Gengshi Emperor
The Gengshi Emperor (Chinese: 更始帝; pinyin: Gēngshǐ Dì; Wade–Giles: Keng-shih-ti; died AD 25), born Liu Xuan (Chinese: 劉玄), was an emperor of the Han dynasty restored after the fall of Wang Mang's Xin dynasty brought on by the Lülin. He was also known by his courtesy name Shenggong (Chinese: 聖公) and as the King or Prince of Huaiyang (Chinese: 淮陽王; pinyin: Huáiyáng Wáng), a posthumous title bestowed upon him by Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han. The Gengshi Emperor was viewed as a weak and incompetent ruler, who briefly ruled over an empire willing to let him rule over them, but was unable to keep that empire together. He was eventually deposed by the Chimei ("Red Eyebrows") and strangled a few months after his defeat.
| Gengshi Emperor 更始帝 | |||||||||
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Gengshi Emperor and Consort Han | |||||||||
| Emperor of the Han dynasty | |||||||||
| Reign | 23–25 AD | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Ruzi Ying (Emperor of Western Han) | ||||||||
| Successor | Emperor Guangwu (Emperor of Eastern Han) | ||||||||
| Died | 25 AD | ||||||||
| Burial | Baling | ||||||||
| Spouses |
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| Father | Liu Zizhang | ||||||||
| Mother | Lady He | ||||||||
Traditional historians treat his emperor status ambiguously—and sometimes he would be referred to as an emperor (with reference to his era name—thus, the Gengshi Emperor) and sometimes he would be referred to by his posthumous title, Prince of Huaiyang. The later title implied that he was only a pretender and the Eastern Han was the legitimate restoration of the earlier Han. The regime of the Gengshi Emperor is known in historiography as the Xuan Han (玄漢), after his personal name Liu Xuan.