prescriptions, and wrote Treatise on Febrile Diseases and Miscellaneous Diseases, establishing the principle of syndrome differentiation and treatment. Later generations compiled it into two books: Treatise on Febrile Diseases and Synopsis of the Golden Chamber.
Lasting legacyThe classic prescriptions such as Guizhi Decoction and Mahuang Decoction contained in "Treatise on Febrile Diseases" are still commonly used clinical prescriptions in traditional Chinese medicine. Zhang Zhongjing is revered as the "Medical Sage".
PoliticsCao Cao serves as Prime Minister
Cao Cao abolished the three ministers, restored the position of prime minister since Qin & Han, and appointed himself prime minister, further concentrating the power of the government into his own hands. The Emperor Xian could hardly interfere with the decisions of the prime minister's office.
MilitaryBattle of Red Cliff
Cao Cao went south to Jingzhou, and the allied forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei defeated Cao's army in Chibi with a fire attack. Cao Cao withdrew to the north. From then on, the world was divided into three parts, and the opportunity to unify N&S was postponed.
Lasting legacyThere are ruins of the ancient Chibi battlefield in Chibi City, Hubei. Chibi, Huangzhou, written in Su Shi's "Chibi Fu", is generally believed to be not the Chibi battlefield in Three Kingdoms.
PoliticsCao Cao was granted the title of Duke of Wei
Emperor Xian granted Cao Cao the title of Duke of Wei, made the ten counties of Jizhou a fiefdom, added nine tins, established the Wei Kingdom, and appointed hundreds of officials below the prime minister. In 216, he was promoted to the king of Wei. Cao Cao already had an independent kingdom and was still nominally worshiped by the Han Dynasty.
PeopleDeath of Fuhuanghou
Fuhuanghou once wrote a letter to his father Fu Wan, asking him to kill Cao Cao, but he was deposed and imprisoned to death. Two princes were also poisoned, and more than a hundred members of his brother's clan were executed. Cao Cao then made his daughter Cao Jie queen.
PoliticsLiu Bei is called the King of Hanzhong
Liu Bei defeated Xia Houyuan in Hanzhong and proclaimed himself the King of Hanzhong. He went to Emperor Xian to explain the reasons and declared himself Da Sima and King of Hanzhong, which marked the gradual formation of the three kingdoms' tripartite political structure.
PoliticsabdicationCao Pi
After the death of Cao Cao, Cao Pi succeeded to the throne of Wei. In October, he forced Emperor Xian to abdication, that is, the throne of emperor, the country was named Wei, and Eastern Han was destroyed. Emperor Xian was granted the title of Shanyang Gong and enjoyed the emperor's etiquette in the fiefdom.
Lasting legacy"Abdication" has since become a common form for powerful officials to change dynasties. It was later used many times in the Western Jin, Southern Dynasties, Song Dynasty, Qi, Liang, Chen, Sui, and Tang Dynasties.
PeopleDied of illness in Shanyang
Emperor Xian died in Shanyang Kingdom at the age of fifty-four. Wei Emperor MingCao Rui personally mourned for him and buried him in the Zen Mausoleum with the courtesy of the emperor of the Han Dynasty, with the posthumous title of Emperor Xiaoxian.
A native of Lintao in Longxi Province, he led the Xiliang army into Luoyang in 189, deposed the Young Emperor and established the Emperor Xian. He became dictatorial and brutal, and moved the capital to Chang'an. He was killed by Wang Yun and Lu Bu.
A native of Peiguo Qiao County, the grandson of the eunuch Cao Teng, he welcomed Emperor Xiandu Xu in 196. He defeated Yuan Shao in the Battle of Guandu, unified the north, and was granted the title of King of Wei in his later years. He is also a famous poet. "Guan Cang Hai" and "Dan Ge Xing" have been passed down to this day.
A native of Yingyin in Yingchuan, Cao Cao's chief adviser, he was called "my son's wife" by Cao Cao. He suggested welcoming Emperor Xian. Later, he died of depression because he opposed Cao Cao's title of Duke of Wei.
A native of Qixian County, Taiyuan, a famous official in the late Han Dynasty, he planned to kill Dong Zhuo in 192, but he mishandled Li Jue and other Dong Zhuo's old troops, causing Chang'an to fall into war again, and he was eventually killed.
He was born in the fourth generation of the Three Dukes. In 190, he was promoted as the leader of the alliance against Dong. He occupied Jizhou and once dominated Hebei. In 200, he was defeated by Cao Cao in the Battle of Guandu. In 202, he died of sorrow and anger.
The father of Emperor Xian Dong Guiren, he had meritorious service in guarding Emperor Xian Donggui, and was named a general of chariots and cavalry. In 200, he was ordered by Emperor Xian to plot and kill Cao Cao, but he was found guilty and killed.
Langye Dongwu, named Shou, was the daughter of Fuwan. She was established as queen in 195, and wandered around with Emperor Xian. In 214, she was imprisoned and died in 214 because of a letter she wrote to conspire to kill Cao Cao.
Mingji, a native of Nanyang, witnessed the death of his family due to the plague. He diligently studied ancient teachings and learned from many methods. He wrote "Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases" and established the principle of syndrome differentiation and treatment. He was revered as the "Sage of Medicine" by later generations.