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Biography of Han Kao-tsu
Name: Han Kao-tsu
Birth Date: c. 247 B.C.
Death Date: 195 B.C.
Place of Birth: China
Nationality: Chinese
Gender: Male
Occupations: emperor
Han Kao-tsu
The Chinese emperor Han Kao-tsu (ca. 247-195 BC) was the founder of the Former Han dynasty, the first major Chinese dynasty for which there are reliable and fairly full historical records.Kao-tsu is the posthumous title given to Liu Chi, the founder of the Former Han dynasty. Little is known of his early years (indeed, it is not certain whether his name was Liu Chi or Liu Pang). He was born a commoner and was one of only two commoners to become emperors of China. Part of his youth was spent as a peasant, but he managed to receive some education. He became a low-ranking local official under the Ch'in dynasty (221-207 B.C.).The Ch'in rulers, who ruled under the influence of a Legalistic as opposed to a Confucian philosophy, were known for their excessively harsh application of laws and punishments and for their burdensome demands on the population for taxes …showed first 150 words…
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…showed last 150 words…with the Hsiung-nu. Kao-tsu was under siege for a week and barely managed to escape.Following these battles, Kao-tsu pursued a policy of peace with the Hsiung-nu. In exchange for their pledge not to raid the border, Kao-tsu presented a Chinese princess to the Hsiung-nu ruler as his wife, and the Chinese made annual gifts to the nomadic warriors. With a few notable exceptions, including Hsiung-nu attacks that brought them within sight of the capital in 166, Kao-tsu's policy was effectively continued for about 60 years. Further Reading There is no scholarly work devoted exclusively to Han Kao-tsu. Excellent materials on him and his reign are available in Burton D. Watson, Records of the Grand Historian of China, Translated from the Shih chi of Ssu-ma Ch'ien (2 vols., 1961). A more critical translation (with annotations) of another Han history is Homer H. Dubs's translation of Pan Ku's History of the Former Han Dynasty (3 vols., 1938-1955).
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